A/HRC/12/44 page 11 prices and civil insecurity have not only contributed to loss of livestock in pastoral livelihood, but also continue to limit access to water, food and sustainable livelihoods, necessitating an ongoing humanitarian response. C. Human rights situation in Mogadishu and south and central Somalia 40. The human rights situation in Somalia has deteriorated markedly as a result of the escalation of armed conflict since May 2009. Improvements gained following the installation of the new Government in the earlier months were thus lost and the conflict continued to have a heavy impact on civilians in many ways. 41. Monitoring the human rights situation in south and central Somalia remains very difficult because of the serious constraints to gathering information owing to security conditions. The independent expert was himself unable to visit the region. Nevertheless, major human rights concerns have been documented and the independent expert remains deeply concerned at the deterioration of the situation. 1. The right to life and physical integrity 42. Repeated, inaccurate and indiscriminate exchanges of mortar fire between all parties have resulted in numerous civilian deaths and many injuries, with bombs landing on civilian homes and mosques, and have caused tens of thousands to flee the capital. Media reports and direct testimony taken from refugees, internally displaced persons and other sources show that insurgents have violated international humanitarian law by taking the conflict into areas populated or frequented by civilians. Reports of death threats and intimidation have also been common. Journalists covering the conflict have faced particular risks because of targeted killings and the danger of being caught in cross-fire. 43. Civilians, especially women and children, suffer most from indiscriminate attacks and retaliatory acts from both sides in the Somali conflict, including armed opposition and local clan militias. Punishments such as amputations and stoning illustrate the extent to which violence still substitutes for the rule of law in many areas of Somalia. United Nations human rights staff have received credible reports that, in areas controlled by insurgent groups, ad hoc tribunals are judging and sentencing civilians without due process, including death sentences by stoning or decapitation, and amputation of limbs and other forms of corporal punishment. The lack of accountability, especially with regard to serious violations and abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law, has contributed to a culture of impunity. With the exception of Somaliland and Puntland, rule of law is virtually non-existent in Somalia, in particular in the south-central regions. 44. A more worrisome development is the extreme interpretations of sharia law by hard-line Islamists in areas under their control. They have led to severe corporal punishment, including the amputation of hands of alleged criminals. According to one report, in an incident on 3 July, Islamist forces in the Marka district of Shabelle Hoose amputated the right hand of a man accused of stealing cattle in Gandabe. The sentence was carried out publicly in front of hundreds of residents. After the amputation, the man was reportedly taken to the hospital for treatment while his hand was paraded around town to serve as a lesson to other residents.