CCPR/C/117/D/2493/2014 risk of being killed there. He notes that the “Al-Shabaab force is still very active, and has just recently killed 75 AMISOM troops from Burundi, in Leego, near Qoryooley”. 5.2 On 21 August 2015, the author submitted that “the Government of Somalia has reinforced its efforts in fighting Al-Shaabab, but is yet to gain control over the specific region and area” from where he originates, and therefore he is at great risk of suffering inhuman or degrading treatment or being killed if returned to Somalia. “Due to the present situation in the Qoryooley area, there should be no doubt that [I] have a conflict with Al−Shabaab”. The author further states in general terms that “the State party has failed to establish a prima facie case for the purpose of not giving admissibility of the… communication under articles 7 and 9 of the (Covenant). The State party’s submission has not brought up any reason for the communication to be inadmissible.”16 Further observations by the State party 6.1 In response, by a note verbale dated 25 January 2016, the State party reiterated that the information provided by the author in this case could not lead to a different assessment of the author’s asylum case from that already carried out by the Refugee Appeals Board. In regard to the author’s statements concerning the information provided by his mother, the State party believes that this information is unsubstantiated and appears to be fabricated for the occasion. The author has previously made inconsistent statements concerning his contact with his mother. In particular, during the asylum screening interview with the Danish Immigration Service on 2 April 2014, he stated that he had had contact with his mother and his siblings. However, when interviewed by the Danish Immigration Service on 23 April 2014, he stated that he had had no contact with his mother since his departure from Somalia. As regards the transcript of his medical records, submitted by the author to the Committee, the State party observes that the medical records do not demonstrate in any way that he was subjected to torture while he was imprisoned in Somalia. On that matter, the State party notes that, according to the transcript of the author’s medical records, the reason for the pain in his leg was that he had been diagnosed with tuberculosis and had had surgery as his leg had been affected by the infection. 6.2 The State party reiterates that the general conditions in Somalia are not of such a nature that the author would risk being subjected to abuse falling under articles 7 or 9 of the Covenant if he were returned to Somalia. It notes that the Danish authorities are aware that the security situation in South Somalia is precarious. However, the Refugee Appeals Board closely monitors the situation in Somalia, including in Qoryooley. According to the most recent background information, such as “South Central Somalia: country of origin information for use in the asylum determination process”, a report published by the Danish Immigration Service in September 2015, Qoryooley is still controlled by the Government of Somalia and AMISOM. Accordingly, the State party reiterates that the present communication should be declared manifestly unfounded and inadmissible. Alternatively, the State party maintains that it has not been established that there are substantial grounds for believing that the author’s return to Somalia would constitute a violation of articles 7 or 9 of the Covenant. 16 The author also refers to the judgment, invoked by the State party, of the European Court of Human Rights, in Sufi and Elmi v. the United Kingdom, where the Court found that the removal of the applicants, Somali nationals, to Mogadishu, would be contrary to article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. See also footnote 4 above. 9