Obama Discloses the Deaths of Hostages in U.S. Strikes on Al Qaeda Targets

By Max Bartels 

Impunity Watch Reporter, The Middle East 

 

Islamabad, Pakistan

Obama announced on Thursday that U.S. counter-terrorism operations in Pakistan on Al Qaeda targets  killed an American and Italian hostage last January. The President took full responsibility for the deaths of American Warren Weinstein and Italian national Giovanni Lo Porto. The White House Press Secretary claimed Obama did not personally approve the strikes but they were in the bounds of policy guidelines. The White House did not admit that drones carried out the strikes that killed the hostages.

A U.S. drone used for operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan. (Photo curtesy of The Daily News)

Al Qaeda captured Warren Weinstein in August 2011 while he was working as a USAID contractor in Pakistan. Lo Porto was taken hostage while working as an aid worker in 2012. Obama announced that the Inspector General is launching an investigation into the incident. Obama also stated that the U.S. government would compensate the families of both hostages. The U.S. did not recover the bodies of either hostage but multiple intelligence sources confirmed their deaths based off circumstantial evidence.

The President also disclosed that two American citizens, both Al Qaeda operatives, were killed by counter- terrorism operations in the same region of Pakistan. Ahmed Farouq was the Al Qaeda Deputy Amir for the Indian subcontinent and he was killed in the same strike that killed the two hostages. The other American, Adam Gadahn was also killed but the White House reported that he was likely killed in a separate operation.

Obama and the Press Secretary claimed that the U.S. government was not aware that the hostages  or that the two American Al Qaeda operatives were present at the target sites. Critics of the drone strike campaign are using the incident for continued pressure on the Obama administration even though it is yet to be officially disclosed that drones carried out these operations. Obama announced two years ago that he would be scaling back drone operations however; the administration claims that these strikes were carried out within the guidelines for such missions. Regardless, the ACLU pointed out that there is a significant problem with continuing these strikes if there is continued harm to civilians. The ACLU also pointed out that the deaths of civilians shows a gap between the stringent standards the government says its using and the standards that are actually being used when carrying out these strikes.

For more information, please see:

CNN — U.S. Drone Strike Accidentally Killed 2 Hostages — 23 April, 2015 

The New York Times — Obama Apologizes After Drone Kills American and Italian Held by Al Qaeda — 23 April, 2015

CNN — Al Qaeda Hostage, American Warren Weinstein, Killed in Operation — 23 April, 2015 

Daily News — American, Italian Hostages Killed in U.S Drone Attack Against Al Qaeda in Pakistan: White House — 23 April, 2015

European Union Takes Action Following Mediterranean Migrant Disasters

By Kyle Herda

Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BRUSSELS, Belgium – Following the disasters in the Mediterranean Sea over the past week that saw over 1,000 migrants killed when two separate ships capsized, the European Union has come together to work on a solution.

Overcrowded and weak migrant vessels, such as this one, have led to thousands of migrants drowning in an attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe. (Photo courtesy of RTE News)

After European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker brought together EU leaders to discuss the disaster, four “priority areas for action” were agreed upon: “to strengthen the EU’s presence at sea, to fight the traffickers, to prevent illegal migration flows and to reinforce internal solidarity and responsibility.” The idea behind these focal points is to not only address the situations as they arise, but also to try and combat the problem at the source. The European Commission aims to release its European Agenda on Migration on May 13th.

One issue that must be resolved is where the migrants will go once they are saved, and the Commission has stated that it seeks to work on quota issues throughout the EU. Ireland has already stepped up and agreed to take 220 Syrians after they have been recognized as refugees by the United Nations refugee agency, in addition to the 114 refugees Ireland has already agreed to take in under the Syria Humanitarian Assistance Programme.

With over 10,000 migrants saved from the Mediterranean between Italy and Libya just over the past week, this is a pressing issue that must be solved now. According to the International Organization for Migration, 1,727 have died already this year trying to cross the Mediterranean, as opposed to 56 last year by this time. The EU members have already agreed to triple funding for border operations from 2.9 million euros a month to nearly 10 million. In addition to this increased support for saving migrants in the Mediterranean, there is also a movement for “declaring war on smugglers,” according to the EU Commissioner for Migration. Military action against the traffickers may take a few months to work out, but the EU has assigned EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to fine possible military actions the EU may take.

For more information, please see:

RTE News – EU to triple funding for migrant search and rescue missions – 24 April 2015

European Commission – EU leaders agree actions to tackle Mediterranean tragedy – 24 April 2015

Fox News – EU leaders commit ships, aid for action on migrants – 23 April 2015

USA Today – EU agrees to send more ships to stem migrant crisis – 23 April 2015

The Wall Street Journal – EU to Triple Funding for Sea Patrols in Migration Crisis – 23 April 2015

VDC: The Weekly Statistical Report

 

 

 

Thousands Evacuated as Chile Volcano Erupts

By Delisa Morris

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SANTIAGO, Chile– Just in time for Earth Day Volcano Calbuco erupted last night in Chile for the first time in more than four decades.  The sudden eruption sent a thick plume of ash and smoke several kilometers into the sky.

By night, almost 4,000 people had been moved from the area, an evacuation radius of 20 kilometers was established and schools in the area and the classes were cancelled in surrounding towns, authorities noted.

Chile’s Onemi emergency office declared a red alert following the sudden eruption at around 6 p.m. local time.  Calibuco lies about 1,000 km south of the capital, Santiago, near the tourist town of Puerto Varas.

President Michelle Bachelet is scheduled to travel to the affected area on Thursday.

According to Interior Minister Rodrigo Penailillo there were no reports of deaths, missing persons or injuries.  Penailillo urged residents to evacuate the area and warned of possible lahars, a mix of water and rock fragments that flow down a volcano’s slopes and river valleys.

The column of ash and smoke is being pushed northeast towards Argentina, by winds.

“In this situation, with the eruption column so high, the main risk is that it collapses, falls due to gravity because of its own weight and causes a pyroclastic flow,” Gabriel Orozco, a vulcanologist with Chile’s geological and mining service, said on local TV.

Video courtesy of Informaciones Chile

A pyroclastic flow is a superheated current of gas and rock that can destroy nearly everything in its path and travel at speeds upwards of 200 to 300 kilometres per hour.

The volcanic ash has caused flights to be cancelled in Argentina and Chile due to the ash making it dangerous to fly.  The ash can cause damage to an airplane.

Canadian-born Trevor Moffat, who lives in Ensenada, some 10 kilometres from the volcano, said the eruption happened without warning. Volcano Calbuco’s last known eruption was in 1972 and the most recent major eruption happened in 1961.

“It sounded like a big tractor trailer passing by the road, rattling and shaking, guttural rumbling … we left everything there, grabbed my kid, my dog, got in the car with my wife,” said Moffat, who was driving to nearby Puerto Varas at the time.

“All the neighbours were outside, a lot of young people crying. Armageddon-type reaction.”

For more information, please see:

CBC News – Calibuco Volcano Eruption in Chile Forces Evacuation of 4,000 People from the Region – 23 Apr. 2015

LA Times – Hiker Found as Ash from Calibuco Volcano Closes Borders in Chile – 23 Apr. 2015

Aljazeera – Thousands Evacuated as Chile Volcano Erupts – 23 Apr. 2015

Reuters – Flights Canceled as Ash Cloud Pours from Chile Volcano – 23 Apr. 2015