Deadly Shooting on Wedding Guests Outside a Cairo Christian Church

By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt-Three people, including an eight year-old girl, were shot dead by gunmen on motorcycles who opened fire on wedding guests outside a Coptic Christian church in Cairo.  At least nine others were wounded in the attack.

Many Egyptian Christians fear being targeted by Islamists (photo courtesy of BBC)

One source reported that the masked gunmen opened fire on the crowd randomly as guests were leaving the church.  It was not immediately clear if the three who were killed were Christians.

Coptic Christians make up 10 percent of the 85 million people who inhabit Egypt, and have generally coexisted peacefully with majority Sunni Muslims for centuries.  However, the army’s overthrow of Islamist President Morsi on July 3 has sparked the worst attacks on churches and Christian properties in years.

When General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, the chief of the army, went on television to announce that President Morsi had been removed from power, Pope Tawadros II appeared by his side.  The Pope has said that the “roadmap” laid out for by the general had been devised by “honourable people who had Egypt’s best interests at heart.”

Pope Tawadros’ II statement led many Islamists to believe that the church was somehow behind the overthrow of Morsi.  The Pope has received numerous death threats while many Christians have been killed while targeting Christian shops, homes, and businesses.

Bishop Angelos, from the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, stated: “It’s terrible to see that in the light of recent attacks where Christians and Muslims are trying to get on with life, regardless of antagonism and violence, that even on a night like this, when people are trying to celebrate, people can lose loved ones.”

The Bishop went on to further say, “There are still some who wrongly accuse the Christians to be responsible for the ousting of the former president,” addressing the heightened tension and increased attacks on Christians in recent months due to the political situation.

Amnesty International reported that as of October 9, more than 200 Christian-owned properties were targeted and 43 churches seriously damaged across Egypt since the August 14 crack down on Morsi supporters in Cairo.

For more information, please the following:

Al Arabiya-Gunmen open fire at Egyptian Christian wedding-20 October 2013

Aljazeera-Deadly attack on Cairo church wedding-20 October 2013

BBC-Egypt gunmen open fire on Coptic Christian wedding in Cairo-20 October 2013

Reuters-Egyptian gunmen kill three outside church in Cairo suburb-20 October 2013

Suicide Bomber Kills Soldiers in Somalia

By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia – At least 16 people have been killed and more than 30 people injured after a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded restaurant in the central Somalia town of Beledweyne.

Al-Shabaab militants also carried last month’s attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi in which at least 72 people were killed (photo courtesy of Reuters)

Al-Shabab said it had carried out the bombing targeting troops in an African Union peacekeeping force fighting the Somali Islamist group.

The bombing happened at a restaurant near a military base around 210 miles north of Mogadishu. The city is under control of the central government and AU peacekeepers from Djibouti.

“Our main target was Ethiopian and Djibouti troops who invaded our country. They were sitting there,” al-Shabab’s military operation spokesman, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, said.

But witnesses have reported that most of those killed by the bomb were civilians.

“There is a lack of medicine in the hospital and they can’t cope with the flood of wounded patients, so we asked the central government to send us planes to evacuate patients,” Mr Jessow said by phone.

“A man with an explosives jacket entered unexpectedly in the tea shop where soldiers and civilians sat . . . and blew himself up,” local elder Ahmed Nur said from the scene of the blast.

 “I could see the bodies of several soldiers being carried, but I could not make out whether they were dead or injured.” Al-Shabaab frequently attacks political targets, as well as restaurants, and other recreational spaces popular with foreigners and government soldiers.

 Al-Shabab militants have been driven out of Somalia’s major towns, including Mogadishu and the key southern port of Kismayo, by a UN-mandated AU force of some 18,000 soldiers.

 But the militants still control large parts of southern Somalia.

 Last month the group claimed the attack on the Westgate shopping center in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, in which 72 people died in a four day siege.

 Straddling a major highway that links south-western Somalia to southern and northern parts of the country, Beledweyne is the maine gateway to the Ogaden region in Ethiopia and a strategically vital area that Addis Ababa has often controlled.

“In a way this attack is also a message of weakness as al Shabaab are not able to carry out a conventional assault on the town in the way they use to two years ago,” analyst Abdi said.

 Ethiopian troops have been fighting Islamist militants in neighbouring Somalia for much of the past decade.

 For more information, please visit:

 BBC News – Somali suicide bombing kills AU soldiers in Beledweyne – 19 October 2013
The Frontier Post – Somali bombing kills AU soldiers – 20 October 2013
Yahoo! News – Suicide bomber kills 16 in Somali cafe attack aimed at foreign troops – 19 October 2013
The Guardian – Al-Shabaab suicide bomber attacks restaurant in Somalia – 19 October 2013
Standard Media – Al Shabaab claims responsibility, says AU forces were the target – 19 October 2013

UN Report Says 479 Civilians Killed by Drones in Pakistan

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

NEW YORK CITY, New York – Ben Emmerson, a UN special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, publicized findings of his report Friday which announced that at least 479 civilians have been killed by drone strikes in Pakistan since 2004.  The report’s release came ahead of a General Assembly debate schedule for October 25.

Under the Obama Administration, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become a principle method for killing suspected militants in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Yemen. (Photo courtesy of BBC News)

The report, which Emmerson began research on in January, involved interviews with local US elements in Pakistan.  Emmerson said that the CIA’s involvement in the drone program has created “an almost insurmountable obstacle to transparency.”  The report emphasizes that national security considerations are an unacceptable justification for withholding data on civilian casualties.

While Emmerson notes that a number of international legal issues relating to drone use need to be resolved, he believes that there is a place for their use within humanitarian law.  BBC News reports that Emmerson’s fear with drones is that lack of consensus on how to use them in armed conflict could become increasingly dangerous.

Emmerson’s report has no binding authority; however, the UN Human Rights Council will use the report in determining whether the US has committed human rights violations in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Yemen.

Human rights concerns aside, the use of drones is unlikely to decline in the near future. Already China has begun training with drones for use in armed conflicts, and Japan is looking to acquire drones by 2015.

Emmerson expects the expanding role of drones as a policing tool will lead states to prefer targeting enemies under war parameters over capturing them.

“The expansive use of armed drones by the first states to acquire them, if not challenged, can do structural damage to the cornerstones of international security and set precedents that undermine the protection of life across the globe in the longer term,” Emmerson’s report said.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – UN investigator presses US to publish drone attack data – 18 October 2013

Asahi Shimbun – Almost 500 civilians killed in drone attacks, U.N. study finds – 19 October 2013

Chicago Tribune – Pakistan tells U.N. at least 400 civilians killed by drone strikes – 19 October 2013

International Business Times – Drone Attacks In Pakistan Killed 400 Civilians In Last 10 Years; UN Investigator Urges US To Declassify Data – 19 October 2013

Reuters – Pakistan tells U.N. at least 400 civilians killed by drone strikes – 19 October 2013

Protests near Piazza San Giovanni Turn Violent Despite Organizers’ Peaceful Intentions

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

ROME, Italy – Italy’s planned peaceful protests turned violent as extremists attended, prepared for a clash with police.

Demonstrations turn violent as extremists throw bottles, flares, and thunder flashes. (Photo courtesy of Reuters)

On 18 October 2013, a transport strike led to an overnight demonstration at the Piazza San Giovanni, in the city centre. Despite grievances, the demonstrators were allegedly in good spirit.

By 19 October, thousands protested throughout Rome’s streets over several issues, including the government’s austerity program and the proposed high speed rail line linking Lyon, France with Turin.

“We are protesting a one-way austerity that is bringing the country to its knees,” said Piero Bernocchi from Italy’s Cobas trade union group. “And it hasn’t achieved what it was meant to by bringing down debt. Meanwhile politicians continue with their privileges.”

Italy’s two-year recession has pushed unemployment to record-breaking heights, shut down thousands of businesses, and forced much of the younger generation to emigrate. Youth unemployment is at 40.1%.

Prime Minister Enrico Letta’s 2014 budget has been viewed as insufficient to ease the current tax burden placed on workers.

Originally, organizers hoped 20,000 would appear for a peaceful protest. While organizers estimated 70,000 to have attended, police put estimates closer to 50,000. Among the demonstrators, nearly 400 immigrants expressed support for asylum-seekers, many of whom have died at sea during their trip from North Africa.

“This protest is to demand basic rights: a job paying a wage, and housing,” said Matteo, a 20-year-old student from the eastern Marche region. “All the most downtrodden people are here to protest, unemployed people, students, immigrants, workers without job security.”

One protester apparently looking for a clash said, “We are not assuming it is going to happen, but we need them because the situation in the country is very serious.”

During the lead-up to demonstrations, police discovered five French members of the “Black Block” movement. According to authorities, the group provoked much unrest throughout Europe in past years; and two of the five were under investigation in France for terrorist activity.

At least 100 wearing hoods and motorcycle helmets attacked the Italian Economic Ministry. Demonstrators in masks threw eggs, bottles, flares, and thunder flashes at a police line guarding the building. As police charged the crowd, demonstrators beat their plastic shields with sticks and poles, and set fire to a trash bin.

Police detained the 15 most violent people after confiscating baseball bats, helmets, teargas, rocks, and a knife. Also, police defused a large firework with a bullet in it.

While most protestors sought a peaceful protest over austerity and low wages and the environment, extremists came prepared for anything. In case of violence, shops were shuttered and Rome authorities deployed approximately 3500 police.

For further information, please see:

Euronews – Thousands Protest in Rome over Austerity Measures – October 19, 2013

Reuters – Italian Anti-Austerity Protesters Clash with Police – October 19, 2013

Telegraph – Protests in Rome Turn Violent as Demonstrators Attack Economy Ministry – October 19, 2013

Gazzetta del Sud – Five French “Block Block” Militants Stopped in Rome – October 18, 2013

New Documents Detail Charles Taylor’s Life in Prison

By Erica L Smith
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

MONROVIA, Liberia — Charles Taylor, former dictator of Liberia, was transferred to British custody Tuesday. The transfer comes just a day after the release of documents detailing his life behind bars in The Hague and his desire to serve out his prison term in Rwanda.

Charles Taylor (Photo courtesy of The Telegraph)

“Charles Ghankay Taylor… was transferred today (Tuesday)  from the Netherlands and the custody of the Special Court to the United Kingdom, where he will serve the remainder of his 50-year sentence,” the UN’s Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL)’s Freetown office said in a statement.

Taylor is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison after his conviction and 50 year sentence for arming rebel groups during the Liberian Civil War was upheld by the SCSL last week. Taylor supported the Revolutionary United Front rebels in exchange for “blood diamonds.”  The rebel group became well know for widespread killings and amputations during the 11 year conflict.

Taylor wished to serve his sentence out in Rwanda because he fears for his safety in British custody. Taylor and his defense team argue that there are numerous individuals of Sierra Leonean background in British detention and Taylor fears they may attack him because of his association with “horrendous atrocities.” The defense team points to the case of Radislav Krstic, a Bosnian Serb war criminal, who was attacked three times while in British custody in 2010.

Taylor also wanted to be imprisoned in Rwanda so that his family would be able to visit him. Taylor believes that the higher costs and visa complications facing Liberians traveling to the U.K. will make it impossible for him to see his family.

“The consequence of these factors is that if I am incarcerated in the United Kingdom some family members will see me much less than if I were to serve my sentence in Rwanda. Many of my children would not be able to see me at all,” Taylor said.

Taylor is reported to have 15 children, five of whom are under the age of 10.

The documents further reveal that Taylor remained on good terms with his guards and is outspoken when he believes his living conditions are not satisfactory.

“Mr. Taylor does not take part in creative lessons, but takes the opportunity to regularly enjoy fresh air and tries to keep himself as fit as the regime will allow,” a May 2012 profile prepared by Paddy Craig, the chief custody officer at the International Criminal Court detention center reads.

Taylor also enjoyed playing tennis while incarcerated in The Hague.

For more information, please see:

Nigerian Tribune — War crimes: Charles Taylor secretly sent to UK jail — 16 October 2013

BBC News — Liberia’s Charles Taylor transferred to UK — 15 October 2013

IOL News — Taylor wants to serve time in Rwanda — 15 October 2013

ABC News — Documents Detail Charles Taylor’s Life Behind Bars — 14 October 2013