By Daniel M. Austin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

TUNIS, Tunisia– By Saturday morning, the ousted President of Tunisia,  Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali had safely landed in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah. Even with the President’s departure, violent clashes between government security forces and protesters continue to take place in cities throughout Tunisia.

President Ben Ali had been the ruler of Tunisia for the past 23 years but ceded power after weeks of unrest culminating with an enormous rally in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. The President was officially removed from power on January 14 and subsequently fled the country. News of President Ben Ali’s departure spread quickly and protesters flooded the streets to celebrate.

The power to run the government of Tunisia was transferred from Mr. Ben Ali to the Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi. However, Mr. Ghannouchi held the interim presidency for only a couple of days as mob rule set in. Responding to continuing violence, the Constitutional Council dumped Mr. Ghannouchi and installed the speaker of the lower house of parliament, Mr.  Foued Mebazaa as the interim President until elections can be held later this year. The Constitutional Council claims that elections for a new President will be held in six to seven months.

The political unrest that swept President Ben Ali out of power began several weeks ago. The unrest was punctuated by a university graduate, Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire in front of a government building on December 28, 2010. He was protesting working conditions and high unemployment in Tunisia. Since this incident there have been numerous demonstrations calling for the government to fix the high level of unemployment. The Tunisian government has met these acts of civil disobedience with a mix of political maneuvers, including the sacking of an interior minister along with tighter security measures. In at least one incident, security forces fired on protesters using live ammunition. Clashes between protesters and security forces have left dozens dead or injured.

In response to the worsening political situation, security forces have stepped up patrols and instituted a curfew throughout the country. The strong showing of force is an attempt to rein in the looting and violence that is occurring.   

For more information, please see:

 Al Jazeera — Tunisia situation volatile – 16 January 2011

 BBC Africa — Tunisia: Many dead in jail unrest after Ben Ali exit – 15 January 2011

CNN International – What’s going on in Tunisia? – 16 January 2011

Reuters — Tunisia tries to form coalition, shooting on streets – 15 January 2011

By Daniel M. Austin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NIAMEY, Niger -On Thursday, a spokesman for al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, claimed responsibility for the abduction of two French nationals from a restaurant in Niamey, Niger’s capital.  The abduction, which occurred on January 7, ended when French Special Forces and Niger security personnel assaulted a convoy of vehicles containing the hostages. The hostages, along with several others were killed in the struggle. French government officials have not determined if the hostages were killed by the kidnappers before the firefight began or during the skirmish itself.

The two Frenchmen, Antoine de Leocour and Vincent Delory were forcibly removed from the eatery after two white pick-up trucks pulled up and the kidnappers stormed the restaurant. The two vehicles then left the Niger capital and began heading north towards the Mali-Niger border. It is believed that the convoy was headed to a region in southern Mali where AQIM has several hidden base camps. As the vehicles were reaching the border Niger security forces caught up to the kidnappers. The initial assault was conducted by Niger security forces and then French Special Forces arrived by helicopter and began shelling the vehicles from the air. According to the French government, the convoy’s movement was being monitored by French spy planes and Niger military personnel as it traveled towards the Mali border.

The firefight left both hostages dead along with four kidnappers and two men dressed in Niger military uniforms. It remains unclear if the two men wearing the military uniforms were killed in a friendly fire incident or were working with AQIM to help the kidnappers escape. Among the hostages, one was shot in the face at close range while the other died from burns, possibly when a gasoline storage tank exploded after being hit by a bullet from the French military.

Along with this incident, AQIM has claimed responsibility for kidnapping several other foreigners in the Sahel region. The Sahel region is an area that includes parts of Niger, Mali, Mauritania and Algeria. Authorities believe that AQIM has kidnapped and is holding five French citizens, a Togolese and a Madagascan in northern Mali. These individuals were kidnapped in September 2010 from Arlit, a uranium mining town in northern Niger.

For more information, please see:

AFP — One French Niger hostage burnt, other shot — 13 January 2011

AP — Report: al-Qaida claims Niger kidnapping — 13 January 2011

BBC Africa — Al-Qaeda claims responsibility for Niger kidnappings — 13 January 2011

The Telegraph — Al Qaeda claims kidnap of French hostages in Niger – 13 January 2011

By Laura Hirahara
Impunity Watch, Africa

KINSHASA, DR Congo- Government soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) have been accused of the New Year’s Day mass rape in Fizi of over a dozen women.  The coordinated attack also left many more injured and included the looting and burning of several town homes and businesses.  A spokesperson for the military, Vianney Kazarama, has confirmed that eight soldiers have been arrested in connection with the attack.  Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has stated that thirty-six individuals were treated for rape at the Fizi hospital and the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) clinic in Fizi.  U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said that among the suspects in custody, all are government soldiers and at least one is a ranking officer.
Rape as a weapon of war has been prevalent in DR Congo and under-reporting makes it difficult to track.  Of the almost 16,000 cases of war rape reported in 2008, 65% of those were children, most of them girls.  Unmarried women who are raped face being ostracized in their communities and are seen as undesirable for marriage.  Married women who are raped are routinely abandoned or divorced by their husbands.
This attack highlights a pattern of rape and looting by soldiers in DR Congo.  Last month, a Congolese military commander was ‘blacklisted’ by a U.N. Security Council committee for orchestrating mass rapes in the eastern regions of the country.  Several months prior, during the summer, hundreds were raped by Rwandan Hutu rebel forces and the Congolese troops who were fighting them.  Nicholas Kristoff, New York Times Reporter on human rights violations in Africa and Asia, has said of the human rights violations occurring in DR Congo, “…no humanitarian crisis generates so little attention per million corpses, or such a pathetic international response.”

For more information, please see;

AFP– DRCongo Troops Blamed For Rapes, Looting in Sud-Kivu– 12 Jan., 2011

Reuters Africa- Congo Soldiers Held Over Alleged Rapes, Looting- U.N.– 12 Jan., 2011

AllAfrica.com- Rape.  Re-rape.  Gang Rape.  But, Really, Who Cares?– 12 Jan., 2011

By Daniel M. Austin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

ARUSHA, Tanzania – On Thursday, January 6, Tanzanian security forces shot and killed two anti-government protesters at a political rally in the northern city of Arusha. Along with killing two protesters, security forces also arrested nearly fifty people including ten prominent anti-government leaders who belonged to the Chadema party, one of the nation’s main opposition groups.  The leaders were taken to a police station, charged with unlawful assembly and then released after making bail. 

The arrests came after members of the Chadema party began an unauthorized march protesting the most recent mayoral election in Arusha. Security forces had permitted the Chadema party to hold a meeting in the city; however, when the meeting turned into a protest march, the police stepped in and prevented the march from continuing. During the police intervention several leaders of the Chadema party were arrested and detained. Reacting to the arrest of their party leaders, several marchers attempted to storm the police station where their leaders were held. In the process, security forces shot into the gathering crowd, killing two people. Eventually security forces regained control of the police station and sealed off the area. The rest of the city was unaffected by this incident and continues to operate normally.

The clashes that took place in Arusha stem from political strife between the ruling CCM party and the Chadema party.  The Chadema party, which has a strong presence in Arusha, believes the mayoral election was rigged to favor Tanzania’s ruling CCM party.

Among the opposition leaders arrested were Chadema Chairman Freeman Mbowe and Secretary General of the Chadema party Willibrod Slaa. Mr.Slaa,  the leader of the Chadema party, had made an unsuccessful run for president of Tanzania in 2010. He ran against the sitting president Mr. Jakaya Kikwete, a member of the CCM party. The election, which was held on October 31, was plagued by low voter turnout, corruption, and numerous allegations of voter fraud.  After his victory, Mr. Kikwete promised to curb the power of opposition groups like the Chadema party.  Coincidentally the arrest of Mr. Slaa occurred several days after he made comments calling for Mr. Kikwete to step down because of a scandal involving energy contracts.

For more information, please see:

 AFP — Police kill least two at Tanzania protest – 7 January 2011

The Citizen – 2 Killed, Dozens hurt in Chadema protests – 6 January 2011

BBC Africa — Tanzania police kill two in Arusha at Chadema protest – 6 January 2011

Reuters – Tanzanian police kill two rioters, seize leaders -6 January 2011

By Laura Hirahara
Impunity Watch, Africa

FIZI, South Kivu, DR Congo– On New Year’s Day, approximately thirty-three women were raped during an attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the small town of Fizi, located in the eastern region of South Kivu.  The organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported that at their hospital in Fizi, fourteen women were treated on January 3rd, and another nineteen the following day.  Two more individuals were transferred to Baraka Hospital, 32 km to the south.  One had been beaten in the head with a rock and the other was suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest.  Annemarie Loof, an official with MSF, said of the attack, “Women had been restrained with ropes or beaten unconscious with the butt of a gun before being attacked, some in front of their children.”

Violence between the residents of Fizi and the Congolese army (FARDC) had been escalating in the days before the attack after a boy in Fizi was fatally shot during an argument with two soldiers.  Later, residents of the town beat one of the soldiers to death.  Despite these clashes with the FARDC, none of the reporting agencies have confirmed who carried out the New Year’s Day attack.  In a statement made to Reuters AlertNet, Katrien Coppens, the  operations manager for MSF DRC stated, “Unfortunately it is a feature of the war in DRC but … this massive scale (of rape) in one day in a relatively small town is very shocking.”

Rape is a common weapon of war in the DR Congo and according to the U.N., 15,000 women were raped in Eastern Congo in 2009.  During that same year, MSF provided medical and psychological care for 5,600 rape victims in the North and South Kivu region.  As high as these numbers are, MSF and other humanitarian groups believe many more cases are unreported.  Last September the U.N. harshly criticized the Congolese government for failing to prevent a mass rape that took place between July 30 and August 2 and left 303 civilian victims in the Walikale region of Congo’s North Kivu province.  This attack, carried out by Rwandan and Congolese soldiers, occurred within a mile of a U.N. peacekeeper base.  The International Medical Corps. reported that during an attack on the town of Luvungi and five neighbouring villages, husbands were forced to watch their family members being raped while some victims were dragged into the forest.  After this most recent attack in Fizi, many fear the Congolese government is not doing enough to end war rape.  In the MSF report on Fizi, Loof said, “MSF is extremely concerned about the current situation in and around Fizi.  People are fleeing the area fearing further violent attacks.”

For more information, please see;

MSF- Press Release: MSF Treats Victims of Mass Rape on New Year’s Day in DRC– 6 Jan., 2011

CNN- Women Raped in Mass Attack in Congo, Humanitarian Group Says– 7 Jan., 2011

Reuters AlertNet- Gunmen Carry Out New Year Gang-Rape in Congo-MSF– 7 Jan., 2011

Guardian.co.uk- More Than 30 Women Raped and Beaten in DR Congo Attack– 7 Jan., 2011