By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter,  Africa

JOS, Nigeria – Over two hundred young men have been placed under arrest for the killings that took place in the villages of Dogo Nahawa, Zot and Ratsat.

The young men are being kept in dark cells ripe with sweat and urine.  Senior officers believe there will be more arrests made and that the cycle of killing and revenge is not over.

The surviving villagers remain huddled in fear.   An elderly man spoke out that they are undefended because those who raided the village can come back at any time.  While driving into the village reporters passed only three police men and there were no military checkpoints.

Nigeria’s military has recently come under fire because of their roll in the violence.   Many accuse the local military of failing to act on early warnings of violence.  The commander of the task force fights the accusations insisting that they were not told of the killings until after they occurred.

“This community would never like to see a military man again.  The youths are angry, because they did not take action in good time,” said Chief Gabriel Chyang, the community leader of Dogo Nahawa as he gestures to fresh mounds of dirt over the grave sites.

After a visit to the village, police chief Ogbonna Onovo vowed to hold divisional police officers (DPO) responsible for future incidents.

“We will provide more logistics and incentives to the police in Plateau State for the effective maintenance of law and order in the state,” he said.

Additionally, Onovo stated that more police stations will be opened in the region.

United States Secretary of State Hilary Clinton called on the Nigerian government to ensure that the perpetrators of the violence are brought to justice under the rule of law and that “human rights are respected . . . .

According to  the State Department’s annual rights report, Nigerian national police forces have committed extrajudicial killings and “used lethal and excessive force to apprehend criminals and suspects.”

For more information, please see:

AFP – Police Chief Visits Violence-Hit Nigeria State – 12 March 2010

AFP – US embassy Slams “Horrific” Nigerian Massacre – 12 March 2010

BBC – No End to Nigeria Cycle of Violence – 12 March 2010

The Punch – Jos: FG Investigates Allegation Against Army – 12 March 2010

By Kylie M Tsudama

Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Former Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo’s war crimes trial has been postponed.

Bemba faces charges for murder, rape, and pillaging that occurred from October 2002 to March 2003 in the Central African Republic (CAR).

The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced Monday that the trial, scheduled to start April 27, has been pushed back to July 5.  Last month, Bemba’s lawyers challenged the admissibility of his case in the ICC based on the complementarity principle.  The ICC only has authority to try cases when it does not interfere with any national proceedings.

Bemba’s defense team also called the ICC proceedings “an abuse of process in the case against Mr. Bemba,” and questioned the ICC’s “lack of the requisite level gravity,” believing that the case is not serious enough to be heard in the ICC.

The Office of the Prosecutor and victims’ legal representatives have until March 29 to make submissions to the Court and the CAR and DRC authorities have until April 19 to respond.  A status conference is scheduled for April 27 where the trial chamber will consider all submissions alongside oral submissions made at the conference.  The trial chamber will then issue a decision.

Last summer, the ICC pre-trial chamber found that Bemba had the “necessary criminal intent” when he ordered the Movemenr de Liberation du Congo (MLC) into CAR.  It also determined that the MLC armed group committed war crimes and crimes against humanity under Bemba “acting as military commander” during that mission.

Bemba was arrested in Belgium and transferred to the ICC in July 2008.  Last September, the Court reversed a decision granting Bemba a temporary conditional release, deciding that he would remain in the custody of the Court until the trial’s commencement.

This is one of four cases being investigated by the Prosecutor of the ICC.  Bemba is the most senior political figure in the Court’s custody.

For more information, please see:

AP – Bemba War Crimes Trial Delayed – 08 March 2010

Relief Web – Commencement of the Trial of Jean-Pierre Bemba Postponed Until 5 July 2010 – 08 March 2010

UN News Centre – ICC Postpones Trial of Former Congolese Leader Charged with War Crimes – 08 March 2010

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

JOS, Nigeria – Renewed violence between Christians and Muslims leaves hundreds of women and children dead in the streets.

The attack occurred around  3 a.m. in the Village of Dogo Nahawa, just south of Jos.  Villagers reported that men from the surrounding hills raided their village and started shooting into the air, then slashed those who came out of their homes with machetes.

“A senior police chief said the perpetrators of this attack came in from Bauchi state.  [He said] the fighting exploded between herdsmen from Bauchi and villagers,” said Yvonne Nedge, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Abuja.

There is conflicting information about how many have been killed.  Some are reporting only eight casualties, and others report hundreds.

At this time, it is not absolutely clear exactly what triggered the violence.  Some reports describe the incident as an act of religious violence.  Jos lies at the crossroads of Nigeria’s Muslim north and predominantly Christian south.

In the years prior to this attack, Jos has had four major violent incidents between Muslims and Christians.  January marks the most recent incident that lead to the death of over 325 people.

This unrest comes at a bad time for Nigeria.  The acting president Goodluck Jonathan has been struggling to rule while Umaru Yar’Adua, the countries leader, recovers from a heart condition.   On going conflicts surrounding the oil rich region have also sparked repeated violence over the past decade.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Scores Killed in Nigeria Clashes – 7 March 2010

AP – Reporter:  More than 200 Dead in Nigeria Violence – 7 March 2010

AP – Scores Killed in Nigeria Violence – 7 March 2010

Reuters – Clashes Kill More than 100 in Central Nigeria – 7 March 2010

VOA – At Least 109 Dead in Central Nigeria Violence – 7 March 2010

By Kylie M Tsudama

Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan – A joint African Union-United Nations patrol was ambushed on Friday while on patrol in Darfur.  A total of 60 men were abducted.  The patrol included police and military from UNAMID, the UN Mission in Darfur, and was headed to the Jebel Marra region where there have been recent clashes.

“Although the mission had received assurances by belligerents that the UNAMID patrol could carry out its task,” armed men ambushed the patrol and held them overnight, said officials.  They were taken to a nearby settlement before being released on Saturday morning.

The attackers released the peacekeepers with their three armored personnel carriers but kept all other vehicles and equipment.

“It was then they found [out] two peacekeepers were unaccounted for,” said UNAMID Communications Chief Kemal Saiki.  “We don’t know their whereabouts or how they came to be missing … Did they flee during the ambush trying to make their way back to base? We don’t know.”

The identity of the attackers is still unknown.

“The only thing we know for sure is that it happened in an area that the [Sudan Liberation Army] was claiming under its control.  But that does not signify anything,” Saiki said.  “We are putting all our efforts into trying to determine (the two peacekeepers’) whereabouts.”

The United Nations continues to call for peace in Darfur, calling on all parties not to disrupt ongoing peace efforts.  The government and JEM (the Justice and Equality Movement) have already reached a “cessation of hostilities” agreement in an effort to help end the conflict.

“UNAMID strongly condemns this unprovoked attack on its peacekeepers who were carrying out an important security and humanitarian mission for the benefit of the people of Jebel Marra,” a UNAMID statement said.

At least 300,000 people have been killed and another 2.7 million have been driven from their homes in the past seven years of fighting.

For more information, please see:

The Nation – Darfur Mission for Respected Thai Peacekeepers – 07 March 2010

AFP – Two Darfur Peacekeepers Missing After Abduction: UN – 06 March 2010

Reuters – Two Peacekeepers Missing After Darfur Ambush – 06 March 2010

UN News Centre – Darfur: Two Peacekeepers Missing After Ambush on UN-African Union Patrol – 06 March 2010

By Jared Kleinman

Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan — Weeks of fighting in parts of Darfur have raised concern over the plight of civilians, as insecurity has prompted humanitarian agencies to suspend activities in some areas.

More than 10,000 are thought to be displaced as a result of the recent clashes, but the United Nations says the ongoing insecurity is preventing humanitarian aid from reaching much of the affected civilian populations.

OCHA spokesman Sam Hendricks commenting on the recent fighting said, “It’s been confirmed in our reports that there were clashes between government forces and rebel groups. And where we don’t have reliable information, there is really nothing that we can say at this stage,” Hendricks said.

In these recent clashes, the rebel Sudan Liberation Army, Abdel Wahid Nour faction (SLA-Nour), which refuses to join peace talks with the Sudanese government until a full cessation of hostilities is implemented, has accused government forces of attacking its positions east of Jebel Marra.

“There were random air attacks on villages,” Al-Sadeq Al-Zein Rokero, an official with SLM-Nour faction, said. “The situation is very tragic. This may be the most violent attack by the Sudanese armed forces.”

However, Sudan’s army spokesman, Al Sawarmi Khaled, denied there had been any government military action. “The armed forces are present in the area to preserve order. They did not clash with Abdel Wahid’s forces.”

The US State Department cast doubt on this denial in a statement expressing extreme concern “about reports that Government of Sudan forces are conducting offensive operations against … [SLA-Nour] positions in the Jebel Marra area of Darfur that have reportedly caused significant civilian casualties, displacement, and the evacuation of humanitarian organizations”.

The statement called on both parties “to refrain from further violence and to allow the Joint African Union-UN Mission in Darfur access to Jebel Marra to assess the humanitarian situation and restore stability”.

French aid group, Médecins du Monde (MdM), the only medical NGO in the Deribat area in eastern Jebel Marra, was forced to suspend operations after attacks last week. In the towns affected by the fighting – Marra, Kidingeer, Leiba and Fugoli, Feina and Deribat – three other NGOs suspended operations because of insecurity and fighting, Hendricks said.

“The situation is very bad. We are really concerned,” said Jerome Larche, head of MdM’s Sudan programme. The population no longer had access to any medical facility, Larche said.

Malnutrition, which the French aid group was addressing, and access to clean water were among the main problems for the population in the area, Larche said.

“After the fighting started, we had reports that six children died from malnutrition complications. The rate of acute malnutrition is going to increase if we cannot go back to the area soon,” Larche said.

In anticipation of urgent needs, the World Health Organization and NGO partners have pre-positioned emergency health supplies for transfer to Kulbus hospital.

To date, more than 300,000 are thought to have died in the Darfur conflict, although Khartoum rejects these figures.

For more information, please see:

Voice of America – Darfur Peace Talks Threatened; Clashes Continue – 3 March 2010

News 24 – UN: No Darfur disaster – 3 March 2010

All Africa – No Access After Darfur Clashes – 3 March 2010