By Kylie M Tsudama

Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

Red Cross Sees Food Crisis in Zimbabwe

HARARE, Zimbabwe – According to the Red Cross, nearly 2.2 million people are in need of food aid.  That number is set to rise due to expected food shortages caused by the poor harvest this year.

Because of poor rains, many crops did not harvest soon enough.  At least eleven percent of the maize crop planted in the 2009/2010 season has been “declared a complete write-off,” according to agency reports.  Maize is a staple crop in Zimbabwe.

“In some parts of the country, the food situation is as bad as many of our volunteers and staff have ever seen it,” said Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society Emma Kundishora.  “In Masvingo, for example, the rains didn’t come in time and the crops have already died.”

In December 2009, the International Red Cross appealed for 38.4 million Swiss francs (33.2 million US dollars) to continue its food operations.  The group is short, however, nearly $25 million.

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe blamed the new farmers for the bad harvest, saying that they failed to obtain the proper irrigation for their crops.  Mugabe’s critics, however, blame the President because of land reforms that took white-owned farm lands and gave them to black people “to resettle blacks kicked off their land during British colonization.”  Critics believe that the reforms caused the best lands to be unharvested and gave farmlands to people who were unprepared to harvest them.

The food crisis is especially hard for those that are sick, especially those with HIV.  People affected with the virus are more needy for the nutrients in food, which keep their strength up.

“Hunger is an especially brutal experience for these people. In recent years, for example, we have seen many people default on their anti-retroviral treatment because the drugs are too toxic without food,” Kundishora said.

Zimbabwe was once called “the breadbasket of Africa,” offering much of the country’s food supply.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Two Million Need Food Aid in Zimbabwe: Red Cross – 11 March 2010

CBC News – Failed Harvest Deepens Zimbabwe Food Crisis – 11 March 2010

VOA – Red Cross Says 2.2 Million Zimbabweans Need Food Aid as Poor Harvest Looms – 11 March 2010

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