By Jonathan Ambaye
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

Kivumo, Rwanda – Gregoire Ndahiman, accused of being responsible for the killings of over 2,000 ethnic Tutsis, has been sent from the Democratic Republic of Congo to a United Nations-backed tribunal.  Ndahiman, the former Mayor of the small Rwandan town of Kivuma has been detained in the DR of Congo since being arrested in August during an attempt to capture Rwandan rebels in North Kivu, located in the eastern part of the DR Congo.

In April of 1994 attacks began to take place against Tutsis who resided in the Kivuma communes along with those in other parts of Rwanda. Ndahiman is alleged to have been responsible for the specific attacks that took place against the Tutsis in Kivuma. It is reported that Ndahiman participated in several meetings with local church and government officials regarding the genocide that would eventually take place.  It is alleged that at these meetings the order was given to have all of the Tutsi citizens from the Kivuma commune brought to a church in the Nyange parish.  While held in the church reports indicate Ndahiman ordered that the church be destroyed, killing all of the Tutsis who were held in it.

Ndahiman will be tried in Arusha, Tanzania at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The court has indicted him for genocide, or complicity in genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, and crimes against humanity.  Many see Ndahiman’s transfer to Tanzania as an encouraging sign of improved relations between the DR Congo and Rwanda.

Relationships have been strained since the Rwandan Genocide, after many of the Hutu Rebels responsible for the deaths of thousands of Tutsis fled to the DR Congo, sparking years of unrest between both countries. Rwandan leadership believed that the DR Congo was not being cooperative in Rwanda’s attempts to bring the Hutu’s responsible for the genocide to justice. However after years of tension between the two countries, earlier this year they began working together to neutralize rebel groups in both countries.  Many are hopeful that Ndahiman’s transfer will begin a trend towards a better working relationship between the two countries.

For more information, please see:

BBC – DR Congo Deports Genocide Suspect – 20 September 2009

VOA – DRC Forces Capture Major Rwandan Genocide Suspect – 13 August 2009

TRIAL – Gregoire Ndahimana – 12 August 2009

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

JUBA, Sudan – On Sunday, tribesman attacked a south Sudan village, overwhelming the soldiers who were guarding the settlement and killing roughly 72 people.

A group of fighters from the Lou Nuer ethnic group attacked Duk Padiet village, which is inhabited by the Dinka Hol Tribe.  Kuol Diem Kuol, a southern army spokesman, said this was not a raid for cattle and resources, this was a militia attack against security forces.

“They overran our company plus the youth of the village,” he said.

Kuol believes that those who raided his village are the same group of Lou Nuer fighters who attacked the Jonglei village of Wernyol last month killing 40 and wounding 64.

This year alone, more than 1,200 people have been killed in the numerous ethnic clashes that have taken place in the oil-producing region.  Many of the victims have been women and children.  Linked to long-running feuds over cattle rustling, and fueled by a ready supply of guns the conflicts continue to take the lives of many innocent people.

Politicians in Southern Sudan have accused northern Sudan rival tribes of raiding their country side with the intention of spreading instability just before the national elections.  Regardless of any northern interference, southern Sudan is made up of a patchwork of rival ethnic groups who have been fighting over grazing land, cattle, and other resources for some time.

The national election is due next year and southern Sudanese will be voting in a referendum to decide whether to secede from the north in 2011.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Scores killed in South Sudan Clashes: Official – 21 September 2009

BBC – Dozens Die in South Sudan Attack – 21 September 2009

Press TV – Dozens Dead in Separate Sudan Clashes – 21 September 2009

Reuters – Armed Tribesmen Attack South Sudan Villagers, Soldiers – 20 September 2009

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Charles Taylor has denied that he commanded the release of peacekeepers, but rather that he conveyed the international community’s message.

“It’s a lie.  I did not command him.  The only thing I did on the UN situation was to tell Issa Sesay to release those people and to release them unconditionally,” Taylor said.  “I told him the concerns of the international community and that if they did not release the peacekeepers, the international community will come down on them like a hammer.  The whole issue was not my decision.”

A witness testified that RUF (Revolutionary United Front) rebels abducted UN peacekeepers in 2000 and the hostages were eventually handed over to the UN in Liberia after Taylor ordered Sesay, Sierra Leonean rebel leader, to release them.  The witness also testified that Taylor was not sincere in his commitment to bring peace to Sierra Leone.

Taylor also denied giving Sesay arms and ammunition to take back to Sierra Leone.

Although a witness testified that in 1997 a Liberian rebel known as Jungle said he picked up weapons from Taylor’s White Flower residence, Taylor testified that his residence was never used to transport weapons.

“Nobody ever picked up weapons from White Flower.  Nobody ever picked up a single weapon there, not even Benjamin Yeaten,” Taylor said.  “I say he is lying.  He must be confused.  In fact, White Flower does not exist in 1997.  I moved into that building in January 1998.”

Taylor also denied allegations that he backed and controlled RUF rebel leader Foday Sankoh during the country’s 11-year war.  Taylor maintains that his last correspondence with Sankoh was in May 1992 so there was no way that these allegations could be true.

It was admitted that there was a possibility that some of Taylor’s NPFL (National Patriotic Front of Liberia) could have been in contact with some of Sankoh’s “Special Forces” but that if he had any knowledge of it he would have put it to a stop.

“If I had known that any senior operator was in contact with Sankoh, he would have been removed and punished,” Taylor testified in front of the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

The court will be observing the Islamic holiday Ramadan on Monday.  Taylor’s testimony will resume on Tuesday.

For more information, please see:

CharlesTaylorTrial.com – Taylor Did Not Have Any Contact With RUF Leader Foday Sankoh After May 1992, He Says – 17 September 2009

CharlesTaylorTrial.com – Taylor Refutes Rebel Radio Operator Evidence – 16 September 2009

CharlesTaylorTrial.com – Nobody Ever Transported Weapons From Taylor’s White Flower Residence to RUF Rebels in Sierra Leone, He Says – 15 September 2009

CharlesTaylorTrial.com – Taylor Did Not Command RUF to Release UN Hostages, Only Conveyed A Message From the International Community, He Says – 14 September 2009

Impunity Watch – Charles Taylor Still on Stand Defending His Actions – 12 September 2009

by Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia – On Thursday, Islamist rebel group al-Shabaab vowed that the movement will continue terror attacks on foreign targets, and that they are calling on foreign militants to join them in their radical efforts.

The commando operation, allegedly by the U.S., that killed kenyan-born Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan in southern Somali on Monday has triggered an angry response from the Al-Shabaab, who are fighting the nation’s U.N.-backed government.  Nabhan was believed to be a central operative for the global terrorist group al-Qaeda and responsible for a 2002 bombing and attempted shooting of an Israeli jet.

Even though the raid may have gained valuable counter-terrorism intelligence, it may have risked igniting the already intense “anti-western” opinion in the country.  This attitude has been fostered by the al-Shabaab who Washington says is al-Qaeda’s proxy in Somalia.

Now the rebel group is calling out to foreign countries for Muslim religious warriors to come and participate in their war.

“We call for all Muslim fighters in the world to come to Somalia,” said Sheikh Mahad Abdikarim, commander of al-Shabaab forces in the Bay and Bakol regions . . . “If Burundians and Ugandans, who are not Muslims, are allowed to stay in Somalia, who can refuse our Muslim brothers to join us in the struggle?” he asked.

Sources say that Monday’s use of helicopter-troops has marked an apparent change in the U.S. military’s tactical approach.

Al-Shabaab, along side other Islamic opposition fighters, has pushed the pro-government forces back to Mogadishu.  Here the two sides are engaged in ongoing street battles as the opposition attempts to take over the current administration of President Sharif.

So far, the fighting has killed more than 18,000 civilians since the start of 2007.  In this time,  Somalia has become a safe haven for militants, including foreign jihadists, who are plotting attacks within the region and in foreign locations.

For more information, please see:

Daily Nation – Al-Shabaab Vows More Terror Attacks – 18 September 2009

Reuters – Somali Rebels Call fo Foreign Reinforcements – 16 September 2009

VOA – Al-Shabab Asks Foreign Fighters to Come to Somalia – 16 September 2009

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NEW YORK, United States – Although the United Nations estimates that the number of child soldiers has fallen to 250,000 from 300,000 worldwide five years ago, Radhika Coomaraswamy, UN Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, said this is a “terrible year for children in armed conflict.”

In a report to the UN Human Rights Council, Coomaraswamy detailed he grave situation that children and child soldiers face in the conflicts around the world.  She said that the toll on children and the people in general is especially high in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) and the Central African Republic (CAR), as well as many Asian countries.

Children in DR Congo caught in the fighting between government troops and Hutu rebels has led to a large number of children being killed and maimed.

“The nature of conflict is changing and civilians are increasingly on the frontline.  The toll on children is more brutal than ever,” she said.  Adding, “Children, many of them are used as suicide bombers as well as fighters… But, we also have a situation where large numbers of children are arrested and detained in the counter-terrorism activity.  And, this is of concern to us.  We also are concerned about collateral damage that often results with child victims.”

Child soldiers have already been released in Chad and Burundi earlier this year, while there are children in CAR that are set to be released this year.

Prior to the release of Burundi children, the number of cases rape and sexual violence, abduction and detention of children and child recruitment by the Forces Nationales pour la Liberation (FNL) rebel group increased.  Although the children have been released in Burundi, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says that a climate of impunity still exists for violators of children’s rights there.                                   

The Secretary General called on authorities to investigate and prosecute cases in a “rigorous and timely” manner in order to “redress impunity for crimes against children.”  He also called on the relevant governments to come up with a comprehensive strategy “that ensures an end to impunity through the prosecution of perpetrators and that takes measures to provide support for girl and boy victims of sexual violence.”

The Security Council Working Group may consider taking a trip to Burundi in the coming months to survey the situation and monitor the country’s progress.

For more information, please see:

AllAfrica – Burundi: Tackling Impunity for Violators of Child Rights Next Step for Burundi, Says Ban – 18 September 2009

Relief Web – Tackling Impunity for Violators of Child Rights Next Step for Burundi, Says Ban– 18 September 2009

UN News Centre – Tackling Impunity for Violators of Child Rights Next Step for Burundi, Says Ban – 18 September 2009

Manila Bulletin – UN Warns of ‘Terrible Year for Children’ – 17 September 2009

VOA – UN Report Describes ‘Terrible’ Year for Children in Armed Conflict – 16 September 2009