By Ted Townsend
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya – At least 13 villagers were killed early Monday when dozens of people with assault rifles and machetes stormed a village in western Kenya. Among the dead were six children. Police in the area placed the blame on the Sabaot Land Defense Force, a militia group fighting for the redistribution of land in the Mount Elgon region in western Kenya. The victims were accused by the militia of not paying protection money, according to the police.

A National Police spokesman said the attack was in Embaski village, 300 miles northwest of Nairobi.  The village sees frequent, bloody clashes over land.

The militia reportedly shot some villagers, while others were burned alive in their homes. Eyewitnesses reported seeing a three-year old child hacked to death as he ran from his parents house and a pregnant woman burned alive in her own home.

The bloodshed in western Kenya was not necessarily linked to the chaos that has engulfed the country for months. However, land disputes were one of the major unresolved issues as power-sharing talks between the government and the opposition resumed in Nairobi.

Last week, the power-sharing deal was signed, ending months of turmoil that followed the disputed December 27, 2007 election in which over 1,000 were killed, and 300,000 more were left homeless. The committee in charge of the mediation talks will next work with “Agenda Four.” This covers, among other items, essential changes in law and the Constitution, and their application to disputes over land and wealth.

Former United Nations leader and Chief Mediator Kofi Annan left the country this week, after forty-two days of diplomacy. He left “confident Kenyans would finally have the peace they so much desired following the turmoil that saw community rise against another, leaving behind an unprecedented trail of blood, death, injury and destruction.” Annan paid tribute to both President Mwai Kibaki and opposition rival, Raila Odinga, for their leadership in coming to agreement. He added that the next phase of talks, led by a new mediator, Oluyemi Adeniji, were crucial especially as they pertained to land issues.

Annan urged Kenayns to support the agreement and hold their leaders to the promises made, believing long-term issues could be resolved within a year. Political negotiators for each side, however, expressed a desire to speed up their work.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Land clashes break out in Kenya – 3 March 2008

Associated Press – 13 dead in attack on Kenyan village – 3 March 2008

Reuters – Kenyan rivals see speedy resolution to crisis issues – 3 March 2008

allAfrica.com – Annan Leaves as Talks Team Tackle Agenda 4 – 3 March 2008

allAfrica.com – Annan Peace Deal – The Crucial Steps Ahead – 3 March 2008

By M. Brandon Maggiore
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

YAOUNDE, Cameroon – Ngarlejy Yorongar has reappeared in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, after disappearing 3 February when armed uniformed men took him into custody at his residence. Yorongar is a deputy in the Chadian assembly and was a candidate in the 2001 presidential election running against the Chadian president.

The seizure of Yoronger occurred during a government crackdown when rebels tried unsuccessfully to take power of the country. Another politician, former Chadian President Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh, is still missing. According to an e-mail received by Agence France Press (AFP) sent by a Chadian opposition representative in France, Yorongar said it would be a miracle if Ibni is alive after an alleged beating by the Chadian Presidential Guard.

Yoranger needed medical treatment upon his arrival in Cameroon according to Yorangar’s oldest son who spoke with Yoranger via telephone. The details of his release in Chad and his arrival in Cameroon are disputed at this time.

The Chadian government announced it would launch an investigation into the disappearance of the missing politicians and the coup attempt by the rebels. State run radio said it will create a commission “to investigate and produce information on people declared missing and into damage sustained by the state and the population in districts occupied by the forces of aggression.”  President Deby announced the creation of the international commission upon the termination of the visit of French president Nicholas Sarkozy. The commission will include representatives from the African Union, France, the European Union, and the organization of French-speaking nations. There is concern that the commission will not be neutral because it will be led by parliamentary speaker Nassour Ouaidou, a close aide to President Deby.

Chad will remain under a state of emergency until at least 15 March 2008. The state of emergency permits house to house searches and a crackdown on media outlets.

For more information, please see:

LeMonde.fr – Un des trois opposants tchadiens disparus réapparaît au Cameroun – 3 March 2008-03-03

AFP – Missing Chad opposition leader in Cameroon: sources – 3 February 2008

AFP – Chad opposition leader ‘safe abroad’; Ndjamena launches probe – 3 February 2008

Impunity Watch – Human Rights Groups Urge Chad to Release Suspected Prisoners – 27 February 2008

Yoranger.com – Biographie – accessed 3 March 2008

The United States has confirmed that it fired a missile at a terrorist target in southern Somalia near Dhoobley.  The strike near the Kenyan border in a region controlled by Islamists was a “known terrorist target” according to a U.S. official. The strike occurred during the night between March second and third. Residents next to the house targeted said that the house was totally destroyed and three planes were flying overhead. Residents in the town have fled or are staying under trees in fear that another strike might occur.

The U.S. has not confirmed any casualties but local officials state four people were killed. LeMonde reports that three strikes were made, two of which targeted residences. The U.S. conducted two strikes in Somalia in 2007 aimed at terrorist targets. The U.S. later confirmed that none of those targeted were hit. Local government officials stated that one-hundred people were killed in the January 2007 strike which targeted two targets.

For more information, please see:

CNN.com – U.S. official: Missiles fired at Somalia terror target – 3 March 2008

LeMonde.fr – Un raid aérien américain en Somalie aurait fait quatre morts, selon les chefs locaux – 3 March 2008

By M. Brandon Maggiore
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

ABYEI REGION, Sudan – Reports Sunday of fighting between Misseriya tribesmen and fighters from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) indicate 70 armed Arab nomads were killed in the oil-rich Abyei border region of Sudan. The actual number of dead and injured is disputed at this time.

The SPLM, a former rebel force, has shared power with the National Congress Party (NCP) since 2005. The SPLM governs the semi-autonomous Abyei region in southern Sudan. Eward Lino, spokesman for the SPLM , has accused the NCP of supporting the Misseriya in order to prevent the delineation of the border and prevent the countries census from taking place. The census is to start April 15^th and last two weeks. The census is necessary to prepare for Sudan’s first democratic election in twenty-two years.

The Misseriya claims the SPLM remains in their territory and stated that as long as the SPLM is in Misseriyan territory problems will continue.

This is the second clash in the region since the 21^st of December 2007. On that date, an Arab militia supported by Khartoum attacked an SPLA camp. One-hundred people were killed in that conflict.

The UN mission in Sudan is very concerned over the recent clashes and there is concern that the tensions, if not resolved, will threaten the 2005 peace agreement that ended the countries twenty-one-year north-south civil war in which two million people were killed. The civil war placed the Islamic Khartoum government against the largely animus and Christian rebels in the south.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Arab nomads dead in Sudan clashes – 2 March 2008

Reuters – Dozens killed as Sudan nomads clash with ex-rebels – 2 March 2008

LeMonde.fr – Des affrontements entre nomades et ex-rebelles font 78 morts au sud Soudan – 2 March 2008

By Ted Townsend
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor continued this week with the cross-examination of prosecution witness TF1-275 Foday Lansana (“Lansana”), a former radio operator for the Revolutionary United Front (“RUF”). As the examination continued,  Taylor was taken to the hospital for undisclosed reasons, where he remained a day for monitoring.  No further reports on his health were released, though it was generally understood that he was kept overnight strictly for monitoring. Though Taylor was out of the courtroom, he gave his consent to his defense counsel to continue with the cross examination of Lansana.

Defense counsel Morris Anyah (“Anyah”) conducted the cross examination of Lansana, first attacking the witness’s credibility claiming Lansana’s entire testimony was based on information he heard while imprisoned, and that “none of it actually happened.” Lansana denied this allegation, and stated that he experienced all of the things he spoke of in his direct examination.

Anyah continued to question Lansana on events, names and places that the former radio operator had testified about, attempting to establish that Lansana fabricated testimony. Most notably, Anyah questioned Lansana about his testimony relating to the “Coca Cola Factory” speech Taylor gave to the special forces, that Lansana purportedly witnessed. Anyah focused mainly on other documents, where Lansana claimed to have heard the speech over the radio. Lansana disputed this, saying he was present for the speech, but not when Taylor spoke on the phone with a correspondent at the BBC relaying the message from the speech. Prosecution documents placed Lansana at both locations, a fact the witness admitted was false.

The defense also focused their cross-examination on times when Lansana either “did not work as a radio operator or did not function well as such.” Other questions revolved around Lansana’s substandard performance and the activities of another Foday Lansana who was also working with the RUF.

After the cross-examination finished, Prosecutor Christopher Santora re-directed the witness clarifying the discrepancy in Lansana’s testimony regarding the Coca-Cola factory speech as well as other smaller details. The witness was then dismissed.

The court this week also determined that the next prosecution witness, witness TF1-362, will be examined in closed session.

Two other notable developments involving the trial occurred this week. First, Prosecutor Stephen Rapp (“Rapp”) announced that he was closing in on a 600 million dollar (400 millions Euros) blood diamond-haul that had been collected by Taylor. The prosecution would like to reclaim these assets, and “make them available to victims both in Sierra Leone and Liberia.” The funds would be used not only to pay the legal bills, but also to aid thousands of victims in the countries, intentionally mutilated by the rebels. Not all of these assets are officially in Taylor’s name, but the prosecution is working with a special team from the British government to bring them back.

Second, Varmuyan Sherif (“Sherif”), a former bodyguard for Taylor who testified earlier in the trial has gone into hiding after receiving multiple threats relating to the evidence he gave.  Rapp said rocks were thrown at Sherif’s home, and a threatening letter was sent to his brother. Sherif and his family have been temporarily relocated, until it is safe for them to return. United Nations officials and local police are investigating the threats.

Sherif testified that Taylor smuggled arms, cash and communications equipment to the militia.

Taylor has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from actions during Sierra Leone’s ten-year war, which ended in 2002. The charges against him include rape, murder, torture and enlisting child soldiers.

For more information, please see:

allAfrica.com – Taylor Taken to Hospital But Proceedings Continue – 27 February 2008

allAfrica.com – Charles Taylor Taken for Medical Attention – 27 February 2008

The Trial of Charles Taylor – last accessed 1 March 2008

Associated Press – Taylor witnesses being threatened – 28 February 2008

AFP – War crimes prosecutor has Taylor blood diamond haul in sights – 29 February 2008

Impunity Watch – Update on Charles Taylor Trial – 23 February 2008