By Meryl White
Impunity Watch Reporter, Western and Central Africa

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo – According to the charity, Save the Children, the fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has resulted in an increase in child abductions by rebel groups. While the conflict has forced about 800,000 people from their homes, only about 800 children have been freed from armed militias during 2007.

The Congolese director for Save the Children, Hussein Mursal, has described the situation for children and teenagers in eastern DRC to be “catastrophic.” Militant groups have been forcibly capturing children as young as age ten to fight in the front lines. The UN claims “that rape, pillage (and) the recruitment of child soldiers are practiced by all Nord-Kivu fighters.”

Kemal Saiki, a spokesman for MONUC, the UN mission to DRC said “Our latest information shows 200 pupils were forcibly recruited on December 17, with school materials and ID cards being burnt.”

General Nkunda has reported that he is not interested in using child soldiers to fight against Rwandan Hutu rebels who threaten the DR Congo’s Tutsi population.  Nevertheless, reports show that Nkunda’s men have been responsible for taking children from Tongo. 

Presently, Nkunda has called for a ceasefire in an attempt to undertake internationally sponsored peace negotiations in Goma that will take place on January 6, 2008. Currently, 20,000 government soldiers with the help of United Nations forces are fighting 4,000 Nkunda loyalists.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Child Kidnap Surge in DR Congo   – 24 December 2007

BBC – DR Congo: Voices of Violence – 17 October 2007

VOA – DRC Rebel Leader Calls for Ceasefire   – 26 December 2007

AFP – UN slams Congolese rebel child soldier recruitment   – 26 December 2007

By Myriam Clerge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Eastern and Southern Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Kidnapped French journalist Gwen Le Gouil was released on Monday after influential negotiations between the kidnappers, elder clan members and governmental officials. Le Gouil was kidnapped on December 16 after arriving in Bossasso to film a documentary on mass refugee smuggling. Although the kidnappers demanded $70,000 (£35,000) for Le Gouil release, the police report that no ransom was paid.

Following the release of Le Gouil, two medical aid workers were kidnapped on Tuesday in the Puntland region, the same place the Le Gouil was kidnapped. Once known for its stability, Puntland, a port town of Bosasso, has been the center of recent kidnapping, hijacking and piracy.

Both aid workers worked for Medicin San Frontieres (MSF) in Bosasso. The regional spokeswoman based in Kenya for MSF, Susan Sandars, has identified the abducted female staffers as Mercedes Garcia, a Spanish doctor, and Pilar Bauza, an Argentine nurse.

The two women were ambushed in their car by a gang of six gunmen as they were driving to a hospital in Bossasso. According to the driver of their vehicle, the gang blocked the road, and ordered the driver and translator out of the car, after beating up the driver the gang abducted the women.

Earlier today the Somali security forces surrounded the kidnappers. According to Puntland Trade Minister Abdishamad Yusuf Abwan, two kidnappers were captured following an exchange of gunfire. The women however were not rescued. Police suspect the women and remaining kidnappers are being holed up in the mountainous area of Puntland. However, the police report that the region is surrounded.

Like in the case of Le Gouil, who was released in good health after eight days, Somali kidnappers are known to treat their captives well, since they are viewed as investments for an expected ransom return. Captives are almost never inflicted with serious injury or killed.

For more information please see:

Yahoo News (AP) – Somalis Corner Aid Workers’ Abductors – 26 December 2007

AllAfrica.com – Somalia: Aid Workers Kidnapped in Puntland, Ransom Paid for French Reporter – 26 December 2007

Reuters: Africa – Police Corner Somali Kidnappers of Aid Workers  – 26 December 2007

BBC – Kidnapped Newsman Free in Somalia – 24 December 2007

ALEG, Mauritania – Four members of a French family on vacation have been shot dead in Mauritania. Two children are among the dead. Presently, the father is receiving treatment in Aleg hospital.

The attack has been viewed as suspicious given that Southern Mauritania is relatively stabile democracy. The gunmen approached the family while they were having a picnic on the side of the road, and demanded money. Once the money was handed over, the gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons, and then escaped the scene.

The primary suspects of the robbery are three men suspected of links to a regional al-Qaida terror network. Judge Moustapha Ould Said told The Associated Press that “this was a grave terrorist act committed by dangerous criminal terrorists.”

The Interior Ministry of Mauritania said that it “regrets and condemns this criminal act that contradicts our values of tolerance”.

Today, Mauritania is one of the world’s poorest countries. However, given its stability, many nationals have hopes for future prosperity based on oil and natural gas sales.

For more information, please see:

BBC-  Tourists shot dead in Mauritania – 24 December 2007 

Guardian – Mauritania Seeks 3 in Tourist Killings  – 25 December 2007

Times Online – Al-Qaeda link to gang that killed tourists on picnic in danger zone – 26 December 2007

KHARTOUM, Sudan – Alpha Oumar Konare, the head of the African Union Commission, called on Sudan’s government today to facilitate the deployment of a joint AU-UN peacekeeping force to Darfur.  He also called on the rebels to rejoin the peace process. 

The current AU peacekeeping force has had problems keeping the peace and Darfuris have been asking for international protection for five years.  A joint AU-UN peacekeeping force was approved in July, but the government has been repeatedly accused of purposely causing delays.    Deployment has finally been agreed to and the AU force is due to hand over power to a 26,000-strong peacekeeping force on January 1. 

Konare stated that the handover is not the end of the African Union force, known as AMIS, “but the beginning of a new phase of hybrid force.”  He called on the Khartoum government to help with the logistics of the operation.

For more information, please see:

AFP – AU chief appeals to all sides in Darfur conflict – 24 December 2007

Reuters – African Union urges Sudan to facilitate Darfur force – 24 December 2007

By Elizabeth Costner
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia – 100 peacekeepers from Burundi deployed to the Somalia capital today, only hours after fighting between Islamist rebels and government forces killed at least four civilians.   The deployment of additional peacekeepers has been repeatedly delayed, and the 1,600 Ugandan troops who began work in March have been in desperate need of support.  The peacekeeping force is meant to be at a strength of 8,000. 

Burundi’s government pledged 1,700 troops that were scheduled to deploy in July, but the deployment was repeatedly delayed.  An army spokesman said the rest of the contingent of two battalions of 850 soldiers each should be on the ground within the next two weeks. 

The Ugandans have been restricted to guarding Mogadishu’s sea and air ports and presidential palace, and providing security for top government officials.  Their limited numbers have been unable to stop the increased fighting in the capital, which has led to the deaths of many civilians.  Just last night fierce battles broke out when Islamist insurgents attacked government troops and their Ethiopian allies.  A mortar shell landed in a home, killing two people and another resident was killed in crossfire. 

Somalia has faced lawlessness since 1991 when warlords ousted military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.  There have since been 14 attempts to restore effective rule but the latest has been weakened by the Islamist-led insurgency.   

On Saturday the African Union’s Peace and Security Council issued a statement describing the Somalia conflict as one of the most serious challenges for peace and security on the continent.  The statement called on the international community to provide greater political will and resources.  The fighting has killed an estimated 6,000 people and displaced more than a half million residents. The AU Peace and Security Council have agreed to meet again in mid-January to discuss future plans for the Somalia peacekeeping mission before it expires. 

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Burundi troops join AU in Somalia – 23 December 2007

Reuters – Burundi Peacekeepers deploy in Somali capital – 23 December 2007

International Herald Tribune – 5 Somalis killed in overnight attack; Burundian peacekeepers deploy in Mogadishu – 23 December 2007

VOA News – African Union: Somalia Conflict Threatens Peace and Security in Africa – 23 December 2007

Reuters – AU seeks fresh initiatives to end Somali conflict – 22 December 2007