By Meryl A. White
Impunity Watch Reporter, Western and Central Africa

NIGER DELTA, Nigeria – During a clash between the Nigerian navy and suspected militants in the Niger Delta, two people were killed. The attack occurred near a Shell oilfield.

This attack follows the five-month ceasefire against workers of the oil industry. The ceasefire was an attempt for armed groups in the area to abandon their weapons and seek discussion with the Nigerian government.

The militant group called the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has refused the option of ceasefire.

In a MEND email, the militant group stated “The attack was to again prove to the oil majors and the Nigerian government that the presence of the Nigerian military in the Niger Delta cannot deter an attack nor provide protection to oil facilities when we decide to attack them.”

Since January 2006, more than 200 oil workers have been kidnapped by armed militants and criminal gangs in the oil rich region. These militants want more of the oil revenues to be spent on developing infrastructure in local poverty stricken communities.

Currently, criminal gangs take advantage of Nigeria’s oil state, as it allows for targeted kidnapping of wealthy and political individuals. According to journalist, Tony Tamuno, “It is all about cash; criminals have taken over,” he said. Conversely, other militants take hostages in an attempt to gain more political rights.

The “commercialization” of kidnappings has lead to much instability in the region. The abductions as a whole have been a major detriment to Nigeria’s oil export industry, as it has cut oil production by one quarter. More than 150 foreigners have been seized in 2007 alone.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Nigerian Navy in Deadly Oil Clash – 31 October 2007

Reuters Africa – Nigeria says stability in Niger Delta improving – 1 November 2007

Reuters Africa – Nigerian Militants Attack Navy Vessel, Kill One – 1 November 2007

Impunity Watch – Gunmen in Nigeria Seize Chief’s Son – 13 July 2007

Impunity Watch – Twelve Hostages Released in Nigeria – 12 June 2007

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – Just two months after a United Nation report predicted an acute food shortage, Ethiopia’s Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency reports that over 20 % of children in the Ogaden region are malnourished.   

The Ethiopian government has promised to ensure that humanitarian aid and food reach the people of the region. However, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONFL) has accused the government army of blocking access to the region thereby causing a man-made famine. Although the Ethiopian government has denied allegations of discrimination, neglect, and abuse, in early September the humanitarian group Medecins sans Frontieres complained that the government denied them access to the region. The ONFL has been fighting for the region’s sovereignty since 1984.

The arid region is the center of rebel attacks, and recent climate change has made the region almost uninhabitable. Livestock, water and grain are scarce. The lack of food and medical supplies is quickly turning the critical situation to a humanitarian emergency. 

The Ogaden region, which borders Somalia and Ethiopia, is not the only vulnerable area. According to a report by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), all pastoralist children in the Horn of Africa are at risk. The region includes parts of Eritrea, Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya.

For more information, please see:

BBC- Child hunger ‘crisis’ in Ogaden – 30 October 2007

AllAfrica.com – East Africa: The Pastoralist Way of Life – A Fragile Future for Millions of Children – 30 October 2007

For more information on the Ogaden region, please see the following Impunity Watch reports: Claims of Genocide in Ethiopia ; BRIEF: Blocked Aid for Ogaden Region

By Elizabeth Costner
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

OTASH CAMP, Sudan – Recent reports state that Sudanese officials have been pressuring people to leave refugee camps in the Darfur province over the past weeks.  United Nations officials have said that the regime has resorted to forcibly loading some civilians onto trucks to clear them out. 

This week, UN officials announced that they have evidence Sudanese government forces were chasing refugees out of at least one camp, Otash, which houses 60,000 people on the outskirts of Nyala, south Darfur’s capital.  John Holmes, the UN humanitarian chief said in a statement: “Given that security forces were threatening the displaced with sticks and rubber hoses at Otash camp, the involuntary nature of this relocation is clear.”  UN officials say this “dangerous precedent” could jeopardize ongoing Darfur peace talks, currently taking place in Libya. 

Observers say Sudan hopes to empty the camps before January when the joint United Nations-African Union force of 26,000 peacekeepers is scheduled to deploy. 

Sudanese officials have admitted they want the camps to close because they have become too big, squalid and dangerous and have made the refugees too dependent on humanitarian aid.  They deny however that any one is being forced to leave, and dismissed such allegations as “more than fabrications” aimed at “distracting attention from the Sudanese government’s announcement of a unilateral ceasefire to accompany the peace talks.” 

Most Darfur refugees agree that conditions in the camp are poor but insist they have nowhere else to go, since their home villages are still too dangerous while the war between the rebels and the government continues. 

Since the conflict began in 2003, an estimated 200,000 people have died and more than 2 million have been displaced.

For more information, please see:

AP – Sudan Tries to Clear Out Darfur Refugees – 31 October 2007

International Herald Tribune – Sudan government strives to force Darfur civilians out of refugee camps – 31 October 2007

BBC News – Darfur camp eviction ‘fabricated’ – 30 October 2007

Guardian Unlimited – Darfur refugees forced out by troops, UN claims – 30 October 2007

For more information on the Darfur conflict, please see the following Impunity Watch reports: Peace Talks in Darfur Begin Without Rebels; Upcoming Peace Talks in Sudan in Jeopardy; New Atrocities in Darfur; Ceasefire Ends in Sudan; Ongoing Conflict in Sudan; Peace Talks on Darfur Scheduled for October 

The International Criminal Court’s third annual report to the United Nations, covering the period of 1 August 2006 to 1 August 2007 is now available.   The Prosecutor continued to investigate and prosecute the situations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Sudan, and the Central African Republic.   At the end of the reporting period, six warrants of arrest were still outstanding – two regarding the situation in Darfur, and four regarding Uganda.  The warrants for persons related to the conflict in Uganda have been outstanding since July 2005.   

Download icc_20062007_report.pdf

By Meryl A. White
Impunity Watch Reporter, Western and Central Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria – Patricia Etteh, Nigeria’s House of Representatives Parliamentary Speaker, has resigned after being found guilty of awarding contracts worth five million to refurbish houses and buy vehicles. Records show that Mrs. Etteh bought twelve cars and renovated her and her deputy’s residence.

President Umaru Yar’Adua, who promised zero tolerance on corruption, did not want to intervene in this situation. This affair has gripped the attention of the nation and has become a huge embarrassment for the President. Yesterday, President Umaru Yar’Adua stated that he would not make Speaker Etteh resign from the office.

The scandal surrounding Etteh became so controversial this month that a pro Etteh MP collapsed and died at Parliament.

The Odu’a Youth Leader’s Forum (OYLF) called for Etteh to resign and for the speaker pro tempore to preside over the Idoko panel report. Moreover, members of the House threatened to impeach Etteh if she did not step down from her position.

Just today, the lower house elected Terngu Tsegba, from the opposition party as the acting speaker. Mr. Tsegba will preside over the Iroko debate, which is expected to last for one week. In the near future, the Nigerian Parliament will hold an election to replace Mrs. Etteh.

For more information, please see:

All Africa – Nigeria: I Will Not Ask Etteh to Step Down – Yar’Adua – 30 October 2007

BBC- Nigeria speaker goes in graft row – 30 October 2007

All Africa – Nigeria: They Offered Me Bribe – Etteh – 22 October 2007