Africa

Bombing Kills Two During Quest for New Government

By Myriam Clerge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Eastern and Southern Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia– Late Wednesday evening, a suicide bomber drove his pickup truck, filled with explosives, into the army base on the Somali transitional federal government in the town of Baidoa. According to witnesses, two Ethiopian soldiers were killed as well as the bomber himself. The intended targets of the attack were the mainly Ethiopian soldiers stationed at the base. Ethiopian and government soldiers have been battling with Islamist insurgents since the overthrow of the Islamic government in December. Thousands of soldiers and civilians have died due to the relentless violence.

Following the attack, a Mogadishu based private radio station, Radio Simba, broadcast an interview with Sheikh Mukhtar Robow, an Islamist insurgent claiming responsibility for the attack. Robow is believed to be the number two military official of the former Islamic government. He is also believed to be the leader of insurgents at the forefront of near-daily attacks. Security forces of the transitional army surrounded the building and arrested the manager of the radio station, Abdullahi Ali Farrah, and a newscaster, Mahamed Farah Talyani. The journalists were later released but the radio station was closed.

The tremendous blast from the explosion rocked a nearby hotel, shattering several windows. Although Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Ghedi was staying at the hotel, he was not presumed to be the target. The Prime Minister set up the hotel as a temporary headquarter for the parliamentary session. He was not injured by the bombing. Prime Minister Ghedi has been meeting with supporters in Baidoa regarding the issue to dissolve the government. President Abdullahi Yusuf argues that constitutionally the government’s current term ends this month since it was formed in 2004. However, Ghedi argues that it should end in October 2009 since the charter was signed in 2006. Twenty-two members of Parliament have threatened to resign unless a vote of confidence in the government is held. The government is weak and has failed to implement several agendas. President Yusuf wants to hold the voting this week and assemble a new government.

For more information, please see:

Reuters: Africa – Somali Radio Staff Detained after Islamist on Air – 11 October 2007

Yahoo News – Suicide Bomber Kills 2 in Somalia – 11 October 2007

AllAfrica.com – Somalia: Private Radio Station Close, Two of its Journalists Arrested – 11 October 2007

Reuters: Africa – Suicide Bomber Strikes Near Somali PM, Kills 2 – 10 October 2007

BRIEF: Blocked Aid for Ogaden Region

BRUSSELS, Belgium- After reports of abuse and human rights violations as well as claims of genocide, the Ethiopian government has pledged to take action. Although the government has denied all allegations, mainly produced by the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONFL), it did however address the United Nations (UN) report released last month. The UN report did not address the claims by the ONFL, instead it focused on the deteriorating humanitarian conditions. Ethiopia’s constructive response to adhere to UN recommendation was commended by the European Union (EU).

However, humanitarian aid groups like Medecins Sans Frontiers and the International Committee of the Red Cross have accused Ethiopian authorities of denying them access to the region. On Tuesday, the EU urged the Ethiopian government to ensure that civilians in the area received the much needed aid.

For more information please see:

Reuters: Africa- EU Urges Ethiopia to Allow Aid to Ogaden Region – 9 October 2007

BRIEF: Wars in Africa Costing Billions

A new report released by Oxfam International suggests that conflict in Africa has cost the continent about $284 billion between 1990 and 2005.  During this same period, Africa received $279 billion in foreign aid from major donors.  The report states that the continent is losing $18 billion a year to conflict and that the average war shrinks a country’s economy by 15 percent.  Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf wrote in an introduction to the report: “The sums are appalling: the price that Africa is paying could cover he cost of the HIV and AIDS crisis in Africa, or provide education, water and prevention and treatment for tuberculosis and malaria…Literally thousands of hospitals, schools, and roads could have been built.”

For more information, please see:

CNN – African wars cost billions – 11 October 2007

USA Today – Wars cost Africa nearly $300B – 11 October 2007

Bloomberg – Wars Cost Africa Economies $284 Billion in 15 Years, Oxfam says – 11 October 2007

Ceasefire Ends in Sudan

By Elizabeth Costner
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan – The only rebel group to sign the 2006 peace accord has recently broken the ceasefire and resumed fighting with Sudanese troops.  The United Nations Mission in Sudan said a firefight took place on Tuesday between the Sudan Liberation Army faction of Minni Minawi and the Sudanese army near the north Darfur town of Tawila.

The Minawi faction threatened to take up arms again following an alleged government-backed attack in a south Darfur town in which more than 50 people were killed.  They further allege that the recent attack mainly targeted women, children, and the elderly.  The Sudanese army denied any involvement in the attack, and says the violence was the result of “tribal fighting between the citizens of the area.”

Minni Arcua Minnawi, the head of the SLA who became presidential advisor in Khartoum after he signed the 2006 peace agreement, has called for an international investigation into the attack. “We are committed to the peace and the ceasefire but we want the government to not repeat any action like this.”

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon released a highly critical report accusing Khartoum of failing to approve a list of troop-contributing countries for the hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping force approved in July.  Ban’s report also states that the UN was being prevented from obtaining land for offices and accommodation in Darfur and that there was an “unacceptable upsurge in violence.”

Violence has been increasing in Darfur in recent weeks, threatening the new peace negotiations scheduled to take place in Tripoli on October 27.  Ban stated in the recent report: “The ongoing loss of life and displacement of civilians is unacceptable and is not contributing to an atmosphere conducive for the peace talks in Libya.”

Minnawi is in Darfur ahead of the scheduled talks and is to meet with rebel factions who rejected last year’s deal.  Since the 2006 agreement, the rebels have split into more than a dozen factions and formerly pro-government militias have turned on each other.

Since the conflict began in 2003, more than 2 million have been displaced and at least 200,000 have died.

For more information, please see:

Reuters Africa – Dafur peace faction call for probe into attack – 11 October 2007

BBC – Sudan red tape delaying UN force – 11 October 2007

AFP – Darfur rebel group scraps ceasefire – 10 October 2007

Economist – The worsening violence in Darfur – 10 October 2007

AllAfrica.com – Darfur Attack ‘Targeted Women and Children’ – 10 October 2007

For more information on the Darfur conflict, please see the following Impunity Watch reports: African Union Peacekeepers Attacked in Darfur; Ongoing Conflict in Sudan; ICC Prosecutor Demands Arrests in Sudan; Secretary General Urges Sudan President to Commit to Ceasefire; Peace Talks on Darfur Scheduled for October; UN Secretary General Visits Sudan

Nigeria Marked by Corruption and Violence

By Meryl White
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria – Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released a report citing that the behavior of Nigerian government officials is marked by “corruption and violence.” HRW claims that politicians recruit violent gangs to offer assistance in their political campaigns by rigging elections, and terrorizing political opponents.

In parts of Nigeria, power players in the election campaign are referred to as “godfathers,” because they carry out illegal operations in order to get their friends and protégés into positions of power.  In return, the “godfathers” embezzle politicians by seeking monetary payments, control of resources, and jobs.

In the 2007 gubernatorial race in Anambra State, the power hungry candidate Andy Uba hired armed “cult” gangs to oversee the electoral process. The militant members ended up taking up a bloody battle in the streets of the state capital. Critics have compared Uba’s campaign organization to an “oil well” that was “tapped” by acts of violence.

HRW published a 123-page report, “Criminal Politics: Violence, ‘Godfathers’ and Corruption in Nigeria,” which documents Nigeria’s human rights violations and ramped corruption.  Moreover, it accuses leaders of benefiting financially and socially, at the expense of the general population. The report holds that “the impunity enjoyed by those responsible for these abuses that denies justice to its victims and is a roadblock to reform.”

An elder member of the Gombe tribe told Human Rights Watch that, “We are ruled by gangsters. The major source of criminal activity in Gombe is the politicians and their militias.”

While Nigeria is said to have “become mired in a state of crisis,” HRW believes that Nigeria’s newly elected president, Umaru Yar’Adua’s, may bring a brighter future for the country, as he has agreed to uphold the rule of domestic and international law.

For more information, please see:

VOA – Human Rights Watch Says Corruption Pervasive in Nigeria – October 2007

AllAfrica.com – Nigeria: Violence, Corruption Institutionalised – 9 October 2007

Human Rights Watch – “Criminal Politics: Violence, ‘Godfathers’ and Corruption in Nigeria” – 9 October 2007