Impunity Watch Reporter, Central and Western Africa

NIGER DELTA, Nigeria- A U.S. aid worker, Judith Asuni, and two German film makers, Florian Alexander Opitz and Andy Lehmann, have been arrested in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta on charges of “espionage and terrorism.” The German nationals without a government clearance have been filming masked youths from the Ijaw region in the Niger Delta. The Germans were preparing a possible TV documentary about the string of violence in the oil rich region. The Germans were detained last week by the State Security Service.

Judith Asuni has lived in the Niger Delta for 36 years. The United States embassy has released the following statement, “All we know is that Judith Asuni is a peace worker who got funding from academics and international donor agencies to work for peace in Nigeria.” Asuni is in charge of an organization called Academic Associate Peace Work as organization that conducts mediations between the government and militant groups and encourages disarmament In the past, she has organized workshops with the Nigerian police on conflict management.

Asuni was arrested for giving assistance to the German filmmakers. Now all three suspects face accusations of carrying out an act of terrorism against the Nigerian government. Addo Mwazu stated, “The lady is suspected of espionage by exploiting the situation in the Niger Delta.” Other people believe that the arrests were a result of the Nigeria’s fear of the embarrassment following the worldwide release of the documentary.

While members of the government may be uncomfortable with the German filmmaker’s work, Port Harcourt journalist Ibiba Don Pedro believes that these filmmakers “are playing a crucial role in getting information out about the region’s problems.”

The U.S. embassy is presently in touch with Nigerian officials. Meanwhile, Germany’s ambassador to Nigeria has rejected the charges that the Germans are spies and terrorists. German officials insist that the two filmmakers are only journalists.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Nigeria arrests foreign ‘spies’ – 28 September 2007

VOA – American Peace Worker, 2 Germans Detained as ‘Spies’ in Nigeria’s Niger Delta – 29 September 2007

Afriquenligne – Germans arrested in Nigeria are not spies’ – 29 September 2007

Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan – The United Nations Security Council held a summit yesterday, chaired by France’s president Nicolas Sarkozy, aimed at strengthening and mobilizing the international community in working with African Union representatives to map out concrete goals and a plan of action.  Heads of State and government from the 15 Security Council members, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and AU Commission Chairperson Alpha Oumar Konare took part in the debate that largely focused on the ongoing conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region.

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution early Tuesday morning approving a European Union-AU peacekeeping force to be sent to Chad and Central African Republic to deal with the spillover from the Darfur conflict.  The resolution, says the “multidimensional presence” of EU and UN forces should protect civilians, help the governments in Chad and the Central African Republic deal with refugees, and assist in the delivery of humanitarian aid.  The resolution authorizes the force to remain for an initial period of a year and states that the UN should plan on and create a UN peacekeeping force to replace it.

Meanwhile, efforts to get rebel leaders to agree to meet for peace talks next month have proven difficult.  On Tuesday, rebel leader Khalil Ibrahim said that he will continue fighting during the upcoming peace talks until a final settlement is agreed on.  Despite the intense international pressure to end the fighting, the rebel leaders continue to refuse to agree to a cease-fire during the peace talks.  Ibrahim stated that ceasing fire is a “termination of the resistance and revolution” and that he refused to do so until a lasting peace agreement was made.

In 2006, the three rebel groups negotiated a truce, which the government allegedly violated.  Only one of the rebel groups singed that agreement, and many in Darfur have rejected it as inadequate.  Since those talks, the rebels have split into more than twelve rival groups.

Currently, the U.S. is the only country on the Security Council that has labeled the Darfur conflict a genocide.  More than 200,000 people have died and 2 million have been displaced.

For more information, please see:

Reuters UK – Darfur rebel leader says no truce for talks – 26 September 2007

Relief Web – UN Mission in Sudan News Bulletin – 26 September 2007

AFP – US, France back peacekeeping forces to Darfur, Chad – 25 September 2007

Blooomberg – Bush, Citing Darfur ‘Genocide,’ Demands Cease-Fire – 25 September 2007

AllAfrica.com – Sudan: Echoes of Genocide in Darfur, Eastern Chad – 25 September 2007

According to the Ugandan army spokesman Major Felix Kulayigye, his soldiers have been trained on issues of human rights and the reports of witness accounts have been fabricated.

In spite of this denial, the army has demanded the names of soldiers implicated in the allege abuses. Margaret Sekaggya, the chairperson of the Uganda Human Right Commission, did not comment as to whether the names would be submitted. Instead Sekaggya is urging the Parliament to set up an independent committee to investigate allegation of human rights violations.

In the meantime, Uganda is in a state of emergency. Severe rainfall has caused the worst flooding in three decades. Eighteen different countries in Africa and more that 1.8 million people have been affected. Uganda has been hit the hardest. 500,000 people have been displaced and in need of humanitarian assistance and local leaders place the number of dead at 45. To make matter worst fresh rain has complicated efforts to reach those in need. Without air transport to delivery food and drugs, many villages are cut form society; the people are left to the mercy of disease and starvation.

For more information, please see:

AllAfrica.com- Uganda: Army Demands Names of Soldiers in Rights Abuse –  21 September 2007

Human Rights News- Uganda: Army Abuses Civilian in Plan to Secure Karamoja – 11 September 2007

Yahoo News (AP)-  NGO Says Ugandan Army Abuses Civilians – 11 September 2007

Yahoo News- Fresh Rain Hampers Aid Delivery in Flood-hit Uganda – 23 September 2007

Yahoo News- Floods Plunge Uganda Displaced in Further Misery – 22 September 2007

Gabriel de Brosses, the military spokesman for MONUC, the United Nations peacekeeping force in DRC stated that “the fighting started early in the morning Monday and afterwards MONUC sent in heavy patrols to monitor the situation and some of the fighting resumed this morning,”

Army commanders have withdrawn from the area in order to meet strict orders from President Joseph Kabila that only allow soldiers to use defensive and not offensive force. Presently, the Congolese government is attempting to provide a peaceful solution to this violent situation.

According to Colonel Delphin Kahimni, government forces were attacked on three fronts in the North Kivu province. Presently, President Kabila declines to negotiate with the armed rebels.

According to Muzong Kodi, a DRC analyst with London-based Chatham House, believed that the DRC government has handled the situation poorly by not negotiating with the rebels. Kodi stated, “Nkunda is going to try as much as possible to force the government to the negotiating table, which the government is not going to want-otherwise they will lose face and there is a lot of pressure from the politicians in the area and a large portion of the population not to negotiate with Nkunda.”

During this year alone, more than 300,000 people have been displaced in the DRC. Many of the refugees flee from General Nkunda’s troops. In a site located twelve miles west of Goma, more than 10,000 people are being housed in camps. The United Nations refugee agency reports that over 4,000 people were seen arriving to those camps just this week. The conditions in the sites are very poor. Thousands of people live in crowded areas, while others squat in school buildings.

For more information, please see:

VOA news: Fighting in DRC Challenges Ceasefire 25 September 2007

VOA News: Displaced DRC Citizens Relocate Amid Lull in Fighting 24 September 2007

BBC: Rebel breaks DR Congo ceasefire 25 September 2007

For more information, please see:

BBC News – New Force to head to Chad and CAR – 25 September 2007

AFP – UN endorses sending peace force to Chad, CentAfrica – 25 September 2007