By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

BANGUI, Central African Republic – The UN believes at least 10,000 troops will eventually be required to end unrest in Central African Republic (CAR), the French UN envoy said.

Yesterday, the UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution allowing European troops to use force and threatening sanctions against those blamed for the country’s strife.

The European Union is to send up to 600 troops to help African and French forces in the country to try and end clashes between rival Christian and Muslim militias.

Almost one million people (a quarter of the population) have been displaced by fighting since the mostly Muslim Seleka rebel group seized power in March last year in the majority Christian country. At least 2,000 people have been killed.

The African Union force is eventually intended to reach 6,000 troops while France now has 1,600 soldiers in place.

The UN resolution also allows for asset freeze and travel ban sanctions against the ringleaders of groups blamed for massacres and human rights abuses. It did not name initial targets.

Ambassador Gerard Araud described the situation in CAR as “very, very dire.”

Araud said the African Union force in the country, intending to reach 6,000 troops, “is considered now too low because frankly the situation is very, very dire and the country is huge.”

He said the resolution was a “new stage” in efforts to help CAR out of the strife in which thousands are feared killed and more than 900,000 people have fled their homes.

Security council members have been alarmed by the vicious cycle of vengeance between Muslim and Christian militias in CAR, said the BBC’s Nada Tawfik in New York.

The United Nations had warned that the conflict in the landlocked former French colony could spiral into genocide.

CAR’s interim President Catherine Samba-Panza said on Tuesday that she had written to the UN to call for the African peacekeeping force to be transformed into a larger UN operation. She said the violence had continued despite the presence of African and French forces.

“It means that the number of troops is insufficient to restore and ensure security for the population,” she said.

On Monday, UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said the situation was getting even worse despite the inauguration of a new leader last week.

A day after reports, at least 13 people were killed. Eleven people were killed in the violence on Tuesday and 26 others were wounded.

“It’s really quite a challenge because there is an incredible amount of resentment and hatred between the two communities,” Aurad said.

He also said that transforming the African force into a UN operation would bring guaranteed funding and an experienced civilian component to help rebuild CAR’s state institutions, which have basically disintegrated.

CAR is rich in gold and diamonds but years of unrest and poor governance have left most of its 4.6 million people in poverty.

For more information, please visit:
BBC News – Central African Republic: UN ‘may need 10,000 troops’ – 28 January 2014
The Peninsula – UN backs EU force, sanctions in Central Africa – 29 January 2014
Yahoo! News – Central African Republic wants U.N. force as EU troops OKed – 28 January 2014
AFP – UN backs EU force in Central Africa amid troops push – 28 January 2014
Japan Today – U.N. backs EU force in Central African Republic – 29 January 2014
The Guardian – UN backs force, sanctions in Central Africa Republic – 28 January 2014

 

By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter

KAMPALA, Uganda – A British man who was facing charges in Uganda of possessing a gay sex video is to be deported, a court has ruled.

Bernard Randall, a 65-year-old retired man from Kent, denied a charge of trafficking obscene publications.

Uganda’s government passed the anti-gay legislation in December, punishing homosexuality with life in prison. The President blocked the bill, saying not enough members of parliament were present to ensure a fair vote.

The President can refuse a bill before parliament can force it into law without his consent.

Judge Hellen Ajio has ordered Randall deported within the next 12 hours.

An official from the prosecutor’s office said Randall was being deported because he had “kept on corrupting Uganda’s youth” and had not renewed his visa at this time.

“Lies!” reported Randall, although his lawyer said the ruling would not be appealed.

Randall’s lawyer asked for Randall to have at least five days before leaving the country.

Randall first appeared in court in Uganda in November, would have faced a possible two-year prison sentence if found guilty.

He was charged alongside his friend Albert Cheptoyek, 30, a Ugandan national with whom Randall shares a home with.

Cheptoyek denied the more serious accusation of “acts of gross indecency.”

If Cheptoyek is found guilty, he could serve a possible seven year sentence in prison.

Officials at the court said police would accompany Randall to his home and allow him to collect his personal belongings before escorting him to the airport.

The trial took place in Entebbe, just outside the capital, Kampala.

Cheptoyek told BBC that Randall was being held in the court’s cells awaiting his deportation.

BBC’s Catherine Byaruhanga said Cheptoyek still stood as the trial against both men had not officially started.

Randall was put on trial after thieves stole a laptop from his home.

On the computer was stills of Randall with another man, which were then published in the notorious homophobic tabloid newspaper Red Pepper.

Randall has come out as homosexual after the recent death of his wife of 40 years.

For more information, please visit:
BBC News – Uganda gay sex case Briton Bernard Randall to be deported – 22 January 2014
Gay Star News – Uganda to deport British man on trial for gay sex video – 22 January 2014
The Sun Daily – Uganda court orders deportation of Briton in gay sex case – 22 January 2014
Herald Sun News – Gay Briton Bernard Randall to be deported from Uganda after private pictures stolen – 22 January 2014
Google – Uganda court orders deportation of Briton in gay sex case – 22 January 2014

 

By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan – More than 200 civilians in South Sudan have drowned in a Nile ferry accident while fleeing fighting in the town of Malakal, an army spokesman told the BBC.

Women and children were among the victims in the disaster.

About 350,000 people have been displaced due to the fighting between the South Sudanese government and rebel forces, the UN reported.

Malakal, the gateway to the oilfield of the Upper Nile region, has been allegedly captured by the rebels.

The army spokesman denies this. Instead, the spokesman claims that the rebels have been pushed back after heavy fighting in the city of Malakal.

“The reports we have are of between 200 and 300 people, including women and children. The boat was overloaded,” Philip Aguer, another army spokesman, told AFP.

“They all drowned. They were fleeing the fighting that broke out again . . . .”

The fighting has caused many people in South Sudan to seek shelter elsewhere; hence, why so many people were on the boat that sank. However, many report that they cannot even afford to escape because they do not have the money to pay to get on the boat.

Many people use the river to escape.

One refugee reported to BBC that he had to borrow money in order to escape. He paid 150 Sudanese pounds, equally 66 dollars.

Recently, over 9,000 people have arrived at the UN base in Malakal seeking shelter. This number nearly doubles the number of people who have been seeking shelter.

Talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in South Sudan are currently taking place in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.

This violence stems from December 15. The clash has been between loyalists to the President Salva Kiir and soldiers backing Riek Machar, Kiir’s former vice-president.

President Kiir is a member of South Sudan’s largest ethnic group, while Machar is from the second largest ethnic group.

The clash between the two groups has seen mass killings along ethnic lines.

The UN has reported that it estimates more than 1,000 deaths since the fighting has begun on December 15, only one month ago.

For more information, please visit:

BBC News – South Sudan Nile ferry sinks with more than 200 dead – 14 January 2014
Now.media – South Sudan Nile ferry sinks with more than 200 dead – 14 January 2013
Lehigh Valley Business – World: South Sudan Nile ferry sinks with more than 200 dead – 14 January 2014
Democratic Underground – South Sudan Nile ferry sinks with more than 200 dead – 14 January 2014
Lebanese Republic – South Sudan Nile ferry sinks with more than 200 dead – 14 January 2014
Obuoba FM – South Sudan Nile ferry sinks with more than 200 dead – 14 January 2014

 

By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

TRIPOLI, Libya – Libya’s deputy industry minister has been shot dead during a visit to his hometown of Sirte, east of the capital of Tripoli.

Local media quoted officials as saying unknown gunmen “sprayed bullets” at Hassan al-Droui near a central market.

The minister was shot several times.

“They opened fire from another car while he was driving, he was shot multiple times,” an official said, asking to remain anonymous. “Later, they found explosives attached to his car. The theory is, the bomb failed, so they shot him instead.”

The anonymous official blamed Islamist militants who have been trying to extend their influence in Sirte, which has been more stable recently than the coastal capital of Tripoli.

The minister, al-Droui, was a former member of the National Transitional Council, the political arm of the 2011 uprising. He was appointed to his role by the transitional government’s first prime minister and kept his position when Ali Zeidan took over.

Since the collapse of Gaddafi’s autocratic regime, Libya has been plagued by sporadic violence, including a string of assassinations targeting top army and security officials.

The motive behind the killing, however, is unclear.

There is speculation that the assassins were from the self-styled Abu Bakr Unis Jabr brigade, who are supporters of the former regime.

Although Libya has seen continued violence and lawlessness since the 2011 uprising, the killing is the first assassination of a member of Libya’s transitional government. Most assassinations have been of members of the military or police.

Separately, a health official in Libya said 15 people were killed in clashes between two tribes in the country’s south. The fighting is pitting the al-Tabw tribe against the Awlad Soliman tribe in the city of Sabha. A local leader said on Saturday that the fighting was sparked by the killing of a guard of the city’s military leader, a member of the Awlad Soliman group.

The violence is the worst between the tribes since they struck a ceasefire agreement in March 2012.

Southern Libya thrives on the business of smuggling contraband goods as well as human trafficking, a BBC correspondent says.

Many of the clashes between the tribes there are rooted in competition over smuggling routes.

For more information, please visit:

BBC News – Libyan cabinet minister Hassan al-Droui killed in Sirte – 12 January 2014
Yahoo! News – Gunmen assassinate Libyan deputy industry minister – 12 January 2014
menafn.com – Libyan Deputy Industry Minister Killed in Sirte – 12 January 2014
Telegraph – Libya’s deputy industry minister shot dead – 12 January 2014
International Business Times – Libyan Cabinet Minister Assassinated During Hometown Visit – 12 January 2014
The Guardian – Libyan government minister shot dead – 11 January 2014

 

By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya – At least six people have been killed and several injured by a grenade attack on a bus in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, the interior ministry says.

The blast hit the 32-seater near the Eastleigh suburb, which is home to thousands of ethnic Somalis.

Nairobi police chief Benson Kibue said a suspect was being questioned over the attack on Saturday.

“We lost two of the victims in hospital where about 30 others are still admitted,” Kibue said. “We now have six people dead out of the incident.”

Police were trying to determine whether the powerful explosion was caused by a grenade or an impoverished explosive device and whether it was placed on the bus, carried by a passenger or flung from outside.

The blast hit several cars near the bus, killing at least one of the motorists, according to witnesses.

No group has claimed responsibility yet for the attacks.

One witness, Peterson Mwaura, said, “I was passing waiting for the traffic to clear so I can cross, then I hear a loud explosion and metals and other pieces from the vehicle were flying all over the place, and people shouting.”

“I ran back. People were crying for help, they were screaming, but the one lying here (at the scene) appeared to have died on impact.”

Kenya has been the scene of multiple terrorist attacks since the country sent its military to Somalia in 2011 to fight the extremist Somali militant group al-Shabab.

Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the Westgate attack, saying it was in retribution for Kenya’s involvement in Somalia. The group, which is linked to al-Qaida, had threatened large-scale attacks for years, and it has said more will be carried out unless Kenya withdraws.

Kenya has been grappling with its large population of Somali refugees since the Westgate attack, with government officials announcing plans to speed up their return home. Nearly 500,000 Somali refugees live in Kenya, most of them in the sprawling Dadaab refugee settlement near the Somali border.

In the last several years, Somali refugee camps, particularly in Dadaab, have been hit by a spate of blasts by grenades and other improvised explosive devices.

“The attack is an unfortunate and cowardice incident which will not be tolerated,” the interior ministry said on its Twitter account, appealing for information from the public.

Police said the bus had been close to a girls’ school when it was hit.

Late on Friday, at least one person was killed and three others seriously wounded when twin explosions rocked the Kenyan town of Waji near the border with Somalia, police said, indicating it was likely the work of al-Shabab insurgents or their sympathizers.

Also near the border with Somalia, gunmen on Tuesday killed eight Kenyans, including five policemen, in an ambush.

Another policeman is missing following the attack.

For more information, please visit:

BBC News – Nairobi bus hit by deadly grenade attack – 14 December 2013
South China Morning Post – Death toll from Nairobi bus blast rises to six: police – 15 December 2013
The Christian Science Monitor – At least 3 killed in Kenya minibus attack – 15 December 2013
International Business Times – Six Dead in Nairobi Bus Attack – 15 December 2013
Time World – Explosion Inside Kenya Minibus Kills at Least 4 – 14 December 2013