By Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan – Seven UN peacekeepers, all Tanzanian, were killed in an attack in Darfur by an unidentified rebel group, while seventeen people were injured, Sunday at 9:00 am.  This has been the worst single attack in Sudan for the past five years.  Many blame government-linked militia for this ambush.

The peacekeepers were part of the UN African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), which started in 2007.

“We don’t have any doubt that the act was done by government militia, because militiaare deployed in Khor Abeche area,” said Abdullah Moursal, spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Army’s Minni Minnawi faction.  “This area is completely under government control.”

The authorities denied suggestions from local sources that the attack appeared to have been planned and carried out by government-linked forces.

However, a humanitarian source expressed doubt that rebels would have carried out the attack on UNAMID.  “When people are killed, probably it’s more militia,” he said, asking for anonymity from AFP.   “The only thing they will do in future is to make sure they stay safe, rather than investigating anything.”

But UNAMID chief Chambas blamed inter-ethnic fighting for most of the violence.

The attack occurred when police and military personnel were on patrol, moving between bases.

Spokesman Christopher Cycmanick said the incident happened as the peacekeepers were on patrol about 16 miles west from a second base in South Darfur.  Mr. Cycmanick told the BBC a large group of armed men had attacked the peacekeepers and there had been an intense exchange of gunfire. He said it was not yet known who the attackers were.

UN leader Ban Ki-moon was outraged about the killings.  Ban sent “deepest sympathies” to the families of the dead and the Tanzanian government.

“The secretary general was outraged to learn of a deadly attack on peacekeepers in Darfur which occurred this morning,” said UN spokesman Martin Nesirky.

“The UNAMID team came under heavy fire from a large unidentified group. Following an extended firefight, the patrol was extracted by UNAMID reinforcements”, a statement from WORLD said.

About 50 UNAMID members have now died in hostile action since the mission began in late 2007. Before Saturday’s attack, six peacekeepers had been killed in Darfur since October.

An estimated 300,000 people have been displaced by violence in Darfur this year; more than in the last two years combined.

 

For further information, please visit:

The Daily Star — Militia behind deadly Darfur peacekeeper ambush: rebels — 14 July 2013

WORLD — Seven UN peacekeepers killed in Darfur ambush –14 July 2013

KBC — UN peacekeepers killed in Darfur — 14 July 2013

BBC News — UN peacekeepers killed in Sudan’s Darfur — 13 July 2013

msn news — Seven peacekeepers killed in Darfur ambush  — 13 July 2013

Yahoo! News — Seven peacekeepers killed in Darfur ambush — 13 July 2013

 

By Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo – 30,000 refugees flee the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to neighboring Uganda after a rebel attack.  Al-Qaeda linked  rebels, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), killed and also kidnapped some people, while others crossed into Uganda to save their lives.  This attack raises fears of a renewed campaign and a refugee influx.

“We heard rumours there were rebels coming but we did nothing,” Evaketi Tibalumanya, a Congolese Refugee, told Al Jazeera, holding one of her nine children in her lap.  “Then they came by surprise at night.  They caught a person and killed him.  We escaped death because we ran away.”

Ugandan army spokesman Paddy Ankunda stated that troops have been sent to reinforce positions along the border with Congo.

“We have deployed enough forces on our common border to ensure these terrorists (ADF) do not cross the line, because Uganda is their target,” Ankunda told AFP.

Uganda worries that an unchecked build-up of the ADF could pose a major threat to its Lake Albert region where crude reserves have been discovered (estimated at 3.5 billion barrels), and production of this is expected to commence soon.

The Ugandan military also fear that ADF may have gained attack skills from al Shabaab, the al-Qaeda linked insurgent group operating in Samalia, which could now be used in Uganda.

“They’ve been training on IEDs . . . they’re planning to use small bombs on the population. We’re taking that very seriously because that means that given the porousness of our borders, they can easily sneak in sleeper cells inside our towns and attack our people,” Ankunda said.

The ADF waged an insurgency against Kampala in the late 1990s from its bases in the Ruwenzori Mountains and across the frontier in the eastern Congo jungle. The ADF was blamed for a series of deadly blasts in the capital.

A government offensive that ended in 2001 killed many of ADF’s top commanders, quelled the uprising and pushed its remnants deeper into eastern Congo.

The group had since kept largely silent and carried out only minor attacks on villages and units of Congo’s army.

Aid groups and the Ugandan government are struggling to cope with an influx that took them by surprise.

“People have no food, they have no shelter, they are sleeping in the open. The classrooms that have been provided by the government are not adequate enough to accommodate the huge number of people,” Richard Nsubuga of the Uganda Red Cross told Al Jazeera.

Ugandan soldiers kept a close watch on the refugees as they crossed the border and Paddy Ankunda told a news conference that the military was worried the rebels might join the influx disguised as refugees.

For further information, please visit:

Aljazeera — Congo refugees pour into Uganda after attack — 13 July 2013

Yahoo! News — Over 30,000 Congolese flee rebel attacks to Uganda: UN — 13 July 2013

IOL — Congo attack stirs Ugandan fears — 12 July 2013

BBC News —  Congo flee after Uganda’s ADF attack Kamango — 12 July 2013

Reuters — Uganda army says fears rebels influx after eastern Congo attack — 12 July 2013

The Daily Star — Ugandan rebels attack eastern Congolese town — 12 July 2013

 

 

By Erica Smith
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

DAKAR, Senegal – Senegalese authorities have charged former Chad dictator Hissene Habre with war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and genocide.  Habre was president of Chad from 1982-1990 and has lived in exile in Senegal for 22 years.

Habre is accused of personally overseeing a system of oppression and using his police force to attack and terrorize perceived enemies. He is also accused of overseeing more than 40,000 political killings, systematic torture and other human rights violations. “Widespread systematic attacks were ordered against civilian populations. In this context, what followed was torture and detention followed by summary executions suffered by prisoners and political detainees,” The court’s attorney general, Mbacke Fall, told Reuters.

Habre left a meticulous and large paper trail behind him when he was deposed in 1990. A Human Rights Watch researcher, Reed Brody, discovered the political police forces archives in their former offices in 2001. The documents mention more than 12,000 victims and also indicate that Habre received direct information about 900 detainees. “What these documents make very clear is that Hissene Habre was kept informed of virtually everything, from the cloth being used for uniforms to the deaths of prisoners,” Brody told the Associated Press. “What we see here is a control freak, really, who was keeping on top of every detail.”

A special court was set up in Senegal, after pressure from the International Court of Justice and an agreement with the African Union, to look into the allegations against Habre last December.  Habre was also indicted for alleged crimes against humanity in 2000 but little action was taken on the case under the government of former Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade.

Habre’s defense team has claimed that the charges are political. They are quick to point out that the court’s highest donor is Chad’s current government run by Idriss Deby, who deposed Habre in 1990. “I think these are the false allegations of President Deby,” Mohammed Ali Tidiane, Habre’s nephew told the AP. “Deby is afraid of Habre. He knows that it’s Habre who liberated Chad from the arms of Gadhafi.”

Habre will be brought before the court’s judges for the confirmation of the charges on Tuesday.

 

For further information, please see:

Washington Post — For 2 decades, deposed Chad dictator lived luxurious life in Senegal but now must stand trial — 6 July 2013

Aljazeera —  Ex-Chad leader charged over war crimes — 2 July 2013

Reuters — Ex-Chad leader Habre faces war crimes charge: prosecutor — 1 July 2013

Voice of America — Former Chad Dictator Faces Charges of War Crimes — 1 July 2013

 

 

By Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria – 29 students and 1 teacher were killed during an attack on a boarding school in Nigeria at 3 A.M. on Saturday.  The attackers doused a dormitory with fuel as the students slept and many were burned alive, while others were shot. Reports claim this as the deadliest attack on schools in northeast Nigeria.

Witnesses state that many of the 1,200 students at this boarding school escaped into the bush; however, they have yet to be found.  Parents rushed to the school in hopes of finding their children, screaming in anguish as they tried to identify the charred bodies.

One father, a farmer named Malam Abdullahi, located the bodies of his 10 and 12 year-old sons who had been shot in the back and in the chest.

“That’s it, I’m taking my other boys out of school,” Malam Abdullahi stated, indicating he will be taking his three younger children out of school who study nearby.

“It’s not safe.  The gunmen are attacking schools and there is no protection for students despite all the soldiers,” Abdullahi also stated.

A student, Musa Hassan, 15, told The Associated Press that “[w]e were sleeping when we heard gunshots. When I woke up, someone was pointing a gun at me.”  Hassan then put his arm up in defense and was then shot in the hand, blowing off all four of his fingers in his right hand, the hand he uses to write.  The militants then moved on after shooting him, sparing Hassan his life.

Authorities believe the attack was from Boko Haram, a radical group whose name means “Western education is sacrilege.”  This radical group has been behind a series of recent attacks on schools in the region, including one in which gunmen opened fire on children taking exams in a classroom.

The militants from Boko Haram, and other groups that have broken off from this radical group, have collectively killed more than 1,600 civilians in suicide bombings and other attacks since 2010, according to The Associated Press.

Soldiers state that they have killed and arrested hundreds of Boko Haram militants.  However, even with the fighter jets and helicopter gunships on these military camps, this has only driven the militants into rocky mountains with caves, in which they only emerge when they attack.

The militants have targeted civilians in these attacks, including health workers on vaccination campaigns, traders, teachers, and government workers.

Many believe that these attacks could have been prevented if their access to their mobile devices were not blocked.

“Lack of [Global System for Mobile Communications] service has prevented patriotic citizens who have hitherto been collaborating with security agents from reporting suspicious movements in their neighbourhoods,” said Mr. Gaidam in a statement to BBC news.

 

For further information, please see:

Today’s Zaman — 30 killed in school attack in northeast Nigeria — 7 July 2013

BBC News — Nigeria school massacre: Yobe secondary schools closed — 7 July 2013

Fox News — Nigerian state orders schools to close after massacre — 7 July 2013

The Independent — Nigerian terror group attack kills 29 children — 7 July 2013

Sky News — Islamic Militants Kill 30 In Nigeria School Attack — 6 July 2013

Russia Today — Nigeria school massacre: 41 children killed, some burned alive — 6 July 2013

By Erica Smith
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

CONAKRY, Guinea – A court in Guinea has charged Col Claude Pivi with murder, rape, and destruction of property for his alleged role in the 2009 massacre of opposition supporters in a stadium in Conakry.

On September 28, 2009, security forces entered and opened fire on peaceful pro- democracy demonstrators gathered in the stadium to protest the military junta.  At least 150 people were shot, trampled, and stabbed and about 100 women were publicly raped, and tortured during the attack.  A subsequent U.N. investigation concluded that the events at the stadium likely constitute crime against humanity and the violence was believed to be a factor in the ending of the junta. Eyewitness accounts place Col Pivi in the stadium during the attack.

Col Pivi was a leading figure in the CNDD military junta at the time of the massacre and is now minister for presidential security.  He is the highest ranking official to be charged thus far and is one of seven leaders from the junta to be charged for the massacre.

There were fears that Pivi  would never be charged for his role in the attack because he still has a loyal following among the army.  Human rights groups have appluaded the action taken by the court, but are concerned that a trial may never take place.  “Our concern is that this must not just be a situation whereby people are indicted and then are left to go about their business as normal. We want to see some further advancement on this issue…we welcome this indictment as it should help us get to the truth. However, we call on this government to make sure that all those indicted persons still in the country should be removed from their posts until they face justice.” Asmaou Diallo, who runs a victims’ support group told BBC news.

Rights groups have also criticized President Alpha Conde, elected in 2010 in Guinea’s first democratic power hand over since the end of colonialism in 1958, for not moving fast enough to prosecute those responsible for the 2009 attack.

For further information, please see:

Washington Post — Court in Guinea charges notorious military commander Claude Pivi for 2009 stadium massacre — 28 June 2013

Human Rights Watch — Guinea: Minister Charged for Alleged Role in Stadium Massacre — 28 June 2013

Chicago Tribune — Guinea charges minister over 2009 massacre of demonstrators — 28 June 2013

BBC News — Guinea stadium massacre: Minister Claude Pivi charged — 28 June 2013