News

Kenya Orders Somali Refugees Back to Camps after Attack

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

NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenya has ordered all urban-based Somali refugees to move into designated camps in a bid to end attacks by militant Islamists.

South-Sudanese refugees at the Kakuma camp (photo courtesy of AFP)

 

The order has been issued because of “emergency security challenges” facing Kenya.

A refugee group condemned the decision as “illegal.”

Kenyans were asked to report any refugees or illegal immigrants outside the overcrowded camps.

“Any refugee found flouting this directive will be dealt with in accordance with the law,” Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said in a statement.

Until now, refugees who could support themselves or were in need of specialized education or medical care had been allowed to live in urban areas.

Lenku said “all refugees residing outside the designated refugee camps of Kakuma and Dadaab are hereby directed to return to their respective camps with immediate effect.”

Somalia’s al-Qaeda linked al-Shabab group has carried out a flood of attacks in Kenya in recent years.

It was behind the four-day siege at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi in September, killing 67 people.

On Sunday, at least six people were killed when gunmen opened fire on a church near the coastal city of Mombasa.

This attack came amid heightened warnings of a threat of Islamist violence in Kenya despite boosted security in major cities.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

This attack also came days after police arrested two men with a vehicle stashed full of large quantities of powerful explosives prepared in pipe bombs, which experts said would have been strong enough to bring down a major building.

Kenya has repeatedly claimed that refugees crossing over from Somalia are threatening security.

Mr. Ole Lenku said refugee registration centers in Kenya’s main cities would be closed.

All refugees living in cities and towns should report to Dadaab and Kakuma camps.

Dadaab, where people often live in appalling conditions, is home to more than 400,000 mainly Somali refugees.

Kakuma, a vast desert settlement, is home to more than 125,000 refugees from across the region, including Somalia.

“Any refugee found flouting this directive will be dealt with in accordance with the law,” Mr Ole Lenku added in a statement.

BBC News says this decision will affect hundreds of thousands Somalis, many of whom who live and work in the cities. This could also worsen overcrowding at the camps.

“Kenya has signed international conventions that allow freedom of movement for refugees, and Tuesday’s decision flies in the face of those assurances,” the US-based Refugee International group said in a statement.

For more information, please visit:
BBC News – Kenya restricts Somali refugees to camps – 26 March 2014
The East African – Kenya orders all refugees into designated camps – 26 March 2014
Aljazeera – Kenya orders all refugees back into camps – 26 March 2014
The Sydney Morning Herald – Kenya crackdown on refugees after attacks – 26 March 2014
Reuters – Kenya orders Somali refugees back to camps after attacks – 26 March 2014

Russian Forces Storm Belbek Air Base in Crimea, Shots Fired

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BELBEK, Crimea – Russia stormed one of the last military facilities still under Ukrainian control in Crimea, amidst a growing search for stability in the region.

Russian forces expelled Ukrainian servicemen from the Belbek Air Base in Crimea, one of the last under Ukrainian control there. (Photo courtesy of Reuters)

On 21 March 2014, Crimea’s military bases were still formally under Ukrainian control, but most are now occupied by Russian troops and fly Russia’s tricolor flag. Except for a Ukrainian serviceman who was killed and two others who were wounded in a shooting in Simferopol, the Russian takeover of Crimea has been largely bloodless.

On 22 March 2014, according to Deputy Commander Oleg Podovalov, Russian forces surrounding Belbek, a Ukrainian airbase in Crimea, and gave the Ukrainians an hour to surrender. Later, Russian troops forced their way into the base with armored vehicles, automatic fire and stun grenades. Belbek was one of the last military facilities in Crimea still under Ukrainian control after Russia annexed the peninsula.

Prior to the Russians storming the base, Mamchur had ordered his men to their stations. But those at the gate were armed only with sticks. On demand of parley to a Russian officer, Ukrainians were ordered to leave because the base belonged to Russia. On demand for documents proving that the base belonged to Russia, the Russian officer replied, “When was the last time you watched television?”

A Ukrainian serviceman was injured, and the base’s commander, Colonel Yuliy Mamchur, was detained for talks at an unspecified location.

“We have done everything we could,” Mamchur told his men after the Russians took over the base. “You acted with honor. There is nothing we should be ashamed of.”

Mamchur told his troops he would inform the high command that they had stood their ground. The soldiers applauded, chanting “Long live Ukraine!”

Many stood to take pictures of each other in front of the Ukrainian flag, which continued to fly over the base.

After the Russians entered, a Ukrainian officer who identified himself only as Vladislav said: “We did not provoke this, this was brute force. I do not know whether this base will be formally in Russian hands by the end of the day. Ever since World War Two, this place has been quiet, and they came in here firing, with APCs and grenades. I am very worried now.”

British Prime Minister David Cameron said, and other European leaders echoed, that the best rebuke to Russia would be a strong Ukraine. The EU also sought to bolster other potentially vulnerable nations in Russia’s shadow, signaling that the bloc would tighten relations with Georgia and Moldova.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Russian Troops Storm Ukrainian Bases in Crimea – March 22, 2014

Deutsch Welle — Shots Fired as Troops Enter Ukrainian Base Belbek in Crimea – March 22, 2014

Reuters – Shots Fired as Russian Troops Force Their Way into Ukrainian Base in Crimea – March 22, 2014

Washington Post – Russian Forces Storm Ukrainian Air Base in Crimea – March 22, 2014

South Korea Seeks China’s Support to Refer North Korea to the ICC

By Brian Lanciault
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, S. Korea– South Korea has requested China’s support for a United Nations resolution seeking to hold North Korea’s leadership responsible for human rights violations.  To date, Beijing has opposed referring the case to an international court.

North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-Un, enjoys a cigarette while overseeing military shooting exercises. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

The U.N. Human Rights Council is seeking to pass a resolution on North Korea’s bleak human rights record this week in Geneva after a U.N. Commission of Inquiry concluded last month that “crimes against humanity” have been, and continue to be, committed by ranking officials in the socialist country.

The United States, the European Union and Japan are working to bring North Korea’s human rights situation before the U.N. Security Council, which has the power to refer the issue to the International Criminal Court (ICC).  Prospects remain dismal because China, key ally of the North, holds a veto.

“We have continued to discuss the issue with the Chinese side, but Chinese officials told us that it would not be an appropriate approach to try to openly address North Korea’s human rights situation,” a South Korean diplomat said on the condition of anonymity.

“The Chinese side maintains that North Korea’s human rights situation should be handled through constructive dialogue and that it opposes such an explicit way” of referring North Korea’s leaders to the ICC, the diplomat said.

China has publicly announced that it would vigorously oppose any move at the U.N. to bring North Korea’s leaders before the global criminal court.

“To bring the human right issues to the International Criminal Court does not help improve a country’s human rights conditions,” China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Feb. 17, when the U.N. commission published the report.

Concluding a year-long investigation, the U.N. commission reported widespread executions of people, enslavement and sexual violence by North Korea. It marked the clearest indictment against North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, in his speech at the U.N. human rights session in early March, proposed strengthening the role of the U.N. commission on North Korea’s human rights.

“For the international community, it is now time to begin the discussions on next steps to effectively follow up on the commission’s recommendations to improve the human rights situation in North Korea,” Yun said.

“In this vein, we strongly support the strengthening of the U.N. mechanisms to implement the commission’s recommendations. We also look forward to the leading role of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea,” Yun said.

For further information, please see:

Global Post– North Korea Newsletter No. 305— 20 March 2014

Mail Online– A smoking Un! Kim Jong smiles from ear to ear as he oversees army shooting exercise— 18 March 2014

Korea Joongang Daily– EU rep says North Korea felt stable— 20 March 2014

Washington Post– While slaughtering thousands, North Korea’s dictators published children’s books— 18 March 2014

Spain And Morocco Break Up Militant Cell Suspected Of Sending Fighters To Syria, Arrest 7

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MADRID, Spain – Spanish and Moroccan authorities executed a series of arrests on Friday, in an effort to dismantle an Islamist militant cell that supplied fighters to areas engaged in fighting, most notably Syria.

A man suspected of being a member of a radical Islamist militant cell is arrested on Friday. (Photo courtesy of Reuters)

Officials from both countries announced that they had made seven arrests in connection with the cell, including the group’s leader, a Spanish citizen. Mustafa Maya Amaya, a nationalized Spaniard that was born in Belgium, was arrested in Melilla, a Spanish enclave surrounded by Moroccan territory. Two French citizens were arrested alongside Amaya in connection with the cell, according to Spain’s interior ministry. A Tunisian individual from Malaga, Spain, and three additional Moroccans were also arrested.

Over the course of recent conflicts such as that in Syria, fighters from Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and more, have joined rebel forces in conflicted countries. Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez stated that this particular cell was the largest in Europe actively recruiting jihadists for the Syrian conflict. Fernandez also stated that some of the cell’s members have had involvement with al-Qaeda-affiliated groups.

Fernandez stated that the cell is completely disassembled as all of the components had been infiltrated with arrests; document forgers, logistics organizers and jihadists all have been arrested.

“The cell was dismantled in coordination with Spanish security forces. Three Moroccans were arrested at the same time as the [Spanish] head of the cell and his acolytes have been arrested by the Spanish security services,” the Moroccan interior ministry said in a statement.

The Moroccan statement further stated that Amaya had close connections to another cell that was linked to a North African al-Qaeda branch, referred to as AQIM. AQIM had been similarly dismantled last year before it was to send fighters to Mali and Syria. According to Spanish reports, Amaya used the internet to recruit jihadists and aided them in joining movements such as the Al Qaeda group Islamic State in Iraq, as well as the Levant (IDIL), al Qaeda’s Nusra Front branch in Syria.

Morocco stated that it has broken up radical Islamist cells accused of plotting both inside and outside of its kingdom. Morocco has experienced numerous bombings by suspected Islamist guerrillas, most recently in 2011 in Marrakesh, but militant groups have so far failed to gain any power in the kingdom.

For more information, please see:

CNN – Spain Arrests 7 Suspected of Sending Militant Fighters to Syria – 14 March 2014

Fox News – Spain, Morocco Police Break up Jihadist Recruitment Cell, Arrest 7 – 14 March 2014

Reuters – Morocco, Spain Break up Militant Cell Sending Fighters Abroad – 14 March 2014

UPI – France Detains Seven Suspected of Sending Jihadists to Syria – 14 March 2014

 

Egypt’s Mansour Will Expedite Trial of Detained Australian Journalist

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – In a rare move, Egypt’s interim President Adly Mansour, has committed to expediting the trial of Australian journalist Peter Greste. The interim President made this known in a recent letter written to Greste’s family. Mansour is also the current Chief Justice presiding over the Supreme Constitutional Court, Egypt’s highest court.

Peter Greste and his colleagues are detained in a metal cage during their appearance before the trial court on March 5.

“I would like to assure you in my capacity as president of Egypt, that I will spare no effort to work towards the speedy resolution of the case, in a fashion consistent with the law and that guarantees the reunion of the family in the near future,” Mansour wrote in the letter, seen by The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The Al Jazeera Network has called the gesture an “encouraging sign.” Additionally, a spokesperson for the organization stated that it demonstrates the actions of their journalists in Egypt were legal and that there is no case against them.

Greste, was arrested with two Al Jazeera producers, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, on December 29. They have now been detained for 81 days. The three are charged with joining a terrorist organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, and broadcasting false information without proper working permits. They have all plead not guilty.

It remains unclear if the letter mentions Fahmy or Baher, even though they arrested together with Greste and thus, under the same circumstances. The trial also includes seventeen other journalists charged with similar crimes.

The trial has drawn criticism from international human rights groups who say that Egypt is merely attempting to suppress free speech. Institutions including the White House, the European Union and the United Nations have called for the release of the journalists, and for press freedoms to be upheld.

The arrests occurred at the same time as a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. Egyptian authorities accuse the Al Jazeera Network of aiding the Muslim Brotherhood. As a result, Al Jazeera has been banned from reporting in the country.

The trial has been adjourned until March 24.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Egypt’s Mansour to expedite Al Jazeera trial – 19 March 2014

CNN – Egypt President will ‘spare no effort’ to resolve case of Al Jazeera journalist  – 19 March 2014

Montreal Gazette – Egypt leader says will try to expedite trial of detained Australian journalist – 18 March 2014

Al Jazeera – Al Jazeera journalists appear in Egypt court, see trial adjourned – 5 March 2014