The Middle East

Deadly Gun Battle Breaks Out in Tripoli

By Darrin Simmons,
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 TRIPOLI, Lebanon-An outbreak of gunfire caused the death of at least six people and wounded thirty in the northern city of Tripoli.  Of the fatalities, one was a sixteen year boy, and of the thirty wounded, seven were soldiers.

Soldiers evacuate school children in an armored vehicle (photo courtesy of The Daily Star)

The outburst resulted from a string of sectarian attacks targeting Tripoli’s minority Alawite community which is centered in Jabal Mohsen, a neighborhood that firmly supports President Bashar Assad.

The Lebanese Army moved in early on Saturday to aid in the evacuating a school where students had been trapped due to heavy sniper fire.  Earlier, a number of pupils fled the school premises in fear of the violence.

Shop owners on Syria Street, which separates rival neighborhoods, also fled the scene of the gunfire.  The Army also blocked the highway that linked Tripoli to Akkar due to the sniper fire.

Earlier in the week, a Sunni group that strongly opposes Assad claimed a responsibility for the recent shooting and wound of three Alawites in the city.  Rumors have been spreading throughout the city that similar attacks would continue until the Ali Eid, the head of the pro-Assad Democratic Party, was handed to authorities.

According to an Army statement, they have boosted its security measures in the city and have apprehended on suspect for allegedly shooting a man from Jabal Mohsen.  The Army also is pursuing the gunmen who targeted the wounded Lebanese soldiers.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati stated, “We are seeking to put an end to the ongoing security breaches because we, along with the citizens, look forward to activating the security measures.”

Mikati further stated, “I have spoken to President Michel Sleiman about this and the security agencies and the judiciary have the government’s full political backing in order for them to carry out their duties.”

In light of the government’s lack of presence so far, citizens have resorted to vigilante actions said Hadi Hobeish, the Akkar Future Movement MP.  “Shooting at peoples’ legs is unacceptable but we have to look at the reason as well and it is the historic mistake of those behind the bombings,” said Hobeish.

For more information, please see the following: 

Al Bawaba-Four killed in Syria-fuelled sectarian violence in north Lebanon-30 November 2013

Al Jazeera-Deadly gun battles erupt in Lebanon’s Tripoli-30 November 2013

Al Arabiya-Lebanon: sectarian clashes kill three-30 November 2013

Arab News-Lebanon sectarian strife kills 3-30 November 2013

Daily Star-Syria-linked fighting kills five in Lebanon’s Tripoli-30 November 2013

Over 11,000 Children Killed During Syrian Conflict

By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria-A new report has been released, uncovering the overwhelming death count of children in Syria, especially those who have been killed by sniper fire.  Titled Stolen Futures – the Hidden Toll of Child Casualties in Syria, the report examines data from March 2011 to August 2013, in the midst of the Syrian conflict.

A Syrian child waits in line to be registered by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, after fleeing Syria (photo courtesy of Huffington Post)

Details of the report confirm that during the conflict there have been 11,420 victims aged 17 and under with 389 of them being killed by sniper fire.  Nearly 764 of the victims were executed, and more than 100, including infants, were tortured.

Hana Salam, a co-author of the report, said the method of the child killings was horrifyingly disturbing, stating they were “Bombed in their homes, in their communities, during day-to-day activities such as waiting in bread lines or attending school.  Shot by bullets in crossfire, targeted by snipers, summarily executed, even gassed and tortured.”

Hamit Dardagan, another co-author, stated, “This study shows why explosive weapons should never be used where children live and play, how older children quickly become ttargets ina war and even the youngest suffer its worst abuses.”

“This grim and terrible record also shows why a sustainable peace, not more bombs and bullets, is the only way to guarantee the safety of children.  All conflict parties need to take responsibility for the protection of children, and ultimately find a peaceful solution for the war itself,” Dardagan further said.

In creating the report and drawing official figures, Salam and Dardagan used Syrian databases of casualty reports obtained by the United Nations.  They also looked closely at the age of the victims and the way they were killed and stressed that it might be incomplete due to the difficulties in receiving accurate data during times of conflict.

The report further stated that among the dead, boys outnumbered girls almost two to one.  Boys aged 13 to 17 were the most likely victims of targeted killings. The report concludes saying that the conflict has created a catastrophic effect on Syrian children and all sides must refrain from targeting civilians and buildings such as schools, hospitals, and places of worship.

Aleppo, the Syrian city with the highest child deaths, had 2,223 children killed mainly by bombs or shells in their own neighborhoods.  More than 120 children were killed during a chemical weapons attack in the city of Ghouta on August 21st.

The United Nations has estimated that more than 100,000 people have been killed during the Syrian Conflict.

For more information, please see the following: 

Global Dispatch-Over 11,000 Children Killed In Syria’s Civil War, Hundreds Targeted By Sniper-25 November 2013

Global Post-11,000 children killed in Syrian conflict, hundreds targeted by snipers, report says-24 November 2013

Huffington Post-11,000 Syrian Children Killed In Bombings, Sniper Fire, Or Executed, Report Finds-24 November 2013

BBC News-Syria conflict: Children ‘targeted by snipers’-23 November 2013

 

Human Rights Group Says 6,000 Women Raped During Syrian Conflict

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – A report issued by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network estimates that 6,000 women have been raped since the beginning of the Syrian conflict. The report adds that women are being targeted by snipers and used as human shields.

The report documented 6,000 cases of rape with many more likely unreported. (Photo Courtesy of AP)

The report states the capture, torture, and rape of women is used as strategy to leverage prisoner exchanges and exact revenge on the opposition. Often times women will be abducted in effort to force their male relatives to surrender.

“They are being used as privilege, not in the sense that they are favored, but because sometimes of their relationship to opposition members or government-related members,” EMHRN spokeswoman Hayet Zeghiche told the BBC.

Many of the rape victims are socially stigmatized and forced to leave their families or fear returning to their families because of possible retribution. The social stigma attached to rape victims leaves them alone and isolated.

“Syrian women exposed to sexual abuses subsequently found themselves victimized not only by the crime itself, but also by enduring the silence that surrounds the crime and the social pressure related to it,” the report said.

The findings were backed up by Lauren Wolfe, an award-winning journalist who has focused on rape in conflict for several years. She is currently the director of Women Under Siege, a group that has been mapping reports of sexual violence in Syria over the past year.

“The general rule that I go by, and a lot of public health researchers go by, is for every one woman who speaks out, there are up to 10 more that remain silent,” Wolfe said.

Seventy-percent of the documented rape victims report that they were raped by government or pro-government forces. This is not uncommon in scenarios where, like in Syria, rebel fighters rely heavily on civilian support.

The report said rape was documented in seven provinces, including Damascus, mostly “during governmental raids, at checkpoints and within detention facilities.”

On Monday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced that first peace talks during the conflict would begin on January 22. He added that it would be “unforgivable not to seize this opportunity to bring an end to the suffering and destruction.”

For further information, please see:

BBC – Syria conflict: Women ‘targets of abuse and torture’ – 26 November 2013

Global Post – 6,000 cases of women raped during Syrian conflict, human rights group says – 26 November 2013

Gulf News – ‘Rape used as women of war against Syria women’ – 25 November 2013

Reuters – Syrian women suffer inside their country and out – 11 November 2013

Saudi Court Sentences US Jeddah Consulate Attacker to Death

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – A Saudi court has sentenced one man to death and nineteen others to jail in connection with the 2004 US Consulate attack in the Red Sea city of Jeddah. The nineteen others received sentences ranging from eighteen months to twenty-five years.

The attack on Jeddah US consulate in 2004 killed nine people in total. (Photo Courtesy of AP)

The lone man sentenced to death was one of the attackers that stormed the building in the December 6 attack. The others were convicted of being part of a “deviant group” (Al-Qaeda) and supporting the Jeddah attack and another attack on a petrol facility that same year.

In the Jeddah attack, five militants attacked the US consulate with bombs and guns, managing to make their way inside while taking hostages at gunpoint. The whole ordeal last three hours and resulted in the death of five locally hired consulate workers. Three of the five attackers were killed by Saudi security forces in the raid and two were captured, but one later died of his injuries.

The attack was one in a series that year, perpetrated by Al-Qaeda in an effort to oust the ruling Al-Saud family. They were aimed at Western targets and left dozens of foreigners and Saudi citizens dead. The Al-Saud family, who previously had not thought much of Al-Qaeda, changed their attitude as the attacks mounted. The campaign to overthrow the Al-Saud family was crushed in 2006 and resulted in the detainment of more than 11,000 people.

The detainment and retaliation against Al-Qaeda resulted in controversy as many of the detained and their family claimed unfair treatment the hands of the regime. Some of the claims in include indefinite detention without charges and torture.

The Saudi Press Agency has reported that after the execution the body of the attacker will be put on public display to demonstrate the folly of such actions. This is the ultimate form of punishment in the Saudi kingdom.

Thirty-five more men will face hearing later this week and are also charged with being part of the same “deviant group.” All those convicted are given thirty days to appeal.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Saudi court sentences man to death – 26 November 2013

BBC – Saudi Arabia sentences US consulate attacked to death – 25 November 2013

Fox News – Saudi Arabia order execution over 2004 attack on US consulate – 25 November 2013

Reuters – Jeddah US consulate attacker sentenced to death, others jailed – 25 November 2013

Egypt Passes Law Restricting Public Protests

By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Impunity Watch

CAIRO, Egypt-A new restrictive “protest law” requiring Egyptians to seek approval days in advance before organizing demonstrations has been signed by Egypt’s interim president, Adly Mansour.

Police monitor protesters in Cairo (photo courtesy of Voice of America)

Rights groups tried to encourage Mansour to reject the law with a joint statement from 19 Egyptian organizations. The statement read, “The draft law seeks to criminalize all forms of peaceful assembly, including demonstrations and public meetings, and gives the state free hand to disperse peaceful gatherings by use of force.”

The law has undergone numerous revisions, but may rights groups are claiming that the latest version requires protesters to obtain approval from police three days in advance of holding a protest.  The interior ministry is also allowed to block rallies that could “pose a serious threat to security or peace.”

The widespread latitude to use force that the police will have could give the government a pretext for a widespread crackdown.  The law will take effect later this week upon the final text being published in the official state register.

The law distinguishes between types of protests requiring that election campaign event have a 24-hour notification period and processions of more than ten people are only allowed for “non-political purposes.  Violators could face fines of up to $4,360.

“They could have stuck to earlier versions, where if the interior ministry wants to ban a protest, the onus is on them to go to court and seek a ban.  Instead they’ve done the opposite.  The end result is that we could see an increase in violent crackdowns on peaceful protests,” said Heba Morayef, the Egypt director for Human Rights Watch.

Other restrictive laws are being brought to the table for discussion and debate.  One such law would criminalize “abusive graffiti” while another less descriptively worded would deal with “anti-terrorist” to further clamp down on peaceful political activism.

The cabinet claims that these restrictive laws are needed to help regulate near-daily protests in Cairo and across the country, especially those protests with the potential to turn violent.

Last week, authorities removed a three-month state of emergency and night-time curfew imposed following a clearing of two Cairo sit-ins which were filled with supporters of overthrown president Mohamed Morsi.  The following two days resulted in the death of more than a thousand people.

For more information, please see the following: 

Al Jazeera-Egypt passes law restricting public protests-24 November 2013

Deutsche Welle-Egypt passes new laws restricting protests-24 November 2013

Reuters-Egypt’s interim president signs law restricting protests-24 November 2013

Voice of America-Egypt’s Interim President Signs Law Restricting Protests-24 November 2013