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UN Report Confirms ‘Large Scale’ Sarin Attack in Syria

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – A team of United Nations chemical experts, led by Dr. Åke Sellström, has reported that there is “clear and convincing” evidence that sarin gas was used on a “large scale” during a 21 August incident outside of Damascus. The attack, which employed rockets equipped with sarin gas, killed many civilians including children.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon addresses the media, on Monday, after briefing the Security Council on the confirmed use of chemical weapons in Syria. (Photo Courtesy of the UN)

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon spoke to the media after briefing the Security Council on the team’s findings. Ban referred to the report as “chilling read” and stressed the significance of attack, the first of its kind “since Saddam Hussein used [chemical weapons] in Halabja in 1988.”

“This is a war crime,” the Secretary-General said, “The international community has a responsibility to hold the perpetrators accountable and to ensure that chemical weapons never re-emerge as an instrument of warfare.”

The purpose of the report was strictly to determine whether a chemical weapons attack occurred, not to assign blame for the attack. Ban told reporters that whether responsibility for the attack is determined is “for others to decide”, but stressed that whoever was responsible should be brought to justice.

The inspectors interviewed more than fifty survivors, many of whom reported suffering from telltale signs of exposure to sarin gas. Symptoms of the survivors often included difficulty breathing, eye irritation, blurred vision, nausea, vomiting, and loss of consciousness. First-responders reported suffering from similar symptoms and observed that a large number of people were either unconscious or deceased upon arrival.

In addition to personal accounts of the incident, the chemical weapons team discovered a great deal of physical evidence that supported the existence of a chemical weapons attack. Eighty-five percent of blood samples taken from survivors tested positive for sarin or sarin indicators. The majority of rocket fragments and environmental samples tested positive for sarin or sarin indicators as well.

The report concluded that the attack occurred during the “early morning hours of 21 August.” Based on weather reports during this time, the conditions were favorable for maximizing the effect of sarin gas. The temperature on the ground was falling and would have created a downward draft of air, effectively preventing the gas from dispersing upwards, and therefore increasing exposure.

“The downward movement of air would have allowed the gas to easily penetrate the basements and lower levels of buildings and other structures where many people were seeking shelter,” Ban said, referring to the report.

The opposition and the Assad regime continue to blame each other for the attack. Certain details, including the high quality of sarin gas and the advanced rockets used, point to the Assad regime. However, Assad maintains the rebels are responsible in an effort to encourage Western military involvement.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – UN: Evidence of Syrian chemical attack ‘indisputable’  – 16 September 2013

BBC – Syria Crisis: UN report confirms sarin ‘war crime’ – 16 September 2013

NBC – UN report confirms chemical weapons use in Syria – 16 September 2013

UN News Service – ‘Clear and convincing’ evidence of chemical weapons use in Syria, UN team reports –  16 September 2013

UN – United Nations Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic – 13 September 2013

Saudi Arabia Bans Domestic Abuse

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – On Wednesday, Saudia Arabia’s cabinet passed the “Protection from Abuse” law. The purpose of the law is to protect women, children, and workers from domestic abuse. The law is the country’s first of its kind and has been celebrated by human rights activists.

A poster utilized in the King Khalid Foundation’s campaign against domestic abuse. (Photo Courtesy of the King Khalid Foundation)

The law explicitly lays out that physical and sexual abuse both at home and in the workplace are illegal. Anyone found guilty of abuse under the new law may face up to a year in prison and $13,300 in fines.

“This is a good law that serves major segments of the society in the kingdom, including women, children, domestic workers and non-domestic workers,” said Khaled al-Fakher, secretary-general of the National Society for Human Rights, a government-licensed body.

“We are always in favour of an explicit law that does not need interpretations or personal judgment,” said Fakher, whose organisation helped draft the law.

The passage of the “Protection from Abuse” law comes after years of international pressure from other countries, human rights groups, and the United Nations. Local organizations such as the King Khalid Foundation were a driving force behind the law’s passage as well.

In April, the King Khalid Foundation began an anti-abuse campaign that encouraged women report cases of domestic abuse. The campaign’s calling card became an advertisement (shown above) that featured a veiled woman with a bruised eye and the slogan “Some things can’t be covered. Fighting women’s abuse together.” The advertisement quickly gained notoriety for its portrayal of a typically taboo topic.

While the new law is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, many are waiting to see how it is implemented.

Rights activist Waleed Abu al-Khair said the law gives women some independence: “Women were required to bring in a male relative if they showed up at a police station to file a complaint,” he said. This will not now be necessary.

However, women are still required to receive permission from a male guardian to carry out business, apply for jobs, or travel out of the country. Further, women are often accompanied by a male guardian whenever they leave the home, which may inhibit a victim’s ability to report abuse.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Saudi Arabia outlaws domestic violence –  30 August 2013

Guardian – Saudi Arabia passes law against domestic violence  – 29 August 2013

Huffington Post – Saudi Arabia Passes Domestic Abuse Ban For First Time – 29 August 2013

BBC – Saudi Arabia cabinet approves domestic abuse ban – 28 August 2013

FARC Rebels Kill 13 Colombian Soldiers

By Ellis Cortez
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia – Thirteen Colombian soldiers have been killed in an ambush by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in the eastern province of Arauca, the country’s army said in a statement. Two sergeants and 11 soldiers were killed.

US ambassador says ex-Marine held by Colombia rebels not part of US mission Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). (Photo Courtesy of GETTY)

Another soldier was injured in the attack and is receiving medical treatment, the military said. The wounded soldier was transported to a hospital in the area. Last month, 15 soldiers were killed by the rebel group in the same region.

Army commander Gen. Juan Pablo Rodriguez traveled to the area to oversee the operation to track down the FARC guerrillas who carried out the attack. The FARC is Colombia’s main guerrilla and are estimated to have about 8,000 fighters, according to the defense ministry.

Even though FARC rebels and the Colombian government have been holding peace talks in Cuba, both sides are continuing to target each other militarily. The Colombian government and the FARC rebels have been holding peace talks in Havana, Cuba since November of 2012.

On August 23rd, the FARC announced a “pause” in the talks and the government subsequently withdrew its team of negotiators. The FARC announced a “pause” in order to study a proposal that any peace deal must be put to a referendum.

The chief government negotiator, Humberto de la Calle, said both sides would be back at the table on August 26th to continue peace talks. As of now, the two sides have reached an agreement on land reform, the first of six points on their agenda.

Current talks are now focused on political rights for the rebels, including the insurgents’ insistence that none of them be sentenced to prison. The FARC have also demanded seats in Congress and their own news media, but it has also for the first time acknowledged shared responsibility for the country’s suffering and a willingness to make amends to the victims.

The FARC has been at war with the Colombian government since the 1960s, making it the longest running insurgency in Latin America. The Colombian government has made fighting the FARC a top priority and has obtained billions in U.S. aid for counterinsurgency operations.

A recent study by Colombia’s National Centre for Historical Memory estimated that 220,000 people have died as a result of the five decades of conflict.

The FARC is on both the U.S. and EU lists of terrorist groups. The FARC’s operations are financed through drug trafficking, extortion and kidnapping.

For more information please see:

CNN – 13 Colombian soldiers killed by rebels – 25 August 2013

ABC News – 13 Colombian Soldiers Killed, Talks to Resume – 25 August 2013

The Telegraph – Farc kills 13 Colombian soldiers ahead of talks – 25 August 2013

Fox News Latino – FARC rebels kill 13 soldiers near Colombia’s border with Venezuela – 25 August 2013

BBC – Colombian soldiers killed in ambush in Arauca province  – 24 August 2013

Suspected Boko Haram Attack in Northeastern Nigeria kills 13

By Erica Smith
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria — A suspected Boko Haram attacked carried out late Thursday night in Damboa Village, about 52 miles north of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, is believed to have killed as many as 13 people.

A group of Boko Haram members ( photo courtesy of PressTV)

Witness report that about 50 Boko Haram fighters arrived  by car and motorcycle in Damboa at about 7:30 pm local time. The militants first attacked the Damboa police station but were successfully repelled by officers. The militants then tried to attack a military post also located in the village but were again repelled by soldiers. Witnesses  confirmed that while one group was attacking the police and military another group was attacking villagers, setting fire to homes, and looting.

“About 20 houses including that of the local government chairman and several shops were burnt down. The terrorists had also looted most of the shops and filled a truck with food items, but they were not lucky to escape with the loot as the laden vehicle got stuck in the muddy road.”Ayamu Gwasha, who represents Konduga in the Borno State House of Assembly told Premium Times.

A farmer, Mustapha Aji, reported to Premium Times  that villagers had to flee from their houses and spend the night in the bush. He said he believed that foreign mercenaries were among the terrorists who attacked.“The shooting was too much; it started immediately after the Isha (late night) prayers. The shooters came in several cars and began to shoot and burning houses and shops. Some of them are aliens, because they were speaking Arab fluently. They were carrying big, big guns, some were throwing bombs. Everywhere was on fire I had to run for my life,” Aji told Premium Times.

An attack was anticipated by residents and officials of Damboa because the village borders Konduga, where 44 people were killed early this past Sunday. Beefing up Security in Damboa was being discussed before the last night’s attack.

The exact number of injured and dead is not know because Borno State is currently under a communications black out while the military battles the rebels. A state of emergency as been in effect in Borno State since May.

Boko Haram is fighting to establish an Islamic state in northern Nigeria.

 

For more information, please see:

APA — 11 killed in northern Nigeria attack — 17 August 2013

BBC News — Nigeria unrest: ‘Boko Haram’ in deadly attack on Damboa — 16 August 2013

Global Post — Boko Haram suspected in attack that kills 11 in Nigeria — 16 August 2013

Premium Times — 13 feared killed in latest Boko Haram attack in Borno — 16 August 2013

 

 

Heightened Terrorist Activity and Security Threats Cause Evacuation in Yemen

By Darrin Simmons, 
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SANA’A, Yemen-Increased threats of terrorist activities have caused the evacuation of U.S. Citizens as well as other Western nations in Yemen.  Following an intercepted electronic message between al-Qaeda leaders, a total of twenty one embassies have closed down.

Police perform security checks on cars headed to the airport in Sana’a (photo courtesy of The Independent)

The U.S. State Department issued a statement saying: “U.S. citizens currently in Yemen should depart. As staff levels at the Embassy are restricted, our ability to assist U.S. citizens in an emergency and provide routine consular services remains limited…The security threat level in Yemen is extremely high.”

The statement also noted that attacks on the U.S. Embassy Compound in September 2012 and the death of a U.S. citizen in Taiz in March 2012 at the hands of al-Qaeda have caused additional reasons for concern.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a highly sophisticated al-Qaeda affiliate, has been operating out of Yemen for many years, planning and attempting to carry out massive attacks on the U.S. both locally and overseas.  AQAP was behind the “underwear bomber” who attempted detonation of a bomb on a plane over Detroit in December 2009.

U.S. officials have claimed that it is unclear and there is still no information pertaining to a specific target or location of a potential attack.  However, the extroardinary and unprecedented security measures were put in place as the potential threat in Yemen has been classified  as one of the most serious threats since 9/11.

Approximately one hundred U.S. government personnel were evacuated and carried out by an US Air Force C-17 at dawn on Tuesday morning.  The personnel were headed for Ramstein air base in Germany with some essential embassy staff staying behind.

The heightened security measures have been implemented in the aftermath of a U.S. drone strike that hit central Yemen on Tuesday.  The drone strike killed four suspected al-Qaeda members hiding in Yemen with none being considered to be in high leadership positions.

George Little, the Pentagon Press Secretary stated that “the Defense Department continues to have personnel on the ground in Yemen to support the U.S. State Department and monitor the security situation.”

Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi criticized the U.S. decision to evacuate saying, “Unfortunately, these measures, although they are taken to protect their citizens, in reality they serve the goals that the terrorist elements are seeking to achieve.”

“Yemen had taken these threats seriously and had taken all the necessary measures to protect all the foreign missions in the country,” claimed al-Qirbi.

The U.K. also evacuated its embassy staff and “strongly” urged British citizens to leave immediately.  “If you don’t leave the country now while commercial carriers are still flying it is extremely unlikely that the British government will be able to evacuate you or provide consular assistance,” said the U.K. government.

Former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Michael Leiter, expressed his opinion that the activities in Yemen are “certainly nothing remotely close to the worst thing we have seen since 9/11.” However, he went on to say, “We have been wrong on stuff before.”

For more information, please see the following: 

Aljazeera – U.S. and U.K. urge citizens to leave Yemen – 6 August 2013

Guardian – Yemen security alert: US and British citizens told to leave  – 6 August 2013

Independent –  Yemen airlift: U.S. and U.K. fly staff out as al-Qa’ida terror threat level rises – 6 August 2013

NBC News – US personnel evacuated from Yemen; Americans urged to leave amid terror threat – 6 August 2013