Saudi’s Clear Mountain Area of Rebel Forces

By Ahmad Shihadah

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SA’NA, Yemen – Saudi Arabia says it has captured a strategic mountain area near its border with Yemen from Yemeni Shi’ite rebels. Saudi forces have been carrying out air and artillery strikes on Yemen for several weeks, after rebels killed a border guard in a raid. “The armed forces completely control al-Dood mountain, one of the most strategic regions,” deputy defense minister Prince Khaled bin Sultan was quoted as saying as he inspected troops just within Saudi territory. He also said Saudi forces had “cleaned up every inch of Saudi territory,” adding that “ant person who infiltrates or sniping will end up surrendering or dead.”

Yemeni officials said they had also engaged in heavy clashes with the Houthi rebels on the outskirts of the northern city of Sa’da. A military official told Reuters that Yemeni officials had prevented a rebel attempt to enter the city on Saturday.

The Houthi rebels denied that the area had been taken and said that Saudi Arabia had carried out further attacks – but they said there had been no clashes on the ground, and that Saudi troops were not in control of the area.

The Houthis have been battling the Yemeni government of Ali Abdullah Saleh since 2004, “citing political, economic and religious marginalization,” reports Al-Jazeera. The Houthis also accuse Saudi Arabia of allowing the Yemeni military to launch strikes against the rebels from within its territory, a claim denied by both nations, according to BBC. The Yemeni government launched a new offensive against the rebels in August 2009, the BBC says, leading to a wave of intense fighting. Reuters reports the Yemeni military tried to rout Houthi rebels near Sa’da, Yemen, leading up to the weekend.

For more information please see:

Al-Jazeera – Saudi ‘Seizes Key Rebel Area’ – 29 November 2009

BBC – Saudi Arabia ‘Clears’ Key Area of Yemen – 29 November 2009

The Christian Science Monitor – Saudi Arabia Steps Up Fight Against Yemen Rebels – November 29 2009

Philippines Election Violence Suspect Surrenders

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

AMPATUAN, Philippines– A lead suspect, Andal Ampatuan Jr., accused of a massacre, which killed at least 57 people in the Philippines, has been turned over to the authorities by his family on Thursday.

Ampatuan Jr.’s family is a powerful pro-government clan allied with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.  Since the massacre, there has been mounting pressure from the public to crack down on lawless acts and warlords.

According to Asia Foundation, more than 80% of families in Maguindanao province, the scene of Monday’s massacre, have been made homeless due to clan violence.

About 250 prominent political families exist in the Philippines with family members who hold positions in various levels of the government.    The Ampatuan clan has been ruling the Philippines’ Maguindanao province for years. 

Philippines clan killing Victims at the massacre site.  Courtesy of Reuters.

Andal Ampatuan Sr. is the provincial governor of the Maguindanao province and has been grooming his son, Andal Ampatuan Jr., to succeed him in next year’s upcoming elections. 

However, Ampatuan Jr. is accused of allegedly stopping a convoy with more than 100 armed police and militiamen, and killing journalists, family and supporters of the Ampatuan clan’s rival gubernatorial candidate, Esmael Mangudadatu.

The Mangudadatu clan was ambushed as they were traveling to go file the election papers nominating Mangudadatu as the candidate for next year’s provincial governor.

A witness to the massacre said the victims were taken to a remote mountainous area.  The witness said, “Datu Andal himself said…anyone from the Mangudadatu clan – women or children – should be killed.” 

Philippines clan killings 2Investigators unearthing more bodies at the massacre site.  Courtesy of Reuters.

The witness added that Ampatuan Jr. also ordered the gunmen to make sure that no evidence of the killings was left behind and that all of the women were raped before they were killed.

Authorities have found bodies of the victims in a mass grave at the massacre site.  Bodies were found in large pits buried with vehicles.

Investigators have said that it appears that the victims were shot at a close range before being dumped in shallow graves.  Some victims also had their hands tied behind their backs.

To prevent retaliatory violence from the victims’ clan, the government has declared a state of emergency throughout the Maguindanao province and has deployed tanks and troops.

Human Rights Watch has expressed concern that the Ampatuan clan’s family connections with President Arroyo and the administration would hinder an impartial investigation.
For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Philippines’ key suspect surrenders – 27 November 2009

AP – Prime suspect in Philippine massacre surrenders – 26 November 2009

NYT – Suspect in Philippine Election Killings Surrenders – 25 November 2009

Anti-Taliban Tribal Figure Killed In Pakistan

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

KHAR, Pakistan-  Shahfur Khan, a key anti-Taliban tribal leader was assassinated Friday in a roadside bombing, the latest in a series of attacks against pro-government militias in the area of northwestern Pakistan.  

Mr. Khan was returning to his home to receive guests after prayers marking the start of the Muslim festival of Eid al- Adha when the explosion occurred, which killed him and wounded three others, according to local officials Jamil Khan and Abdul Malik.  Jamil Khan, a local administrator said “The tribal leader was killed on the spot and his colleagues were seriously wounded in the blast.”

After his predecessor was killed with at least 14 other people in a suicide bombing last year,   Khan emerged as a militia leader in the Mamund area of the Bajur tribal region.

Violence has increased in Bajur and other northwestern tribal areas along the Afghan border since the army launched an anti-Taliban offensive in South Waziristan in mid-October.  A military statement on Friday said that over Fifteen Taliban fighters were killed in operations over the previous day in South Waziristan.  Pakistani troops took control of three significant militant strongholds in the Bara area of Khyber tribal region, where another 15 insurgents were killed.

Authorities also found the bullet-riddled body of another tribal elder, Ameer Saiyed who was seized from his home late Thursday in an attack that also left his son dead.  Authorities found the father’s body Friday near his home in Wali Kor village, the official said.  

The government has bolstered their military campaigns by assisting tribal leaders and supporting local militias to battle the Taliban.

These militias, also known as lashkars, have drawn comparisons with government-backed groups in Iraq known as Awakening Councils.  These groups have been credited with beating back the insurgency there.  The lashkars however, are less organized and the tribesman use their own aging weapons.

Traditionally, tribal elders have had massive influence in northwestern Pakistan but have increasingly been targeted by al-Qaida and Taliban fighters as they joined forces with the government.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press- Key Anti- Taliban Figure Assassinated in Pakistan– 27 November 2009

Time of the Internet- Insurgents Kill Two- Anti Taliban Elders– 27 November 2009

BBC News- Anti-Taliban Elder Killed in Pakistan – 27 November 2009

UN Helicopter Attacked in DR Congo

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KINSHASA, DR Congo – A UN helicopter flying over northern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) on Thursday was fired at, injuring five people on board.  This is the second time this week that gunmen fired at UN helicopters.

According to MONUC, the UN peacekeeping mission in DR Congo, the helicopter was in the town of Dongo in Equateur province delivering supplies to twenty recently deployed Ghanaian peacekeepers.  Five of the thirty onboard were injured and the pilot quickly took off and landed in neighboring Republic of Congo instead.  Upon arrival in Republic of Congo, those injured were tended to.

The helicopter “was attacked while it was on the ground.  It seems there were five people wounded but their lives are not in danger,” said MONUC spokesman Madnodje Mounoubai.

Armed movement Patriots-Resistance of Dongo claimed the attacks.  The movement, in a confused statement, denounced MONUC’s alleged “complicity” with Rwandan occupation forces, or “Mafia-like imperialists,” who the movement alleges is in the area.

“The Patriots-Resistance have again inflicted a resounding failure on the occupation forces and have retaken the town of Dongo.  A MONUC helicopter engaged in the fighting was hit by our fire,” said Patriots-Resistance spokesman Ambroise Lobala Mokobe.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack that left three peacekeepers, a member of the Congolese national police, and a civilian pilot wounded.

“The Secretary-General calls on the Government of the DRC to ensure that the perpetrators of the attack against MONUC are held accountable,” said his spokesperson.

Additionally, the Secretary General has charged MONUC with assisting the government in protecting the civilian villagers in Dongo, and has encouraged the government to move toward a peaceful resolution of these violent clashes.  He has pledged MONUC’s assistance to the government in reaching a peaceful end to the violence.

The fighting in Dongo escalated last month when over 100 people were killed, including forty-seven policemen.  The local Lobala and Boba tribes are fighting over fishing rights.  At least 50,000 people have fled their homes because of the violence.

For more information, please see:

Xinhua – UN Chief Condemns Attack on UN Helicopter in DR Congo – 28 November 2009

AP – UN Helicopter Attacked in DR Congo; 4 Wounded – 27 November 2009

UN News Centre – Ban Deplores Attack on UN Helicopter in DR Congo – 27 November 2009

AFP – Armed Group Claims Firing at UN Chopper in DR. Congo – 26 November 2009

Reuters – Congo Gunmen Fire at U.N. Helicopter, Five Wounded – 26 November 2009

UN Expert Calls for End to Inhuman Practices Following Stonings in Somalia

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Following the recent stonings in Somalia an independent UN expert called for an end to the “cruel, inhuman and degrading” practices taking place there.

Shamsul Bari, the Independent Expert on the Situation of Human Rights in Somalia, said the executions by flogging and stoning highlight the “deteriorating” human rights situation in this country.

“I strongly condemn these recent executions by stoning in Al-Shabaab-controlled areas of Somalia,” he said.

According to the strict interpretation of Sharia law (Islamic law) that Al-Shabaab follows, one can be found guilty of adultery if he or she has an affair and has ever been married, even if divorced.  An adultery offense is punishable by stoning to death.  An unmarried person who has sex before marriage is liable for 100 lashes.

Last week, a 20-year-old divorced woman from a small village near the town of Wajid (250 miles from the capital of Mogadishu) was buried up to her waist and stoned to death in front of a crowd of about 200 on the public grounds.  Her boyfriend was sentenced to 100 lashes.

Judge Sheikh Ibrahim Abdirahman, who works for Al-Shabaab militant group, said she was guilty of having an affair with an unmarried 29-year-old man and giving birth to his stillborn child.  That made her guilty of the offense.

This is believed to be the second woman stoned to death by Al-Shabaab for committing adultery.

Last year a 13-year-old girl was stoned to death for adultery after she was gang raped.  Islamist militants, however, said she was older and married.  She was buried up to her neck and stoned to death by 50 men in front of a crowd of 1,000.

Earlier this month a man was stoned to death for adultery.  His pregnant girlfriend awaits the same punishment but has been spared until she gives birth.

Somalia’s moderate Islamist president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed believes Al-Shabaab is ruining Islam’s image by killing people and harassing women, saying, “Their actions have nothing to do with Islam.”

Bari has urged all Islamist groups and religious leaders to follow their obligations under international human rights and humanitarian laws.

For more information, please see:

UN News Centre – Somalia: UN Expert Urges end to Inhuman Practices After Recent Stonings – 27 November 2009

Examiner – Al-Shabab Stoning Men, Women, Children in Somalia – 21 November 2009

Al Jazeera – Somali Woman Stoned to Death – 19 November 2009

AP – Somali Woman Stoned to Death for Adultery – 18 November 2009

BBC – Somali Womand Stoned for Adultery – 18 November 2009