Civilians Killed in Somali Marketplace

By Jonathan Ambaye
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa Desk

MOGADISHU, Somalia– Today, close to 30 Somali civilians were killed and 60 injured, after a battle between militant insurgents and African Union peacekeepers ensued in a public market. The fighting began after the insurgents fired mortars toward the airport as the President was taking off for a conference in Uganda.

Somali President, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a moderate Islamist, who took office earlier this year, was en route to an African leaders meeting in Kampala to sign the first ever convention to protect displaced people. His flight was unaffected by the attacks, however the city was not.

Upon the insurgents’ assault on the airport, African Union peacekeepers and government troops began to fire back. Their response to the insurgents found them firing into main markets in the city where the insurgents were scattered. This resulted in close to 30 civilian deaths and almost 60 injuries.

The insurgent attacks have been claimed by al-Shabab, a group considered to be an al-Quaida proxy. According to some Somali journalists, AU and governmental troops frequently target the market and other al-Shabab sites in the capital. The insurgents have been using congested areas to launch their attacks. The AU and government soldiers have received much criticism for their inability to minimize civilian deaths.

Somalia has been in a state of chaos since 1991, the last time it had an effective national government. Islamist “militants” dominate much of the southern and central parts of Somalia while the President and his UN-backed government have control of only limited parts of the capital. Over three million people are currently in need of food aid, while hundreds of thousands have fled the country.

For more information please see:

All Africa – Amisom Spokesman Denies Shelling Targeted to Bakara Market in Mogadishu – 22 October 2009

BBC – Shelling Kills Somali Civilians – 22 October 2009

VOA – Somalia Peacekeepers Accused of Firing Into Civilian Areas – 22 Octoober 2009

Eighty Five Thousand Reportedly Killed In Iraq From 2004 To 2008

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On October 20, the Iraqi Ministry of Health released a report concluding that eighty five thousand Iraqis were killed from 2004 to 2008. The report marks the first time since the beginning of the war that the Iraqi government attempted to estimate the number of dead. The estimate includes violent deaths of military, police and civilians, but fails to account for foreigners killed violently since the beginning of the war.

Previous attempts to estimate the number of Iraqis killed were controversial. Estimates produced earlier using a number of different methods put the number dead between one hundred thousand and half a million.

According to the ministry’s report, the number of dead includes over twelve hundred children and twenty three hundred women. Also among the killed are over two hundred fifty professors, twenty judges, ninety lawyers and two hundred sixty journalists. It is believed that these professions were specifically targeted when the country descended into chaos. Fifteen thousand unidentified bodies that have been found since 2004 were also included.

The current report does not account for the first few months of the U.S. led incursion into the country. There was no functioning government in the country at the time to count Iraqi deaths. The report additionally does not account from the number of missing Iraqis. Estimates put that number close to ten thousand individuals.

The report comes at a time where there has been a spike in the violence in Iraq. The Iraqi government blamed the increase on their neighboring countries, Iran and Syria. They accused Syria of harboring former Iraqi Baathists while the United States claims that Iran has been funding, arming and training armed groups in Iraq.

The Iraqi foreign minister has urged the countries to cease their operations within the country. Also, the human rights minister, Wijdan Salim, said, “”They need to stop interfering and stop the terrorism from entering Iraq by their borders.”

Despite the report and alleged interference from neighboring countries, Salim remains optimistic that the situation in Iraq will improve. He remains hopeful that “2010 will be better than now.”

For more information, please see:

Los Angeles Times – 85,000 Iraqis Killed In Almost 5 Years Of War, Baghdad Says – 15 October 2009

AFP – More Than 85,000 Iraqis Killed From 2004-2008: Ministry – 14 October 2009

Al Jazeera – Iraq Releases New Death Toll Figure – 14 October 2009

BBC – Iraq Says 85,000 Violently Killed – 14 October 2009

Reuters – Iraq Rights Ministry Says 85,000 Killed In 2004-08 – 13 October 2009

Australia Declines Asylum for Tamil Refugees

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

WEST JAVA, Indonesia – Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia, recently made a personal plea to Indonesian migration authorities to capture any asylum seekers headed towards Australian shores.  Following this request, Indonesian authorities intercepted a boat carrying over 260 Sri Lankan Tamil ethnic minorities en route to Australia.  The Indonesian vessel captured the Sri Lankan boat and escorted it to a West Java dock.
 
 
Photo courtesy of AFP

The Tamils, however, refused to leave the boat and began a hunger-strike which effectively ceased after the weekend. 

The Tamils were apparently so afraid of prosecution in Indonesian lands that they made empty threats to ignite or detonate their boat.  Alex, the unofficial spokesperson for the Tamils, however, confirmed that the Tamil boat did not actually carry any explosives.  Despite the threats, Indonesian authorities captured the Tamils’ boat.  The International Organization for Migration provided basic necessities to the Tamils during their stay in the Indonesian dock.    

Rather than go home to Sri Lanka, the Tamils desire to reach the Australian territory of Christmas Island.  Located south of Indonesian territories, Christmas Island has been a popular sanctuary destination for nationals of war-ridden countries such as Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.  The influx of asylum seekers into the area has reached thousands of refugees per year.        

The Tamils left their homes in Sri Lanka to escape social and quasi-sanctioned persecution.  Intense tensions between Tamils and the Sinhalese ethnic majority escalated after the Sri Lankan government’s upheaval of the Tamil Tiger rebel group.  Tamil militants have been fighting desperately for a separate state for over 25 years.   However, with the recent defeat of the sole Tamil fighting force, the Tamil minority essentially lost its power to assert independence, and many Sri Lankan Tamil nationals took flight to avoid the discrimination. 

Many Tamils were captured by Sri Lankan military personnel or law enforcement, then subsequently maimed and tortured.  Alex has related that many of the people on the boat suffer from burns and severed limbs.  The women and children among the group of over 260 Tamils have suffered from displacement and loss of family.  On these humanitarian grounds, they sought asylum in Australian territory. 

However, Kevin Rudd remains unmoved and obstinate.  According to the prime minister’s own statements, he refuses to support the people-smuggling that has been infiltrating Indonesian and Australian territories.  However, the people-smuggling was to ensure a safe escape for Tamil refugees who would have otherwise been persecuted by the Sri Lankan government. 

The fate of the occupants of the captured ship in Indonesia remains to be decided.     

For more information, please see:

The Age – Asylum boat had holes drilled in hull – 22 October 2009 

Al-Jazeera – Sri Lankan hunger strike fails – 18 October 2009   

BBC News – Australian PM seeking migrant help – 13 October 2009

Prisoners in Papua New Guinea Attempt Jailbreak for Not Being Fed

By Cindy Trinh
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

MOUNT HAGEN, Papua New Guinea – Prisoners at a Papua New Guinea jail attempted to escape because they were not fed for two consecutive days. Prison guards successfully stopped the 487 prisoners from escaping. The prison break would have been the country’s biggest mass break-out in history.

The Baisu prison, located near Mount Hagen in the Western Highland Province of Papua New Guinea, only has capacity for 300 inmates, yet it holds 800 inmates.  A warder stated that the prison is extremely overcrowded and the facilities are “rundown.” The 800 inmates were starving and left without food because a contract with the prison’s food suppliers had expired.

The chief superintendent of Baisu jail, Simon Sobaim, explained that the prisoners had nothing to eat since Sunday, October 18 because of a dispute between rival food suppliers over the contract with the prison.

As a result of the lack of food, three of the inmates fell ill. Fellow inmates were furious and demanded that the ill inmates be taken to the hospital. Soon after, 487 of the prisoners attempted to escape the prison on Tuesday afternoon.

The inmates were able to get pass three layers of fencing. Many of the watch towers at the prison had been pulled down because they were rotten and in extremely poor condition. Thus, the prisoners were able to pass the fencing more easily. The prison guards had to fire shots at the escapees to stop them, but no one was killed.

Sobaim stated that this incident “would not have happened had the ongoing ration problem been resolved.” The police commissioner has asked the former contractor to return to feed the inmates, and will continue to supply food until the dispute over the contract is resolved.

A representative of the prisoners stated that the next time the prisoners “were made to go hungry, they would simply walk out and risk being shot dead.” The representative further stated that “while they were lawbreakers, they had a right under the law to be fed.”

For more information, please see:
The National – Jail Drama – 21 October, 2009

Radio New Zealand International – Prisoners in PNG attempt to escape jail for not being fed – 21 October, 2009

The Timaru Herald – PNG’s biggest ever prison break prevented – 21 October, 2009

Times Online – Prison guards thwart mass breakout in Papua New Guinea – 21 October, 2009

UPI Asia – Hungry Papua inmates’ jailbreak foiled – 21 October, 2009

Yemen Sentences Houthi Fighters to Death

By Ahmad Shihadah

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SA’NA, Yemen – A Yemeni court has sentenced 10 Huthi fighters to death and has jailed at least five others after a trial in the capital Sa’na. The fighters were sentenced to death on Tuesday for “associating with an armed group for criminal purposes, creating an organized terrorist group and resistance to the authorities.” The official SABA news agency reported the sentences given convicted members of the Huthi insurgency in the country’s north came one day after Huthu leader Al-Mohatwari was sentenced to death and 10 of this followers received jail terms ranging from 8 to 10 years.

The fighters were captured during clashes in Bani Husheish located about 30 kilometers from Sa’na between March and June 2008. A defense lawyer speaking to the AFP stated appeals had been lodged  on behalf of two members of the group, but that the 13 others refused to appeal on the grounds that they did not recognize the courts legitimacy.

Battles between Yemeni forces and Huti rebels have raged intermittently for five years. Operation Scorched earth was launched by the Yemeni government this seen and has seen a fierce escalation of hostilities in the region. Human Rights Watch has accused both the Yemeni government and rebel forces of endangering civilian life during the fighting.

For more information please see:

UPI – 10 Yemen Insurgents Draw Death Sentences – 21 October 2009

CNN – Yemen ‘Rebels’ Given Death Penalty – 21 October 2009

Al Jazeera – Yemen Fighters Sentenced to Death – 21 October 2009