By M. Brandon Maggiore
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

YAOUNDE, Cameroon – Ngarlejy Yorongar has reappeared in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, after disappearing 3 February when armed uniformed men took him into custody at his residence. Yorongar is a deputy in the Chadian assembly and was a candidate in the 2001 presidential election running against the Chadian president.

The seizure of Yoronger occurred during a government crackdown when rebels tried unsuccessfully to take power of the country. Another politician, former Chadian President Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh, is still missing. According to an e-mail received by Agence France Press (AFP) sent by a Chadian opposition representative in France, Yorongar said it would be a miracle if Ibni is alive after an alleged beating by the Chadian Presidential Guard.

Yoranger needed medical treatment upon his arrival in Cameroon according to Yorangar’s oldest son who spoke with Yoranger via telephone. The details of his release in Chad and his arrival in Cameroon are disputed at this time.

The Chadian government announced it would launch an investigation into the disappearance of the missing politicians and the coup attempt by the rebels. State run radio said it will create a commission “to investigate and produce information on people declared missing and into damage sustained by the state and the population in districts occupied by the forces of aggression.”  President Deby announced the creation of the international commission upon the termination of the visit of French president Nicholas Sarkozy. The commission will include representatives from the African Union, France, the European Union, and the organization of French-speaking nations. There is concern that the commission will not be neutral because it will be led by parliamentary speaker Nassour Ouaidou, a close aide to President Deby.

Chad will remain under a state of emergency until at least 15 March 2008. The state of emergency permits house to house searches and a crackdown on media outlets.

For more information, please see:

LeMonde.fr – Un des trois opposants tchadiens disparus réapparaît au Cameroun – 3 March 2008-03-03

AFP – Missing Chad opposition leader in Cameroon: sources – 3 February 2008

AFP – Chad opposition leader ‘safe abroad’; Ndjamena launches probe – 3 February 2008

Impunity Watch – Human Rights Groups Urge Chad to Release Suspected Prisoners – 27 February 2008

Yoranger.com – Biographie – accessed 3 March 2008

The United States has confirmed that it fired a missile at a terrorist target in southern Somalia near Dhoobley.  The strike near the Kenyan border in a region controlled by Islamists was a “known terrorist target” according to a U.S. official. The strike occurred during the night between March second and third. Residents next to the house targeted said that the house was totally destroyed and three planes were flying overhead. Residents in the town have fled or are staying under trees in fear that another strike might occur.

The U.S. has not confirmed any casualties but local officials state four people were killed. LeMonde reports that three strikes were made, two of which targeted residences. The U.S. conducted two strikes in Somalia in 2007 aimed at terrorist targets. The U.S. later confirmed that none of those targeted were hit. Local government officials stated that one-hundred people were killed in the January 2007 strike which targeted two targets.

For more information, please see:

CNN.com – U.S. official: Missiles fired at Somalia terror target – 3 March 2008

LeMonde.fr – Un raid aérien américain en Somalie aurait fait quatre morts, selon les chefs locaux – 3 March 2008

By M. Brandon Maggiore
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

ABYEI REGION, Sudan – Reports Sunday of fighting between Misseriya tribesmen and fighters from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) indicate 70 armed Arab nomads were killed in the oil-rich Abyei border region of Sudan. The actual number of dead and injured is disputed at this time.

The SPLM, a former rebel force, has shared power with the National Congress Party (NCP) since 2005. The SPLM governs the semi-autonomous Abyei region in southern Sudan. Eward Lino, spokesman for the SPLM , has accused the NCP of supporting the Misseriya in order to prevent the delineation of the border and prevent the countries census from taking place. The census is to start April 15^th and last two weeks. The census is necessary to prepare for Sudan’s first democratic election in twenty-two years.

The Misseriya claims the SPLM remains in their territory and stated that as long as the SPLM is in Misseriyan territory problems will continue.

This is the second clash in the region since the 21^st of December 2007. On that date, an Arab militia supported by Khartoum attacked an SPLA camp. One-hundred people were killed in that conflict.

The UN mission in Sudan is very concerned over the recent clashes and there is concern that the tensions, if not resolved, will threaten the 2005 peace agreement that ended the countries twenty-one-year north-south civil war in which two million people were killed. The civil war placed the Islamic Khartoum government against the largely animus and Christian rebels in the south.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Arab nomads dead in Sudan clashes – 2 March 2008

Reuters – Dozens killed as Sudan nomads clash with ex-rebels – 2 March 2008

LeMonde.fr – Des affrontements entre nomades et ex-rebelles font 78 morts au sud Soudan – 2 March 2008