BRIEF: Wars in Africa Costing Billions

A new report released by Oxfam International suggests that conflict in Africa has cost the continent about $284 billion between 1990 and 2005.  During this same period, Africa received $279 billion in foreign aid from major donors.  The report states that the continent is losing $18 billion a year to conflict and that the average war shrinks a country’s economy by 15 percent.  Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf wrote in an introduction to the report: “The sums are appalling: the price that Africa is paying could cover he cost of the HIV and AIDS crisis in Africa, or provide education, water and prevention and treatment for tuberculosis and malaria…Literally thousands of hospitals, schools, and roads could have been built.”

For more information, please see:

CNN – African wars cost billions – 11 October 2007

USA Today – Wars cost Africa nearly $300B – 11 October 2007

Bloomberg – Wars Cost Africa Economies $284 Billion in 15 Years, Oxfam says – 11 October 2007

Ceasefire Ends in Sudan

By Elizabeth Costner
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan – The only rebel group to sign the 2006 peace accord has recently broken the ceasefire and resumed fighting with Sudanese troops.  The United Nations Mission in Sudan said a firefight took place on Tuesday between the Sudan Liberation Army faction of Minni Minawi and the Sudanese army near the north Darfur town of Tawila.

The Minawi faction threatened to take up arms again following an alleged government-backed attack in a south Darfur town in which more than 50 people were killed.  They further allege that the recent attack mainly targeted women, children, and the elderly.  The Sudanese army denied any involvement in the attack, and says the violence was the result of “tribal fighting between the citizens of the area.”

Minni Arcua Minnawi, the head of the SLA who became presidential advisor in Khartoum after he signed the 2006 peace agreement, has called for an international investigation into the attack. “We are committed to the peace and the ceasefire but we want the government to not repeat any action like this.”

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon released a highly critical report accusing Khartoum of failing to approve a list of troop-contributing countries for the hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping force approved in July.  Ban’s report also states that the UN was being prevented from obtaining land for offices and accommodation in Darfur and that there was an “unacceptable upsurge in violence.”

Violence has been increasing in Darfur in recent weeks, threatening the new peace negotiations scheduled to take place in Tripoli on October 27.  Ban stated in the recent report: “The ongoing loss of life and displacement of civilians is unacceptable and is not contributing to an atmosphere conducive for the peace talks in Libya.”

Minnawi is in Darfur ahead of the scheduled talks and is to meet with rebel factions who rejected last year’s deal.  Since the 2006 agreement, the rebels have split into more than a dozen factions and formerly pro-government militias have turned on each other.

Since the conflict began in 2003, more than 2 million have been displaced and at least 200,000 have died.

For more information, please see:

Reuters Africa – Dafur peace faction call for probe into attack – 11 October 2007

BBC – Sudan red tape delaying UN force – 11 October 2007

AFP – Darfur rebel group scraps ceasefire – 10 October 2007

Economist – The worsening violence in Darfur – 10 October 2007

AllAfrica.com – Darfur Attack ‘Targeted Women and Children’ – 10 October 2007

For more information on the Darfur conflict, please see the following Impunity Watch reports: African Union Peacekeepers Attacked in Darfur; Ongoing Conflict in Sudan; ICC Prosecutor Demands Arrests in Sudan; Secretary General Urges Sudan President to Commit to Ceasefire; Peace Talks on Darfur Scheduled for October; UN Secretary General Visits Sudan

Turkey: Military may pursue PKK into Iraq

By Vivek Thiagarajan
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

ANKARA, Turkey- Turkish Prime Minister Tayipp Erdogan asked the parliament to authorize a military invasion into northern Iraq.  The purpose of the offensive is to attack a base of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

On October 7, the PKK claimed the deaths of 13 Turkish soldiers in the southeast province of Sirnak bordering Iraq.  A possible motive of the PKK attack was retaliation, because the Turkish military killed a high ranking PKK officer earlier that day. The Turkish authorities believe that the PKK members responsible for these attacks fled to their base northern Iraq, which is why the Turkish government believes that it must enter Iraq to stop the Iraq.

However, a Turkish invasion of Iraq would be a direct violation of the agreement that it signed with Iraq in September.  The agreement stated that both countries would pursue the PKK independently, but the agreement expressly prohibited the Turkish government from invading Iraq for the purpose of pursuing the PKK.

The PKK’s stated aim is to give the Kurdish people more political and cultural rights. The Kurdish people have a large population of people in Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey.  Most of the Kurds live in a region called Kurdistan, and the PKK is a major proponent of making Kurdistan into an independent state.  The PKK is generally supported by the Kurds.

Irregardless of the PKK’s purpose, the Turkish government views the PKK as an illegal terrorist organization.  The constant fighting between Turkey and the PKK has claimed the lives of over 30,000 people, since the PKK’s founding in the late 1970’s.

The possible intrusion of northern Iraq by Turkey could destabilize the Middle East.  However, the rising tension in Turkey due to the recent attacks by the PKK has forced the Turkish government to take immediate action to appease the sentiment felt by Turkish people.  Thus, the Turkish government is weighing the option of taking immediate military action and unilaterally attacking the PKK in northern Iraq to protect its interests, even though this action would be a direct violation of its September agreement.

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera- Turkey Weighs Options against PKK- 8 October 2007

Al-Jazeera- Turkey and Iraq sign security deal- 28 September 2007

Associated Press- Kurdish Rebels Kill 12 in Turkey- 29 September 2007

Associated Press- Turkey Shells Rebels in Northern Iraq- 10 October 2007

International Herald Tribune (AP)- Turks weighing risk of cross-border incursion into Iraq to U.S.-Turkey relations- 10 October 2007

New York Times (Reuters)- Kurdish Rebels Kill 13 Soldiers on Turkish Border With Iraq- 8 October 2007

Israel to seize land in the West Bank

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

JERICHO, West Bank – The Israeli army recently ordered the seizure of 272 acres of land from four Palestinian villages.  An army spokeswoman stated that the confiscated land will be used to build a highway between Jerusalem and Jericho, a city in the east of the West Bank.  She also claimed that the road will “improve the quality of life” for Palestinians.  The road will enable Palestinians to travel to northern and southern portions of the West Bank without having to go through any Israeli check points.

However, critics of the land confiscation say that it will enable Israel to expand settlements in the corridor between Jerusalem and Ma’aleh Adummim.  The building of this new Palestinian road will free up E-1 area between Jerusalem and Ma’aleh Adummim, where the current Palestinian road runs for the long planned development of 3,500 apartments and an industrial park.  In 2005, Israel froze development in E-1, under international and US pressure.  The building of permanent settlements on occupied land is seen as a violation of international law.

Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erakat, condemned the act and stated that “settlement expansion, especially in the Jerusalem area, will undermine and destroy these efforts. We call upon the Israeli government to revoke this decision and give peace a chance.”  Aside from declaring the confiscation illegal under international law, Palestinians also claim that Israel’s actions will split the West Bank into two separate portions and will limit the viability of a future Palestinian state.  Also, it would effectively sever the West Bank from East Jerusalem, which Palestinians hope to be their future capital.

Jeff Halper, an Israeli geographer, specializes in Israeli development in the West Bank.  He says that there appears to be a rush to carry out as much development as possible before the US-sponsored talks between Abbas and Olmert in November.  He alleges that Israel wants to develop as much as possible prior to the talks, because that will be seen as the starting point.  Palestinians want the border between Israel and the future Palestinian state to be set at pre-1967 borders, whereas Israel is continuing construction on its separation barrier, which in many places dips into Palestinian territory.

This seizure will deprive residents of four Palestinian villages, Abu Dis, Arab al-Sawahra, Nebi Musa and Talhin Alhamar, access to their land.  Much of the Palestinian economy is based on agriculture, thus access to land is essential.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Israel to confiscate West Bank land – 10 October 2007

Arab News – Israeli land seizure to cut West Bank in two – 10 October 2007

Guardian – Abbas spells out land demand – 10 October 2007

Guardian – Israeli army orders confiscation of Palestinian land in West Bank – 10 October 2007

AFP – Israel seizes Arab land near Jerusalem – 9 October 2007

Associated Press – Israel’s Palestinian road hit by critics – 9 October 2007

Nigeria Marked by Corruption and Violence

By Meryl White
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria – Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released a report citing that the behavior of Nigerian government officials is marked by “corruption and violence.” HRW claims that politicians recruit violent gangs to offer assistance in their political campaigns by rigging elections, and terrorizing political opponents.

In parts of Nigeria, power players in the election campaign are referred to as “godfathers,” because they carry out illegal operations in order to get their friends and protégés into positions of power.  In return, the “godfathers” embezzle politicians by seeking monetary payments, control of resources, and jobs.

In the 2007 gubernatorial race in Anambra State, the power hungry candidate Andy Uba hired armed “cult” gangs to oversee the electoral process. The militant members ended up taking up a bloody battle in the streets of the state capital. Critics have compared Uba’s campaign organization to an “oil well” that was “tapped” by acts of violence.

HRW published a 123-page report, “Criminal Politics: Violence, ‘Godfathers’ and Corruption in Nigeria,” which documents Nigeria’s human rights violations and ramped corruption.  Moreover, it accuses leaders of benefiting financially and socially, at the expense of the general population. The report holds that “the impunity enjoyed by those responsible for these abuses that denies justice to its victims and is a roadblock to reform.”

An elder member of the Gombe tribe told Human Rights Watch that, “We are ruled by gangsters. The major source of criminal activity in Gombe is the politicians and their militias.”

While Nigeria is said to have “become mired in a state of crisis,” HRW believes that Nigeria’s newly elected president, Umaru Yar’Adua’s, may bring a brighter future for the country, as he has agreed to uphold the rule of domestic and international law.

For more information, please see:

VOA – Human Rights Watch Says Corruption Pervasive in Nigeria – October 2007

AllAfrica.com – Nigeria: Violence, Corruption Institutionalised – 9 October 2007

Human Rights Watch – “Criminal Politics: Violence, ‘Godfathers’ and Corruption in Nigeria” – 9 October 2007