Violations_in_Syria_during_2015_en
Yemen Peace Talks End After Ceasefire Violations
By Brittani Howell
Impunity Watch News Reporter, The Middle East
SANA’A, Yemen – On Sunday, peace talks in Switzerland, regarding the Yemeni conflict, came to an end with no sign of resolution as combatants engaged in a fierce fighting. According to the United Nations, there were “numerous violations” to the ceasefire agreement.
According to Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the United Nations special envoy to Yemen, negotiations will resume sometime in the middle of January. He also stated that both sides, the Houthi rebels and the government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, were far from a ceasefire as neither side trusts the other.
The ceasefire violations that occurred Friday and Saturday caused more than 100 deaths, 55 of which occurred on Saturday. According to the Houthi-run defense ministry, Saudi Arabia conducted 1,300 airstrikes in the Harath district of Hajah, since Thursday. According to Human Rights groups, the Saudi-coalition is responsible for the majority of civilian deaths.
The United Nations reported last month that 5,700 people have been killed in addition, tens of thousands have been wounded and 82% of Yemen, or 21 million people, is in need of some kind of humanitarian assistance. The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator, Johannes Van der Klaauw, stated, “The collapse of basic services in Yemen continues to accelerate.”
Houthi forces, over the past couple of days, have launched ballistic missiles at the Saudi-backed forces. According to Yemeni military officials, the Houthis have also attacked across the border, into Saudi-Arabia.
Anti-Houthi forces, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, have started an offensive that sweeps across several northern provinces. The Anti-Houthi forces have recently captured new territory including a provincial capital.
During the peace talks, however, it was agreed that both sides would release prisoners and that both sides would create proposals on how to withdraw forces. An anonymous diplomat told The New York Times, that there has been a “palpable warming on a personal level between the two delegations over the course of the week.”
For more information, please see:
Associated Press – UN Announces End of Yemen Peace Talks Amid New Fighting – 20 December 2015
Reuters – U.N. Sees Progress in Yemen Talks but Urgent Need for Full Ceasefire – 20 December 2015
The New York Times – Yemen Peace Talks End with No End to Conflict – 20 December 2015
CNN – As Sides Talk, Fresh Violence in Yemen Leaves 55 Dead – 19 December 2015
Interactive Map of Al-Rahma and Al-Karama Clusters
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IDP CAMPS MONITORING REPORT NORTHERN SYRIA
Pinochet-Era Soldier Confesses to Murder on Radio
By Kaitlyn Degnan
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
SANTIAGO, Chile — A former soldier from the days of the Pinochet dictatorship confessed to participating in at least 18 murders on a live radio show. Guillermo Reyes, going by the pseudonym “Alberto” called in to “Chacotero Sentimental” (Loving Betrayal), a radio show hosted by Roberto Artiagoitia, to talk about a failing romance. Instead, for twenty minutes, Reyes discussed his participation in the killings of Socialist Party prisoners.
According to Reyes, soldiers executed the prisoners by shooting them in the head, and then destroyed the victims’ remains with dynamite. In his call, Reyes expressed no remorse for his participation in the executions: “The first time (I killed someone), I cried but the lieutenant was saying, ‘Good soldier, good soldier, brave soldier.’ I liked the second time. I enjoyed it.”
Although he did not identify himself during the call, police were able to track the call back to Reyes. He was arrested and has so far been charged with killing Freddy Taberna Gallegos and German Palomino Lamas, both Socialist Party prisoners. Reyes is also being investigated by a human rights judge.
Reyes was drafted into Pinochet’s army as a young man and was then indoctrinated during military training in Santiago. He said he was “forced to kill” because commanders would execute conscripts for disobeying orders.
When challenged by radio host Artiagoitia about his moral conscience and “responsibilities as a human,” Reyes reiterated that he was following orders. “If we found them with a gun, we liquidated them.”
At the time of his call, Reyes was a 62-year old bus driver.
The Pinochet regime of 1973-1990 is considered one of the most violent periods of Chile’s history. Officially, 903 people were disappeared and 1,759 were executed. Chile has taken a number of steps in current months to recognize the victims and provide education regarding the human rights violations. Recently, President Michelle Bachelet created a Human Rights Department to implement policies to support Pinochet’s victims.
For more information, please see:
TeleSur – Chile Creates Human Rights Department for Pinochet Era Murders – 17 December 2015
USA Today – Radio caller confesses to 18 murders – 17 December 2015