Boko Haram Fighters Kill Nigerian Vigilante Members

By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria – More than 20 members of Nigerian vigilante groups have been killed by suspected Boko Haram fighters.  These vigilante groups have been trying to fight back against Boko Haram in Borno, Nigeria.

Members of vigilante group man checkpoint (photo courtesy of AP)

The deaths occurred on two separate attacks on Sunday and Monday, residents and military officials reported.  These attacks have raised doubts about whether a military offensive against this group will succeed.

The military has been encouraging people to form vigilante groups to help it track down Boko Haram fighters as it pursues an offensive, attempting to end the Islamist extremists’ four-year insurgency.

In May, President Goodluck Jonathan declared an emergency in three north-eastern states, saying the group threatened Nigeria’s existence.

Now it seems that Boko Haram is taking revenge on these people who have formed these vigilante groups and observers have stated that they believe the groups may trigger the escalation of violence.

On Sunday, men disguised in military uniforms stormed a meeting of one vigilante group in Bama and opened firing, killing 14 people.  Later, at a local hospital, it was reported that another 4 people died.

“They came in military uniform and pretended to be members of the JTF,” survivor Mallam Bakura Module said of the attack in Bama, referring to a security task force.  “They asked after members of the vigilante group . . . but they opened fire on members of the group as we assembled for an address, killing 14 persons and injuring 10 others.”

The second attack took place on Monday night in the Borno village of Damasak, about 125 miles away.

Attackers crept up on sleeping members of the vigilante group, The Civilian Task Force, as they slept in a guesthouse and shot them dead.

Last week, gunmen had dressed as soldiers and opened fire on worshippers leaving a mosque in the village of Dumba, killing at least 35 people.

This fighting between Nigerian forces and Boko Haram has killed more than 3,600 people since 2009.  Both sides have been accused of major abuses.  Boko Haram claims it is fighting for the creation of an Islamic state.

Nigeria’s 160 million population is roughly divided between a mainly Christian south and mostly Muslim north.

For more information, please visit:

BBC News – ‘Boko Haram fighters’ kill vigilantes in Borno, Nigeria – 27 August 2013

The Voice of Russia – ‘Boko Haram gunmen’ kill 20 in Nigeria – 28 August 2013

Aljazeera – Dozens dead in Nigeria attacks – 27 August 2013

Reuters – Nigerian Islamists kill 14 vigilantes in Bama raid – 26 August 2013

Yahoo! News – Two suspected Boko Haram attacks kill 24 in Nigeria – 27 August 2013

 

War Crimes Prosecution Watch: Vol. 8 Issue 11 — 26 August 2013

International Criminal Court

Central African Republic & Uganda

Darfur, Sudan

Democratic Republic of Congo

Kenya

Libya

Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

Africa

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

 Chad

Special Court for Sierra Leone

Europe

Court of Bosnia & Herzegovina, War Crimes Chamber

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

Domestic Prosecutions in the Former Yugoslavia

Middle East and Asia

Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

Syria

Special Tribunal for Lebanon

Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal

War Crimes Investigations in Burma

North and South America

United States

South & Central America

Columbia

Peru

Chile

Topics

Terrorism

Piracy

Gender-Based Violence

Reports

UN Reports

NGO Reports

Truth and Reconciliation Commissions

Nepal

Ivory Coast

Commentary and Perspectives

Worth Reading

SNHR: Syrian Government’s Forces Targeted the Delegation of the International UN Committee Investigating Chemical Weapons at the Eastern Entrance of Moadamiyet Al-Sham

Syrian Government’s forces targeted the delegation of the International UN committee investigating chemical weapons at the eastern entrance of Moadamiyet Al-Sham.

The UN committee investigating chemical weapons couldn’t enter the city of Moadamiyet Al-sham, because it has been targeted by a barrier known to all the residents of the region is located at the East entrance of  Moadamiyet, and called Air Intelligence barrier in front of oil station known as military oil station, where security forces, militiamen, and Shabiha were stationed at this checkpoint.  We do not have news of any casualties among the UN Commission of inquiry, although one of delegation’s car was affected by the attack.

After several attempts, the International Committee’s delegation was able to enter the city just shortly before.

 UPDATE:

Inspectors entered and took samples from the patients and met with the families of the victims  then returned to the hotel in Damascus .

Mexican Kidnapping Victims Found Dead in Mass Grave

By Brandon Cottrell 
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – On May 26, twelve teenagers were kidnapped from an after-hours club.  This past week, a mass grave containing thirteen bodies was found in a neighborhood outside of Mexico City.  Of the thirteen bodies recovered, at least five of the bodies were identified as those of the kidnapped teenagers.  Authorities believe that the remaining bodies will soon be identified as the other teenagers.

A relative to one of the victims speaking to reporters. (Photo Courtesy of CNN)

The bodies, which were covered in lime and asbestos and buried under concrete, were decapitated.  The decapitation is reminiscent of murders preformed by the drug cartel in other parts of Mexico.  While the drug war has caused little violence in the capital region, this murder is believed to be a “gangland battle for control of the lucrative drug trade in the poshest bars and nightclubs” in Mexico City.

Authorities believe the kidnapping is linked to an upstart gang from Tepito, which is home to most of the victims involved.  The Union of Insurgentes, a wealthy and powerful drug gang, is likely to have orchestrated the mass murder as a warning to other gangs trying to seize their territory in Mexico City.  The families of the victims, however, say the teenagers were not involved in drug trafficking, despite some of the family members themselves being involved in gang activity.

Many Mexicans believe that Mexico City’s top law-enforcement officials downplayed the kidnapping and “were at best incompetent in trying to find the bodies.”  Beatriz Loza, the aunt of victim Monserrat Loza, said Saturday that, “The investigation failed. I can’t believe that three months have passed.”  Other relatives to the victims claim that law-enforcement moved slowly in fear of what a legitimate investigation would reveal.

Samuel Gonzalez, a security consultant and former federal anti-drugs prosecutor, stated that,  “The capital’s authorities have the political and moral obligation to quickly figure out what happened in this case, otherwise it will demonstrate their inability (to stop such crimes) and it could foment violence in the city.”  Police presence was increased over the weekend, as many authorities believed a retaliatory attack was likely.

Meanwhile, Mario Ledezma and Ernesto Espinosa Lobo, two of the owners of the club where the victims vanished from, were arrested.  According to witnesses, both Ledezma and Lobo have ties to the Union of Insurgentes.  Ledezma, however, claims that the Insurgentes threatened him, telling him that the gang would sell drugs in the club or he would be killed.  Three other individuals, including a driver and a security guard for the club, have also been arrested.

 

For further information, please see:

CBS News – Mass kidnapping, beheadings disturb Mexico City – 25 August 2013

CNN – 5 bodies ID’d as those of kidnapped Mexican youths – 25 August 2013

CBC News – Bodies in Mexican mass grave confirmed as kidnap victims – 24 August 2013

Global Post – Mexico City, an oasis tarnished by mass kidnap – 24 August 2013

Egypt Becoming Increasingly Hostile Towards Journalists, Reporters Without Borders Says

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – Egypt has become an increasingly dangerous environment for journalists as Egyptian forces have cracked down on free press, as well as protests. Several journalists have been arrested or killed since Egyptian forces began cracking down on protests.

Al Jazeera demands the release Shami, left, detained last week, and Badr, right, held since last month. (Photo courtesy of Al Jazeera)

 

Tamer Abdel Raouf, Regional Bureau Chief for the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram’s, was shot in the head after soldiers opened fire on his car last week at an army checkpoint in Damanhur, Egypt during a government enforced curfew. Hamed Al-Barbari, a reporter for the Egyptian Daily Al-Gomhuria, was traveling with him; he was injured during the shooting and hospitalized in Damanhur.

Raouf and Barbari were returning to their homes in the town of Kafr Al-Dawwar when the shooting took place. They were returning from a meeting with several other journalists and Beheira’s governor.

According to Barbari, they decided to take a different route home as they approached the checkpoint and the military opened fire as they were turning their car around. Military officials claimed in a statement released Augusts 20, the day after the shooting, that soldiers fired on the car after the two journalists allegedly attempted to drive through the checkpoint at high speeds ignoring calls for the them to stop.

Raouf is the fourth journalist to be killed in Egypt since 14 August, the day that the new authorities began using force to disperse the sit-ins being staged by deposed President Mohamed Morsi’s supporters.

The Egyptian government ordered the curfew, set to last for at least the next month, after security forces violently broke up two protests camps demanding the reinstatement for of Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday, August 14. The government enforced curfew in Egypt allows for an expectation for health officials and journalists, allowing them to move freely at night. However, according to Union of Journalists member Khaled Al-Balchi, many journalists have complained that the military officials is respecting this exemption for journalists.

Several journalists have been arrested since Egyptian forces began cracking down on protests. Abdallah Shami, a reporter for Al Jazeera has been held since August 14. He was detained by Egyptian forces during the government’s deadly crackdown on supporters of overthrown president Mohamed Morsi. No formal charges have been brought against him. Metin Turan, a reporter for the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), has been held since August 16 without charges. Mohamed Badr, a cameraman for Al Jazeera has been held in Egypt for more than a month; his detention recently extended for another 15 days pending further investigation.

Reporters Without Borders has called the arrests a sign of “growing hostility” towards journalists in Egypt. The group said in a statement that “the climate for journalists became even tenser on 17 August when the State Information Service issued a statement to the foreign media condemning their coverage of recent events.”

For further information please see;

Al Jazeera – Egyptian Journalist shot Dead After Curfew – 19 August 2013

Reporters Without Borders – Two Journalists Still Held, Others Arrested or Attacked – 19 August 2013

Al Jazeera – Al Jazeera Demands Release of Journalists – 20 August 2013

Reporters Without Borders – Egyptian Journalists Shot Dead During Night Curfew – 20 August 2013