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 .
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.
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.”
NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar– About 1,000 anti-Muslim rioters burned shops and homes in yet another outbreak of religious unrest in Myanmar. The former army-ruled nation has grappled with spreading religious violence since civilian rule was fully restored in 2011.
A young boy salvages for belongings amid burnt remains after anti-Muslim riots rocked the Sagaing region. (Photo courtesy of Reuters)
Police fired multiple warning shots as the mob set property ablaze and attacked fire engines that were attempting to put out fires in a village at Kanbalu, in the central region of Sagaing. According to a Ministry of Information statement, “the local security forces stepped in to stop a group of approximately 1,000 people as they tried to torch a house. But the crowd kept shooting with slingshots and the situation became uncontrollable.”
The unrest erupted after a man was arrested on suspicion of attempting to rape a Buddhist woman on Saturday evening, according to some sources. A crowd of about 150 people and three Buddhist monks gathered at the police station demanding that the accused be handed over to them. When the authorities refused, the mob lashed out, attacking Muslim property in the area. The crowd grew in size and ferocity as the night went on.
Attacks against Muslims – who make up at least 4% of the population – have exposed deep chasms in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, casting a shadow over widely praised political reforms since instated since the end of military rule in 2011. This latest bout of violence is the first anti-Muslim incident reported in Sagaing, but signals that the unrest is continuing to widen.
It began in the west of Myanmar last year and has spread across the country since bloody riots broke out in the central town of Meiktila, where dozens were killed in March. Last week watchdog, Physicians for Human Rights, warned that Myanmar risked “catastrophic” levels of conflict with “potential crimes against humanity and/or genocide” if authorities failed to stem anti-Muslim hate speech and a culture of impunity around the clashes. Rights groups have accused authorities of being unable or unwilling to contain the unrest, which has left about 250 people dead and more than 140,000 homeless. Myanmar has rejected these claims.
Many of the incidents have featured retaliatory violence against Muslim communities in response to accusations of seemingly isolated criminal acts. An unnamed police official, said the latest conflict broke out after the suspect allegedly approached a 25-year-old woman, “grabbed her hand and attempted to rape her.”
No injuries have been reported in the violence, but the ministry statement said at least 20 homes were destroyed as well as over a dozen shops and a local mill. Fire engines battled the blazes and the ministry said security has been reinforced since early yesterday, in hopes of restoring peace in the region.
A radical Buddhist monk, Wirathu, who has been accused of stoking the unrest with anti-Muslim and nationalist speeches, posted a message about the incident on his Facebook page. He blamed Muslims in general for the unrest.
Two outbreaks of similar violence in the western state of Rakhine in June and October last year left about 200 people dead, mainly Rohingya Muslims. In March, sectarian strife in Meiktila killed at least 44 and thousands of homes were set ablaze.
The U.N. rights envoy to Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, slammed the government last week for allowing an aggressive crowd to surround his car and beat on the windows during a visit to Meiktila. He said the incident gave him “insight into the fear residents would have felt when being chased down by violent mobs”.
Myanmar responded, stating that the envoy was not in any danger.
By Ellis Cortez
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
BOGOTA, Colombia – Thirteen Colombian soldiers have been killed in an ambush by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in the eastern province of Arauca, the country’s army said in a statement. Two sergeants and 11 soldiers were killed.
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). (Photo Courtesy of GETTY)
Another soldier was injured in the attack and is receiving medical treatment, the military said. The wounded soldier was transported to a hospital in the area. Last month, 15 soldiers were killed by the rebel group in the same region.
Army commander Gen. Juan Pablo Rodriguez traveled to the area to oversee the operation to track down the FARC guerrillas who carried out the attack. The FARC is Colombia’s main guerrilla and are estimated to have about 8,000 fighters, according to the defense ministry.
Even though FARC rebels and the Colombian government have been holding peace talks in Cuba, both sides are continuing to target each other militarily. The Colombian government and the FARC rebels have been holding peace talks in Havana, Cuba since November of 2012.
On August 23rd, the FARC announced a “pause” in the talks and the government subsequently withdrew its team of negotiators. The FARC announced a “pause” in order to study a proposal that any peace deal must be put to a referendum.
The chief government negotiator, Humberto de la Calle, said both sides would be back at the table on August 26th to continue peace talks. As of now, the two sides have reached an agreement on land reform, the first of six points on their agenda.
Current talks are now focused on political rights for the rebels, including the insurgents’ insistence that none of them be sentenced to prison. The FARC have also demanded seats in Congress and their own news media, but it has also for the first time acknowledged shared responsibility for the country’s suffering and a willingness to make amends to the victims.
The FARC has been at war with the Colombian government since the 1960s, making it the longest running insurgency in Latin America. The Colombian government has made fighting the FARC a top priority and has obtained billions in U.S. aid for counterinsurgency operations.
A recent study by Colombia’s National Centre for Historical Memory estimated that 220,000 people have died as a result of the five decades of conflict.
The FARC is on both the U.S. and EU lists of terrorist groups. The FARC’s operations are financed through drug trafficking, extortion and kidnapping.
