Impunity Watch: Africa

DR Congo Army Attacks Civilians at Measles Vaccination Site

2009-11-08T18:50:49-05:00

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

DR Congo - The Congolese army attacked villages where civilians gathered to receive measles vaccinations.

The aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) denounced the attacks in North Kivu as "an abuse of humanitarian action." Thousands of civilians were attacked when they visited sites set up specifically to combat a measles epidemic. The clinics were set up in order to provide the vaccine to workers otherwise unable to access regions controlled by the Hutu Rebels.

The aid agency said the clinics were targeted despite the security guarantees surrounding the aid camps. Now MSF fears the ramifications of this attack will affect future attempts to immunize the public. The targeting of civilians has been a major concern for charities operating in the region. United Nations (UN) support for the government has been dependent on it respecting the neutrality of civilians.

"We feel we were used as bait . . . . How will MSF be perceived by the population now? Will our patients still feel safe enough to come for medical care?" Said Luis Encinas, head of MSF programs in Central Africa.

The UN army has been helping the Congolese government in the offensive against Rwandan rebels since January 2009. Now, the Congolese government says the military operations have been suspended to allow for a UN inquiry into the allegations that Congolese soldiers were responsible for killing civilians.

A military spokesman for the Congo's UN mission said the government was unaware of the incident.

The leaders of the rebel group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), fled to the area in 1994 after being accused of taking part in Rwanda's genocide and have since been fighting with the local Tutsi population. There have also been reports that more than 7,000 women and girls have been raped and more than 900,000 people forced to flee their homes.

For more information, please see:

BBC - DR Congo Army "Used Aid as Bait" - 6 Friday 2009

Reuters - Congo Army Attacked Measle Vaccine Sites-Aid Agency - 6 November 2009

VOA - Thousand Flee Ethnic Violence in Northern DRC - 6 November 2009

Youth Recruitment in Somalia

2009-11-08T01:22:03-05:00

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

(Source:Al Jazeera)

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The Kenyan government has been accused of secretly recruiting and training youths from the north eastern region to fight for the Somali transition government against al-Shabaab.

The al-Shabaab militant group in Somalia has accused Kenyan leadership of secret recruitment of fighters amongst young Kenyan Somalis to fight the Islamist movement. al-Shabaab Islamic administration representative Sheikh Hassan Yaqub said Kenya's north eastern region members of parliament (MPs) are responsible for the recruitment.

"Somali MPs in Kenyan parliament are responsible for recruitment of fighters in Kenyan border towns and we are warning them," said Yaqub.

In the last three weeks at least 200 Kenyans of Somali origin have been recruited.

Habiba Kosar, one of many parents speaking out, said her 18-year-old son is being trained in a Kenyan government security facility.

"My son was picked in the middle of the night. He is being trained for Somalia. We have never seen Somalia and have no connection with the country. I just want my son back," she said.

Parents in Kenya have petitioned the government and local leaders for return of their children.

"The parents are claiming that their sons are [being] secretly smuggled out of the town in the name of army recruitment. It is shocking to hear that [the] Kenyan government has indulged itself in such activities which can cause [this] region great concerns," said Mayor Mohammed Gabow of Garissa town, headquarters of Kenya's north eastern province.

Gabow accused the government of luring young men with large sums of money because of the rampant unemployment.

Both the Kenyan and Somali transitional government deny these claims.

"This is cheap propaganda disseminated by some militia groups in Somalia," said a spokesman. "What I am aware of is that the Kenya government and, by extension the Kenya police, has been, and will continue to be, training Somali youths to serve as policemen in their country."

Kenyan authorities are accused of directly supporting the recruitment drive.

Escaped recruit Sharmarke Abdi said he escaped after two weeks of training alongside hundreds of Kenyan and Somali youths.

"We were told that the United Nations was supporting the recruitment. We were transported in government vehicles. We began training immediately. Some of the trainers were from Somalia," he said.

Conflict in Somalia continues as Islamist fighters and transitional government troops keep fighting. Most recently, two have been killed and five others injured after heavy fighting with bitter shelling. Islamists are fighting in favor of converting to an Islamic state while the current President is heading a transitional government.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera - Youth Lured to Fight in Somalia - 07 November 2009

All Africa - Somalia: Fighting Kills Two, Wounds Five Others in North Mogadishu - 07 November 2009

Garowe Online - Somalia: Al-Shabaab Accuses Kenyan MPs Over Youth Recruitment - 07 November 2009

Impunity Watch - Kenya Recruiting Soldiers in Somalia - 25 October 2009

ICC Claims Strong Cases in Kenyan Post-Election Violence

2009-11-07T23:26:30-05:00

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

(Source:ntvkenya)

NAIROBI, Kenya - Luis Moreno Ocampo, chief prosecutor for the international Criminal Court (ICC) announced that he would bring two to three post-election violence cases to trial by next July.

Ocampo has said that he has a "strong case" against some for crimes committed during the 2007 post-election violence. He believes speed is of utmost importance so Kenya does not experience the same type of violence during its next election in 2012.

"Everyone is worried about the next election in Kenya in 2012. That is why I understand the importance of speed," Ocampo said. "I'll go to the communities. I''ll see the victims, listen to them. I have to collect the evidence. Then I'll present my case. Then the names will be known. In the meantime, my duty is to make criminal records ready- who gave orders to kill. That's it."

President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga met with Ocampo and he told them that he would be asking the ICC's pretrial judges for permission to launch an investigation in December.

In October, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, acting as crisis mediator, warned that there was a serious risk of violence at the next presidential election if the killings were not prosecuted.

Today, Prime Minister Odinga said that he would surrender to the ICC if Ocampo built a strong case linking him to the violence.

"I will not wait to be arrested. I will volunteer information," he said.

Ocampo made the decision to proceed unilaterally because the Kenyan government decided not to refer the case to the ICC.

"President Kibaki and I agreed that the prosecutor should proceed with his work and Kenya would cooperate. We also didn't want to show that our judicial system had failed," said Odinga. That's why Kenya did not make a formal referral of the case to the ICC.

Odinga also said that the Kenyan government would fully cooperate with Prosecutor Ocampo.

"President Kibaki and I agreed that the prosecutor should proceed with his work and Kenya would cooperate. We also didn't want to show that our judicial system had failed," said Odinga. That's why Kenya did not make a formal referral of the case to the ICC.

The current Kenyan government operates as a power-sharing entity between the Prime Minister and the President. Both President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga have agreed to cooperate with any trials, although they remain committed to "local judicial mechanisms."

"My mandate is to end impunity of the most serious crimes," says Ocampo. "I will do that."

For more information, please see:

Daily Nation - Raila Assures ICC of Kenya's Support - 08 November 2009

Al Jazeera - Ocampo to Request Kenya Trials - 07 November 2009

BBC - ICC Seeking Speedy Kenya Trials - 07 November 2009

Reuters India - ICC's Ocampo Says Has Strong Case in Kenya - 07 November 2009

Taylor Accuses Prosecution of Misleading the Court

2009-11-05T23:15:32-05:00

By Jonathan Ambaye
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa Desk

THE HAGUE, Netherlands-On Monday, November 2, 2009, Charles Taylor’s trial, for his alleged role in serious international crimes committed by Sierra Leone rebels during the country’s civil war, resumed. On this day, Charles Taylor gave testimony accusing the prosecution of misleading the Special Court for Sierra Leone. This accusation came as a result of the prosecution introducing evidence that when Taylor was Liberia’s President, he acted as a mediator between divided Sierra Leonean rebel commanders, and that he further was involved in appointing rebel leaders and providing his country as a safe haven to rebels on “the run”.

The evidence came in the form of testimony by Vamunya Sherif, a former Deputy Director of Operations in the Liberian Secret Service during Taylor’’s presidency. In January of 2008, Sherif testified that Taylor played a role as a meditator between two senior rebel commanders of Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary Front (RUF), Issa Sesay and Sam Bockarie. According to Sherif’s testimony, Taylor invited the two commanders to Liberia with the intent to help them resolve their conflict. It is alleged by Sheriff, that during this time Taylor appointed Sesay as the leader of the RUF in place of Sam Bockarie. Sherif concluded his testimony alleging that subsequent to the leadership change, Bockarie fled to Liberia where he sought a safe haven.

In response to this testimony, Taylor dismissed Sherif’s testimony as “lies”. Taylor went on to say, “No such situation occurred where I sent for Sam Bockarie and Issa Sesay to discuss a conflict between them that will lead to the departure of Bockarie.” In additional response to the prosecutions introduction of the evidence Taylor said “the prosecution knows that no such meeting took place because they have gone through major documents that tell how Bockarie left Sierra Leone, so for them to ask that question when they know that no such meeting too place is sinister, and the prosecution misled the court.”

Taylor went on to refute other claims made by Sherif that included linking arms and ammunition exchanges between Bockarie and Liberia. For the past week Taylor has had to respond to testimonies by the prosecution's witnesses regarding his relationship with RUF commander Bockarie. Taylor has adamantly denied many of these allegations.

For more information please see:

All Africa – Charles Taylor Accuses Prosecution of “Misleading” The Special Court for Sierra Leone – 2 November 2009

Charles Taylor Trial - Charles Taylor Accuses Prosecution of “Misleading” The Special Court for Sierra Leone – 2 November 2009

Charles Taylor Trial – Charles Taylor and Sam Bockarie Did Not Have Master Servant Relationship – 29 October 2009

U.N. Support Suspended to Peacekeeping Unit For Ironic Civilian Killings

2009-11-04T15:16:00-05:00

By Jared Kleinman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KINSHASA, DRC - The U.N. has suspended logistical and operational support for the Congolese army's 213th Brigade which was confirmed to have killed at least 62 civilians during a peacekeeper-backed offensive against the rebel group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

For months, human rights groups have exposed the fact that Congolese armed forces in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have brutally killed hundreds of civilians and committed widespread rape, while they received more than $6 million worth of U.N. military and logistical backing for its Kimiya operation.

The UN peacekeeping mission, MONUC, is a partner with the Congolese army in operation Kimia II, which began on March 2. The aim of the peacekeeping mission is to disarm by force the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Rwandan Hutu militia group, some of whose leaders participated in the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. MONUC provides substantial operational and logistics support to the soldiers, including military firepower, transport, rations, and fuel.

Humanitarian agencies and rights groups have decried the civilian toll of the offensive, which has disarmed around 1,300 FDLR fighters at the cost of more than 7,000 women and girls raped and more than 900,000 people forced to flee their homes.

Human Rights Watch conducted 21 fact-finding missions in North and South Kivu from January to October 2009, and found that Congolese army soldiers had deliberately killed at least 505 civilians from the start of operation Kimia II in March through September. Most of the victims were women, children, and the elderly. Some were decapitated. Others were chopped to death by machete, beaten to death with clubs, or shot as they tried to flee.

"Some Congolese army soldiers are committing war crimes by viciously targeting the very people they should be protecting," said Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. "MONUC's continued willingness to provide support for such abusive military operations implicates them in violations of the laws of war."

"We welcome the steps that the U.N. has taken to suspend operations to this one brigade. But I am afraid we are documenting these kinds of atrocities, not just in this one area but in many other areas as well," said Van Woudenberg. "And we think the U.N. now needs to immediately suspend all of its support to this military operation until abusive commanders are removed and safeguards are in place in protect civilians."

Head of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Congo, Alain Le Roy, said despite confirmation of soldiers in the Congolese army's 213th Brigade participated in the massacre of at least 62 people between May and September, the U.N. has no intention of withdrawing broader support for the offensive.

"(The U.N.) will continue its engagement on the side of the Congolese army in the operation, which is very important in order to neutralize the FDLR.” Said Le Roy. "We have a case [where] clearly some units have behaved badly and some civilians have been killed in quite an important number. But we are not suspending our support to the Kimiya operation, not at all,"

The U.N.'s humanitarian coordinator in Congo and the deputy head of MONUC, Ross Mountain, said that withdrawing the mission's support for the operations would limit its ability to protect civilians. While admitting that there had been abuses by almost 50,000 government soldiers involved in the operations, Mountain denied claims made by HRW that MONUC had been aware as early as May of the widespread crimes carried out by the army.

The operation, in Congo's volatile eastern border provinces of North and South Kivu, was part of an agreement aimed at improving relations between Congo and Rwanda, enemies during a 1998-2003 war. The presence in eastern Congo of the FDLR is considered to be a root cause of over a decade of conflict and a humanitarian crisis that has killed an estimated 5.4 million people. Despite suspending some Congolese unites, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously last month to continue supporting the Congolese army.

For more information, please see:

Reuters - U.N. Defends Congo Role Despite Army Killings – 3 Nov 2009

VOA news - Rights Group Demands U.N. Aid Cut-Off to Congolese Army - 03 November 2009

The Huffington Post - Human Rights Watch Damns MONUC in Congo: Leaked UN Internal Memo Supports the Accusations – 2 November 2009

Amnesty International - Surge in Army Atrocities – U.N. Peacekeeping Force Knowingly Supports Abusive Military Operations - 2 November 2009

British Mercenary Pardoned by Equatorial Guinea President

2009-11-03T21:31:05-05:00

By Jonathan Ambaye
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa Desk

DAKAR, Senegal-Today the government of Equatorial Guinea announced it had pardoned Simon Mann and four other South Africans who had been imprisoned for a failed attempt to overthrow the country’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. In March 2004, a plane from South Africa was impounded by Zimbabwean police. Simon Mann, along with over seventy other mercenaries, was aboard the plane with the intent to pick up weapons and proceed to Equatorial Guinea in order to carry out a coup.

Upon the plane landing the police suspected the mercenaries intentions and instead arrested everyone on board the plane. Mann served four years in a Zimbabwean jail before his extradition to Equatorial Guinea where he was tried, convicted, and sentenced to 34 years in prison for being the author of a plot to carry out a coup. Simon strongly contended that he was only an accomplice and not the leader of the plot.

On Tuesday, an advisor to Equatorial Guinea President Obiang, Miguel Mifuno said Mann was released on humanitarian grounds. He also said, “Simon Mann conducted himself in an exemplary fashion during his trial and his incarceration in Equatorial Guinea. He has had some health problems. And was operated on. He is now in good health but the President thinks he should now be allowed to live in peace with his family.”

Simon Mann is an alumnus of Britain’s prominent educational institution, Eton College, and comes from a wealthy family of brewers. His involvement in the conspiracy included other Britons including Sir Mark Thatcher, the son of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Sir Mark Thatcher had been fined and given a suspended sentence in South Africa in 2005 for unknowingly helping to finance the plot.

Upon Mann’s release, he said he was “delighted” that he would be reunited with his family and that was thrilled at the news.

For more information please see:

All Africa – Government Frees Mercenaries – 3 November 2009
BBC – Pardoned Briton Due For UK Return – 3 November 2009
NY Times – Equatorial Guinea Frees British Mercenary – 3 November 2009
VOA – British Coup Leader Pardoned In West Africa – 3 November 2009

Congolese Army Killed 62 Civilians in DR Congo

2009-11-02T23:36:59-05:00

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo - Due to accusations that the Congolese army killed 62 civilians, the United Nations (UN) has withdrawn its support to the soldiers operating in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

"[C]ivilians have been clearly targeted in attacks by certain elements of the FARDC (the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo)," said UN peacekeeping chief Alain Leroy.

Human Rights activists have persistently said that ethnic Hutus were being killed by the Congolese army. They have also accused the UN of doing little to stop the killings.

Leroy stated that the peacekeeping mission (Monuc) will "immediately suspend" its logistical and operational support to the army units who are implicated in the killings.

Source say that at least 62 civilians, including women and children, were killed between May and September 2009 in the Nord-Kivu province.

There is currently a UN joint inquiry in the killings being carried out with the Congolese army. The UN is awaiting the results of the inquiry before any further action.

Human Rights groups have estimated that hundreds of civilians have been killed and thousands of women have been raped by rebels and soldiers since DR Congo and Rwanda launched the joint offensive in January.

The Hutu rebel group has been at the heart of the years of unrest in the region. They have participated in the massacres of more than 500,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The UN has been providing logistical assistance to the FARDC since March in their efforts to tackle Rwandan Hutu rebels.

For more information, please see:

AFP - UN Suspends Support for DR Congo Army Over Killings - 2 November 2009

AP - UN: Congolese Army Killed 62 Civilians in E. Congo - 2 November 2009

BBC - UN Drops Congo Army Over Killings - 2 November 2009

Xinhua - DR Congo in Better Situation But Still in Aftermath of Insecurity - 2 November 2009

Reuters - Lack of U.N. Air Power Endangers Congo Civilians - 1 November 2009

Mugabe Takes a "Sharp Dig" at Tsvangirai

2009-11-02T21:45:32-05:00

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

HARARE, Zimbabwe - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe continue to verbally combat one another amidst their efforts to work together.

This past Saturday, Mugabe took a "sharp dig" at Tsvangirai and criticized his decision to boycott the country's Unity Cabinet. On October 16, Tsvangirai temporarily withdrew from the Cabinet citing a lack of co-operation and human rights abuses by Mugabe and his party as the reason why.

"Even if some person is not mentally stable he is still your partner . . . . We bound ourselves to work together even though we had disparate positions. We will continue talking, no matter what," continued Mugabe.

Mugabe, 85 years-old, has ruled Zimbabwe since its independence from Britain in 1980. Mugabe said that although he disagrees with his former coalition partner, he remains committed to working with his party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), to reform the power-sharing agreement.

While speaking at the funeral of one of his party's senate members, Mugabe said the MDC party has "one leg in, and one leg out" of the government.

"The requirement is that we indeed continue step-by-step to move together and whatever are the difficulties, become our difficulties together," he continued.

Mugabe criticizes any external involvement regarding the disengagement of the MDC party from the cabinet. He says that it is not for outsiders to resolve. Mugabe also slammed Western countries for misusing their economic power to impose sanctions on his country. And he announced that Zimbabwe would consider taking the fight against the sanctions tot he international fora.

Political unrest and violence both hover in the horizon as these two leaders try to re-forge a unity government. In February of this year, the leaders combined to form a unity government. This occurred after two violence-plagued elections left the country at a political standstill and in economic ruin.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera - Mugabe Criticises MDC Boycott - 31 October 2009

AP - Zimbabwe Pres.: Opposition "Not Mentally Stable" - 31 October 2009

AP - Zimbabwe: Mugabe Takes Sharp Dig at Tsvangirai - 31 October 2009

Xinhua - Zimbabwe's Political Problems for Zimbabweans to Solve: Mugabe - 31 October 2009

Ex-Sierra Leonean Rebels Sent to Rwandan Prison

2009-11-01T22:51:37-05:00

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone - Eight men found guilty by the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) of war crimes and crimes against humanity have been transferred from Sierra Leone to a prison in Rwanda to serve their sentences.

The prisoners were sent from the SCSL detention facilities in Freetown, Sierra Leone to Rwanda because there are currently no prisons in Sierra Leone that meet international standards.

"Amid tight security, the eight men were flown by helicopter from the Special Court compound to Lungi International Airport, where they boarded a U.N.-chartered plane for Kigali, Rwanda," said the Court in a statement.

According to spokesman Peter Andersen, they "left shortly after 0400 GMT."

Of the men transferred, three were from the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) who were convicted in February on charges of terrorism, murder, rape, sexual slavery, and use of child soldiers among others. For the first time in history, these men were convicted of forced marriage and attacks against peacekeepers.

Last week, SCSL upheld former RUF Interim Leader Issa Hassan Sesay's sentence of 52 years, RUF Commander Morris Kallon's sentence of 40 years, and former RUF Chief of Security Augustine Gbao's sentence of 25 years. Three former leaders of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), Alex Tamba Brima, Ibrahim Bazzy Kamara, and Santigie Borbor Kanu and two former leaders of the Civil Defense Forces (CDF), Moinina Fofana and Allieu Kondewa complete the list of prisoners.

The eight prisoners have been transferred to Mpanga Prison in Rwanda where they will be held in the part of the prison originally built to house prisoners convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Their incarceration at this facility was facilitated by an agreement made between SCSL and the Rwandan government.

Time served while held by the SCSL will be given to the prisoners as credit toward their sentences.

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor's trial, the last remaining defendant for the SCSL, is being held in The Hague, where it was moved for security reasons. He is accused of controlling the RUF.

For more information, please see:

AFP - Sierra Leone Ex-rebels Leave to be Jailed in Rwanda: Court - 31 October 2009

Cocorioko - Special Court Prisoners Sent to Rwanda to Serve Their Sentences - 31 October 2009

Reuters - Sierra Leone Court Sends Convicts to Rwandan Prison - 31 October 2009

UN News Centre - Sierra Leone: Eight Men Found Guilty of War Crimes Transferred to Rwanda - 31 October 2009

UN Looking Into Guinea Violence

2009-11-01T20:01:19-05:00

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

CONAKRY, Guinea - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has launched an international inquiry into the violence against Guinean protestors last month.

On September 28, gunmen opened fire on a stadium full of anti-government protestors killing 157 and wounding more than a thousand others.

Earlier this week the UN Security Council condemned the violence because Russia was opposed and Moscow was uncomfortable getting involved with the domestic politics of an individual country. According to the UN, the inquiry will "investigate those incidents with a view to determining the accountability of those involved."

Algerian diplomat and jurist Mohamed Bedjaoui will chair the inquiry. Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, leader of Guinea's military government, has said that he will cooperate with the UN's efforts.

The inquiry team will be filled out with Burundi's Francoise Ngendahyo Kayirwamirwa and Mauritius' Pramila Patten. Kayirwamirwa has previously served on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and Patten is a member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

Prior to traveling to Geneva and Guinea, the commission members will travel to New York City to meet with the Secretary General, said spokeswoman Michele Montas.

Guinea's military junta warned that any sanctions imposed on the country might cause chaos in the country, warning that the international community was pushing the country into a situation "that could degenerate."

The African Union, the United States, and the European Union have joined in imposing fresh sanctions on the junta. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is attempting to mediate the situation and Guinean leadership has agreed to give ECOWAS priority. Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore will be the mediator.

"The president (Dadis Camara) has said that he is putting the fate of Guinea in the hands of mediator Compaore," said his spokesman.

International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo has said that he is also investigating.

For more information, please see:

AFP - Guinea Junta Warns Sanctions May Cause Chaos - 30 October 2009

Al Jazeera - AU Imposes Sanctions on Guinea - 30 October 2009

All Africa - Ban Announces Members of Commission to Look Into Bloody Guinean Crackdown - 30 October 2009

AP - Guinea Protestors Freed After Being Forced to Eat - 30 October 2009

UN News Centre - UN Chief Ban Launches Inquiry Into Guinea Violence - 30 October 2009

Xinhua - UN Announces Establishment of Int'l Commission to Probe Guinea Incidents - 30 October 2009