Kosovo’s supreme court has ruled that a former rebel commander, now a senior politician and close ally of the Prime Minister, must face a retrial for war crimes six months after the case against him collapsed. Fatmir Limaj, a senior commander with the Kosovo Liberation Army, was accused of torturing and killing Serbian prisoners in the Kosovan village of Klecka in 1999. The case collapsed however, after a key witness, fellow KLA fighter Agim Zogaj who was under witness protection in Germany, was found hanging from a tree in September 2011, in an apparent case of suicide. The court have now...
The former Chief Prosecutor at the Hague has criticised the release of two Croatian generals by the war crimes court, stating that it was “not justice”. Speaking to the Serbian tabloid Blic, Del Ponte said she was “shocked” by their acquittal , adding , "I was very surprised and stupefied. It is completely incredible what happened after the sentence of 24 years in prison for Gotovina. Unbelievable. I cannot accept it. I feel full solidarity with the Serb victims of the crime. The crime, that we backed up with hard evidence." "The Serbian government and Serbs cannot accept such a verdict, and...
Farc declared a two month unilateral ceasefire on Monday in Havana, Cuba, following landmark talks between Farc and the Colombian government . Ivan Marquez, Farc's negotiator, said that they would halt all attacks from midnight on Monday, till 20th January. The government's top negotiator, Humberto de la Calle, had previously said that Farc must agree to disarm, and that the army would continue fighting Farc till a peace deal was signed. There has been no response as yet on the unilateral ceasefire.
While fighting intensifies in the Congolese city of Goma, the Democratic Republic of Congo has out-ruled the prospect of negotiations with rebel group M23, dismissing the proposals as ‘blackmail’ from a Rwandan-backed group. Speaking to the Associated Press, government spokesman Lambert Mende said: “We refuse to enter into negotiations with M23. Because it’s Rwanda, not the M23, that is responsible. If Goma falls, it’s going to create a whole other set of problems. We refuse systematically to speak to them (M23). Because if we do, it would be a way to wash away Rwanda’s responsibility.” See...
A district court in Denmark has upheld a decision from the Danish Ministry of Justice to extradite a man to Rwanda, where he faces charges of genocide. The 50-year-old unnamed suspect was unable to prove to the court that he would not face a fair trial in Rwanda and now faces extradition back to the country. He has appealed against the decision. Rwandan authorities requested the suspect’s removal in 2008 or demanded that Danish authorities prosecute him themselves. Since no genocide law had existed in Denmark at the time, the man was indicted for murder, charges that he still faces, depending...
The newly formed National Coalition for Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces has been rejected by Islamist rebels in the country. Around 13 organisations were listed in a video released on the internet, denouncing the new group. "We are the representatives of the fighting formations in Aleppo and we declare our rejection of the conspiratorial project, the so-called national alliance," it says. "We have unanimously agreed to urgently establish an Islamic state." The new leader of the opposition, Moaz al-Khatib said they will reach out to the groups. "We will keep in contact with them for...
The United Nations chief, Ban Ki-Moon, is set to travel to Israel in order to intensify efforts to bring about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Ban arrived in Cairo, Egypt amid international concern surrounding the volatility of the conflict situation. Following a visit to Jerusalem for talks with the Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, Ban Ki Moon will meet with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Israeli officials have emphasised their readiness to launch a ground invasion, despite western governments urging Israel to avoid such measures...
The jailed leader of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, called for an end to the 67 day hunger strike of Kurdish prisoners in Turkey, raising speculation that an agreement had been found to end the protest. In a statement, Ocalan's brother Mehmet said , "Today I went to see my brother Abdullah Ocalan face-to-face in Imrali prison," "He wants me to share immediately with the public his call about the hunger strikes... This action has achieved its goal. Without any hesitation, they should end the hunger strike." The hunger strike protest by over 1700 Kurds jailed in Turkey demanded an end to Ocalan's...
The Australian government has approved the extradition of a man accused of war crimes to Croatia, where he is wanted for questioning for charges which include murder and genocide. Australian Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare’s decision that Dragan Vasiljkovic could be extradited, could make him the first ever accused war criminal to be extradited from the country. A spokesman for the Minister said , "The minister arrived at his determination following careful consideration of the provisions of the Extradition Act and taking into account representations made by, and on behalf of, Mr...
United Nations combat helicopters attacked Congolese M23 rebels as they advanced on the largest city in the eastern region of Congo, Goma. A UN peacekeeping spokesman, Kieran Dwyer, said that the UN helicopters had fired cannons and rockets at the rebels. The EU also joined the UN in calling on the rebels to halt their advance, with the foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton voicing concerns about the area. “I call on the M23 to immediately stop the military offensive against the city of Goma,” she said in a statement . A majority of the Western aid agencies in the city have been ordered to...