• Kurdish Peshmerga accused of war crimes by Amnesty International

    Jan 19
    Amnesty International has accused the Kurdish Peshmerga of committing possible war crimes by forcibly uprooting and destroying the homes of Arab communities in northern Iraq, as they battle the Islamic State.

    In a new report, Banished and Dispossessed: Forced displacement and deliberate destruction in northern Iraq, the human rights organisation said satellite imagery had revealed “evidence of widespread destruction by Peshmerga forces” and that in some cases it was carried out by “Yezidi militias and Kurdish armed groups from Syria and Turkey operating in coordination with the Peshmerga”.

    "In some villages, nothing is left, not even a single house," said Amnesty International’s Senior Crisis Response Advisor Donatella Rovera. "Under international law, such deliberate destruction is very clearly a war crime."
  • Colombia and Farc request UN to monitor any ceasefire

    The Colombian government and Farc are planning to ask the UN Security Council to send a mission of unarmed observers to Colombia for 12 months to monitor any ceasefire and the end of their decades-long conflict. Negotiators from both sides presented the joint statement on Tuesday from peace talks taking place in Cuba.  

  • Syria talks may be delayed unless there is international pressure warns UN envoy
    The internationally brokered peace talks between Syria’s government and opposition forces may be delayed unless world powers apply pressure warned the Untied Nations envoy to Syria.

    Speaking on CNN UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura said,

    “I believe we can start the talks, perhaps no on the 25th, but we need to maintain the pressure, we need to maintain the momentum. There’s been no change in our desire to see this meeting happen on 25th.”
  • UN accuses IS of crimes against humanity and possible genocide
    A United Nations report published on Tuesday accused the Islamic State of acts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and possibly genocide.

    “The violence suffered by civilians in Iraq remains staggering,” the report, compiled by UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said.

    “The so-called ‘Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’ (ISIL) continues to commit systematic and widespread violence and abuses of international human rights law and humanitarian law."

    "These acts may, in some instances, amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possibly genocide.”

    The report examined the IS' enslavement of over 3500 people, mainly women and children from the Yazidi community in 2014.

  • Former Nazi medic to face trial for assisting functioning of death camp

    A former Nazi medic will go on trial on 3,681 counts of accessory to murder, reports the BBC.

    Hubert Zafke is accused of working as a medic in Auschwitz in a SS hospital and being tried for helping the death camp function.

  • Syria peace-talk invitations on hold till opposition representatives agreed on says UN
    The Untied Nations on Monday said it would not issue invitations to peace talks between Syria’s government and opposition until major powers driving the peace process agreed on which opposition representatives should attend.

    The United Nations spokesperson Farhan Haw said,
  • EU reiterates stance of labelling Israeli products made in occupied territories
    The European Union reinforced its position that products made on Israeli settlements in Palestinian land must be clearly labelled in Europe.

    EU foreign ministers on Monday said,
  • Kosovo war crimes court to be based at The Hague to help protect witnesses
    A special court is being set up in The Hague to prosecute those accused of committing war crimes during Kosovo’s war of independence, said the Dutch government.

    A statement released by the Dutch said the court will "try serious crimes allegedly committed in 1999-2000 by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army against ethnic minorities and political opponents."

    “This is a sensitive issue in Kosovo,” acknowledged the statement. “Possible suspects may be seen by sections of Kosovan society as freedom fighters, and witnesses may feel threatened in Kosovo. This is why the option of trying cases outside Kosovo was explored.”

    “It is important for justice to be done,” said Dutch foreign minister Bert Koenders. “So we are pleased to be able to offer the court a home.”
  • Attackers storm Burkina Faso hotel and cafe, 20 dead
    At least 20 people are believed to have been been killed after armed attackers stormed a hotel in the capital of Burkina Faso and attacked a nearby cafe late on Friday evening.

    Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has claimed responsibility for the attack.

    The hostages at the besieged Splendid Hotel included the country's labour minister and many foreign citizens.

    In a statement released on Saturday morning, the interior minister said 126 people were freed from the hotel, and three gunmen were killed after state forces ended the siege.

  • Use of starvation in Syria is a war crime says Ban Ki Moon
    The UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said on Thursday the use of starvation as a weapon of war in Syria was a "war crime" as aid reached the besieged town of Madaya this week.

    "UN teams have witnessed scenes that haunt the soul," said Mr Ban.

    "The elderly and children, men and women, who were little more than skin and bones: gaunt, severely malnourished, so weak they could barely walk, and utterly desperate for the slightest morsel."

    "Let me be clear: The use of starvation as a weapon of war is a war crime," he said. "All sides, including the Syrian government, which has the primary responsibility to protect Syrians, are committing this and other atrocious acts prohibited under international humanitarian law."

  • Suicide bombs and gun attacks in Jakarta

    A suicide bomb attack with armed gunmen in Indonesian capital of Jakarta on Thursday morning, left at least 6 people dead.

    The death toll is believed to include 5 attackers who were shot dead by police.

    Locals reported hearing several explosions and an exchange of fire between gunmen around a popular shopping area also home to foreign embassies.

  • UK defence minister confident on solution from Cyprus peace-talks
    British defence minister Philip Hammond said he was confident about peace talks in Cyprus that seek to resolve the dispute between Greek and Turkish Cypriots., reports Reuters.

    Speaking to reporters in Athens, Mr Hammond said,
  • Syrian opposition say peace-talks unrealistic without end to siege and humanitarian aid

    A prominent Syrian opposition politician said peace talks to begin on Jan 25 were unrealistic unless Assad’s sieges are lifted and humanitarian aid is allowed in for civilians, reports Reuters.

  • Form Serb paramilitary hiding in Australia indicted for war crimes

    A former Serb paramilitary commander who is living in Australia has been indicted for war crimes by a Croatian court.

    Dragan Vasiljkovic, also known as Daniel Snedden, lost a court battle blocking his extradition to Croatia in July, where he is due to face charges of war crimes and possibly genocide.

    Mr Vasiljkovic, who has been working as a golf instructor in Australia is accused of being behind an attack on the town of Glina in July 1991, where civilians were killed, property destroyed and captive Croatian soldiers tortured and killed.

  • UN war crimes investigators gather evidence from besieged Syrian town

    UN investigators have been gathering evidence from the besieged Syrian town of Madaya, confirmed the head of a Commission of Inquiry to Reuters on Tuesday.

    The commission's chairman Paulo Pinheiro stated his team had been in contact with residents of Madaya, where a convoy arrived on Monday, delivering much needed aid to the town’s 40,000 trapped civilians.

    The residents "have provided detailed information on shortages of food, water, qualified physicians, and medicine,” said Mr Pinheiro. “This has led to acute malnutrition and deaths among vulnerable groups in the town."

     "Siege tactics, by their nature, target the civilian population by subjecting them to starvation, denial of basic essential services and medicines," he added.

    "Such methods of warfare are prohibited under international humanitarian law and violate core human rights obligations with regard to the rights to adequate food, health and the right to life, not to mention the special duty of care owed to the well-being of children."

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