• UK defends draft resolution on Srebrenica genocide at UN

    Britain defended a draft United Nations Security Council resolution commemorating the Srebrenica massacre of 1995 at the UN on Wednesday.
  • UN finds mass rights violations in South Sudan, calls for unfettered access and accountability
    South Sudanese armed forces could have committed widespread human rights abuses in recent intensified fighting across the region, found a new report by the United Nations mission in South Sudan, (UNMISS).

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  • Islamic State behead two civilian women

    Two women, accused of "sorcery", in Syria have been beheaded by Islamic State, in the first such executions of female civilians by the group.

    “The Islamic State group executed two women by beheading them in Deir Ezzor province, and this is the first time the Observatory has documented women being killed by the group in this manner,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, chief of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

  • Islamic State threatens Hamas
    Islamic State militants threatened to overrun the Gaza Strip after accusing Hamas of being insufficient in enforcing religion, reports Reuters.

    In a statement released on Tuesday, the Islamic State militants said,

  • ICC Prosecutor restates commitment to bringing justice in Sudan

    In a briefing to the UN Security Council on Monday, ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda restated her office’s “unshakeable” commitment to bringing “independent and impartial justice” for the people of Sudan. This statement comes six years after the first issuance of a warrant by the ICC for the arrest of Sudan’s President, Omar al-Bashir, for alleged war crimes including genocide in Darfur.

  • Somalian troops killed in Al Shabab attack

    At least five Somalian soldiers were killed in an attack on their base by Al Shabab militants in Kismayo.

    Some of the soldiers were beheaded after the militants briefly took control of the camp, witnesses told AFP.

    Last week over 50 Burundian peacekeepers from the African Union were killed in an attack by the militant group.

  • Chad violence killls police

    Five members of Chad's police force were killed in a raid on a militant weapon's cache in N'Djamena.

    Officials say six militants also died in an explosion, as they refused to surrender and blew themselves up.

  • Egypt prosecutor killed in car bomb

    Egyptian prosecutor Hisham Barakat was killed in a car bomb earlier today.

    Mr Barakat, who has sent thousands of opponents of President Sisi to prison in a crackdown on supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, died of his injuries in hospital.

    "He [Mr Barakat] has passed away," Justice Minister Ahmed al-Zind told AFP news agency.

  • US warns Kosovo that it will not block Russian war crimes prosecution push

    The United States warned Kosovo that it would not block Russian attempts to establish a United Nations tribunal to investigate alleged war crimes by ethnic Albanian fighters, after Kosovo failed to establish a war crimes tribunal.

    The US Embassy in Kosovo said it was "deeply disappointed" by the failure of Kosovo’s parliament to pass a vote that would have seen a special court set up to try former Albanian fighters with the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) on charges of war crimes.

  • Judge orders seizure of Falkland assets

    An Argentinian federal judge has ordered the seizure of assets of companies who are drilling for oil in the Falkland Island region, claimed by Argentina as its territory.

    Tierra del Fuego judge Lilian Herraez ordered the authorities to seize boats and other assets worth $156m of Premier Oil Plc, Rockhopper Exploration Plc, Falkland Oil and Gas Ltd, Noble Energy Inc and Edison International Spa.

  • Italian mayor says EU policy creates genocide
    The mayor of an Italian town in Sicily slammed the European Union (EU) policy on asylum seekers who are struggling to reach the shores of Europe, stating that the stories told by those who fled resemble the Holocaust.

    "We're living a genocide, and in a few years we Europeans risk being found responsible," said Palermo's mayor Leoluca Orlando, with thousands of refugees having died as they tried to cross the Mediterranean. "The stories told by survivors who make it to Sicily resemble the accounts told by survivors of Dachau and Auschwitz (concentration camps)," he said.
  • Armenian genocide recognition is ‘irreversible’ says Armenian FM
    Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan said the recognition of the Armenian genocide is an “irreversible” process, paying tribute to states that have recognised it.

    In a joint press conference with Czech foreign minister Lubomir Zaoralek, Mr Nalbandyan highlighted recent statements made by the German president and Belgian Prime Minister, adding that they “deserve high evaluation”.

    “All this proves that the Armenian genocide recognition process is irreversible,” continued Mr Nalbandyan.
  • Kosovo rejects war crimes court
    Kosovo’s parliament failed to approve measures to set up a special court to try former fighters accused of war crimes.

    The vote, which fell short by 5 votes, was backed by the United States and the European Union, who alleged that former ethnic Albanian fighters with the Kosovo Liberation Army were guilty of war crimes.
  • Swiss extradition of war crimes suspect to Bosnia angers Serbia
    Swiss authorities have extradited a former Bosnian Muslim commander accused of war crimes to Bosnia instead of to Serbia, where he is wanted over similar charges.

    The decision to send 48 year old Naser Oric to Bosnia instead of Serbia has angered Serb authorities, who called the decision "politically motivated” and “all but fair.”

    Last year, Serbian authorities issued an international warrant for his arrest and Mr Oric was arrested by Swiss authorities whilst trying to cross into France some two weeks ago. As soon as Serbian authorities filed a request for his extradition though, the Bosnian government followed suit, announcing it had launched its own investigation into alleged war crimes.

    Swiss authorities decided to send Mr Oric to Bosnia over Serbia, stating the decision had been made in “simplified proceedings”.

    "For Serbia, it means that the war crimes issue is not a matter of justice but of politics," said Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic.  Mr Oric, who stands "accused of the worst war crimes, has thus been practically released," he added.

    However the Bosnian government reacted differently, hailing the decisions as "the only correct and fair" one. Bakir Izetbegović, the Bosniak member of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said Serbia’s move was "another attempt of Serbian justice to mistreat our citizens, despite the accords and protocols (on cooperation of two countries in war crime cases) failed".
  • Vatican signs treaty with State of Palestine
    The Vatican has signed its first treaty with the State of Palestine, in a historic move that officially recognises the state.

    The agreement, signed at Vatican City by the Holy See’s foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, and Foreign Affairs Minister of the Palestinian National Authority Riad al-Maliki, drew immediate criticism from Israel, who expressed its “regret” at the move.

    Archbishop Paul Gallagher said the Vatican hope the move would be a "stimulus to bringing a definitive end to the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which continues to cause suffering for both parties".

    Mr al-Maliki also welcomed the treaty, stating it would help "recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, freedom and dignity in an independent state of their own, free from the shackles of occupation".
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