• Mali government rejects peace-talks on autonomy

    Mali’s government said it will not participate in further talks with rebels seeking autonomy for northern Mali, in a statement made on Wednesday.

    The government spokesperson, Choguel Kokala Maiga, said,

    “There is no question for us to resume negotiations again, otherwise it will never end.”

    The government refusal comes only a day after the rebel coalition agreed to further rounds of talks.
  • Deaths in attack on Tunis museum

    The Tunisian capital was hit by an attack on its most prestigious museum, leaving 19 people dead, including two Tunisians and 17 foreign tourists, and over 40 injured.

    Gunmen stormed the Bardo Museum, world famous for its large collection of Roman mosaics, and started shooting at tourists, killing several. Two gunmen were killed by police.

  • US drone strike kills senior al Shabaab leader
    A US drone strike last week killed an al Shabaab leader who was thought to be responsible for the 2013 attack on a Nairobi shopping mall killing 67 people, announced the Pentagon on Wednesday.

    In a statement, the Pentagon said,
  • Almost all mosques in CAR destroyed says US envoy

    Almost all of the Central African Republic’s 436 mosques have been destroyed said the US ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, after her visit to the country last week.

    Describing the scenes she saw as “kind of crazy, chilling,” Ms Power told the UN Security Council that 417 of 436 mosques in the Central African Republic had been destroyed after months of sectarian violence in December 2013.

  • Serbia arrests seven over Srebrenica massacres
    Serbian police arrested seven men in accused of taking part in the massacre of over 1,000 Muslim in Srebrenica, reports the BBC.

    The men arrested on Wednesday are the first to be reprimanded in Serbia for their involvement in the massacres in 1995.

    The massacre at Srebrenica is the only atrocity in Europe to be labelled as genocide by the United Nations.
  • Syrian bombing of Islamic State stronghold may be war crime says Amnesty International

    The bombing of Raqqa by Syrian government forces may constitute war crimes, said Amnesty International, stating multiple air raids appear to have killed dozens of civilians.

    Amongst the targets hit were a mosque, a school and a market, said the human rights organisation, in a report that examined air raids carried out on Raqqa in November last year. Raqqa is currently the stronghold of Islamic State militants, which has increased its hold over the city since May 2013.

    “The conclusions are damning,” said Amnesty International. “In some cases, the evidence points to the Syrian government forces having violated international humanitarian law by directing attacks against civilians.”

  • Burmese court jails three men for ‘insulting Buddhism’

    A man from New Zealand and two Burmese men have been handed a prison sentence by a court in Myanmar for “insulting Buddhism”, after they posted a flyer on their Facebook page advertising for their bar, showing Buddha with his eyes shut, wearing large headphones.

    Ye Lwin, judge at the Bahan Township courthouse, said that though the men had apoligised, they had "intentionally plotted to insult religious belief" when posting the flyer on social media.

    Human Rights Watch Deputy Asia Director Phil Robertson criticised the verdict saying "by using the Religion Act to criminalise these three individuals, rather than accepting an apology and dealing with it in another way, the government is, sort of, setting up more witch hunts against persons that these Buddhist groups view as being insulting to their religion”.

    "What this shows is freedom of expression is under greater threat than ever in Burma (Myanmar) just as the country heads into a pivotal election year," added Mr Robertson.

  • UN to share Syrian investigation info with EU to encourage prosecutions
    United Nations investigators have begun sharing details from their database on suspected war crimes and criminals in Syria with European authorities working on domestic prosecution cases, reports Reuters.

    The chairman of the United Nations commission of inquiry, Paulo Pineiro, on Tuesday, urged national authorities to contact the independent investigators who have compiled five lists over nearly four years of evidence gathering.
  • Mali separatists agree to further talks with government
    Northern Mali’s rebels agreed to another round of talks with the government after the rebel coalition said it was not ready to sign a preliminary UN brokered deal, alleging that it fully meet the demands of greater autonomy for the rebel controlled areas.

    The spokesperson for the MNLA rebel group, Moussa Ag Acharatoumane, said,
  • US diplomat freed after Congo raids democracy activist meeting
    A US diplomat who was arrested after Democratic Republic of Congo security forces raided an activist meeting in Kinshasa has been freed, said Congo's government.

    USAID official Kevin Sturr was amongst the 40 people arrested after security forces broke up a press conference attended by journalists, activists and musicians.
  • China becomes world's third biggest arms exporter
    China has increased the amount of weapons it exports to foreign countries to become the third biggest exporter of arms, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

    China overtook Germany, France and the UK as it increased exports of arms by 143% from 2010-14,  compared to 2005-09.
  • Nigerian military recaptures town in Borno state
    The Nigerian government forces recaptured the North Eastern city of Bama from Boko Haram militants, the army announced on Monday.

    The Nigerian Defence Headquarters tweeted,

    “Nigerian troops have this afternoon routed terrorists from Bama in Borno state. Mopping up operation is ongoing.”
  • German Chancellor urges EU to maintain sanctions pressure on Russia
    The German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Europe to maintain pressure on Russia through sanctions, on Monday.

    Speaking after a meeting with the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Ms Merkel said that a full cease-fire had not been observed and that pro-Russian militants continued to block international monitors from having complete access to the regions they controlled.
  • UN report on Eritrea finds clear patterns of rights violations
    A United Nations investigation into human rights in Eritrea found “very clear patterns” of violations, and an absence of rule of law, on Monday.

    The chairman of the investigative team, Mike Smith, told the UN Human Rights Council, that “Most Eritreans have no hope for their future,” stating,

    “Detention is an ordinary fact of life, experienced by an inordinate number of individuals men and women, old and young, including children.”
  • Vatican backs military force to stop IS 'genocide'
    The Vatican's diplomat to the United Nations in Geneva has called for military force to be deployed in the battle to halt the Islamic State (IS) from committing genocide in the Middle East, reports Crux.

    In an interview with Crux, Italian Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, said, “We have to stop this kind of genocide... Otherwise we’ll be crying out in the future about why we didn’t so something, why we allowed such a terrible tragedy to happen.”

    Whilst “a coordinated and well-thought-out coalition to do everything possible to achieve a political settlement without violence” was needed, the Archbishop went on to add, “but if that’s not possible, then the use of force will be necessary.”
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