Weekly News Brief, 2.5.10 – 2.12.10

In this week’s issue: Sudan and Chad agreed to end their proxy wars against each other; 2,000 Karen civilians fled after a government attack; Congolese army forces are suspected of attacking Kakenge village in South Kivu

Weekly News Brief, February 5 to 12, 2010, compiled by Joshua Kennedy at GI-Net and the STAND E-team. To subscribe to our education newsletters, email education@standnow.org.

 

• Four people were reportedly killed and fifteen more wounded after Tuesday’s attack by government-backed militia on the al-Baytari IDP camp near the South Darfur town of Kass.
• Sudan and Chad agreed to end their proxy wars against each other and to work together to rebuild their shared border during a visit to Khartoum by Chadian President Idriss Deby.
• Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court declined to confirm charges against Darfuri rebel leader Bahar Idriss Abu Garda. The Chamber was not satisfied that there was enough evidence to establish whether Abu Garda could be held criminally responsible for war crimes allegedly committed during a 2007 attack on African Union Peacekeepers at Haskanitia.
• Misseriya tribesmen attacked SPLA forces in Unity state, along the disputed border between north and south Sudan. At least six soldiers, one civilian and eight Misseriya fighters were killed.
• The Sudanese army reportedly attacked 3 SLA-Abdul Wahid positions in the south-eastern region of the Jebel Marra region.
• The UN Secretary General issued his latest report on UNAMID, reporting that the force will have 16 infantry battalions in the field by the end of February 2010.
• International Crisis Group questioned the European Union policy of sending observers to the upcoming Sudanese elections, questioning whether the EU is putting its credibility on the line in what it called sham elections.
• The U.N. Assistant Secretary General for Peacekeeping called on Sudan to amend existing legislation to increase freedom of speech and assembly in Darfur in advance of the April elections.

• On February 5, the Thai government began to forcibly repatriate Karen refugees as three families were forcibly sent back over the border, with 3,000 refugees scheduled to be sent back by February 15. While it appears that the land on which the refugees will resettle is heavily mined, it appears that the repatriations have been temporarily halted.
• Approximately 2,000 Karen civilians fled into the Burma jungle after government troops burned several villages in Pegu Division’s Kyaukkyi Township over last weekend.
• Nyi Nyi Aung, a Burmese-American and pro-democracy activist arrested on charges of forgery, has been charged with three years in prison and hard labor.  A spokesman for the US embassy said the verdict was “unjustified” but did not discuss any US steps to challenge the verdict.
• The Burmese military regime issued an ultimatum to the Shan State Army that they must transform into the Border Guard Force by the end of the month or face military action. 
• The Burmese military junta is planning to relocate about sixty villages from the site of hyropower projects on the May Kha and May Likha Rivers.

• Congolese army forces are suspected of attacking the village of Kakenge, South Kivu, killing one person and abducting nine others.

• According to US General Stan McChrystal, the security situation in Afghanistan remains serious, but is no longer deteriorating.
• NATO and Afghan forces are set to begin an offensive in the southern town of Marja, Helmand province. The offensive, code-named Moshtarak, is planned to include more than 15,000 troops.
• At last week’s London Conference on Afghanistan, Afghan President Karzai unveiled plans to encourage Taliban soldiers to defect using economic incentives. Karzai also said international forces can begin handing over control of some areas by the end of this year.
• Seven civilians collecting firewood were killed Saturday after Afghan border patrol officers mistook them for insurgents.

• Two car bombs killed more than 40 Shiite pilgrims and wounded another 145 civilians observing the Shiite holiday of Arbain in the city of Karbala on Friday.

• Three U.S. Special Operations troops were killed in a bomb blast at a Pakistani school last Wednesday. The troops were training Pakistan’s counterinsurgency forces.
• A roadside bomb blasted apart a bus carrying Shiite pilgrims last Friday, and a second attack targeted the hospital where many of the wounded were taken. More than 25 civilians were killed, and another 100 injured.
• The Pakistani military recaptured a Taliban stronghold in the northwestern tribal belt, officials said Monday. Most Taliban leaders had escaped before troops stormed the town.
• The UN asked for $537 million in humanitarian aid to help civilians displaced and affected by the Pakistani government’s offensives against Taliban insurgents. The UN says at least three million people have been displaced in the last year.
• A suicide attack targeting a supplies convoy in Khyber on Wednesday killed 17, mostly policemen.
• Pakistan Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud reportedly died as the result of a US missile strike in January. Mehsud had taken over command of the insurgents when his cousin, Baitullah Mehsud.

• Al-Shabaab rebels vowed all-out war against the Somali government and indicated that they may begin an offensive in the coming days.
• A number of skirmishes took place across Mogadishu this week, with 24 people killed on Wednesday and nine killed during shelling on Monday night.
• The UN has warned that 42 percent of Somalia’s population is dependent on humanitarian aid, with one in six children suffering from acute malnourishment.
• Somali government forces reportedly killed a Jordanian Al-Qaeda operative working alongside Al-Shabaab.
• Al-Shabaab warned Kenya not to provide military assistance to the Somali government for a planned offensive against rebel groups.

Sri Lanka

• Defeated presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka was arrested by military police at his campaign office Monday night. He will face court martial proceedings for “military offenses.” Hours before his arrest, General Fonseka promised to give testimony to any international investigations about the last months of the offensive against the LTTE.
• The arrest of Fonseka appears to be linked to long-standing fears about his political ambitions as well as the wider politicization of the Sri Lankan military.
• Displaced Tamils continue to return to their homes, despite a lack of shelter, agricultural supplies and demined spaces. At least 101,000 more IDPs remain in government-run camps.