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.

·         Next week, the International Criminal Court (ICC) will begin the confirmation of charges hearings for Darfur rebel chief Bahr Idriss Abu Garda, leader of the Darfur United Resistance Front. Garda is accused of masterminding a raid on African Union peacekeepers in 2007.”

·         On Monday Gunmen attacked a UNAMID guard post in Kutum, North Darfur, wounding one peacekeeper.  The injured peacekeeper was evacuated to the hospital in Kutum and later to El Fasher where he is currently listed as stable.

·         Uganda is reportedly willing to host peace talks between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebels and said that President al-Bashir would be welcome at any talks. Bashir was also invited to the upcoming AU summit on Refugees and IDPs in Kampala.

·         Free Burma Rangers just released a field report detailing continued child labor and the indiscriminate shooting of civilians in central Karen State.

·         A Burmese court sentenced Kyaw Zaw Lwin, a U.S. citizen born in Burma, to 14 years in prison for alleged charges of fraud and forgery. Additionally, another 11 political activists, including one Buddhist monk, were sentenced to between five and 10 years in Insein Prison.

·         Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi met with three American, British, and Australian diplomats last Friday to discuss these countries’ economic sanctions policies against Burma.

·         Burma and Bangladesh stationed warships and military forces along the Burmese-Bangladeshi border.

·         Indian army chief Gen. Deepak Kapoor met with Burmese generals on Sunday to discuss military-to-military cooperation between the two countries.

·         Timor-Leste and Switzerland have backed a global arms embargo against Burma.

·         An internal audit by a UN budgetary panel reported that 60 percent of UN funds to Burma are not monitored.

·         The Congo Advocacy Coalition reported that since anti-FDLR operations in the DRC began in January, at least 1,143 civilians have been killed, 7,000 raped and 900,000 displaced by fighting between the government and the FDLR.

·         The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions called the UN backed FARDC offensive against the FDLR ‘catastrophic’. Alston also reported that FARDC troops had massacred 50 people in an attacke on the village of Shalio, South Kivu in April.

·         More than 85,000 civilians, soldiers and police have been killed in Iraq from 2004 to 2008, according to a report released by the Iraqi government on Thursday. The dead include 1,279 children and 2,334 women.

·        A succession of bombings targeting a national reconciliation meeting killed 23 civilians and injured 65 in Ramadi last Sunday. The attacks failed to injure any of the targeted officials and struck civilians instead.

·         A suicide bomber killed six people and wounded 10, including the leader of an pro-government local militia, at a café in southern Iraq.

·         A suicide bomb blasted apart a crowded marketplace in northwest Pakistan last Friday, killing at least 52 and injuring another 148. Officials believe the attack was meant as a warning against the new military offensive in South Waziristan. Another suicide attack in a crowded marketplace, near the Swat Valley and directed at a military convoy, killed 41 on Monday. This latest attack brought the death toll for that weekend to more than 100. 

·         On Saturday, 6 Taliban stormed a Pakistani army headquarters and held 42 people hostage. Pakistani commandos launched a rescue raid the next day, freeing 39 of the hostages; three were killed. The Pakistani Taliban said the attack had been carried out by its Punjab branch to display its “capability to strike at any place in Pakistan.”

·         Gunmen also attacked a federal security building and two police stations in Lahore on Thursday. The attacks killed at least 26, including several children. No group has taken responsibility yet but the Taliban is strongly suspected. More than 150 Pakistanis have died in the past two weeks due to a string of Taliban attacks, prompting strong concern over a planned army offensive in South Waziristan.

·         The Pakistani army objected to the conditions of a $1.5 billion non-military U.S. aid package approved by Congress, saying the terms allow the United States to interfere in Pakistan’s national security policy. Sen. Kerry said conditions need to be clarified, not changed and that the U.S. has no intention of infringing on Pakistan’s sovereignty.

·         The U.N. envoy for Somalia called for a professional security force to be established in Somalia by August 2011, when the mandate for the TFG expires.

·         The main hospital in Mogadishu received threats last week not to accept aid from foreign charities. The hospital staff has said it plans to continue its work despite the warnings.

·         The TFG, some say with the help of the Kenya’s army, is recruiting Kenyan youth to join Somali government troops. Al-Shabaab threatened to attack Kenya if it continues to recruit ethnic Somalis in Kenya to fight against them and other Islamist insurgent groups.

·         Witnesses say Ethiopian soldiers crossed into Somalia on Sunday and arrested dozens of Beledweyn villagers for questioning. Other civilian reports indicate that Hizbul Islam created new outposts near Beledweyn, a strategic town controlled by rebels, last week. Civilians also say Al Shabaab is forcibly compelling residents to attend public amputations of thieves.

·         Gunmen shot down a Hizbul Islam commander in the Somali capital last Friday.

·         Sri Lanka increased its military budget by 20% for the remainder of 2009 to strengthen security forces, and extended Sri Lanka’s state of emergency for another month.

·         In a statement last Friday, the State Department pressed the Sri Lankan government to return freedom of movement to Tamil IDPs and to “improve human rights and accountability.” Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International warned that conditions in detainment camps would deteriorate with the upcoming monsoon season. 

·         225 Sri Lankans moored on a boat off the coast of Indonesia is pleading with Indonesian and Australian officials for asylum, saying it is unsafe for Tamils to return to Sri Lanka.

·         Sri Lanka will hold early parliamentary and presidential elections next year, to take advantage of the current administration’s popularity. President Rajapaksa said he will wait until after the elections to consider political reforms to improve the Tamil minority’s status.

·         LRA rebels killed two women during an attack last Wednesday, around the Western Equatoria town of Yambio.

·         In a letter this week the leader of south Sudan urged President Obama to not lessen pressure on the northern National Congress Party (NCP). Salva Kiir wrote that “There has not been any transformation or reform at the cent… The status quo prevails. . . . Significant change in policy in relation to Sudan should only come when there is change in the reality of Sudan”.

·         The ICC prosecutor is reportedly investigating last month’s crackdown in Guinea, which killed 157 people. International Crisis Group recently released a report calling for the junta to prepare a strategy governing the transition to a democratic government.

·         UNAMID Commanding General Martin Luther Agwai stated that he believes that there is not a war in Darfur at the moment. Before he finished his UNAMID rotation, Agwai characterized much of the ongoing violence as banditry and insecurity. Agwai was replaced as force commander by Rwandan General Patrick Nyamvumba.

·         Two UNAMID civilian staff were kidnapped in the town of Zalingei on Saturday, the latest in a series of kidnappings in Darfur, but the first targeting UNAMID staff.

·         Rodolphe Adada, political head of the UNAMID mission, submitted his resignation to Secretary General Ban. Adada’s service ended on August 31.

·         Last week, 700 JEM fighters who felt marginalized by JEM’s leadership chose to leave the rebel faction. The 700 are reportedly working on forming their own rebel organization. 

·         The United States is reportedly considering deploying logistics advisors as part of the UNAMID mission.

·         While IDPs in Darfur restated their support for ongoing negotiations between rebels and the government of Sudan, they have requested that the government remove the new settlers and restore lands to the rightful owners before continuing with the peace process. 

·         In Ethiopia to mediate rebel unity talks, US Special Envoy Scott Gration praised Ethiopia’s efforts to bring peace to Darfur and across East Africa. 

·         Sudanese authorities arrested 27 IDPs in North Darfur’s Abu Shouk camp. According to Abdul Wahid Al-Nur, this appears to be an attempt to intimidate Darfuris who oppose the peace process. 

·         The two kidnapped Irish Aid workers are expected to be released during Ramadan.

·         Venezuelan President Chavez invited President al-Bashir to the Africa-South America Summit in Caracas in late October. The summit seeks to increase African-South American ties.

·         Burma’s military occupied the Kokang region after fighting between the Tatmadaw and the Kokang Army forced more than 30,000 people to flee over the border to China’s Yunnan (Hunan) province.

·         The editor of the Shan Herald Agency for News said that the Burmese Army may move against the United Wa State Army after its attacks on the Kokang.

·         China called on Burma to properly handle stability in the region and protect the rights of its citizens, a message that may go unheeded by the Burmese junta. The ongoing offensive appears to show that Burma is more concerned with its domestic policies as opposed to its trade ties with China.

·         The junta reportedly sent seven additional Light Infantry Battalions to Shan state in response to the recent fighting in the Kokang areas.

·         The US is reportedly ready to release a new Burma policy “soon,” once the policy is finalized. The review reignited the debate over the effectiveness of continued sanctions, which have yet to influence the junta’s policies.

·         Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyer appealed her conviction for violating the terms of her house arrest.

·         FPJC militia attacked the villages of Ngombe Nyama and Bodi, south of the Ituri capital of Bunia. The FPJC is partially staffed by members of the former FRPI militia.

·         Undersecretary-General for Field Support, Susana Malcorra said that the UN mandate for MONUC would have to be changed in order to confront the LRA in northern Congo and southern Sudan.

·         The LRA’s new negotiating team said that they want the peace deal with the Ugandan government to be revised and to revisit the provisions governing ICC prosecution of LRA leaders. This comes as LRA fighters have reportedly been seen in the far eastern Central African Republic.

·         The Kimia II operation against the FDLR has reportedly killed more than 500 FDLR members.

·         FARDC soldiers in Uvira, South Kivu reportedly mutinied over a failure by the government to provide their back-pay. The soldiers barricaded the main road, forcing most of the population to remain hidden throughout the day.

·         The ICC trials of accused war criminals Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui were pushed back until November 24 to adjudicate evidentiary issues, rule on whether Katanga’s arrest was lawful and consider protective measures for witnesses. 

·         General Stanley McChrystal, commanding general of US-NATO forces in Afghanistan issued a new set of counterinsurgency guidelines, redefining the protection of civilians in Afghanistan as a central mission for ISAF.

·         A powerful truck bomb killed 41 civilians and injured dozens in the southern town of Kandahar, a Taliban stronghold, on Tuesday night. Officials said many of the casualties were women and children. A suicide bombing also killed 23 people in the eastern Laghman province, 100 miles east of Kabul.

·         The Iraqi government issued a report this week stating that last August was the deadliest month in more than a year, with 393 civilians dead and more than 1,500 injured in attacks. The report raises concerns about whether national security forces are properly equipped to defend civilians since the departure of American troops in June.

·         As of Thursday, at least 80 percent of the more than 2 million people displaced by recent fighting in the North West Frontier Province have returned to their homes.

·         A suicide bomber killed 15 police recruits in the Swat Valley city of Mingora. This bombing illustrates the ability of the Taliban to attack security forces despite the recent military gains against the insurgents.

·         The Pakistani military continues its offensive against militants in South Waziristan, as Hakimullah Meshud takes over for Baitullah Mehsud as leader of the Pakistani Taliban.

Sri Lanka

·         Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka released a video appearing to depict extra-judicial killings by Sri Lankan troops. The video shows two naked, bound and blindfolded men being executed by a man wearing a Sri Lankan military uniform, with several other bodies in the background. The Sri Lankan government says the footage was staged by the LTTE, though Journalists for Democracy says it was shot in January and is evidence of human rights atrocities. UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial executions, Philip Alston called for an investigation into reports that the Sri Lankan army summarily executed non-combatants earlier this year.

·         Colombo’s High Court sentenced a journalist to 20 years in prison on charges of terrorism and supporting the LTTE on Monday. This prompted the U.S. State Department to state its concerns about the state of media freedom in Sri Lanka. Several human rights groups condemned the verdict, calling it a purely political case.

·         Last Friday the Sri Lankan government said it would resettle 50,000 Tamil refugees within two weeks. More than 260,000 people remain in temporary camps in northern Sri Lanka.

·         Ethiopian troops crossed into Somalia and seized the border town of Beledweyn last Saturday, driving out Al-Shabaab insurgents. TFG officials denied that Ethiopian troops were on Somali soil before the troops partially vacated the town on Monday. This came after TFG officials said they planned to take control of the entire Hiran region,  which includes Beledweyn, from insurgents.

·         One of two French security advisers kidnapped in July escaped his captors last Wednesday.

·         Thousands of IDPs in Somalia’s south-central town of Jowhar are facing a severe food shortage. UN food shipments to the camp stopped in June due to insecurity concerns and no other food has arrived since.

·         A report released last week by the FAO warns that half of the Somali population is now dependent on food aid, especially those in conflict-prone regions.

·         The UN envoy for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, called for an end to fighting there during the holy month of Ramadan, asking warring parties to cease the cycle of “Somalis fighting Somalis.”

·         Violence in Indian-controlled Kashmir has dropped to its lowest levels in twenty years, with killings have dropped to one-per day in the contested region. Over the first seven months of 2009, 195 people, including 45 civilians were killed by violence in Kashmir.

·         41 people are dead and 28 others injured in Jonglei’s Twic East County when cattle raiders from neighboring Lou Nuer attacked a Payam headquarters early Friday. Jonglei’s governor Kuol Manyang attributes the problem to criminality and lack of jobs as opposed to ethnic tensions.  At least 1,200 people have been killed by inter-tribal violence in South Sudan in 2009.

·         Reports released suggest that Kenya and the United States are working together to train the SPLA. The Kenyans are reportedly in South Sudan to train the SPLA in administrative tasks, and not how to use the newly imported T-72 tanks.