WORLD NEWS

World News

Latest news from and about the homeland

German police arrest Rwanda genocide suspect accused of ordering killings
Rwandan genocide memorial in Nyamata (Fanny Schertzer) German prosecutors have arrested a German-Rwandan national on suspicion of complicity in genocide and 25 counts of murder during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda. The suspect, identified only as Innocent S. under German privacy rules, was arrested in the central German state of Hesse on Wednesday. According to Reuters,…

Syrian opposition groups threaten to boycott UN talks unless siege ends

Jan 24, 2016
Opposition groups have signalled that they will stay away from UN sponsored peace-talks with Assad regime unless the Syrian government and Russian allies halted air strikes and lifted sieges on towns.

A spokesperson for one of the rebel groups in the opposition High Negotiating Committee (HNV) said it was impossible for the opposition to attend as long as rebel territory were besieged and hit by airstrikes.

The main opposition groups added that they would only attend if they were able to choose their own representatives, reports Reuters.

Senior LRA commander faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity

Jan 21, 2016

A senior commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army faces 70 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, as a trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) began on Friday.

Dominic Ongwen, a former child soldier, facing charges for activities between 2002 and 2005, stands accused of murdering civilians, forcibly entrapping sex slaves, recruiting child soldiers and even acts of cannibalism.

Prosecutor Benjamin Gumpert told the court that "large numbers lost their lives in indiscriminate acts of murder."

"Some were tortured in cruel ways. Hundreds were abducted to carry away the loot. And, if they could not walk fast enough, they were beaten."

Kurdish Peshmerga accused of war crimes by Amnesty International

Jan 19, 2016
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."

Syria talks may be delayed unless there is international pressure warns UN envoy

Jan 19, 2016
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.”

Speaking after meeting the Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, said,

Colombia and Farc request UN to monitor any ceasefire

Jan 19, 2016

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.  

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

Jan 18, 2016

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.

Zafke’s lawyers argue that Mr Zafke did nothing criminal whilst working at Auschwitz.

UN accuses IS of crimes against humanity and possible genocide

Jan 18, 2016
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.

EU reiterates stance of labelling Israeli products made in occupied territories

Jan 17, 2016
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,

“The EU and its member States are committed to ensure continued, full and effective implementation of existing EU legislations and bilateral arrangements applicable to settlements products.

The Ministers stressed that lands occupied by Israel since the 1967 Middle East war are not part of the internationally recognised borders of Israel.

Syria peace-talk invitations on hold till opposition representatives agreed on says UN

Jan 17, 2016
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,

“At this stage the UN will proceed with issuing invitations when the countries spearheading the ISSG (International Syria Support Group) process come to an understanding on who among the opposition should be invited.

Kosovo war crimes court to be based at The Hague to help protect witnesses

Jan 16, 2016
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.”
Syrian opposition groups threaten to boycott UN talks unless siege ends
Senior LRA commander faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity
Kurdish Peshmerga accused of war crimes by Amnesty International
Syria talks may be delayed unless there is international pressure warns UN envoy
Colombia and Farc request UN to monitor any ceasefire
Former Nazi medic to face trial for assisting functioning of death camp
UN accuses IS of crimes against humanity and possible genocide
EU reiterates stance of labelling Israeli products made in occupied territories
Syria peace-talk invitations on hold till opposition representatives agreed on says UN
Kosovo war crimes court to be based at The Hague to help protect witnesses