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Zawahiri Blasts Bush & Pope, and Asstd Newsbriefs
Via NY Transfer News Collective All the News that Doesn't Fit
sent by CornerMark - Sep 29, 2006
Newbriefs...
Zawahiri blasts Bush, Pope
Nepal: Maoist Atrocities
Philippine Killings
Pakistani Bomb
Another Canadian Dies in Afghanistan,
More churches Bombed in Iraq
Thailand Violence
India Violence
U.N. experts seek sanctions against top Sudanese officials
Al Jazeera - Sep 29, 2006
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/2A5C2D18-C800-461F-A91A-0AD75F3F0C88.htm
Zawahiri blasts Bush, Pope in video
Al-Zawahiri had earlier warned the Gulf states and Israel
Aljazeera reports that Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda's number two, in a new
video message has called US President George Bush a liar who had failed in
his war against al-Qaeda.
In a portion of the same video, posted on the internet on Friday and
released by the Virginia-based IntelCenter, al-Zawahiri addresses Bush: "Why
don't you tell them how many million citizens of America and its allies you
intend to kill in search of the imaginary victory and in breathless pursuit
of the mirage towards which you are driving your people's sons in order
increase your profits?"
On Thursday, Islamist websites had said there would be a new video message
posted by al-Zawahiri entitled "Bush, the pope, Darfur and the Crusades". In
Friday's video, al-Zawahiri called Bush a "lying failure" for saying
progress had been made in the war on terrorism. "Bush you are a lying
failure and a charlatan. It has been three and a half years [since the
arrests] ... What happened to us? We have gained more strength and we are
more insistent on martyrdom," he said.
Al-Zawahiri was referring to the arrest of al-Qaeda figures such as Khalid
Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the September 11 attacks on the
US. "Bush, O failure and liar, why don't you be courageous for once and
confront your people and tell them the truth about your losses in Iraq and
Afghanistan." Al-Zawahiri also urged Muslims to launch a holy war against
proposed UN peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region.
Sudan says the UN peacekeeping offer is motivated by Western colonial
ambitions. "You should worry about your presence two areas," he said in a
message to Western powers. "The first is the Gulf, from where you will be
expelled, [Allah] willing, after your defeat in Iraq, and your economic ruin
will be achieved....
The Himalayan Times - Sep 26, 2006
http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fu...&folder=aHaoamW&Name=Home&dtSiteDate=20060925
Nepal: Maoist Atrocities Increasing: Report
Maoist atrocities have increased across the country lately, according to a
report made public by the Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC) here on
Sunday. The Human Rights Treaty Monitoring Coordination Committee (HRTMCC)
of the INSEC had carried out on the spot study on different cases of rights
violations during the last one month
Addressing a press conference organised to release the reports, INSEC
president Subodh Raj Pyakurel said five major incidents of rights violations
occurred between August 26 and September 11 and Dalits were victimised in
all the cases. He claimed that the government has become helpless while
Maoist atrocities have gone up. "Political parties should be held
responsible for ensuring the rights of the people," he said. "The Maoists
have been attacking Dalits in a series of incidents and the state has become
a mere spectator."
Reuters - Sep 28, 2006
http://today.reuters.com/news/artic...N28246456_RTRUKOC_0_US-RIGHTS-PHILIPPINES.xml
Little progress in Philippine inquiry-rights group
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Philippine government inquiry into hundreds of
killings and disappearances of left-wing workers and media has made little
visible progress amid a climate of fear, a rights watchdog said on Thursday.
U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said there was deep public mistrust in the
government's efforts to investigate the killings and disappearances since
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo took power in 2001.
"The government's special investigation in the killings must be effective.
Otherwise, justice is in jeopardy in the Philippines," Sophie Richardson,
deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. Last week
General Hermogenes Esperon, the military chief of staff, denied any
involvement of the military in the murders and abductions. He said communist
rebels were to blame. The number of political activists killed in the
Philippines has risen dramatically this year. Rights group Amnesty
International said in August it was gravely concerned that soldiers and
police could be involved.
As well as fighting Muslim rebels, Philippine forces have been battling a
communist insurgency since the late 1960s. Amnesty International estimated
at least 51 activists were killed in the first six months of this year, many
gunned down by masked men on motorcycles. Last year, 66 were murdered.
AP via International Herald Tribune - Sep 28, 2006
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/28/asia/AS_GEN_Pakistan_Bomb_Blast.php
Bomb blast near Pakistani official's vehicle
KHAR, Pakistan A roadside bomb exploded near a vehicle carrying a senior
government security officer in a northwestern Pakistani tribal region on
Thursday, slightly damaging the vehicle but harming no one, an official
said. The bomb, detonated by remote control, targeted the vehicle of Yar
Mohammed Wazir, a senior security and administration official in the Bajur
tribal region, said Abdul Qayyum, another high-ranking official.
No one claimed responsibility for the bombing about 18 kilometers (11 miles)
west of Khar, Bajur's main town, but three tribesmen have been detained for
questioning, Qayyum said. Qayyum described the bombing as a "terrorist"
attack. Al-Qaida and Taliban-linked Islamic militants are believed to
operate in Bajur where they have been blamed for attacks in the past on
security forces, tribesmen suspected of collaborating with authorities and
non-governmental organizations and women working in the area.
Earlier this week, two female health workers and their driver were seriously
wounded when militants detonated a roadside bomb near their van in Bajur.
Reuters - Sep 29, 2006
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/art..._01_ISL37837_RTRUKOC_0_UK-AFGHAN-VIOLENCE.xml
Another Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan
OTTAWA (Reuters) - A Canadian soldier was killed in a bomb blast in
Afghanistan on Friday during a foot patrol in the southern province of
Kandahar, the Defence Department said in a statement.
The soldier -- the 37th member of the Canadian Armed Forces to die in
Afghanistan since late 2001 -- was killed about 25 km (16 miles) west of the
city of Kandahar. A second soldier suffered minor hearing loss as a result
of the blast, the statement said, and there were no reports of civilian
casualties.
Canada has 2,300 soldiers based in Kandahar, the scene of recent clashes
with Taliban militants. The Canadian troops are part of a NATO-led force.
NATO agreed on Thursday to take command of peacekeeping across all of
Afghanistan next month after the United States pledged to transfer an extra
12,000 troops based in the east to its force. Nearly 140 foreign soldiers
have been killed in fighting or accidents during operations in Afghanistan
since January. NATO acknowledges it underestimated the scale of Taliban
resistance.
Virtuonline - Sep 29, 2006
http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4773
Three More Attacks on Iraqi Churches in Baghdad and Mosul
The latest anti-Christian violence in Iraq saw a car bomb outside a
cathedral in Baghdad which killed 2 and injured at least 17 others, and two
attacks on a church in Mosul. On the morning of Sunday 24th September a
cathedral of the Ancient Church of the East suffered a double attack
apparently designed to maximise casualties. Firstly there was a small
explosion under the car of the church minister as worshippers were leaving
the church. Shortly after this, a much larger car bomb exploded on the other
side of the narrow street seemingly intended to target the crowd who had
gathered to help with the casualties caused by the first attack.
These two explosions resulted in two people being killed, one a security
guard for the church and the other a child. There were also at least 17
injured, of whom 9 were members of the church. Two of these remain in a
critical condition. The cathedral itself was badly damaged.
On the same day at 11.15 a.m. in Mosul a church was attacked when armed men
fired around 80 shots. Some damage was done to the eastern part of the
church building and some windows were broken. Christians courageously went
to the church for an evening service later in the day. Two days later on
Tuesday 26th September the same church was attacked with rockets and an
explosive device detonated outside a door.
The attacks in Mosul and Baghdad came just days after an attack on a church
in Basra. Whether in the north, the centre or the south of their country,
Iraqi Christians are facing hostility and violence. This is an ongoing
situation, made worse by the anti-Christian threats issued by some Islamist
groups in Iraq after the Pope's speech on 12th September. For example
Al-Qaeda in Iraq said, "We will destroy the cross...then all that will be
accepted will be conversion or the sword (death). May God enable us to slit
their throats..."
AP via International Herald Tribune - Sep 28, 2006
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/28/asia/AS_GEN_Thailand_Southern_Violence.php
One soldier killed, five wounded by bomb blast in Thailand's restive south
BANGKOK, Thailand One soldier was killed and five others wounded by a bomb
blast Thursday in Thailand's restive south, police said, amid the latest
violence to hit the region. The soldiers were in a jeep on their way to
protect teachers traveling to school in the Sungai Padi district of
Narathiwat province when a homemade bomb hidden on the roadside exploded,
said police Lt. Krisana Khemkradthong.
One of the six men wounded by the blast, Sgt. Phuttha Photichak, who was the
driver, later died at the hospital, the state Thai News Agency reported.
Police found more than 150 meters (500 feet) of electrical wire leading off
the road that they believe was used to trigger the bomb. Thailand's deep
south has been the scene of a bloody Islamic insurgency that has lasted for
more than two years. Teachers, seen as symbols of government authority, are
among the targets of the insurgency in the three Muslim-dominated southern
provinces =8B Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat. More than 1,700 people have been
killed since violence flared in January 2004.
Daily India - Sep 29, 2006
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/64554.php/Five_injured_in_Assam_grenade_blast
Five injured in Assam grenade blast
Five people were injured when suspected United Liberation Front of Asom
(ULFA) rebels hurled a grenade at a crowded market place in Tinsukia town in
eastern Assam Friday. The blast took place just after dusk at Tinsukia, 550
km east from here, district magistrate A.K. Absar Hazarika said. This is
the second attack in the district after the central government called off a
six-week-old ceasefire Sunday and resumed military operations against the
rebel group.
Seven people were injured including two paramilitary personnel in a blast in
the refinery town of Digboi in Tinsukia district Thursday
AP via Tri-City Herald - Sep 28, 2006
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/24hour/world/story/3383631p-12443807c.html
Ugandan rebels boycott peace talks
GULU, Uganda (AP) - Ugandan rebels have walked out of peace talks aimed at
ending a 19-year conflict in which thousands of civilians have died,
officials said Thursday. Lord's Resistance Army rebels said they were
boycotting the talks with the government because of a heavy military buildup
by the Ugandan army, a senior rebel leader said. "The Juba peace talks are
in grave threat and danger of failure due to the unfolding heavy military
deployment of UPDF (Uganda People's Defense Forces) troops in Uganda,
Southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo," Martin Ojul, head of
the rebel team negotiating a peace deal with the government, told The
Associated Press.
"Until these issues, which are of grave concern to us, are resolved, the
negotiations with the Ugandan government are on hold," he added. Ojul said
the LRA were committed to peace to end one of Africa's longest wars and said
they had no other option but to walk out.
The rebels' move is the second serious blow in two days to the ongoing
talks. On Wednesday, the Ugandan army accused rebels of violating the
increasingly fragile truce, which was signed last month, by leaving the
neutral assembly points. The cease-fire calls for rebel fighters to gather
in largely uninhabited areas across the border in southern Sudan, where they
will be protected and monitored by the southern Sudanese military while a
broader peace deal is negotiated.
The LRA is notorious for cutting off the tongues and lips of innocent
civilians, enslaving thousands of children and driving nearly 2 million
people from their homes. U.N. officials estimate the LRA has kidnapped
20,000 children in the past 19 years, turning the boys into soldiers and the
girls into sex slaves for rebel commanders.
Canada Now - Sep 29, 2006
http://www.ecanadanow.com/world/200...ing-somalia-could-hit-50-000-warns-un-agency/
Refugees fleeing Somalia could hit 50 000, warns UN agency
The number of refugees fleeing to Kenya from Somalia increased sharply last
month and could reach 50,000 by the end of the year, the UN refugee agency
UNHCR warned Friday. In September alone, 5,000 refugees crossed into
north-eastern Kenya to escape fighting in central and southern Somalia,
bringing to 25,000 the numbers so far.
More than 60 per cent of arrivals were under 18, the UNHCR said. Most were
crossing the border at Liboi but many were now turning up at Amuma, 80
kilometres to the south, before being taken by UNHCR to a camp complex at
Dadaab which now holds 134,000 refugees. The World Food Programme appealed
for 8.1 million dollars, saying the worsening conflict served to boost
numbers of refugees, further threatening to exhaust existing food supplies
within a few weeks.
AP via International Herald Tribune - Sep 29, 2006
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/29/news/UN_GEN_UN_Sudan.php
U.N. experts seek sanctions against top Sudanese officials
UNITED NATIONS Qatar's U.N. ambassador said Friday a panel of experts
recommended that the Security Council impose sanctions on top Sudanese
officials for violating peace efforts in Darfur, and strongly suggested that
President Omar al-Bashir was among them. The list was sent to the Security
Council with an Aug. 31 report that all sides in the Darfur conflict
continue to commit "blatant violations" of an arms embargo. It said the
rebels appear to have gained strength since March, while the government
continues to supply weapons to Arab militias known as the Janjaweed.
At least 200,000 people have died and some 2 million have been displaced
since the start of a 2003 revolt by rebels from Darfur's ethnic African
population. The Arab-dominated Sudanese government is alleged to have
responded to the revolt by unleashing the Arab militias, known as the
Janjaweed against ethnic African villagers. In April, the council slapped
sanctions on four men involved in the Darfur conflict, the first-ever such
penalties imposed in the violence. The four, including a former air force
commander, a Janjaweed chief and two rebel commanders =8B are accused of
helping orchestrate and carry out killings, rape and other rights abuses in
Darfur.
Last year, a U.N. panel that investigated the Darfur conflict recommended
that 51 people be prosecuted for war crimes, including senior government
officials. But council members could not agree on any names beyond the four
already under sanction.
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Zawahiri Blasts Bush & Pope, and Asstd Newsbriefs
Via NY Transfer News Collective All the News that Doesn't Fit
sent by CornerMark - Sep 29, 2006
Newbriefs...
Zawahiri blasts Bush, Pope
Nepal: Maoist Atrocities
Philippine Killings
Pakistani Bomb
Another Canadian Dies in Afghanistan,
More churches Bombed in Iraq
Thailand Violence
India Violence
U.N. experts seek sanctions against top Sudanese officials
Al Jazeera - Sep 29, 2006
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/2A5C2D18-C800-461F-A91A-0AD75F3F0C88.htm
Zawahiri blasts Bush, Pope in video
Al-Zawahiri had earlier warned the Gulf states and Israel
Aljazeera reports that Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda's number two, in a new
video message has called US President George Bush a liar who had failed in
his war against al-Qaeda.
In a portion of the same video, posted on the internet on Friday and
released by the Virginia-based IntelCenter, al-Zawahiri addresses Bush: "Why
don't you tell them how many million citizens of America and its allies you
intend to kill in search of the imaginary victory and in breathless pursuit
of the mirage towards which you are driving your people's sons in order
increase your profits?"
On Thursday, Islamist websites had said there would be a new video message
posted by al-Zawahiri entitled "Bush, the pope, Darfur and the Crusades". In
Friday's video, al-Zawahiri called Bush a "lying failure" for saying
progress had been made in the war on terrorism. "Bush you are a lying
failure and a charlatan. It has been three and a half years [since the
arrests] ... What happened to us? We have gained more strength and we are
more insistent on martyrdom," he said.
Al-Zawahiri was referring to the arrest of al-Qaeda figures such as Khalid
Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the September 11 attacks on the
US. "Bush, O failure and liar, why don't you be courageous for once and
confront your people and tell them the truth about your losses in Iraq and
Afghanistan." Al-Zawahiri also urged Muslims to launch a holy war against
proposed UN peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region.
Sudan says the UN peacekeeping offer is motivated by Western colonial
ambitions. "You should worry about your presence two areas," he said in a
message to Western powers. "The first is the Gulf, from where you will be
expelled, [Allah] willing, after your defeat in Iraq, and your economic ruin
will be achieved....
The Himalayan Times - Sep 26, 2006
http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fu...&folder=aHaoamW&Name=Home&dtSiteDate=20060925
Nepal: Maoist Atrocities Increasing: Report
Maoist atrocities have increased across the country lately, according to a
report made public by the Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC) here on
Sunday. The Human Rights Treaty Monitoring Coordination Committee (HRTMCC)
of the INSEC had carried out on the spot study on different cases of rights
violations during the last one month
Addressing a press conference organised to release the reports, INSEC
president Subodh Raj Pyakurel said five major incidents of rights violations
occurred between August 26 and September 11 and Dalits were victimised in
all the cases. He claimed that the government has become helpless while
Maoist atrocities have gone up. "Political parties should be held
responsible for ensuring the rights of the people," he said. "The Maoists
have been attacking Dalits in a series of incidents and the state has become
a mere spectator."
Reuters - Sep 28, 2006
http://today.reuters.com/news/artic...N28246456_RTRUKOC_0_US-RIGHTS-PHILIPPINES.xml
Little progress in Philippine inquiry-rights group
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Philippine government inquiry into hundreds of
killings and disappearances of left-wing workers and media has made little
visible progress amid a climate of fear, a rights watchdog said on Thursday.
U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said there was deep public mistrust in the
government's efforts to investigate the killings and disappearances since
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo took power in 2001.
"The government's special investigation in the killings must be effective.
Otherwise, justice is in jeopardy in the Philippines," Sophie Richardson,
deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. Last week
General Hermogenes Esperon, the military chief of staff, denied any
involvement of the military in the murders and abductions. He said communist
rebels were to blame. The number of political activists killed in the
Philippines has risen dramatically this year. Rights group Amnesty
International said in August it was gravely concerned that soldiers and
police could be involved.
As well as fighting Muslim rebels, Philippine forces have been battling a
communist insurgency since the late 1960s. Amnesty International estimated
at least 51 activists were killed in the first six months of this year, many
gunned down by masked men on motorcycles. Last year, 66 were murdered.
AP via International Herald Tribune - Sep 28, 2006
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/28/asia/AS_GEN_Pakistan_Bomb_Blast.php
Bomb blast near Pakistani official's vehicle
KHAR, Pakistan A roadside bomb exploded near a vehicle carrying a senior
government security officer in a northwestern Pakistani tribal region on
Thursday, slightly damaging the vehicle but harming no one, an official
said. The bomb, detonated by remote control, targeted the vehicle of Yar
Mohammed Wazir, a senior security and administration official in the Bajur
tribal region, said Abdul Qayyum, another high-ranking official.
No one claimed responsibility for the bombing about 18 kilometers (11 miles)
west of Khar, Bajur's main town, but three tribesmen have been detained for
questioning, Qayyum said. Qayyum described the bombing as a "terrorist"
attack. Al-Qaida and Taliban-linked Islamic militants are believed to
operate in Bajur where they have been blamed for attacks in the past on
security forces, tribesmen suspected of collaborating with authorities and
non-governmental organizations and women working in the area.
Earlier this week, two female health workers and their driver were seriously
wounded when militants detonated a roadside bomb near their van in Bajur.
Reuters - Sep 29, 2006
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/art..._01_ISL37837_RTRUKOC_0_UK-AFGHAN-VIOLENCE.xml
Another Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan
OTTAWA (Reuters) - A Canadian soldier was killed in a bomb blast in
Afghanistan on Friday during a foot patrol in the southern province of
Kandahar, the Defence Department said in a statement.
The soldier -- the 37th member of the Canadian Armed Forces to die in
Afghanistan since late 2001 -- was killed about 25 km (16 miles) west of the
city of Kandahar. A second soldier suffered minor hearing loss as a result
of the blast, the statement said, and there were no reports of civilian
casualties.
Canada has 2,300 soldiers based in Kandahar, the scene of recent clashes
with Taliban militants. The Canadian troops are part of a NATO-led force.
NATO agreed on Thursday to take command of peacekeeping across all of
Afghanistan next month after the United States pledged to transfer an extra
12,000 troops based in the east to its force. Nearly 140 foreign soldiers
have been killed in fighting or accidents during operations in Afghanistan
since January. NATO acknowledges it underestimated the scale of Taliban
resistance.
Virtuonline - Sep 29, 2006
http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4773
Three More Attacks on Iraqi Churches in Baghdad and Mosul
The latest anti-Christian violence in Iraq saw a car bomb outside a
cathedral in Baghdad which killed 2 and injured at least 17 others, and two
attacks on a church in Mosul. On the morning of Sunday 24th September a
cathedral of the Ancient Church of the East suffered a double attack
apparently designed to maximise casualties. Firstly there was a small
explosion under the car of the church minister as worshippers were leaving
the church. Shortly after this, a much larger car bomb exploded on the other
side of the narrow street seemingly intended to target the crowd who had
gathered to help with the casualties caused by the first attack.
These two explosions resulted in two people being killed, one a security
guard for the church and the other a child. There were also at least 17
injured, of whom 9 were members of the church. Two of these remain in a
critical condition. The cathedral itself was badly damaged.
On the same day at 11.15 a.m. in Mosul a church was attacked when armed men
fired around 80 shots. Some damage was done to the eastern part of the
church building and some windows were broken. Christians courageously went
to the church for an evening service later in the day. Two days later on
Tuesday 26th September the same church was attacked with rockets and an
explosive device detonated outside a door.
The attacks in Mosul and Baghdad came just days after an attack on a church
in Basra. Whether in the north, the centre or the south of their country,
Iraqi Christians are facing hostility and violence. This is an ongoing
situation, made worse by the anti-Christian threats issued by some Islamist
groups in Iraq after the Pope's speech on 12th September. For example
Al-Qaeda in Iraq said, "We will destroy the cross...then all that will be
accepted will be conversion or the sword (death). May God enable us to slit
their throats..."
AP via International Herald Tribune - Sep 28, 2006
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/28/asia/AS_GEN_Thailand_Southern_Violence.php
One soldier killed, five wounded by bomb blast in Thailand's restive south
BANGKOK, Thailand One soldier was killed and five others wounded by a bomb
blast Thursday in Thailand's restive south, police said, amid the latest
violence to hit the region. The soldiers were in a jeep on their way to
protect teachers traveling to school in the Sungai Padi district of
Narathiwat province when a homemade bomb hidden on the roadside exploded,
said police Lt. Krisana Khemkradthong.
One of the six men wounded by the blast, Sgt. Phuttha Photichak, who was the
driver, later died at the hospital, the state Thai News Agency reported.
Police found more than 150 meters (500 feet) of electrical wire leading off
the road that they believe was used to trigger the bomb. Thailand's deep
south has been the scene of a bloody Islamic insurgency that has lasted for
more than two years. Teachers, seen as symbols of government authority, are
among the targets of the insurgency in the three Muslim-dominated southern
provinces =8B Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat. More than 1,700 people have been
killed since violence flared in January 2004.
Daily India - Sep 29, 2006
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/64554.php/Five_injured_in_Assam_grenade_blast
Five injured in Assam grenade blast
Five people were injured when suspected United Liberation Front of Asom
(ULFA) rebels hurled a grenade at a crowded market place in Tinsukia town in
eastern Assam Friday. The blast took place just after dusk at Tinsukia, 550
km east from here, district magistrate A.K. Absar Hazarika said. This is
the second attack in the district after the central government called off a
six-week-old ceasefire Sunday and resumed military operations against the
rebel group.
Seven people were injured including two paramilitary personnel in a blast in
the refinery town of Digboi in Tinsukia district Thursday
AP via Tri-City Herald - Sep 28, 2006
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/24hour/world/story/3383631p-12443807c.html
Ugandan rebels boycott peace talks
GULU, Uganda (AP) - Ugandan rebels have walked out of peace talks aimed at
ending a 19-year conflict in which thousands of civilians have died,
officials said Thursday. Lord's Resistance Army rebels said they were
boycotting the talks with the government because of a heavy military buildup
by the Ugandan army, a senior rebel leader said. "The Juba peace talks are
in grave threat and danger of failure due to the unfolding heavy military
deployment of UPDF (Uganda People's Defense Forces) troops in Uganda,
Southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo," Martin Ojul, head of
the rebel team negotiating a peace deal with the government, told The
Associated Press.
"Until these issues, which are of grave concern to us, are resolved, the
negotiations with the Ugandan government are on hold," he added. Ojul said
the LRA were committed to peace to end one of Africa's longest wars and said
they had no other option but to walk out.
The rebels' move is the second serious blow in two days to the ongoing
talks. On Wednesday, the Ugandan army accused rebels of violating the
increasingly fragile truce, which was signed last month, by leaving the
neutral assembly points. The cease-fire calls for rebel fighters to gather
in largely uninhabited areas across the border in southern Sudan, where they
will be protected and monitored by the southern Sudanese military while a
broader peace deal is negotiated.
The LRA is notorious for cutting off the tongues and lips of innocent
civilians, enslaving thousands of children and driving nearly 2 million
people from their homes. U.N. officials estimate the LRA has kidnapped
20,000 children in the past 19 years, turning the boys into soldiers and the
girls into sex slaves for rebel commanders.
Canada Now - Sep 29, 2006
http://www.ecanadanow.com/world/200...ing-somalia-could-hit-50-000-warns-un-agency/
Refugees fleeing Somalia could hit 50 000, warns UN agency
The number of refugees fleeing to Kenya from Somalia increased sharply last
month and could reach 50,000 by the end of the year, the UN refugee agency
UNHCR warned Friday. In September alone, 5,000 refugees crossed into
north-eastern Kenya to escape fighting in central and southern Somalia,
bringing to 25,000 the numbers so far.
More than 60 per cent of arrivals were under 18, the UNHCR said. Most were
crossing the border at Liboi but many were now turning up at Amuma, 80
kilometres to the south, before being taken by UNHCR to a camp complex at
Dadaab which now holds 134,000 refugees. The World Food Programme appealed
for 8.1 million dollars, saying the worsening conflict served to boost
numbers of refugees, further threatening to exhaust existing food supplies
within a few weeks.
AP via International Herald Tribune - Sep 29, 2006
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/29/news/UN_GEN_UN_Sudan.php
U.N. experts seek sanctions against top Sudanese officials
UNITED NATIONS Qatar's U.N. ambassador said Friday a panel of experts
recommended that the Security Council impose sanctions on top Sudanese
officials for violating peace efforts in Darfur, and strongly suggested that
President Omar al-Bashir was among them. The list was sent to the Security
Council with an Aug. 31 report that all sides in the Darfur conflict
continue to commit "blatant violations" of an arms embargo. It said the
rebels appear to have gained strength since March, while the government
continues to supply weapons to Arab militias known as the Janjaweed.
At least 200,000 people have died and some 2 million have been displaced
since the start of a 2003 revolt by rebels from Darfur's ethnic African
population. The Arab-dominated Sudanese government is alleged to have
responded to the revolt by unleashing the Arab militias, known as the
Janjaweed against ethnic African villagers. In April, the council slapped
sanctions on four men involved in the Darfur conflict, the first-ever such
penalties imposed in the violence. The four, including a former air force
commander, a Janjaweed chief and two rebel commanders =8B are accused of
helping orchestrate and carry out killings, rape and other rights abuses in
Darfur.
Last year, a U.N. panel that investigated the Darfur conflict recommended
that 51 people be prosecuted for war crimes, including senior government
officials. But council members could not agree on any names beyond the four
already under sanction.
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