Web pages about "Armed Groups"

Ingrid Betancourt freed

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:36:08 +0100

Amnesty International has welcomed the news that on 2 July former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt at last gained her freedom after more than six years in captivity at the hands of the guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Ingrid Betancourt, kidnapped in 2002, was freed along with three US contractors, kidnapped by the FARC in 2003, as well as 11 members of the Colombian security forces held captive by the guerrilla group. The Colombian government has said the 15 were freed following a military operation by the Colombian security forces.

"We must not, however, forget the hundreds of other civilians still being held, mainly by the FARC and the National Liberation Army (ELN), which must release all of them immediately and unconditionally, as well as commit to put an immediate end to all kidnapping and hostage-taking", Amnesty International said.
All those held captive must be treated humanely, regardless of whether these are civilians or members of the security forces.

Twelve bodies found in Zimbabwe – victims tortured to death

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:04:00 +0100

Amnesty International revealed on Thursday that 12 bodies have been found in various areas of Zimbabwe. Most of the victims appear to have been tortured to death by their abductors.

They were allegedly abducted by ZANU-PF supporters who, in some instances, were accompanied by armed men believed to be government agents.

Four of the victims were reportedly abducted yesterday from the home of Mr Chipiyo, an MDC councillor-elect in Chitungwiza by ZANU-PF youths. One of the victims is Archford Chipiyo the son of the MDC councillor-elect.

Five bodies were found in Masvingo province, while two were found in Gokwe district in the Midlands province and one was found dumped in Harare.

Another victim died in Harare today in hospital of injuries sustained from the beatings by ZANU-PF youths when she attended a funeral of a relative in Buhera.

Amnesty International has also received information from eyewitnesses that soldiers are going about threatening villagers with guns, instructing them to vote for President Mugabe on 27 June.

"The government must publicly denounce all acts of violence by ZANU-PF supporters, 'war veterans' and soldiers and work with all political parties to end political violence immediately," said Amnesty International.

"It should also withdraw soldiers, who have been deployed in rural and urban areas, and are instigating attacks against people perceived to be supporters of the MDC."

Amnesty International also called on leaders of the South Africa Development Community (SADC) to convene an emergency summit to address the deteriorating security situation in Zimbabwe.

Darfur crisis reaches Sudanese capital

Fri, 23 May 2008 14:53:54 +0100

Amnesty International is gravely concerned by the Sudanese security forces’ crackdown following the incursion into Khartoum, by an armed group. The crackdown has been characterized by serious human rights violations including hundreds of arbitrary arrests, cases of ill-treatment, as well as extra-judicial executions. These violations have mostly been targeted at Darfuris.

On Saturday 10 May 2008, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a Darfur based armed opposition group launched a military attack on the outskirts of Khartoum. The attack marked the beginning of a new phase of the conflict in Darfur, with an armed opposition group reaching the edges of the capital for the first time since the conflict’s inception in 2003. Many members of the JEM were reportedly killed during the attack and scores were arrested.

The government’s response to this military attack has since included hundreds of arbitrary arrests and some cases of extra-judicial executions. These have been carried out by the Sudanese police and National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) and targeted at Darfuris, particularly from the Zaghawa ethnic tribe. Since the Sudanese forces repelled the attack a curfew was installed in Omdurman and check points were set up throughout the streets of the capital, allowing the arrest and detention of people travelling in buses and cars, while the NISS and the police have been raiding houses of Darfuris and their families.

“Civilians, mainly youths, have been brutally arrested in the streets, in their homes, and taken to yet unknown places of detention. The arrests in public places have been mostly based on their appearance, age, accent, and the colour of their skin.” With these words, a prominent Sudanese lawyer expressed his concerns to Amnesty International over the arbitrary nature of arrests – with individuals arrested on the basis of their ethnicity and age -, the associated ill-treatment and the lack of information about the places of detention. He told Amnesty International that young men, including minors, were more at risk because the JEM is known by the government to partially rely on young recruits. Eyewitnesses reported that those under threat of arrest were asked to pronounce certain words, to judge whether they were Darfuris or not.

The arrests include Darfuri men and women as well as entire families. Amnesty International further received reports of lawyers, journalists and at least one human rights activist having been arrested over the past week.

As of 21 May 2008, five members of the Popular Congress Party (PCP), a political opposition party, remain in detention after its leader Hassan Al Turabi and other members of the PCP were released.

Amnesty International condemns the arbitrary arrest of hundreds of people and urges the Sudanese Government to immediately and unconditionally release all those that were solely detained on the basis of their ethnicity or for the peaceful expression of their opinion.
Amnesty International asks the Sudanese Government to charge all other detainees with a recognizable criminal offence, or else release them immediately.

Eye witnesses spoke to Amnesty of the ill-treatment experienced by some of those arrested by the police and NISS during the arrest. One lawyer, who was released two days after he was detained, described how he and members of his family were dragged from their home and how he was beaten with rifles on his head and legs, leaving him with several serious injuries. Other witnesses spoke of extra-judicial executions of men and at least one woman in public in Omdurman. According to various reports, the woman was shot on 11 May by the NISS in the streets of Umbada in Omdurman, after she had protested against the arrest of her younger brother.

According to reports from his family, a 31 year old man from the White Nile was arrested by the NISS on either 16 or 17 May and taken to a NISS detention centre. He had already been arrested and released one day before, after he was accused of giving shelter to members of the JEM in one of his houses. On 19 May, when a relative went to inquire about his place of detention, he was informed by the NISS that the person in question had died of kidney failure whilst in detention. The NISS informed the relative that the condition had occurred on his first day of detention and that they had sent him to a NISS hospital, where he died after which he was transferred to a morgue. On 19 May, his family requested the morgue’s doctor to perform a forensic examination before taking delivery of his body. The examinations revealed that he died from a heavy internal bleeding as a result of several severe injuries and bruising on different parts of his body.

Amnesty International calls on the government of Sudan to condemn and investigate all allegations of ill-treatment, torture and all extra-judicial executions that have taken place in the aftermath of the JEM attack.

Although a number of detainees, according to reports, might be held in Kober prison in Khartoum, the whereabouts of most of those arrested remain unknown. In the case of many, namely those who were arrested in the streets, their detaining authority is also unknown. Families of those arrested consider them as missing. Amnesty International is concerned that many may have been subject to enforced disappearance.

The numbers and circumstances in which people are being arrested, the uncertainty surrounding their whereabouts and the ill-treatment associated with the arrests all lead to serious concerns over the fate of those detained. Amnesty International is gravely concerned over those held in incommunicado detention, possibly in non-recognised detention centres, with no access to lawyers or relatives, putting them at increased risk of torture and extra-judicial killings.

Amnesty International is further concerned over the fate of persons without identification living in the capital. The arrests are widespread and taking place throughout the city and on public transport, putting those who are unable to provide a proof of their identity more at risk.

Amnesty International received unconfirmed reports of mass graves following the attack by JEM on 10 May, one of them allegedly in Western Omdurman. Amnesty International demands that these possible sites are identified and secured so that independent investigators, with the requisite expertise, can examine them.

Amnesty International further urges the authorities to repeal Article 31 of the National Security Forces Act, which allows detainees to be held for up to nine months without access to judicial review.

Amnesty International reminds the Government of Sudan of its past commitment to grant Human Rights Officers from the United Nations Mission in Sudan access to places of detention and urges the Sudanese Government to immediately account for the whereabouts of all those in custody and to grant total access to Human Rights Officers, family, lawyers and doctors to places of detention.

Routine killings of civilians in Somalia

Tue, 06 May 2008 16:44:30 +0100

The dire human rights and humanitarian crisis facing the people of Somalia has been revealed in a groundbreaking new Amnesty International report.

First-hand testimony from scores of traumatized survivors of the conflict is included in the report, which exposes the violations and abuses they have suffered at the hands of a complex mix of perpetrators.

These include Ethiopian and Transitional Federal Government (TFG) troops on the one hand, as well as armed groups on the other. For many civilians, there is nowhere to go to escape the violence.

“The people of Somalia are being killed, raped, tortured; looting is widespread and entire neighbourhoods are being destroyed,” said Michelle Kagari, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Africa Programme.

Witnesses told Amnesty International of an increasing incidence of what it locally termed as “slaughtering” or “killing like goats” by Ethiopian troops, referring to killing by slitting the throat. The victims of these killings are often left lying in pools of blood in the streets until armed fighters, including snipers, move out of the area and relatives can collect their bodies.

“The testimony we received strongly suggests that war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity have been committed by all parties to the conflict in Somalia – and no one is being held accountable,” said Michelle Kagari.

“The human rights and humanitarian situation in Somalia is growing worse by the day. This report represents the voices of ordinary Somalis, and their plea to the international community to take action to end the attacks against them, including those committed by internationally-supported TFG and Ethiopian forces.”

Security in many parts of Mogadishu is non-existent and the entire population of the city bears the scars of having witnessed or experienced egregious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.

“There is no safety for civilians, wherever they run. Those fleeing violence in Mogadishu are attacked on the road and those lucky enough to reach a camp or settlement face further violence and dire conditions.”

The Transitional Federal Government, as the recognized government of Somalia, bears the primary responsibility for protecting the human rights of the Somali people. However, the Ethiopian military, which is taking a leading role in backing the TFG, also bears responsibility.

“Attacks on civilians by all parties must stop immediately. Also, the international community must bear its own responsibility for not putting consistent pressure on the TFG or the Ethiopian government to stop their armed forces from committing egregious human rights violations.”

Amnesty International has urged that the capacity of the UN Political Office for Somalia be strengthened, and that AMISOM – and any succeeding UN peacekeeping mission – be mandated to protect civilians and include a strong human rights component with the capacity to investigate human rights violations. The organization has also called for the UN arms embargo on Somalia to be strengthened.

Ethiopia must release mosque attack children

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:11:14 +0100

Ethiopian forces and forces of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG) have been accused of targeting civilians in an attack on a Mogadishu mosque on Saturday. Twenty-one people were killed in the attack, which Amnesty International has said may constitute a war crime.

Eleven of the twenty-one dead were killed inside the mosque, including the Iman Sheik Saiid Yahya, Sheik Abdullah Mohamud and a number of Tabliq Islamic scholars. At least ten other individuals were killed in the area around the mosque. Their bodies were later brought to the mosque by local residents.

Seven of the twenty-one were reported to have died after their throats were cut, a form of extra-judicial execution practised by Ethiopian forces in Somalia.

The mosque was raided during extensive conflict in the north eastern area of Mogadishu, in which a number of Ethiopian soldiers were reported to have been killed. According to eye-witnesses, the eleven killed inside the mosque were unarmed civilians taking no active part in hostilities. A spokesperson for the Ethiopian government has denied the involvement of Ethiopian troops in these killings.

Amnesty International is also concerned that approximately 41 children, estimated to range from 9 to 18 years of age, were taken by the Ethiopian military from the Al Hidya mosque where they were attending religious classes. The children are reported to be detained at the Ethiopian military base close to the pasta factory in Mogadishu. Other younger children present were not arrested.

Witnesses have told Amnesty International that Ethiopian forces said these children would be released "once they had been investigated" and "if they were not terrorists".

The Ethiopian military and TFG forces have been fighting against armed groups opposed to them for two days. The Elman Human Rights Organisation has documented 81 deaths and more than one hundred injured in the fighting. It is not known how many of these were civilians.

The attack on the mosque followed increasing attacks by armed groups opposed to the TFG on towns in southern and central Somalia. Local residents of Beledweyne City have reported that members of the Al-Shabab militia killed four teachers in an attack on 13 April. An Al-Shabab leader has claimed that the teachers were shot in crossfire.

The targeting of civilians constitutes a war crime. Amnesty International has called for international action to end impunity for crimes such as these, which are being committed in many areas of Somalia. The organization has said that the Ethiopian Government and TFG must ensure an independent investigation into these killings.

"Any Ethiopian soldiers found to be responsible must be prosecuted in accordance with international fair trial standards without use of the death penalty," said Amnesty International.

The organization is also calling on the United Nations Security Council to take action to end impunity throughout Somalia, through the establishment of an international Commission of Inquiry or similar mechanism to investigate serious human rights abuses and violations being committed in armed conflict in the country.

Hundreds abducted in Central Africa

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:09:43 +0100

Central African leaders and the UN have been urged to secure the release of more than 350 men, women and children thought to have been abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in recent weeks.

The abductions took place in the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Southern Sudan while the LRA was ostensibly preparing to sign a peace agreement with the Ugandan government. The treaty was meant to end more than 20 years of a civil war beset by war crimes, including abductions and widespread unlawful killings and mutilation of non-combatants.

"As in Uganda, these people – including scores of women and children – are likely to be used as child combatants and sex slaves, and yet none of the governments in the region have done anything to try to secure their release," said Amnesty International.

"The governments of Sudan, the CAR and the DRC – with the assistance of the UN – must join forces to secure the safety and release of those kidnapped immediately and bring those responsible to justice."

Women and girls kidnapped by the LRA in the past have been used as sex slaves, while boys and men have been forced into combat and forced to commit atrocities, as well as used as porters to carry looted property. The most recent abductions took place near Obo, a town on the south eastern corner of the CAR, bordering the DRC and Sudan.

The LRA appears to have moved their operations to southern CAR in a bid to avoid the arrest and transfer of their senior commanders to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. They are wanted on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Recent information suggests that the fighters have since crossed into the DRC, taking the abductees with them.

Several LRA leaders were charged by the International Criminal Court in 2005 with large scale abductions and other crimes against humanity and war crimes.

There are currently five security forces operating in the CAR – the CAR Army, EU forces (EUFOR), UN forces (MINURCAT), multinational Central African forces (FOMUC – Force Multinationale en Centrafrique) and French government forces.

Amnesty International has called on the UN and other forces operating in the area – including UNMIS in Southern Sudan, and MONUC in the DRC – to assist the regional governments to secure the release of those kidnapped.

The organization has also called on international peace-keeping and government forces in the region to cooperate to arrest and surrender any person subject to an ICC arrest warrant, including leaders of the LRA.

Call for investigation into killing of cameraman and other civilians

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:01:51 +0100

At least 18 Palestinians, including children and other unarmed civilians, were killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. More than 30 others were injured in attacks by Israeli planes and by ground forces using tanks in the Gaza Strip.

Those killed included Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana, who was struck by fire from an Israeli tank. He had travelled to the scene in a car clearly marked "TV-Press". He was killed as he started to film the tank.

Amnesty International has called on the Israeli government to immediately order a full and independent investigation into the killings of Palestinian civilians by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.

"Yesterday’s strikes, which the Israeli army launched after the killing of three soldiers in combat, appear to have been carried out with disregard for civilian life,” said Amnesty International. "There seems to be a culture of impunity within the Israeli forces which is contributing to routine use of reckless and disproportionate force."

Fadel Shana’s autopsy report and an investigation on the site of Fadel Shana’s death carried out by the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem showed that Fadel Shana had been killed by a flechette fired from a tank shell.

In 2003, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected a petition calling for a ban on their use in the Gaza Strip. Amnesty International believes that flechette shells, which are filled with up to 5,000 five-centimetre-long steel darts or flechettes, each one potentially lethal, should never be used in populated areas.

"Fadel Shana appears to have been killed deliberately although he was a civilian taking no part in attacks on Israel’s forces," said Amnesty International.

"We condemn all attacks on civilians, including that by Islamic Jihad which killed two Israeli civilians at the Nahal Oz fuel terminal on 9 April. The continuing conflict between Israeli and Palestinian forces is having a disproportionate – and totally unacceptable – impact on civilians, in particular Palestinians in the Gaza Strip."

Amnesty International has repeatedly condemned and called for an end to rocket and other attacks on Israeli civilians by Palestinian armed groups, and for those who commit such attacks to be brought to justice.

Since the beginning of this year, 312 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces. Most of them have been in the Gaza Strip. In the same period, 21 Israelis were killed by Palestinian armed groups.

Fighting intensifies in Basra

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:45:54 +0000

The US military launched air strikes in Basra on Friday for the first time since the Iraqi authorities began their crackdown on the Mahdi Army, followers of the Shi’a cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The intensification of fighting comes as aid agencies warn that the military offensive is stopping food and medical relief efforts and putting civilians at risk.

They said the situation in Basra and in al-Sadr City in Baghdad was "critical." UNICEF spokeswoman Veronique Taveau said that "the situation concerning drinking water is particularly critical. We estimate the population has enough for two days."

The International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC, said they were unable to reach hospitals in Basra with urgent medical supplies.

The Iraqi ground commander in Basra, Major-General Ali Zaidan, told the Reuters news agency that his forces had killed 120 "enemy" fighters and wounded around 450 since the campaign began.

However, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's forces have failed to drive the fighters off the streets of Basra. The authorities initiated a strict curfew in Baghdad, but that has failed to halt rocket attacks and clashes in the capital.

The Iraqi parliament called an emergency meeting to end the impasse, but only 54 members out of 275 managed to get inside the fortified "Green Zone" compound, which was bombarded by rockets as they gathered.

One missile hit the Green Zone office of Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, killing a security guard. The US embassy ordered its staff in the zone to stay under cover when possible and wear body armour and helmets when in the open.

Prime Minister al-Maliki, who had given the Basra militants 72 hours to surrender, extended his deadline, giving them until April 8 to turn in their weapons for cash.

The government says it is fighting "outlaws", but followers of al-Sadr are reported to have accused political parties in the Shi'’a-led government of using military force to marginalise their rivals ahead of local elections due by October.

Amnesty International has warned that the continued fighting puts civilians at risk. On Wednesday, the organisation urged all parties to refrain from indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks.

"The continued fighting is creating a deepening crisis for civilians,” said Malcolm Smart on Friday. "Communities that formerly lived in relative harmony are being further torn apart by the desperate conflict that continues to grip Iraq."

Iraq fighting puts civilians at risk

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:42:24 +0000

At least 12 people are reported to have been killed in fighting between Iraqi government forces and armed militia in Basra.

Fighting erupted between Iraqi forces and members of the Mahdi Army - followers of Shi'a Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr - on Tuesday. As fighting spread, curfews were imposed by the Iraqi authorities in Basra and other southern cities, including al-Nassirya, Kut, al-Hilla and Samawa. It is not known if civilians are among the dead.

Amnesty International has warned that the violence is creating a grave risk to civilians and urged all parties to refrain from indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks.

"Civilians have borne the heaviest brunt during the past five years of conflict in Iraq," said Amnesty International. “This new upsurge of fighting is certain to add to that terrible toll."

The Mahdi Army declared a ceasefire at the end of August 2007 and announced at the end of February 2008 that the truce would be renewed for a further six months. It has been vying with other Shi’a militia groups for political control of Basra and has had frequent armed clashes with the Badr Organization, the armed wing of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council. The latest fighting appears to have broken out in response to an attempt by Iraqi security forces to clamp down on the armed militias.

Amnesty International has called on the Iraqi government to ensure that its security forces comply with Iraq’s obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law. In particular, the organization has called for the civilian population and civilian objects to be protected at all times.

Amnesty International has also called on armed groups in Basra and other cities to comply with the rules of international law and to respect civilian life.

Iraq: Protection of civilians is paramount

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:25:17 +0000

Heavy fighting between Iraqi government forces and armed militia in Basra and other Iraqi cities is creating a grave risk to civilians, Amnesty International said today, as it urged all parties to refrain from indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks and to respect civilian life.

"Civilians have borne the heaviest brunt during the past five years of conflict in Iraq," said Amnesty International. “This new upsurge of fighting is certain to add to that terrible toll."

Fighting erupted on Tuesday 25 March in Basra between Iraqi forces and members of the Mahdi Army, followers of Shi'a Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. According to press reports, at least 12 people were killed in the city. It is not known at this stage if civilians were among them. As fighting spread, curfews were imposed by the Iraqi authorities in Basra and other southern cities, including al-Nassirya, Kut, al-Hilla and Samawa.

The Mahdi Army declared a cease fire at the end of August 2007 and announced at the end of February 2008 that it was being renewed for a further six months. It has been vying with other Shi’a militia groups for political control of Basra and there have been frequent armed clashes between the Mahdi Army and the Badr Organization, armed wing of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council. The latest fighting appears to have broken out in response to an attempt by Iraqi security forces to clamp down on the armed militias.

Amnesty International is calling on the Iraqi government to ensure that its security forces comply with Iraq’s obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law, and in particular to ensure that the civilian population and civilian objects are protected at all time.

Amnesty International is also calling on armed groups in Basra and other cities to comply with the rules of international law and to respect civilian life.