A convoy of Israeli tanks heads to the Lebanon border on Tuesday, As each tank rolled by, Gershon Fried, 72, of Safed, Israel, handed soldiers small bags of apples and honey, the traditional treat of the Rosh Hashanah holiday that started Wednesday night. (Heidi Levine for The Washington Post)   Genocide Warning: Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon  October 5, 2024 By Aiden Carlton, Genocide Watch   Since October 8, 2023, Israel and Hezbollah have engaged in constant war . Hezbollah has launched thousands of missiles into Israel . Hezbollah’s attacks have driven over 60,000 Israelis  from northern towns. Israel has bombed Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon and Beirut in response . Hezbollah claims its rocket attacks on Israel are in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza . Israel says that safely returning citizens to the north is its goal .   Israel has sent precision missiles into Lebanon and Syria that have killed several senior Hezbollah leaders,  including  Hassan Nasrallah.   Israel has also tried to assassinate Nasrallah's likely successor, Hashem Safieddine . April 13, Iran fired 330 missiles and drones and October 1, 181 hypersonic missiles into Israel.   The war in Lebanon has escalated rapidly since September 17th. Israel has invaded southern Lebanon  and is conducting daily airstrikes on Hezbollah bases  in southern Lebanon and Beirut. Israel detonated hundreds of pagers  and walkie-talkies,   killing dozens and maiming thousands  of Hezbollah operatives.    Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu  is determined to drive Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon and destroy Hezbollah’s leadership and arsenal. Hezbollah says it will not stop its attacks on Israel until Israel withdraws from Gaza. Netanyahu says Israel will not withdraw until all Israeli hostages are released and Hamas is crushed.   Israeli leaders widely support Israel’s war against Hezbollah in Lebanon. They see Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran as united in their genocidal intent to destroy Israel. They are existential threats of another Holocaust.   Largely driven by frustration over Netanyahu’s failure to bring Israeli hostages back from Hamas, there are now large demonstrations calling for new Israeli elections . Netanyahu rejects elections because of his almost certain defeat . The loss of his office would result in the loss of his ministerial immunity from prosecution for corruption .    Both Israel and Hezbollah are violating  UN Security Council Resolution 1701,  adopted unanimously in 2006. It ended the Israeli occupation of part of Lebanon, established the Blue Line between the Israeli border and the Litani River, and authorized a 15,000 troop UN Peacekeeping Force, UNIFIL,  to enforce the peace agreement.    Lebanon’s Health Ministry says Israeli attacks have killed over 2000  people. Israel says it has killed 250  Hezbollah combatants. Over one million Lebanese are displaced according the UN.  Critics of the Israeli incursion  into Lebanon say it will be ineffective in restoring safety in northern Israel . They contend that as in previous Israeli invasions into Lebanon, Israel has no exit plan. Hezbollah has been criticized within Lebanon on similar grounds .     Israeli officials have threatened to repeat the heavy bombing used in Gaza.  They reject calls for a ceasefire  to prevent further escalation. Iran’s missile attacks are early warnings of a wider war between Israel and Iran.   Israel is internally divided. It is at Stage 6: Polarization . Israel’s invasion of Lebanon indicates that Israel is at Stage 7: Preparation  for a wider war and the war crimes such a war will inevitably cause.    Genocide Watch Recommends:   Israel and Hamas must accept the US and UN peace plan  and end the war in Gaza.  Immediate cease fires by all sides must stop the wars in both Gaza and Lebanon.  The International Criminal Court must try Hamas and Hezbollah leaders for genocide and war crimes.  The ICC should charge Israeli leaders for the war crime of starvation of Palestinians.   NATO should impose Magnitsky sanctions on Israeli and Palestinian leaders for war crimes in Gaza.  The US should suspend its aid if Israel rejects the proposed 21-day ceasefires  for Gaza and Lebanon.

Faces of Baha'is executed by the Islamic Republic of Iran Erased in the Shadows: The Targeted Persecution of Iran’s Baha’is   Genocide Watch Report September 2024   By Sabrina Nelson   Introduction Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, The Islamic Republic of Iran has had a theocratic form of government. Religious and political authority are intertwined, with religious leaders exercising supreme political authority. Shi’a Islam is the basis of the State’s theology and ideology. Religious minorities, including Baha’is, Sunni Muslims, Mandeans, Yaresanis (Kaka'i), Christians, Gonabadi Dervishes, and Jews are subject to discrimination and persecution, including arbitrary detention and torture. The Baha’is are Iran’s most persecuted  religious minority. Baha’is are subjected to severe repression. Baha’i holy sites and institutions have been closed . Baha’i property is confiscated . Baha’is are arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned. Baha’is are banned from many forms of employment. They have no rights to public higher education.     Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution Following the Islamic Revolution  in Iran, an Islamic Republic with a theocratic form of government replaced the monarchy of Mohammad Pahlavi. The Islamic Republic redefined the relationship between Religion and State in Iran. Shi’a Islam became the basis of all aspects of Iranian life and politics. As stipulated by Iran’s Constitution , “ All civil, penal, financial, economic, administrative, cultural, military, political, and other laws and regulations must be based on Islamic criteria ”. Shi’a Islam became the State’s official religion, ideology and political identity. Political authority is held by clerics. The Supreme Leader is the Grand Ayatollah, who is considered the representative of God. The Constitution  designates the Supreme Leader to oversee all branches of government, the judiciary, government run media, and public universities. The judiciary is placed under the “ exclusive control ” of clerics to ensure that legal codes are in accord with Islamic law. The Supreme Leader has ultimate authority  over security agencies.   Following the 1979 Revolution, laws were passed to “ re-Islamize ” Iran and consolidate the supremacy and legitimacy of the Islamic Republic. The State became the arbiter of whether street names, clothes, movies, and daily conversations are Islamic or un-Islamic, thus imposing a pervasive code of conduct and way of life. The lives of both Muslims and non-Muslims are dictated by Islamic values, rules, and laws.   Who are the Baha’is? The Baha'i faith was founded in 1863 by Baháʼu'lláh, who claimed to be the prophet predicted by the Bab. The Baha'i faith teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Baháʼís desire to establish a unified world order that ensures the prosperity of all nations, races, creeds, and classes. Baha'is reject racism, sexism, and nationalism. Baha'is believe in progressive manifestations of a single God. The Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, the Bab, and Baháʼu'lláh are the most recent of these Manifestations of God. Baha’i teachings diverge from mainstream Shi’a doctrines because they claim there are prophets after Muhammad. The Baha'i faith has been persecuted since its founding. The Bab was executed and Baháʼu'lláh was imprisoned for heresy by the Ottoman Empire. Since the emergence of the Baha’i faith, Baha’is have been considered heretics and enemies of the state. Baha’is became special targets of state persecution after establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979. Their emphasis on religious tolerance is considered a threat to the stability and supremacy of the Islamic Republic. Baha’is face greater discrimination than other religious minorities, including Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians, Iran’s Constitution does not recognize the Baha’i faith as a religion. Baha’is are therefore deprived of the rights to freedom of worship guaranteed by the Constitution of Iran.   During the first years of the Islamic Republic, more than 200 Baha’is were executed . Hundreds more were tortured and imprisoned simply for being Baha’i. These religious murders, which violate the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and other international laws have gone unpunished and uninvestigated by the Iranian criminal justice system. Other unrecognized religious minorities, such as the Yarsanis, have also been subject to discrimination. But it is the Baha’is who have been particularly targeted by Iranian authorities. “Members of the National Spiritual Assembly who disappeared in August in 1980. All are presumed to have been killed” by Bahá’í Media Bank .   Faith Under Fire: The Systematic Persecution of Baha’is Since 1979, the lives of Iranian Baha’is have been severely restricted by state policies and laws that repress adherents of the Baha’i faith. These have included the closure of Baha’i holy sites and institutions, the denial   of the right of Baha’is to higher education, and imposition of regulations prohibiting employment of Baha’is. Persecution of Baha’is is systematic and institutionalized. Iranian authorities have adopted a strategy of oppression to eliminate the Baha’i religion. “The House of the Báb inShíráz, one of the most holy sites in the Bahá’í world, was destroyed by Revolutionary Guardsmen in 1979 and later razed by the government”  by Baha’i Media Bank . A silent genocide Persecution of Baha’is in Iran has been called “ideological genocide” by Dr. Friedrich W. Affolter. For 150 years, Iranian institutions have attempted to eliminate the Baha’i faith. State persecution grew worse following the establishment of the Islamic Republic. The Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council adopted a program to block progress of Iranian Baha’is. The 1991 Secret Memorandum , signed by Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini, noted that “ the state’s dealings with the Baha’is must be such that their progress and development are blocked .” The Secret Memorandum’s recommendations included expulsion of Baha’is from universities, denying them employment, and prohibiting them from positions of influence. “The  Archives of Bahá’í Persecution in Iran  website contains over 10,000 records of persecution incidents, including copies of government and judicial documents, clerical fatwas, newspaper articles and other accounts. They are presented as original document images and are also transcribed and made available in text format in Persian and with English translations” by The Baha’i World News Service.   A document including the minutes of a confidential meeting held on September 21, 2020 by the Commission on Ethnicities, Sects and Religions was recently leaked, revealing the plan by government officials to intensify the repression of Baha’is and non-recognized religious minorities in Iran. The minutes  revealed the intention to increase the control of the Baha’i community’s activities and to instruct education officials to identify Baha’i students to “bring them back to Islam”. The minutes show the intention of Iran’s State institutions to increase control of the Baha’i community’s activities and consolidate the supremacy of Shi’a Islam.   Denial of Rights and Freedoms   In 2020, new rule s  required persons applying for national identity cards to identify their religion as Muslim, Christian, Jew, or Zoroastrian. The application eliminated the “Other” category which Baha’is could choose before the rules change. The only way for Baha’is to obtain national ID cards or to be granted citizenship by the Islamic Republic is if they change their religious identification and reject their Baha’i faith. The National Identity Card is required for many daily transactions. Since Baha’is cannot renew their IDs, they have been effectively denied their rights as Iranian citizens. Without national ID cards, Baha’is cannot exercise many civil rights as citizens.   This new rule violates several articles of Iran’s Constitution , including Article 41 which establishes that “ Iranian citizenship is the indisputable right of every Iranian, and the government cannot withdraw citizenship from any Iranian unless he himself requests it or acquires the citizenship of another country .”     According to a   Center for Human Rights in Iran report ,  the only way members of the Baha’i community can enroll in universities is to renounce their faith and convert to Islam.  Many Baha’is have reported  their children’s expulsion from school after enduring bullying and beatings for being Baha’i. Denial of access to education of the Baha’i religious minority is a violation of Article 30 of the Iranian Constitution which states, “ The Government is bound to make available, free of charge, educational facilities for all up to the close of the secondary stage, and to expand free facilities for higher education up to the limits of the country’s own capacity .”   The Baha’i community created an educational institute, the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education  (BIHE), to provide Baha’is with higher education. But these efforts were unsuccessful because Iranian authorities persecuted instructors at the BIHE until many resigned. The government would not accept or recognize degrees obtained from the BIHE.   Human Rights Watch published a report, “The Boot on My Neck” in April 2024 , detailing the many ways that Baha’is are persecuted in Iran, especially by convictions in Iranian courts for simply practicing their faith in prayer sessions and religious study groups.   The International Response to the Persecution of the Baha’is The United Nations General Assembly, the UN Human Rights Council, and many UN member states have condemned  Iran’s persecution of Baha’is. A UN General Assembly Resolution in 2019 passed by a vote of 84 to 30. But 66 states abstained. Iranian authorities have tried to justify  their arrests and convictions of Baha’is by falsely claiming that Baha’is are engaged in espionage on behalf of Israel.     Despite international condemnation of Iran’s persecution, Baha’is are still subject to severe discrimination. Only a few human rights organizations have officially characterized the systematic persecution of Baha’is in Iran as constituting genocide. Most human rights organizations characterize the persecution as constituting crimes against humanity .   IV-          Assessment of the Situation Based on the Ten Stages of Genocide  Genocide Watch contends that many of the stages of genocide are already present in Iran’s persecution of Baha’is. Genocide Watch believes that Iran’s persecution is already genocidal in its intent and its effects. According to the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide ( CPPCG ), adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1948, “ genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part , a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such .”  a)     Killing members of the group; b)    Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; c)     Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; d)    Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; e)     Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.   As history has shown us time and time again, genocides do not happen overnight. Genocides develop in progressive and predictable processes that can be prevented if caught on time. To help identify and understand the processes leading to genocide, Dr. Gregory Stanton, the Founding President of Genocide Watch, created the Ten Stages of Genocide . The stages may occur simultaneously. They do not follow a linear order. This framework helps us understand the logic of genocide to perceive its early signs and take proactive and preventive measures to prevent it. 1.        Classification : Dividing people into “us versus them” based on ethnicity, race, religion, or nationality. Examples: Hutu and Tutsi in Rwanda; Laws for Racial Purity in Nazi Germany; 1982 law stripping Rohingya of citizenship in Myanmar. 2.         Symbolization : Assigning symbols to the classifications to distinguish groups. Example: Jews forced to wear yellow stars during the Holocaust; blue and white scarves for Eastern Zone people deported up river in Cambodia. 3.         Discrimination : A dominant group uses law, custom, and political power to deny the rights of other groups. The powerless group is denied full civil rights; this might include not granting them citizenship. Examples: Nuremberg Laws in Nazi Germany; Apartheid in South Africa; Segregation in the USA. 4.        Dehumanization : One group denies the humanity of the other group, equating them with animals, vermin, insects, or diseases. Examples: Jews were called “vermin” in Nazi Germany; Tutsis were called “cockroaches” in Rwanda. 5.        Organization : Genocide is always organized, often by the state or by militias or special army units. Examples: Formation of death squads or militias like the Einsatzgruppen  in Nazi Germany; Janjaweed  in Sudan, or Interahamwe  in Rwanda.  6.         Polarization : Extremists drive the groups apart, propaganda is broadcasted by hate groups, and laws may forbid intermarriage or social interaction. Moderates are targeted and intimidated. Targeted groups are disarmed and made powerless to make them incapable of self-defense, ensuring the supremacy and full control of the dominant group. Examples: Nazi newspaper, Völkischer Beobachter ; Radiotélévision Libre des Mille Collines in Rwanda. 7.        Preparation : Plans are made for genocidal killings. Leaders often use euphemisms to cloak their intentions, such as referring to their goals as “ethnic cleansing.”  The populace is indoctrinated and leaders justify genocide as self-defense. Examples: Wannsee Conference in Nazi Germany; distribution of machetes in Rwanda. 8.      Persecution : Victims are identified and separated out because of their ethnic, racial or religious identity. Death lists are drawn up, properties are expropriated, and victims are deliberately deprived of resources. Example: Ghettos and concentration camps in Nazi Germany; deportations in Armenia and Myanmar. 9.         Extermination : The mass killing legally called “genocide.” It is considered “extermination” by the killers because they do not believe their victims to be fully human. The goal of total genocide is to kill all the members of the targeted group.  But most genocides are genocides "in part." Examples: Genocides in whole: the Holocaust, Genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda; Genocides in part: genocide of Hutus in Burundi; genocides of Indians and First Nations in the US, Canada, and Australia.          Denial : The perpetrators of the genocide deny that they committed any crimes and often blame what happened on the victims. Perpetrators block investigations of the crimes and continue to govern until driven from power by force. Example: Denial of the Armenian Genocide by the Turkish government; Denial of genocide of Indians and African Americans in the USA.   The 10 Stages applied to the Persecution of Baha’is in Iran Applying the Ten Stages of Genocide to the case of the Baha’is in Iran, Genocide Watch considers Iran to be at Stage 3: Discrimination, Stage 4: Dehumanization, Stage 5: Organization, Stage 8: Persecution, Stage 9: Extermination and Stage 10: Denial . Stage 3: Discrimination Discriminatory policies and laws targeting the Baha’is have subjected Iranian Baha’is to systematic repression, persecution and victimization. Such laws have included rules denying national identity cards to Baha’is, depriving them of their rights of citizenship. The 1991 Secret Memorandum issued by the Iranian Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council (ISRCC) included recommendations to block the progress and development of the Baha’is. These policies include expelling Baha’is from universities, denying them employment, and prohibiting them from holding positions in government. Articles 499 bis and 500 bis of the Penal Code have criminalized freedom of thought and belief and   are now used  to convict Baha’is for prayer and worship. Iranian authorities   have used  multiple laws to justify the confiscation of Baha’I property. Unlike other religious minorities, including Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians, Iran’s Constitution does not recognize Baha’is as persons with rights to practice their religion. They have been deprived of religious freedom guaranteed by the Constitution. Stage 4: Dehumanization The Baha’is are not recognized as a religious minority because their faith is not recognized as a legitimate religion. They have been deprived of freedom of religion. Baha’is are portrayed as heretics and enemies of the state because their beliefs are contrary to mainstream Shi’a Islamic doctrine.   Stage 5: Organization Systematic persecution of Baha’is is organized by Iranian government authorities. This policy is evident in the 1991 Secret Memorandum  of the Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council, signed by Supreme Leader of Iran Ruhollah Khomeini. It reveals the intent of the state to discriminate and block the development of Baha’is in Iran.   Stage 8: Persecution Closure  of Baha’i holy sites and institutions Property destruction and confiscation Arbitrary detention and imprisonment Firing from employment Hate speech against Baha’is Denial of access to higher education Security and intelligence bodies control the movements of Baha’is Harassment and discrimination against Baha’i children in schools Detention of Baha’is for engaging in prayer sessions, study groups, and teaching .   Stage 9: Extermination Shortly after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, more than 200 Baha’is were executed. Hundreds more have been tortured and imprisoned simply for being Baha’i. In 1983, 10 Baha’i women  were hanged in the Chowgan Square in Shiraz because they refused to renounce their faith. Destruction of Baha’i holy sites is cultural genocide. The intent is to erase the group's cultural identity, heritage, and existence from Iranian society.   Stage 10: Denial Iranian authorities deny that they persecute Baha’is on religious grounds. Instead they accuse Baha’is of treason, including the crime of engaging in espionage for Israel.    Does the persecution of Iranian Baha’is constitute genocide?   The persecution of Baha’is in Iran does not fit the usual popular understanding of genocide in CPPCG   Article 2(a): mass killings of members of the group. However, the crimes against the Baha’is fit the definition of genocide in CPPCG   Article 2(b): “ Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group.” The crimes also fit CPPCG  Article 2(c): “Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”   This Special Report demonstrates that genocidal processes against Baha’is in Iran are already underway. The genocidal processes could get worse. Baha’is may become victims of mass killing. The Islamic Republic executed as many as 30,000 political prisoners in 1988 according to a definitive report by Amnesty International .   In the context of the current war in the Middle East, with Iran launching hundreds of ballistic missiles into Israel, Iranian authorities may look for scapegoats as excuses for their failure to destroy Israel. Baha’is could be accused of spying for Israel and causing Iran’s failure. Like Jews in Nazi Germany, they would be scapegoats close at hand, subject to mass murder.   The treatment of Baha’is by the Iranian state indicates its intent to eliminate the group's cultural identity, heritage, and existence within Iranian society. The Iranian regime’s goals are to enforce the Ayatollahs’ interpretation of the doctrines of Shi’a Islam and to consolidate the supremacy of the Islamic Republic.   Iran has frequently and openly declared its intent to destroy the nation of Israel. That expressed intent to commit genocide must never be forgotten. The world refused to take seriously Hitler’s declaration of his intent to destroy Jews. World leaders must never make the fatal mistake of ignoring threats to commit genocide again. When Hitler’s plans were ignored, including the early warnings of the Holocaust, appeasement cost millions of lives.   Genocide Watch Recommendations The UN, US, NATO, EU, OIC, AU and other regional and international organizations must demand that the Iranian state revoke all policies and laws that target and discriminate against Baha’is. This must include renunciation of the 1991 Secret Memorandum and recognition of Baha’is as a religious minority protected by the Iranian Constitution.   The US, Canada and the EU should maintain strong sanctions on the Iranian government and military in response to the regime’s support for terrorism.   No more Iranian assets should be released to Iran. They should be used for reparations to victims of Iranian supported terrorism.   Sanctions should be imposed by the UN, the EU, and the US to provide reparations for Iran’s confiscation of properties owned by Baha’is, and compensation for Iran’s denial of employment and access to education for Baha’is.   Targeted Magnitsky sanctions should be imposed on all Iranian officials and other persons believed to be implicated in the persecution of Baha’is.   A broad international coalition including Western, Global South and Islamic countries and NGOs should be built to raise the issue of Iranian persecution of Baha’is in international forums and demand that Iran stop its persecution.   The UN, EU and the US should engage with Middle Eastern and Islamic countries that have good relations with Iran to advocate for Iranian respect and protection of religious minorities. Examples include Oman and Qatar.   Humanitarian parole and asylum should be granted to Baha’is fleeing Iran who are seeking refuge.   Leaders of UN member states, world religions, multinational companies, and human rights organizations should relentlessly and publicly condemn the actions committed by Iranian authorities against Baha’is. Global awareness campaigns should be launched to shed light on the suffering endured by Baha’is and to exert pressure on Iran to stop its persecution of Baha’is.

Activist Shahriar Kabir (Photo | X) Pressure mounts on Prof Yunus to release human rights activist Shahriar Kabir The New Indian Express 26 September 2024 By  Yeshi Seli Within a week of the new Bangladesh regime, on 15 September, 73-year-old human rights activist, Shahriar Kabir, was arrested from his home on fictitious political charges. NEW DELHI: 30 Human rights activists, academicians from across the world wrote a letter to Professor Yunus urging him to release Bangladeshi human rights activist/journalist Shahriar Kabir. Shahriar Kabir was unlawfully arrested under the Yunus-led interim government in Bangladesh. "We write as human rights activists and human rights defenders across Europe and beyond to express our deepest concern regarding the arrest of Shahriar Kabir, a renowned freelance journalist in Bangladesh, a documentary filmmaker, a writer, a humanist, and above all an uncompromising human rights activist for secularism,’’ wrote the 30 signatories in a letter addressed to Professor Yunus. Within a week of the new regime, on 15 September, 73-year-old Shahriar Kabir was arrested from his home on fictitious political charges. "We condemn the way in which Kabir has been implicated in the case and was arrested from his home …without proper legal investigation. Shahriar Kabir has been accused of crimes against humanity and genocide, when in fact he has been prominently vocal all his life against international crimes taking place in every corner of the world," the letter states. Kabir was physically attacked by a mob following his arrest. He was denied a wheelchair while in custody. He was remanded to judicial custody for a week. Many fear the police might torture him while in custody. The activists have urged that he be released immediately, basic needs like a wheelchair and medical treatment be facilitated, and there be respect for international human rights law. The 30 signatories include prominent world human rights leaders: Paulo Casaca (Portugal). Taril Gunersel (Turkey), Dr Helen Jarvis (Cambodia), Mona Haghgou Strindberg (Sweden), Prof Rafal Pankowski (Poland), Natalia Sineaeva (Poland), Christ Blackburn (UK), Rene Liebenthal (Argentina), Jami Aslam (Switerzland), Dusan Gojkov (Greece), Tapas Das (India), Dr Rayhan Rashid (UK), Banafsheh Zand (Iran), Nicholas Kawinga (Zambia), Matthew Johnsen (USA), Vladimir Bogdanic (Croatia), Sanjob Bharatia (India), Zeynep Oral (Turkey), Dr Gregory H Stanton (USA), Sirajum Munira, Dipak Chakraborty, Jamil Maqsood, GH Boehringer (Australia), Bidit Dey (UK), Sabbir Khan (Sweden), Dr Tommaso Virgili (Germany), Afsana Kishwar (Canada), Taslima Nasrin, Dr Ahmed Ziauddin (Belgium) and Dr Norwin Tamanna (UK). Text of the letter: 21 September 2024  Dr. Muhammad Yunus   Chief Advisor  Interim Government of Bangladesh  We write as human rights activists and human rights defenders across Europe, Asia, America, Australia, and beyond to express our deepest concern regarding the arrest of Mr. Shahriar Kabir, a renowned freelance journalist in Bangladesh, a documentary filmmaker, a writer, a humanist, and above all an uncompromising human rights activist.   Mr. Kabir was the President of the Forum for Secular Bangladesh, and we highly praise his human rights activism and his work for a secular South Asia.   We are aware of the political crisis in Bangladesh that has been escalating since July 2024 and that has resulted in regime change and the current Interim Government headed by Noble Peace Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus as its Chief Adviser.  Within a week of the new regime, on 15 September, Mr Shahriar Kabir, aged 73, was arrested from his home on fictitious political charges.  We condemn the way in which Mr. Kabir has been falsely implicated in the case and was arrested from his home despite the Interim Government’s commitment not to harass and arrest anyone in any political cases without proper legal investigation.  It was surprising to us that since the new regime of Dr. Yunus came to power, multiple criminal cases have been filed including one at the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh accusing Shahriar Kabir of crimes against humanity and genocide, when in fact he has been prominently vocal all his life against international crimes taking place in every corner of the world.   We further condemn his treatment at the court where he was physically attacked by the mob in the presence of law enforcement personnel.  It is shocking that his appeal for a wheelchair, due to his advanced age and physical condition, was ignored both by the police and the court.  Also surprising is that the court sanctioned against him 7 (seven) days of “remand”, a tool of enhanced interrogation and torture commonly used by police, and accordingly handed him over to the Police for “questioning”.  We are very concerned about the treatment Mr Kabir may receive under the partisan police and jail authority of Bangladesh, known for their poor track record on human rights.   We strongly urge that Mr Shahriar Kabir is treated according to the norms of international human rights law, with which the current Interim Government of Bangladesh has pledged to comply. We further urge you to take legal action against all those who violated his dignity on the court premises, supposedly a safe place for any person.   We jointly urge the government of Bangladesh to:   a.     Ensure his dignity and human rights  b.     Release him on bail immediately,   and release him from the baseless politically motivated charges against him  c.     Provide him with all medical facilities, including a wheelchair for his movement   d.     Ensure him full and unfettered access to his legal counsel, and   e.     Ensure that his family members and colleagues have full visitation rights.    We urge all institutions of Bangladesh to respect and observe international human rights law.   Barrister Tapas K. Baul Advocate, Bangladesh Supreme Court Co-signed by: Paulo Casaca (Portugal). Taril Gunersel (Turkey), Dr Helen Jarvis (Cambodia), Mona Haghgou Strindberg (Sweden), Prof Rafal Pankowski (Poland), Natalia Sineaeva (Poland), Christ Blackburn (UK), Rene Liebenthal (Argentina), Jami Aslam (Switerzland), Dusan Gojkov (Greece), Tapas Das (India), Dr Rayhan Rashid (UK), Banafsheh Zand (Iran), Nicholas Kawinga (Zambia), Matthew Johnsen (USA), Vladimir Bogdanic (Croatia), Sanjob Bharatia (India), Zeynep Oral (Turkey), Dr Gregory H Stanton (USA), Sirajum Munira, Dipak Chakraborty, Jamil Maqsood, GH Boehringer (Australia), Bidit Dey (UK), Sabbir Khan (Sweden), Dr Tommaso Virgili (Germany), Afsana Kishwar (Canada), Taslima Nasrin, Dr Ahmed Ziauddin (Belgium) and Dr Norwin Tamanna (UK)   https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2024/Sep/26/pressure-mounts-on-prof-yunus-to-release-human-rights-activist-shahriar-kabir

The self-proclaimed Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) must reveal the fate and whereabouts of former Minister of Defence Al-Mahdi al-Barghathi and 18 of his relatives and supporters who were abducted in Benghazi by armed men, said Amnesty International marking a year since their enforced disappearances. “For a year, families of Al-Mahdi al-Barghathi and his relatives and supporters have been living in anguish, not knowing whether their loves ones are dead or alive. The injustices they suffered reveal the shocking lengths to which LAAF is prepared to go to eliminate any actual or perceived challenge to their absolute grip on power, and the near absolute impunity enjoyed by LAAF-affiliated armed groups,” said Bassam Al Kantar, Amnesty International’s Libya Researcher. “The Tripoli-based Government of National Unity, as well as LAAF, as the de facto authorities in eastern Libya, must ensure impartial, independent and effective investigations into crimes that took place, including revealing the fate and whereabouts of those forcibly disappeared and the causes and circumstances of deaths in custody.” Al-Mahdi al-Barghathi, a rival of LAAF General Commander Khalifa Haftar, returned to his hometown of Benghazi on 6 October 2023 following tribal reconciliation efforts. Following his return LAAF-affiliated armed groups raided his mother’s home in the al-Salamani neighbourhood. Ensuing armed clashes between LAAF affiliated armed groups including Tariq Ben Zeyad (TBZ) and the Internal Security Agency (ISA), on the one hand, and fighters loyal to Al-Mahdi al-Barghathi, on the other, left at least 15 dead and more injured, amid an internet shutdown by LAAF. For a year, families of Al-Mahdi al-Barghathi and his relatives and supporters have been living in anguish, not knowing whether their loves ones are dead or alive. -Bassam Al Kantar, Amnesty International On 7 October, LAAF affiliates took hostage 36 women and 13 children from Al-Barghathi’s family. They were released after Al-Mahdi al-Barghathi and his son were taken into LAAF custody, along with 38 other Al-Barghathi family members and supporters. The fate and whereabouts of at least 19 of them remains unknown, amid fears they may have been extrajudiciallyexecuted after being captured. Six others have been confirmed dead; at least two of them in suspicious circumstances after being captured alive. The remaining 15 are believed to be held in LAAF detention centres.  Amnesty International interviewed the families of eight detainees, including two men who died in custody, as well as lawyers and political activists. The organization reviewed medical and forensic reports, pictures, videos and official documents.  The Raid on Al-Salamani Neighborhood Al-Mahdi Al-Barghathi was previously Minister of Defence of the former Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), rival to LAAF and the allied eastern-based “Libyan Government”. Al-Barghathi’s family described how upon his return heavily armed forces loyal to LAAF raided his family home and clashed with fighters loyal to the al-Bargathi family, including from the 204 Brigade armed group. In the aftermath of the clashes, LAAF and “Libyan Government” officials claimed to have foiled a terrorist attack and, declared that nine individuals loyal to al-Mahdi al-Barghathi were killed and eight injured, during their attempt to resist arrest. Relatives of victims provided Amnesty International with a list of 40 people, who went missing in the aftermath of the fighting. According to evidence gathered by Amnesty International 15 of them were later confirmed detained by LAAF, six were confirmed dead, while the fate and whereabouts of 19 remain unknown. On 13 October, ISA published pictures of the 15 men dressed in blue prisoner suits. The forced “confessions” of four of them of planning terrorist attacks were  broadcast ed by media outlets loyal to LAAF, in violation of their rights. They have not been charged or tried, and have been denied regular access to their families and lawyers. Al-Mahdi's Fate and Whereabouts According to Rawan al-Barghathi, Al-Mahdi al-Barghathi’s daughter, the family never received her father’s body and continue to consider him forcibly disappeared, demanding the LAAF reveal his burial site and identify his body through DNA testing. Under international law, enforced disappearance is an ongoing crime until the truth about the fate and whereabouts of the victim, or their remains, are revealed. A leaked ISA video which circulated  on 10 October showed an uninjured Al-Mahdi al-Barghouthi walking and speaking upon his arrest on 7 October. On 13 October, the eastern-based Military Prosecutor, Faraj al-Sawsa, announced that Al-Mahdi was severely injured during his arrest. A preliminary forensic report, reviewed by Amnesty International, indicated that he died from a gunshot wound. Relatives and Supporters Killed According to interviews with family members, forensic reports, death certificates and burial permits reviewed by Amnesty International at least six of the 40 men who went missing in the aftermath of the clashes were killed and buried, including al-Barghathi’s son, Ibrahim, two members of the 204 Brigade, two of al-Barghathi’s relatives, and a sheep merchant. The bodies of all six were handed to families but most were forced to bury their loved ones without being provided comprehensive forensic reports explaining cause of death. Among those whose body was returned was al-Bargathi’s son Ibrahim. According to a forensic report, dated 21 October, he died as a result of gunshot wounds. His body was returned to a family member a day later. Most other families received bodies in shrouds, with only their faces visible and showing signs of torture. Amnesty International’s findings based on corroborated sources and testimonies indicate that at least two of the six dead were civilians captured alive during or in the days after the raid and are believed to have been extrajudicially executed. One of them, Moataz al-Barghathi, sustained minor leg injuries when he was arrested. However, the preliminary forensic report indicates that his death was due to two gunshot wounds to the lung and head. The other, Ahmad Boufnara, a sheep merchant, was arrested days after the raid. A picture of his dead body shows bruises that his family alleges were sustained under torture and his eyes had been gouged out. Stitches were visibly apparent around his head and torso. Background Former senior LAAF officer Al-Mahdi al-Barghathi was named Minister of Defence of the GNA in 2016 and remained in post until July 2018. He was vocal in criticizing LAAF’s attack on Tripoli in 2019-2020. The LAAF controls and carries out government-like functions in Benghazi, the second-largest city in Libya, and large swathes of eastern and southern Libya. The LAAf de facto authorities, who are in control of territory and exercise government-like functions, are bound by international humanitarian and human rights law. © 2024 Amnesty International

Dozens of Tibetans living in India protested outside China’s embassy against the human rights situation in their homeland, which China annexed in 1951. An Indian policeman detains an exile Tibetan protesting against the human rights situation in Tibet during a protest to coincide China marking its 75th year of Communist Party rule, outside Chinese embassy, in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) NEW DELHI — Dozens of Tibetans living in India protested outside China’s embassy on Tuesday against the human rights situation in their homeland, which China annexed in 1951. Police blocked the protesters from entering the embassy and detained some after chasing them and wrestling them to the ground. The Tibetan Youth Congress, which organized the protest, blames China for repressing Tibetan culture. “We demand the Chinese Communist government to stop the cultural genocide in Tibet. We urge the international community to support the just cause of Tibet,” said protester Sonam Tenzin. The Tibetan government-in-exile in India accuses China of denying fundamental human rights to people in Tibet and of exterminating Tibetan identity. At least 85,000 Tibetan refugees live in India. The Dalai Lama — their spiritual leader — has made Dharamshala in northern India his headquarters since fleeing Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. Representatives of a Tibetan government-in-exile also reside there. The Dalai Lama denies China’s claim that he is a separatist and says he only advocates substantial autonomy and protection of Tibet’s native Buddhist culture. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Eight bandit warlords killed by Nigerian Army Truth Nigeria By News Desk September 21, 2024 By Steven Kefas and Segun Onibiyo Bandit Kingpin Bello Turji (center behind mask) pictured with his lieutenants in a Zamfara town. Credit: Bello Turji. (Kaduna) Security experts are calling it a decisive blow to the command- and control structure of the 30,000 radical bandits in Nigeria’s Northwestern region. Just three days after bandit warlords parleyed in a small group Sept. 17 to elect a new boss of bosses – in the style of Mafia families in the United States, the combined Nigerian Army, Air Force (NAF) and local volunteers pounced.  Fanning out in eight different directions, the soldiers ambushed them in their Zamfara hideouts, killing scores of their gang members at the same time. The operation could mark a pivotal moment in the country’s fight against insurgency and organized crime, says security expert, Dr Walid   to TruthNigeria. “The joint operation targeted high-profile bandit leaders, each commanding over 200 fighters, dealing a decisive blow to the organizational structure of these criminal networks,” wrote respected counterterrorism expert,  Zagazola Makama   in an X post on Friday, September 20, 2024. According to Zagazola, an expert in tracking and reporting the activities of terrorists in the Lake Chad region, “the eliminated kingpins, known for their reign of terror in the region, include: 1. Kacalla Ɗan Baleri, whose camp was located in Sabon Mashekari, Batauna village, Shinkafi County. 2. Kacalla Dogo Kwaɗɗi, operating near Isa County. 3. Lawalli Dodo, based in Filinga village, Shinkafi County. 4. Kacalla Naguru, also operating from Filinga, Shinkafi County. 5. Kacalla Ɗan-Babirki, whose camp was in Fankama, near Rudunu village, Maradun County. 6. Kacalla Hana-Zuwa, based in Jajjaye, Tubali region, Shinkafi County 7. Kacalla Adamu, operating in Maradun County 8. Kachallah Buzu, also known as Sububu. The precision strikes not only neutralized these high-value targets but also resulted in the elimination of dozens of their fighters, significantly weakening the bandit groups’ operational capabilities.” Nigerian soldiers practicing cable descent from a hovering helicopter. courtesy: Nigerian Air Force. This recent success builds upon previous achievements by the Nigerian military. Just last week, two other prominent kingpins, Kachalla Halilu Sububu and Kachalla Baleri Fakai, were also killed, further dismantling the leadership structure of these criminal organizations.  Sububu , regarded as a mentor to the infamous Kachalla Bello Turji, was said to command profound respect among terrorist gangs and had links to  jihadists in the Sahel and Lake Chad region. The operation against the bandit kingpins came barely 72 hours after they converged at the compound of  Halilu Sububu t o elect a new leader, during which Sububu was felled by a bullet to the forehead. The successful operation showcases the enhanced capabilities and improved intelligence-gathering of the Nigerian armed forces. The collaboration between the army, air force, and local “vigilante” (volunteer self-defense) groups highlights a more integrated approach to combating insecurity in the region, according to Abdullahi. This sort of coordination was lacking in the eight-year tenure of Muhammadu Buhari, when terrorists operating in the Northwest and other parts of the country held communities for ransom for years. A security expert based in Birnin-Kebbi, Dr. Walid Abdullahi emphasized the significance of these operations for both Nigeria and the broader Sahel region. “The elimination of these kingpins is a major victory not just for Nigeria, but for the entire Sahel,” he told TruthNigeria. “These criminal networks often operate across borders, and their activities have destabilized communities throughout the region. By dismantling their leadership, Nigeria is contributing to the security of the entire West African sub-region.” The impact of this operation is expected to be far-reaching. Banditry has been a persistent problem in Nigeria’s northwest, leading to widespread displacement, economic disruption, and loss of life. “The neutralization of these key figures is anticipated to create a power vacuum within the bandit groups, potentially leading to infighting and a reduction in their overall effectiveness,” Dr Abdullahi said. This development represents a significant step forward in Nigeria’s counterterrorism efforts. As Africa’s largest economy and most populous nation, Nigeria’s stability is crucial for regional security and global economic interests. The success of these operations demonstrates Nigeria’s growing capacity to address its internal security challenges, potentially reducing the need for international intervention, according to Abdullahi. However, security analysts caution that while this is a major victory, sustained effort will be required to completely eradicate the threat of banditry. “The challenge now,” Dr. Abdullahi explains, “is to capitalize on this momentum. The military must continue to pressure these groups while the government addresses the root causes of insecurity, such as poverty and lack of economic opportunities in affected regions.” As news of the operation spread, there is a palpable sense of relief among communities that long have lived under the shadow of banditry. Local leaders in Zamfara State have expressed cautious optimism, with many calling for continued military presence to prevent any resurgence of criminal activities. Mallam Saleh Shinkafi, a community leader in Filinga told TruthNigeria that it is a bittersweet experience for them. “For us in Filinga, we are both happy and scared, because the bandits over time have shown that they can regroup and come back to attack communities.” Yet, neither military spokesmen nor security experts have explained publicly why despite multiple victories against bandit kingpins in Zamfara, Niger and Katsina states in the last 12 months, rampant massacres of farming communities in Plateau and Benue states continue unabated. Sources in the Northwest have told TruthNigeria that the ethnic massacres in Northcentral states are linked to bandit gangs in Zamfara. Time will tell whether the removal of top bandit leadership will be noticed in the killing fields of the Northcentral states.  Steven Kefas and Segun Onibiyo are conflict reporters for TruthNigeria. Donations Save Lives! If you enjoy or benefit from Truth Nigeria's reporting, then consider giving to keep our work possible! Copyright 2024 Truth Nigeria

By Jonathan Fenton-Harvey With Libya having slipped further down the priority list of Western powers, its fragile “cold peace” nearly collapsed in August amid a dispute over the Central Bank of Libya, or CBL, which almost ground the country’s financial system to a halt. Though narrowly averted, the crisis reveals how Libya’s fragile political landscape remains vulnerable due to internal power struggles and a lack of cohesive governance structures , problems that only a unified international effort toward stabilizing the country can address. The crisis erupted when interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who heads the internationally recognized Tripoli-based Government of National Unity, or GNU, sought to oust the Central Bank governor, Sadiq al-Kabir. Dbeibah was frustrated that al-Kabir—who exercised significant power over the country’s finances, with around $80 billion worth of foreign reserves at his fingertips—had restricted Dbeibah’s access to funds that are vital to Dbeibah’s authority, including for the financing of militias loyal to the GNU. That led to GNU-aligned militias threatening al-Kabir with violence, forcing him to flee Libya for his life. It also risked unleashing economic shockwaves for ordinary Libyans, as the country’s banking system was almost frozen out of international financial networks. Meanwhile, as the threat to his ally in the CBL began to materialize, Gen. Khalifa Haftar—who commands the eastern-based Libyan National Army, or LNA, and is aligned with a rival government in Tobruk known as the House of Representatives, or HoR—retaliated by shutting down key oil fields in eastern Libya on Aug. 26 to pressure the GNU to back down on al-Kabir’s removal. Prior to that, on Aug. 7, Khalifa’s son, Saddam Haftar, led LNA forces in a bold westward advance toward the Ghadames region near the Algerian border, reportedly to capture the strategically located airport there. While Haftar’s forces faced pressure from local independent militias, leading to a delicate standoff, the advance effectively violated the United Nations-brokered cease-fire that ended the country’s civil war in October 2020. The rising tensions came at an already volatile moment, following unprecedented clashes between rival militias in Tripoli in early August. However, international stakeholders were able to breathe a sigh of relief, at least temporarily, on Sept. 26, when the U.N. Support Mission in Libya, known as UNSMIL, managed to strike a deal between the HoR and the High Council of State, or HCS—the Tripoli-based advisory body that serves as a mediator between the rival governments—to end the CBL standoff. The agreement will see Naji Issa, a former deputy chief of the CBL’s statistics department, appointed as the new governor, with a Board of Directors to be appointed in the coming weeks. It also calls for the restoration of the High Financial Oversight Committee, an independent watchdog body that was initially established in July 2023 but undermined by al-Kabir. In a reassuring sign, Dbeibah, the militias loyal to him and the Tripoli-based Presidential Council—which also backs him—all supported dialogue to resolve the CBL leadership crisis. Markets also expressed their optimism over the agreement, with black market trading of the Libyan dinar appreciating by 11 percent against the U.S. dollar, while Brent crude oil prices fell by around 5 percent, in part due to hopes that the deal would bring an end to Haftar’s blockade on eastern oil fields. The return of the High Financial Oversight Committee may also help restore some legitimacy to the bank’s operations, which should further enhance confidence in the country’s economy. However, while restructuring the bank’s leadership may restore some balance, without further changes to limit the bank’s power, the deal also reflects a return to a familiar status quo. In the meantime, with an eye to improving Libyans’ livelihoods, Issa will be tasked with stabilizing the country’s economy, including narrowing the gap between the black market and official exchange rates, reducing the public deficit and controlling inflation. However, concerns remain over whether the CBL will be tempted to tap into the country’s foreign reserves as a short-term fix for Libya’s economic problems,which could leave Libya more vulnerable in the long term. Libya finds itself in a Catch-22. To achieve stability, the country requires unified laws and institutions. But to attain this unity, it must first establish stability. Crucially, the CBL will also need to shed the reputation of serving the country’s elites, one that most major institutions in Libya have earned. While the bank is crucial to stabilizing Libya’s economy, many Libyans perceive it as operating more like a political entity than an impartial financial institution, particularly under al-Kabir’s leadership. To truly deliver for the Libyan people, more transparency and accountability on how the CBL spends the country’s oil revenues would be needed. The agreement’s sustainability will also hinge on the responses of Libya’s various rival factions, especially if further disagreements over the release of funds emerge once the initial euphoria over resolving the dispute fades. Dbeibah’s efforts to consolidate power over the bank in Tripoli, as part of a broader strategy to maximize his influence across Libya, continue to represent an obstacle to the country’s political and economic unity. And the HoR’s endorsement of the deal notwithstanding, Haftar still maintains significant control over Libya’s oil fields, the ongoing partial blockade of which has resulted in an 81 percent drop in daily oil production. Despite reports that all major oil fields would soon reopen, the possibility that Haftar might reimpose the blockades in the future—a tactic he has frequently used —means the risk of further economic instability is likely to persist. In addition to the challenges posed by the rival governments, Libya’s state institutions have also been an obstacle on its journey toward postwar stability. While Haftar’s blockade has severely limited the National Oil Corporation’s ability to power the national electricity grid, for instance, the corporation’s internal corruption and lack of transparency have further hindered its capacities. Moreover, the HCS has faced internal divisions following a contentious election for the body’s presidency in August that resulted in a stalemate between Khalid al-Mishri and Mohamed Takala. Al-Mishri is from Libya’s political Islamist faction, the Justice and Construction Party, while Takala is a more nonpartisan figure. But both have ties to Dbeibah, which raises questions about the council’s necessary impartiality. Ultimately, without effective decision-making processes and impartial advisory bodies, Libya’s unity will remain an elusive goal. That sums up the Catch-22 in which Libya finds itself. To achieve stability, the country requires unified laws and institutions. But to attain this unity, it must first establish stability. That underscores the need for the international community, particularly Western powers, to reinforce UNSMIL’s efforts toward establishing rule of law and conducting the elections that were due in December 2021 . However, preoccupied with other global issues such as the war in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East, Western nations have increasingly deprioritized Libya, tacitly accepting the fragmented status quo as long as there is no return to war. This lack of engagement has left regional powers, particularly Turkey and Egypt, to fill the void. Both countries have become key players in Libya, with Turkey having intervened militarily in 2020 to support the Government of National Accord, which preceded the current GNU. Egypt, on the other hand, is aligned with the eastern government and previously supported Haftar during the civil war. The meeting on Sept. 4 between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during the latter’s first presidential visit to Turkey since taking power in 2014 raised hopes that the two countries could put aside their past differences and work toward stabilizing Libya. With waning Western attention, cooperation between Ankara and Cairo may be the most pragmatic option to nudge Libya toward a political solution, in a process that may need to include neutral regional countries like Algeria. Failing that, while France and Italy remain divided over their political agendas and oil deals in Libya, other European countries with interests in the country—such as Spain, Norway, Austria and Germany—could play a role in supporting UNSMIL’s objectives, along with the U.K., which serves as the penholder for Libya at the U.N. Security Council. Policymakers in Europe may see this as increasingly critical, given that Russia has expanded its mercenary presence alongside Haftar’s forces in the east, at the risk of further exacerbating the country’s divisions. For now, Libya may have avoided a turn for the worst, but in large part by once again recycling elites within the same opaque and often unaccountable institutions. Instead, unified international efforts will be essential to support UNSMIL’s initiatives and pressure Libya’s elites across both rival governments and all major state institutions to engage in a stabilization process. Until such steps occur, Libya will likely find itself trapped in a cycle of political and economic uncertainty. © 2024, World Politics Review LLC. All rights reserved.

Addis Abeba – The escalating insecurity in the Amhara region, fueled by “persistent and newly emerging” armed conflicts, is severely disrupting the operations of health partners, including refugee settlements, cautioned the World Health Organization (WHO). In its recent report issued on 30 September, 2024, the WHO underscored that the prevailing insecurity in the Amhara region is “imposing restrictions on movement and obstructing access to health facilities.” Although public data are currently unavailable, the UN agency indicated that “an alarming increase in abductions, killings, and sexual gender-based violence” has been reported. The report further states, “In a volatile and unpredictable security context in Amhara, partners continue to find alternative ways to access health facilities to deliver life-saving interventions, particularly in response to the ongoing cholera and malaria outbreaks.” Between 01 January and 22 September, 2024, over 5.9 million new malaria cases, including 1,023 fatalities, were reported nationwide, significantly surpassing the total number of malaria cases in 2023, according to the WHO. The majority of malaria cases are reported from the regions of Oromia (50%), Amhara (17%), Southwest (9%), Southern Ethiopia (6%), and Benishangul Gumuz (5%). Reports indicate that Amhara, a region facing a worsening security crisis due to the conflict between government forces and the non-state militia Fano, is also contending with a significant rise in malaria cases. Three months ago, the Amhara Public Health Institute disclosed a troubling statistic: over 1.2 million individuals in the region had contracted malaria within the past eleven months. Belay Bezhabhi, the Director General of the Institute, noted that the spread of malaria is anticipated to increase further, particularly following September. In June 2024 , Addis Standard reported that at least 11 individuals, including children, had died from malaria in the West Wollega zone of the Oromia region. A senior expert from the Oromia Health Bureau, speaking to Addis Standard on the condition of anonymity, revealed that malaria is swiftly spreading to other areas of the Oromia region, including Jimma, Illu Ababor, Nekemte, and Shashamane. According to the expert, testing conducted at government health facilities within the Oromia region identified 57,000 malaria cases in just one week. In its latest report, the WHO emphasizes that a concerning number of cholera cases have been reported from the Northwest zone in Tigray, South Gondar and Woldiya city in Amhara, the southern part of Sidama, and the West Hararghe zone in Oromia. “In Tigray, poor sanitary conditions among informal gold miners are identified as a serious additional risk for the ongoing cholera outbreak,” stated the report. Cholera has also re-emerged in the Afar region, with cases reported from the Chifra district in Zone 1 and the Yalo district in Zone 4. The UN agency indicates that 66% of cholera patients in Afar report consuming water directly from a river. © Copyright Addis Standard 2024, All Rights Reserved

A truck loaded with explosives used in an attack attributed to ELN guerrillas against a military base, burns in Puerto Jordan, Colombia September 17, 2024. Colombian Army/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo BOGOTA, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Colombia's government has called off peace talks with leftist rebel group the National Liberation Army (ELN), its peace delegation said on Wednesday, following an attack which killed two soldiers and injured more than two dozen. The decision is another devastating blow to President Gustavo Petro's cornerstone total peace policy, which looked to remove the ELN from its role in the Andean country's six-decades of internal armed conflict. "Today the peace process is on hold. Its viability is severely diminished and its continuation can only go ahead with an unequivocal demonstration of peace by the ELN," the government peace delegation said in a post on X. The government restarted negotiations with the ELN at the end of 2022 and held six rounds of talks with the rebel group in Mexico, Cuba and Venezuela. The attack which caused the talks to be suspended took place on Tuesday in a rural area of Colombia's Arauca province, which borders Venezuela. The talks had been in crisis for months after the government decided to begin separate negotiations with a unit in the southwest of the country that had split from the rest of the ELN. Negotiations froze, with the ELN subsequently restarting kidnappings, an element of its arsenal it had given up during the talks. Since the end of the ceasefire, the ELN ramped up offensives against the military and police and also resumed bombings on Colombia's network of oil pipelines, contaminating the environment with subsequent oil spills. Colombia's military also restarted operations against the rebels. The decision to suspend the peace talks implies the reissue of arrest warrants for the ELN's top commanders, who are currently based in Venezuela and Cuba, according to the government. There was no immediate comment from the ELN. © 2024 Reuters. All rights reserved

Recent abduction and arrest of a top drug lord has set off a vicious war inside Mexico’s most violent cartel. A crime scene in Culiacan, Mexico, where at least 90 people have been killed in a recent drug cartel war, in September [Vanessa Gomez Viniegra/Al Jazeera] Culiacan, Mexico – The man is lying, top off, trousers pulled down, amid the rubbish just off a main road in the capital city of the state of Sinaloa in northwestern Mexico. It’s late September and he was dumped by a criminal group the night before, another victim of a power struggle that is ripping through Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel. Shootouts in broad daylight, convoys of armed men travelling through the city outskirts, and more than 90 people confirmed dead so far have characterised the latest cartel war in one of the most violent countries in the world. It emerged later that the man was a father who had been walking with his daughter the evening before, when they were stopped and he was taken by a criminal group. His daughter, age five, was left alone on the street until a neighbour found her. This is the new reality for Culiacan : fear and violence on a daily basis. More men were dumped the day following, sombreros placed on their heads — a message from whichever faction left them — its meaning, to the uninitiated onlooker, unclear. One man’s neck hangs at an acute angle. Another has cuts on his face. One more, with terrible bruising on his stomach and ribs. They’ve been left on the main highway out of Culiacan. Lines of motorists, diverted by police and soldiers at the scene, drive slowly past. This city has long lived with “narcos” — it’s the epicentre of the powerful Sinaloa cartel, which is “largely responsible” for the massive influx of fentanyl into the United States, according to US authorities. But it hasn’t seen violence like this for 15 years. Power vacuum The latest flareup was caused by a rupture between two powerful factions of the criminal organisation. It all started on the morning of July 25, according to a letter released by the lawyer of the cartel’s leader, Ismael Zambada Garcia, better known as “El Mayo”. El Mayo was perhaps the most powerful man in the cartel, especially after the US incarceration of his fellow founder and kingpin Joaquin Guzman Loera, alias “El Chapo”, in 2019. The letter claims that on that day in July, El Mayo was heading to a meeting with Joaquin Guzman Lopez, El Chapo’s son and a member of the Sinaloa cartel’s younger generation. The two men were rivals, but El Mayo says that he also trusted Guzman Lopez because he had known him “since he was a young boy”. They had come together at a local events centre, El Mayo’s letter said, to try and help resolve a local political dispute. But according to his letter, things quickly took a different turn: “As soon as I set foot inside of that room, I was ambushed. A group of men assaulted me, knocked me to the ground, and placed a dark-colored hood over my head. They tied me up and handcuffed me, then forced me into the bed of a pickup truck.” El Mayo said he was then driven to an airstrip in rural Sinaloa, surrounded by cornfields. When Al Jazeera travelled there, cartel lookouts still buzzed around the area. The abandoned airstrip in rural Sinaloa where El Mayo was bundled onto a small plane and flown to the US [Vanessa Gomez Viniegra/Al Jazeera] He was bundled onto a small plane, he says. But he wasn’t alone. Guzman Lopez was the other passenger, and physically restrained him with zip ties, El Mayo’s letter said. After a short flight, they landed in El Paso, Texas, where US agents were waiting to take both of them into custody. When El Mayo’s lawyer, Frank Perez, released the letter on August 10, it sent shockwaves through Culiacan. Many drew the obvious inference: Guzman Lopez had given up El Mayo to make a deal with US authorities for himself, and possibly his brother, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, who is also in US custody. Several journalists in Culiacan doubt El Mayo’s version of events; specifically that a man who had evaded capture for decades – and who had always been so careful – could have been so easily hoodwinked. The lawyer for Guzman Lopez denied that his client had made any deal with the US. But with El Mayo gone, a power vacuum has opened up, and with talk of betrayal in the air, trouble began to brew in the cartel’s epicentre. War begins It took a month and a half for El Mayo’s son, Ismael Zamabada Sicairos – known as “El Mayo Flaco” – to act after his father’s capture. Reportedly, he was meeting with other groups, trying to get support against the remaining sons of El Chapo in Sinaloa, collectively known as “Los Chapitos”. On September 9, he must have thought he was ready: The first sign that a war was coming was a radio chat, allegedly, of a commander from the El Mayo faction telling his troops to “send Los Chapitos straight to hell”. Shortly after, the first shots were fired, and two heavily armed, private armies rumbled into battle. Videos they have posted show cartel gunmen with tactical vests and heavy weaponry. Shootouts occurred in the streets, and the dead began to appear: Kidnapped, killed and then dumped, often before dawn. More than 3,000 federal police and soldiers have been deployed in Culiacan to stem the violence, September 2024 [Vanessa Gomez Viniegra/Al Jazeera] Federal forces arrived too, with more than 3,000 federal police and soldiers now in Culiacan. They also look as if they are heading into a warzone: Armoured trucks, police and soldiers covered head to toe in tactical gear, helmets and balaclavas. Nobody wants their identity on display. Yet despite the police presence, on the streets, the criminal groups are the ones that are ever-present. Lookouts — known in Spanish as “punteros”, men in sunglasses and masks — whiz around on scooters or bikes. Watching for federal forces or rival groups, they aren’t discreet and make little effort to hide themselves. Juan Carlos Ayala, a professor at the Autonomous University of Sinaloa specialising in violence and its effects, said that despite their numbers, federal forces are not taking the initiative to fight the groups. “There are key points, communities, where they know the criminal groups are. They should go and act before things kick off. But there’s no strategy for that,” he said. “I see a state that’s impotent against organised crime.” The state police chief did not agree to an interview with Al Jazeera about the situation. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who is leaving office in days, has asked the groups “to act responsibly”. When recently questioned at his daily morning news conference if the US is in some way to blame for the violence in Sinaloa, he responded, “Yes, of course, yes.” In the past in Mexico, when leaders of criminal organisations have been captured or killed, it has often unleashed bloodshed as those below them fight for the suddenly vacant throne. As a result, the so-called “kingpin” strategy, first widely used by former President Felipe Calderon, has often been questioned. But Lopez Obrador’s government hasn’t been able to stop organised crime from controlling large swaths of the country – or stemming the violence that accompanies that – during his six years in power. To many onlookers, the situation in Culiacan looks like a final failure. ‘Traumatic’ Meanwhile, the city has been brought close to a standstill. With people afraid to venture out at night, many businesses and restaurants are closing early. The local chamber of commerce estimated that in the first two weeks of the crisis, they collectively lost $25m per day. Restaurant owner Jacobo Quintero is among those that have been affected. Sitting in his near-empty seafood restaurant, which he built up from a stall to a Culiacan institution, Quintero said he’s worried. “We’ve got about 15 percent of our usual customers,” he told Al Jazeera. “People don’t want to come out because there are risks. They’re scared.” He now closes the restaurant at 4pm to allow his staff time to get the bus home. Transport companies aren’t working after dark. Across town, it is the same story: Quiet streets and a struggling local economy. Many businesses are closed in Culiacan amid the surge in violence [Vanessa Gomez Viniegra/Al Jazeera] Many schools are shut too, despite the state government instructing them to open. Al Jazeera met six-year-old Santiago and his mother Gitzelt in a queue outside of a government welfare office, waiting with hundreds of others for a parcel to keep them going in these times of scarcity. They asked that their last names not be published. Santiago misses his classes, he said. It was his first trip outdoors since September 9 due to the gunbattles that have raged outside the family’s home. “It was traumatic,” Gitzelt said. Her son explained the protocol he follows when his mother isn’t home: “I’m with my grandparents and when I hear the shootouts, I have to hide.” While Santiago, Gitzelt and other residents of Culiacan live with these daily fears, the violence has wrought another – albeit invisible – cost on the city: the people who have disappeared. Isabel Cruz runs a long-term search group called Warrior Bloodhounds. In the last two weeks, she has been compiling a list of the latest missing; She said that since the recent violence began, the number of disappeared has rocketed — to even more than those killed. Isabel Cruz runs Warrior Bloodhounds, a group that looks for missing persons in Culiacan [Vanessa Gomez Viniegra/Al Jazeera] “I get all types of calls. Desperate families whose relative has just been taken, crying, asking what to do, where to go. Or families who have already gone to the authorities, but they’re told nothing,” she said. All of those reported missing are placed on the group’s Facebook page, with a photo and the number for Warrior Bloodhounds. Cruz told Al Jazeera that she has received threats herself to stop publishing information about the missing. “When I started uploading the files — and there were so many — I started receiving threats, one after another, three threats: That I should stop putting the photos online, that they knew where I lived. But it’s just one more threat against me,” she said. She refuses to stop. So does the violence. © 2024 Al Jazeera Media Network

September 2024 | Issue No. 12 | genocidewatch.com Genocide Emergency Democratic Republic of the Congo  There have been up to 6 million conflict-related deaths in the DRC since 1998. The eastern provinces of Nord-Kivu, Sud-Kivu, Ituri, and Tanganyika, and the southern provinces of Kasaï-Oriental, Kasaï Central, Kasaï, and Mai-Ndombe had genocidal massacres in 2023 . 6.7 million Congolese are internally displaced. 400,000 women are raped each year in DRC, the highest rate of sexual violence in the world.   Mass killing , kidnapping of children, mass rape, and torture by militias and government forces , and ethnic conflict plague the DRC. The corrupt DRC government is unable to bring peace or law and order. Since 2003, the world’s largest UN peacekeeping force, MONUSCO , has also been unable to stop atrocities despite having up to 21,000 troops in DRC at a cost of over ten billion dollars. Demonstrations in Goma in 2022 demanded that MONUSCO leave the DRC. MONUSCO will leave DRC by the end of 2024 .   Local mai mai  militias, Hutu genocidists from Rwanda ( Interahamwe ), and the Congolese army have driven over 100,000 Congolese Tutsis ( Banyamulenge ) off their land in eastern DRC into refugee camps in Rwanda. The Banyamulenge have been systematically killed in a ‘slow genocide.’ Congolese nationalists try to justify this genocide as revenge for past Tutsi domination, using the same racist ideology that drove the Rwandan genocide.   In February 2024, a Lendu militia, the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO) massacred dozens of Hema people, a targeted Tutsi minority in Northern Ituri province. Batwa communities residing in or near the Kahuzi-Biega National Park in South Kivu have been persecuted by park guards and Congolese army soldiers.   Congolese Tutsis (the Banyamulenge and Hema) and the Batwa people are targets of slow genocides in the DRC. Women, children, the LGBTQ+ community, people in displaced person camps, and civil society activists and organizations are persecuted.   The Democratic Republic of the Congo is at Stage 3: Discrimination, Stage 4: Dehumanization, Stage 5: Organization, Stage 6: Polarization, Stage 8: Persecution, and Stage 9: Extermination. Genocide Watch recommends:   MONUSCO must not withdraw from eastern DRC, where it is the only non-DRC security force.   MONUSCO should adopt effective strategies to hunt down and defeat genocidal militias.   Rwanda must withdraw all its troops from the DRC and end its support for M23.   The DRC must enforce its laws against hate speech and incitements to genocide.   The DRC should arrest and prosecute leaders who incite genocide and crimes against humanity.  Read the full emergency alert here   and the special report  here .  Genocide Watch updates   The IRF/Alliance Against Genocide Working Group published an  urgent appeal   for stronger action in Sudan, addressing gaps in UNSC Resolution 2736.  The Sudan Task Force has published a special report  on genocidal rape occurring in Sudan.  The Mapping Team has published four maps of ongoing conflicts:  A map  of conflict fatalities in Gaza since October 7, 2023  A map   of fatalities in the Sahel due to jihadism between 2009 and 2024  A map   of fatalities in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022  A map   of fatalities in Sudan between 2023 and 2024  Genocide Watch has also published the following articles:  “ Genocide in Nigeria 2024: US Options to Prevent It ,” an article by Dr. Gregory Stanton  “ T he New Nazism ,” an article by Dr. Gregory Stanton  A recap   of Genocide Watch’s articles on the genocides in Gaza and Israel  See more Genocide Watch updates here .  Country Reports   Genocide Watch has recently published reports on the following countries:  Niger   is at Stage 6: Polarization and Stage 8: Persecution Algeria  is at Stage 3: Discrimination  and Stage 8: Persecution Find the full list of country reports   here .  ALLIANCE MEMBER UPDATES Members of the   Alliance Against Genocide  have been doing valuable work related to genocide prevention. Here are a few of their projects: The Anne Frank Project hosted “ Home: Building Our Collective Story ,” its 16th annual social justice festival. The festival is a two-day celebration of stories from multiple disciplines that build community, manage conflict, and explore identity.  The Syrian Network for Human Rights published a report   on two massacres in Eastern Rural Deir Ez-Zour Governorate committed by the Syrian regime that killed 57 civilians, including 13 children.   The Indian American Muslim Council published the results of a new survey, “ The Detrimental Effects of Hindu Nationalism on Indian American Muslims .”  NEW ALLIANCE MEMBERS Genocide Watch has welcomed one new member to the Alliance Against Genocide this month:  End the Uyghur Genocide   is an organization dedicated to bringing international attention to the plight of the Uyghur people.   Organizations interested in joining the Alliance Against Genocide should fill out   this form   and someone from Genocide Watch will be in touch. Featured Alliance Member Jewish World Watch Jewish World Watch aims to provide help and healing to survivors of mass atrocities around the globe and seeks to inspire people of all faiths and cultures to join the ongoing fight against genocide. It works on various issues, including food security, women’s safety and empowerment, health and well-being, and education. JWW primarily does work in the DRC, Burma, Bangladesh, Sudan, and Chad.  In the DRC, Jewish World Watch works with local change-makers to provide vital educational opportunities, rescue children from armed militias and holistically heal women following sexual attacks. JWW has helped to secure the release of boys and girls from armed groups, many of whom are being used as child soldiers and sex slaves. From 2019-2020 JWW funded the release and rehabilitation of 1,436 children former child soldiers and sex slaves. It also founded the Congo Peace School, which provides peace-related education for children unable to afford school fees, taking them off the streets and into classrooms.  Find out more at their website here .  TAKE ACTION Help us stop genocide around the world.  Donate to Genocide Watch   Support efforts to contain the mpox outbreak in DRC Help female survivors of the war In the News The New Humanitarian: DRC's Tutsi Driven into Rwandan Refugee Camps The Associated Press: Sharp Increases in Sexual Violence in DRC Agence France-Presse: Civilians Trapped in Eastern DRC Contact US communications@genocidewatch.org Genocide Watch is a A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.  Tax exempt EIN: 26-1672589 "Genocide Watch" is a trademarked term. It may be used only with permission of Genocide Watch, Inc.

United Arab Emirates Arms RSF Genocidists in Sudan The New York Times September 26, 2024 By  Declan Walsh  and  Christoph Koettl The United Arab Emirates is expanding a covert campaign to back the Rapid Support Forces, the genocidal force massacring black Africans in Sudan’s civil war. Waving the banner of the Red Crescent, it is smuggling weapons and deploying drones. Recently arrived Sudanese refugees from the Darfur region, in line to receive food on the outskirts of Adré, a town in eastern Chad, in July. Credit...Ivor Prickett for The New York Times   The drones soar over the vast deserts along the Sudanese border, guiding weapons convoys that smuggle illicit arms to fighters accused of widespread genocide and forced displacement. They hover over a besieged city at the center of Sudan’s terrible famine, supporting a ruthless paramilitary force that has bombed hospitals, looted food shipments and  torched thousands of homes , aid groups say. Yet the drones are flying out of a base where the United Arab Emirates says it is running a humanitarian effort for the Sudanese people — part of what it calls its “urgent priority” to save innocent lives and stave off starvation in Africa’s largest war. The Emirates is playing a deadly double game in Sudan, a country shredded by  one of the world’s most catastrophic  civil wars. Covert drone airbase 30 miles from Sudan Red Crescent hospital Drone hangars and control system Satellite image by Airbus DS, 2024 Eager to cement its role as a regional kingmaker, the wealthy Persian Gulf petrostate is expanding its covert campaign to back a winner in Sudan, funneling money, weapons and, now, powerful drones to fighters rampaging across the country, according to officials, internal diplomatic memos and satellite images analyzed by The New York Times. All the while, the Emirates is presenting itself as a champion of peace, diplomacy and international aid. It is even using one of the world’s most famous relief symbols — the Red Crescent, the counterpart of the Red Cross — as a cover for its secret operation to fly drones into Sudan and smuggle weapons to fighters, satellite images show and American officials say. The war in Sudan, a sprawling gold-rich nation with nearly 500 miles of Red Sea coastline, has been fueled by a plethora of foreign nations, like Iran and Russia. They are supplying arms to the warring sides, hoping to tilt the scales for profit or their own strategic gain — while the people of Sudan are caught in the crossfire. But the Emirates is playing the largest and most consequential role of all, officials say, publicly pledging to ease Sudan’s suffering even as it secretly inflames it. Starvation haunts Sudan.  Famine was officially declared last month  after nearly 18 months of fighting, which has killed tens of thousands and scattered at least 10 million people in the world’s worst displacement crisis, the United Nations says. Aid groups  call it  a calamity of “historic proportions.” The Emirates says it has made “absolutely clear” that it is not arming or supporting “any of the warring parties” in Sudan. To the contrary, it says, it is “alarmed by the rapidly accelerating humanitarian catastrophe” and pushing for an “immediate cease-fire.” At a major meeting on Sudan at the United Nations on Wednesday, where one speaker after another decried a “man-made” catastrophe of apocalyptic proportions, the Emirates emphasized its aid to the war’s victims. But for more than a year, the Emirates has been secretly bolstering the Rapid Support Forces, or R.S.F., the paramilitary group fighting Sudan’s military for control of Africa’s third-largest country. Map shows areas of conflict in Sudan. Darfur in Sudan …By The New York Times A Times investigation last year detailing the Emirati  weapons smuggling operation  was confirmed by U.N. investigators in January, when  they cited  “credible” evidence that the Emirates was breaking a two-decade U.N.  arms embargo  in Sudan. Now, the Emiratis are amplifying their covert campaign. Powerful Chinese-made drones, by far the largest deployed in Sudan’s war, are being flown from an airport across the border in Chad that the Emirates has expanded into a well-equipped, military-style airfield. Hangars have been built and a drone control station installed, satellite images show. Many of the cargo planes that have landed at the airport during the war previously transported weapons for the Emirates to other conflict zones, like Libya, where the Emiratis have  also been accused  of breaching an arms embargo, a Times analysis of flight tracking data found. American officials say the Emiratis are now using the airport to fly advanced military drones to provide the R.S.F. with battlefield intelligence, and to escort weapons shipments to fighters in Sudan — to keep an eye out for ambushes. Through an analysis of satellite images, The Times identified the type of drone being used: the Wing Loong 2, a Chinese model often compared to the MQ-9 Reaper of the U.S. Air Force. The images show an apparent munitions bunker at the airport and a Wing Loong ground control station beside the runway — only about 750 yards from an Emirati-run hospital that has treated wounded R.S.F. fighters. Credit: Airbus DS, 2023 via Skywatch (Before image). Airbus DS, 2024 (July image).  The Wing Loong can fly for 32 hours, has a range of 1,000 miles and can carry up to a dozen missiles or bombs. So far, the drones do not seem to be conducting airstrikes of their own in Sudan, officials say, but are providing surveillance and identifying targets on chaotic battlefields. That makes them “a significant force multiplier,” said  J. Michael Dahm , a senior fellow at the Virginia-based Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. After taking off from the base, the drones may in fact be piloted remotely from Emirati soil, experts and officials say. Recently, they have been detected patrolling the skies above the embattled Sudanese city of El Fasher, where people are starving and surrounded by the R.S.F. The city is home to nearly two million people, and fears are rising that the war is on the precipice of  even more atrocities . Chinese-made Wing Loong drones on display at an air show in Dubai in 2019.Credit ...Karim Sahib/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images American officials have been pressuring all the war’s combatants to stop the carnage. Vice President Kamala Harris confronted the leader of the Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, over his country’s support of the R.S.F. when the two met in December, according to officials briefed on the exchange. President Biden called this week for an end to the “senseless war,” warning that the R.S.F.’s brutal, monthslong siege on El Fasher “has become a full-on assault.” The crisis is expected to come up again when he and Ms. Harris host the Emirati leader at the White House for the first time on Monday. “It’s got to stop,” John F. Kirby, a White House spokesman, said of the siege. ‘They Can’t Lie to Us Anymore’ Both sides in Sudan’s civil war have been accused of war crimes, including brutal assaults filmed by the fighters themselves. The war erupted in 2023, when a power struggle between Sudan’s military and the R.S.F. — a fighting force it helped create —  erupted into gunfire on the streets of the capital  and quickly enveloped the nation. Sudanese military planes have bombed civilians, while rights groups accuse the R.S.F. of genocide, forced displacement, and war crimes (indiscriminate shelling) that destroyed hospitals, homes and aid warehouses. In El Fasher, Doctors Without Borders has accused the military of bombing a children’s hospital, and R.S.F. troops of plundering a hospital and blocking food intended for a camp of 400,000 starving people.   In Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, shells fired by the Rapid Support Forces blasted a hole in the Aliaa Specialist Hospital last April.  Credit...Ivor Prickett for The New York Times Aid workers are hoping to airdrop food into the city, which Toby Harward, the top U.N. official for Darfur, likened to “hell on earth.” The Emirates insists it is simply trying to halt the war and help its victims. It has provided $230 million in aid and delivered 10,000 tons of relief supplies, and it played a prominent role in recent  American-led peace talks  in Switzerland. “The U.A.E. remains committed to supporting the people of Sudan in restoring peace,” Lana Nusseibeh, an Emirati minister for foreign affairs, said afterward. Senior American officials have privately tried to coax the Emirates to drop its covert operations, bluntly confronting it with American intelligence on what the Gulf state is doing inside Sudan, said five American officials with knowledge of the conversations. After Vice President Harris raised American objections to the arms smuggling with Sheikh Mohammed in December, the Emirati leader offered what some officials considered a tacit acknowledgment.   Vice President Kamala Harris and the leader of the Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, in Dubai in December. She confronted him over his country’s support of the R.S.F. during the meeting, officials said.Credit ...UAE Presidential Court/EPA, via Shutterstock While not admitting direct support to the R.S.F., Sheikh Mohammed said he owed the paramilitary group’s leader, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, for sending troops to fight alongside the Emirates in the war in Yemen, according to two American officials briefed on the exchange. Sheikh Mohammed also said he viewed the R.S.F. as a bulwark against Islamist political movements in the region, which the Emirati royal family has long considered a threat to its authority, the officials said. (The Emirati government did not respond to questions about the conversation.) “They can’t lie to us anymore, because they know that we know,” said one American official who, like others, was not authorized to speak publicly about the intelligence. Relief organizations are particularly incensed with the Emirates, accusing it of running “a Potemkin aid operation” to disguise its support to the R.S.F., according to Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International and a former Obama and Biden administration official. “They want it both ways,” he said of the Emiratis. “They want to act like a rogue, supporting their militia client and turning a blind eye to whatever they do with their weapons. And they want to appear like a constructive, rules-abiding member of the international system.” Sudan’s civil war has turned the country, perched strategically on the Red Sea, into a global free-for-all. Iran has supplied armed drones to the Sudanese military, which has fought alongside Ukrainian special forces in the capital, Khartoum. Egypt has also sided with the military. Russia has played both sides. Wagner mercenaries initially supplied missiles to the R.S.F., United Nations inspectors found. More recently, officials say, the Kremlin has tilted to the military, offering it weapons in exchange for naval access to Sudan’s Red Sea coast. The Houthis of Yemen sent shiploads of weapons to Sudan’s military, at Iran’s behest, and gas-rich Qatar sent six Chinese warplanes, American officials say. (Qatar and the Houthis denied sending military aid.)   Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, the leader of the Rapid Support Forces paramilitaries, at Sudan’s military headquarters in 2019. He is also widely known as Hemeti.Credit ...Declan Walsh/The New York Times The Emirates has sent an array of weapons as well, officials have concluded. “The delivery of drones, howitzers, multiple rocket launchers and MANPADS to the R.S.F. by the U.A.E. has helped it neutralize the air superiority” of Sudan’s military, the European Union ambassador to Sudan, Aidan O’Hara, wrote in February in a confidential memo obtained by The Times. (A MANPAD, or Man-Portable Air Defense System, is a type of antiaircraft missile.) The memo contained other startling assertions: that Saudi Arabia has given money to Sudan’s military, which used it to buy Iranian drones; that as many as 200,000 foreign mercenaries were fighting alongside the R.S.F.; and that Wagner mercenaries had trained the R.S.F. to use the antiaircraft missiles supplied by the Emirates. The Emirati role appears to be part of a broader push into Africa. Last year, it announced $45 billion in investments across the continent, analysts say, nearly twice as much as China. Recently, it has expanded into a new business: war. It turned the tide of  Ethiopia’s civil war  in 2021 by  supplying armed drones  to the prime minister at a crucial point in the fight, ultimately helping him emerge victorious. Now it appears to be trying to repeat the same feat in Sudan with the R.S.F. The Arms Pipeline Last year, when cargo planes began to land at the airport in Amdjarass, 600 miles east of the Chadian capital, Ndjamena, the Emirates said it had come to establish a field hospital for Sudanese refugees. But within months, American officials discovered that the $20 million hospital quietly treated R.S.F. fighters, and that the cargo planes also carried weapons that were later smuggled to fighters inside Sudan. The Times analysis of satellite images and flight records showed that the Emiratis set up the drone system at the same time they were  promoting their humanitarian operation . An Emirati propaganda video shows the Emirates Red Crescent delivering for the field hospital at Amdjarass, near Chad’s border with Sudan. U.N. investigators say weapons were also delivered under the guise of aid. Credit ...Emirates Red Crescent During a lengthy phone call in early May with his Emirati counterpart, President Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, cited American intelligence that had been declassified so that it could be shared with a foreign official. The evidence documented Emirati military support to the R.S.F., two American officials briefed on the exchange said. But the American candor appears to have had little impact. The Emirates has only doubled down on its support to the R.S.F. in recent months, American officials and witnesses in Chad say. Fewer cargo flights now land at Amdjarass airport, where they can be easily detected, but a greater proportion of supplies arrives by truck, often along routes that bypass major cities and towns, officials say. The New York Times has been following the arrival of aircraft, including Emirati cargo planes, at the airfield in Amdjarass, Chad, for a year. Photos taken Aug. 8, 2023, July 15, 2023, May 17, 2024, July 6, 2024 Source: BlackSky; Planet Labs By The New York Times Traces of Emirati-supplied weapons are also being found on the battlefield. Human Rights Watch recently identified Serbian-made missiles, fired from an unidentified drone, that it said were originally sold to the Emirates. “It’s very clear: The U.A.E. is sending money, the U.A.E. is sending weapons,” said Succès Masra, a former prime minister of Chad. After complaints from Western officials, he said, he told his nation’s president, Mahamat Idriss Déby, that allowing the Emirates to funnel weapons through Chad was a “huge mistake.” Nothing changed. The Emirates promised Mr. Déby  a $1.5 billion loan , nearly as big as Chad’s $1.8 billion national budget a year earlier. The Emirates supports the R.S.F. in other ways, too. Earlier this year, an Emirati private jet carried the paramilitary force’s leader,  General Hamdan, on a tour of six African countries , where he was treated like a head of state. Dubai, one of the seven emirates that make up the nation, is the hub of the R.S.F.’s business empire, which is anchored in gold trading. The U.S. Treasury has imposed sanctions on what it calls an R.S.F. “front company” and recently listed seven Emirati companies under investigation on suspicion of being linked to the paramilitary group. General Hamdan’s 34-year-old brother, Algoney Hamdan, has lived in Dubai since 2014 and was singled out by American sanctions. Yet he is now an interlocutor for stuttering peace efforts. Speaking in Switzerland during last month’s talks, Mr. Hamdan brushed off the U.S. measures against him. “If it brings peace to Sudan, they can sanction as many companies as they want,” he said. Mr. Hamdan conceded that some R.S.F. troops had committed abuses, but insisted the Emirates was not backing the R.S.F. “There is no proof of anything,” he said. “It’s just false propaganda.” A Cherished Symbol of Aid The Emirati operation in Chad has deeply worried the Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, one of the world’s oldest and most venerable aid movements. It learned only from news reports that the Emirates Red Crescent had established a hospital in Amdjarass, said Tommaso Della Longa, a Red Cross spokesman. The Emirates Red Crescent, which is funded by the Emirati government, did not inform the international federation, as it should have, he added. The Emiratis eagerly touted their largess. The government’s publicity showed workers unloading cargo pallets and treating patients under the Red Crescent logo — an emblem dating back to the 1870s that is legally protected under the Geneva Conventions. Misuse of that  symbol   is a potential war crime .   A photograph released by Emirati state media showing aid after two Emirati aircraft have arrived in Amdjarass, Chad, in November.   Credit...Emirates News Agency Worried that its reputation for neutrality was at risk, the Red Cross sent fact-finding missions to Chad in 2023 and 2024, “to better understand” what the Emiratis were doing under the Red Crescent banner in Amdjarass, Mr. Della Longa said. They found few answers. When the officials arrived, they were turned away from the Emirati field hospital for unspecified “security reasons,” Mr. Della Longa said. The officials eventually left Chad without setting foot in the hospital. The Emirates Red Crescent did not respond to questions. Mr. Konyndyk, the Refugees International official, said it was “unheard-of” for an aid organization to bar its own officials from visiting a hospital that supposedly treats refugees. “The Emirates seems to be instrumentalizing the Red Crescent as cover for well-documented arms shipments to a militia that is actively committing atrocities in Darfur.” In June, Emirati officials said they had treated  nearly 30,000 patients , and were looking to expand the hospital, but people in Amdjarass say the hospital opens for just four hours a day. The Emirates opened a second field hospital in Chad, in the city of Abéché in April. When The Times visited the 80-bed facility in July, doctors readily offered a tour of its well-equipped wards, which the hospital’s director, Dr. Khalid Mohammed, said received as many as 250 patients every day.   Patients wait to be seen at a field hospital in the Chadian city of Abéché, built by the Emirates at a cost of $20 million, which opened in April. Credit...Ivor Prickett for The New York Times A private Emirati company ran the hospital, and it had no connection with the Red Cross or Crescent, he said. But the hospital closed at 4 p.m. each day, limiting the medical services it could provide. The Red Cross says it is still trying to figure out what the Emiratis are up to. “The process is not finished,” Mr. Della Longa, the Red Cross spokesman, said of the inquiry into the Amdjarass hospital. “We want to get to the bottom of it.” Counterbalancing Iran As Sudan plunges deeper into what many experts called the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis, American officials say they are more sharply focused on the conflict than ever. Antony J. Blinken, the secretary of state, organized last month’s peace talks in Switzerland despite their low chance of halting the fighting. And Mr. Sullivan, the national security adviser, intervened directly with officials from Saudi Arabia when they appeared to be obstructing talks, said three people with knowledge of the interactions. But the Biden administration is divided on a fundamental question: How hard should it push the Emirates? When the U.S. envoy to Sudan, Tom Perriello, suggested on a  podcast  on Sept. 4 that he supported a boycott of the Emirates by the rapper Macklemore, who recently  canceled a Dubai show  over the Emirates’ role in Sudan, it provoked a furious private reaction from Emirati officials, several officials said. “I sure didn’t have Macklemore as hero for Sudan on my bingo card,” Mr. Perriello said on the podcast. Some senior White House and State Department officials felt Mr. Perriello had gone too far, while others cringed at the idea of cowing to the Emiratis for the sake of good relations. The dispute reflected the limits of challenging the Emirates, a country the United States relies on for many global priorities. The Emirates is a staunch American ally against Iran, a signatory of  the Abraham Accords  to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, a potential player in postwar Gaza, and it has even facilitated prisoner swaps between Ukraine and Russia. The Gulf state has shrugged off international censure before, notably over  its role in Yemen , but it appears to be sensitive to growing criticism over Sudan.   An empty street in the heavily destroyed Al-Shaabi market in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, in April.Credit ...Ivor Prickett for The New York Times When European diplomats considered last February whether the nation “would have any qualms about the slaughter and devastation” caused by its actions in Sudan, the confidential E.U. memo said, the diplomats concluded that the Emiratis “would be more concerned about any damage to their reputation rather than any sense of moral culpability.” But whether the Emiratis would be willing to cede Sudan to one of the many rival powers piling into the war, especially Iran, is another matter entirely. The prospect of Iran gaining a foothold on the Western shores of the Red Sea has clearly unnerved the Emirates and several other Arab countries involved in Sudan, officials say. That sense of alarm is driving a proxy war and prompting rival powers to pour ever more weapons into Sudan, pushing the tottering state toward complete collapse. The Emiratis say Sudanese refugees are grateful for the Emirati help. But the anger among others is growing. Last week, when Ms. Nusseibeh, the Emirati minister who took part in peace talks in Switzerland, visited one of the hospitals in Chad to showcase her country’s good works, she was confronted by an infuriated Sudanese refugee. “You know very well that you ignited this war!” yelled a man during a public meeting, in an exchange that quickly spread on social media. “We don’t want anything from you, except that you stop it.” Speaking by phone, the man, who asked to be identified as Suliman out of fear of reprisals, said he hadn’t been able to contain himself. R.S.F. brutality had forced him to flee Sudan a year earlier, joining 800,000 refugees now in Chad, he said. So when the Emirati minister sat before him, he said, he saw “the reason my house was destroyed.” “I lost everything,” he said. “I had to get up and say what was in my heart.”   Declan Walsh reported from Sudan, Chad and Switzerland. Christoph Koettl analyzed satellite images, flight records and other materials. Published Sept. 21, 2024. Updated Sept. 25, 2024   Julian Barnes and Eric Schmitt contributed reporting from Washington, and Shuaib Almosawa from Bangalore, India. Videos and graphics by Alexander Cardia and Josh Holder.   Declan Walsh  is the chief Africa correspondent for The Times based in Nairobi, Kenya. He previously reported from Cairo, covering the Middle East, and Islamabad, Pakistan.  More about Declan Walsh Christoph Koettl  is a Times reporter on the  Visual Investigations team .  More about Christoph Koettl A version of this article appears in print on Sept. 26, 2024, Section A, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: Sneaking Weapons Under Humanitarian Cloak. Copyright 2024 The New York Times Company