By RFA Vietnamese and Subel Rai Bhandari and Nontarat Phaicharoen for BenarNews 2022.10.13 Vietnamese state media on reported on the U.N. resolution, but did not mention Hanoi’s abstention Ukrainian Ambassador to the United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya, scans the General Assembly with binoculars prior to a vote on the resolution condemning the annexation of parts of Ukraine by Russia, at the U.N. headquarters in New York, Oct. 12, 2022. Vietnamese state media on Thursday reported on the United Nations General Assembly vote that overwhelmingly condemned Russia’s attempts to annex four regions of Ukraine, but did not mention that Hanoi, along with Thailand, Laos and 32 other countries had abstained from the vote. Some 143 countries -- about three-quarters of the 193-member General Assembly - voted Wednesday in favor of the resolution that also reaffirmed the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. Dang Hoang Giang, head of Vietnam’s permanent delegation at the U.N., had seemingly spoken in support of the resolution, but abstained anyway. Dang said the vote emphasized the necessity of assuring the U.N. Charter and international laws be upheld, comprising the principles of non-interference into internal issues of a nation, non-use of force or the threat of force in international relations, settling disputes on international law, with an emphasis on respecting independence, national sovereignty and integrity of all nations, the state-run Vietnam News Agency reported. Ho Chi Minh City-based Hoang Hung, a critic of the Vietnamese government, told RFA’s Vietnamese Service that Hanoi’s attitude has disappointed many people, adding Vietnam does not want to counter Russia because of defense and oil exploration ties in the South China Sea. “It has been Vietnam’s line, since the beginning of the war, not to vote against Russia,” Hung said. “However, [we] should pay attention to the Vietnam representative’s statements at the U.N. General Assembly that always affirm the call for respect for the U.N. Charter, respect for national sovereignty, and respect for the Principle of Non-Use of Force. One understands such calls means Russia [should not] invade Ukraine, but the abstaining vote contradicts their statements. Everyone sees that,” Hung said. Will Nguyen, a Vietnamese-America democracy advocate, claimed communist Vietnam's founding leader would have disapproved of Hanoi's stance. “In my opinion, if Ho Chi Minh were still alive, he would be ashamed of Vietnam for abstaining from the vote,” said Nguyen. “In fact, if there is nothing more precious than independence and freedom, Vietnam should have voted to support Ukraine,” he said. Thailand's rationale Thailand defended the abstention, saying the move was “counterproductive” and would obstruct constructive dialogue. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed documents to make the four eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson parts of Russia. The annexation came after those areas held referendums, which the West denounced as a “sham” and “illegal.” “Condemnation provokes intransigence and therefore greatly reduces the chance for constructive engagement,” Suriya Jindawong, Thailand’s permanent representative to the U.N., said in a statement released by the Thai foreign ministry on Thursday. Thailand is “genuinely concerned about the increased politicization of international principles that have become counterproductive as the means and guidance to end the war.” Such a move “marginalizes the chance for crisis diplomacy to bring about a peaceful and practical negotiated resolution to the conflict that may push the world toward the brink of nuclear war and global economic collapse,” Suriya said. Previously, Thailand voted to support the March 2 U.N. resolution condemning Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and demanding troop withdrawal. In April, Thailand and a majority of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) abstained from voting to suspend Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council. This latest resolution, which called on all countries not to recognize Moscow’s annexation and demanded its immediate reversal, was supported by 143 nations, the highest number since the start of the invasion in February. Also among the 35 nations abstaining were China and Laos, which both have strong ties with Russia. Just four countries -- North Korea, Syria, Nicaragua and Belarus -- joined Russia in voting against the resolution. Myanmar, which is represented at the U.N. by an opponent of Myanmar's pro-Moscow ruling junta, and Cambodia voted in support of the resolution. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the vote “a powerful reminder that the overwhelming majority of nations stand with Ukraine … and in resolute opposition to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine and its people. “The vote delivers a resounding rebuke to Russia for its aggression against Ukraine,” Blinken said in a statement. Cars burn after Russia launches a missile attack in Kyiv, Oct. 10, 2022. Photo: Reuters ‘Price to pay’ U.S.-allied Thailand’s relationship with China could have played a role in its abstention, a Thai academic said Thursday. “The abstention on the Russo-Ukraine conflict means Thailand does not differentiate between wrong and right,” Naing Lin, a political science lecturer at Chiang Mai University, told BenarNews, an RFA affiliated news service. Thailand, like some other ASEAN countries, “has strong concerns regarding its relationship with a superpower, like China, which supports Russia,” he said. “Whichever way Thailand voted, there is a price to pay.” A retired Thai diplomat concurred Thailand had erred by abstaining. “Russia is clearly wrong in this case … We are a diplomatic country and should have been with the majority of the countries,” Russ Jalichandra, a former Thai ambassador to Mozambique and Kazakhstan, told BenarNews. “We don’t have a lot of interest in Russia, unlike India. So it was not hard to make the right decision.” Although it abstained, Thailand said it “mourns the physical, social and humanitarian destruction of Ukraine and the severe hardships suffered by the Ukrainian people.” Thailand also reiterated its commitment to the “sovereignty and territorial integrity” of a state and the policy of opposing any threats to “the use of force to annex the territory of another state without provocation,” according to Suriya’s statement. APEC summit Thailand’s abstention comes as the country prepares to host the APEC leaders’ summit in Bangkok on Nov. 18 and 19. The summit is typically attended by leaders from across the Asia-Pacific, including Russia, China and the United States. “Russia, among other countries, has accepted an invitation and preparation by security agencies is taking place,” a Thai government source told BenarNews on the condition of anonymity, because he was not allowed to speak to the media. The Russian Embassy in Bangkok did not respond to BenarNews request for comment on the summit. On Tuesday, Tanee Sangrat, Thai foreign ministry spokesman, said that nine “economies” have responded positively to the invitation to attend and “eight others are likely to attend.” He declined to name them. China’s President Xi Jinping is expected to attend, but U.S. President Joe Biden may not participate because of a “family engagement,” Thai media reported. “This meeting taking place now is a valuable addition because the top leaders will be able to hold bilateral and sideline meetings to discuss the current complications in the world,” Panitan Wattanayagorn, chairman of the Prime Minister’s Security Advisory Committee, told BenarNews on Wednesday. “Those meetings could pave the way to solve the current conflict and other tense situations.” BenarNews is an RFA affiliated news service. BenarNews journalist Kunnawut Boonreak in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and RFA Vietnamese contributed to this report. This story has been updated to amend the byline and add background. Copyright 2022 RFA

People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS DECEMBER 08, 2022 DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran hanged a man on Thursday convicted of injuring a security guard with a knife and blocking a street in Tehran, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said, the first such execution over recent anti-government unrest. Nationwide protests that erupted after the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini on Sept. 16 represent one of the biggest challenges to the Islamic Republic since its establishment in 1979. Authorities have been cracking down on the protests and on Monday, the Revolutionary Guards encouraged the judiciary to swiftly and decisively issue judgements against those accused of “crimes against the security of the nation and Islam”. The Tasnim news agency named the executed man as Mohsen Shekari, but gave no further details. State media published a video of what it said was Shekari’s confession where he appears with a bruise on his right cheek. He admitted to striking a member of the Basij militia with a knife and to blocking a road with his motorbike alongside one of his friends. Rights groups have said Shekari was tortured and forced to confess to his crime. Amnesty International has said Iranian authorities are seeking the death penalty for at least 21 people in what it called “sham trials designed to intimidate those participating in the popular uprising that has rocked Iran”. “The Iranian authorities must immediately quash all death sentences, refrain from seeking the imposition of the death penalty and drop all charges against those arrested in connection with their peaceful participation in protests,” it said. Western governments have also expressed dismay at the high number of executions in Iran. Iran has blamed the unrest on its foreign foes including the United States. Judiciary spokesman Masoud Setayeshi said on Tuesday that five people indicted in the killing of a Basij militia member, Rouhollah Ajamian, had been sentenced to death in a verdict that they can appeal. Iran’s semi-official news agency ISNA reported on Thursday that five suspected members of the Islamic State militant group have been charged with “war against God” for their role in the massacre of Shi’ite pilgrims in October, a crime that is punishable by death. Even before the recent unrest, executions had been rising in Iran. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has said the number this year reportedly surpassed 400 by September for the first time in five years. Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Michael Georgy, Crispian Balmer and Angus MacSwan © Reuters 2022

By: CHRIS PLEASANCE Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images Two teenagers in North Korea have been killed by firing squad for watching and selling movies from neighbouring South Korea. The pair, both boys thought to be aged between 16 and 17, were shot on an airfield in front of terrified locals in the city of Hyesan, on the border with China, back in October - though news of their deaths only emerged last week. A third boy of the same age was executed alongside them for murdering his stepmother, with locals told the crimes were 'equally evil.' Two sources who were forced to watch the executions confirmed what had happened to Radio Free Asia. One said: 'Hyesan residents gathered in groups at the runway. 'The authorities put the teen-aged students in front of the public, sentenced them to death, and immediately shot them.' Foreign media, particularly anything deemed to be 'Western', is strictly prohibited in North Korea - which brainwashes its population to support the ruling regime. Kim Jong-un views South Korea as an American puppet state, and is sensitive to any of its media crossing the border. But despite strict controls, such items are often smuggled into the country on USB drives or SD cards. These are typically brought over the border from China and then bartered among North Koreans. The ruling Communist regime uses informants recruited from the general population in order to catch those selling the drives. In the case of the two teenagers, one of these spies reported them for hawking thumb drives containing the programmes in the local marketplace. Such executions are rare in North Korea but not unheard of, and are typically used to terrify people into obedience when authorities are worried about rule-breaking. North Korean youth caught watching foreign movies face being sent to a disciplinary labour centre, one source in Hyesan said. A second offence means being sent to a correctional camp for five years along with their parents, as punishment for failing to discipline their children. But anyone caught distributing or selling South Korean movies can face the death penalty, even if they are minors, the source added. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11503103/North-Korea-executes-two-teenagers-firing-squad-watching-South-Korean-movies.html © 2022 Daily Mail

Leveraging Civilian Harm as a Tactic of War; Millions Without Electricity, Water, Heat Doctors operate with phone flashlights during a power outage in Kyiv. Numerous missile and drone attacks in October and November have deprived millions of Ukrainians of at least temporary access to electricity, water, heat, and related vital services. Kyiv, November 30, 2022. © 2022 Abdullah Unver/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images. (Kyiv, December 6, 2022) – Russian forces’ widespread and repeated targeting of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure appears primarily designed to instill terror among the population in violation of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said today. Numerous missile and drone attacks in October and November have deprived millions of civilians of at least temporary access to electricity, water, heat, and related vital services ahead of the cold winter months. The attacks have also killed at least 77 civilians and injured 272. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the attacks on November 23, 2022 alone killed or injured over 30 civilians and interrupted access to power for millions throughout Ukraine. The entire population of Kyiv, estimated at around 3 million, had no access to water for the day, and parts of Kyiv, Lviv, Zaporizhzhia, and Odesa regions were completely disconnected from electricity, the UN said. “By repeatedly targeting critical energy infrastructure knowing this will deprive civilians of access to water, heat, and health services, Russia appears to be seeking unlawfully to create terror among civilians and make life unsustainable for them,” said Yulia Gorbunova, senior Ukraine researcher at Human Rights Watch. “With the coldest winter temperatures yet to come, conditions will become more life-threatening while Russia seems intent on making life untenable for as many Ukrainian civilians as possible.” The laws of war prohibit attacks on objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population and violence or threats, “the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population.” Russian politicians, lawmakers, and other commentators on Russian state media widely applauded the prospect of Ukrainian civilians being left without heat and water in winter. One member of parliament stated that ordinary people should “rot and freeze”, another said the strikes were necessary to destroy the Ukrainian state’s capacity to survive. Average winter temperatures in Ukraine hover around minus 3 degrees Celsius and can plunge to minus 20 degrees. Human Rights Watch gathered data from the public domain, analyzed police and fire brigade reports and official statements, and interviewed an energy company official, two energy experts, local authorities, rescue workers, and civilians in Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Kherson, and Mykolaiv, to build a picture of the widespread and cumulative impact of the attacks on the power grid. Human Rights Watch also visited the site of at least one of the attacks that severely damaged civilian homes and killed civilians in November. On November 16, Ukraine’s office of the prosecutor general reported that Russia had carried out 92 attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in October and November. Olexander Kharchenko, director of the Energy Industry Research Centre, an independent research and consulting company, told Human Rights Watch that power was disrupted in 10,700,000 households throughout Ukraine, roughly half of the country’s population, due to Russia’s attacks. According to information posted by DTEK, the largest private energy company in Ukraine, as of November 15, the company’s energy facilities had been attacked 13 times over one and a half months, with significant damage. In a response to a written request from Human Rights Watch, the company also stated that because of Russian attacks on power infrastructure on October 10 alone, more than 40 percent of Ukraine’s energy system had been damaged. The company also said that October and November strikes killed 3 DTEK employees and injured 22. On November 21, Kharchenko told Human Rights Watch that after strikes on November 15, Ukraine’s overall power-generation capacity had decreased by 50 percent. During the subsequent week, authorities were able to restore only 10 to 20 percent of what had been damaged. He said it was difficult to estimate the overall damage to any particular infrastructure facility because they are interconnected, adding that further strikes, if they happen in quick succession, could result in an uncontrolled blackout, and could take 3 to 10 days to restore the system. “The whole of Ukraine would be without electricity, water, and heating for that period,” he said. Power infrastructure is considered dual use – military and civilian—and may lawfully be the target of attacks in an armed conflict. However, such attacks are subject to the laws of war, which prohibit indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks. Human Rights Watch is not in a position to assess any concrete and direct military advantage that Russia might have anticipated in conducting the attacks on Ukraine’s electricity and heat-generating grids, nor of any actual military gains made because of these attacks. However, the civilian harm was foreseeable, as is the increasing severity of that harm with the cumulative impact of each strike wave, including on the ability of civilians to remain in Ukraine and survive the winter. The World Health Organization’s Europe director, in a public statement, expressed grave concern that millions of Ukrainians are without power as winter temperatures drop. He underscored that “continued attacks on health and energy infrastructure mean hundreds of hospitals and health-care facilities are no longer fully operational – lacking fuel, water, and electricity to meet basic needs.” Noting that “cold weather can kill,” he added that the winter ahead “will be about survival.” Human Rights Watch spoke with a Kyiv resident and full-time caregiver for her parents, who described how lengthy electricity blackouts affected her 75-year-old mother, who has stage 4 lung cancer and is oxygen-dependent: “We have a stationary oxygen concentrator at home that becomes useless when there is no power. Without that, her oxygen levels drop to 70 percent within minutes. If there is no electricity for over two hours, we are trapped and all I can do is watch my mother struggling to breathe.” Sustained blood oxygen levels at 70 percent could result in organ damage and death. Her family has crowdsourced funds for a car battery which can keep the concentrator working for two hours. But it is not sufficient, she said, because power cuts can last for hours. A Ukrainian charity recently gave her mother a portable concentrator that has a charge of up to six hours, but, as she said, such concentrators are in very limited supply in Ukraine: “I understand that someone else who is oxygen-dependent might urgently need it soon,” she said. “Maybe a child with cystic fibrosis or another cancer patient. And then what are we going to do?” According to the United Nations humanitarian agency, the attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure also affected water pumping, “adding to the previous challenges faced by millions of people to access clean water or run their heating systems at home.” A 34-year-old Kyiv resident who lives with her 84-year-old mother said that her family was concerned about surviving the cold in their flat during the winter, when the temperature in Ukraine drops below zero, as well as about “cooking meals, especially for families who have small children or care for older people, and storing food when refrigerators don’t work for prolonged periods of time.” The International Committee of the Red Cross Commentary on Additional Protocol 1, to which both Russia and Ukraine are parties, notes that although attacks on facilities that provide services to civilians but also direct support to military action can be legitimate, attacks and acts of destruction that are bound to have such serious effects on the civilian population that they would die or be forced to move, are not. The commentary also states that the laws of war “prohibit acts of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population without offering substantial military advantage. … This calls to mind some of the proclamations made in the past threatening the annihilation of civilian populations.” “Russia continues to flagrantly bomb energy infrastructure all over the country, putting millions of Ukrainian civilians’ security and, in some cases, their very survival, on the line,” Gorbunova said. For more information and additional details, please see below. The degree to which households are without power depends on the scope of the damage and the pace of repairs. Even where power has been restored, the authorities in many cities have been instituting up to 18-hour power outages to prevent overloading the limited capacity of the country’s energy infrastructure that remains operational. The laws of war prohibit attacks on civilian objects, but also on military targets if the attack may be expected to cause excessive civilian casualties, damage to civilian objects, or a combination, in relation to any concrete and direct military advantage anticipated. Russia has an obligation to do everything feasible to assess such proportionality before conducting any attack, and intentionally launching a disproportionate attack in the knowledge that civilian casualties and damage would be clearly excessive constitutes a war crime. The laws of war also prohibit attacks on objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population and violence or threats, “the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population.” Attacks in October Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, stated on October 21, that between October 10 and 20, Russian missiles and drones damaged dozens of energy infrastructure objects in 16 of Ukraine’s 24 regions. The second wave of October attacks, starting from October 22, further reduced Ukraine’s energy capacity, leading to extended blackouts in Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and Chernihiv regions. Human Rights Watch reviewed police and fire brigade reports, authorities' statements, and news reports from October, and identified at least 22 separate attacks in the month that damaged such infrastructure objects as thermal power plants and hydro power stations in Kyiv and Kyiv region, Lviv, Dnipro, Krivyi Rih, Pavlohrad, Kharkiv and Kharkiv region, Konotop, Zhytomir, and Kremenchuk. Some of these attacks were also noted in a Washington Postinvestigation, published on October 17, which used satellite imagery and fire-tracking data to identify energy facilities in six regions of Ukraine that had been damaged or destroyed since October 10. Human Rights Watch did not independently corroborate The Washington Post’s findings. Ukrainska Pravda reported that on the morning of October 10, in Kyiv, drone and missile attacks severely damaged power plant number 5 and heat supply station number 1 (previously known as power plant number 3), which supplies heating and hot water to four districts of Kyiv. Also on October 10, at around the same time, two missiles hit Trypilska cogeneration power plant in the Kyiv region, damaging the power plant’s main building and the transformer substation and resulting in a fire, which four regional fire departments were involved in extinguishing. The Trypilska plant is the only one that provides the city of Ukrainka, population 14,000, with heat and hot water. It also provides power to Kyiv, Cherkasy, and Zhytomir regions. According to Kyiv municipal authorities, on October 31, a series of attacks destroyed 80 percent of Kyiv residents’ water supply. On the morning of October 10, three strikes were carried out on Kharkiv’s energy infrastructure objects, cutting off water and electricity in some parts of the city. In an October 21 interview, Ukraine’s energy minister, German Galushenko, estimated the damage to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure to be “at least half of thermal (power) generation capacity, even more.” On November 4, Kyiv’s mayor, Vitalii Klychko, stated on his Telegram channel that more than 450,000 Kyiv residents had no electricity, adding that the number was 1.5 times higher than in previous days. Attacks in November On November 15, a wave of missile attacks hit critical infrastructure across the country. According to the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian Air Force, the strikes involved approximately 100 missiles that mostly targeted infrastructure but also damaged civilian buildings and caused civilian casualties in at least 16 regions. The attacks caused widespread power outages in Kyiv, witnessed by Human Rights Watch researchers, and hit three apartment buildings in Kyiv's Pechersky district, killing at least one civilian. On November 16, the office of the prosecutor general reported there had been 92 attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure carried out in October and November. On November 23, Russia launched at least 70 missiles on infrastructure targets in Ukraine, leaving millions of people without electricity and water, for hours and sometimes for days, depending on the region. For example, according to official data, nearly 80 percent of the population of Kyiv lost access to electricity and water supply immediately following the attack. Lviv Energo said that as of November 29, most energy consumers in Lviv had daily emergency power shutdowns due to network overload. One central Lviv resident told Human Rights Watch that in the six days since the November 23 attacks, her family, including a 4-year-old child, has faced eight to 10-hour power cuts daily, and when the electricity comes on, there is not enough to heat their two-bedroom apartment. The outdoor Lviv temperature in late November hovered between 0 and minus 3 degrees Celsius. A woman who lives in another Lviv neighborhood said that on November 28, residents in her building did not have power for 16 hours. For two weeks before that, her building had 10-to-18-hour power cuts every other day. The November 23 attacks also led Ukraine’s four operational nuclear power plants to be disconnected from the national energy grid. Although the power was restored a day later, Kharchenko of the Energy Industry Research Centre consulting group said that this represented “a huge problem for [Ukraine’s] energy supply as a whole.” Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi said that the November 23 attacks damaged three residential buildings and killed 10 people. One of the attacks on November 23 hit just outside a four-story residential building in Vyshgorod, Kyiv region. While Human Rights Watch is not in a position to identify the intended target, the attack may have been aimed at Kyyivsʹka Haes, a pumped-storage power station, or the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant, 3.8 and 2.3 kilometers from the site, respectively. The aftermath of the November 23 attack outside of the residential building at Mykhaila Hrushevs'koho Street 1, Vyshgorod, Kyiv region. November 24, 2022. © 2022 Yulia Gorbunova/ Human Rights Watch On November 24, Human Rights Watch researchers visited the site of the attack, a residential building at Mykhaila Hrushevs'koho Street 1, and observed the extensive damage to it. The munition hit less than a meter from the building, significantly damaging the building’s roof and façade and causing a fire that further damaged the building and the cars parked outside. The two neighboring residential buildings, at Mykhaila Hrushevs'koho Street, 3 and Mykhaila Hrushevs'koho Street, 5 were also damaged by the explosion wave. Human Rights Watch researchers examined the impact crater, approximately 1.5-2 meters wide, and saw and photographed remnants of the weapon that was still in it. Rescue workers on site provided researchers with a photo of a remnant of the weapon that included numeric markings. Rescue workers and residents on site said that at least three of the building’s residents were killed in the attack, but that the real numbers were likely to be higher. On November 27, the Kyiv police chief stated on his Telegram channel that the attack killed seven residents of the building and injured 35, including six children. Fyodor, a first-floor resident of Mykhaila Hrushevs'koho Street, 1 told Human Rights Watch: “I was in my living room when I heard the explosion. It was around 2:10 or 2:15 in the afternoon. I was near the window. It [the explosion] hit so strong that it made me somersault backwards across the room.” Fyodor said that the explosion blew out all the windows in his apartment and that his children, ages 2 and 8, who were at home with him and in the same room, were covered in glass. It was his daughter’s birthday. Fyodor grabbed the children and ran outside, where he saw the building’s entrance and cars parked nearby were on fire. He also said that his first-floor neighbor, Volodymyr K, was smoking outside when the attack occurred and was instantly killed. His sisters identified his body in the morgue, Fyodor said. A woman in her late 40s told Human Rights Watch that her mother, who lived on the second floor of the same building and was alone at home during the attack, was pinned to the floor by a wardrobe that fell on her and that she had suffered an injury to her calf. © 2022 Human Rights Watch

Turkish tank in northern Syria, October 2022 Credit: BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images Genocide Emergency Alert Turkey's Aggression in Northern Syria and Iraq Genocide Watch is issuing a Genocide Emergency Alert for Turkey's aggression in Northern Syria and Iraq. In November 2022, Turkey launched hundreds of airstrikes across northern Syria and Iraq targeting the Kurdish population and Kurdish towns. Turkey claimed the attacks were in reprisal for a terrorist attack in Istanbul. Ankara blamed two Kurdish parties: the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and the PYD (Syria’s Democratic Union Party). Both parties deny any connection with the Syrian bomber. Turkey’s ‘reprisals’ in northern Syria and Iraq targeted Kurdish towns such as Kobani, Tel Rifat, and Sinjar, where many Kurdish refugees have fled. Turkey’s goal is to collectively punish all Kurds for an unrelated attack in Istanbul for which Turkey needs a scapegoat. Turkish and Syrian Kurds have demanded autonomy within Turkish and Syrian borders for decades. Turkey's policies are part of its historical rejection of ethnic and religious diversity. Turkey's response has resulted in repeated genocides. Since ISIS was driven back in 2019, Turkey has targeted areas along its southern border with Iraq and Syria where Kurds live, killing Kurdish civilians and Internally Displaced Persons. The attacks spread terror in Kurdish towns to forcibly drive out their inhabitants. Turkey also intends to crush the autonomous Syrian Kurdish administration of Rojava. Turkey's Erdogan has embraced Ottoman-era Pan-Turkish (Pan-Turanist) eliminationist policies towards minorities. Turkey’s Kurdish policies reflect the Ottoman genocides of Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks in 1915-1923 as well as Turkey's continuing denial of the Ottoman genocides. These military attacks by Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s regime are part of a wider Turkish policy of annihilation of the Kurdish and Assyrian people in northern Syria and Iraq. Turkey has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, including bombing, shelling, abduction, torture, and extrajudicial killings. The attacks are part of Turkey’s genocidal policies towards Kurds, Christians, and Ezidis. Turkey actively supports Azerbaijan’s genocidal attacks against Armenians in the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh. Both Azerbaijan and Turkey deny the Armenian Genocide. They aim to destroy Artsakh independence. Genocide Watch issued Genocide Warnings for Turkey in November 2020, and for Azerbaijan's invasions of Artsakh in November 2020 and 2022. In the wake of the Istanbul terrorist attack, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced that the US stood "shoulder-to-shoulder with [its] NATO Ally [Turkey]." Genocide Watch condemns the Istanbul terrorist attack. However, we also call the US government's attention to Turkey’s open threats of renewed genocide against Kurds, Armenians, Christians, and other minority groups in Northern Syria and Iraq. Turkey exploits its NATO membership for aggression with impunity against Armenians, Kurds, and Ezidis. Genocide Watch calls on NATO to suspend Turkey's membership if it again invades Northern Syria and Iraq. Suspension from NATO will warn Erdogan that his aggression will be severely punished.

Fulani herdsmen pose for a picture in Zango, Zango-kataf local govt, Kaduna State, Nigeria, in March 22, 2014. | REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde ABUJA, Nigeria — Suspected Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists in the past month killed at least 30 Christians in Plateau state, Nigeria and 10 in Kaduna state, where they also demanded payment for a corpse after collecting ransom for the Christian they kidnapped and killed. In Plateau state’s Bokkos County, hundreds of suspected Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists invaded predominantly Christian villages, and wounded 20 Christians, burned down a church building and destroyed homes, area residents said. An attack on Ser village at 10 p.m. on Nov. 23 left nine Christians dead and 20 injured, they said. The approximately 200 assailants also burned down 30 houses. Area resident John Akos said the attack was the third within a week. The assailants on Nov. 22 also attacked Bokkos County’s Wumat village, killing 11 Christians and burning down dozens of houses, Akos said. Area resident Mathias Goshe concurred that about 200 herdsmen and other terrorists attacked Wumat village at about 10 p.m., shot at fleeing Christians and burned down dozens of houses. “The invaders were no doubt Fulani herdsmen and terrorists,” Goshe said. “They were communicating with each in the Fulfulde [Fulani] language as they were attacking us. This aside, they were armed with guns and machetes.” In Maikatako village and Dadin Kowa, more than 300 Fulani herdsmen attacked on Nov. 16-17, killing 11 Christians, according to Solomon Maren, a parliamentarian in Nigeria’s National Assembly representing the Bokkos area. He said in a press statement that they also burned down a church building and more than 20 houses in the two predominantly Christian villages. “Within a month, we have buried more than 30 Christians killed by the herdsmen,” Maren said. “These victims include women and children.” Maikatako area resident Sule Marshall identified some of those slain in the Maikatako attack as Seth Matthew, 2; Peret Satmak, 13; Longkinan Satmak, 1; Taho Isa, 7; Umundum Maren, 82; Satmun Gyokos, 27; Larai Ginai, 70; Dorcas Satmak, 28; Nanribet Satmak; Sakanjalla Isa; and Ubwas Emmanuel. Maren added that more than 300,000 hectares of farmlands were “destroyed by the herders due to deliberate and reckless grazing without caution and/or fear of anybody. Most farmers had little or no harvest due to this wicked action of unscrupulous herders.” Solomon Mwantiri of the Emancipation Centre for Crisis Victims in Nigeria said in a press statement that from Nov. 10 to 16, the herdsmen and other terrorists invaded the predominantly Christian villages of Maikatako, Kunet, Maiyanga, Maijankai, Folloh and Sangwak. “These villages are located in Bokkos LGA, Plateau state, rendering hundreds of survivors homeless,” Mwantiri said. “In Folloh village, the following Christians are victims affected by the attacks: Namang John, Lydia John, Jambweng Istifanus, Mangun John, Isa Peter, Lawrence Mafulul, Samuel Magit, Sunday Magit, Ibrahim Magit, Danjuma Musa, Bala Mafwalal, Doy Bala, Michael Danladi, Matur Mambayat, John Peter, Danjuma Mashor, Teni John, Tajan Garba, Tawum Matur and David Sule.” Wounded in the attack were Christians Michael Danladi, Danjuma Mashor, Pollong Sunday, Mamot Peter, Awang Peter, Toma Magit, Mandik Garba and Micah Mariyom, he added. Police and military authorities confirmed the attacks on these Christian communities. Alabo Alfred, a spokesman for the Plateau State Police Command, said in a message to Morning Star News, “The incidents were reported to us. We have deployed police personnel to the affected areas in order to curtail the attacks.” Maj. Ishaku Takwa, spokesman of the military’s Special Task Force (STF) in Jos, Plateau state, also confirmed the attacks in Bokkos in a statement. Kaduna state killings In neighboring Kaduna state, suspected Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists killed 10 Christians and kidnapped nine others, including a Roman Catholic priest, in the past three weeks, area residents said. In Kajuru County, the assailants invaded the villages of Cibiya, Karamai, Gefe and Tudun Mare, killing six Christians, said Kajuru resident Victor Mathias in a text message to Morning Star News. Two of those were killed on Thursday (Nov. 24) in Cibiya and Karamai villages, he said. Samuel Aruwan, commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs in Kaduna state, identified the two slain as Idon Bonos and Aston Namaskar of the Cibiya and Karamai communities in Kufana, Kajuru County. He added that several people were injured. Herdsmen and other terrorists on Nov. 13 attacked Gefe and Tudun Mare villages at about 10 p.m., killing four Christians, area resident Didan Auta said in a text message to Morning Star News. He identified one of the slain as Elisha Arziki, a member of the Baptist Church. In Chikun County, four Christians were killed in a Nov. 13 attack on Sabon Gaya village, said county resident Kefas Ibrahim, whose brother was among those slain. On the same day, herdsmen and other terrorists killed three Christians in Kankomi village, a Chikun area residents said in text messages. Aruwan, the Kaduna state commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, confirmed the attack on Kankomi village in a statement. “Sadly, while exploring the withdrawal route of the bandits, three corpses were found by the troops, apparently locals killed by the fleeing bandits,” he said. In Kaduna state’s Kachia County, nine Christians were kidnapped on Nov. 8, including a Catholic priest, the Rev. Abraham Kunat, from Idon Gida village, according to area resident Joel Daniel. The Rev. Christian Emmanuel, chancellor of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kaduna, said in a statement that Kunat is parish priest of St. Bernard Catholic Church in Idon Gida village. About 15 terrorists kidnapped Kunat from his residence at 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 8, Emmanuel said. Ransom demand for corpse A Christian telecommunications worker who was abducted at Sabon Gaya on the Kaduna-Abuja Highway in October was killed by the kidnappers on Nov. 17 after they had received a ransom payment of 3 million naira ($6,755) for his release, his brother said. Kefas Ibrahim said his brother, Obadiah Ibrahim, was tortured to death, and that the kidnappers have since demanded a ransom for the return of his corpse. “My brother, a father of two children, was kidnapped in early October by bandits while he was out in the field checking on installations of the company he was working for,” Ibrahim said. “The bandits contacted us and demanded that we pay a ransom of the amount of 200 million naira ($450,418), but after a long process of negotiations, they reduced the ransom to 10 million naira ($22,520). We were able to raise 3 million naira, but unfortunately after collecting the money from us, they still killed my brother on Nov. 17.” Ibrahim said the kidnappers are now demanding 10 million naira ($22,520) for the release of the corpse. “The bandits said that if we pay them 10 million naira, they’ll release my brother’s corpse to us,” he said. “This is a very sad and depressing situation for us as my brother was tortured to death. As Christians, we know that they can only kill the body, but not the soul, as my brother is already in fellowship with Jesus Christ in Heaven. We have forgiven them and pray that they’re convicted by the Holy Spirit so that they can repent and turn away from evil.” Numbering in the millions across Nigeria and the Sahel, predominantly Muslim Fulani comprise hundreds of clans of many different lineages who do not hold extremist views. But some Fulani do adhere to radical Islamist ideology, the United Kingdom’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom or Belief (APPG) noted in a recent report. “They adopt a comparable strategy to Boko Haram and ISWAP [Islamic State West Africa Province] and demonstrate a clear intent to target Christians and potent symbols of Christian identity,” the APPG report states. Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe herdsmen attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt are inspired by their desire to forcefully take over Christians’ lands and impose Islam as desertification has made it difficult for them to sustain their herds. Nigeria led the world in Christians killed for their faith last year (Oct. 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2021) at 4,650, up from 3,530 the previous year, according to Open Doors USA’s 2022 World Watch List report. The number of kidnapped Christians was also highest in Nigeria, at more than 2,500, up from 990 the previous year, according to the WWL report. Nigeria trailed only China in the number of churches attacked, with 470 cases, according to the report. In the 2022 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Nigeria jumped to seventh place, its highest ranking ever, from No. 9 the previous year.

Rohingya rally against Myanmar genocide. Credit: Reuters/Darren Whiteside This morning, the villagers of Barlar village in Yangon Region’s Hlegu Township found 13 Rohingya dead bodies on the roadside of Tabinshwehti Road. The concerned authorities took them to the Yangon General Hospital for postmortem. Myanmar junta’s propaganda media report that they died of a lack of oxygen while the smugglers transported them on a truck or car. However, the reality is – that my friends in Yangon went to the Yangon General Hospital to see the dead bodies. They found injury scars on the foreheads, faces, lips, and other parts of the bodies. On November 28th, the junta arrested 68 Rohingya – 54 men & 14 women. (see my Tweet) I think these 13 victims are from that group. The 13 victims are primarily under 18 years of age. But a source close to the junta said the military and their proxy Pyu Saw Htee arrested a group of Rohingya on December 3rd, killed them on the night of December 4th, and dumped them at the place where the people found the dead bodies. Nay San Lwin Free Rohingya Coalition A Member Organization in the Alliance Against Genocide

Human Rights Watch November 21, 2022 New People’s Army Killings Violate International Humanitarian Law A New People's Army fighter in the Sierra Madre mountains in Quezon Province, Philippines, December 26, 2018.© 2018 ALECS ONGCAL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (New York) – The Communist New People’s Army (NPA) in the Philippines executed three people in August after unfair trials before so-called People’s Courts, Human Rights Watch said today. The executions of the men as “counter-revolutionaries,” in trials that violated international humanitarian law, was the latest instance of what the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, calls “revolutionary justice” meted out against “enemies of the people.” The NPA sought to justify the executions, which occurred in the central Philippines province of Negros Occidental, by citing the men’s alleged offenses, including spying for the Philippine military and common crimes such as rape. The armed group also said that the allegations against the men were “submitted before the people’s court” and that it held an “in-depth investigation and trial.” The group did not provide details about the trials, raising concerns about whether the men were present, were provided adequate representation, or had an opportunity to present a defense. “The New People’s Army has a long history of executing people following trials that don’t meet the most basic standards of fairness,” said Carlos Conde, senior Philippines researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The sparse information provided by the armed group about these recent executions suggests that once again, the most severe punishments were inflicted without any regard for fundamental precepts of international law.” In a statement, the NPA’s Roselyn Jean Pelle Command confirmed the execution of Benjamin Javoc, 54, chairman of the Lalong village in the town of Calatrava, Negros Occidental, on August 26. The group claimed that Javoc was “notorious for protecting drug dealings within and nearby barangays [villages].” They also accused him of “crimes against the people and the revolutionary movement for being an active military asset mounting intelligence network within the barangay.” On August 12, the group executed Renato Estrebillo, 43, a laborer from Calatrava. The group accused Estrebillo of “tipping off” soldiers from the Philippine Army’s 79th Infantry Battalion in the province, which then allegedly conducted operations in the same town on July 6. The NPA said that two children were injured and one civilian was arbitrarily arrested during the incident. It also alleged that Estrebillo was “notorious for theft of farm products and animals.” On August 7, NPA fighters killed Rodel Nobleza, 37, from another village in Calatrava, for allegedly providing information to the army that led to a raid on the town in April 2019 that resulted in the deaths of two NPA members and a civilian. The NPA claimed he was also a drug dealer. Human Rights Watch sent several emails and messages to the NPA requesting information about the conduct of the trials and executions, but received no substantive response. However, media reports that could not be corroborated indicated that the three men were not in NPA custody at the time of their executions, suggesting that they had no defense at their trials. Javoc reportedly was shot in his home, Estrebillo was shot as he was stepping out of his house, and Nobleza was killed after alleged rebels stopped him while riding a motorcycle with two children. In December 2021, the same NPA command confirmed the executions of two people they accused of providing intelligence to the army. The group executed Ponciano Carbajosa, a former paramilitary member from Toboso town, on December 14. The previous day, the group killed Mariel Encarquez, also from Toboso. “Being an active intelligence asset, Encarquez became a legitimate military target,” the NPA stated. Human Rights Watch has previously denounced unlawful killings and other abuses by the group that violate international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes. As a party to an internal armed conflict, the NPA is obligated to abide by international humanitarian law, including common article 3 to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and its Second Additional Protocol of 1977 (Protocol II), to which the Philippines is party. International humanitarian law prohibits the summary killing or mistreatment of civilians in custody or captured combatants, and punishments after proceedings that do not meet international fair trial standards. Protocol II specifies that courts prosecuting criminal offenses related to the armed conflict must be independent and impartial, and the accused shall have “all necessary rights and means of defense,” among other guarantees. Throughout its 53-year history, the NPA has executed numerous people found “guilty” by its People’s Courts. Many of those were convicted in absentia, denying them the right to present a defense before an impartial court. The armed group has also killed or tortured allegedly traitorous NPA or Communist Party members, particularly during purges in the late 1980s and early 1990s when hundreds of cadres were accused of being “deep penetration agents,” or spies, for the Philippine military. The provinces of Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental have long been focal points of the communist insurgency in the central Philippines, resulting in the heavy presence of government troops. In recent years in these provinces, government security forces have been linked to several cases of extrajudicial killings targeting leftist activists and human rights defenders. The Philippine armed forces have also “red-tagged” a number of people from the region, publicly accusing them of working for or assisting the insurgents, putting them at grave risk of attack. “The New People’s Army should immediately stop executing people after phony trials by phony courts,” Conde said. “The Communist Party should recognize that wanton lawlessness and cruelty is no way to win over the Filipino people.” @2022 Human Rights Watch. All rights reserved.

Ethiopian guards massacred scores of Tigrayan prisoners say eyewitnesses The deadliest killings occurred at the Mirab Abaya prison camp, where current and retired Tigrayan soldiers were detained. The Washington Post December 4, 2022 By Katharine Houreld A satellite view of the prison camp near Mirab Abaya, Ethiopia, on Nov. 2. (Maxar Technologies) NAIROBI — The scent of coffee and cigarettes hung in the hot afternoon air in a makeshift Ethiopian prison camp, prisoners said, as detained Tigrayan soldiers celebrated the holy day of Saint Michael in November 2021. Some joked with friends outside the corrugated iron buildings. Others quietly prayed to be reunited with families they had not seen in a year, when conflict erupted in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region. Then the killings began. By sunset the next day, around 83 prisoners were dead and another score missing, according to six survivors. Some were shot by their guards, others hacked to death by villagers who taunted the soldiers about their Tigrayan ethnicity, prisoners said. Bodies were dumped in a mass grave by the prison gate, according to seven witnesses. “They were stacked on top of each other like wood,” recounted one detainee who said he saw the aftermath of the slaughter. The massacre at the camp near Mirab Abaya, which was covered up and has not been previously reported, was the deadliest killing of imprisoned soldiers since the war started, but not the only one. Guards have killed imprisoned soldiers in at least seven other locations, according to witnesses, who were among more than two dozen people interviewed for this story. None of these incidents have been previously reported either. The dead were all Tigrayans, members of an ethnic group that dominated the Ethiopian government and military for nearly three decades. That changed after Abiy Ahmed was appointed prime minister of Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most-populous nation, in 2018. Relations between Abiy and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) quickly nosedived. War broke out in 2020 after Tigrayan soldiers in the Ethiopian army and other Tigrayan forces seized military bases across the Tigray region. Fearing further attacks, the government detained thousands of Tigrayan soldiers serving elsewhere in the country. They have been held in prison camps for nearly two years with no access to their families, phones or human rights monitors. Other Tigrayan soldiers were disarmed when war broke out but continued working in office jobs. Many of them were detained in November 2021 as Tigrayan forces advanced toward the capital, Addis Ababa. Most of the killings, including the massacre at Mirab Abaya, happened then. Prisoners speculated the attacks might have been triggered by fear or revenge. None of the soldiers killed had been combatants fighting against the Ethiopians and thus prisoners of war. In some prisons, senior Ethiopian military officers either ordered the killings or were present when they occurred, prisoners said. Elsewhere, imprisoned soldiers said they continue to be guarded — and beaten — by those who killed their comrades. While there is little sign [Genocide Watch comment: there is not yet conclusive evidence] that the killings were centrally coordinated, there is evidence of widespread impunity. Only in Mirab Abaya did officers intervene to stop the killing. These newly revealed details come as both sides in the conflict are hammering out details of a cease-fire, announced last month, that has been met with suspicion among the population over a range of issues, including whether there will be accountability for war crimes and other atrocities. How the government responds to the revelations of prison killings could suggest how it will treat other abuses allegedly committed by security forces. The witness accounts also illuminate how the ethnic divisions tearing at Ethiopia’s society are also eroding its military, once widely respected as one of the region’s most professional and still often relied upon by Ethiopia’s neighbors to help keep the peace. Many of those killed in the prisons were among the thousands of Ethiopian troops who have served in international peacekeeping missions under the United Nations or African Union. This article’s account of the bloodletting is based on 26 interviews with prisoners, medical personnel, officials, local residents and relatives, and on a review of satellite imagery, social media posts and medical records. Two lists of the dead were provided separately to The Washington Post, and both included the same 83 names. The identities of 16 victims were verified during interviews with detainees. All witnesses spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. When asked about these accounts, Col. Getnet Adane, a spokesman for the Ethiopian military, said he was too busy to comment. A government spokesman and the prime minister’s spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment. The state-appointed head of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, Daniel Bekele, said the panel was aware of the incident and had been investigating it. Bullets and machetes About 2,000 to 2,500 serving or retired Tigrayan soldiers, both men and women, were being held at the new prison camp about half an hour’s walk north of the town of Mirab Abaya, in a sparsely populated area dotted with banana plantations and near a large, crocodile-infested lake. Some buildings were so new they didn’t even have doors. But the camp had guard towers and demarcated boundaries. Guards told prisoners they would be shot if they crossed the line. In mid-November 2021, a new prisoner — a just-married major who worked in the military’s defense construction division — was badly injured by guards when he went outside his cell at night to urinate, six other detainees said. He was beaten badly. Some said he was shot in the stomach. Guards later told prisoners that he died on the way to the hospital. Over the following days, tensions continued to mount with reports — later confirmed by rights activists — that Tigrayan fighters in Ethiopia’s northern Amhara region were killing and raping as they advanced toward the capital. But on Nov. 21, the Mirab Abaya camp seemed calm, prisoners said. Many had been basking in the late afternoon sun when between 16 and 18 guards opened fire. One prisoner said that he had been near two women when they were shot in the toilet. “One woman died immediately, and the other was calling out, ‘My son, my son!’ Then they fired another bullet, and she died,” he said. “They [the guards] wanted to kill everyone there.” One of the women was a major in the Ethiopian ground forces. She was around 50, had served as a peacekeeper in Sudan and had a son and a daughter, according to the witness. Other detainees said the second woman had worked in the Ministry of Defense. A senior Tigrayan officer said he was inside his cell when he heard gunshots. He stuffed clothes and belongings into a bag. He decided to run if he could. “I was thinking: ‘Will I ever see my kids? See them succeed in school and have the good things of life?’ ” he said. If he couldn’t run, he would fight, he said. He and his cellmates looked for a stick or anything else to use as a weapon. A third prisoner said he began to pray. Not all guards took part in the killing. A fourth prisoner described one guard taking up a position outside the cells and telling the attackers he would shoot them if they came for the detainees inside. That guard was crying, the prisoner said, and was inconsolable for days afterward. Another prisoner said some guards had tried to disarm the attackers. Yet another prisoner said he was having coffee outside when shots rang out. Like many others, he ran into the surrounding bush. Ethiopian soldiers pursued his small group, he said. After running more than an hour, he said, they saw some locals. The prisoners blurted out that they’d been shot at and begged for help. “They said … ‘We will show you what you deserve.’ And then they attacked us,” he said. A crowd of about 150 to 200 people hacked and bludgeoned the escapees with machetes, sticks and stones, he recalled. Most were killed as they begged for mercy, he said, adding that he was hurt badly and left for dead. During the attack, he said, he saw other prisoners run into the lake to escape the mobs. Other detainees confirmed that there had been machete attacks on those who escaped the prison. They said residents screamed abuse at the escapees and had incorrectly been told they were prisoners of war and to blame for the deaths of local men in the military. Two prisoners said the attacks continued into the next day. The shooting at the prison stopped an hour or two after it began when Col. Girma Ayele of the Southern Command arrived. By then, prisoners said, the camp was littered with the bodies of the dead and the earth slick with blood. Girma could not be reached for comment. The Dejen division The massacre inside the prison was committed by about 18 guards, including a woman, said the six prisoners at Mirab Abaya who were interviewed. These guards and just over a third of the victims came from the same unit: the Dejen army division, formerly known as the 17th Division. It’s stationed in Addis Ababa. Many Tigrayan soldiers speculated during interviews that the attack was motivated by revenge. Most of the guards who did the killing were from the Amhara region, which Tigrayan forces had invaded as they pushed toward the capital. Girma told the prisoners these guards were not under his direct control and had been arrested, detainees said. The guards’ status could not be confirmed. The prisoners never saw them again. A day after the killing, an excavator dug a mass grave just outside the main watchtower at the entrance gate, perhaps 200 meters from the road, according to the six prisoners. An undated photo of Maj. Meles Belay Gidey. (Family photo) Among those buried was Maj. Meles Belay Gidey, an engineer passionate about his teaching job at the Defense Engineering College. When Meles was serving as a U.N. peacekeeper in Abyei, a disputed area between Sudan and South Sudan, he video-called his two teenage sons and his stepdaughter every evening to talk to them about school, a relative said. A local resident traveling past the prison camp the next day said the military warned passersby not to take pictures of the grave. In Mirab Abaya town, officials used loudspeakers mounted on cars to warn the local population that escapees should be killed. The local resident said he saw three or four people attacked near a banana grove and about a dozen bodies bleeding in the streets, some scattered near the church of St. Gabriel. Ethiopian soldiers nearby did not intervene, he said. The resident also said he saw a man in his mid-20s being beaten by a mob. Both of his hands had been cut off, and his legs were bleeding. The man begged to be killed as he was dragged up and down the street, the resident said. The attackers told the man they would kill him as slowly as possible. Eventually, he was dragged to the camp gate and shot. Another body was being dragged behind a motorbike, the resident said. “I couldn’t do anything because I feared for my life,” he said. Ethiopian soldiers take strategic city in Tigray amid civilian exodus Wounded Tigrayans were taken to three hospitals, survivors said: Arba Minch General Hospital, Soddo Christian Hospital and another hospital in Soddo. Two medical professionals at Arba Minch General Hospital described an influx of patients around 9 p.m. on Nov. 21. One worker shared medical records showing that 19 patients were admitted with bullet wounds and that 15 were discharged the next day. Two died in the hospital and four were dead on arrival, the two medical workers said. The admissions book provided by a medical worker at Arba Minch General Hospital. (Obtained by The Washington Post) The admissions book shows a sudden influx of patients with bullet wounds, with dates written using the Ethiopian calendar. (Photo obtained by The Washington Post) Most of the patients were kept for only a few hours despite life-threatening wounds, the two said. The patients were kept under police guard, both medical professionals said, and they described nurses and other medical staff taunting the wounded about their ethnicity. Killings in other prisons Mirab Abaya was not the only prison where imprisoned soldiers were killed. Current and former prisoners said in interviews that they had witnessed guards killing prisoners at Garbassa training center and the headquarters of the 13th Division in the eastern city of Jigjiga; in prisons in Wondotika and Toga near the southern city of Hawassa; in the southern area of Didessa; and at the Bilate training center in the south. Many of the victims had served as peacekeepers in U.N. missions in Sudan, Abyei or South Sudan or as part of an African Union force in Somalia. Gebremariam Estifanos, seen in March 2019 in Abyei. (Photo obtained by The Washington Post) At Wondotika, a detainee said guards had killed five prisoners at facility that holds hundreds of soldiers who are mostly special forces or commandos. The victims included Gebremariam Estifanos, a veteran of a peacekeeping mission in Abyei and an African Union mission in Somalia, who was beaten to death Nov. 8, 2021, in the presence of a colonel and lieutenant colonel from the 103rd Division, a prisoner said. Gebremariam’s biggest wish had been to buy his family a house and his father an ox, the prisoner said. Two other detainees confirmed the account, saying guards often taunted the prisoners about the incident. Both said that guards had often forced prisoners to dig their own graves, telling them they would soon be killed. The four other soldiers were killed later in November, shot so many times that their bodies were torn to pieces by bullets, the first prisoner said. “We are beaten and threatened. We have served our country with honor and dignity,” that prisoner said. “I regret my service.” In Toga prison, guards beat and then shot two Tigrayan soldiers on Nov. 4, a detainee there said. A second prisoner held at Toga, a former peacekeeper who served in Somalia, confirmed two killings. In Garbassa, two prisoners said six detainees had been killed and others injured so badly they had lost the use of limbs and eyes. “I have seen the bodies being dragged from their rooms,” said a detainee there. Three prisoners — one from the presidential guard and two from the Agazi commandos — were killed in July 2021 in Bilate training center after guards accused them of attempting to escape, said a witness previously held there. He described soldiers shooting at their bodies long after they were dead and throwing the corpses outside for the hyenas. And in a detention center near Didessa, near Nekemte town, at least five soldiers were killed and 30 others taken away and never seen again, a prisoner previously held there said. He broke down as he listed the names he could remember. “I’m so sorry, they were my friends,” he said. An airstrike on a kindergarten and the end to Ethiopia’s uneasy peace Two imprisoned soldiers, accused of having mobile phones, were also killed by guards at a detention center in eastern Ethiopia between Harar and Dire Dawa, a witness said. The imprisoned Tigrayan soldiers interviewed by The Post say none of them have had access to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Until a few days ago, their families had no idea what had become of them. At the end of October, the families of some soldiers killed in Mirab Abaya were informed about their deaths. Several relatives were told their loved ones had died honorable deaths in the line of duty. No other details were given. Some of the survivors of the Mirab Abaya massacre who are still held there said they fear another outbreak of violence. “I have a prayer book,” one prisoner there said. “Every day I pray to Mary to see my family again.” Copyright 2022 The Washington Post Company

A newspaper with a cover picture of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police" is seen in Tehran, Iran September 18, 2022. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo DUBAI, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Iran's clerical rulers have stepped up suppression of persistent anti-government protests in the country's Kurdish region, deploying troops and killing at least four demonstrators on Sunday, social media posts and rights groups said. Nationwide protests, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in September in the custody of morality police, have been at their most intense in the areas where the majority of Iran's 10 million Kurds live. Videos on social media, unverifiable by Reuters, showed a convoy of military vehicles with heavily armed troops, purportedly in the western city of Mahabad. The sounds of heavy weaponry could be heard in several other videos. The Norway-based human rights group Hengaw said military helicopters carried members of the widely feared Revolutionary Guards to quell the protests in the Sunni-dominated Kurdish city of Mahabad. In a statement, carried by state media, the Guards confirmed "strengthening" their forces in the northwestern Kurdish region to confront "terrorist separatist groups" in the area. "The security of the people is our red line ... and dealing decisively with terrorists is our mandate," the statement said. Iranian authorities, who have blamed Amini's death on pre-existing medical conditions, say the unrest has been fomented by foreign adversaries and accuse armed separatists of perpetrating violence. 'DISTURBING NEWS' Prominent Sunni cleric Molavi Abdolhamid, a powerful dissenting voice in the Shi'ite-ruled Islamic Republic, called on security forces to refrain from shooting at people in Mahabad. "Disturbing news is emerging from the Kurdish areas, especially from Mahabad ... pressure and crackdown will lead to further dissatisfaction," Abdolhamid tweeted. Hengaw said at least four protesters were killed in the Kurdish area. The widely-followed activist account 1500Tasvir said a 16-year-old student and a school teacher were killed in the Kurdish city of Javanrud. The details could not be independently confirmed. Iran's state media said calm had been restored in the area. But activists and Hengaw said on Twitter that "the resistance" continued in several Kurdish cities. "In (the Kurdish city of) Marivan repressive forces have opened fire at people," Hengaw said. The uprising has turned into a popular revolt by furious Iranians from all layers of society, posing one of the boldest challenges to the clerical leaders since the 1979 Islamic revolution that swept them to power. Ehsan Hajsafi, a footballer who normally plays in Athens, became on Sunday the first member of Iran's national team to speak out from the World Cup in Doha in apparent support of the protests at home. Other players have kept silent, and some activists have called for protests against the team. Protests have stretched into a third month despite violent state clampdown and death sentences issued for at least six protesters. HRANA said 410 protesters had been killed in the unrest as of Saturday, including 58 minors. Some 54 members of the security forces were also killed, it said, adding that more than 17,251 people have been arrested. Authorities have not provided an estimate of any wider death count. Two Iranian actresses, who had posted pictures of themselves on Instagram without the compulsory headscarf in solidarity with the protest, were arrested on Sunday for stoking protests, Iranian state media reported. Videos posted on social media showed Iranians in several other cities kept up protests, from Tehran to the northwestern city of Tabriz, calling for the toppling of the Islamic Republic and chanting "Death to (Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei". Writing by Parisa Hafezi Editing by Peter Graff © Reuters 2022 https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/security-forces-intensify-crackdown-irans-kurdish-area-four-killed-rights-group-2022-11-20/

Women protest the loss of innocent lives of Hazara Muslims in Afghanistan. Source: Yahoo Images UN Forum on Minority Issues The Hazara Genocide Thank you, Chairperson. Excellencies, member states and participants - I thank the United Nations for sponsoring this important forum at this critical time. I am Sitarah Mohammadi, the spokesperson for the World Hazara Council. I am a woman from one of the most persecuted peoples in the world, the Hazara people, an ethnic and religious minority that have been facing systematic persecution and genocide in Afghanistan. Hazaras are at high risk of continuing genocide under Taliban rule. The Hazara people make up 25-30% of the population of Afghanistan. Hazaras are one of the largest Afghan refugee groups in the world. For over a century, Hazaras have been among Afghanistan's strongest supporters of democracy, freedom, progressive thinking, and the pursuit of education. Afghanistan is a country of minorities, with none of its ethnic groups making up a majority. However, the Hazara people, predominantly Shia Muslims, are a religious minority in a Sunni Muslim majority Afghanistan. The Hazara people have long faced relentless, systematic, genocidal massacres based on our ethnic and religious identity. We have endured systematic marginalization, discrimination, and persecution under Afghan rulers since the nineteenth century. The Hazara people have been collectively subjected to slavery, systematic eviction from ancestral homes and lands, and genocidal massacres. In the late 19th century, the Afghan ruler Abdul Rahman waged a brutal war against the Hazaras, which included bloody “massacres, looting and pillaging of our homes, enslavement” and the transfer of Hazara land to other ethnic groups. Historians have estimated that Abdul Rahman's massacres killed 62% of Afghanistan's Hazara population. Persecution of Hazaras continued in the twentieth century. Until the 1970s, the Afghan government did not allow Hazara people any access to higher education, especially in universities that trained candidates for army and government jobs. The killing of Hazara people has been preached as a key to paradise by some Sunni Muslim clerics. In the 1990s, there were at least nine genocidal massacres of Hazaras by the Taliban government and Al Qaeda. Taliban commanders publicly proclaim the slogan: “Tajiks to Tajikistan, Uzbeks to Uzbekistan, and Hazaras to Goristan”. Goristan is the Afghan Dari word for graveyard. In August 1998, in just a few days, the Taliban massacred eight thousand Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif simply because of their ethnic identity as Hazaras. Since 2002, the Hazara people of Afghanistan have suffered over three hundred targeted massacres. Since 2015, the Islamic State-Khorasan (ISKP), affiliated with the Haqqani Network, has claimed responsibility for some of these massacres, giving the Taliban a way to deny responsibility, even though the Haqqani Network is part of the Taliban government. To date, none of these crimes carried out against Hazara people has been investigated. These massacres have all the elements of the crime of genocide in Article II of the 1948 Genocide Convention. They have led international organizations such as the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and Genocide Watch to declare Genocide Alerts regarding the threat of genocide against the Hazara people of Afghanistan. Under Taliban rule since August 2021, genocidal attacks against Hazaras have increased significantly. Hazaras have been attacked in educational centres, places of worship, maternity hospitals, sporting facilities, public gatherings, and wedding halls. A genocidal attack this year on a Hazara girls' school murdered 58 Hazara girl students. Yet the UN and the international press nearly always refuse to identify the victims as Hazaras and fail to note the ethnically and religiously targeted nature of the attacks. This is Genocide Denial. The Hazara people are enduring a continuous slow-motion genocide by attrition in Afghanistan. Urgent international action is needed to protect the Hazaras of Afghanistan. I conclude with the following recommendations: 1. The United Nations, US, EU, UK, journalists, and human rights organizations must recognise that the systematically targeted attacks against the Hazara people in Afghanistan meet the definition of genocide: the intentional destruction of a substantial part of an ethnic and religious group, as such. 2. The UN and national governments should initiate urgent consultations with Hazara organizations, such as the World Hazara Council, on practical actions for the protection of the Hazara people in Afghanistan, including internationally assisted, supported, and monitored self-defence. 3. The United Nations Human Rights Council should establish an independent fact-finding mission to investigate the ongoing systematic attacks on Hazara people, to collect evidence, map, document, and conduct investigations into the ongoing atrocities against Hazaras in Afghanistan. 4. The International Criminal Court should expand the scope of its authorised investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan to include cases of crimes against humanity and genocide against the Hazara people up to the present day. 5. We urge all refugee resettling countries to prioritise Hazara refugees for asylum and resettlement in their countries.