By Emir Nader Sept 1, 2025 The genocide scholars cited, among other elements, Israel's attacks on Gaza's healthcare, aid, and educational sectors The world's leading association of genocide scholars has declared that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. A resolution passed by the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) states that Israel's conduct meets the legal definition as laid out in the UN convention on genocide. Across a three-page resolution, the IAGS presents a litany of actions undertaken by Israel throughout the 22-month-long war that it recognises as constituting genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The IAGS is the world's largest professional association of genocide scholars and includes a number of Holocaust experts. Out of its 500 members, 28% took part in the vote and 86% of those who voted supported the resolution. In a summary of Israeli policies and actions, the declaration notes the widespread attacks on both the personnel and facilities needed for survival, including in the healthcare, aid, and educational sectors. Among many other elements, it notes the 50,000 children killed or injured by Israel, as highlighted by UN aid organisation Unicef, which impacts the ability of Palestinians in Gaza to survive as a group and regenerate. The resolution also highlights the support among Israeli leaders for the forced expulsion of all Palestinians from Gaza, alongside Israel's near-total demolition of housing in the territory. The IAGS notes the statements by Israeli leaders dehumanising Palestinians in Gaza, characterising them all as the enemy, alongside promises to "flatten Gaza" and turn it into "hell". The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the report was based on "Hamas lies" and poor research, calling it an "embarrassment to the legal profession". A spokesperson added that it was Israel itself which is the victim of genocide. Israel has regularly denied that its actions in Gaza amount to genocide and says they are justified as a means of self-defence. The IAGS scholars state that while the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack - in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage - was itself a crime, Israel's response has not only been directed against Hamas but has targeted Gaza's entire population. The 1948 UN Genocide Convention, which was adopted following the mass murder of Jews by Nazi Germany, defines genocide as crimes committed "with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group". A number of leading rights organisations, including two Israeli organisations , have also declared they believe Israel is committing genocide. The UN and a number of Western nations have said that they will only consider a ruling by a court that genocide is taking place as authoritative. The UN's top court, the International Court of Justice, is currently considering a case brought by South Africa in 2023 that argues that Israel is committing genocide. The ICJ has not yet made a determination on the subject and has granted Israel an extension until January 2026 to present its defence. Israel has accused the case of having antisemitic motivations, calling it a "blood libel", in reference to historic allegations that Jewish communities ritually murder Christian children. The IAGS say their resolution has no bearing on any case put forward to an international court. On Monday, the Hamas-run Ministry of Health said that 63,557 people had been killed and 160,660 injured during the war so far. The ministry's numbers are widely considered reliable yet they do not distinguish between civilians and fighters. In August, the UN-backed food monitor, the IPC, confirmed that famine was taking place in parts of Gaza. Israel is accused of causing the famine through ongoing restrictions on food and medical aid entering Gaza. Israel controls all border crossings into the Gaza Strip, and as the occupying power bears responsibility for protecting civilian life under international law, which includes the prevention of starvation. Copyright 2025 BBC. All rights reserved.

Houthi official says Israeli attacks will not stop group from continuing support for Gaza, ‘no matter the sacrifices’. A fire ball rises from the site of an Israeli air strike in Sanaa [Reuters] The Israeli military has bombed the Yemeni capital Sanaa, Israeli and Yemeni officials say, as tensions in the region continue to escalate amid Israel’s war on Gaza . The Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV said the attack on Sunday targeted an oil facility and a power plant in Sanaa. Israel said it also targeted a presidential palace in the Yemeni capital, which it claimed is located on a “military complex”. At least six people were killed and 86 others were injured in the attacks, according to Al Masirah. (Al Jazeera) The Israeli strikes came two days after the Houthis claimed a missile launch against Israel – part of a campaign that the Yemeni group says aims to pressure Israel to end its atrocities and siege in Gaza. “The attacks were carried out in response to repeated attacks by the Houthi terrorist regime against the state of Israel and its citizens, including the launch of surface-to-surface missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles towards the country’s territory,” the Israeli military said. Al Masirah cited a Houthi military official as saying that the group’s air defences were able to “neutralise most of the Israeli enemy aircraft participating in the aggression and forced them to leave”. Following the attack, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz: “Today we bombed the presidential palace of the Houthis. For every missile they fire at Israel, the Houthis will pay compound interest.” Katz vowed to bring “a plague of darkness and gloom” upon Yemen, even threatening to target its “firstborns” quoting from Jewish scripture. His comments follow previous statements by Israeli officials calling for the total destruction of Palestinians and describing them as the biblical people of Amalek. Footage verified by Al Jazeera showed plumes of fire and smoke rising above Sanaa after the Israeli strikes. The Houthis were quick to reiterate on Sunday that the Israeli attacks will not deter the group’s military operations in support of Palestinians. “The Israeli aggression against Yemen will not discourage us from continuing our support for Gaza, no matter the sacrifices,” Houthi official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said in a statement. “The issue is settled for us: either eternity in heaven or eternity in hell.” Abed al-Thawr, an official in the Houthi Defence Ministry, said Israel’s claims that it attacked military targets on Sunday are “lies”. He said Israel bombed civilian infrastructure to make Yemenis suffer. Al-Thawr told Al Jazeera that the presidential palace hit on Sunday has long been deserted. “So, what Israel is doing is barbarism,” he said. The Houthi-dominated Government of Change and Reconstruction in Sanaa also called the Israeli attack a “war crime” that aims to hurt Yemenis and create a “fake victory” by showing columns of smoke above Sanaa. “The aggression proves that the Israeli enemy, with American support, is waging an open war against the Arab and Muslim nation,” it said in a statement. Hamas also condemned the Israeli strikes on Yemen, calling them “a blatant violation of Arab sovereignty and international law”. In a statement on Sunday, the Palestinian group said Israel’s “fascist aggression” was aimed at deterring Yemen from backing Palestinians. Hamas praised the Houthis’ stance, describing it as “courageous”, and called on “all Arab and Muslim countries, and all free forces” to join what it called a collective effort to end the occupation. Israel has been bombing Yemeni power plants and ports for a month. But Sunday’s attack came shortly after the Israeli navy struck a power station in Sanaa last week. On Friday, the Houthis said they launched a hypersonic missile and two drones at Israel, vowing to stand with Palestinians “until the aggression against Gaza stops and the siege is lifted”. © 2025 Al Jazeera

Photo by Voice TV Nigeria (Abuja) A Fulani militant, speaking in Fulfulde and filmed outdoors , has openly claimed responsibility for a series of massacres in Nigeria’s Benue and Plateau.A July 2025 YouTube video shows the Fulani militant confessing in Hausa, claiming responsibility for killings in Yelewata, Benue, and Plateau, and threatening further attacks until locals “surrender.”“We are responsible for what happened in Yelewata and other parts of Benue and even in Plateau. Benue is part of Nigeria, and since we are in the same country with Benue people, they should accommodate us — or they will not live in peace,” the militant declared.“We shall continue to attack and pillage their lands until they surrender. In fact, what happened in Yelewata is just child’s play —others will follow.”The statement referenced recent killings in Yelewata, Otobi Akpa, Emichi, and other communities in Benue State.Such videos and many statements from Fulani sociocultural groups are shown every time there are attacks on communities in Benue, Plateau, Taraba, Southern Kaduna and parts of Nasarawa states. Media Coverage Avoids the “Terrorist” Label Despite explicit threats in widely shared videos, despite the huge loss of lives and damages done by the terrorists, Nigerian mainstream media  (NMM) typically  avoid labeling the perpetrators as “terrorists,” or calling them by their ethnicity, often using euphemisms such  “herdsmen,” “bandits,” or “armed men.”On June 15 after the deadly Yelewata massacre, TVC, a television station owned by the current President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, refers to the killers as “herdsmen ” instead of calling them Fulani terrorists or  Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM).Following a deadly attack on Yelewata after 270 Christians were killed in Yelewata by Fulani terrorists, Daily Post carried the news of the attack but called the perpetrators “gunmen.”Another Daily Post Nigeria, August 11, 2025 — report on Yelewata attack; attackers called only “gunmen,” avoiding Fulani identification.Mike Alidu Magaji, National President of the Idoma Youth Forum (umbrella body of Idoma people), explained: “For example, in a Daily Post Nigeria feature story on the Yelewata massacre, attackers were consistently described as ‘herdsmen’ or ‘suspected armed herdsmen. ’ The report never explicitly called them Fulani or used the terms ‘Fulani terrorists.’”Magaji said that this trend reflects a broader pattern of avoiding ethnic identifiers to sidestep political pressure or accusations of profiling.“Since the Yelewata attack, which left over 200 people dead, there have been more than five reported attacks on many counties in Benue, all described as the work of “bandits” or “gunmen” rather than Fulani militants,” he told TruthNigeria.The euphemistic coverup is all over Channels TV as well.Friday Agbo, Director of Alterconsult Thinktank, added that Daily Trust, and other major Nigerian media outlets , including Channels TV and Arise TV, have also referred to the perpetrators as “suspected herdsmen ” without specifying their ethnic identity. Bandits vs. Terrorists Magaji explained the difference between bandits and terrorists:“Bandits are more motivated by economic realities. They kidnap, and after payment of ransom, they release their victims. However, terrorists kidnap, kill, grab lands, and spread fear.”“In fact, terrorists engage in massive killings and ethnic cleansing, which is deliberate, but the media prefer to call these terrorists ‘bandits.’ These are terrorists by every definition because their goal is not ransom but extermination and occupation,” Magaji said. “Fulani militants targeting Benue and Plateau communities are acting as terrorists, not bandits, because their attacks are deliberate, large-scale, and intended to dominate or eliminate local populations,” Magaji went on to say. Governors Confirm Fulanis Behind Terror Attacks, But Reporters Ignore Them Attempts by the media to downplay these acts of terrorism and to blur their identities have been exposed by Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia and Caleb Mutfwang of Benue and Plateau States respectively.Alia confirmed that the recent violence in his state goes beyond the usual farmer-herder clashes. In other words, Fulani terrorists are wreaking havoc on his state. “Fifty-nine persons at Yelewata, where suspected herdsmen from Nasarawa State attacked the border town, were killed. Benue is under attack by terrorists. The crisis has gone past farmer-herder conflict,” Alia said on June 16, two days after the Yelewata atrocity.  “We are under siege. It is directed; it is planned and executed. It is some terrorism that is eating us up,” Alia tells Channels .Similarly, Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang, attempts to school media on August 2025 , highlighting the organized nature of the attacks:“There are not less than 64 communities that have been taken over by bandits… They have been taken over, renamed, and people are living there conveniently on lands they pushed people away to occupy. I cannot find any explanation other than genocide sponsored by terrorists.” American Reporter Pulls Back the Nigerian Curtain American journalist Lara Logan pulled no punches at a press conference at the National Press Club on July 27.  “Yelewata is not an isolated incident . It is a coordinated assault that has already claimed thousands of lives, displaced millions, and left countless women and children subjected to abduction, rape, and abuse,” Logan told the conference.Entire communities are being destroyed, homes burned, and cultural identities erased. Logan warns:“The human cost is staggering. This is strategic, deliberate, and cannot be dismissed as mere communal conflict. Immediate international action is required, because inaction comes at the cost of human lives and a stolen future for Nigeria’s Christians.” Luka Binniyat and Mike Odeh James are conflict reporters for TruthNigeria. © Newspaper WordPress Theme by TagDiv

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Photo by US State Dept. Human Rights Activists Call U.S. State Department Report ‘Deeply Flawed’ By Ebere Inyama “There were no significant changes in the human rights situation in Nigeria during the year 2024 “, the U.S. Department of state reports in a recent publication on its website. Though the conclusion shocked activists who rejected the assertions contained in the U.S. government’s report and called the State Department’s work “deeply flawed.” Kyle Abts, executive director on International Committee on Nigeria  (ICON) rejected the report. According to Abts, “The 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Nigeria is deeply flawed. Its opening claim that ‘There were no significant changes in the human rights situation in Nigeria during the year’ is indefensible. How can that be said when Fulani militant bandit gangs continue to devastate the Northwest through killings, kidnappings, and village raids? In March 2024, nearly 400 people were abducted in Kaduna State, including 287 schoolchildren—many of them girls.” “Human rights advocates like myself feel the just-released U.S. Department of State’s 2024 Human Rights Report missed the mark on Nigeria; indeed, they didn’t even hit the target,” said Dede Laugesen, director of Save the Persecuted Christians. “The Nigerian government—and their friends at the U.S. State Department—refuse to acknowledge the almost daily attacks in these Christian Middle Belt states or the plight of victims. The Nigerian government and military control the narrative and threaten witnesses and journalists to remain silent. And, because there’s rarely any official account of the attacks, they’re treated as though they never happened. Laugesen then makes an important allegation, “As a consequence, victims in the Middle Belt receive no government assistance and no attempt to restore them to their homes and villages, which are being taken over and renamed by Muslim terrorists from the Fulani tribe with tacit government approval and impunity.” According to the U.S. report titled ‘ 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in Nigeria’, the security situation in Nigeria in the year 2024 was marred by “arbitrary and unlawful killings; disappearances; torture and arbitrary arrests and detention”. “Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa conducted numerous attacks on government and civilian targets, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries, widespread destruction of property, and internal and external displacement with more than 3.6 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the north east region while in the southeast region, individuals believed to be associated with the Eastern Security Network, the armed wing of the separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra, staged attacks on security personnel, civilians, and government offices, including police stations, resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries, destruction of property, and reduction in economic activity”, the report stated. “There were mass killings by criminal gangs nearly every month in the northwestern states”, the report added. Abts pointed out that the State Department failed to highlight that many of these attacks were perpetrated by one group. “The report entirely omits that Fulani militants are responsible for widespread attacks against both Christians and non-Fulani Muslims across the North West, Middle Belt, and North East,” Abts said. “By contrast, the 2023 International Religious Freedom Report does explicitly cite Fulani as major perpetrators of violence. Secretary Blinken and the State Department had an important opportunity to highlight these atrocities and press for accountability. Instead, by downplaying or ignoring Fulani-linked violence, the U.S. appears to maintain a troubling hands-off approach that emboldens perpetrators and abandons victims.” Laugesen shared a similar concern. “This milk toast U.S. human rights report also fails to mention the 2023 Black Christmas massacres in Plateau, which rocked the region well into 2024, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Christians. According to the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa, the Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM) from 2019-2024 is responsible for 47% of all civilian killings documented in Nigeria, which is more than five times the combined death toll of Boko Haram and ISWAP during the same period,” Laugesen said. And Laugesen pointed toward the Fulani as perpetrators of this violence. “The U.S. report talks about Boko Haram, ISWAP and Biafra, but not a mention is made of the violent Muslim Fulani militia kidnapping and killing in the Christian Middle Belt states of Benue, Plateau and Kaduna, where between 3 to 5 million, according to some reports—and which I have seen with my own eyes—are internally displaced and living in very harsh circumstances without government assistance. The Fulani are a Muslim dominate nomadic tribe violently taking farming and grazing lands they don’t own, with the government complicit in silence and implementing restrictions on independent reporting, giving Fulani militants support, and keeping international attention away from the active genocide taking place. In fact, Benue, where 90 percent of the population self-identifies as Christian, hosts over 2 million IDPs, the largest population of IDPs in Nigeria,” Laugesen said. Reports of Christian genocide in Nigeria prompts response from the U.S government Following the killing of 200 Christians in Yelewata, a town in Benue state, by the Fulani ethnic militia on Friday, 13 th June, 2025 , a delegation from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) led by Jessie Ainslie and the United States Congressional staffers visited Benue State to express sympathy and support for the families of the victims, according to a report by New Telegraph . The team, which was made up of eight U.S congressional staffers, said their visit is part of a fact-finding mission to assess the humanitarian situation and evaluate the effectiveness of U.S aid in Nigeria. Pope Leo XIV reacts Speaking during a recent address to a congregation at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV described the killings in Yelewata as a “terrible massacre.”  “Most of the victims were internal refugees who were hosted by a local Catholic mission,” the pontiff said, and called for prayers for the “security, peace and justice, particularly for rural Christian communities of Benue state who have been relentless victims of violence.” Advocacy groups echo report of Christian genocide in Nigeria In its 2025 World Watch List (WWL) report, a non-denominational international Christian ministry, Open Doors International , categorized the persecution types in Nigeria into 4, namely, Islamic Oppression, Ethno – religious hostility, Dictatorial Paranoia, and Organised Corruption and Crime. “While Christians used to be vulnerable only in the Muslim-majority northern states, this violence continues to spread into the Middle Belt and even further south”, the group reported on its website. “The attacks are shockingly brutal. Many believers are killed, particularly men, while women are often kidnapped and targeted for sexual violence”, the report continued. “More believers are killed for their faith in Nigeria than anywhere else in the world”, the report added. In the same vein, an advocacy group, Save the Persecuted Christians, suggested that the killings in Yelewata was a retaliation for Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of Makurdi’s testimony before the U.S. Congress and at the U.K. Parliament in March, 2025. In the British Parliament in March, Bishop Anagbe said his flock had seen their homes torched by the Fulani militia and were forced to flee to camps set up for people who are internally displaced, according to the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need .  The Danger ahead In a documentary released at a press briefing held on 24 July, 2024 in Washington D.C by a non-profit organization, Equipping the Persecuted , a journalist working for TruthNigeria, Mr. Masara Kim, raised alarm over the fate of the United States of America if Islamic jihadists succeed in taking over the whole of Nigeria. “The plan of the terrorists is not just to take Plateau state or central Nigeria but to take the whole of Nigeria, and taking the whole of Nigeria is central to capturing the whole of the African continent”, Kim said in the documentary. ” The terrorists, without having a foothold on the mineral deposits in Nigeria, are able to acquire anti – aircraft machines, heavy duty machine guns, rocket launchers and even drones with which they were able to take out entire communities”, he continued. “ Imagine what they can achieve by the time they get hold of Plateau state with all its vast mineral deposits, it’s columbite and uranium, Niger state with all its gold and diamond and of course they are even pushing to the oil rich south of Nigeria”, Kim continued. “The plan of the terrorists is not just to take Plateau state or central Nigeria, but to take the whole of Nigeria and taking the whole of Nigeria is central to capturing the whole of the African continent. “By the time they get hold of all of these resources, what warhead can they not acquire? What missile can they not acquire? What nuke can they not acquire? “What that essentially means is that they will be able to launch attacks as far as the United states and that means another 9/11 is possible”, he  added. A group’s perseverance anchored on Christian faith Despite growing persecution, Nigerian Catholics hold tight to their faith. The confirmation of nearly 1,000 Catholics in Nigeria’s south east has underscored the growth of the church in the West African country. Auxiliary Bishop, Ernest Obodo of Enugu Diocese, in the southeastern part of Nigeria, conferred the sacrament of confirmation on 983 people at the Holy Ghost Cathedral on June 4, 2025. Father Aneke attributed the huge number of confirmations to several factors, including the increased longing of people for the sacraments, positive evangelization initiatives by both pastors and lay ministers, and proper catechesis and deepening of faith. Ebere Inyama reports on conflict for TruthNigeria. © Newspaper WordPress Theme by TagDiv

Read in  New York Post. Aug 26, 2025 Speak Up for Jimmy Lai, China’s Most Dangerous Dissident — And for Hong Kong’s Liberties By Nina Shea After 21 grueling months, Jimmy Lai’s national security trial is finally wrapping up in Hong Kong.   This week Lai,  China’s most famous political prisoner , may finally learn whether he will ever again taste the freedoms he so passionately championed as a self-made entrepreneur, newspaper publisher and Catholic convert — and for which he is now being prosecuted.  Perhaps more importantly, the court’s sentence will also reveal how completely the Chinese Communist Party has  swallowed Hong Kong . Since 2020, the CCP has methodically chipped away at the region’s “separate system” — the social and economic order that Beijing solemnly promised to respect when Britain handed Hong Kong over in 1997. But Lai’s arrest, and the arrests of some 2,000 other pro-democracy activists, prove how thoroughly Hong Kong’s freedoms of speech, press and peaceful protest are being suffocated. Civil rights and liberties across the board are now on trial, along with Lai.   Hong Kong’s vaunted legal system, built on British principles of fairness and the rule of law, once protected the economic vibrancy that set Hong Kong apart from mainland China. But Beijing’s National Security Law, passed in 2020, thoroughly corroded justice with its vague outlawing of “colluding with foreign powers.” Moreover, prosecutors are applying the law  ex post facto  to Lai, based on his pre-2020 publication of Apple News, then Hong Kong’s most outspoken pro-democracy newspaper — and the special security court hearing his case boasts a 100% conviction rate.   That means the only open question this week is the extent of Lai’s sentence. If the judges choose to be lenient, they could help redeem the rigged judicial process over which they preside. The NSL carries a possible sentence of life imprisonment, and in November, 45 Hong Kong dissidents received sentences of up to 10 years under its terms.   Lai, a 77-year-old diabetic, has already been  held in the maximum-security Stanley Prison  for five years. Any additional prison time means he’ll likely die behind bars. Lai’s health has deteriorated  during his years of solitary confinement in a small, sweltering cement cell. Last week he developed heart palpitations that delayed court proceedings.  China’s political prisoners have reported relentless ideological indoctrination, torture, beatings and worse: Some Uyghur Muslims, Falun Gong practitioners, Tibetan Buddhists and Catholic bishops have in recent years mysteriously disappeared or died in CCP custody.  Peng Lifa, who became known as “Bridge Man” in 2022 when he unfurled a banner denouncing Chinese communism on a Beijing bridge, was arrested immediately after the incident — and  hasn’t been heard from since . Lai’s family has pleaded for him to be released to the United Kingdom, where he holds dual citizenship and owns a home. And while the CCP is not known for clemency, especially for a fierce critic like Lai, there may be grounds to hope for an early release. The most useful precedent may be the case of David Lin, a Taiwanese-American Christian pastor.  Sentenced to life in prison after being convicted on trumped-up charges of evangelizing, Lin was locked up for 18 years in a jail for foreigners where the slightest infraction — sharing food, hanging socks up incorrectly — brought harsh restrictions. Last October, reportedly after a US prisoner exchange, the CCP freed the ailing 68-year-old Lin and allowed him to return to the United States. China also has been known to parole very sick prisoners of conscience like Liu Xiaobo, the first Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate.   Authorities imprisoned Liu for “subversion” in 2008 after he called for the end to China’s one-party system.  The CCP granted his release in 2017, three years before his 11-year sentence ended, and he  died of liver cancer  two weeks later. And when a case causes the CCP to worry about hits to its international image, it may punish more discreetly with house arrests and secret detentions — typically without due process.  Seven Roman Catholic bishops are among those now indefinitely detained without trial, and Hong Kong’s world-famous Cardinal Joseph Zen has been under investigation for violating the NSL since 2022.  The CCP tightly restricts Zen’s travel and has silenced his criticisms by publicly threating to confiscate the island’s Catholic schools. All this means international voices in London, Washington and beyond must raise the alarm about Lai’s imminent sentencing.   President Donald Trump should press the issue, too, perhaps starting with a push to rename the street connected to China’s Embassy in Washington as “Jimmy Lai Way.” Such a gesture would honor a true hero of freedom— while posting a very public rebuke of the CCP’s repression. Copyright 2025 New York Post Read in  New York Post.

By Jack Budlow and Amber Madden-Doyle Image by JamesDeMers  from Pixabay Genocide Watch Special Report ‘Alligator’ Alcatraz August 2025 Genocide Watch is alarmed by the ongoing human rights violations occurring at the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” migrant detention facility in Florida. A US District Court Judge has ordered the detention facility closed due to the government's failure to meet environmental impact requirements. So the rights of alligators and panthers have been recognized. But "Alligator Alcatraz" should be shut down because of its violations of basic human rights in both US and international law. Conditions: People held at Alligator Alcatraz are faced with inhumane conditions. Basic needs are not met. Food portions are so small that inmates experience symptoms of starvation . The hastily assembled facility is doing a poor job of protecting inmates from the extreme heat  of the Everglades. Fresh water is scarce  due to the poor infrastructure of the facility. The toilets — shared by up to 32 people each—often clog, rendering them unusable. They erupt close to living quarters. The staff often takes hours to clean up the mess. Heavy rains have already caused dangerous flooding . The approaching Florida hurricane season threatens the lives of the people held there. Mosquitoes  have overtaken the facility. Prisoners are sprayed with mosquito repellent only once, upon arrival. Thereafter they face a torturous daily battle against mosquitoes that make it difficult to eat, shower, and sleep. Exposure to mosquitoes and fecal matter, and lack of access to hygiene makes the prison a fertile ground for the spread of disease. The conditions of Alligator Alcatraz are violations of international human rights law. The right to food means that a state is obligated to “respect, protect, and fulfill”  the right of prisoners to adequate food. The small amount of food provided to prisoners violates this basic human right. UN General Assembly resolution 45/111  details the obligations of a state to its prisoners. “Prisoners shall have access to the health services available in the country without discrimination on the grounds of their legal situation.” Prisoners at Alligator Alcatraz face systematic neglect  in their lack of access to doctors. They are also denied adequate hygiene facilities maintain their own health care. Grounds of Detention: President Trump has stated that the facility is reserved for “deranged psychopaths” and “the most vicious people on the planet awaiting deportation”  and "menacing migrants”. By falsely portraying the prisoners as career criminals, Trump is simply lying. Over 250 detainees committed no offense except a civil (not criminal) violation of immigration laws. The ICRC  notes that “systematically resorting to the detention of irregular migrants, regardless of their individual personal circumstances, is in contradiction with the right to liberty and security of person – one of the most fundamental human rights. Detention should be a measure of last resort and non-custodial measures should always be considered first.” Detainees have a legal right to be informed of the reason for which they are detained.  Detainees at Alligator Alcatraz receive no written charges detailing the grounds for their detention. Legal Access: The UN’s Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers  prescribe the duty to provide all prisoners with access to lawyers. Detainees at Alligator Alcatraz are denied any access to lawyers to represent them. No lawyers are even permitted to enter the facility. The United States District Court for the District of Miami has upheld  these illegal restrictions. UN Human Rights Council resolution 31/31  details safeguards to prevent torture during police custody and pretrial detention. It requires “permitting prompt and regular medical care and legal counsel at any stage of detention and visits by family members.” Many Alligator Alcatraz detainees do not know where they are. Their families often do not know if they are even alive. Prisoners in federal custody must be held without discrimination based on race. According to the testimony of Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin , who visited Alligator Alcatraz, the largely Hispanic and Black population held at the prison were arrested because they fit profiles based on the color of their skin. Freedom of Religion: Detainees are being denied their right to freedom of religion. Detainees report having their Bibles confiscated. A prison officer told a detainee that his “right to religion did not apply in the facility” . Prisoners are denied access to pastors.  The American Civil Liberties Union states that detainees “ are barred from practicing their religion”. Freedom of religion is a fundamental human right, guaranteed by international treaties, including the I nternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The right does not disappear in detention. Detainees must be permitted to pray and worship, and receive visits from priests, pastors, imams, and other religious representatives. They have the right to possess scriptures and religious objects.  Alligator Alcatraz is violating this most basic human right. The current dehumanization, inhumane treatment, and forced deportation of migrants in the USA violates both the United States Constitution and international law. The Trump administration must stop its violation of the fundamental human rights of detainees at “Alligator Alcatraz.” “Alligator Alcatraz” must be closed immediately.

Kosovo authorities opened a new river bridge in the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, a move seen by Serbia as a political stunt that "undermines peace". Xhorxhina Bami and Florinda Kelmendi, August 26, 2025 The new bridge for vehicles connecting South Mitrovica and North Mitrovica, a few meters from the main bridge in the city, which is closed to traffic. Photo: BIRN. Just a few meters from the bridge that divides South and North Mitrovica, across which cars are not allowed to pass, the Kosovo government opened a new bridge on Tuesday, despite objections from local ethnic Serbs and warnings from the international community. Acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Facebook on Tuesday morning that “less than two months were needed to construct the 36th bridge in Kosovo over the Iber river. The bridge is open for vehicles as of today from 9am”. Kurti also announced that work on a new pedestrian bridge nearby will be finished by the autumn. The Serbian authorities view the opening of more bridge crossings as a security threat, believing it will encourage more ethnic Albanians to settle in the Serb-majority north of Mitrovica. Kosovo’s Western allies fear that such moves, if not agreed by all sides, will raise tensions. In June the EU tested the load capacity of the main bridge in the town, which is currently not open to car crossings. At the time, the EU’s office in Pristina urged Kurti to refrain from making unilateral moves. “The EU is closely coordinating with its international partners in Kosovo regarding the future of the bridge,” the office told BIRN. “In the meantime, we call on the Kosovo authorities to refrain from any uncoordinated actions, including the construction of adjacent bridges. All agreements of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue [process], including those related to the bridge, must be fully implemented,” it added. In July, Kosovo Serbs gathered in front of the office of the Belgrade-backed Srpska Lista party in North Mitrovica to sign a petition against the construction of the two new bridges which connect the northern Serb-majority part of Mitrovica with the southern Albanian-majority part.  On Tuesday the deputy director of the Kosovo police for the north of the country, Veton Elshani, urged the public to be “careful and not incite hatred” over the bridge issue.  “There is no need to come here and be provocative, we have sent the same message in the north so they do not worry, because we are here for everyone’s safety,” Elshani said, emphasising that it was simply “a bridge for the movement of vehicles and people”, rather than being any kind of symbolic act. But Petar Petkovic, the head of the Serbian government’s office for Kosovo, wrote on X that “the unlawful opening of Kurti’s bridge is a new escalatory move that directly undermines peace” in the north of Kosovo. “The opening of the bridge tramples on the dialogue agreements and represents a slap in the face to the EU,” said Petkovic. He alleged Kurti “chose to open the bridge today” because it was timed during the visit to Belgrade of Peter Sorensen, the EU special envoy for the Kosovo Serbia dialogue. Petkovic described the move as “a brutal destruction of the [Kosovo-Serbia] dialogue”. Copyright BIRN 2007

By Edith M. Lederer, August 22, 2025. Syrians gather to mark the anniversary of a chemical weapons attack carried out by Bashar Assad's forces in Eastern Ghouta in 2013, in the town of Zamalka on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) Syria’s transition remains “on a knife-edge” and violence could resume at any moment in the southern city of Sweida, which saw deadly clashes last month, the top U.N. envoy for Syria warned on Thursday. Geir Pedersen told the U.N. Security Council that while violence in Sweida has largely subsided following a ceasefire, “the threat of renewed conflict is ever-present — as are the political centrifugal forces that threaten Syria’s sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity.” Syria is grappling with deep ethnic and religious divisions following the ouster of Syria’s autocratic President Bashar Assad in December, which brought an end to decades of Assad family rule. The transition has proven fragile, with renewed violence erupting in March along the coast and in July in Sweida, a city with a significant Druze population, highlighting the continued threat to peace after years of civil war. Clashes erupted in Sweida on July 13 between Druze militias and local Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes, and government forces intervened, nominally to restore order but they ended up essentially siding with the Bedouins. Israel intervened in defense of the Druze, launching dozens of airstrikes on convoys of government fighters. Pedersen said in a video briefing to the council that although the July 19 ceasefire agreement has largely held, “we are still seeing dangerous hostilities and skirmishes on the margins of Sweida. And violence could resume at any moment,.” Pedersen expressed concern that “a month of relative military calm belies a worsening political climate, with escalatory and zero-sum rhetoric hardening among many.” The U.N. envoy said there is an urgent need for security forces under the transitional government led by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa to demonstrate that they are acting to protect all Syrians. Pedersen called for major security sector reforms in Syria and the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of non-government forces. He warned that international support for Syria “risks being squandered or misdirected” without a genuine political transition that lays the path for long-term stability, good governance, credible reforms and a firm commitment to the rule of law and justice. U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called the humanitarian situation in Syria “dire,” saying 16 million people across the country need humanitarian support. He said aid workers need protection and safety, noting that humanitarian convoys came under fire this month. He said money for food and other assistance is desperately needed, pointing to the U.N. humanitarian appeal for $3.19 billion for 2025 being only 14% funded. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press.

Lome (AFP) – Jihadists from Burkina Faso have stepped up their assaults on northern Togo since the beginning of the year, with the Togolese government tight-lipped on their covert infiltration. Togolese soldiers at the border with Burkina Faso, from where jihadist groups cross over into the small west African co untry © PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP Keen not to sap the morale of the Togolese soldiers fighting the incursion, the small west African nation's authorities have offered little in the way of official comment or figures on violence by jihadists, who have gained ground since their first deadly attack in the country in 2022. In a rare admission, Togolese Foreign Minister Robert Dussey recently said Islamist fighters had killed at least 62 people since January -- more than double the deaths the government recorded in the whole of 2023. Those losses reflect a surge in jihadist unrest in Togo's north, at a time when armed fighters linked to Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group are gaining ground across the wider west African region. For Togolese political scientist and essayist Madi Djabakate, the lack of coverage in the Togolese press stems from the government's "policy of informational lockdown". Togo's High Authority for Broadcasting and Communication (HAAC) has "expressly forbidden journalists from mentioning the attacks or human or material losses, so as not to demoralise the troops engaged on the ground", he told AFP. Porous borders Like neighbouring Benin, Togo is confronted with an overspill of violence from eastern Burkina Faso, where jihadists run rampant. In 2024, Burkina Faso saw the most deaths of any country in the world from "terrorism" for the second year running, with 1,532 victims out of a worldwide total of 7,555, according to the Global Terrorism Index. Located near the Togolese border, the Burkinabe province of Kompienga is home to a powerful branch of the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, known by its Arabic acronym, JNIM. Jihadist violence in the Sahel region © Ioana PLESEA, Valentina BRESCHI / AFP Just over the frontier, Kpendjal prefecture is the Togolese region worst-hit by jihadist attacks, which west African security specialist Mathias Khalfaoui said was a result of the porous border. Yet in the past year the violence has spread beyond the borderlands. In a study for the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a think tank associated with Germany's conservative CDU party, Khalfaoui said the jihadist advance could easily go under the radar "because of its slow and methodical nature". "Until 2023, the danger was still concentrated in the territories directly bordering Burkina Faso," the analyst said. Since May 2024, he said, the jihadists have extended their influence further south, towards the nearby prefectures of Oti and South Oti. 'Absence of the state' Khalfaoui said the expansion of the jihadists' scope in Togo was "becoming clear". "We have to go back to December 2022 to find a month when, to our knowledge, there was no attack," Khalfaoui said in his study. But tackling the issue is a challenge given the dire economic situation of Togo's north, the poorest and least developed part of an already impoverished nation, Khalfaoui added. A policeman searches a vendor on a motorbike at the Togo-Burkina Faso border in Cinkasse © PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP Djabakate, the Togolese political scientist, agreed, arguing that the country's current approach was "essentially military and repressive". "The affected prefectures, notably Kpendjal and West Kpendjal, suffer from a structural absence of the state," Djabakate said. "Civil servants posted to these areas perceive their assignment as a punishment, given the harsh living conditions and the absence of public services," he added. Togo has deployed around 8,000 soldiers to the affected region, while the defence budget ballooned from 8.7 percent of GDP in 2017 to 17.5 percent in 2022, according to Foreign Minister Dussey. The government has also attempted to improve living conditions for Togolese in the north, through an emergency aid programme launched in 2023. But the situation is unlikely to improve without better coordination on tackling jihadism between countries in a divided west Africa, according to analysts in the region. © 2025 AFP and France24

By Jason Burke and Malak A. Tantesh Aug. 22, 2025 IPC says famine is ‘entirely man-made’ and immediate response is needed or avoidable deaths will soar People clamour to receive food from a charity kitchen in Khan Younis on Friday. Photograph: Hatem Khaled/Reuters An “entirely man-made” famine is taking place in Gaza’s largest city and its surrounding area amid deteriorating conditions that threaten an exponential increase in deaths across the devastated territory, UN-backed experts have declared. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a globally recognised organisation that classifies the severity of food insecurity and malnutrition, found that three key thresholds for famine had been met, signalling a major escalation of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Only four famines have been declared by the IPC since it was established in 2004, most recently in Sudan last year. “This famine is entirely man-made, it can be halted and reversed,” the report says. “The time for debate and hesitation has passed, starvation is present and is rapidly spreading. There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that an immediate, at-scale response is needed. Any further delay – even by days – will result in a totally unacceptable escalation of famine-related mortality. “If a ceasefire is not implemented to allow humanitarian aid to reach everyone in the Gaza Strip, and if essential food supplies and basic health, nutrition and [sanitation and water] services are not restored immediately, avoidable deaths will increase exponentially.” Guardian graphic. Source: IPC. *Gaza City and surrounding area. Note: Rafah not analysed due to access restrictions The IPC warned in July that a “famine scenario” was unfolding in parts of Gaza but until now it had stopped short of making a formal declaration, citing a lack of hard data. In addition to a famine in and around Gaza City, the biggest built-up area of the territory and home to between 500,000 and 800,000 people, the report declares that the towns of Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis in the centre and south of Gaza are likely to experience famine “in coming weeks”. The experts say the data is insufficient to declare a famine in the north of the territory, though aid officials say the conditions there are thought to be the most severe and have called for urgent steps to allow for a full humanitarian assessment. Ibtisam Saleh, 50, who lives in Gaza City, said she and her 29-year-old son had been eating one meal a day for weeks, and many times they had nothing at all. “I cook only lentils, nothing else is available to us,” she told the Guardian. “Yesterday a donor gave us a small bag of rice. As for food kitchens, I cannot eat their food, it makes my stomach hurt if I taste it. And I do not have the strength to stand in line waiting to get my share.” In order to declare a famine, strict criteria must be met: at least 20% of households face an extreme lack of food; at least 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition; and two people for every 10,000 die each day due to “outright starvation”. The declaration of famine in Gaza will increase pressure on Israel to ease the tight restrictions it has maintained on supplies since the beginning of the 22-month-old conflict. David Lammy, Britain’s foreign secretary, condemned the famine as a “moral outrage”. “The confirmation of famine in Gaza City and the surrounding neighbourhood is utterly horrifying and is wholly preventable,” he said in a statement. “The Israeli government’s refusal to allow sufficient aid into Gaza has caused this man-made catastrophe.” Amjad Shawa, the director of the Gaza NGOs Network, who is based in Gaza City, said: “This is the worst, the most critical stage in the entire history of Gaza, not just in this war. We are in a very complicated situation. We feel very sick and very tired. We must get food otherwise we cannot imagine what will happen.” Israel rejected the findings the report, claiming there was no famine in Gaza and that the findings were based on “Hamas lies laundered through organisations with vested interests”. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has said Israeli forces will launch a massive new assault on Gaza City within weeks. Aid officials said any further offensives in Gaza would have catastrophic consequences for the population. Aid packages descend with parachutes on Deir al-Balah on Friday. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israel-backed organisation that was supposed to replace aid groups that previously distributed food to much of the population in Gaza, is failing to distribute sufficient food. The UN and other organisations face massive logistical obstacles including widespread looting due to an almost total breakdown of the rule of law, ongoing Israeli combat operations, Israel’s administrative restrictions and bureaucracy and damaged infrastructure within Gaza. Riham Kraiem, 35, who is living in a tent in Gaza City, said her eldest son, 13, had travelled to the aid distribution areas in the north of Gaza, risking his life in largely fruitless efforts to bring food for the family of 10. “My children’s health … is now very poor,” she said. “There’s nothing nutritious for them to eat. I can’t provide proper food to support their bodies. My four-year-old daughter’s condition is deteriorating, she is suffering from malnutrition and is sick because of it. “I have no food supplies left. We left some behind in our home when we fled and the house was destroyed. Yesterday my son went again to look for aid and got one kilogram of pasta and a can of tomato sauce. He didn’t get it from the aid distribution, a young man there gave it to him. He came back feeling like he was flying from happiness.” Guardian graphic. Source: UNOPS. Note: trucks carrying supplies from ICRC, IMC, Unicef, WCK and WFP; excludes those delivered by Gaza Humanitarian Foundation The IPC report expresses grave concern at the continued and large-scale killing of civilians while trying to access food deliveries and the inadequate planning, implementation and monitoring of the privatised food distributions conducted by the GHF. It calls for “urgent, comprehensive and sustained action to end the swiftly deteriorating and ever-expanding humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip”. According to figures from Gaza’s health ministry, verified by the World Health Organization, deaths from malnutrition and starvation in Gaza have risen sharply. In the 22 months after the 7 October attacks by Hamas, 89 deaths were attributed to malnutrition or starvation, mostly children under 18. In the first 20 days of August there were 133 deaths, including 25 under-18s, the ministry said on Wednesday. Israel disputes the hunger fatality figures given by the health ministry of Gaza’s Hamas-run government, arguing that the deaths were due to other medical causes. Israeli officials said more than 220 aid trucks entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings on Thursday. © 2025 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.

Aug. 18, 2025 By Aaron Boxerman, Natan Odenheimer, and Abdi Latif Dahir Israel has broadened its push, so far unsuccessful, to persuade other countries to take in Gazans en masse. Critics say the relocation could violate international law. At a displacement camp in Gaza City this month. Saher Alghorra for The New York Times For months, Israeli officials have spoken in increasingly strident tones about wanting Palestinians to leave Gaza en masse. Now, a potential destination being discussed is the impoverished, war-torn African nation of South Sudan, part of the broader Israeli push for wholesale emigration from the devastated enclave. Unable so far to find countries willing to accept large numbers of Gazan refugees from the nearly two-year Israeli campaign against Hamas, Israel has held talks with South Sudan on taking them, according to officials and people briefed on the discussions. Critics argue that forcibly and permanently removing Gazans from the enclave would amount to ethnic cleansing and a war crime . Noting some Israeli leaders’ hope to conquer Gaza and build Jewish settlements there, they have questioned whether Israel’s long-term vision is merely resettlement or expulsion. Israeli officials have labeled their policy “voluntary migration,” framing it as a humanitarian move to allow Palestinians who wish to depart to freely do so. Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was not “pushing out” Gazans, but did not say whether they would be allowed to return after the war with Hamas. South Sudan has publicly denied any involvement. But senior South Sudanese officials have privately discussed the contentious possibility with Israeli officials, according to three Middle Eastern officials and one South Sudanese official briefed on the talks, as well as a lobbyist for the South Sudanese government. A billboard with an image of President Salva Kiir of South Sudan in the country’s capital, Juba, last year. Ivor Prickett for The New York Times The talks between Israel and South Sudan have yet to see a breakthrough, said the five people, four of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to divulge sensitive details. Nonetheless, they play to the interests of both sides: Israeli officials hope as many Palestinians as possible will leave Gaza, while South Sudan wants to curry favor with President Trump. In February, Mr. Trump endorsed in principle the removal of Gaza’s roughly two million people. He later appeared to move on from the idea, after Arab allies like Egypt and Jordan objected fiercely to it, but he never fully renounced it. While Mr. Netanyahu has been more restrained in his public comments, his far-right allies — who support perpetual Israeli rule in Gaza — have enthusiastically embraced the call for Palestinians to leave. In May, Bezalel Smotrich, the Israeli finance minister, said Gazans would hopefully soon be displaced “to third countries.” He also said last month that Gaza is “an inseparable part of the land of Israel.” Gila Gamliel, a minister in Israel’s security cabinet, said in a televised interview that “1,700,000 Palestinians should leave the Gaza Strip.” A less prominent government minister, Amichay Eliyahu, said approvingly last month that Israel was “driving out the population” of Gaza, a position that the prime minister’s office distanced itself from. Many modern wars have seen millions of refugees flee to neighboring countries. But the vast majority of Gazans have no way out of the enclave. Egypt, which allowed tens of thousands to enter during the first nine months of the war, is no longer an option for most people. Other countries are focused on evacuating small numbers of the sick and wounded. Since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that ignited the Gaza war, Israel has urged countries — particularly Egypt — to take in masses of Gazan refugees, but to no avail. Some nations have voiced the fear that Israel would block Palestinians from going back, making them permanent refugees — a fear shared by Palestinians themselves. Receiving aid in Gaza City last week. Saher Alghorra for The New York Times Human rights groups say what Israel labels “voluntary” migration would be anything but. The Israeli campaign against Hamas has razed much of the Gaza Strip, leaving most of its people displaced, hungry and impoverished, with little access to shelter, sanitation, water, health care or schools, and in constant fear for their lives. “There’s nothing voluntary when you’re making Gaza unlivable, when you are destroying the civilian infrastructure that is necessary for civilian life,” said Omar Shakir, the Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch. “Continuing to force people out is not voluntary.” More than 60,000 people have been killed in Israel’s campaign against Hamas, according to local health officials, who don’t say how many were combatants. The war began with the deadly Hamas-led attack, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 250 as hostages. At least some Palestinians say they would be willing to leave Gaza after nearly two years of hunger, fear and bombardment, though many of them also have searing family histories of fleeing or being expelled during the wars surrounding the creation of Israel in 1948, and never being allowed to return. But many would likely hesitate to head for war-torn South Sudan, which has also struggled with ethnic violence, famine and corruption since its inception in 2011. Palestinians might also find a wary reception in South Sudan, a largely Christian and animist nation that fought hard to gain independence from its largely Muslim and Arab neighbor, Sudan. “I would leave Gaza to save my kids from this horrible situation,” said Jalal al-Homs, who is sheltering in a tent in southern Gaza with his wife and four children. “But to go to South Sudan? That we couldn’t accept.” The international airport in Juba. Ivor Prickett for The New York Times By working with Israel, South Sudan hopes Israeli officials will help lobby the Trump administration to lift a visa ban on its citizens, as well as remove an arms embargo and sanctions against Benjamin Bol Mel , the powerful vice president widely seen as the country’s possible next leader. In April, the Trump administration revoked all visas for South Sudanese people to travel in the United States, after accusing South Sudan of refusing to move quickly to repatriate its citizens who were being deported. In July, South Sudan agreed to accept eight deportees from the United States, only one of them South Sudanese. But taking in large numbers of Gazans would be a far more fraught course for the country. South Sudan is grappling with mounting political instability and deepening humanitarian crises. The talks between Israel and South Sudan began earlier this year, said Joseph Szlavik, the founder of a lobbying firm working with the government of South Sudan, who said he had discussed the subject with South Sudanese officials. The news of the talks between the two sides was first reported by The Associated Press. South Sudan is considering the proposal, but its officials fear being left to shoulder the financial burden of taking care of a large number of Palestinian refugees, said Mr. Szlavik. “The South Sudanese are wondering who will pay,” he added. Gaza City last week. Saher Alghorra for The New York Times On the South Sudanese side, Monday Semaya K. Kumba, the country’s foreign minister, has spoken with Israeli officials on the subject, the Middle Eastern and South Sudanese officials said. South Sudan’s government spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. South Sudan’s foreign ministry denied the talks with Israel, calling reports of them “baseless.” Those reports prompted backlash in South Sudan. The chairman of South Sudan’s parliamentary committee on foreign affairs told local news media that he would summon Mr. Kumba to demand answers. “Accepting the resettlement of Palestinians in South Sudan undermines and belittles the political faith, position and identity of Palestinians in having their own state,” said Edmund Yakani, the executive director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, a South Sudanese rights group, who said he discussed the matter last month with Foreign Ministry officials. No matter how urgent South Sudan’s need for international help, the government should not “use the issue of Palestinians as negotiating chips to improve their foreign relations,” Mr. Yakani added. “This is ethnic cleansing that we are supporting.” © 2025 The New York Times Company

Kosovo’s Central Election Commission rejected the Srpska Lista party’s application to compete in the October 12 local elections, sparking expressions of concern from Western diplomats. Perparim Isufi, August 21, 2025 Kosovo’s Central Election Commission at its meeting on August 21, 2025. Photo: BIRN Kosovo’s Central Election Commission, CEC, on Thursday voted not to certify the Belgrade-backed Srpska Lista party to run in the October 12 local elections – a move that caused Western diplomats to voice concern about a possible lack of democratic representation for all communities in the country. In a vote that saw Srpska Lista’s application supported by two out of 11 commission members, two voted against while seven abstained. Kosovo law allows any political entity to appeal a CEC decision to the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel, ECAP, within 24 working hours of receiving the decision. The ECAP has 48 hours to rule on the complaint. During Thursday’s CEC meeting, commission members from the Vetevendosje party opposed Srpska Lista’s certification, citing the alleged links of some of their candidates with the Serbia-run ‘parallel institutions’ operating in Kosovo outside central government control. “[Some] candidates from Srpska Lista are part of the [Serbia-run] parallel structures and some are part of the organisations that our state consider to be terrorist organisations, wanted by the judiciary. Therefore I invite you to not vote in favour of Srpska Lista’s certification,” Alban Krasniqi, a CEC member from Vetevendosje, said during the meeting. But Srpska Lista’s CEC member, Gordana Laban Zuvic, said that her party’s application has overcome all the CEC’s administrative checks before being put to a formal vote. “If there is any evidence, let the institutions perform their duties… There are institutions [which are] responsible for doing this, let them persecute criminals and arrest them,” Laban Zuvic said. The OSCE Mission in Kosovo voiced concerns following the vote, saying that “the right to participate in free and fair elections is a cornerstone of democratic governance and an essential element of inclusive political life”. “Exclusion of political actors undermines democratic pluralism, weakens trust in institutions, and reduces opportunities for all communities to be fairly represented,” the mission added. Before the vote, Anu Prattipati, the US ambassador’s deputy in Pristina, met Kosovo’s caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who is also head of Vetevendosje, and concerns on behalf of the US. “We believe that all citizens of Kosovo should have the opportunity to elect their representatives at local level,” Prattipati told journalists after the meeting. Strong criticism came from Belgrade The head of the Serbian government’s office for Kosovo, Petar Petkovic, accused the CEC of making this decision “under the direct order of Albin Kurti”. Petkovic said that “Kurti’s attack” on Srpska Lista is “also an attack on all the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija”. This is not first time that the CEC has refused Srpska Lista’s certification for an election. In December last year, CEC had rejected its certification for the February 2025 parliamentary polls, but the party won its appeal at the ECAP. Copyright BIRN 2007