August 12, 2024 Killings of Civilians, Mass Arson, Unlawful Recruitment in Rakhine State A family who fled from Buthidaung, Myanmar, at a refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, June 25, 2024. © 2024 Mohammad Ponir (Bangkok) –  Myanmar junta forces and the opposition Arakan Army have committed extrajudicial killings and widespread arson against Rohingya, Rakhine, and other civilians in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State in recent months, Human Rights Watch said today. The military’s unlawful recruitment of Rohingya men and boys has stoked communal tensions between the Rohingya Muslim and Rakhine Buddhist communities. In April and May 2024, the junta military and allied Rohingya armed groups as well as the advancing Arakan Army all committed atrocities against civilians. On May 17, as the Arakan Army gained control of the remaining junta military bases in Buthidaung township, its forces shelled, looted, and burned Rohingya neighborhoods in Buthidaung town and nearby villages, causing thousands of  Rohingya to flee. The clashes have since moved west to Maungdaw, where fighting has surged over the past week, with reports of killings and other abuses against the Rohingya population, including children, women, and older people. All parties to the conflict should halt unlawful attacks, cease the use of hate speech, and allow unimpeded humanitarian access to those in need. “Ethnic Rohingya and Rakhine civilians are bearing the brunt of the atrocities that the Myanmar military and opposition Arakan Army are committing,” said  Elaine Pearson , Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Both sides are using hate speech, attacks on civilians, and massive arson to drive people from their homes and villages, raising the specter of ethnic cleansing.” Human Rights Watch interviewed 33 ethnic Rohingya and Rakhine victims and witnesses to abuses and analyzed satellite imagery, open-source material, private videos and photos, and medical records. The Arakan Army, an ethnic Rakhine armed group, has engaged in periods of heavy fighting with the Myanmar military for control of Rakhine State since late 2018. Hostilities between junta forces and the Arakan Army have surged since mid-November 2023, ending a year-long unofficial ceasefire. As the Arakan Army has rapidly expanded its control across Rakhine State, the military has responded with  indiscriminate attacks using helicopter gunships, artillery, and ground assaults. From November to July, junta forces carried out over 1,100 airstrikes nationwide, more than one-fifth of them in Rakhine State, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED). By April, fighting had intensified in the predominantly Muslim townships of Buthidaung and Maungdaw, where an estimated 240,000 Rohingya lived. Junta forces and allied Rohingya armed groups carried out arson attacks on ethnic Rakhine villages on the outskirts of Buthidaung town and Rakhine areas within the town in mid-April, according to satellite imagery analysis, witness accounts, and local media reports.  In late April, the Arakan Army began burning Rohingya villages east of Buthidaung town. Satellite imagery and thermal anomaly data analyzed by Human Rights Watch reveal that more than 40 villages and hamlets in Buthidaung township were partially or completely destroyed by fire from April 24 to May 21. Burning destroyed thousands of structures across the township, including predominantly Rohingya areas downtown. Human Rights Watch concluded that the pattern of destruction caused by fire throughout Buthidaung suggests that all these attacks were deliberate. Fire damaged villages and hamlets in Buthidaung township documented by Human Rights Watch during the arson attacks in April and May 2024. Analysis based on satellite imagery and thermal anomalies. Analysis and graphics © 2024 Human Rights Watch. Village data © Myanmar Information Management UNIT (MIMU). Military data © Open StreetMap contributors and ASPI. Residents said Arakan Army fighters began setting fire to Buthidaung town on the evening of May 17, despite having told them to evacuate by 10 a.m. the following day. Thousands of Rohingya displaced from nearby villages were sheltering in schools, homes, and the hospital in downtown Buthidaung. Witnesses said the burning, shelling, and gunfire were not in response to any evident fighting between the forces.  “Without any conflict, the Arakan Army besieged the town,” said a man who fled Buthidaung’s Ward 2. “They started launching heavy weapons and at the same time began setting the houses on fire. People ran, fleeing for their lives, while older people and children were left behind in burning houses. It was a real scene of Qayamat [apocalypse].” The capture of Buthidaung  displaced an estimated 70,000 people , mostly Rohingya, who fled to the west and south amid further attacks. The Arakan Army announced that it had captured all Myanmar junta bases in Buthidaung on May 18. Satellite imagery indicates that the arson attacks continued in the area through May 21, following the paths of people fleeing. Human Rights Watch also verified videos and photographs posted on social media and shared privately that showed destroyed houses in Buthidaung in April and May and large groups of people fleeing. Main areas damaged by fire across wards in Buthidaung town and its outskirts. Analysis based on satellite imagery and thermal anomalies.  Analysis and graphics © Human Rights Watch. Ward data © Myanmar Information Management UNIT (MIMU). Rohingya described being caught between junta and Arakan Army forces, both trying to coerce them to take sides in the conflict. The junta military has unlawfully recruited thousands of Rohingya men and boys from Rakhine State and the refugee camps in  Bangladesh , with support from Rohingya armed groups, and has forced Rohingya to participate in sham protests against the Arakan Army. Such efforts have inflamed relations between the Rohingya and Rakhine, triggering the spread of hate speech and misinformation online and offline. The Arakan Army has denied attacking Rohingya civilians, asserting it issued sufficient warning and that the May 17-18 fires resulted from junta airstrikes and arson committed by Rohingya militia. In an  August 5 letter to Human Rights Watch, the Arakan Army stated, “We do not condone or engage in unlawful attacks or arson attacks against civilians.” The laws of war prohibit deliberate and indiscriminate attacks on civilians and on civilian objects, such as homes, schools, and hospitals. Summary killings, mutilation of bodies, recruitment of children, looting, and arson are all prohibited as war crimes . Warring parties must take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to civilians, must cancel attacks if it becomes evident the target is not a military objective, and must provide effective advance warnings of attacks unless circumstances do not permit. The Myanmar junta and Arakan Army should urgently allow access to Rakhine State to an independent international inquiry and to humanitarian agencies, Human Rights Watch said.  “The military junta and Arakan Army need to take immediate steps to protect civilians and civilian property during the hostilities,” Pearson said. “Governments with influence over the warring parties should weigh in forcefully or once again face a situation of ethnic cleansing.” Names have been withheld or replaced with pseudonyms to protect the identities of victims and witnesses. Crisis in Rakhine State In 2017, more than 750,000 Rohingya fled the Myanmar military’s  crimes against humanity  and acts of genocide in the same areas beset by armed conflict today, seven years on. About 630,000 Rohingya remain in Rakhine State  under a system of apartheid that leaves them exceptionally vulnerable to renewed fighting. Since the February 2021 coup, the Myanmar military has committed crimes against humanity and war crimes across the country. Security forces have continued to persecute the Rohingya, arresting thousands for “unauthorized travel” and imposing  new movement restrictions and aid blockages on Rohingya camps and villages. The conflict  has displaced an estimated 310,000 people in Rakhine State and southern Chin State since it resumed in November 2023. Yet the junta has ramped up its deadly blockages of humanitarian aid to civilians across Rakhine, a form of collective punishment that violates international humanitarian law. Security forces have shut down major roads and waterways, banned the transport of medical supplies, and attacked healthcare facilities. Internet and telecommunication outage data and reports from civil society groups demonstrate a total lack of internet services in Rakhine State between January 10 and May 31, 2024. These restrictions sustain the military’s longstanding “four cuts” strategy, designed to exert control over an area by isolating and terrorizing civilians. Unlawful Forced Recruitment; Rising Hostilities The military has been stoking communal tensions between the Rohingya and Rakhine communities through forced recruitment and other exploitative tactics, similar to its efforts during the  2012 ethnic cleansing campaign , Human Rights Watch said.  In late March, the military coerced Rohingya to participate in anti-Arakan Army protests in Buthidaung and Sittwe townships, threatening to burn down their homes, launch artillery attacks, or detain them if they refused. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights  reported that the military organized the protests “most likely in order to destabilize Rakhine State to its own advantage by inflaming communal tensions.”  The military activated the 2010 People’s Military Service Law in February, enabling conscription of Myanmar citizens. Despite having long been denied citizenship and regarded as foreigners, the Rohingya became the first targets of the conscription campaign. Security forces have abducted and forcibly recruited thousands of Rohingya men and boys through nighttime raids, coercion, false promises of citizenship, and threats of arrest, abduction, and beatings. The military has been sending forced recruits to  abusive two-week military training , then deploying them to the front lines, where some have been killed or injured. Local media reported in late April that the military had conscripted 5,000 Rohingya into military training. Yusuf, who lived in the village of Htin Shar Pyin, said that junta soldiers forcibly recruited him with about three dozen other Rohingya in a 3 a.m. raid in late March. “The military now wants us to join them in their fight against the Arakan Army almost seven years after they brutalized our mothers and sisters in 2017,” he said. “None of us joined them willingly.” Yusuf said he saw over 1,000 Rohingya conscripts at the cantonment. For two months, he was deployed to the front lines in Buthidaung. In Bangladesh, where one million Rohingya refugees live in camps,  Rohingya armed groups forcibly recruited and smuggled at least 1,800 refugees into Rakhine State on behalf of Myanmar junta forces between mid-March and early June. A camp majhi (community leader) said that the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) armed group had tried to force the majhis to provide lists of 25 young men per camp block.  A Rohingya refugee said that on May 4, RSO members took his 15-year-old son, 17-year-old nephew, and about 20 other young men and boys to Myanmar. “We have stopped eating and drinking due to grief,” he said. “I want to get my son back. He is too young to understand anything about war.” Rohingya said that the forced recruitment inflamed hostilities with Rakhine communities and made them a target of the Arakan Army. “Five young men were forcibly taken from our village by the military for conscription,” said a resident of Nan Yar Kone, a village attacked in early May. “I think this was why the Arakan Army launched the attack on our village in retaliation.” In March and April, official Arakan Army social media accounts, including leader Twan Mrat Naing’s, referred to the Muslim Rohingya as “Bengali,” a pejorative term long used by the military to label them as foreigners. Both Rakhine and Rohingya accounts have spread misinformation and hate speech online. “Before the recent clashes in Buthidaung, our relationship [with the Arakan Army] wasn’t so bad,” said Sadek, 19, from Htin Shar Pyin. “After these clashes, they started looting our houses and took all of our belongings on trucks.” Another villager from Htin Shar Pyin said that during attacks on his village on May 14, Arakan Army fighters told them: “‘You sent your sons to the military for training to kill us. The military is your father. Is the military coming to protect you now? You don’t have the right to live in this area anymore.’ Afterward, they started burning the houses.” April-May Violence Between April 11 and 20, the junta military and Rohingya armed groups looted and set on fire ethnic Rakhine areas in Buthidaung town and villages to the south, according to satellite imagery reviewed by Human Rights Watch, witness accounts, and local media reports. Within the town, property in predominantly Rakhine, Hindu, and Khami areas in Wards 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 were set on fire in arson attacks between April 11 and 17, with Ward 4 most affected. The damage visible in the satellite imagery resulted from numerous fires originating in different parts of the town over several days, suggesting they were deliberately ignited. A Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) office and pharmacy  were burned down on April 15. Satellite imagery from April 27, 2024, showing the main burned areas in wards 4 and 5 of Buthidaung town during the arson attacks from April 11-17. © Planet Labs PBC. Analysis and graphics © Human Rights Watch. A 26-year-old Rakhine villager from Buthidaung town said: [Rohingya] Muslims collaborated with the SAC [State Administration Council junta] to destroy Rakhine villages and loot everything from the houses. The Muslims came in groups. The SAC forces were few, maybe around 10 or 20, but there were over 100 or around 200 Muslims. They destroyed our Buddhist religious buildings. They broke into the houses, took everything they wanted, loaded them onto their trucks, and then finally burned the houses. They also shot at us as we fled. A 13-minute video made up of five clips was posted on Facebook by the account “Democratic Voice of Arakan” on May 26. The video, recorded from a moving vehicle, starts in Ward 3 and shows destroyed or partially destroyed buildings on both sides of the road in Wards 3 and 6 for the first five minutes. Satellite imagery captured on April 27 shows that most of the buildings filmed in this video were destroyed during the April attacks.  A photograph posted in a series on Facebook by Western News on April 24 shows dark smoke clouds filling the sky. Initially geolocated by  Bellingcat and verified by Human Rights Watch, the photograph was taken south of Buthidaung Road in Ward 4 on April 14, according to the image timestamp.  While defeating junta units in Buthidaung, Arakan Army forces also began launching arson attacks on the surrounding Rohingya areas. Predominantly Rohingya villages and hamlets on the eastern bank of the Mayu River show destruction by fire in late April and early May, while smoke plumes and fires were detected on a dozen villages.  Ibrahim, 28, was severely injured in an attack on his village, Da Pyu Chaung: Many people were killed in our village when the Arakan Army carried out random shootings and drone attacks. I was lying on the porch at our house. Suddenly a bomb fell on my neighbor’s house. Fragments severely damaged my face. The whole family of six next door was killed – two parents and four children – along with five others who were sheltering there. Days after the attack on our village, the Arakan Army captured MOC [Military Operations Command] 15. The Arakan Army also burned our village down. The Arakan Army announced it captured the junta’s Military Operations Command 15 headquarters on May 2, about six kilometers east of Buthidaung town, after two weeks of fighting. A few days later, junta forces blew up the main bridge entrance to Buthidaung town from the east.  Da Pyu Chaung village is located less than 500 meters from the MOC headquarters. Satellite imagery captured in early May shows the village reduced to ashes along with other settlements nearby. April 25, 2024: © 2024 Planet Labs PBC. May 6, 2024: © 2024 Planet Labs PBC. Infrared satellite image comparison between April 25 and May 6, 2024, showing all the structures in Da Pyu Chaung village in the Buthidaung township reduced to ashes. On infrared images, the vegetation appears in red and the burned areas in darker colors. A Rakhine villager who witnessed Arakan Army fighters burning houses in U Hla Pay and Ywet Nyo Taung said the Arakan Army framed the attacks as “clearance operations” against the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA).  Rohingya fleeing attacks in late April and early May sought shelter across the river in Buthidaung town. Much of the ethnic Rakhine community had already fled the town, escaping earlier attacks and hostilities or having been evacuated by the Arakan Army. May 17-18 Rohingya said that Arakan Army fighters warned them to leave Buthidaung town by the morning of May 18 but began setting fire to houses the night before. “Arakan Army fighters gave us an ultimatum to vacate the town by 10 a.m. tomorrow,” a 28-year-old Rohingya man said during a phone interview the night of May 17. “But now they suddenly came and forced us to leave instantly and started setting every house on fire. Now everywhere is in flames.” An 85-year-old man from Ward 2 said his son had attended a meeting with Arakan Army fighters who told Rohingya to leave their houses by 10 a.m. on May 18. “But they came at around 10 p.m. on May 17 and started firing and setting fire to the houses while villagers were busy preparing food and packing their belongings to leave the next day,” he said. Rohingya told Human Rights Watch that Arakan Army fighters set fire to buildings across Buthidaung town; fired artillery shells; shot at villagers who were fleeing or not willing or able to leave; and looted houses. “They didn’t hesitate to torch our houses, even with people inside,” said Kabir, who lived in Ward 1. “They started setting fire to our homes around 9 p.m. We were inside when they began. They launched mortar shells at our houses and burned our village mosque.” Satellite imagery reveals fire damage in all seven wards, with Wards 1, 2, 3, and 6 most affected. Satellite imagery from July 15, 2024, showing the main burned areas in wards 1 and 2 of Buthidaung town during the arson attacks from May 17–18.  © Planet Labs PBC. Analysis and graphics © Human Rights Watch. Witnesses reported mortar and drone attacks on Buthidaung General Hospital, a mosque in Ward 1, a guest house in Ward 2, government buildings, schools including the high school, and other buildings where thousands of displaced Rohingya were sheltering. New tents and shelters are visible in the courtyard of Basic Education High School in Ward 1 in satellite imagery captured since late April. Thermal anomalies were detected by an environmental satellite on May 17 in all seven wards. Satellite imagery from May 18 confirmed that the thermal anomalies were caused by fire, and that the destroyed areas were Rohingya neighborhoods that had not been affected during the April attacks. Residential buildings and other infrastructure surrounding the Basic Education High School in Ward 1 and Buthidaung General Hospital in Ward 2 were destroyed, along with Buthidaung market in Ward 6.  Fatema, 22, lived in Ward 4 with 10 family members, 6 of whom were killed on May 17. She fled her house with her husband and two children when it was set on fire at about 8 p.m., but five other family members, including her 70-year-old father-in-law, were trapped on the upper floor: “After we got out of the house, we waited a long time for them, but they never came out.” Arakan Army fighters started shooting at the masses of fleeing villagers, she said. “Without saying anything, they started shooting toward the crowd. My brother-in law was hit and killed by a bullet. We couldn’t pick up his dead body or gather other remains because we were all running to save our own lives.” Fatema said she saw 10-12 people shot and killed while fleeing, including a young boy. “His mother had to leave him by the road,” she said. “The Arakan Army didn’t let us retrieve the bodies,” Kabir said. Witnesses said they identified the Arakan Army fighters by their uniforms and insignia, and heard them speaking Rakhine.  Arson attacks were also carried out in villages south of Buthidaung town. Residents of Htin Shar Pyin said Arakan Army troops had first attacked the village a few days earlier, launching shells and burning houses. Sadek said that the attacks resumed the evening of May 17, reaching his home around 9:30 p.m. He had gone to a nearby shop while his parents were finishing dinner. “Suddenly, countless mortar shells were launched at our houses, and they were set on fire,” he said. “I saw from the shop that my house was burning. I saw it burn to ash.”  Sadek fled with other villagers. “I saw almost 15 dead bodies scattered around as I fled,” he said. “The bodies were covered with cloths so I couldn’t identify anyone. Arakan Army troops were guarding the bodies: no one was allowed to approach them. I don’t know if my family members are still alive.” Another villager from Htin Shar Pyin said his 16-year-old cousin had been killed. Satellite imagery from May 18 shows at least three impact craters with a diameter of about 2.5 meters located less than 100 meters from the southern part of Htin Shar Pyin village, people visible in the fields next to the village, and large vehicles along the road between Htin Shar Pyin and Done Chaung. On May 18, the Arakan Army announced it had seized Buthidaung town and overtaken all military bases. The UN  told Reuters that at least 45 Rohingya died during the attack and its immediate aftermath. Fleeing The Town Thousands of Rohingya fled Buthidaung town the evening of May 17. With the main bridge providing access from the east side destroyed, people were forced to flee west and south of the town.  Screenshot from one of the 13 videos Human Rights Watch received from a source, filmed along the Buthidaung-Maungdaw Road near Buthidaung jail between 10:37 p.m. on May 17 and 5:46 a.m. on May 18, according to the metadata. The videos show hundreds of people – men, women, and children, including a woman using a wheelchair – traveling in the dark along the road with their belongings in the opposite direction of the red, smoke-filled sky. © 2024 Private. Large numbers were trapped in Ward 5, which was only partially burned, or outside the Buthidaung jail. “The Arakan Army is allowing Rohingya to stay in Ward 5, but they aren’t allowing us to flee to Maungdaw,” said a man sheltering at a warehouse. “It’s like a confinement.” “Arakan Army fighters say those who violate their orders will be punished,” another man said. Those who escaped the town to the west converged with junta troops retreating from the remaining bases overtaken by the Arakan Army, including the military’s Buthidaung Tactical Operations Command (TOC), which was captured after intense fighting on May 17. Witnesses said that Arakan Army fighters began firing at civilians and setting fire to houses in their efforts to overrun the military troops, some of whom continued fighting along the route. Ahmad, 21, fled to Tat Min Chaung, near the Tactical Operations Command: The scene was chaotic, with the military fleeing ahead and us caught in the middle. Many fleeing villagers were killed or arrested by the Arakan Army. I was hit in the shoulder by a bullet. People were killed before our eyes as we ran for our lives in the paddy fields. Some were hit by bullets, others were killed by heavy artillery shells. After arriving in a forest, we looked back and saw the village and the TOC on fire. Sadek had fled to Tat Min Chaung from Htin Shar Pyin. “That night, a group of Arakan Army fighters were burning houses and launching heavy artillery,” he said. “The next day, they called us and started detaining villagers, accusing them of being recruited by the military or having ties with it.” Sadek was also shot during the attacks: “I was holding the wound with one hand as I ran to the crowd in the rice field.” Human Rights Watch reviewed his medical records from a hospital in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, including x-rays that show a bullet in his chest. His medical chart from May 24 states: “Gunshot 7 days ago over right side of chest. One entry wound; no exit wound."  Fatema said that when she arrived at the Tactical Operations Command around 2:30 a.m. with other fleeing Rohingya, they were questioned by Arakan Army fighters. “They asked us if any Myanmar military were in the crowd,” she said. “We said no, since there were none. But they selected some young people and accused them of having ties with the military or being military recruits. They kicked and punched them and took them inside the base. They didn’t let us proceed so we stayed there the whole night.” Two people said that while fleeing west, they saw bodies of people who had been beheaded, including at least two children. “When we arrived in Thar Mai Khali [Tat Min Chaung], we saw a mother and her child on her lap, both beheaded,” Yusuf said. “Then we saw another adolescent girl who had been beheaded. All were lying beside the road to the east of the mosque. We also saw thousands of villagers, including women and children, in the bushes. Children were screaming at the entrance of the village, and we saw four houses being burned down.” The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights  confirmed at least four beheadings. At 1:42 p.m. on May 18, satellite imagery captured a large crowd of people in a rice field, appearing to carry plastic sheltering, around 350 meters east of Tat Min Chaung.  Satellite image recorded early afternoon of May 18, 2024, showing crowds of people next to Tat Min Chaung village. Crowds of people carrying their belongings were also visible, reported to be taken a few hours before, next to Buthidaung jail on a video geolocated by open-source investigators, geoconfirmed with help from Asia Intel and Myanmar Witness, and corroborated by Human Rights Watch. © 2024 Private. Satellite image © 2024 Maxar Technologies. Source: EUSI. Analysis and graphics © Human Rights Watch. Tat Min Chaung and nearby villages in the area show traces of burning. The image also shows impact craters across the Buthidaung Tactical Operations Command. Satellite imagery shows that from May 17 to 21, about 17 additional villages south and northwest of Buthidaung town were burned, following patterns where people from downtown and surrounding villages had been trying to flee, including around Tat Min Chaung and Htin Shar Pyin areas. May 16, 2024: © 2024 Planet Labs PBC. May 22, 2024: © 2024 Planet Labs PBC. Infrared satellite image comparison between May 16 and May 22, 2024, showing more than 70 percent of the structures in Tat Min Chaung village in Buthidaung township destroyed by fire. On infrared images, the vegetation appears in red and the burned areas in darker colors.  Thousands who fled south ended up sheltering in schools and makeshift camps in Sein Hnyin Pyar under a curfew, movement restrictions, and limited aid. “I don’t know how my family is surviving without food,” Yusuf said. He fled to Bangladesh, but his wife, children, mother, and brothers remain in Buthidaung. “People are now very helpless and in extreme and dire situations. They are living under the open sky in rain and shine. I cried so much for my family; I have run out of tears.” Many attempted the arduous journey into Bangladesh; only some succeeded. Border Guard Bangladesh forces have ramped-up  pushbacks of asylum seekers along the Rakhine border since January. “On our way to Bangladesh, we suffered a lot: no food, no rest,” Fatema said. “We only survived on tender leaves of trees and water.” Ibrahim from Da Pyu Chaung floated on the Naf River for two days after the Border Guard Bangladesh pushed his boat back, before finding another area where he could enter. He arrived in Bangladesh a month after his face and jaw were severely injured in the attacks. “During these days, we starved many times,” his father said. Sadek arrived in Bangladesh after a week in the jungle. “On my way, I didn’t see any village untouched,” he said. “I was always in fear of being found.”  Ahmad traveled for six days through the mountains with his gunshot injury but was unable to cross the border. “I need to go to Bangladesh to get treatment for my bullet wound,” he said. “I’m currently struggling. There are no medical facilities in Maungdaw. The border is sealed, and more border security forces have been deployed. I still don’t know my parents’ whereabouts.” Blockages of Aid, Telecoms The junta’s increasing and deliberate obstruction of humanitarian aid has endangered millions of people. In Rakhine State, an estimated 1.6 million people  have been cut off from hospital access since early 2024, according to the UN. MSF  said on June 27 that it had been forced to suspend all medical activities in northern Rakhine State due to the “extreme escalation of conflict, indiscriminate violence, and severe restrictions on humanitarian access,” leaving people “with zero access to healthcare in the face of huge needs” and contributing to the “total decimation of the healthcare system.” Both Buthidaung and Maungdaw hospitals  were shut down .  On June 22, a World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse in Maungdaw storing a month’s worth of lifesaving food and supplies for 64,000 people  was looted and burned .  The UN and humanitarian organizations have reported that lack of access to medical care has caused growing  malnutrition ,  waterborne illness , and  preventable deaths , including of children due to treatable diarrhea and of pregnant women. “All communities are without proper primary and secondary healthcare and our teams observed pregnant women and unborn babies losing their lives due to the lack of healthcare,” MSF  said . “We do not know what to do or how to survive,” said a Rakhine villager displaced in April. “No food. Our children are sick. We urgently need medicine. We are filled with fears of aerial attacks and artillery.” For months, the junta has severely restricted internet and phone services, with grave impacts on access to information, the humanitarian response, and the ability to document attacks. According to the Internet Outage Detection and Analysis (IODA) project, Rakhine State experienced a complete internet outage from January 10 until May 31. Human Rights Watch also documented through use of the tool GPSJam multiple instances of likely Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) jamming in and around the Buthidaung area, affecting telecommunication providers. The Rohingya population remains particularly vulnerable to the junta’s restrictions, which contravene the  December 2022 UN Security Council resolution and numerous other international calls. In January 2020, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) imposed provisional measures ordering Myanmar to prevent all genocidal acts against the Rohingya  while it adjudicates alleged violations of the Genocide Convention. In a June report, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights concluded: “Actions taken by all parties that endanger the Rohingya appear inconsistent with the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice.” On July 10, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on the Rohingya and other minorities in Myanmar in which it “strongly condemns the attack in Buthidaung township on 17 May 2024 and the continuous targeting of Rohingya Muslims … and urges all parties to the conflict to fully comply with the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice.” “For Rohingya people – oppressed, scapegoated, exploited, and stuck between warring parties – the situation carries echoes of the lead-up to genocidal violence in 2016 and 2017,” the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar   told the Human Rights Council on July 3. © 2024 Human Rights Watch

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, left, listens beside former senator Leila de Lima during a joint committee hearing of the House of Representatives investigating the war on drugs during his administration in Quezon City, Philippines on Wednesday MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine government said Wednesday its law enforcement agencies will be bound to cooperate if the International Criminal Court seeks the custody of former President Rodrigo Duterte as part of an investigation into thousands of deaths during his crackdown on illegal drugs. The Hague-based court has been investigating the widespread killings that took place while Duterte was mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao and later as president from 2016 to 2020, as a possible crime against humanity. Human rights groups estimate the deaths could exceed 20,000 during Duterte’s presidency alone. The bloody campaign alarmed Western governments and led to complaints that sparked the investigation by the ICC, a court of last resort for crimes that countries are unwilling or unable to prosecute themselves. Under intense grilling in a televised congressional inquiry Wednesday, the brash-speaking Duterte gave conflicting statements whether he would submit himself to the global court for investigation. “The ICC does not scare me a bit. They can come here anytime,” Duterte told members of the House of Representatives conducting the inquiry. “I’m asking the ICC to hurry up and come here and start the investigation tomorrow.” “This issue has been hanging for many years and I may already die,” the 79-year-old said. “If I’m found guilty, I can go to prison and rot there for all time.” Duterte, however, said later that he would physically kick any ICC investigator who would face him. Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, the most senior Cabinet member, said if Duterte “desires to surrender himself to the jurisdiction of the ICC, the government will neither object to it nor move to block the fulfillment of his desire.” “But if the ICC refers the process to Interpol, which may then transmit a red notice to the Philippine authorities, the government will feel obliged to consider the red notice as a request to be honored,” Bersamin said. “In which case, the domestic law enforcement agencies shall be bound to accord full cooperation to the Interpol pursuant to established protocols.” A red notice flags law enforcement worldwide to locate and temporarily arrest a person pending extradition or surrender. Duterte withdrew the Philippines from ICC in 2019 in a move activists said was an attempt to evade accountability and prevent an international probe into the drug killings. However, the ICC still has jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed when the country was still a member state of the court. Duterte’s successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has said his administration has no plan to rejoin the ICC. During the congressional inquiry, Duterte renewed a vague pledge under oath that he would take full responsibility for the actions — whether “right or wrong” — of police officers who enforced his anti-drugs crackdown when he was in power. Duterte denied any involvement when confronted with specific details of the killings. He claimed that he once pushed a suspected criminal out of a helicopter as punishment but later walked it back, saying it was a “hyperbole” not to be taken literally. JIM GOMEZ Gomez is The AP Chief Correspondent in the Philippines.

Syria’s Minorities in Crisis: Will Christians, Yezidis and Kurds Survive? Thursday, December 19, 20244:30-5:45 pm ET The sudden regime change in Syria has raised concerns for the survival of religious and ethnic minority communities and their presence in the Middle East. The leader of Syria’s Islamist Al-Queda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that headed a lightning rebel offensive snatching Damascus from government control, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, has indicated religious minorities will be protected according to Sharia but Western human rights activists urge Western leaders not to be deceived. Meanwhile, Turkey is mobilizing troops for an offensive into the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), the area where Christians, Yezidis and Kurds have established democratic governance for the protection and inclusion of all minorities in the region, including allowing women to participate in full as political leaders. Credible reports of atrocities including rapes, beheadings and mass killings, are beginning to surface. Will the U.S. act to protect those most vulnerable in northeast Syria? Or will Turkey be permitted to exterminate the souls living there in peace and release 50,000 ISIS fighters who are detained along the Syria-Iraq border by coalition forces led by the United States? And what does the fall of Assad mean for the security of Israel and stability elsewhere in the Middle East? This STPC webinar examines these questions and more. MODERATOR: Dede Laugesen , Executive Director, Save the Persecuted Christians PANELISTS: Nadine Maenza, President of the IRF Secretariat; former Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom – Topic: “What Happened in Syria and What Does it Mean for Christians and Other Religious and Ethnic Minorities?” Charmaine Hedding, President and Founder, The Shai Fund – Topic: “Conflict of Interests: Israel and Other Regional Actors Response to Regime Change in Syria” Dr. David Wurmser, PhD, Director, Mideast Program, Center for Security Policy; former naval intelligence officer with the rank of Lieutenant Commander; former Mideast expert advisor to an Under Secretary of State, National Security Advisor and Vice President of the United States – Topic: “Can a New Trump Presidency Bring Peace and Stability to Israel and the Middle East?” Lauren Homer, Esq., Lauren Homer, Esq., Founder & President, Law and Liberty Trust; lawyer and longtime religious freedom advocate – Topic: “Do American Policy Makers Have the Political Will to Secure Democracy and an End of Terrorism in Syria and the Middle East?”

Amnesty International August 21, 2024 Increasing deadly attacks against Rohingya people in Myanmar’s Rakhine State bear a terrifying resemblance to the atrocities of August 2017, Amnesty International said ahead of the seventh anniversary of the crisis. “As the seven-year anniversary of the Rohingya crisis nears, the horrific situation in Rakhine State looks disturbingly familiar. Rohingya men, women and children are being killed, towns are emptying out, and vestiges of Rohingya history and identity are being eroded. Many are once again seeking shelter in refugee camps across the border in Bangladesh, where economic, security and livelihood conditions have deteriorated,” Amnesty International’s Myanmar Researcher Joe Freeman said. “After being subjected to a brutal and systematic campaign of violence in August 2017 following decades of state-backed persecution, Rohingya civilians are now caught in the middle of intensifying conflict in Rakhine State between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar military, which has forcefully conscripted Rohingya to fight on its side.” The military has responded to battlefield losses with devastating aerial attacks that have killed Rohingya as well as ethnic Rakhine civilians. They have targeted civilian areas, destroying homes, marketplaces and other civilian infrastructure. “The Myanmar military must immediately end their renewed campaign of violence and refrain from unlawful attacks on civilians, who are bearing the brunt of the conflict not only in Rakhine State but across the country, with millions displaced,” Freeman said. As they advance through Rakhine State and capture more territory, the Arakan Army has also faced mounting allegations of atrocities. “In addition, the international community must apply more pressure on the Arakan Army to abide by international humanitarian law. All allegations of war crimes perpetrated by the Myanmar military or by any armed groups in the country should be effectively investigated,” Freeman said. Arakan Army advances on the northern Rakhine town of Buthidaung reportedly resulted in large-scale arson on 17 May of this year, displacing thousands of Rohingya residents. And on 5 August, an attack that survivors blamed on the Arakan Army killed an unknown number of Rohingya civilians fleeing the town of Maungdaw near the border with Bangladesh. The Arakan Army has denied attacking Rohingya. “The rapidly escalating conflict in Myanmar is all the more reason for the United Nations Security Council to finally refer the situation in the country to the International Criminal Court. There can be no progress without accountability. The future of Myanmar hinges on protecting, promoting and upholding the human rights of all people in the country,” Freeman said. “This includes scrapping discriminatory laws or policies that are used to cement the apartheid system against hundreds of thousands of Rohingya men, women and children in Rakhine and restoring their rights to health, education and freedom of movement.” Meanwhile, Bangladesh continues to host nearly one million Rohingya refugees in camps in poor conditions for the seventh consecutive year. Last year, at least 12,000 refugees in the camps were rendered homeless due to devastating fires and the impact of cyclone Mocha. Acute funding shortfalls led to food insecurity in the camps, as well as shortcomings in healthcare and education. “Bangladesh’s new interim government should prioritize the protection of Rohingya refugees’ human rights and their safety in camps, uphold the principle of non-refoulment, and adopt a rights-respecting policy towards the Rohingya,” Freeman said. Background On 25 August 2017 Myanmar security forces launched a widespread and systematic assault on Rohingya villages after an armed group calling itself the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army carried out deadly attacks on police posts. Arakan is another name used for Rakhine State. The military response included extrajudicial killings, destruction of properties and sexual assault. As a result of the military’s so-called “clearance operations”, more than 740,000 Rohingya women, men and children fled northern Rakhine State to neighbouring Bangladesh. Taking into account previous waves of violence against them, an estimated one million Rohingya refugees now live in Bangladesh. Amnesty International has said the 2017 attacks against the Rohingya amounted to crimes against humanity , recommending that at least a dozen senior officials be investigated for their roles in the violence, including Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating alleged crimes committed in 2016 and 2017 against the Rohingya population, but only those committed partly in the territory of Bangladesh or other states, because Myanmar has not ratified the ICC’s Statute. Amnesty International has called for the United Nations Security Council to refer the full situation in Myanmar to the ICC, so that an investigation of all crimes committed in Myanmar can be conducted. Min Aung Hlaing has never been held accountable and on 1 February 2021, the military seized power in a coup, with Min Aung Hlaing chairing the newly created State Administration Council (SAC). SAC-backed soldiers, police and militias have killed more than 5,000 civilians in Myanmar since the 2021 coup. Amnesty International has documented torture, arbitrary detention and unlawful air strikes by the Myanmar military following the coup. In November 2022, the organization called for the suspension of aviation fuel imports , which the Myanmar military uses to bomb civilians. While many companies have withdrawn from the supply chain after being made aware of the risks, shipments have continued . © 2024 Amnesty International

Belgrade Higher Court's sentences for Serb reservist policemen Jovo Jandric and Slobodan Pekez for a mass execution in Bosnia’s Jajce area in 1992 were disturbingly lenient, the Humanitarian Law Centre said. Aida Trepanic Hebib, December 19, 2024 Belgrade Higher Court. Photo: BIRN. The Humanitarian Law Centre in Belgrade, an NGO dealing with transitional justice, has criticised a Belgrade Higher Court verdict that sentenced Jovo Jandric to 13 years’ prison and Slobodan Perkez to 10 for the mass killing of 23 villagers in Bosnia in 1992, including four minors and ten women. The HLC noted that, while explaining the verdict, presiding judge Bojan Misic had emphasised that “the time that had passed since the crime happened” was a factor in determining the sentences, as was the age of the accused; Jandric is now 70 and Pekez, 67. The court also said it took into consideration earlier sentences imposed for the same crime by the state court in Bosnia and Herzegovina, “which are within these ranges”. Jovana Kolaric, the HLC’s project coordinator, called the sentences low in relation to established facts, and inconsistent with the court’s own previous practice. She recalled that the prosecution in its closing argument proposed sentences of 20 and 12 years respectively. “This is the first time that the court has cited the practice of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in determining sentences, yet the sentences deviated from its own prior practice,” Kolaric observed. Kolaric also said it is not normal practice in war-crimes proceedings to consider the passage of time a mitigating circumstance, both due to the nature and severity of these crimes and because the law stipulates that such acts do not expire for time-related reasons. “The age of the defendants [also] cannot be of importance for the length of the sentence, especially since the defendants were 38 and 35 at the time of the crime, so they were adults and mature people, aware of their actions,” she added. According to the indictment, on September 10, 1992, Jovo Jandric and Slobodan Pekez, both Bosnian Serb reservist police officers, together with eight others, gathered local civilians from the villages of Ljoljici and Cerkazovici in Bosnia’s central Jajce municipality and first beat them. At a place called Draganovac they ordered the villagers to hand over all their valuables and, at a place called Tisovac, ordered them to line up along the edge of a precipice. When they did so, they opened fire and killed 23 of them. Victims included men, women and children. The oldest was Faza Balesic, born in 1918. The youngest was nine-year-old Adis Zobic, born in 1983. Five people survived the massacre. Jandric and Pekez pleaded not guilty on the start of their trial in Belgrade in October 2022. The indictment noted that the crime took place after the funeral of a Bosnian Serb soldier, Rade Savic. The HLC recalled that the court had determined that, “under threat of death, they confiscated all valuables from the civilians, physically assaulting them with rifles and kicking them, and then transported them to the location known as ‘Tisovac’. There, the civilians were ordered to line up next to a ravine, after which the perpetrators opened fire and killed 23 civilians.” The first-instance verdict called the statements and testimonies of five survivors, including those of Mustafa Bajramovic and Fahrija Mutic, who testified before the High Court in Belgrade, clear and precise; they “saw, heard and experienced the actions of Jovo Jandric”, so the court had no doubts about his guilt. Evidence of Pekez’s criminal responsibility “was provided by Jandric himself, who confirmed that Pekez was part of the armed group that executed the civilians,” the court announcement read. Courts in Bosnia in 2009 sentenced Mirko Pekez (son of Mile) to 29 years in prison for the crime. [ In 2014 , this was reduced to 20 years]. Another Mirko Pekez (son of Spiro) was  sentenced to 14 years  and Milorad Savic to 21. In 2013 , Bosnia’s Constitutional Court released Pekez (son of Spiro) and Savic from prison because it said the wrong criminal code had been used at their trials. Proceedings against Jandric and Slobodan Pekez were then transferred to the Serbian judiciary. This verdict can be appealed at the Belgrade Court of Appeal. Copyright BIRN 2015

By Robbie Gramer and Nahal Toosi Administration officials are weighing plans to declare the atrocities in Sudan as a genocide and issue a raft of new sanctions on a Sudanese militia vying for power in the war, officials familiar with the matter tell NatSec Daily. | Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images The Biden administration is launching an eleventh-hour push to address the devastating civil war in Sudan that has spiraled into one of the world’s worst ongoing humanitarian crises. Administration officials are weighing plans to declare the atrocities in Sudan as a genocide and issue a raft of new sanctions on a Sudanese militia vying for power in the war, four current and former officials familiar with the matter tell NatSec Daily. This includes sanctions on the chief of the so-called Rapid Support Forces militia, MOHAMED HAMDAN “HEMEDTI” DAGALO and other RSF enterprises. The United States has accused both the Sudanese armed forces and RSF of war crimes, and accused the RSF of ethnic cleansing. PLEASE NOTE: Genocide Watch rejects the term "ethnic cleansing." " Ethnic cleansing" is a euphemism used for genocide denial. Genocide Watch firmly believes that genocide is unfolding in Sudan. Other officials and experts outside the administration are pushing for the Biden team to appoint a senior career U.S. Agency for International Development official to oversee the continued flow of U.S. and international aid into the war-stricken country as Washington prepares for a change of power between JOE BIDEN and DONALD TRUMP’s administrations. These officials were granted anonymity to discuss internal policy deliberations freely. The push comes as Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN travels to New York on Thursday for a high-level U.N. meeting on Sudan. Ahead of the U.N. meeting, U.S. officials pushed to establish new humanitarian corridors into hard-hit areas of Sudan, including Khartoum, the country’s capital. Taken together, these measures reflect a final push by the Biden team to nudge forward progress on ending the Sudanese civil war after multiple rounds of failed peace talks and mounting pressure from U.S. lawmakers and humanitarian groups to do more during their final month in office. Though it receives a fraction of the public attention or humanitarian relief funding that the wars in the Middle East or Ukraine get, the conflict in Sudan has pushed millions of people to the brink of famine. It has also become a geopolitical powder keg, with foreign powers including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, the UAE and Russia all vying for influence among the warring parties while prolonging and worsening the war. The Biden administration has faced sharp criticism from lawmakers like Sen. JIM RISCH (R-Idaho), the incoming chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, for not yet doing enough to hold the drivers of the Sudanese civil war accountable. Human rights organizations have rebuked the Biden administration for not publicly holding to account the United Arab Emirates for its role in the conflict as well. The UAE, a key U.S. partner in the Middle East, has been widely accused of funding and arming the RSF as it carries out a campaign of mass murder and rape across Sudan. “The United States needs to do more. And the UAE needs to stop fueling the fire there,” Sen. BEN CARDIN (D-Md.), the outgoing chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told NatSec Daily. An expert on U.S.-Africa ties with the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said any final acts by the Biden administration on Sudan could “free Trump from having to make those decisions” and empower lawmakers who focus on the conflict to “use this as fuel to keep pushing Trump to continue U.S. leadership on Sudan.” “Any momentum that can come from this is a good thing if it can carry over into the next administration,” he said. A genocide or renewed atrocities determination is seen as an important political tool to mobilize the international community’s attention to a crisis. Two officials said the State Department was still deliberating on a genocide declaration, which requires intense internal legal and technical reviews, and it remains unclear whether Blinken would endorse such a measure. U.N. experts have already warned that the conflict in Sudan increasingly resembles genocide . The State Department declined to comment specifically on the matter, saying it doesn’t publicly discuss sanctions or new determinations in advance. It said it is pushing for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the opening of humanitarian corridors into Sudan to reach the country’s most vulnerable civilians. The White House National Security Council declined to comment. © 2024 POLITICO LLC

Civilians Killed, Towns Destroyed in Rapid Support Forces Attacks Screenshot of a video filmed by men wearing RSF uniforms that Human Rights Watch geolocated to the village of Tungul, close to Habila, South Kordofan, Sudan. Houses on fire can be seen along the road. The video was recorded sometime between February 11 and 14, 2024 The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied Arab militias carried out numerous abuses against civilians in Habila county in Sudan’s South Kordofan state from December 2023 to March 2024, during conflict with the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North. The abuses constitute war crimes  and included killings, rapes, and abductions of ethnic Nuba residents, as well as the looting and destruction of homes. They led to mass displacement, turning Habila and neighboring Fayu into ghost towns. The United Nations and the African Union should urgently deploy a mission to protect civilians in Sudan. (Nairobi, December 10, 2024) – The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed scores of civilians, and injured, raped, and abducted many others in waves of attacks in Habila and Fayu, two towns in  Sudan’s  South Kordofan state, between December 2023 and March 2024, Human Rights Watch said today. The attacks on mainly ethnic Nuba residents, which had not been widely reported, constitute war crimes. “The Rapid Support Forces’ abuse of civilians in South Kordofan is emblematic of continuing atrocities across Sudan,” said  Jean-Baptiste Gallopin , senior crisis and conflict researcher at Human Rights Watch. “These new findings underscore the urgent need for the deployment of a mission to protect civilians in Sudan.” For 16 days in October, Human Rights Watch researchers visited areas of the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan controlled by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North (SPLM-N), a primarily ethnic Nuba armed group that has controlled parts of the state for decades. Researchers visited sites hosting tens of thousands of mostly Nuba displaced people who had fled areas controlled by the parties fighting for control of the country – the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF – in South Kordofan and elsewhere in Sudan.  Researchers interviewed 70 displaced people, 40 of them survivors of RSF attacks on Habila, Fayu, and neighboring villages, and analyzed satellite imagery of the area from December 2023 to October 2024. Researchers also spoke with 24 other people, including aid workers, local officials, and others with knowledge of the area. Human Rights Watch documented the killings of 56 unarmed people in these attacks, including 11 women and 1 child, based on interviews with witnesses. The RSF killed people both execution-style in homes and by shooting them on the streets. The actual figures may be significantly higher, given that most people fled in various directions after the attacks. Human Rights Watch also documented the rape of 79 women and girls, including in the context of sexual slavery, based on interviews with survivors, witnesses, and relatives and friends of the victims. On November 25, Human Rights Watch sent a detailed email summary of its findings with specific questions to Lieutenant Colonel Al-Fateh Qurashi, the RSF spokesperson, but had not received a response at time of publication. Since the start of the conflict between the SAF and the RSF in April 2023, hundreds of thousands of people have fled to SPLM-N-held territory, which experienced conflict throughout the 2010s but is currently one of the most stable parts of Sudan. There have been clashes between the SAF, RSF, and SPLM-N in other parts of South Kordofan bordering areas controlled by the SAF and the RSF. Among the affected areas were the towns of Habila and Fayu, and  neighboring villages , all in Habila county. RSF fighters attacked the town of Habila, held by the SAF, on December 31, 2023. On that day and in the following days, the RSF killed at least 35 civilians and unarmed fighters in deliberate and indiscriminate attacks, injured other civilians, and raped women and girls. They also looted extensively from civilians. Three women said the RSF killed at least eight people, including their relatives, in the family compound where their extended family had taken refuge in al-Safa neighborhood early in the morning of December 31. “When the RSF arrived, they told the men, ‘Get your weapons out for us!’” one woman said. “The men said they did not have guns. Then the RSF said, ‘Bring out your money.’ The men said they had no money. That’s when the RSF started shooting them.” Four survivors said most residents fled Habila after the RSF took over and that civilians were shot and killed while fleeing. The RSF also executed unarmed SAF soldiers and policemen, including in their homes. Civilians who remained faced grave abuses at the hands of the RSF, who looted, raped women and girls, and killed men and boys who tried to intervene. Some who had initially fled returned a few days later to collect their belongings and found the town had been pillaged. On January 1, the RSF attacked Fayu, 17 kilometers south, also under SAF control. This was the first of several attacks in which the RSF killed at least 21 civilians, abducted at least 18 women and girls and 5 men, and looted and destroyed civilian property. A woman from Fayu, who fled along with other Nuba residents after the initial attack on January 1, said she returned a few weeks later to collect her property. “There was nothing [left],” she said. “Everything was destroyed, looted completely … They took my bed, my bedsheets, our tractor with the trailer, our clothes, and all our property inside [our house] … even the door.” Tens of thousands of people fled their homes as attacks, including on civilians, continued throughout the region, and as the RSF and its allied Arab militias and the SPLM-N clashed in attempts to wrest control of Habila and Fayu. As of April 2024, over 47,000 people had been internally displaced from Habila county to other areas of South Kordofan,  according  to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Satellite imagery shows signs of looting and burning in Habila and Fayu and fire damage in four nearby villages. Human Rights Watch geolocated a video in one of these villages, Tungul, located 13 kilometers southwest from Habila, showing men wearing RSF uniforms riding on a motorbike in the village. Houses on fire can be seen along the road. Analysis of satellite imagery shows that the houses were burned sometime between February 11 and 14, while thermal anomaly data captured a fire over Tungul on February 12. The deliberate killings of civilians, rape and other forms of sexual violence, pillaging, and the deliberate destruction of civilian property are war crimes. Human Rights Watch has previously documented grave abuses by the RSF and allied militias in other  places  in Sudan, including war crimes and crimes against humanity  as part of a campaign of  ethnic cleansing  in West Darfur. The United Nations and the African Union have not taken concrete steps to protect civilians. In an October 28, 2024 report to the UN Security Council, which made recommendations for the protection of civilians, the UN Secretary-General acknowledged that Sudanese civilians and local and international human rights groups were calling for the creation of a civilian protection mission, but did  not  propose how it could be deployed.  “The United Nations and the African Union should take decisive steps to deploy a mission that can protect Sudanese civilians from rampaging forces,” Gallopin said. “A mission to protect civilians could deploy to areas where civilians have found refuge but where humanitarian needs are dire, such as the areas of South Kordofan we visited.” For more information on the abuses in Habila and Fayu and surrounding villages, please see below.   The names of some of those interviewed have been withheld or replaced with pseudonyms for their protection. Human Rights Watch findings on sexual violence will be published in a separate upcoming report. Killings, Injuries, Looting in Habila December 31, 2023 Rapid Support Forces killed civilians, unarmed   SAF soldiers, and policemen when they attacked Habila on December 31, 2023. Ruba, 20, said Arab men in civilian clothing entered her compound that morning and ordered her and other civilians in the house to hand over their valuables. She said the men then asked her husband if he was a soldier. When he said he was a civilian, they asked him his tribe. She said when he replied he was Nuba, “[The RSF forces] said, ‘Nubas, we are angry at you, today is your day,’ and then they shot him,” killing him on the spot. Two other witnesses said a man in RSF uniform shot and killed Abir, a 25-year-old woman, and her relative Abderrahman, and shot and injured another man in Abir’s home, also on the morning of December 31. Abir’s neighbor Hawa Idris, who was in the home at the time, said she saw the assailant shoot Abir, who was on her bed, in the chest, and that Abir and Abderrahman died on the spot. Hawa Idris said Abir had given birth four days earlier, and that her baby, Mohammed, survived the attack but died of hunger five days later. Nafisa Abdulrahim, a nurse, said the RSF summarily executed her 18-year-old nephew, Manadil, along with a group of men in the neighborhood of Tee on December 31. Manadil’s 34-year-old brother Sadik was shot and injured in the leg, but pretended to be dead and survived to tell her the story. He was one of just two survivors, Nafisa said. The RSF also shot and killed civilians who were trying to flee. Abdu Jalil Jumaa said he was carrying his children and running for his life, when he saw assailants on motorbikes wearing headscarves shoot and kill his neighbor, a driver in his late 20s named Youssef Omer, who was also fleeing. “They came with motorbikes, and stopped and started shooting,” Abdu Jalil said. During the early stages of the attack, the RSF clashed with SAF forces located on and near the mountain abutting the town. But they also killed unarmed members of the SAF and policemen in residential neighborhoods. Zahra Musa said RSF forces rounded up three of her neighbors, all unarmed soldiers with the SAF, from their home and summarily executed them. She said when she and her relatives came out of her home at 5 a.m. on hearing gunfire, they encountered RSF fighters wearing uniforms and turbans: My neighbors were soldiers.… They are siblings, in their early 20s … [They were wearing] normal civilian clothes because at that time they were at home.… The RSF … lined them up, kneeling on the ground with their arms tied behind their backs … They said, ‘You, you join us!’ The soldiers’ response was, ‘We have sworn [allegiance to] the SAF, we cannot join you!’… [Then] they shot them in front of us.… One in the head, one in the chest, and one in the stomach.… And we cried when they were shot. [The RSF] threatened to shoot us if we cried again. They said, ‘We are here to rule you. We have already chased [away] the SAF, and we are the ones who will rule the area.’ Ijla Um Umr said her 30-year-old brother Mujahid, a policeman, was shot at the police station by RSF fighters alongside another policeman in his 20s, known as Kabbashi, and a 40-year-old guard named Jaafar. All three died, though Mujahid initially survived his injury and described the incident to Ijla. Two other relatives of Mujahid confirmed the killings. The RSF continued to carry out grave abuses, including killings, after it defeated the SAF in Habila, witnesses said. “After they chased away the SAF from the base, they came back to the [residential areas],” said Peter Gadoul, a 47-year-old farmer. He said 13 men in RSF uniform came to his house and started beating him with sticks, asking, “Are you a soldier? Are you a rebel?” They looted the house, stealing 7 million Sudanese Pounds (about US$3,200), 40 bags of sorghum, a barrel, and all clothing, and then burned down the house. Waleed Kafi, 40, said that an hour after the fighting ended, a group of seven RSF fighters in uniform came to his neighborhood in cars and on motorbikes. They entered his house and looted his “clothes, bedding, cooking pots, and everything else,” he said. “One said to me, ‘If you speak, we will shoot you.’” Then, Waleed said, the RSF killed his two brothers, Muhammad Kafi, 50, and Adam Silik, 40, both farmers “I heard the gunshots, and I went running and found them dead in their rooms.” Mahmoud Abdelaziz, who fled and observed the attack from a distance, said he saw the RSF “move from house to house,” taking “what they need” and then burning down the houses. Satellite imagery captured on December 31, 2023, shows a plume of smoke emanating from a military position on the eastern side of the town. Thermal anomalies are also detected in the same location, as well as in a residential area just south of the market.  January 1 and the Following Days Grave abuses continued in the following days. RSF fighters killed, beat, and raped civilians, looted property, and destroyed houses. The RSF carried out further abuses against civilians in February and March during episodic fighting with the SPLM-N, which tried to take control of Habila. Mamzula Dawood said when she returned with her family to Habila on January 1 to try to recover some of her belongings, RSF men entered the compound of her house and killed her son, Al-Ajab, 25, and 85-year-old uncle, Abderrahman. Nesrin said that on January 3, six men in beige uniform came to her house on motorbikes. She recalled them saying, “Nuba, today is your day!” She said the six men raped her and shot her 40-year-old husband and 25-year-old son who tried to protect her, killing them on the spot. “They were saying, ‘You Nuba, we will rape you and your husbands.’” Hasina could not leave for two weeks after the attack and said that during that time, six men in khaki and green uniform came to her house. “It was clear that they were the RSF … [they were] the only forces in the city at that point. [They] came to our house and tried to steal our cattle,” she said. Hasina said when her husband Daniel, 40, yelled at them to stop, one of the men shot him, killing him on the spot. The men then left with the family’s cattle. In the following days, men wearing the same uniforms came and gang raped her, returning every day until the SPLM-N took control of the city about a month later, she said. Bakhita Angalo said she returned to Habila about three days after the attack to find that her house had been looted. “They took our goats, our beds, and everything,” she said. Jamila Nyaman also returned to Habila at that time and found “everything had been looted.” With other women, she fled toward Kurtala, in SPLM-N territory, but 10 men in beige and green uniform stopped them. She said, “They made us lie on the ground and demanded our money … and they beat my mother who was with us. She is still suffering from the pain.” The SPLM-N reportedly  attacked  Habila on February 9 and retook control on February 10, allegedly causing the displacement of about 15,000 people. In late February, the RSF reportedly  attacked  Habila again, allegedly causing 40,000 people to flee. Thermal anomaly data captured fires on February 9 and satellite imagery from the same day and February 10 shows new burn marks on the outskirts of Habila, including in residential areas. A large burn mark appeared on a residential area on the eastern side of the town between February 20 and 22. Satellite imagery shows new burned residential areas between March 8 and 10 in the south of the hill overlooking the town. During the attack in March, Salah Bashir said, “the RSF prevented civilians from fleeing. They had checkpoints at the entrances to the town and would shoot at any civilians trying to flee.” That day, he said he found his neighbor Kunda, who was in his 60s, lying dead outside his house, along with six other civilians who had been sheltering there. Infrared satellite imagery from March 10, 2024 shows burn marks in several residential areas in the town of Habila, South Kordofan, Sudan. On infrared images, the vegetation appears in red and the burned areas more clearly in dark.Image © 2024 Planet Labs PBC. Since then, Habila appears to have become a ghost town. “There are no people there now,” said Abdu Jalil Jumaa. Satellite imagery from July to October shows vegetation progressively overgrowing in the town. Areas usually clear of vegetation during the rainy season in October – paths, courtyards around the houses, and part of the marketplace – are visibly overgrown on a satellite image from October 11. October 2, 2022:  © 2024 Copernicus Sentinel Data  October 11, 2024 :  © 2024 Copernicus Sentinel Data Satellite imagery comparison between October 2, 2022 and October 11, 2024, shows  that by October 2024 vegetation has encroached through the town of Habila, South Kordofan, Sudan. Paths and courtyards around the houses are usually cleared during the rainy season, but are visibly covered by vegetation in 2024.  High resolution satellite imagery from November 12 shows the extent of the damage and indications of looting in the town. In areas where burn marks were visible in February and March, most of the houses and fences have been destroyed. Elsewhere in the town, in areas without clear signs of burning, the majority of corrugated metal rooftops have been removed from the buildings. September 8, 2023:  © 2024 Airbus. Google Earth. © 2024 Planet Labs PBC. November 12, 2024:  © 2024 Airbus. Google Earth. © 2024 Planet Labs PBC. Satellite imagery comparison between September 8, 2023, and November 12, 2024, shows destroyed houses and fences in a residential area in the town of Habila, South Kordofan, Sudan. Most of the corrugated metal rooftops on the buildings were missing in the later 2024 photo. Burn marks appeared over this area in February 2024.  September 8, 2023:  © 2024 Airbus. Google Earth. © 2024 Planet Labs PBC. November 12, 2024:  © 2024 Airbus. Google Earth. © 2024 Planet Labs PBC. Satellite imagery comparison between September 8, 2023, and November 12, 2024, shows corrugated metal rooftops are missing from the buildings in a residential area in the town of Habila, South Kordofan, Sudan. Killings, Looting, Abductions in Fayu Witnesses said the RSF and local Arab militias repeatedly attacked Fayu, a small, majority-Nuba town south of Habila, in January and February, with killings, indiscriminate shooting, and abductions, including of women and girls who were later held in conditions of sexual slavery. The crimes of sexual slavery are documented in an upcoming Human Rights Watch report. The RSF first attacked Fayu on January 1, when it was under SAF control, residents said. Ibrahim Bakit said nobody tried to defend the town and that 15 civilians were killed. He recalled that SAF soldiers had already left when the RSF targeted their base. While hiding at home, he saw civilians moving around in panic. He said he saw four RSF fighters tell two of his neighbors – a 35-year-old trader and a 25-year-old driver – to come out of their home: Two RSF fighters knew these people, and two others didn’t know them.… The four of them disagreed. ‘Can we kill these people?,’ ‘No, we know them!’ One of the neighbors, they shot him with a gun. They stabbed the other with a bayonet, then took an axe and killed him. Kaltuma Idris, 45, said when the RSF attack started, she tried to flee with other civilians. RSF fighters were moving around the village, and she saw a fighter shoot a man in his 60s in the head and shoot another in his 70s, killing them on the spot. Her 25-year-old son was hit in the leg by a bullet that ricocheted, she said. Hania said that she and eight other civilians encountered gunmen in lightly colored uniforms, heads covered with scarves, riding five green vehicles. “They chased us and opened fire on us,” she said. “I laid down. They shot my uncle … [who] was 50 … and the other man who was with us, [who was] 40.” Three witnesses said the RSF abducted at least five young men. Kaltuma Idris said the RSF abducted two of her sons, ages 15 and 22, and that she had not heard from them since. Ibrahim Bakit said he believed the RSF forcibly recruited his 18-year-old son and two neighbors of the same age, after unsuccessfully asking them to join the RSF in October 2023. Many residents who managed to flee later returned to find their belongings had been looted. “[The RSF] looted a lot of things from there,” said Ibrahim Bakit. “They looted from the shops, took civilians’ property, took animals. They destroyed everything.” On February 6, the SPLM-N briefly took control of Fayu from the RSF without fighting, but the RSF attacked again the next day, two residents said. They killed civilian men and women, raped and abducted women and girls, and looted and destroyed civilian property. Sara said three local Arab gunmen she recognized entered her house and told her husband, 45, “You Nuba, we will pluck your eyes out!” The assailants then raped her niece, Sara said, and then asked her husband where the couple’s daughter was. When he said he did not know, the assailants shot and killed him. Fatna Ibrahim gave the names of 12 people who were killed during the February 7 attack, including five civilians. She said she saw the body of her neighbor Mohammed, the owner of a hookah shop in his late 30s, who had been shot in the back. Uneyda Dhahab, who worked at a nongovernmental organization that focuses on nutrition, said she saw the RSF fighters shoot and kill two men trying to flee during the February attack, and that she later saw the bodies of two colleagues, a 50-year-old man and a 35-year-old man. The RSF abducted at least four women and girls that day, residents said. Human Rights Watch analyzed a satellite image from April 4, 2024 showing burned houses on the southern part of the town, the removal of the majority of the corrugated metal rooftops from houses and the market stalls, and debris around them. September 8, 2023:  © 2024 Airbus. Google Earth. © 2024 Planet Labs PBC. April 4, 2024:  © 2024 Airbus. Google Earth. © 2024 Planet Labs PBC. Satellite imagery comparison between September 8, 2023, and April 4, 2024, shows missing corrugated metal rooftops on the market and most of the other buildings in the town of Fayu, South Kordofan, Sudan. Debris is visible around the market as well as some burned houses in the southern part of the town. By March, everything in Fayu had been destroyed, said Ibrahim Bakit who returned to the village. “It [was] like the bush.” © 2024 Human Rights Watch

Former Kosovo Liberation Army fighters Haxhi Shala and Sabit Januzi have admitted charges of witness intimidation and obstruction of justice in war crimes proceedings, Kosovo's Specialist Prosecution announced. Perparim Isufi, December 17, 2024 Haxhi Shala in court on December 13, 2023. Photo: Kosovo Specialist Chambers/Livestream. Kosovo’s Hague-based Specialist Prosecution Office, SPO, announced on Tuesday that two defendants, Haxhi Shala and Sabit Januzi, both wartime fighters for the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, had concluded plea agreements admitting their guilt over witness intimidation and justice obstruction charges. “It is testament to the strength of our investigations into intimidation and obstruction-of-justice matters that the office was in a position to conclude these agreements,” Kimberly West, Specialist Prosecutor, said. In a press release issued after the announcement, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, where war crimes proceedings are being held, said that “each plea agreement is based on an ‘agreed basis of facts’ in which the accused acknowledge that certain facts laid out in the indictment would be proven beyond a reasonable doubt and are true and correct”. It is not clear in which trial the men committed the witness intimidation and justice obstruction offences. The court said that a plea agreement for a third defendant in the case, Ismet Bahtijari, has not yet been made public. Sabit Januzi in court on October 9, 2023. Photo: Kosovo Specialist Chambers/YouTube. Shala is accused on three counts of attempting to obstruct official persons in performing official duties and intimidation during criminal proceedings, between at least April 5 and 12, 2023. According to the indictment, Shala, Bahtijari and Januzi assisted each other and others to intimidate an unnamed witness. Shala is accused of attempting to “use serious threat, or any other means of compulsion, a promise of a gift or any other form of benefit, to induce another person, Witness 1, to refrain from making a statement or to make a false statement or to otherwise fail to state true information to the police, a prosecutor or a judge, when such information relates to obstruction of criminal proceedings”. The SPO claims that, on April 5 this year, “at Shala’s direction”, in a separate case, Bahtjari approached the unnamed witness to withdraw their testimony. On April 12, again “at Shala’s direction”, in a separate case, Januzi approached the same witness to reiterate “the offer that Shala and unnamed others would help Witness 1 if he agreed to withdraw his testimony”. The Specialist Chambers were set up in 2015 to try former KLA fighters for crimes committed during and immediately after the Kosovo war, including crimes against civilians and political killings. The court was set up in The Hague due to concerns the Kosovo justice system would be unable to try former guerrillas after previous cases were marred by widespread witness intimidation. The SPO pledged on Tuesday to maintain obstruction-of-justice investigations to ensure the integrity of proceedings at the Specialist Chambers. “The SPO will continue to both vigorously pursue all those who seek to interfere with the administration of justice and stand up for victims and witnesses in Kosovo,” West said. Copyright BIRN 2015

This “Preventing Ethnic Genocide: Policy Guidance Note” was written by Professor Kimani Njogu, the Director of Twaweza Communications, a linguist, literary critic and cultural scholar; and Professor Gregory Stanton, founding President and Chair of Genocide Watch. In 2000, Professor Stanton published the proposal to establish an Office for Genocide Prevention at the United Nations. This Policy Guidance Note was commissioned and supported by the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Prevention of Genocide (OSAPG). To download and read "Preventing Ethnic Genocide: Policy Guidance Note", click here:

Serbian police and intelligence authorities are using advanced phone spyware alongside mobile phone forensic products to unlawfully target journalists, environmental activists and other individuals in a covert surveillance campaign, a new Amnesty International report has revealed.  Amnesty International, December 16, 2024 Serbian independent investigative journalist Slaviša Milanov whose phone was infected with spyware seated in front of his laptop. Photo courtesy of Dragan Gmizic. The report, “ A Digital Prison”: Surveillance and the Suppression of Civil Society in Serbia,” documents how mobile forensic products made by Israeli company Cellebrite are being used to extract data from mobile devices belonging to journalists and activists. It also reveals how the Serbian police and the Security Information Agency (Bezbedonosno-informativna Agencija – BIA) have used a bespoke Android spyware system, NoviSpy, to covertly infect individuals’ devices during periods of detention or police interviews.  “Our investigation reveals how Serbian authorities have deployed surveillance technology and digital repression tactics as instruments of wider state control and repression directed against civil society,” said Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Europe.  “It also highlights how Cellebrite mobile forensic products – used widely by police and intelligence services worldwide – can pose an enormous risk to those advocating for human rights, the environment and freedom of speech, when used outside of strict legal control and oversight.”  How Cellebrite and Novi spy is used to target devices Cellebrite, a firm founded and headquartered in Israel but with offices globally, develops the Cellebrite UFED suite of products for law enforcement agencies and government entities. It enables the extraction of data from a wide range of mobile devices including some of the most recent Android devices and iPhone models, even without access to the device passcode.   While less technically advanced than highly-invasive commercial spyware like Pegasus, NoviSpy – a previously unknown Android spyware – still provides Serbian authorities with extensive surveillance capabilities once installed on a target’s device.   NoviSpy can capture sensitive personal data from a target phone and provide capabilities to turn on a phone’s microphone or camera remotely, while Cellebrite forensic tools are used to both unlock the phone prior to spyware infection and also allow the extraction of the data on a device.  Critically, Amnesty International uncovered forensic evidence showing how Serbian authorities used Cellebrite products to enable NoviSpy spyware infections of activists’ phones. In at least two cases, Cellebrite UFED exploits (software that takes advantage of a bug or vulnerability) were used to bypass Android device security mechanisms, allowing the authorities to covertly install the NoviSpy spyware during police interviews.  Amnesty International also identified how Serbian authorities used Cellebrite to exploit a zero-day vulnerability (a software flaw which is not known to the original software developer and for which a software fix is not available) in Android devices to gain privileged access to an environmental activist’s phone. The vulnerability, identified in collaboration with security researchers at Google Project Zero and Threat Analysis Group , affected millions of Android devices worldwide that use the popular Qualcomm chipsets. An update fixing the security issue was released in the October 2024 Qualcomm Security Bulletin. Cellebrite phone hacking and spyware infection threats to journalists and activists In February 2024, Serbian independent investigative journalist Slaviša Milanov was arrested and detained by police under the pretext of performing a test for driving under the influence of alcohol. While in detention, Slaviša was questioned by plain-clothes officers about his journalism work. Slaviša’s Android phone was turned off when he surrendered it to police and at no point was he asked for nor did he provide the passcode.  After his release, Slaviša noticed that his phone, which he had left at the police station reception during his interrogation, appeared to have been tampered with, and his phone data was turned off.   He requested Amnesty International’s Security Lab to conduct a forensic analysis of his phone – a Xiaomi Redmi Note 10S. The analysis revealed that Cellebrite’s UFED product was used to secretly unlock Slaviša’s phone during his detention.  Additional forensic evidence showed that NoviSpy was then used by Serbian authorities to infect Slaviša’s phone. A second case in the report, involving an environmental activist, Nikola Ristić, found similar forensic evidence of Cellebrite products used to unlock a device to enable subsequent NoviSpy infection.  “Our forensic evidence proves that the NoviSpy spyware was installed while the Serbian police had possession of Slaviša’s device, and the infection was dependent on the use of an advanced tool like Cellebrite UFED capable of unlocking the device. Amnesty International attributes the NoviSpy spyware to BIA with high confidence,” said Donncha Ó Cearbhaill, the Head of Amnesty International’s Security Lab.   Activists infected with novispy while making complaints to the police or bia This tactic of installing spyware covertly on people’s devices during detention or interviews appears to have been widely used by the authorities.  In another case, an activist from Krokodil, an organization promoting dialogue and reconciliation in the Western Balkans, had their phone, a Samsung Galaxy S24+, infected with spyware during an interview with BIA officials in October 2024.   The activist was invited to BIA’s office in Belgrade to provide information about an attack on their offices by Russian speaking people ostensibly in opposition to Krokodil’s public condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.   After the interview, the activist suspected that their phone had been tampered with. At their request, Amnesty International carried out a forensic investigation which found that NoviSpy had been installed on the device during the BIA interview. Amnesty International was also able to recover and decrypt surveillance data captured by NoviSpy while the activist was using their phone, which included screenshots of email accounts, Signal and WhatsApp messages and social media activity.  Amnesty International reported the NoviSpy spyware campaign to security researchers at Android and Google before publication, who took action to remove the spyware from affected Android devices. Google has also sent out a round of “Government-backed attack” alerts to individuals they identified as possible targets of this campaign.  Impact of state digital surveillance and repression tactics on Serbian civil society A Serbian protester speaking to a crowd through a megaphone. Photo courtesy of SviCe. Serbian activists have been left traumatised by the targeting.  “This is an incredibly effective way to completely discourage communication between people. Anything that you say could be used against you, which is paralyzing at both personal and professional levels,” said Branko*, an activist who was targeted with Pegasus spyware.  The targeting has also resulted in self-censorship.  “We are all in the form of a digital prison, a digital gulag. We have an illusion of freedom, but in reality, we have no freedom at all. This has two effects: you either opt for self-censorship, which profoundly affects your ability to do work, or you choose to speak up regardless, in which case, you have to be ready to face the consequences,” said Goran*, an activist also targeted with Pegasus spyware.  Activist, Aleksandar* who was also targeted with Pegasus spyware, said: “My privacy was invaded, and this completely shattered my sense of personal security. It caused huge anxiety…I felt a sense of panic and became quite isolated.”  In a response to these findings, NSO Group, which developed Pegasus, could not confirm whether Serbia was its customer but stated that the Group “takes seriously its responsibility to respect human rights, and is strongly committed to avoiding causing, contributing to, or being directly linked to negative human rights impacts, and thoroughly review all credible allegations of misuse of NSO Group products.”  In response to our findings, Cellebrite said, “Our digital investigative software solutions do not install malware nor do they perform real-time surveillance consistent with spyware or any other type of offensive cyber activity.    “We appreciate Amnesty International highlighting the alleged misuse of our technology. We take all allegations seriously of a customer’s potential misuse of our technology in ways that would run counter to both explicit and implied conditions outlined in our end-user agreement.   “We are investigating the claims made in this report. Should they be validated, we are prepared to impose appropriate sanctions, including termination of Cellebrite’s relationship with any relevant agencies.”  In response to Amnesty International’s queries sent early during the research process, Cellebrite said its products “are licensed strictly for lawful use, require a warrant or consent to help law enforcement agencies with legally sanctioned investigations after a crime has taken place.”  While this may be the intended use, Amnesty International’s research demonstrates how Cellebrite’s products can be misused to enable spyware deployment and the broad collection of data from mobile phones outside of justified criminal investigations, posing grave risks to human rights.   Amnesty International has shared the findings of this research with the Serbian government ahead of the publication but has not received a response.   Serbian authorities must stop using highly invasive spyware and provide effective remedy to victims of unlawful targeted surveillance and hold those responsible for the violations to account. Cellebrite and other digital forensic companies also must conduct adequate due diligence to ensure that their products are not used in a way which contributes to human rights abuses.  Over the past years, state repression and a hostile environment for free speech advocates in Serbia has escalated with each wave of anti-government protests. The authorities have engaged in sustained smear campaigns against NGOs, media and journalists and have also subjected those involved in peaceful protest to arrests and judicial harassment.  *Name changed to protect identity   © 2024 Amnesty International

Peter Beaumont in Jerusalem Sun 15 Dec 2024 09.50 EST Israeli foreign minister says move was prompted by Irish government’s ‘extreme anti-Israeli policies’ A woman sits by a mound of rubble near a heavily-damaged building in Gaza City last week. Photograph: Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP/Getty Images Israel has announced it will close its embassy in Ireland, citing Dublin’s decision last week to support a petition at the international court of justice accusing Israel of genocide. The move was announced by the Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, who said it was prompted by the Irish government’s “extreme anti-Israeli policies”, noting its decision to join the ICJ petition last week. The Irish taoiseach, Simon Harris, said on X: “This is a deeply regrettable decision from the Netanyahu government. I utterly reject the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel. Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-international law. “Ireland wants a two-state solution and for Israel and Palestine to live in peace and security. Ireland will always speak up for human rights and international law. Nothing will distract from that.” Israel has not applied similar measures to other countries, including Egypt, Spain, and Mexico, that joined the petition. The announcement came as the death toll of Palestinians in Gaza approached 45,000 in the war that began with Hamas’s 7 October attack into Israel last year. Dozens of deaths were reported in Israeli strikes on the coastal territory on Sunday. Announcing the decision to close the embassy, Sa’ar said: “It should be noted that in the past, Israel’s ambassador to Dublin was recalled following Ireland’s unilateral decision to recognise a ‘Palestinian state’.” He said the decision to close the embassy had been prompted by Ireland’s announcement of its support for South Africa’s legal action against Israel in the ICJ, accusing Israel of ‘genocide’.” “The antisemitic actions and rhetoric that Ireland is taking against Israel are based on delegitimisation and demonisation of the Jewish state and on double standards,” said Sa’ar. “Ireland has crossed all red lines in its relationship with Israel. Israel will invest its resources in promoting bilateral relations with the countries of the world according to priorities that are also derived from the attitude of the various countries towards it. “There are countries that are interested in strengthening their ties with Israel and do not yet have an Israeli embassy,” Sa’ar continued, adding that Israel planned to open a new embassy in Moldova, which is seen as being more friendly to Israel. “We will adjust the Israeli diplomatic structure of our missions while giving weight, among other things, to the approach and actions of the various countries towards Israel in the political arena,” he said. Relations between Ireland and Israel have long been strained because of Ireland’s stance on Palestine. In November, Harris said the country’s authorities would detain his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, if he travelled to Ireland, after the international criminal court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu. Israel has submitted an appeal against the arrest warrants issued by the ICC for Netanyahu and the former defence minister Yoav Gallant, Army Radio reported on Sunday. On 21 November, the ICC issued warrants for the two, citing grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant had committed the war crime of starvation and crimes against humanity such as murder and persecution. The move to close the embassy follows last week’s statement by Micheál Martin, the Tánaiste (Ireland’s second most senior elected official) and minister for foreign affairs, that he had secured government approval for Ireland to intervene in South Africa’s ICJ case against Israel under the genocide convention. “There has been a collective punishment of the Palestinian people through the intent and impact of military actions of Israel in Gaza, leaving 44,000 dead and millions of civilians displaced,” said Martin. “By legally intervening in South Africa’s case, Ireland will be asking the ICJ to broaden its interpretation of what constitutes the commission of genocide by a state. “We are concerned that a very narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide leads to a culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimised. “Ireland’s view of the convention is broader and prioritises the protection of civilian life – as a committed supporter of the convention, the government will promote that interpretation in its intervention in this case.” Israeli forces continued to pound northern Gaza on Sunday, with one airstrike on the Khalil Aweida school in the town of Beit Hanoun killing at least 15 people, according to nearby Kamal Adwan hospital, where casualties were taken. In Gaza City, at least 17 people, including six women and five children, were killed in three airstrikes that hit houses sheltering displaced people, according to Al-Ahli hospital. An Israeli airstrike also hit the civil emergency centre in the Nuseirat market area in central Gaza, killing Ahmed Al-Louh, a video journalist for Al Jazeera TV, and five other people, medics and fellow journalists said. © 2024 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. (dcr)

A new UN plan for Libya aims to overcome political deadlock, put the country back on the path to long-awaited presidential elections and renew the legitimacy of its institutions, the Security Council heard on Monday.   UN Photo/Manuel Elías. Stephanie Koury (on screen), Deputy Special Representative for Political Affairs for Libya addresses the Security Council. Stephanie Koury, Deputy Special Representative for Libya and acting head of the UN Support Mission in the country, UNSMIL , briefed ambassadors on th e initiative a day after presenting it to the population. The UN-facilitated process involves establishing an advisory committee to review outstanding issues in the electoral laws and make viable proposals for an overall roadmap for the holding of the vote.   The committee will be composed of “experts and respected personalities, who are reflective of the spectrum of Libyan political forces, social, cultural and geographical components,” she said, speaking via videoconference.  Facilitating Dialogue, Fostering Inclusion UNSMIL also intends to work with Libyan partners to convene a structured dialogue to consolidate consensus around a unified national vision for the future of the country. “ Ensuring full, equal and meaningful participation of all segments of society – particularly youth and women – remain UNSMIL’s priority to fostering inclusivity, building national unity and enhancing the legitimacy of the political process ,” she said. “It is my hope that this process can build an important legacy and support the conclusion of the constitution-making process down the road.” A Decade of Division Libya has been in political turmoil since the overthrow of former President, the late Muammar Gadaffi, in 2011. The country has been split between two rival administrations since 2014, with the internationally recognized Government of National Unity (GNU) based in the northwest, and the Government of National Stability (GNS), which is located in the east. Landmark elections were set to be held in December 2021 but scrapped due to several factors, including disputes over the eligibility of candidates. Libyans Want National Elections Ms. Koury began her remarks by congratulating the Libyan people on the successful holding of the first phase of local elections on 16 November. “ The holding of these elections is a reminder that the Libyan people yearn to exercise their right to select those who govern them ,” she said. The top official took up her post eight months ago. Since then, she has “met Libyans from all walks of life and they have repeatedly conveyed to me a sense of urgency and to hold national elections.” She told the Council that Libyans are anxious about their country’s future. “The status quo is unsustainable and has persisted for too long,” she said, noting that “unilateral actions pursued by political elites have deeply eroded Libya’s institutions into parallel and competing structures.” © UNICEF/Giovanni Diffidenti. A boy runs past damaged buildings, defaced by shelling during the conflict, on his way home from shopping, in the city of Sirte. Challenges to Overcome Ms. Koury said she is mindful of mounting challenges that must be overcome.  She described the recent reinstatement of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank as “an important milestone”, following resolution of a stand-off over leadership and its suspension for over a decade. “To effectively implement monetary policy and contribute to economic stabilization, the Central Bank leadership and Board must be free to act independently, transparently and with integrity , without conflicts of interests, in concert with other oversight institutions,” she said. Arbitrary Detentions and Regional Instability Meanwhile, arbitrary arrests and detention persist, and she urged the authorities to grant UNSMIL unimpeded access to all detention centres. “I am very concerned about deaths in custody,” she added.  “Since I last briefed the Council, four Libyans, including two women, have died in custody. Transparent investigations into these deaths are needed and those responsible must be held accountable .” Furthermore, regional instability is also having a grave impact on Libya. She said that since the start of the conflict in neighbouring Sudan in April 2023, “an exponentially growing number of Sudanese refugees” have crossed the border, with an average of 400 to 500 arrivals a day. "Seize the Opportunity" Having presented her plan to the Council, Ms. Koury urged the international community to support it. “Libya’s guns largely remain silent, but it is neither stable nor at peace ,” she said.  “Against the backdrop of persistent foreign involvement, regional changes and growing economic headwinds, we must collectively seize the opportunity to achieve a lasting political settlement.”  She stressed that the plan’s success “first and foremost requires political will and the commitment of Libyan actors to refrain from unilateral actions that continue to entrench institutional divisions and polarization.”  She reiterated, however, that “unity of purpose and coordinated support from Libya’s regional and international partners” is equally crucial.  “The Libyan people have shown that not only do they desire change, but they have the capacity to reach agreements through compromise and make lasting progress and hold elections. And they need your unified support,” she said.  Copyright © United Nations