genocide

Europe

UN denounces Russian conviction of ICC prosecutor

UN human rights experts decried Russia’s conviction of nine International Criminal Court (ICC) officials, calling the ruling a “flagrant violation of international law.” After a trial held in absentia, the Moscow City Court sentenced Prosecutor Karim Khan and eight ICC judges under the Russian Criminal Code for “unlawfully prosecuting Russian citizens in The Hague,” and subsequently placed them on an international wanted list. Prosecutor Khan received a 15‑year prison term, with the others receiving sentences of between three and 15 years. The case concerns the arrest warrants issued by the ICC for President Vladimir Putin and one of his cabinet members on war crimes charges. (Photo: Wikipedia)

Syria

Podcast: twilight of Rojava?

A last-minute “permanent ceasefire” may mean that northeast Syria is back from the brink of Arab-Kurdish ethnic war. But ceasefires have repeatedly broken down since fighting resumed earlier this year, with Damascus demanding disbandment of the Rojava autonomous zone, and the integration of its institutions—including its military wing, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)—into the central government. While the new pact sets a more “gradual” pace for this integration, the Kurdish aspiration to regional autonomy and the central government’s insistence on centralization may prove a long-term obstacle to peace. In Episode 315 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg weighs the odds for avoiding a conflict that holds the potential for escalation to genocide, with the connivance of the Great Powers that so recently backed the SDF to fight ISIS. (Photo via Facebook)

Syria

Russia joins US in betraying Syrian Kurds

The Kurdish-held border town of Kobani in northern Syria is under siege again, as it was by ISIS in 2014—but this time by forces of the Syrian central government, which has cut off water and power to the town in the dead of winter, with snow on the ground. Since the start of the year, the Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria have lost almost all of the territory they controlled to a new offensive by the central government. Kobani with Hasakah and Qamishli are the last besieged strongholds of the reduced Rojava autonomous zone. And both the US and Russia, which have backed the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against ISIS, now appear to be cutting them loose—effectively green-lighting the government offensive against them. US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack has already warned that US support for the SDF is coming to an end. And in the midst of the offensive, Russia has withdrawn its forces from Qamishli, its principal military outpost in Rojava. This came just as Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa was on his second trip to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin—pointing to a quid-pro-quo in which Russia will be allowed to maintain its two major military bases in Syria, on the Mediterranean coast at Khmeimim and Tartous. (Photo: SOHR)

Planet Watch

Trump’s global imperial court

When US President Donald Trump first proposed establishing a so-called “Board of Peace” to oversee governance of the Gaza Strip for a transitional period back in September, the idea was quickly likened to a form of colonial takeover. The UN nonetheless adopted a Security Council resolution in November giving its blessing to the board’s creation—a vote some member states may now regret. The board was just officially inaugurated in a ceremony in Davos, Switzerland, where Trump was attending the World Economic Forum. But Gaza seems almost incidental to its true mission, which appears to be creating a global strongmen’s club—led by Trump, potentially for life—to rival, if not replace, the UN itself. (Image via Wikipedia)

North Africa

Another mass grave discovered in Libya

The Libyan Attorney General’s Office announced the discovery of a mass grave containing the remains of 21 bodies near Benghazi. Investigators have ordered that DNA samples be collected from the remains to identify the deceased and that full autopsies be carried out to determine causes of death. Refugees in Libya, a Libyan-run organization registered in Italy that provides support for refugees, urged the International Criminal Court prosecutor, Karim Khan, to “assess this case within the Court’s mandate.” The group further implicated EU policies: “The killings…occurred within a system where people are blocked, intercepted, returned, and abandoned in Libya after being denied safe pathways to protection. This demands accountability beyond Libya.” (Map: Perry-Castañeda Library)

Southeast Asia

Burma begins defense in ICJ genocide case

Burma began its defense before the International Court of Justice in the ground-breaking genocide case brought by the Gambia, rejecting all allegations of genocide against the Muslim Rohingya minority. The case opened in November 2019, when the Gambia brought proceedings against Burma under to the Genocide Convention. In 2020, Burma was ordered to halt and prevent all genocidal acts against the Rohingya. The Gambia’s case against Burma is the first instance in which a state not affected by the facts at issue has brought proceedings under the Genocide Convention. The case serves as important precedent for South Africa’s application against Israel, which charges that Israel’s actions against Palestinians amount to genocide. (Photo: VOA via Jurist)

Europe

UN condemns Russian missile attacks on Ukraine

UN Secretary General António Guterres issued a statement strongly condemning Russian missile and drone attacks in Ukraine following Moscow’s firing of its medium-range nuclear-capable “Oreshnik” ballistic missile. The Oreshnik strike near the western city of Lviv was part of a wave of overnight Russian missile and drone attacks against Ukrainian targets that left millions without power. This was the second time Russia used the experimental hypersonic Oreshnik missile over the course of the Ukraine war, following a strike on Dnipro in November 2024. But this time the strike came far from the frontline, and near the border with NATO member Poland. (Map: PCL)

Africa

Sahel states launch new joint counter-insurgency force

At an air base in Bamako, Mali’s military ruler Gen. Assimi Goita presided over a ceremony marking the launch of a unified force for three Sahel states to fight the rising tide of jihadist insurgency across their borders. The move comes after the three countries—Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, all now ruled by military juntas—collectively withdrew from the West African regional bloc ECOWAS to form their own Alliance of Sahel States (AES). This new body has deepening ties to Russia, which has maintained paramilitary forces in the AES countries under the rubric of the Wagner Group or Africa Corps. These forces are increasingly accused of atrocities, with Malian refugees in Mauritania reporting rapes, beheadings and mutilation of civilians at the hands of Russian mercenaries. (Photo: Présidence de la République du Mali)

Africa

US strikes supposed ISIS targets in Nigeria

Following through on threats made last month, President Donald Trump announced on social media Christmas Day that he had ordered air-strikes against Islamic State targets in Nigeria, ostensibly in retaliation for the group’s targeting of Christian communities. Trump’s post did not specify where the military action took place, though the Pentagon’s Africa Command later stated that the strikes were in “Soboto State” —an obvious misspelling of Sokoto state, in Nigeria’s northwest. The Nigerian government confirmed the bombings, stating that they were conducted in a “joint operation” —but added that the strikes had “nothing to do with a particular religion.” (Map: Google)

Palestine

Amnesty International: block vessel carrying arms to Israel

Amnesty International urged all states to prevent the Portuguese-flagged Holger G vessel, carrying munition components bound for Israel, from docking at their ports. Having departed from India in November, the cargo is destined for Israel’s biggest arms manufacturer, Elbit Systems, and its subsidiary IMI Systems. Erika Guevara Rosas, senior director for research and campaigns at Amnesty, said: “The hundreds of tonnes of deadly cargo on board the Holger G must not reach Israel. There is a clear risk that this colossal transportation would contribute to the commission of genocide and other crimes under international law against Palestinians.” (Photo: VesselFinder)

Palestine

US imposes sanctions on two more ICC judges

The US government announced sanctions on two judges from the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court due to their “illegitimate targeting of Israel.” The sanctions barthe named individuals from entry into the US, and extends to their family members. The measures also block any assets the individuals hold in the US. The move came after the ICC rejected Israel’s legal challenge to the case that has been opened over possible war crimes in the Gaza Strip. Both of the targeted judges, Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia, voted in favor of rejection of the appeal. (Photo: OSeveno/WikiMedia)

Africa

Sudan: UN reports atrocities at Darfur IDP camp

The UN Human Rights Office published a report detailing its findings of atrocities committed during a three-day assault by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the Zamzam camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sudan’s Darfur region. The wave of attackstook place in April of this year, when the camp fell to the RSF, and were found to constitute grave violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law. The report’s key findings include the killing of at least 1,013 civilians. The report documented widespread summary executions, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, abductions, and enforced disappearances. During the assault, the RSF pillaged food and livestock, looted shops and homes, and burned down houses. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called for an “impartial, thorough, and effective” investigation to hold those responsible for the atrocities accountable. (Photo via UN News)