Exiled Somali leaders in Eritrea issued a call to boycott a Mogadishu peace conference scheduled for next month, warning of further violence if it goes ahead. Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, leader of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), and Sheikh Sharif… Read moreSomali Islamist leaders voice defiance from Eritrean exile
China’s newly-appointed envoy Liu Guijin called for greater humanitarian aid on a visit to Darfur—but said international sanctions against Sudan would only “further complicate the situation” and prolong the suffering of the 2.5 million refugees displaced by the conflict. Liu… Read moreChina rejects Sudan sanctions —again
After raiding Democratic Republic of Congo’s Virunga National Park and killing a wildlife officer, the Mayi-Mayi militia are threatening to slaughter rare mountain gorillas, officials said. The attackers looted the three sites—research stations and tourism camps—seizing arms and communications equipment…. Read moreCongo: guerillas threaten gorillas
A rampage by the Mungiki gang, which climaxed May 20 with the beheadings of three men, has prompted scores of residents to flee Kianjogu village in Kenya’s Muranga North District. One of the Mungiki leaders, Stephen Kiunjuri, was gunned down… Read moreKenya: villagers flee Mungiki death cult
International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo announced May 22 that a war crimes investigation will be opened into hundreds of rapes and other violations in the Central African Republic. The investigation concerns the conflict between the former regime of President… Read moreICC to investigate Central African Republic
Pakistani UN peacekeeping troops have traded in gold and sold weapons to Congolese militia groups they were supposed to be disarming, according to a BBC report. These militia groups were guilty of some of the worst rights in during the… Read moreCongo: UN troops trade gold for guns
The two main guerilla organizations in eastern Ethiopia’s Ogaden region—the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF)—say their forces have killed more than 150 government troops in joint operations this month. Ethiopian officials deny the claim…. Read moreEthiopia: Ogaden guerillas claim gains
Hundreds of Somalis who have fled violence in Mogadishu for the separatist enclave of Somaliland are unable to obtain aid from the UN as refugees or internally displaced persons (IDPs), because the UN does not recognize the breakaway republic as… Read moreSomaliland: refugees face Kafkaesque nightmare
From the Global Information Network, May 21: New York, NY — Mauritanian exiles living in New York filed a class action lawsuit today against Maaouya Ould Sidi Ahmed Taya, for the crimes committed during a campaign of ethnic cleansing of… Read moreMauritanian exiles file lawsuit against ex-dictator for ethnic cleansing
A ship carrying tons of UN aid has refused to leave Kenya for Somalia following the May 19 pirate attack on an aid ship. The pirates failed to seize the ship, but one crew member was killed. It was the… Read moreSomalia: protein pirates strike again
Fidelity Investments of Boston is denying that a sharp reduction in holdings of oil companies doing business in Sudan is a result of activist pressure over Darfur. Anne Crowley, a spokeswoman for the mutual-fund giant, said the sales were decided… Read moreBig finance feels pressure on Darfur?
Two radio reporters covering a provincial governor in south-central Somalia were gunned down May 16 when the official’s motorcade was ambushed by clan militia. News editor Abshir Ali Gabre and reporter Ahmed Hassan Mahad of Radio Jowhar were killed when… Read moreSomalia: road ambushes target officials, kill journalists
