Greater Middle East

UK court approves arms sales to Saudi Arabia

London's High Court of Justice ruled that the UK can continue to export arms to Saudi Arabia, rejecting a case asserting that the weapons have been used in the commission of war crimes in Yemen. A substantial portion of the court's reasoning is contained in a "closed judgment" document only available to the government's legal team and a security-cleared "special advocate" for the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT).

Southern Cone

US guns to Brazilian narco-gangs

Amid fast-escalating nightmarish narco-violence in Brazil, police in Rio de Janeiro seized 60 assault rifles hidden in a freight shipment that had just arrived on a flight from Miami.

Greater Middle East

Abused women forcibly deported to Saudi Arabia

Two sisters abused by their family in Saudi Arabia were deported by Turkey—despite their asylum bid and fears they will be tortured or even executed by Saudi authorities.

Iraq

Amnesty: Iraq militias committing war crimes

Amnesty International charges that Shi'ite militias operating in Iraq have been committing war crimes—using weapons supplied by 16 different countries, including the US.

North Africa

Algeria to build security wall on Libyan border

Algeria announced that it will join Tunisia in building a separation barrier along its border with Libya, in an effort to bar infiltration by ISIS militants and arms traffickers.

Greater Middle East

Russia accused of using cluster munitions in Syria

Human rights organizations claim mounting evidence that Russia is behind the increasing use of cluster bombs in Syria, despite Moscow's denial that it has deployed the banned weapon.

Africa

Somalia: US air-strikes on Shabaab camp

US drones and warplanes killed more than 150 al-Shabab militants in Somalia, with the Pentagon citing an "imminent threat" to US and African Union forces.

Greater Middle East

Yemen: use of cluster bombs may be war crime

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that the use of cluster bombs by the Saudi-led coalition against residential neighborhoods in Yemen may amount to a war crime.