genocide

Palestine

UN experts urge humanitarian ‘intervention’ in Gaza

United Nations human rights experts urged that the international community must act immediately to end the intensifying violence in Gaza. The experts stated that since the end of the two-month ceasefire in March, Israel has launched yet harsher attacks on the population in Gaza: “Escalating atrocities in Gaza present an urgent moral crossroads and States must act now to end the violence or bear witness to the annihilation of the Palestinian population in Gaza—an outcome with irreversible consequences for our shared humanity and multilateral order… The world is watching. Will Member States live up to their obligations and intervene to stop the slaughter, hunger, and disease, and other war crimes and crimes against humanity that are perpetrated daily in complete impunity?” (WAFA via WikimediaCommons)

Africa

Burkina Faso junta accused in mass atrocities against Fulani

Human Rights Watch accused the military of Burkina Faso of orchestrating massacres of Fulani civilians under the auspices of a counter-terrorism operation against Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimeen (JNIM)—which reportedly retaliated through the targeted killings of civilians viewed as supportive of the military. The military operation took place in Banwa and Sourou provinces, with interviewees quoted by HRW stating that women, children and the elderly were often targeted. The operation appears to have resulted in the displacement of most Fulani people from Banwa province. The Fulani have repeatedly come under attack, and are evidently being collectively blamed for violence perpetrated by JNIM and other affiliated Islamist groups. (Map: Perry-Castañeda Library)

Africa

UN experts condemn enforced disappearances in Mali

UN human rights experts condemned the enforced disappearance and apparent summary execution of some 100 members of Fulani people in Mali. The experts stated that the unlawful killings and disappearances, carried out with the participation of Russian mercenaries, may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. The experts found that the Malian authorities have violated the right to life by failing to conduct proper investigations. The statement urged “Malian authorities to conduct prompt, effective, thorough, independent, impartial and transparent investigations into these killings and enforced disappearances, in accordance with international law.” (Map: PCL)

Palestine

Israeli cabinet approves ‘conquest’ of Gaza

The Israeli government unveiled a new military plan for the Gaza Strip, an operation forebodingly dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots” after an Old Testament conqueror. Approved unanimously by the security cabinet, the plan calls for the “conquering of Gaza” and retaining the territory indefinitely, an official said. The plan also includes concentrating the Palestinian civilian population in a “sterile area” in the south of the Strip. The official said Israel will give Hamas until the end of US President Donald Trump’s upcoming trip to the Middle East to agree to a hostage deal. Otherwise, “Operation Gideon’s Chariots will begin with great force and will not end until all its objectives are achieved.” The military is already calling up tens of thousands of reservists in preparation for the new operation. (Photo: Jaber Jehad Badwan via Wikimedia Commons)

Palestine

World Court hears challenge to Israel’s UNRWA ban

The International Court of Justice held hearings on Israel’s ban on cooperation with UNRWA, the UN’s agency for Palestine refugees. It could take some time for a (non-binding) ruling on Israel’s move to cut ties with UNRWA, and it has already been two months since Israel reinstated its full siege on Gaza, blocking the entry of aid and commercial goods while bombarding the territory. On the ground in the Strip, the situation is becoming more dire by the day. UNICEF says vaccines are quickly running out, disease is spreading, and malnutrition is on the rise. Amnesty International says the past two months of renewed siege constitute a “genocidal act, a blatant form of unlawful collective punishment, and the war crime of using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare.” (Photo: Maan News Agency)

Syria

Israel escalates Syria strikes —in name of protecting Druze

Syrian Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri accused the interim government of carrying out a “genocidal attack” on his community following two days of sectarian violence that left 100 dead. Clashes broke out in the Damascus suburbs of Jaramana and Sahnaya, and armed residents began to mobilize in the Druze-majority southern city of Suwayda before a truce was reached. But by then Israel had escalated its military intervention in Syria, launching air-strikes on targets around Damascus. In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the IDF had “struck an extremist group” that was killing members of the Druze community. This is presumably a reference to the now ostensibly disbanded Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the leading faction in the forces that took power in Syria and formed the transition government late last year. It is unclear who launched the attacks that sparked the fighting, which were condemned by the interim government. (Map: PCL)

Central America

MAGA-fascism and the struggle in El Salvador

US-directed repression and counter-insurgency in El Salvador in the 1980s allowed the imposition of “free trade” or “neoliberal” regimes in the generations since then—ultimately culminating in the adoption of CAFTA. This, in turn, has exacerbated the expropriation of the traditional lands of the peasantry by the agro-export oligarchy. It also led to the hypertrophy of the narco economy and a new nightmare of violence, which Nayib Bukele has exploited to establish a new dictatorship. This dictatorship is now openly in league with Donald Trump, and has in fact become critical to his fascist agenda. In Episode 275 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg breaks down El Salvador’s historical role as a laboratory of genocide and police-state methods for US imperialism, and the imperative of trans-national resistance. (Map: University of Texas)

Europe

Tatar Mejlis opposes betrayal of Crimea

The representative body of the Crimean Tatar people has vowed to oppose any international recognition of Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. The Tatar Mejlis, now sitting in exile in Kyiv, said that any move to recognize Crimea as Russian territory would violate international law. Refat Chubarov, the body’s chairman, asserted in a statement: “Crimea is the homeland of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people and an integral part of Ukraine. Accordingly, no one can decide the fate of Crimea under any circumstances, except for the Ukrainian state and the Crimean Tatar people.” The statement comes amid reports that the Trump White House is pressuring Kyiv to accept a peace formula that includes formal US recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea. (Photo: Crimean Tatar Mejlis)

Africa

Massacres mount in Nigeria’s Plateau state

Communal violence in Nigeria’s troubled north-central state of Plateau has killed more than 100 people in just under two weeks. Plateau has a history of tensions between Muslim pastoralists and mostly Christian farmers over access to land. The state governor described the latest killings as “coordinated acts of terror” and has blamed armed Fulani herders for the violence. In what seems like an abdication of responsibility for security by the police—a trend across much of Nigeria—he said every community “must defend itself.” (Map: Google)

Africa

Sudan marks two years of war —and another massacre

It was tragically appropriate that the second anniversary of Sudan’s devastating civil war was marked by yet another massacre. At least 400 people were killed when the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) overran the Zam Zam displacement camp in North Darfur. They also executed 10 staff members in the camp’s last remaining clinic, including medics and ambulance drivers. Eighty percent of the camp’s original 500,000 population has escaped to the nearby government-held town of el-Fasher, although the RSF is believed to be trying to stop people—especially young men—from leaving. Sudan is recognized as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis in a conflict marked by both sides’ brutality and intransigence. An international conference held in London last week pledged millions of dollars in aid but made no progress on ending the war. Instead, regional powers, who hold the most sway over the military rivals (including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) disagreed on Sudan’s political future. As splits sharpen, the RSF has declared that it is forming a rival government—deepening fears of the permanent division of the country. (Map via Radio Tamazuj)

Palestine

OHCHR protests Israel’s Gaza evacuation orders

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressedconcern over the legality of Israeli evacuation orders under international humanitarian law, citing fears over the permanent displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. According to the OHCHR, while Israel “can lawfully order the temporary evacuations of civilians in certain areas under strict conditions,” the nature and scope of such orders raises concerns over whether the Israeli leadership has intentions of forcibly transferring civilians out of Gaza, breaching the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute. Since resuming hostilities last month, Israel has issued 21 “evacuation orders.” The most recent such order covers almost all of Rafah, the Strip’s southernmost governorate, and has been followed by a large-scale ground operation in the area. Tens of thousands of Palestinians were already reportedly trapped in Rafah, with no way out and no access to humanitarian aid. (Photo: Jaber Jehad Badwan via Wikimedia Commons)

Palestine

Hague Group demands UN action on Gaza ‘genocide’

A coalition of independent UN human rights experts called on additional states to join the Hague Group, warning that the credibility of the international legal system is at risk due to inaction over Israel’s ongoing violations in the occupied Palestinian territories. Earlier this year, delegates from nine nations (including South Africa, Malaysia, Colombia and Bolivia) formed the Hague Group, responding to the failure of the broader international community to halt Israel’s military actions and crimes against Palestinians in the occupied territories, including that of “genocide.” (Photo: Hague Group)