The Andes
Colombia: terror targets indigenous leaders
A total of 18 indigenous campesinos in Colombia's Cauca region have been killed this year, in a paramilitary campaign of intimidation against land recovery efforts.
Tag: paramilitaries
Iraq
Iraq: keep abusive militias out of Mosul campaign
Human Rights Watch urged Iraqi military commanders to prevent abusive sectarian militias from participating in the campaign to retake the city of Mosul from ISIS.
The Andes
FARC threatens to disavow renegade units
A threat to the Colombian peace talks emerged as some FARC units unilaterally attacked government forces and declared their non-compliance with the ceasefire.
The Andes
Colombia: cocaine mega-busts keep coming
Amid moves toward peace in Colombia, the goad of the war—the country's lucrative cocaine trade—clearly remains robust, as record-breaking hauls are reported.
Iraq
Fears for Fallujah ‘disappeared’
Shi'ite militiamen who fought alongside the Iraqi army in the battle for Fallujah are believed to have seized some 900 civilian men and boys and killed nearly 50.
The Andes
Controversy over FARC ‘concentration zones’
Under the plan for demobilization of Colombia's FARC guerillas, special zones are to be established for fighters to "concentrate" and then be integrated into civilian life.
The Andes
Colombia: court protects more lands from mining
Colombia’s constitutional court overturned a 2012 government decree that allowed mining in nine areas of the country, together making up 20% of the national territory.
Iraq
UN rights chief: civilians fleeing Fallujah face abuse
The UN Human Rights Commissioner cited "credible reports" that residents fleeing Fallujah have suffered abuses at the hands of pro-government militias besieging the city.
Southeast Asia
Burmese opium farmers protest eradication
As ethnic insurgencies continue, opium-growers in Burma's northern mountains issued a statement demanding a halt to eradication programs as essential to any peace deal.
Mexico
Chiapas: municipal uprising against PRI ‘satellite’
An uprising in the indigneous municipality of Chenalhó ousted the mayor from Mexico's Green Party—assailed as a "satellite" of the ruling PRI linked to paramilitary groups.
Southeast Asia
Death-squad boss elected president of Philippines?
President-elect of the Philippines is bombastic anti-crime hardliner Rodrigo Duterte who boasts of his links to death squads—despite his roots on the political left.
The Andes
Protests mount in Peru ahead of run-off
Lima was treated to the spectacle of topless women being tear-gassed by police at a protest outside the Congress building against a new law to toughen strictures on abortion.