Africa
Darfur: ethnic war exploding again
Efforts by pastoralist militias to bar refugees from returning to their lands in Darfur have sparked yet a new wave of fighting and displacement—with 250,000 uprooted this year.
Tag: paramilitaries
The Andes
‘We have made mistakes, some serious’: FARC
FARC commander “Pablo Catatumbo” issued a public statement apologizing for “mistakes,” but also called on the US, Israel and other governments to apologize for funding the war.
Iran
Iran: protest conviction of Sufi activists
Human Rights Watch called upon Iran’s judiciary to drop charges and quash the verdicts against 11 members of a Sufi order convicted in what the rights group called unfair trials.
The Andes
Colombian ambassador to US resigns over land-theft scandal
Colombia's ambassador in Washington, Carlos Urrutia, resigned after being implicated in the illegal transfer of lands from campesino communities to ag-biz companies, including Cargill.
Europe
Srebrenica: 18 years later, quest for justice goes on
A jurist at The Hague warns that the acquittal of Bosnia war crimes defendants sets a precedent for the "military elite of prominent countries"—including the US and Israel.
The Andes
Colombia: top neo-para commander escapes
A former commander of Colombian neo-paramilitary group Los Paisas, implicated in massacres, escaped after armed men ambushed the van he was being transported in.
The Andes
Colombia: ranchers fear ‘communist’ redistribution
Colombia's federation of cattle ranchers rejected the recent agrarian deal with the FARC, charging that it could lead to Venezuela-style expropriations of private property.
Mexico
Mexico: Israel training Chiapas police?
Israel’s embassy in Mexico City denied widespread reports in the Mexican media that Israeli military advisors are training police in the southern state of Chiapas.
Central America
Guatemala militarized after armed attack
Guatemala’s President Otto PĂ©rez Molina inaugurated a new paramilitary force after an armed attack on a National Police post left eight officers dead and a commander abducted.
North Africa
Libya: paramilitaries behind Benghazi battles?
Libyan Special Forces, army troops and protesters repeatedly clashed with a paramilitary unit in Benghazi called the Libyan Shields, leaving some 30 dead.
South Asia
Nepalese Maoists betray Indian Maoists
Nepalese Maoist leader Prachanda sent a condolence letter to Sonia Gandhi over the attack by Maoist Naxalite guerillas in which 27 were killed, including a brutal paramilitary chief.
Greater Middle East
‘Sunni cleansing’ in Syria?
Turkey sees in the battle for Qusayr a strategy to create an Alawite mini-state within Syria, purged of Sunni Muslims, to which the ruling elite can withdraw for a last stand.