Impunity Watch: Africa

At Least 125 Killed after Kibaki is Named Victor in Kenya’s Election

By Myriam Clerge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Eastern and Southern Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya - It took a few minutes on Sunday, after Kenya’s president, Mwai Kibaki, was declared the victor of an intense and controversial election, for the country to fly into a rage. More than 100 people have been killed across Kenya in protest blamed on the disputed presidential election. Mwai Kibaki was officially re-elected president while Raila Odinga, the opposition, rejected the results saying he was robbed of victory by electoral fraud.

It was earlier predicted that the vote would be close, and the final results had Kibaki winning by a splinter, 46 percent to 44 percent. According to the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), Kibaki won 4,584,721 votes, beating Odinga by more than 230,000 votes. But that gap may have included thousands of invalid ballots. Before the final count, Kibaki trailed in all opinion polls.

Kibaki, in a statement, urged healing, reconciliation and unity going into the New Year in an effort to quell one of the most volatile moments in Kenya since the 1963 independence. However, Kibaki cautioned that his government would “deal decisively with those who breach the peace by intensifying security across the country.”

As riots spread across Kenya, the government took the first steps toward martial law on Sunday night and banned all live media broadcasts. Police, who have imposed a 6am to 6pm curfew, told the Associated Press that they had orders to shoot to kill. The orders have divided the police force, with many officers sympathizing with protesters.

Most of the violence has been between Kenya’s two largest tribes, Luo supporters of Odinga clashed with members of Kibaki’s Kikuyu tribe. According to the local television stations, ten people were killed in the ethnically-mixed town of Kisii. The bloodiest attacks took place in Kisumu, the country’s third-largest city and a concentrated area of the opposition. According to witnessed, 25 bodies lay at the mortuary. In Nairobi, police fired live rounds and tear-gas to break up Odinga’s supporters in the Kibera slum, where a blackout forced the area into darkness while ethnic gangs set homes and businesses on fire. The death toll from clashes between protesters and police, or ethnic violence has risen today to more than 130.

Meanwhile, the opposition candidate, Odinga, has dismissed the presidential vote as rigged. After the police warned the opposition from holding a rally in Uhuru Park, Odinga has called on a million protesters to gather in the park on Thursday.

Many people have taken refuge in police stations as the violence spreads. Took make matters worst, food, water and fuel are in short supply in most of the country.

Bewildered tourists are left stranded in the chaos as flights have been delayed and airports turned into makeshift shelters.

The US, which works closely together with the Kibaki government on anti-terrorism issues, initially congratulated the president on his re-election but today withdrew its commendation.

For more information please see:

BBC News - Odinga rejects Kenya poll result - 31 December 2007

BBC News - Scores dead in Kenya poll clashes - 31 December 2007

Reuters: Africa- Kenya Election Violence Kills More Than 100 - 31 December 2007

Yahoo News (AP) – Kenya Rioting Death Toll at 125 - 31 December 2007

Washington Post - Kenyan Election protest Kill More Than 100 - 31 December 2007

BRIEF: Kibaki Re-elected as President of Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya - The electoral commission has declared that Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki won Thursday's contested election, amid accusations by opposition leader Raila Odinga that Mr. Kibaki used electoral fraud to win.  Opposition protesters in Nairobi began riots minutes after the announcement.  Mr. Kibaki won with 4,584,721 votes, more than 230,000 more than Mr. Odinga. 

President Kibaki was sworn in for his second five-year term an hour after the announcement was made.  He described the election as "free and fair" and urged all political parties to "accept the verdict of the people." 

At least 14 people have died in the Nairobi rioting since the vote on Thursday.  The electoral commission suspended announcing the results until Sunday, promising to look into the allegations of fraud.

For more information, please see:

BBC News - Kibaki named victor in Kenya vote - 30 December 2007

AP - Kenya Candidate Claims Rigging in Vote - 30 December 2007

Reuters - Kibaki wins Kenya vote, protests erupt - 30 December 2007

Sudan Accuses Chad of Bombing Territory

By Elizabeth Costner
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan – Sudan has accused Chad of bombing its territory and sending troops across their shared border, and warned that Khartoum may have to retaliate. Sudan’s Foreign Ministry stated on Saturday that the Friday bombing followed similar attacks in West Darfur earlier this month and in April. Chad’s Foreign Minister Ahmat Allam-mi defended the bombing as necessary to counter Darfur fighters he claimed were preparing to attack Chad’s forces.  Chad denies sending any troops into Sudanese territory.

There has been tension between the two countries over the conflict in Darfur with each side accusing the other of aiding the rebel groups.  Both countries have reiterated their right to undertake any measures they deem necessary for self-defensive purposes.  Khartoum has stated they reserve “its full right to respond in self-defense in the place and at the time Sudan’s interest dictate.”  Chad countered by reminding Sudan of “Chad’s right to take all means to assure its security, notably by preventive measures.”

Meanwhile, a 26,000 strong joint AU and UN peacekeeping force is scheduled to start deployment in Sudan on January 1.  A 7,000 strong AU force has been in Darfur for the last three years, but has been largely unsuccessful.  50 African troops have died, including 12 in the deadliest attack on an AU base in September. 

The increased force was approved by the UN Security Council in July but will not be fully operational until later in 2008.  There have been numerous accusations that Khartoum has stalled the deployment and that contributing countries are not supplying enough hardware. 

UNAMID head Radolphe Adada warned that “the situation in Darfur will not be transformed overnight” but that they “are optimistic that the deployment of UNAMID will help to begin to improve the security situation in Darfur and create a climate favourable to the achievement of a negotiated settlement of the conflict.” 

For more information, please see:

International Herald Tribune - Sudan criticizes Chad for bombing territory, sending troops across border – 30 December 2007

AFP - New Darfur peacekeepers set to take over Jan 1 – 30 December 2007

Reuters - Sudan accuses Chad of bombing Darfur, Chad denies – 30 December 2007

Reuters - Little relief for Darfur seen from new peace force – 30 December 2007

For more information on the Sudan situation, please see the following Impunity Watch reports:Call for Cease-fire in Sudan; Peacekeeping Force in Sudan Possibly Delayed; Threat of War in Sudan; Continued Delays in Deployment of Sudan Hybrid Force;  Sudan Talks Falter; Upcoming Peace Talks in Sudan in Jeopardy; New Atrocities in Darfur; Ceasefire Ends in Sudan; African Union Peacekeepers Attacked in Darfur; Ongoing Conflict in Sudan; ICC Prosecutor Demands Arrests in Sudan

BRIEF: Alarming Malnutrition in Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sudan - A joint survey carried out by the government and the United Nations found that child malnutrition rates have reached their highest level in three years in war-torn Darfur.  The overall malnutrition rate reached 16.1 per cent this year, compared to 12.9 per cent last year. 

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) continuing insecurity is one of the primary causes.  Access to those in need is compromised due to fighting and violence against civilians and aid workers.  Other contributing causes are poor feeding practices, inadequate sanitation, low health coverage, and low coverage of special feeding programs. 

There are currently more than 13,000 relief workers in Darfur who work for 13 United Nations agencies and 80 private groups, with an annual budget of a billion dollars.  Attacks on aid workers are on the rise, making it more difficult to get aid to the 290,000 civilians displaced in Darfur this year alone. 

For more information, please see:

AllAfrica.com - New UN Survey Reveals Alarming Malnutrition Rates Among Darfur's Children - 28 December 2007

AP - Child Malnutrition on Risk in Darfur - 27 December 2007

New York Times - Despite Aid, Malnutrition in Darfur Rises - 26 December 2007

Shooting along the Eritrea- Ethiopia Border

By Myriam Clerge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Eastern and Southern Africa

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – Yesterday, the UN released a statement that gunfire was exchanged between Eritrea and Ethiopia on Wednesday. Eritrea, once again, accuses Ethiopia of instigating a war between the two nations. In a statement posted on a website, Asmara claims Ethiopia “planted mines, carried out excursion, abducted nationals and burned crop fields in the ground”; all part of an ongoing effort to provoke them.

For several months, both Ethiopia and Eritrea has accused the other of violating the 2002 border resolution which ended the 1999-2000 war that took the lives of roughly 70,000 people. The United Nation decision granted the disputed town of Badme to Eritrea. The terms of the resolution required that the countries physically mark the boundary by the end of November or the International Boundary Commission would draw it on maps themselves and let it stand. The deadline passed with no agreement.

Last month Secretary- General Ban Ki- Moon warned in a report that the failure to resolve the border dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia was a cause for serious concern. Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Ethiopia to avoid raising tension with Eritrea.

According to the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), it’s Indian Battalion Post in the Temporary Security Zone on Eritrea’s side heard firing sounds coming from the direction of Gergera. The UNMEE has been in contact with both nations and is investigating the incident.

The Ethiopian government has denied all allegations by Eritrea and claims it has not employed any military attacks along the border.

With nearly 200,000 troops and heavy military equipment posted on the border, the UN has called on both sides to show the utmost restraint. The UNMEE has 1,676 military personnel, including 1,464 troops and 212 military observers, monitoring the border. The number of troops was cut back due to the lack of progress by either country.

For more information please see:

Yahoo News – Exchange of Gunfire on Eritrea- Ethiopia Border: UN  – 27 December 2007

Reuters: Africa – Eritrea Accuses Ethiopia of Border Attack - 27 December 2007

AllAfrica.com – East Africa: UN Mission Calls on Ethiopia, Eritrea to Show Restraint after Shooting Incident - 27 December 2007

Increase in Child Abductions in DRC

By Meryl White
Impunity Watch Reporter, Western and Central Africa

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo- According to the charity, Save the Children, the fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has resulted in an increase in child abductions by rebel groups. While the conflict has forced about 800,000 people from their homes, only about 800 children have been freed from armed militias during 2007.

The Congolese director for Save the Children, Hussein Mursal, has described the situation for children and teenagers in eastern DRC to be “catastrophic.” Militant groups have been forcibly capturing children as young as age ten to fight in the front lines. The UN claims “that rape, pillage (and) the recruitment of child soldiers are practiced by all Nord-Kivu fighters."

Kemal Saiki, a spokesman for MONUC, the UN mission to DRC said "Our latest information shows 200 pupils were forcibly recruited on December 17, with school materials and ID cards being burnt.”

General Nkunda has reported that he is not interested in using child soldiers to fight against Rwandan Hutu rebels who threaten the DR Congo’s Tutsi population.  Nevertheless, reports show that Nkunda’s men have been responsible for taking children from Tongo. 

Presently, Nkunda has called for a ceasefire in an attempt to undertake internationally sponsored peace negotiations in Goma that will take place on January 6, 2008. Currently, 20,000 government soldiers with the help of United Nations forces are fighting 4,000 Nkunda loyalists.

For more information, please see:

BBC - Child Kidnap Surge in DR Congo   - 24 December 2007

BBC - DR Congo: Voices of Violence - 17 October 2007

VOA - DRC Rebel Leader Calls for Ceasefire   - 26 December 2007

AFP - UN slams Congolese rebel child soldier recruitment   - 26 December 2007

More Kidnapping in Somalia

By Myriam Clerge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Eastern and Southern Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Kidnapped French journalist Gwen Le Gouil was released on Monday after influential negotiations between the kidnappers, elder clan members and governmental officials. Le Gouil was kidnapped on December 16 after arriving in Bossasso to film a documentary on mass refugee smuggling. Although the kidnappers demanded $70,000 (£35,000) for Le Gouil release, the police report that no ransom was paid.

Following the release of Le Gouil, two medical aid workers were kidnapped on Tuesday in the Puntland region, the same place the Le Gouil was kidnapped. Once known for its stability, Puntland, a port town of Bosasso, has been the center of recent kidnapping, hijacking and piracy.

Both aid workers worked for Medicin San Frontieres (MSF) in Bosasso. The regional spokeswoman based in Kenya for MSF, Susan Sandars, has identified the abducted female staffers as Mercedes Garcia, a Spanish doctor, and Pilar Bauza, an Argentine nurse.

The two women were ambushed in their car by a gang of six gunmen as they were driving to a hospital in Bossasso. According to the driver of their vehicle, the gang blocked the road, and ordered the driver and translator out of the car, after beating up the driver the gang abducted the women.

Earlier today the Somali security forces surrounded the kidnappers. According to Puntland Trade Minister Abdishamad Yusuf Abwan, two kidnappers were captured following an exchange of gunfire. The women however were not rescued. Police suspect the women and remaining kidnappers are being holed up in the mountainous area of Puntland. However, the police report that the region is surrounded.

Like in the case of Le Gouil, who was released in good health after eight days, Somali kidnappers are known to treat their captives well, since they are viewed as investments for an expected ransom return. Captives are almost never inflicted with serious injury or killed.

For more information please see:

Yahoo News (AP) – Somalis Corner Aid Workers’ Abductors – 26 December 2007

AllAfrica.com - Somalia: Aid Workers Kidnapped in Puntland, Ransom Paid for French Reporter - 26 December 2007

Reuters: Africa – Police Corner Somali Kidnappers of Aid Workers  - 26 December 2007

BBC – Kidnapped Newsman Free in Somalia - 24 December 2007

BRIEF: Al Qaeda Link to Gang Members Who Killed Family in Mauritania

ALEG, Mauritania- Four members of a French family on vacation have been shot dead in Mauritania. Two children are among the dead. Presently, the father is receiving treatment in Aleg hospital.

The attack has been viewed as suspicious given that Southern Mauritania is relatively stabile democracy. The gunmen approached the family while they were having a picnic on the side of the road, and demanded money. Once the money was handed over, the gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons, and then escaped the scene.

The primary suspects of the robbery are three men suspected of links to a regional al-Qaida terror network. Judge Moustapha Ould Said told The Associated Press that “this was a grave terrorist act committed by dangerous criminal terrorists.”

The Interior Ministry of Mauritania said that it “regrets and condemns this criminal act that contradicts our values of tolerance”.

Today, Mauritania is one of the world’s poorest countries. However, given its stability, many nationals have hopes for future prosperity based on oil and natural gas sales.

For more information, please see:

BBC-  Tourists shot dead in Mauritania – 24 December 2007 

Guardian - Mauritania Seeks 3 in Tourist Killings  - 25 December 2007

Times Online - Al-Qaeda link to gang that killed tourists on picnic in danger zone
  - 26 December 2007

BRIEF: Call for Help in Darfur

KHARTOUM, Sudan - Alpha Oumar Konare, the head of the African Union Commission, called on Sudan's government today to facilitate the deployment of a joint AU-UN peacekeeping force to Darfur.  He also called on the rebels to rejoin the peace process. 

The current AU peacekeeping force has had problems keeping the peace and Darfuris have been asking for international protection for five years.  A joint AU-UN peacekeeping force was approved in July, but the government has been repeatedly accused of purposely causing delays.    Deployment has finally been agreed to and the AU force is due to hand over power to a 26,000-strong peacekeeping force on January 1. 

Konare stated that the handover is not the end of the African Union force, known as AMIS, "but the beginning of a new phase of hybrid force."  He called on the Khartoum government to help with the logistics of the operation.

For more information, please see:

AFP - AU chief appeals to all sides in Darfur conflict - 24 December 2007

Reuters - African Union urges Sudan to facilitate Darfur force - 24 December 2007

For more information on the Sudan situation, please see the following Impunity Watch reports:Call for Cease-fire in Sudan; Peacekeeping Force in Sudan Possibly Delayed; Threat of War in Sudan; Continued Delays in Deployment of Sudan Hybrid Force;  Sudan Talks Falter; Upcoming Peace Talks in Sudan in Jeopardy; New Atrocities in Darfur; Ceasefire Ends in Sudan; African Union Peacekeepers Attacked in Darfur; Ongoing Conflict in Sudan; ICC Prosecutor Demands Arrests in Sudan; Secretary General Urges Sudan President to Commit to Ceasefire; Peace Talks on Darfur Scheduled for October 

Somalia Receives Additional Peacekeepers

Photo: Reuters

By Elizabeth Costner
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia – 100 peacekeepers from Burundi deployed to the Somalia capital today, only hours after fighting between Islamist rebels and government forces killed at least four civilians.   The deployment of additional peacekeepers has been repeatedly delayed, and the 1,600 Ugandan troops who began work in March have been in desperate need of support.  The peacekeeping force is meant to be at a strength of 8,000. 

Burundi’s government pledged 1,700 troops that were scheduled to deploy in July, but the deployment was repeatedly delayed.  An army spokesman said the rest of the contingent of two battalions of 850 soldiers each should be on the ground within the next two weeks. 

The Ugandans have been restricted to guarding Mogadishu’s sea and air ports and presidential palace, and providing security for top government officials.  Their limited numbers have been unable to stop the increased fighting in the capital, which has led to the deaths of many civilians.  Just last night fierce battles broke out when Islamist insurgents attacked government troops and their Ethiopian allies.  A mortar shell landed in a home, killing two people and another resident was killed in crossfire. 

Somalia has faced lawlessness since 1991 when warlords ousted military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.  There have since been 14 attempts to restore effective rule but the latest has been weakened by the Islamist-led insurgency.   

On Saturday the African Union’s Peace and Security Council issued a statement describing the Somalia conflict as one of the most serious challenges for peace and security on the continent.  The statement called on the international community to provide greater political will and resources.  The fighting has killed an estimated 6,000 people and displaced more than a half million residents. The AU Peace and Security Council have agreed to meet again in mid-January to discuss future plans for the Somalia peacekeeping mission before it expires. 

For more information, please see:

BBC News - Burundi troops join AU in Somalia – 23 December 2007

Reuters - Burundi Peacekeepers deploy in Somali capital – 23 December 2007

International Herald Tribune - 5 Somalis killed in overnight attack; Burundian peacekeepers deploy in Mogadishu – 23 December 2007

VOA News - African Union: Somalia Conflict Threatens Peace and Security in Africa – 23 December 2007

Reuters - AU seeks fresh initiatives to end Somali conflict – 22 December 2007

For more information on the Somalia situation, please see the following Impunity Watch reports: Somalia's Plea for More Aid; Somali Refugees Granted Asylum; One Million Displaced in Somalia; Crack Down in Somalia; Trapped Civilians