Zimbabwe opposition appears ready to talk with Mugabe, with guidelines; ICC probes Darfur rebel leaders; Somalian humanitarian crisis worsens due to food shortage

 By Ted Townsend
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa  –  Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga announced Sunday that Zimbabwe’s opposition group was prepared to hold talks with President Robert Mugabe’s party. Later that same day, however, opposition leaders said that it would not sign any peace accord until its concerns were addressed by South African mediators.  In spite of this, regional officials still believe an accord is possible.

The Kenyan president, believing an agreement was imminent this week, said that he hoped such an agreement would lead to a quick and safe exit from power for Mugabe. In an interview on BBC television Odinga condemned Mugabe, saying that “(he) is an embarrassment to the African continent,” adding, “he lost an election and refused to move on.”

The purported negotiations were to take place in South Africa this week, however late Sunday both sides appeared to be “digging in to their respective positions.” For its part, Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party took aim against Western nations threatening sanctions against Harare. The party believes that involved Western firms have, at least in the past, created “false shortages of basic commodities and unnecessarily pushing up prices.”

The opposition, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has said it will not sign until South African president Thabo Mbeki, mediator for the crisis, establishes some sort of guidelines for the talks.

Since the June 27^th disputed election, Zimbabwe’s already heightened inflation has increased to well over two million percent, exacerbating an already “desperate” economic situation. Zimbabweans are suffering from an unemployment rate of almost eighty percent, and chronic food shortages.

For more information, please see:

Reuters   – Zimbabwes MDC holds out on talks deal  – 20 July 2008

Reuters –Odinga says Zimbabwe opposition ready for talks – 20 July 2008

International Herald Tribune – Zimbabwe opposition appears ready to talk with Mugabe – 20 July 2008

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KHARTOUM, Sudan – The International Criminal Court has announced it will be investigating rebel leaders from the war torn Darfur region on allegations of war crimes. Last week, Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to be indicted on war crimes charges, sparking angry protests in the capital Khartoum. The new charges are focused on two rebel commanders, suspected of an attack against a military base last year which left ten dead. In bringing the charges, Ocampo announced that “any attack against peace keepers . . . is a war crime.”

The charges allege that ten African Union peacekeepers were killed when the rebels assaulted their base in the town of Haskanita, in southern Darfur. Ocampo told the BBC that he was asking other militant groups to help them gather evidence against the two leaders. In a statement focused on getting the rebels to show respect for the law, Ocampo said that “the rebel groups have an opportunity to . . . provide evidence, to arrest the commanders and to stop crimes.”

UN officials fear that, if an arrest warrant is issued against president al-Bashir, there may be reprisals against UN peacekeepers and aid workers in Darfur. Ocampo responded, however, that the UN Security Council decided justice had to be done in Darfur in order to make peace.

For more information, please see:

BBC News– ICC probes Darfur rebel leaders – 18 July 2008

TheAge.com – ICC prosecutor pursues Darfur rebels – 19 July 2008

VOA News – Darfur Investigation Finds Refugees Voices In Tune With Sudan Indictment – 18 July 2008

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MOGADISHU, Somalia – A food security analysis has warned that over three and a half million Somalians may need food by the end of the year, exacerbating an already worse humanitarian crisis. The Food Security Analysis Unit of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization counts among the causes of the food crisis rapidly rising food prices, an abnormally harsh dry season and a delayed start to the April-June rains. Millions are in immediate need of urgent aid, according to the agency.

The United National World Food Programme Country Director for Somalia told a London audience that “Somalia is at a dire crossroads” if the food problem is not solved. He added “if sufficient food and other humanitarian assistance cannot be scaled up in the coming months, parts of the country could be in the grips of disaster similar to the 1992-1993 famine, when hundreds of thousands of people perished.”

In addition to the food issues, the humanitarian aid operation is also being hindered by a number of killings and kidnappings of staff from UN agencies.

For further information, please see:

IRIN Africa – Somalia: Some 3.5 million could need food aid by end of the year – 21 July 2008

allAfrica.com – Somalia: Insecurity And Drought Leave Millions in Dire Need of Aid - UN – 18 July 2008