Impunity Watch: Middle East

BRIEF: April a Deadly Month for Iraqi Civilians

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Over 1,000 Iraqis were killed across that country this month, reports AFP, reversing a trend of declining violence in Iraq.  Data from Iraq’s interior, health and defense ministries indicate that over 966 of those killed were civilians.

Most were killed in the crossfire in the fighting between Shiite militants and security forces, security officials said.  Combined figures from the three ministries complied by AFP shows that over 1,700 civilians were wounded in this violence, as well.

Violence in Iraq had been declining until March, when fighting broke out in Basra, and spread to other Shiite areas of Iraq.  These clashes broke out after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered a crackdown on militiamen.  After fresh fighting broke out in Sadr City, Maliki accused militiamen of using civilians as human shields.

“Criminals and lawless gangs are using human shields in Sadr City… They are following the steps of the Baathist regime,” he said.  “They are trying to gain sympathy but they are using the lies and values of the former regime [of Saddam Hussein].”

Two hospitals in Sadr City alone said they received the bodies of 421 Iraqis killed and have treated more than 2,400 wounded since late March, many of whom have been civilians caught in the crossfire.

For more information, please see:
BBC News – Baghdad clashes ‘leave 400 dead’ – 30 April 2008

Washington Post – April Iraq’s Deadliest Month Since Last August – 30 April 2008

AFP – Iraq bloodshed in April kills 1073 – 30 April 2008

Israeli Operation Kills 7, 4 Children

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

BEIT HANOUN, Gaza – On April 28, four young children and their mother were killed during an Israeli incursion into northern Gaza.  Palestinian medics identified the dead children as sisters Rudina and Hana Abu Maateq, aged six and three; and their brothers, Saleh, four, and Mousad, 15 months. Their mother, Meissar, died later of wounds she sustained.  In addition, two older siblings sustained serious injuries.

Responsibility for the deaths is unclear, and Israeli and Palestinian officials each blame the other.  Palestinian sources say that the family was killed by shrapnel resulting from Israeli missiles which landed at their door.  While Israeli Defense Force (IDF) sources say the deaths were caused when explosives, carried by two nearby militants, blew up. 

On April 29, IDF officials promised that a full investigation will be conducted into the cause of the explosion.  "Due to the sensitivity of the matter and the complexity of the battle ... additional inquiries are to be carried out," it said in a statement.

According preliminary findings by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, around 8:15am, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) fired a missile, targeting a group of militants.  The missile landed 10 meters away from the Meatak home, seriously injuring a militant.  Less than a minute later, two more missiles were fired at the same location, landing at the door of the house and killing one militant.

“The shrapnel destroyed the door of the house and flew inside, where Meissar Abu Maateq, 40, and her six children were eating breakfast just two meters from the door," the organization said in a statement.

B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, began conducting its own investigation shortly after the incident.  B’Tselem spokeswoman Sarit Michaeli, said that they have no “concrete, clear proof of anything,” but that its preliminary findings are similar to the military’s.

“There was a group of militants near the house and the drone fired a missile at them. They were carrying bags that probably had grenades in them,” Michaeli said, adding that no one was killed in the first strike.  “A minute later a second missile was fired at one of the men about a meter (yard) and a half outside the front door of the Abu Maateq house,” killing Ibrahim Hajuj, a Palestinian militant.

“The debate turns on whether he was carrying a bag that somehow caused a larger secondary explosion or whether the missile itself killed the four children and their mother,” she said. 

According to a military spokeswoman, IDF "targeted from the air two Palestinian gunmen who were approaching the soldiers while carrying large bags on their backs.  A big explosion erupted on the scene... indicating the presence of bombs and explosives in the gunmen's bags… As a result of this big explosion, extensive damage was caused to a house that was near the gunmen and uninvolved civilians were hit.”

Contrary to B’Tselem’s preliminary findings and IDF statements, Palestinian residents claim that no militants were killed during the attack.  The children's father, who was close to the house and witnessed the explosion, told Al Jazeera there was no fighting in the area.  “I did not see any fighters, there were no fighters around here ... no fighting, neither from the Arabs or the Israelis,” he said.

On April 29, Israeli Prime Minister Olmert expressed regret over the killings.  “The state of Israel and the government of Israel are deeply sorry when any civilian or non-combatant is hurt, particularly with regard to the mother and four of her children, who were killed,” Olmert told his cabinet at its weekly meeting.  But he laid the blame on Hamas for allowing militants to operate within residential areas and “turning the civilian population in Gaza into an indivisible part of its war.” 

PM Olmert also discussed a possible truce or ceasefire with Hamas.  On April 25, Hamas proposed a six-month "period of quiet" in Gaza, which it said could then be extended to the West Bank.  Under terms of the Egypt-backed proposal, the militant group would stop its rocket attacks on Israel for six months, while Israel would open Gaza's border crossings and cease military operations in the territory.

Israel dismissed the truce offer, saying Hamas would use the lull to re-group and re-arm its militants. At the same time, Israel promised to hold fire if Hamas and smaller Gaza militant groups halt their attacks.

However, following the Israeli incursion into Beit Hanoun, militants fired 11 rockets and nine mortars from Gaza.  Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak scoffed at talk of truce efforts.  “I think now we're in a showdown with Hamas,” Barak told reporters. “That's a more apt description than a possible cease-fire.”

For more information, please see:

AFP – Israel, Right Groups Probe Blast that Killed Gaza Family – 29 April 2008

Al Jazeera – Israel to Examine Gaza Child Deaths – 29 April 2008

Ha’aretz – PM Voices ‘Deep Remorse’ for Gaza Deaths, But Says Hamas put  Victims at Risk – 29 April 2008

(The) Independent – Israeli Attack Kills Palestinian Mother and Four Children – 29 April 2008

International Herald Tribune – Official: 30 Representatives of Palestinian Factions Meet in Egypt to Discuss Truce, Unity – 29 April 2008

International Herald Tribune – Olmert Blames Hamas for Civilian Deaths in Gaza – 29 April 2008

BBC – Family Killed During Raid in Gaza – 28 April 2008

Voice of America – Hamas Chief Awaits Israeli Response on Gaza Cease-Fire – 27 April 2008

BRIEF: UN Urged to Probe US Treatment of Iraqi Inmates

NEW YORK, United States – Human Rights Watch sent a letter to the UN Security Council asking them to address serious concerns about the detention policies of US-led forces in Iraq.  The group said the US invokes Security Council resolutions to justify holding thousands of Iraqis for “indefinite periods, without judicial review, and under military processes that do not meet international standards.”

“The Bush administration pushed the [UN] Security Council to declare that the US-led occupation of Iraq had ended in June 2004,” said Joe Stork, HRW's Middle East deputy director.  “And the end of occupation means that international human rights standards apply - judicial review, access to legal counsel and family members, and a fair trial,” he added.

Human Rights Watch also called on the US to allow observers from the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq as well as independent Iraqi experts - to visit US detention facilities.  The US-led troops were holding more than 24,000 people in Iraq at the end of last year, according to Unami.

“Four years since abuses at Abu Ghraib became known, Washington should finally allow independent monitors who can report publicly to visit its facilities and speak with detainees,” Stork said. 

For more information, please see:
BBC - UN Probe Urged Over Iraqi Inmates – 28 April 2008

Human Rights News - UN: Tell US to End Illegal Detention Practices in Iraq – 28 April 2008

Human Rights News - Letter to the Security Council on MNF Detention Practices in Iraq – 28 April 2008

BRIEF: Mass Graves Found in Iraq

The Iraqi forces uncovered two different mass graves in the last two days where they found over 100 bodies.  The bodies were uncovered in southern Baghdad and the city of al-Guba, which is 50 miles north of Baghdad.  The bodies were discovered in an area that used to be a former stronghold of al-Qaeda.  The bodies were badly damaged as the corpses had their hands bound and many were killed through gun shot wounds to the head.  Some of the bodies had already begun decomposing. 

Last month, another mass grave was found with over 100 bodies.

For more information, please see:

News.Scotsman.com- Mass graves containing over 100 decomposed corpses uncovered by Iraqi forces- 28 April 2008

The Press Association- 50 bodies unearthed in mass grave- 27 April 2008 

Iraqi Children Recruited as Suicide Bombers

By Ben Turner
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – According to an United Nations official, insurgent groups in Iraq are recruiting children as suicide bombers.  Ending a week-long visit to Iraq, Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, said children there are the silent victims of the ongoing violence in the country, with approximately 1,500 “known to be held in detention facilities.”

“Since 2004, an increasing number of children have been recruited into various militias and insurgent groups, including as suicide bombers,” she said. 

Coomaraswamy said that many Iraqi children no longer attend school and are either recruited for violent activities or are detained in custody.  She said that many children lack access to the most basic services and “manifest a wide range of psychological symptoms from the violence in their everyday lives.”

According to Coomaraswamy, only 50 percent of primary school children are attending school.  That number is down from 80 percent in 2005.  Only 40 percent have access to clean drinking water and there is a continuing possibility of outbreaks of cholera. 

Coomaraswamy’s statements come three months after the U.S. military released videos of suspected al Qaeda in Iraq members training children as young as 10 to kidnap and kill.  She urged "religious and community leaders of Iraq to send one clear message to Iraqi children: Stay out of the violence and go back to school."

She called on all sides in the Iraqi conflict to follow international humanitarian standards for the protection of children and to release without delay any children under the age of 18 associated with their forces.  She also asked all sides to adhere to international human rights standards pertaining to juvenile justice provisions.

“Let peace in Iraq begin with the protection of children” Coomaraswamy said. 

For more information, please see:
BBC – Militias ‘Recruit Child Bombers’ – 25 April 2008

Inquirer.net - Iraqi Children Recruited for Suicide Attacks – UN – 25 April 2008

The Press Association – Child Recruits for Suicide Attacks – 25 April 2008

UN News Center - Iraqi Children are Silent Victims of Ongoing Violence, Says UN Envoy – 25 April 2008

USA Today - U.N.: Iraqi Children Recruited as Suicide Bombers – 25 April 2008

UN: Humanitarian Aid Halted by Israeli Fuel Embargo

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

GAZA CITY, Gaza – The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) warned that its fuel supplies will run out on April 24 unless it receives fresh petrol supplies.  UNRWA chief in Gaza, John Ging, said that Israel must supply gasoline to Gaza immediately or the UN will not be able to distribute necessary food aid to Gaza residents.

Ging said that the supply of fuel from Israel to Gaza has been “totally inadequate” for 10 months until it was finally halted two weeks ago. “The devastating humanitarian impact is entirely predictable,” he said.

“Neither UNRWA nor the World Food Programme… will be able to resume food distribution until they receive diesel for the trucks involved in transporting the food,” Ging said.  A shortage of diesel and petrol means UN food assistance to 650,000 Palestinian refugees will stop today, and aid from the World Food Programme for another 127,000 Palestinians due in the coming days will also be halted.

It addition to affecting the distribution of food aid, the blockade also creates a health care crisis.  According to the lack of fuel, 20 percent of ambulances out of commission and another 60 percent with less than a week's worth of fuel.  The Palestinian Red Crescent Society, operating on limited fuel reserves, has reduced its services to emergency cases.

Ging added that “laundry services at the largest hospital, Shifa, have been cut by 50 percent and we all know what that means in terms of public health.”  In addition, doctors and health care professionals face difficulties getting to work because of the halt of public transportation.

The Israeli-imposed blockade, following the Hamas takeover of Gaza, prevents exports and allows in only limited supplies of food, fuel and aid.  A complete petrol blockade began on April 9, following a Palestinian attack on the main fuel terminal at Nahal Oz. 

On April 22, the deputy head of the energy department in Gaza, Kanaan Obeid warned that Gaza’s sole power plant would shut down within the next 30 hours.  On April 23, Israel permitted one million liters of diesel fuel to be delivered directly to the power plant, averting its closure.  The fuel will be sufficient to power the plant for three days.

Commenting on the blockade, Robert Serry, the UN special coordinator for the Middle East, said “the collective punishment of the population of Gaza, which has been instituted for months now, has failed.”  He added that the recent Palestinian attacks against crossing points into Gaza, saying they were “deeply disturbing.”

Serry appealed to Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups to end these attacks.  “These attacks endanger both international and Israeli civilians, and cannot possibly contribute to Palestinian efforts to ease the blockade of Gaza. On the contrary, they serve only to deepen and prolong it," he said.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Gaza Fuel Embargo “Block UN Aid” – 24 April 2008

Guardian – Fuel Shortage Forces UN to Halt Food Handouts in Gaza – 24 April 2008

AFP – Fuel Shortage Could Halt Gaza Food Distribution: UN – 23 April 2008

BBC – Israel Resumes Gaza Fuel Supplies – 23 April 2008

Human Rights Watch – Gaza Fuel Cuts: Civilians Pay the Price – 23 April 2008

International Herald Tribune – UN Warns that Food Distribution will Halt Unless Israel Supplies Diesel – 23 April 2008

UN News Centre – Gaza: UN and Partners Set to Meet on Critical Humanitarian Situation – 23 April 2008

Yedioth News – UN: Collective Punishment of Gazans has Failed – 23 April 2008

Female Suicide Bombers Kill Police, Others

By Christopher Gehrke
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, South America

BAGHDAD, Iraq – A female suicide bomber blew herself up north of Baghdad yesterday, killing six and wounding twelve others.

The bombing took place outside a police station in the Diyala province, where several other attacks have occurred recently.

Most of the dead were policemen, according to a police source.  There have been several attacks by female suicide bombers in Iraq in recent weeks.  Diyala is one of the northern provinces where al Qaeda has sought sanctuary after being driven out of Anbar province in the west and Baghdad.

On Monday, a female suicide bomber detonated near the office of an anti-al-Qaeda group in Baquba, killing three of its members.

The bomber activated her vest, filled with explosives, in the Al-Mafraq neighborhood north of Baghdad.

Ahmed Alwan, a doctor at Baquba hospital, said three anti-al-Qaeda group members were killed and four other people wounded in the attack.

“The woman attacker tried to get inside the office that lies in the middle of the market.  The guards at the first checkpoint stopped the woman and asked her to open her robes to check if she wore an explosive belt, but at this moment she exploded herself outside the office,” said Abu Talib, a Sons of Iraq commander.

Al-Qaeda has been targeting groups who have sided with the US military to fight them in recent months.  These groups are made up of mostly Sunni Arab former insurgents, using women as a way to carry out attacks with an element of surprise.

For more information, please see:
Reuters – Female suicide bomber kills six north of Baghdad – 22 April 2008

AFP – Female suicide bomber kills three in Iraq city – 21 April 2008

Los Angeles Times – Female suicide bomber kills four in Iraq – 22 April 2008

BRIEF: 48th Saudi Execution in 2008

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – On April 22, the Saudi Interior Minister announced that Hamoud al-Ansi, convicted of murder, was beheaded in the eastern Saudi city of Dhahran.  Ansi was convicted for stabbing another man to death during a conflict about land.  According to the Associated Press, his execution brings the total to 48 in 2008.

In addition, on April 18, two Syrian nationals, Firas Faycal Al-Aghbar and Firas Hussein Maktabi, were beheaded in the northwestern city of Tabuk.  They were convicted on drug trafficking charges for receiving a shipment of hallucinogenic drugs.

Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law, under which those convicted of murder, drug trafficking, rape or armed robbery are executed in public with a sword. 

According to an Amnesty International report on capital punishment, Saudi Arabia executed the third highest number of people in 2007.  China, who executed at least 470, was first; followed by Iran (317).  In 2007, Saudi Arabia executed 143 people, which was a drastic increase from the total in 2006 (37).  The report also notes that Saudi Arabia was one of three countries who executed child offenders in 2007.  Also, in 2007, at least 76 of the 143 people executed were foreign nationals.

For more information, please see:

FoxNews.com – Saudi Arabia Executes Convicted Murderer in 48th Beheading this Year – 22 April 2008

Kuwait Times – Syrian Protesters Stage Sit-in Against Saudi Executions – 22 April 2008

Amnesty International – Death Penalty: World Trend Down but Secrecy Surrounds China Execution Figures – 14 April 2008

Saudi Women “Perpetual Minors,” Report Says

By Ben Turner
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

LONDON, England – An April 21 report released by Human Rights Watch alleges that Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship of women and sex segregation policies prevent women from enjoying their basic rights.  The 50 page report, “Perpetual Minors: Human Rights Abuses Stemming from Male Guardianship and Sex Segregation in Saudi Arabia,” documents the effects of these discriminatory policies and draws on more than 100 interviews with Saudi women. 

Human Rights Watch said that the Saudi government treats adult women as legal minors who are not in control of their own well-being.  The group said that Saudi women must often obtain permission from a guardian (a father, husband or even a son) to work, travel, marry or even access health care. 

“The Saudi government sacrifices basic human rights to maintain male control over women,” said Farida Deif, women’s rights researcher for the Middle East at Human Rights Watch. “Saudi women won’t make any progress until the government ends the abuses that stem from these misguided policies.” 

The report claims that Saudi women are prevented from accessing government agencies without a male representative unless the agency has established a female section.  According to the report, the need for separate office spaces provides a disincentive to hiring female employees. 

The report also alleges that even when no permission from a guardian is required, some officials will ask for it.  Despite national regulations to the contrary, some hospitals require a guardian’s permission to allow women to be admitted, agree to medical procedures for themselves or their children, or be discharged. 

Male guardianship over adult women also contributes to their risk of exposure to violence within the family as victims of violence find it difficult to seek protection or redress from the courts. The report says that social workers, physicians and lawyers say that it is nearly impossible to remove guardianship from male guardians who are abusive. 

“It's astonishing that the Saudi government denies adult women the right to make decisions for themselves but holds them criminally responsible for their actions at puberty,” Deif said.  “For Saudi women, reaching adulthood brings no rights, only responsibilities.”

For more information, please see:
ABC  - Saudi Women ‘Kept in Childhood’ – 21 April 2008

BBC – Saudi Women ‘Kept in Childhood’ – 21 April 2008

Human Rights Watch - Saudi Arabia: Male Guardianship Policies Harm Women – 21 April 2008

Human Rights Watch Report - Perpetual Minors: Human Rights Abuses Stemming from Male Guardianship and Sex Segregation in Saudi Arabia – 21 April 2008

BRIEF: Rights Group Condemns Israeli Killing of Reuters Cameraman

GAZA CITY, Gaza – Human Rights Watch condemned Israel on Saturday for the death of a Reuters cameraman and three others in an Israeli strike in Gaza. The New York-based rights group believes an Israeli tank crew fired either recklessly or deliberately at Fadel Shana and three others standing near him.

Human Rights Watch believes Israeli soldiers failed to make sure they were aiming at a military target before firing. Shana’s final video showed a tank on a distant hilltop open fire. Shana was wearing a bullet proof jacket marked with “Press” at the time and his vehicle was also marked with “TV” signs. His final video turned black immediately after the shots were fired.

The tank fired flechette shells, which rights groups consider inappropriate for densely populated areas like the Gaza Strip. The flechette shell is an anti-personnel weapon generally fired from a tank, which explodes in the air and releases thousands of small metal darts, which disperse in a conical arch of approximately 300 by 90 meters. Use of flechette shell usually results in indiscriminate firing, thereby endangering innocent civilians in violation of international humanitarian law.

Shana was the first Gaza journalist to be killed in the territory in the past eight years of Israeli-Palestinian fighting.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press - Rights group: Israel must investigate cameraman's death - 20 April 2008

Jerusalem Post - Israel must probe cameraman's death - 20 April 2008

Human Rights Watch - Investigate death of Gaza civilians - 19 April 2008

AFP - Media Watchdog IPI condemns killing of Reuters cameraman - 19 April 2008