Crises

Syria

Syria Has a Massive Rape Crisis <(The Atlantic, 3 April 2013)

All across the war-torn country, regime soldiers are said to be sexually violating women and men from the opposition, destroying families and, in some cases, taking lives.

One day in the fall of 2012, Syrian government troops brought a young Free Syrian Army soldier's fiancée, sisters, mother, and female neighbors to the Syrian prison in which he was being held. One by one, he said, they were raped in front of him.

Syria suffers “deadliest month” in March< (Foreign Policy, 2 April 2013)

According to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), 6,005 people were recorded killed in the Syrian conflict in March, which they cited as the deadliest month in the two-year conflict. The opposition activist group reported among the casualties at least 291 women, 298 children, 1,486 opposition fighters and Syrian army defectors, and 1,464 government troops. The SOHR said it has documented 62,554 deaths since the uprising began in March 2011, although it assumes a much higher death toll. Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the SOHR, said many deaths have been difficult to document and both sides underreport their dead, so its estimate is closer to 120,000 people. The United Nations estimated the number of people killed surpassed 70,000 in February, but the figure likely doesn't include government soldiers or pro-regime militiamen. The Syrian government has not released death tolls. The spike in deaths in March was probably due to increased government shelling and aerial attacks, rising suicide attacks, and the spread of clashes throughout the country. Fighting has continued in the northern city of Aleppo and the central city of Homs, and has intensified in Damascus, the capital. Additionally, opposition forces have overtaken towns and military bases in recent weeks along the Jordanian border in Daraa province.

Syrian conflict’s impact is felt across border in Iraq< (The Washington Post, 27 March 2013)

Syria’s civil war is increasingly threatening to destabilize neighboring Iraq, widening a sectarian divide in a nation still reeling from the messy aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion a decade ago.

Iraqi officials have expressed alarm in recent weeks as fighting between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and the armed opposition has spilled across the border. After staying on the sidelines for more than a year, Sunni tribes in Iraq that straddle the frontier have decisively joined the effort to topple the Alawite Shiite-led government in Damascus.

Despite new police presence, security concerns persist at Syrian refugee camp< (IRIN, 3 April 2013)

The Jordanian government is implementing new measures to improve security for the Syrian refugees at Za’atari camp, but aid workers say the efforts are limited by funding constraints and have yet to make a difference.

Syria's humanitarian crisis worsening rapidly: Red Cross< (Reuters, 4 April 2013)

The humanitarian situation in Syria is worsening rapidly with some areas a landscape of "devastation and destruction", the Red Cross said on Thursday after a month which activists said was the bloodiest yet in the conflict.

About 70,000 people have been killed and millions displaced during the two-year-old uprising, the United Nations says. Civilians have been cut off from water, electricity and life-saving medical supplies, especially in rebel-held areas targeted by air strikes and ballistic missiles.

Syria’s urban refugees in Jordan falling through the aid safety net, warn British aid agencies< (Oxfam, 4 April 2013)

As thousands of Syrians continue to flee conflict every day, seeking safety in neighbouring countries, British aid agencies who are responding to the refugee crisis warn that the refugees risk being cut off from help as they seek shelter in Jordan’s towns and cities.

According to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, the majority of Syrian refugees in Jordan live in urban areas, outside of formal camp settings. Aid agencies say it makes it harder for them to access vital help as the refugee population is widely dispersed in Jordan’s cities and towns.

Fear for girls in Syrian conflict< (ReliefWeb, 27 March 2013)

Aid agency World Vision is today voicing concerns that the risk of girls as young as 12 being married could increase, as parents who flee Syria struggle to protect their children amid a deepening humanitarian crisis.

Reports from aid agencies and UN bodies show some parents taking refuge in Lebanon and Jordan are being forced to consider marrying off their children, as a way to cope with and survive the incredible difficulties they are facing.

Holding politicians to account for aid pledges< (IRIN, 29 March 2013)

Humanitarian and development actors should develop a method to hold politicians to account for aid pledges, UK Minister of State for International Development Alan Duncan said.

 “A promise is only a promise until it’s in the bank,” he told IRIN. “It’s exciting to get headline pledges, but it’s important to make sure that money translates on the ground.”

UNHCR concerned for Syrian refugees in Iraq <(UNHCR, 2 April 2013)

The UN refugee agency on Tuesday warned that with the Syria crisis now into its third year, and refugees continuing to cross borders to neighbouring countries in large numbers, pressure to accommodate refugees is growing.

Jordan’s assistance to rebels ratchets up tensions with Syria< (The Washington Post, 4 April 2013)

Jordan tightened security along its border with Syria, doubling the number of soldiers as President Bashar Assad’s regime warned Thursday the kingdom is “playing with fire” by allowing the U.S and other countries to train and arm Syrian rebels on its territory.

Central African Republic

Humanitarian crisis deepens in Central African Republic <(OCHA, 28 March 2013)

The crisis in the Central African Republic, including the seizure of power by the Seleka coalition on 24 March, has exacerbated an already difficult humanitarian situation. Since December 2012 an estimated 173,000 people have been displaced within the country, while more than 32,000 Central Africans have fled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon and Chad.

Urgent humanitarian needs in post-coup Central African Republic< (IRIN, 4 April 2013)

Less than two weeks after the overthrow of Central African Republic (CAR) President François Bozizé in a rebel coup, the humanitarian situation has deteriorated, leaving civilians in the capital, Bangui, in critical need of aid, said a senior humanitarian official.

“The main humanitarian needs in Bangui are access to health and nutrition and clean water [and] security and protection of civilians,” Amy Martin, who heads the Bangui branch of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told IRIN.

Worsening humanitarian situation in Central African Republic< (ECHO, 26 March 2013)

Following the Séléka rebel coalition takeover of Central African Republic's (CAR) capital city Bangui, the situation in the city remains unclear. Lootings of humanitarian compounds and people's homes have been reported. The centre of Bangui has almost no electricity or running water for the moment. Just under 30 000 people have fled across the Ubangi River, seeking refuge in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Civilians have also fled to Cameroon.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

UN envoy and DR Congo sign agreement to tackle sexual violence in conflict< (UN News Centre, 2 April 2013)

A United Nations envoy has praised the efforts of the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to address conflict-related sexual violence, and announced the signing of an agreement with the country’s authorities to address this pervasive issue.

“I am concerned about the scale of sexual violence in conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but I have also been encouraged by the steps taken by the Government and the work being done by the UN and other international and national actors,” said the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, at the end of her 10-day visit to DRC.

South Sudan

Sudan: The reality after the split< (Al Jazeera, 3 April 2013)

The country's ties with South Sudan are continuing to improve but can their past differences be fully resolved?

It is almost two years since South Sudan split from Sudan to become the world's newest country.

Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir has announced an amnesty for all political prisoners held in Sudan and has released a number of them accused of links with southern rebels.

Pakistan

Fighting in Pakistan’s Tirah Valley displaces 40,000 people< (IRIN, 1 April 2013)

Around 40,000 residents of Pakistan’s Tirah Valley, close to the border with Afghanistan, have fled their homes after renewed fighting in the last few weeks, according to the Disaster Management Authority in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FDMA).

Most of the refugees from the Khyber Agency are heading towards Kohat, Hangu and Peshawar districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province or to the Kurram Agency in the tribal belt.

Human Trafficking

What does it mean to be a slave in the 21st century?< (The Guardian, 3 April 2013)

Modern slavery is said to have reached an unprecedented scale, but what does the term mean?

Problematically, modern slavery is an umbrella concept, capturing various forms of severe exploitation affecting vulnerable workers worldwide, rather than a legal term. Available global data on its extent is patchy. Last year, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimated that almost 21 million people are in forced labour and other forms of modern slavery. Another widely cited figure is of 27 million people in slavery worldwide.

Families in Mali splintered by slavery as culture and conflict converge< (The Guardian, 3 April 2013)

"I haven't heard anything about my brother for more than a year," says Raichatou Walet Touka. She's been living at a safehouse in Bamako, Mali's capital, after fleeing the northern town of Gao following an attack by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), a Tuareg rebel group that briefly took over northern Mali in early 2012.

Thousands were displaced by the fighting, and the subsequent battle for control of northern Mali between Islamist rebels and the MNLA. But the situation facing Raichatou has been particularly perilous, for she comes from a family considered by many in the MNLA leadership as slaves.

Cambodia shuts foreign-run orphanage accused of beating children, human trafficking <(The Washington Post, 25 March 2013)

Cambodian authorities said Monday they had shut a foreign-run orphanage that is suspected of beating its children and carrying out human trafficking.

Officials and a rights group said police in the capital, Phnom Penh, on Friday raided the unlicensed orphanage, called Love in Action, and rescued 21 children.

Video

Western Sahara: the world's forgotten refugees – video< (The Guardian, 4 April 2013)

Located in the sweltering desert of south-west Algeria, the refugee camps of the Sahawari are home to more than 200,000 people, displaced from Western Sahara in 1979 when Morocco annexed the disputed territory in a conflict the world has long since forgotten. A new generation is growing up in the camps – eager to return to their homeland by whatever means, and frustrated by the Polisaro movement's slow dealings with Morocco and the UN

Photocredit © UNHCR / Jared J. Kohler / March 2013