NAIROBI, 14 February 2008 (IRIN) - Several days after Sudanese government-backed militia attacked villages in West Darfur, hundreds of children remain unaccounted for, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said. “There are an unknown number of children aged 12-18 who are missing, especially boys. Nobody knows what has happened to these children,” Naqibullah Safi, head of UNICEF for West Darfur said. Initial reports suggested that up to 800 children were unaccounted for, but the actual number is probably lower, UNICEF said in a statement following an assessment mission to the towns of Sirba and Abu Surouj. “One of UNICEF’s main concerns is to take care of the large numbers of children who have been orphaned or abandoned by their parents, or have gone missing in the confusion of the last few days,” the agency noted. The UNICEF team found that buildings had been burned and thousands of residents had fled the towns. “Initially people needed food and medicine, there were cases of malnutrition, but the most common problem was people were burned,” Safi said. “There are some civilian casualties, but exact figures are not known. Most shelters in Sirba have been burned, and 60-70 percent of Abu Surouj.” The attacks sparked a mass evacuation from the region, leaving only a few thousand residents in Abu Surouj. “We do not know the exact figures, but there are indications as many as 30,000 people might have been displaced,” Safi said. ICRC official killed A national staff member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was killed during the fighting in Seleia. According to Sudanese officials, the 8 February attacks were intended to rout opposition Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) forces from Abu Surouj, Sirba and Seleia towns. But JEM officials say the attacks instead targeted civilians. The UN World Food Programme, which participated in the joint assessment mission, said about 5,000 people in Sirba were in urgent need of food, shelter, medical support and other non-food items. Fighting in Darfur escalated sharply in 2003 when communities living there took up arms against the government in Khartoum, accusing it of marginalising Darfur. At least 200,000 lives are estimated to have been lost while over two million people have fled their homes. eo/am/cb |
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| Theme(s): (IRIN) Children, (IRIN) Conflict | ||
Archive for the ‘Emergencies & Disasters’ Category
SUDAN: Hundreds of children missing after Darfur attack
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008
YEMEN: Tens of thousands beyond reach of aid agencies - rights group
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008 Photo: WFP  |
| Saada residents receiving WFP food assistance (file photo) |
SANAA, 20 November 2008 (IRIN) - The government’s policy of restricting humanitarian access to Saada Governorate, northern Yemen, has left tens of thousands of civilians beyond the reach of aid agencies, the US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said in a new report.
“During extended lulls in the fighting, national and international humanitarian aid agencies found it impossible to access most parts of Saada. In early 2008, the government denied agencies permission to undertake assessment missions in areas believed to contain large numbers of civilians in need,” it said.
The HRW report entitled Invisible Civilians: The Challenge of Humanitarian Access in Yemen’s Forgotten War was released on 19 November.
Imposing an information blackout and clamping down on media coverage had kept the plight of civilians hidden from the rest of the world, it said.
Hundreds of people were killed and thousands displaced in four years of conflict between a Shia group led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi and government forces in Saada Governorate. The war was officially declared over on 17 July 2008.
The government had blocked the movement of all commercial goods after fighting broke out again in May 2008, an act the report said appeared to be an “illegal collective punishment”. However, it also noted that the rebels, too, had failed to facilitate humanitarian access to areas under their control.
 Photo: Muhammed al-Jabri/IRIN  |
| Joe Stork [left] and Gerry Simpson speaking at a press conference on the limited access to Saada Governorate |
“Illegal collective punishment”
Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at HRW, criticised Yemen’s policy of restricting aid to the troubled region, saying it appeared to be designed primarily to prevent independent and international observers getting a better understanding of the impact of the fighting and the resulting humanitarian problems.
“Thousands of civilians are in need, and yet the government is still depriving them of aid. This violates international law and common decency,” he said, adding that his team had not been allowed to go to Saada to prepare the report.
The only valid grounds for restricting access to aid agencies were if the government deemed that urgent military action needed to be taken there. “General restrictions based on security just don’t work,” he said.
Gloomy prognosis
Gerry Simpson, the author of the report, said a small number of aid agencies had been granted limited access to Saada at the beginning of September. They had to get permission for each trip to and from Saada.
 Photo: ReliefWeb |
| A map of Yemen highlighting Saada Governorate |
“The government said all the humanitarian agencies are free to visit Saada. However, the reality is different,” he said, adding that the UN had expressed increasing frustration with this policy.
HRW would be lobbying the European Union and the USA to pressure the Yemeni government to change its policy, he said.
Simpson said further fighting between government forces and rebels in Saada was likely. “Every single person we have spoken to in Sanaa said they were afraid there would be a sixth round of war sooner or later. Donors have told us that they consider Saada to be in a state of conflict; they are not prepared to provide the government with money for reconstruction efforts,” he said.
Meanwhile, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi’s Information Office said on 19 November that there had been a big deployment of government forces’ tanks, rocket launchers and military vehicles near Saada Governorate.
IRAQ: Tent-dwellers to get wooden caravans in Baghdad
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008 Photo: Phil Sands/IRIN |
| An example of another tented IDP camp in Iraq. Daily life is grim for the thousands of IDPs living in such camps |
BAGHDAD, 21 October 2008 (IRIN) - In a bid to alleviate the suffering of internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in tent camps, the local authorities have built a makeshift camp in western Baghdad to house 150 families in wooden caravans, an official said on 20 October.
Local council official Mazin al-Shihan said another 150-caravan camp would be completed in a few days in eastern Baghdad.
“These new camps will not erase the suffering of these families but at least they are better than living in tents, which are terribly hot during summer and very cold during winter,” al-Shihan told IRIN.
“These new camps are also intended to reduce the humiliation and embarrassment these families feel living in tents,” he said.
Each 40-square-metre caravan - which contains two bedrooms, a living room, toilet and kitchen - is valued at 18 million Iraqi dinars (about US$15,500), he said, adding that the measure was “temporary, until these families return to their areas”.
He said IDPs needed more help both from the government and the international community “as we are into year three”.
Last August, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said daily life for the thousands of IDPs living in tent camps was grim, despite a decrease in the rate of people fleeing their homes during the first half of 2008.
The IOM said camp residents had little or no access to basic services, could not adequately protect themselves against the elements, and were far away from medical, education and other services.
It said these conditions, without privacy and personal dignity, made tent camps a last resort for the IDPs. Information on the number of IDPs living in tent camps is not available.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), over 4.2 million Iraqis have fled their homes since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Of these, about 2 million are living as refugees in neighbouring countries - mostly in Syria and Jordan - while the remainder are IDPs.
KENYA: Drought forcing children to quit school
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008
KILIFI, 12 November 2008 (IRIN) - Under normal circumstances, 14-year-old Paul Katana would be in school, but not today. Katana is instead flagging down vehicles along the Mombasa-Malindi highway, hoping to sell sacks of charcoal he is hawking. About 2km down the road, a young boy watches over his mother’s goats, while another is hawking brooms. Many children in the north-coast region are staying out of school due to a lack of food and water, after a prolonged drought. The number of school dropouts is increasing by the day, according to education authorities. “Pupils … can no longer concentrate on [their] studies,” said Kezia Yusuf, a local teacher. Worst affected are the districts of Kaloleni, Malindi and Kilifi. “We … can’t do much, but just call upon the government to address this [situation] before it gets out of hand,” Ann Charo, a teacher in Kilifi, said. School timetables have had to change to cope with increasing absenteeism. “We no longer have lessons in the afternoon these days because not even half the school-children return after breaking for lunch,” said Leslie Katana, another teacher. “In the afternoon, the pupils would rather stay at home and help their parents search for water and pasture for their livestock than come to school,” Katana said. The children who do make it are also reporting to class later than usual. “There is no use having them go to school when we have no water in the house,” said Phelomena Mcharo, a mother of five, adding: “There is no way I can ask my children to attend school on an empty stomach.” School-feeding programmes crucial According to a programme adviser with the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Kenya, René McGuffin, some of the schools in Malindi district had been targeted for school feeding as part of an emergency programme due to the drought in 2006. The programme was for a period of two years and was phased out in term three of 2007. However, food distribution is going on in the district of Kilifi. Kaloleni district was recently carved out of Kilifi. McGuffin said the three districts would be included in the new school-feeding programme starting in January; the current programme ends in December.
“We did realise there are pockets of need in some of the divisions,” McGuffin said. At least 60,000 school-children in the three districts are expected to benefit in the new programme. “The government has recognised that there is a need to ensure the worst-off areas continue to receive assistance,” she said. “When there is a true need based on the indicators we should be there.” Improving livelihoods About 10 pupils from the local Jila primary school are working in a quarry in Kilifi. Ole Keisi said the water and education ministries were working on providing adequate water to schools and the community. NGOs were also running programmes to improve the quality of life among local communities but a great deal still needed to be done, he said. Most of the residents in the semi-arid districts live on less than US$2 a day. Medical agency AMREF Kenya constructed water pans in Kilifi and Kaloleni, but they have since dried up due to the aridity of the land and overuse. The organisation is also helping local schools harvest rain water. In addition, leaders are holding barazas (meetings) to sensitise parents to the importance of education. “Yes we have a [famine] problem … but we are hopeful a lasting solution will soon be found,” said Johnson Jeffer Yah, a local leader. jm/aw/mw |
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Theme(s): (IRIN) Children, (IRIN) Education, (IRIN) Environment, (IRIN) Food Security
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OFID extends US$1 million in emergency aid to Gaza victims
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008Source: The OPEC Fund for International Development (OPEC)
Date: 30 Dec 2008
PR 41/2008
December 30, 2008 Vienna, Austria The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) today donated US$1 million to the people of Palestine to aid in emergency relief efforts following the crisis which erupted December 27, resulting so far in more than 350 dead and thousands injured. The OFID assistance is to be channelled through the Islamic Relief (IR). The grant amount will be drawn from OFID’s Special Grant Account for Palestine.
In a statement, Mr. Suleiman Jasir Al-Herbish, OFID Director-General, expressed deep sympathy with the people of the affected Gaza Strip, saying he hoped hostilities will cease immediately; so that suffering will end and the affected and the injured can be adequately attended to. Mr. Al-Herbish said OFID’s grant is a gesture of the institution’s empathy with the population of the Gaza Strip, and that the resources will be used for the provision of medicines, medical supplies and equipment.
Islamic Relief, founded in 1984, is a non-political, non-profit, non-governmental organization with headquarters in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Its core mission is to help alleviate poverty and suffering among disadvantaged people in developing countries. The organization has 22 field offices and is signatory to the Code of Conduct for The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief.
Air raids against the Gaza Strip began December 27 and were continuing today. According to medical sources on the ground, the numbers of dead and injured are sadly expected to rise with the continuation of the raids and the reduced capacity of the Gaza medical teams to cope. Various sources report the attack to be the worst in Gaza since 1967, in terms of casualties and scale of bombardment.
Islamic Relief deployed a needs assessment team to the affected areas, hospitals, ambulance stations and first aid clinics. According to the group, there is continuing need in all Gaza hospitals and health centres for medical disposables, first aid tools, equipment and medicines and more intensive care units. The World Health Organization Palestine Office has been allowed by the Israeli Authorities to assist in coordinating the delivery of supplies and equipment to Gaza and to coordinate emergency aid from international donor agencies.
Press inquiries: info@ofid.org
Pakistan: Growing unease in Kashmir over prospect of war
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008Date: 30 Dec 2008
MUZZAFARABAD, 30 December 2008 (IRIN) - In the capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir, Muzzafarabad, the possibility of war with India is a topic of discussion heard almost everywhere.
In the city, civil defence staff and volunteers have been testing equipment, including sirens. “Pakistan air force jets have been flying over Muzzafarabad. The last time we saw such mock drills was in 2001. Naturally we are very concerned about conflict,” said Muhammad Sabir, 20, a student. He told IRIN he was attempting to join up with the volunteer forces, “because we should be prepared”.
Tension between Pakistan and India has been at an all time high since the end of November, when terrorists hit the city of Mumbai, India’s commercial hub, killing at least 180 people as they laid siege to top hotels and other buildings. India has since said the attackers came from Pakistan - a charge Pakistan denies.
Troops from Pakistan’s western border with Afghanistan have been moved to the frontier with India - a fact widely reported by the Pakistan media and international news agencies, including AP.
A spokesman for the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Maj-Gen Athar Abbas, has declined to comment on the issue.
The situation is particularly tense in Kashmir, a mountainous territory claimed by both Pakistan and India, with administrative control over it currently divided between the two countries.
Pakistan and India have fought three wars since 1947 - in 1948, 1965 and 1971. The first two conflicts were over Kashmir.
“I saw each of these wars. Kashmiris have suffered each time, because the Line of Control [LoC] dividing the two parts of our land is always among the areas where shelling and bombardment is worse,” said Aleemuddin Khan, 75, a farmer based near Muzzafarabad.
Chakothi
In the town of Chakothi, just 11km from the LoC, labourers have been kept busy building bunkers. There is a growing sense of panic in the area (population 14,000), some 55km southwest of Muzzafarabad.
“I have had a small bunker built in my backyard. It is always wiser to be ready for any eventuality, though of course I hope conflict will not happen,” Mansoor Ahmed told IRIN. He has also sent his wife and three young children to Rawalpindi, “just until things grow a bit quieter”.
Kashmiris are no strangers to war. The Washington-based US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, based on a 2007 survey, said some 17,000 people in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, displaced from homes along the LoC by a 1999 border skirmish between Pakistan and India which saw heavy shelling in Kashmir, remained in a “refugee-like” situation and were based at camps for displaced persons.
The Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IMDC) said 40,000 people were displaced at the time and most of those affected received limited or no support. The IMDC also said the fact that the Pakistan military took over land close to the LoC meant some people had lost their homes.
There is another reason for the heightened concern in Chakothi. The earthquake of October 2005 that killed at least 73,000 people in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, hit Chakothi badly. Many of the hundreds of houses affected by the quake have been re-built, but for some families this process continues.
“Previously, we had a solid mud, stone and wood house, able to bear shock. Now there are rooms that are just built with tin and wood. I am scared it will not offer us any protection at all if there is bombing, but I cannot afford to have a bunker built or set up fortifications,” said Aqueel Amjad, who lives near Chakothi.
Sense of fear
It is not in Kashmir alone that uncertainty prevails. Military aircraft swooping over Lahore, the capital of the Punjab province, have also created a sense of fear. “In the current environment Pakistan has enhanced its vigilance,” chief Air Force spokesman Air Commodore Humaun Viqar Zephyr said.
A week earlier, the Pakistan Air Force said it had chased back Indian fighter plans that had violated the LoC in Kashmir.
“I am buying extra grocery supplies so we at least have the basics at home in case the border situation worsens,” Uzma Ansar, 40, buying supplies at a local store, told IRIN.
Unease also runs high in villages along the Wagah border with India, which lies just 30km from Lahore.
“This area always has paramilitary troops and soldiers moving around. But these days there are more. They have advised people to build trenches for safety. Of course we worry about conflict, but let’s just hope there is no war so our children don’t see the horrors we saw in 1965,” said Muhammad Javed, 60, a butcher, who helped supply troops with food during that war as a civilian volunteer. “War would be terrible for everyone here, especially as Pakistan and India both have nuclear weapons” he said.
kh/at/cb
[END] A selection of IRIN reports are posted on ReliefWeb. Find more IRIN news and analysis at http://www.irinnews.org
Une sélection d’articles d’IRIN sont publiés sur ReliefWeb. Trouvez d’autres articles et analyses d’IRIN sur http://www.irinnews.org
This article does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. Refer to the IRIN copyright page for conditions of use.
Cet article ne reflète pas nécessairement les vues des Nations Unies. Voir IRIN droits d’auteur pour les conditions d’utilisation.
251 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 20 children and 9 women, killed and 584 others, including 130 children and 28 women, wounded
Monday, December 29th, 2008Source: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)
Date: 28 Dec 2008
For the second consecutive day, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have continued to wage their bloodiest and most brutal war against the Gaza Strip since its occupation in 1967, under an international and Arab conspiracy of silence. In details of PCHR’s press release issued yesterday and the attacks that followed, yesterday evening, IOF launched more air strikes against many civilian facilities, including workshops, houses, medical warehouses and even mosques in a grave precedent. IOF war planes have so far continued to fly over the Gaza Strip terrifying the Palestinian civilian population. At night, many Palestinian families received phone calls from the Israeli intelligence, which ordered them to vacate their houses as they would be bombarded. Such phone calls confused Palestinian civilians. PCHR believes that this declared war target Palestinian civilians and their property, and statements of Israeli political and military officials herald a humanitarian catastrophe and a persistent war at all levels. The international community is required more than ever before to immediately act to stop this gravest offensive since the Gaza Strip was first occupied by IOF. According to what PCHR field workers have been able to document so far, the number of civilian victims in the first ten minutes of the offensive against the Gaza Strip is the highest since 1967, and it is higher than the number of victims in the war against Lebanonin 2006.
PCHR reiterates its condemnation in the strongest terms for this bloody war, and calls upon the international community, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, and international organizations to immediately act to stop such grave and unprecedented deterioration in the human rights situation and humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip.
PCHR indicates that its field workers have faced extreme difficulties in documenting crimes due to the dangers of getting close to the areas that were bombarded more than once, and due to the confusion that spread over hospitals because of the high numbers of casualties as these hospitals lack necessary medical equipment. Additionally, many victim have not been identified as they were dismembered, and many of the wounded have not been listed on the records of hospitals.
According to what PCHR field workers have been able to document, the crimes committed by IOF have been as follows:
At approximately 11:25 on Saturday, 27 December 2008, dozens of IOF warplanes launched a wave of air strikes almost the same time throughout the Gaza Strip. This timing indicates that an Israeli decision was taken to cause maximum casualties in the climax of daily activities. It also explains the high number of victims killed or wounded in a few minutes on the bloodiest day during the 41 years of Israeli occupation. The timing of air strikes coincided with the end of the morning period and the beginning of the afternoon period at schools, many of which are located near police stations that were bombarded.
Rafah District
At approximately 11:25 on Saturday, 27 December 2008, IOF warplanes fired several missiles at the Palestinian security compound, which includes buildings of the Palestinian National Security Forces, Internal Security Service and Police, in Abu Baker Street in the center of Rafah, and at a number of training sites of Palestinian resistance groups in Tal al-Sultan neighborhood in the west of the town. The targeted buildings were completely destroyed. The attacks were concentrated on the police station, whose vicinity was witnessing active movement of civilians and school children who were on their way to their schools in the area. As a result, 12 Palestinians were killed, including a child, a preacher, an Imam of a mosque, a physician, a nurse and a lawyer. Bodies of the victims were dismembered. Additionally, a mosque and a number of houses, shops, workshops and vehicles were damaged.
At approximately 03:30 on Sunday, 28 December 2008, IOF warplanes bombarded a smith workshop belonging to Abu Mousa family in al-Junaina neighborhood in the center of Rafah. At approximately 06:50, IOF warplanes bombarded a medical warehouse belonging to the Abu Hashem family in the same area. Fire broke out in the warehouse, where benzene was stored. The fire extended to 5 neighboring houses.
At approximately 07:30, IOF warplanes bombarded a police station, which had been already evacuated, in Tal al-Sultan neighborhood in the west of Rafah.
At approximately 08:00, IOF warplanes bombarded a site of the Palestinian National Security Forces in the east of Rafah. Twenty minutes later, IOF warplanes bombarded a naval police station at the coast.
At approximately 10:50, IOF warplanes bombarded the building of Rafah Governorate near Rafah International Crossing Point.
Hospitals in Rafah have admitted 77 Palestinians who were wounded, including 20 children and 3 women. The wounds were described as moderate to serious.
Khan Yunis District
At approximately 11:25 on Saturday, 27 December 2008, IOF warplanes bombarded sites of the riot control police and the Internal Security Service and the building of the agricultural control department in the west of Khan Yunis. They also bombarded training sites of Palestinian resistance groups and a naval police station in the west and south of Khan Yunis. As a result, 16 Palestinians were killed, including 11 civilians, one of them is a child. Eight of the victims were killed in the attack against the agricultural control department. The victims were on duty.
At approximately 17:30 on the same day, Israeli warplanes bombarded a smith workshop belonging to the al-Jabri family in al-Amal neighborhood in the west of Khan Yunis.
At approximately 20:30, IOF warplanes bombarded and destroyed a cafeteria belonging to Mousa family.
At approximately 03:00 on Sunday, 28 December 2008, Israeli warplanes bombarded a smith workshop belonging to the Baraka family in Bani Suhaila village, east of Khan Yunis.
At approximately 08:30, IOF warplanes bombarded a greenhouse in al-Qarara village, east of Khan Yunis. At the same time, IOF warplanes bombarded agricultural areas in Khuza’a village, east of Khan Yunis, wounding a 14-year-old child seriously.
Hospitals in Khan Yunis have admitted at least 100 Palestinians who were wounded, including 12 children and an old man.
The Central Gaza Strip
At approximately 11:25, IOF warplanes bombarded 15 sites throughout the central Gaza Strip: A civil defense station and a police station in al-Zahraa’ town; Fayez Jarad site of the Palestinian National Security Forces near al-Mughraqa village; a police station and a site of the Internal Security Service in Abu Meddain area; a civil defense station, 5 police stations and a site of the ‘Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades of Hamas in Deir al-Balah; a site of the National Security Forces in al-Maghazi refugee camp; a site of the National Security Forces in al-Boreij refugee camp; and a site of the ‘Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades near Gaza Valley.
As a result of these attacks, 84 Palestinians, including 20 civilians, were killed. The victims include two children, one of whom is 3-year-old and was killed while he was at home in al-Zahraa’ town and his mother and sister were seriously wounded.
At approximately 02:45 on Sunday, 28 December 2008, Israeli warplanes bombarded a house belonging to the al-Shaf’ei family in al-Boreij refugee camp after ordering the family to vacate it. The house was destroyed and a number of neighboring houses were heavily damaged.
At approximately 09:00, IOF warplanes bombarded a naval police station in al-Nussairat refugee camp.
Al-Aqsa MartyrsHospital in Deir al-Balah has admitted 100 Palestinians, mostly civilians, who were wounded in these attacks.
Gaza District
At approximately 11:25 on Saturday, IOF warplanes bombarded Arafat police compound in the center of Gaza City, where the ceremony of graduation of trained officers was being conducted; the headquarters of the past Preventive Security Service and offices of Wa’ed Society for Prisoners in Tal al-Hawa neighborhood in the south of Gaza City; al-Mashtal site in the Beach camp in the west of the city; al-’Abbas police station; a bust garage belonging to Hamas near Gaza Harbor; and the headquarters of the Security and Protection Service and the presidential compound in the west of the city. They also bombarded a police station in al-Daraj neighborhood in the east of Gaza City, a site of the ‘Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades of Hamas in al-Shoja’iya neighborhood and another one in al-Zaytoun neighborhood in the east of the city; a house belonging to the Humaid family in al-Tuffah neighborhood in the east of the city. At approximately 15:30, IOF warplanes bombarded the main gate of al-Saraya security compound in the center of GazaCity.
At approximately 01:00 on Sunday, 28 December 2008, IOF warplanes bombarded al-Burno Mosque near ShifaHospitaland two smith workshops belonging to the Khawaja and Abu Jahal families in the center of GazaCity.
At approximately 02:00, IOF warplanes bombarded the building of al-Aqsa Satellite Television in al-Nasser Street in the north of GazaCity.
At approximately 05:00, IOF warplanes bombarded a 3-storey house belonging to the Selmi family in al-Zaytoun neighborhood.
At approximately 08:00, IOF warplanes bombarded al-Shoja’iya police station in the east of GazaCity.
At approximately 09:15, IOF warplanes bombarded a store of weapons in Tal al-Hawa neighborhood, a divan of the al-’Ashi family in al-Remal neighborhood and a site of the National Security Forces in al-Nasser neighborhood.
At approximately 10:10, IOF warplanes bombarded a space area in Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in the north of GazaCity. Ten minutes later, they bombarded a police vehicle in al-Zaytoun neighborhood.
At approximately 11:00, IOF warplanes bombarded a part of al-Saraya security compound, which includes Gaza Central Prison, in the center of GazaCity.
As a result of these air strikes, 117 Palestinians, including 15 children and 7 women, were killed. The victims include 7 students of UNRWAVocationalTrainingCenterand 3 members of the al-Rayes family. They also include a man and his son from Hwaij family, who were killed while inside their house when IOF warplanes bombarded a house belonging to the Humaid family. According to investigations conducted by PCHR, many victims, including chief of police Major General Tawfiq Jaber, were killed in Araft police compound where the ceremony of the graduation of police officers was being held.
Hospitals in GazaCityhave admitted 200 Palestinians who were wounded, including 18 children and 12 women. The wounds were described as moderate to serious. At least 35 of the wounded have been receiving medical treatment at intensive care units.
The Northern GazaStrip
At approximately 11:25 on Saturday, 27 December 2008, IOF warplanes bombarded a number of sites of Palestinian security services and training sites. As a result, 21 Palestinians, including 2 women and 3 staff members of the Palestinian Telecommunication Company, were killed.
The sites that were bombarded are:
- ‘Abdul ‘Aziz al-Rantissi site in the west of Jabalya, in which 9 security men were killed and dozens of others were wounded.
- The naval police station in the west of Beit Lahia, in which 3 security men were killed and dozens of others were wounded.
- The building of Palestinian National Security Forces in the east of Jablaya, in addition to a site of the ‘Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades and a room of the Palestinian Telecommunication Company, where a passing woman, 3 staff members of the company and 3 members of the ‘Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades were killed.
- A site of Palestinian National Security Forces in the west of Beit Hanoun.
- A space area in al-Amal neighborhood in Beit Hanoun, where two civilians, including a woman, were killed.
PCHR strongly condemns such series of war crimes being committed by IOF in the Gaza Strip, and:
1) Reiterates its call for the international community, especially the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, and international organizations to immediately intervene to stop such unprecedented deterioration in the human rights situation and humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip.
2) Reminds that police stations, police officers and law enforcement officials are classified under the international law as civilians, and targeting them as such while they were not engaged in military action constitutes a violation of the international law.
3) Points out that the majority of the buildings and sites that were attacked are located in civilian-populated areas, so scores of houses were heavily damaged. Such attacks are an indication of Israeli disregard for the lives and safety of Palestinian civilians, which can be seen in the high number of civilian victims.
4) Calls upon States and international organizations to provide urgent humanitarian and medical assistance to the Gaza Strip, which has been under a tightened siege impacting all aspects of lives, especially health conditions, as hospitals in the Gaza Strip are unable to treat such high number of casualties.
For more information please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 - 2825893
PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
Israeli massacres in Gaza continue: 284 killed; including 32 children, and 755 injured; Gaza’s service systems paralyzed under severe lack of medicine, food and power
Monday, December 29th, 2008Source: Al Mezan Center for Human Rights
Date: 29 Dec 2008
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) has continued its airstrikes on Gaza. For the third day in a raw, Israeli aircrafts, helicopter gunships and surveillance drones have continued to roam Gaza’s skies, spreading death around the impoverished coastal strip. Attacks targeted dozens of houses and other civilian premises, such as mosques and education facilities that are located in urban areas causing dozens of civilian casualties. These attacks continue as the international community failure to uphold applicable international law seems to encourage more Israeli attacks, despite their clear disregard of civilian life and international law.
Al Mezan Center’s monitoring indicates that at least 30 Palestinians (12 children and one woman) have been killed since yesterday, whereas the number of people who have been injured reached 158 (25 children and 14 women). 38 houses were targeted directly by the IOF and approximately 3,000 homes have sustained varied degrees of damage.
Additionally, the IOF airstrikes targeted and destroyed 4 mosques, 34 workshops, 16 security installations, 3 CBO offices, 3 fishing boats and 6 vehicles. This is besides the bombardment of a building in the Islamic University. The UNSCO office and a building hosting international UN staff and a number of their cars were also damaged.
As IOF’s attacks continue, more casualties and damages are expected to occur in Gaza.
Two of the most tragic events took place in Jabalia refugee camp, north of the Gaza Strip, and Rafah refugee camp in the south of the Strip. In Jabalia refugee camp an Israeli airstrike targeted the Emad Aqel Mosque in Block 4 of the camp. The Mosque was destroyed. But so were tens of the refugee camp’s humble homes, which asbestos roofs and weak walls fell down. Two homes adjacent to the Mosque were completely destroyed, one of which on their inhabitants, killing five girl children and injuring six, including an infant, a toddler and two girl children as well as their parents. Al Mezan’s field worker reported that the victims were identified as:
- 4-year-old Jawahir Anwar Ba’lousha,
- 8-year-old Dina Anwar Ba’lousha,
- 12-year-old Sahar Anwar Ba’lousha,
- 14-year-old Ikram Anwar Ba’lousha,
- 17-year-old Tahrir Anwar Ba’lousha.
Those who were injured are:
- Two-week-old Bara’ Anwar Ba’lousha,
- 2-year-old Mohammed Anwar Ba’lousha,
- 11-year-old Samah Anwar Ba’lousha,
- 16-year-old Iman Anwar Ba’lousha,
The parents of the children were also injured in this attack, which destroyed tens of homes and caused various injuries to another 24 civilians.
In the southern Gaza camp of Rafah, Israeli aircraft destroyed tens of homes in a series of airstrikes. The bombardment of the Al-Attar family and the Al-Absi family were particularly severe. According to Al Mezan’s field investigations, at approximately 1am today, 29 December 2008, Israeli aircrafts launched two airstrikes which simultaneously hit the houses of Al-Attar family and the Al-Absi family in the camp. The latter house was completely destroyed and many of its inhabitants were buried under its rubble. Three of the family’s children were killed and five other persons were injured. Medical sources in Rafah reported to Al Mezan that the children’s mother sustained serious wounds. Those who were killed in this house were identified as:
- 3-year-old Sedki Ziad Al-Absi,
- 12-year-old Ahmad Ziad Al-Absi,
- 14-year-old Mohammed Ziad Al-Absi.
Three other people from Al-Kurd family, who reside a neighboring house, were also injured in this attack, which caused damage to another four houses.
Aircrafts also bombarded and destroyed the Al-Attars house in Rafah. Four other neighboring homes were severely damaged and four people residing an adjacent home were injured, including 12-year-old Mahmoud Abu Hashim. The Al-Attar family had evacuated their house shortly before the shelling.
IOF’s airstrikes also targeted civilian premises in Rafah, including the buildings of Rafah Municipality and Governorate, and metal workshops, a medicine stores, and police stations.
The IOF also intensified its attacks on the borderline between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, forcing thousands of civilians to evacuate their homes starting approximately 40 minutes after midnight today. Families sheltered in UNRWA schools, which are not equipped to receive refugees, especially in the cold winters.
In Gaza City, IOF’s attacks have continued to target civilian premises. One attack targeted a two-story house owned by the Kishku family in Az-Zeytoun neighborhood in the city, at approximately 7pm yesterday. Israeli aircrafts hit the house with missiles while its 13 inhabitants were inside it, killing one woman and a girl child and injuring another six. Those who were killed were:
- 8-year-old Ibtihal Abdullah Kishku,
- 22-year-old Maisa Muneer Kishku.
At approximately 1:20pm yesterday, 28 December 2008, Israeli aircrafts fired missiles into two uninhabited apartments in the Al Azhar and the Education apartment compounds in Tel Al Hawa area in Gaza City. Numerous apartments were damaged. Later at night, Israeli aircrafts fired five heavy missiles at a building hosting classrooms and the labs of the Science and Engineering colleges at the Islamic University in Gaza City. The building was completely destroyed and other buildings at the university were damaged.
Al Mezan’s field workers reported that the IOF launched numerous attacks on police and security buildings in Gaza City, including the presidential guesthouse in Ansar security compound. Israeli aircrafts and naval vessels took part in these attacks, which also struck the fishermen’s haven and destroyed three fishing boats.
Also in Gaza City, at approximately 2:30am today 29 December 2008, Israeli helicopter gunships fired missiles at the house of Ala’ I’kilan in the Beach refugee camp, destroying it and causing damages to tens of houses in the camp.
In Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, Israeli aircrafts bombarded various targets. At approximately 9:15pm on 28 December 2008 fired a missile into a crowd of people in Al Qarara town, east to Khan Younis, killing 22-year-old Ahmad Fayyad and moderately injuring another man.
At 10:20pm on the same day IOF bombarded the Ezadin Al Qassam Mosque in the town of Abassan, east to Khan Younis, destroying the mosque and causing severe damage to many houses around it. About an hour later, Israeli aircrafts bombarded the Abu T”emeh family’s house in Bani Suheial town, also east to Khan Younis. The house was destroyed and many other houses damaged.
In the Middle Gaza district, IOF fired missiles at an empty car in the An-Nuseirat refugee camp. Three bystanders were killed, including a child. They were identified as:
- 15-year-old Diya Abu Khubizeh,
- 20-year-old Mohammed Abu Khubizeh,
- 21-year-old Younis Abu Khubizeh.
At approximately 11:30pm on Sunday 28 December 2008, Israeli aircrafts bombarded the house of Talal Hassan Issa in the Al-Bureij refugee camp. The house was completely destroyed and tens of other houses were damaged. However, no casualties were reported. Eyewitnesses reported to Al Mezan that the inhabitants had evacuated following a telephone call informing them that their house would be attacked.
This Israeli bloody escalation comes while the tight siege of Gaza which has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis for Gaza’s 1.5 million people, who have had to live under severe shortages of food, water, medicine and power. These conditions impact seriously on the services sectors, especially as some of their facilities are being bombarded.
According to the monitoring of Al Mezan Center for Human Rights there is evidence that the IOF has perpetrated grave breaches of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in Gaza during the past few days. Many of the IOF’s conducts qualify as war crimes and/or crimes against humanity. The Israeli aggression also represents a multiple violation of human rights standards.
It has been observed that the IOF target civilian premises directly and wantonly, while showing blatant disregard to civilian life and property. Israel’s attempts to prescribe its recent actions as self-defence against Hamas and rocket launchers is distorted and misleading. When a state chooses to resort to the use of force, it is bound by rules that prevent it from the abuse of this force, for its actions must observe the basic principles of IHL and human rights, both of which absolutely prohibit the disproportionate use of force and place an obligation on it to distinguish between military and civilian targets. In pursuing political gains in Gaza, Israel must show respect for human rights.
Therefore, and as the international community continuous failure to uphold its own legal and moral obligations, by turning a blind eye to the recent developments in Gaza and refraining from taking any effective actions to restrain Israel’s violations or providing aid and protection for innocent civilians, Al Mezan calls for an urgent convention of the conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilians in Times of war, of 1949, to consider the continuous, and scandalous, disregard of its obligations under the Convention and taking the necessary measures to ensure respect of its rules with regard to the Israeli action in Gaza.
Al Mezan Center, while welcomes the worldwide popular reactions in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, calls for more pressure by civil societies on their governments to ensure that they take actions in compliance with their international obligations, which require them to act to stop and punish war crimes.
Weather situation expected to continue - Dr. Luncheon, outlines plans to address the situation
Monday, December 29th, 2008Source: Government of Guyana
Date: 24 Dec 2008
Georgetown, GINA, December 24, 2008 - Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon said that all measures will be taken to ensure that citizens are not adversely affected by the current rainy season. He noted that health and animal officers will continue to monitor affected areas.
Dr. Luncheon was at the time briefing members of the media, following Cabinet’s meeting on December 24, 2008. The Hydromet Office has predicted that rainfall will be experienced in the short-term and that we can expect the extreme variability and even rainfall to the extent of our experiences in 2005 and 2006.
He noted that it is the consequence of those projections that the plans include the design and the implementation of activities related to a worst case scenario. Among those activities, many of which are ongoing, the Head of the Presidential Secretariat said that more mobile and permanent pumps will be deployed to increase the removal of water, since gravity drainage is, as it is today maximized and not likely to have significant increases.
He said that tidal drainage is being maximized in clearing of outfalls and canals, and noted that if rainfall is going to increase then pumps will have to be used to take care of the additional water that is anticipated. Most importantly, he said that the level of work done will have to be maintained, including the clearing of outfalls and canals, removal of garbage and impediments that float, Dr. Luncheon emphasised.
He noted that attention to animal health both in terms of forage and treating the very same infections to which humans are exposed to is ongoing. In the health sector, he pointed out that the clinics in affected areas will continue working to extended hours, including holidays so that health visitors can continue responding to the findings about diseases in affected communities.
Health workers have been assigned a major task in distributing chlorine tablets and disinfectants, and sterilized water is being provided while the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) will undertake and maintain the distribution of treated water in identified communities, Dr. Luncheon said.
He noted that so far a minority of communities on the East Coast of Demerara have indicated their requirements for bulk water distribution. Nevertheless, the Cabinet Secretary said that the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) and GWI will maintain the presence in anticipation of some deterioration that the predictions of Hydromet Office prevail.
This, he said, will be done to ensure that they have the capacities to set up potable water facilities in identified communities as well as to increase the distribution to households in the villages.
The sea and river defence department will increase stockpiling of the supplies and goods that are anticipated in case of deterioration, Dr. Luncheon said.
He said that a number of koker doors and sluices, sheet piling for breaches in river, bridges and sea defences have already been identified for procurement. The CDC will continue its monitoring role in the affected communities and areas and its coordinating role will be enhanced by meeting more often as we head in the uncertain future, the Head of the Presidential Secretariat explained.
Responding to the question of a new proposed canal, Dr Luncheon said that the major responsibility at the level of the administration was to execute the design work based on which the most ideal location and the amount of land space that was needed was identified.
This, he said was the first step and noted that because the decision led to a specific area that was already part of a housing estate or an intended housing estate, interventions were made to have that area reserved.
The cost and other material consideration, he said have not been worked out, and noted this have to be completed in order to move into the next stage which includes executing the formal design before going to tender.
With respect to funding for the project, Dr. Luncheon indicated that they are looking at corporations that have already been approached about the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) to improve its functioning, particularly to lessen the risk of breaches of the dam and enhancing the disposal of water during the rainy season which is major threat of the dam.
Insurgents kill more innocent Afghan civilians
Monday, December 29th, 2008Source: North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)
Date: 29 Dec 2008
KABUL, Afghanistan - In 2 separate incidents, the enemies of Afghanistan have killed 4 and injured 37 innocent Afghan civilians. In the first incident in eastern Afghanistan a vehicle borne IED was detonated in an apparent attack on the Parwan Governor’s compound killing 2 civilians and injuring 16.
In the second, 2 improvised explosive devices detonated in a bazaar in Spin Boldak, Kandahar Province at approximately 11:30 a.m. local time. Afghan National Police have reported that 2 civilians were killed by the explosion, and 20 civilians and one Afghan Border Police Officer wounded. One of the civilians killed is reported to have been a child. ISAF has evacuated one of the most seriously injured casualties to Kandahar Air Field for medical treatment.
General McKiernan, Commander ISAF, said “Yesterday we saw the killing of innocent civilians including 14 children in a suicide bombing in eastern Afghanistan. Again, today in southern and eastern Afghanistan we have seen further unnecessary killing and suffering of innocent civilians. The Taliban offer nothing but terror, fear and suffering for the Afghan people.”
Contact Information:
ISAF Public Affairs Office
Tel: +93 (0)79 51 1155
Mobile: 0093 (0) 799 55 8291
pressoffice@hq.isaf.nato.int
www.nato.int/isaf/