This Week in Conflict is now being divided up!

Here is the new schedule:

This Week in the World of Conflict – posted on Mondays

This Week in African Conflict- posted on Tuesdays

This Week in Asian Conflict – posted on Wednesdays (includes Oceania and Australia)

This Week in Conflict in the Americas – posted on Thursdays

This Week in Middle Eastern Conflict – posted on Fridays

This Week in European Conflict – posted on Saturdays

Please submit any reports or stories of conflict around the world to apeaceofconflict@gmail.com or write in the comments below. Here’s a summary of what happened this week in Africa:

• Different pro-Gbagbo factions continue to support the ousted President of Cote d’Ivoire from a position of exile, including Simone Gbagbo’s daughter, who has hired a legal team to defend what she calls the “illegal detainment” of her parents; and Charles Ble Goude, the “Street General”, long thought dead has now resurfaced and is pledging to play a role in future politics within the country. On Thursday, the new Ivorian government announced the creation of a national investigation commission on the crimes perpetrated during the post-election crisis, that in theory would punish all no matter which side of the conflict they were from, though Human Rights Watch has pointed out that no one from Ouattara’s camp has yet been arrested or investigated and that justice appears one-sided and delayed. The top UN human rights official expressed concern over acts of violence allegedly carried out by members of the new army, the FRCI, including reports of summary executions, rape and torture. On Friday, a huge cache of arms and ammunition was reportedly uncovered in Liberia near the Ivorian border, including RPGs, machine guns and assault rifles, while the mercenary commander known as “Bob Marley”, who is said to have ordered the killing of civilians in Cote d’Ivoire was in custody. Also on Friday, the ICC gave victims of post-election violence 30 days to submit testimony to the chief prosecutor, which personally, I think is far too short, especially considering the number of people still in hiding in the bush or displaced and unable to access media that would let them even know of the deadline. Medicins Sans Frontieres compiled a very telling group of stories from ordinary people who suffered the violence over the past few months and the toll that this conflict took on their families. Concerns remain over the daunting task of uniting the country’s security forces, which remain divided and suspicious of each other. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs remains concerned that the Emergency Humanitarian Action Plan for the country is only 25% funded; seriously impeding much needed humanitarian assistance.
• On Tuesday, the UN refugee agency urged authorities in Sudan to allow road and air access for aid workers trying to help thousands of fleeing people in Southern Kordofan, after being denied permission to land in the state capital for nearly a week and prevented land access by roadblocks of militiamen; while 29 people were reportedly killed in a cattle raid in south Sudan. On Wednesday, air strikes in Southern Kordofan are said to have killed as many as 64 people and caused tens of thousands to flee; while the north and south continued to clash in the disputed Abyei border region, with unconfirmed reports of civilians being targeted at checkpoints for torture, harassment and sometimes summary executions. On Thursday, North Sudan’s army vowed to continue fighting against the south in Southern Kordofan to end what it calls an “armed rebellion” and South Sudan’s army said it was ready for more attacks by northern forces in the Abyei region. It was also reported; however, that mediator Thabo Mbeki said that the warring parties in Southern Kordofan agreed that hostilities should cease and that talks should start. On Friday, the UN condemned the detention and abuse by the Sudanese armed forces towards four UN peacekeepers that were on patrol in Southern Kordofan; while six shells fired by the SAF were said to have landed 150 metres away from an UNMIS base near Abyei. While everyone is worried about the future of Southern Sudan, Rebecca Hamilton discusses the possibility that the North is actually in the most danger of returning to full out conflict. On Saturday, Nigeria announced it was considering the possibility of keeping its troops in Southern Sudan beyond the July 9^th Independence. On Sunday, the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) categorically denied allegations of misconduct against its peacekeepers in the state of South Kordofan, made by independent observers and both parties to the conflict, and complained that the closure of airspace and restrictions on access are undermining its humanitarian operations there. The SPLM has accused Egyptian peacekeepers of complicity with SAF and of raping local women under UN protection; while local activists accuse UNMIS of reacting to violence with silence or a refusal of requests for evacuation of individuals who were in danger. On Monday, Ethiopian peacekeepers moved into the contested Abyei region under a new deal negotiated between the north and the south that also called upon both sides to remove their troops and demilitarize the area; while Sudan’s defence minister accused anti-government fighters of trying to create a “second Benghazi” in Southern Kordofan and vowed that the military would “clean” the area. Texas in Africa compiled a great list of further reading on Sudan’s conflict, if you want to know more about the situation.
• On Tuesday, the Russian head of the World Chess Federation said that he learned that Libya’s Gaddafi is open to talks with NATO and the country’s rebels after playing chess with him; pro-Gaddafi forces bombarded the Tunisian border post; some 21 rebel fighters were killed in clashes on the eastern front; Libyan tv reported that NATO was bombing civilian and military targets in a central town; while NATO said it had hit several military targets near Tripoli and rockets are said to have damaged generators at an oil refinery near Misrata, allowing the rebels to make fresh gains on the western front. South African President Zuma said NATO is abusing a UN resolution to protect Libyan civilians in order to pursue regime change and political assassinations. NATO is said to be dropping leaflets from the sky showing a picture of a helicopter and a burning tank that tell those below that if they see the helicopters, “it means it is already too late”. On Wednesday, NATO reportedly hit a bus at the entrance to the town of Kikla, killing some 12 people; rebels reportedly pushed deeper into government-held territory south of the capital; and Reuters reported a story that rebels were giving their enemies (some 360 of them) dignified Muslim burials in the town of Misrata. On Thursday, Spain ordered its Libyan ambassador and three embassy staff to leave the country over what it called the illegitimacy of Gaddafi’s rule; while Gaddafi was reportedly losing friends all over Africa. One of his sons announced that Gaddafi would agree to internationally supervised elections on the condition there is no vote-rigging, and that he would step down if he lost, but would never leave Libya, as he intends to die and be buried there; a move the US immediately dismissed, calling it too late. On Friday, rebels and pro-government forces exchanged heavy fire near Zlitan; at least 10 people were killed and 40 wounded in government shelling of Misrata; Gaddafi pledged to defeat NATO in an aired audio speech on Libyan TV and Russia’s envoy to Libya said that representatives of the Gaddafi government are in contact across Europe with members of the Libyan rebellion. On Saturday, gun battles continued in the northwest city of Nalut, killing at least 8 rebels and wounding 13; at least two explosions shook Tripoli; UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced that the beginnings of a negotiation process were underway; while NATO has accused Gaddafi’s forces of using mosques and children’s parks as shields. It appears US President Obama may be in some hot water over his decision to continue the air war in Libya without congressional approval despite rulings to the contrary; and rebels complain they have run out of money, accusing the West of failing to keep its promises of urgent financial aid. Thousands of documents that reveal orders from Gaddafi’s senior generals to bombard and starve the people of Misrata have been gathered by war crimes investigators and will help form damning evidence in any future war crimes trial at the ICC. On Sunday, government officials took journalists to a site it alleges was bombed by NATO warplanes, while NATO admitted its forces mistakenly targeted a column of Libyan rebels, injuring as many as 16 fighters. The UK reported the total cost of its involvement in Libya could run into the “hundreds of millions” of pound and is currently costing tens of millions from reserve funds set aside for contingencies. NATO has also announced that it is investigating Libyan government claims that it bombed a residential area within the capital, killing several civilians. On Monday, three rockets fired by Gaddafi forces reportedly hit a built-up area near the port in Misrata, killing a 13 year-old child and wounding two other children; rebels shut off a pipeline in the Western Mountains region that supplies crude from an oilfield in the south to a refinery near the capital in an attempt to stifle the Gaddafi regime; more than 20 Gaddafi troops are said to have defected from a brigade in the south and joined the rebellion; NATO admitted to launching a missile strike against a compound that killed at least 15 people, including three children, calling it a “legitimate military target under the mandate of the UN resolution”; Italy’s foreign minister said that NATO has endangered its credibility by the killing of civilians; while the EU foreign ministers have agreed to look into the possibility of using frozen Libyan funds to assist the rebels.
• The curfew on Cairo, Egypt’s streets[continued at http://apeaceofconflict.com]