The first ever trial of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague started on Monday, with the former Congolese rebel leader Thomas Lubanga pleading not guilty to six charges of recruiting and using hundreds of child soldiers between 1 September 2002 and 13 August 2003, while he was the head of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UCP).Keep up to date with the latest developments and sharpest perspectives in a world of strife and struggle.
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The toD verdict: The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which saw fighting between the UCP's ethnic Hema militia and the rival Lendu ethnic group over gold-mining resources, resulted in the death of some 60,000 people and the creation of hundreds of thousands of refugees. More than 30,000 children were recruited to fight after being abducted on their way to school or playing sports. Girls were taken as sex slaves. Monday's trial opened with the ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo accusing Lubanga of using children to "kill, pillage and rape".
The trial takes place after a seven-month delay during which judges and prosecutors discussed confidential evidence. It is expected to last between six and nine months, with 34 witnesses to be called by the prosecution, and could set a precedent for judging the accountability of those guilty of war crimes.
The court will also decide whether to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, accused of genocide in his own country, and the recently detained Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda is expected to be extradited on charges of war crimes after his arrest last Friday.
Sudan carries out aerial attack on captured town
Sixteen civilians, including one child, were killed in an aerial attack by the government on the town of Muhajiriya in Sudan last week after it was taken by the rebel Justice and Equality Movement, wich took up arms against the Sudanese authorities in 2003. The bombing occurred as the International Criminal Court considers whether to call for the arrest of Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir on charges of war crimes.
Israeli troops to be protected from war crime accusations
The Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has assured Israeli troops that they will be protected by the state against prosecution for any war crimes committed during the Gaza offensive, which ended on 18 January. The three-week operation killed over 1,300 people, and the UN has called for investigations into whether war crimes were committed. Israel is already reportedly carrying out an inquiry into allegations that white phosphorus shells were used in civilian areas. Meanwhile, attempts to reach a lasting ceasefire continue as Hamas officials wait for the Israeli response to an offer for a one-year truce with open borders for the Gaza strip. This counter offer was made after the rejection of an Israeli proposal which offered an 18-month truce with only a partial opening of borders. International opinion seems to be accepting the need for some Hamas involvement in negotiations, despite the group's status as a terrorist group.
Karzai: killing of innocent civilians "is strengthening the terrorists"
As the Obama administration warned the American public to prepare themselves for a rise in civilian and US army casualties in the battle against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in the middle east, the new president sanctioned his first military action inside Pakistan in the form of a missile attack which killed 22 people on Friday. Just a day later, another US operation killed as many as 16 people in Afghanistan, most of them civilians. The US government believes that rebels are hiding in the tribal areas on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Unilateral strikes from American planes and drones have been a constant source of tension over the last year, with more than 200 people killed in a total of 30 strikes. President Karzai was quick to condemn the latest attack, saying that the killing of Afghan civilians "is strengthening the terrorists."
Al-Qaeda video includes former Guantánamo inmates
A video has been released by a Yemeni branch of al-Qaeda showing two former inmates of Guantánamo Bay identifying themselves by their names and detainee numbers. Said Ali al-Shihri and Abu Hareth Muhammad al-Awfi were both released from the prison camp in November 2007 and went on to a Saudi Arabian rehabilitation program for jihadists which, according to the Saudi government, has provided a model for other programs. Until now, none of the program graduates had returned to terrorism. It has been confirmed that Ali al-Shihri is now deputy leader of al-Qaeda in Yemen, and it is thought that he took part in the fatal attack on the country's American embassy in September 2008. This news could have an impact on the US government's decision to close Guantánamo Bay, as Obama announced his desire for the facility to be shut within the next year,
Pakistan shaken by explosions
As the new US administration confirmed its commitment to battling al-Qaeda and the Taliban, Monday saw Pakistan plagued by a spate of bombings. A school in Mingora, the main city in the Swat valley, was blown up by suspected Taliban militants early that morning with no reported casualties. The number of schools destroyed in the area over the last six months now stands at 183. Elsewhere in Pakistan, a bicycle bomb killed five people and injured 26 others in the northwestern town of Dera Ismail Khan when it exploded near a women's hostel. The exact target of the attack was not clear.
