The number of civilians killed in the conflict in Afghanistan so far this year has risen by 24% compared with the same period last year, the UN says. More than 1,000 people were killed in the first six months of the year, according to a UN report. It blamed insurgents for using increasingly deadly modes of attack. It also said air strikes by government-allied forces were responsible. There has been widespread concern in Afghanistan about civilian death tolls. In June the US military acknowledged concerns about the civilian deaths. Gen Stanley MacChrystal, the new commander of US and Nato-led troops in Afghanistan said troops must make protecting Afghan civilians a priority. But, the UN warned more civilians may be killed as militants battle a major offensive by US forces ahead of key elections next month. Civilian targets The report says insurgents were responsible for more deaths than government-allied forces.
But it noted that two-thirds of the deaths caused by government-allied forces came in air strikes. It said the rising death toll was partly due to the fact that militants were deliberately basing themselves in residential districts. The report also highlighted the increasingly sophisticated tactics used by insurgents. It said there had been a rise in co-ordinated attacks using suicide bombers and explosives to target government offices. In those attacks, civilians were always singled out and killed. In the most recent of these attacks, gunmen and suicide bombers targeted Gardez and Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan killing five people. Presidential elections The report also noted that militants increasingly bombed the cars of civilians who work with government or international troops. Civilian deaths rose every month this year compared with 2008, except for February. May was cited as the deadliest month for civilians with 261 killed. Elections are due to take place amid tight security on 20 August when President Hamid Karzai is hoping to secure a second term. In the past week alone there have been two attacks on Afghan election campaigns. On Tuesday a campaign manager for presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah was wounded when his vehicle was attacked in Laghman province. Two days earlier there was an assassination attempt on Mohammed Qasim Fahim, a running mate of Mr Karzai |
Friday, July 31, 2009
Afghan civilian deaths 'increase'
'No rhyme or reason' for bank pay
Wall Street banks that were bailed out by the government gave executives bonuses regardless of performance, it has been suggested in a report. The report by New York Attorney Andrew Cuomo's office said there was "no clear rhyme or reason" for pay and it had been disconnected from performance. Controversially, Congress is seeking to give government a direct say in what bank bosses are compensated.Top US banks paid out huge bonuses despite gaining taxpayer bail-outs. "Compensation for bank employees has become unmoored from the banks' financial performance" said the report.The report - prepared over nine months - argues that some banks paid out larger bonuses than their profits, while simultaneously taking exceptional state emergency funds. Difficult year Ten banks were given money as part of the government's $700bn financial stimulus plan. In 2008 Goldman Sachs paid $4.8bn in bonuses, representing more than twice its income. Similarly Morgan Stanley awarded bonuses of $4.475bn while earning just $1.7bn.
The government provided both firms with $10bn, as part of the its wider Troubled Asset Relief Program (Tarp). Goldman recently reported a better-than-expected net profit of $3.44bn for the three months to June. Citigroup and Merrill Lynch paid bonuses of $5.33bn and $3.6bn respectively while seeing losses of more than $27m each, said the report. "Other banks, like State Street and Bank of New York Mellon, paid bonuses that were more in line with their net income, which is certainly what one would expect in a difficult year like 2008". The proposal in Congress has been opposed by many Republicans who think it gives the state too much control over private firms' pay. "The problem with executive compensation is essentially, from the systemic standpoint, that it gives perverse incentives" said Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. He said the lack of penalties meant "heads you win, tails you break even" |
Three held over Baghdad robbery
Three people have been detained in Iraq in connection with a bank robbery in Baghdad earlier this week, in which eight security guards were killed. The interior ministry said all the money stolen from the Rafidain bank had been recovered - about $7m (£4m) worth of Iraqi dinars in total. A tip-off had led police to a house near the bank in the Karrada area of the Iraqi capital, the ministry said. Police are still searching for a number of other suspects. Dawn raid Witness accounts and security camera footage led police to the house belonging to an Iraqi army soldier. Only his elderly parents were at home when the police arrived. Tuesday's robbery was one of the biggest Baghdad had ever seen. The gunmen stormed the bank at dawn, and fired at the security guards, before using dynamite to open the vault where the money was kept. Security officials said there are links between the armed insurgency and organised crime in Iraq. Questions have been raised about whether the robbers had help from an inside source. |
Israel says Gaza war 'necessary'
An Israeli government report has said that the Israeli military campaign in Gaza earlier this year was "necessary and proportionate". The war and its conduct have been widely criticised, with Israel and Hamas accused of war crimes. Palestinian sources say about 1,400 Gazans died in the conflict. Thirteen Israeli died. The report said 100 inquiries had been launched into the conduct of soldiers and 14 criminal investigations opened. According to the United Nations, the Israeli military campaign left more than 50,000 homes, 800 industrial properties and 200 schools damaged or destroyed, as well as 39 mosques and two churches. The UN Human Rights Council has appointed former South African judge Richard Goldstone to investigate whether war crimes were committed during the conflict. Israel has declined to co-operate, accusing the UN Human Rights Council of bias against it.
Allegations persist against the Israeli military about killings of unarmed civilians, the use of civilians as human shields and indiscriminate destruction of property. Israeli officials insist troops went to great lengths to protect civilians, that Hamas endangered non-combatants by firing from civilian areas and that homes and buildings were destroyed only when there was a specific military need to do so. The conflict lasted for 22 days, ending on 18 January. 'Incessant' rockets "Israel had both a right and an obligation to take military action against Hamas in Gaza to stop Hamas' almost incessant rocket and mortar attacks," the report, issued on Thursday, said. It says 12,000 rockets and mortars were fired at Israel between 2000 and 2008 - nearly 3,000 in 2008 alone. The report explains that damage caused to UN facilities by Israeli strikes should be blamed on Hamas, which Israel says set up rocket launchers nearby. Allegations that dozens of Palestinian civilians were killed or wounded by white phosphorus shells are dismissed. The report detailed steps aimed at limiting civilian casualties. It says 2.5 million leaflets were dropped and 165,000 phone calls made warning civilians to leave areas that would be targeted. It also says that humanitarian aid was allowed into Gaza throughout the conflict. Palestinians have said it was not safe to leave their homes to try to escape fighting and shelling, that they were unable to access the humanitarian aid |
Baghdad mosques hit by car bombs
A series of car bombings outside mosques in the Iraqi capital Baghdad have killed at least 27 people, Iraqi police sources say. Reports say that six Shia mosques were targeted and more than 50 people hurt. Worshippers were leaving the mosques after Friday prayers at the time of the car bombings.The number of those killed and injured is still rising and it is already clear that this is one of the deadliest attacks in recent weeks.The bombings come exactly one month after the US troops pulled out from cities across Iraq, handing over security to Iraqi forces.The attacks took place within a short period of time at mosques in northern, eastern and south-eastern Baghdad.The deadliest attack struck a mosque in the Shaab area of northern Baghdad, killing 21 people and wounding about 30.Four people died in a near simultaneous attack near Diyala bridge in the south of the city, the report said |
Islamist death 'good for Nigeria'
Nigerian government minister has expressed relief at the death of an Islamic sect leader whose capture police announced on Thursday. But Information Minister Dora Akunyili told the BBC the government "does not condone extra-judicial killings".Human rights campaigners have voiced concern at Mohammed Yusuf's death. The group he led has been blamed for days of violent unrest. Hundreds of people have died in clashes between his followers and security forces. His group - known as Boko Haram or Taliban - wants to overthrow the Nigerian government and impose a strict version of Islamic law.The bullet-riddled body of Mohammed Yusuf, 39, was seen hours after police announced he had been captured in the northern city of Maiduguri.The BBC's Bilkisu Babangida says the city is returning to normal, with shops and banks re-opening. She says many residents are happy that Mr Yusuf is dead. 'Shocking' Information Minister Dora Akunyili told the BBC's Network Africa that she was concerned about the death and that the government would find out "exactly what happened". However Mohammed Yusuf's demise was "positive" for Nigeria, she added. "What is important is that he [Yusuf] has been taken out of the way, to stop him using people to cause mayhem."
She accused Mr Yusuf of "brainwashing" youths to cause trouble. Ms Akunyili praised the security forces, saying they had managed to stop the violence spreading even further and that normality was returning to the region. Human Rights Watch staff said there should be an immediate investigation into the case. "The extrajudicial killing of Mr Yusuf in police custody is a shocking example of the brazen contempt by the Nigerian police for the rule of law," said Eric Guttschuss, of the New York-based rights group. Another Human Rights Watch researcher, Corinne Dufka, told AP news agency: "The Nigerian authorities must act immediately to investigate and hold to account all those responsible for this unlawful killing and any others associated with the recent violence in northern Nigeria." 'Trying to escape' Troops had stormed Boko Haram's stronghold in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri on Wednesday night, killing many of the militants and forcing others to flee.
Mr Yusuf was arrested the following day after reportedly being found hiding in a goat pen at his parents-in-law's house. Later, a BBC reporter in the city was among journalists shown two films - one apparently showing Mr Yusuf making a confession, the other showing what appeared to be his body, riddled with bullets. "Mohammed Yusuf was killed by security forces in a shoot-out while trying to escape," the regional police assistant inspector-general, Moses Anegbode, told Nigerian television. A spokesman for the state governor was also quoted as saying that Mr Yusuf had been trying to escape. One policeman told AFP news agency Mr Yusuf had "pleaded for mercy and forgiveness before he was shot." 'Inspirational' The violence began on Sunday night in Bauchi state, before spreading to other towns and cities in the northeast of the West African nation. Crowds of militants tried to storm government buildings and the city's police headquarters, but dozens of them were shot dead by security forces. Several days of gun battles between militants and Nigerian security forces ensued, culminating in the assault on the militant's stronghold. It is thought more than 300 people have died in the violence - some estimates say 600, although there has been no official confirmation. The Red Cross said about 3,500 people had fled the fighting and were being housed in their camp. Witnesses and human rights groups have accused the military of excessive violence in quelling the militants, but the army says it used a minimal amount of force. Police say Mr Yusuf was a preacher from Yobe state, who had four wives and 12 children. They described him as a inspirational character. His sect, Boko Haram, is against Western education. It believes Nigeria's government is being corrupted by Western ideas and wants to see Islamic law imposed across Nigeria. Sharia law is in place across northern Nigeria, but there is no history of al-Qaeda-linked violence. The country's 150 million people are split almost equally between Muslims in the north and Christians in the south | ||||||
