Somali troops 'free' pirate-held hostages

Twenty-two hostages held for nearly three years are released after two-week long siege by Puntland maritime police.

One pirate leader said the ship was released after long negotiations with Puntland officials and local elders [AFP]

A ship and its crew of 22 sailors held by Somali pirates for almost three years have been freed after a two-week-long siege by maritime police, the government of the breakaway region of Puntland said. "After two years and nine months in captivity, the hostages have suffered signs of physical torture and illness. The hostages are now receiving nutrition and medical care," the president's office of the northern Somali enclave said on Sunday in a statement. The sailors aboard Panama-flagged MV Iceberg 1, from the Philippines, India, Yemen, Sudan, Ghana and Pakistan, were held for longer than any other hostages by the pirates who prey on shipping in the region. Maritime police began to lay siege to the vessel on December 10 near the coastal village of Garaad in the region of Mudug. The ship originally had a crew of 24, but two have died since the roll-on roll-off cargo vessel was seized on March 29, 2010, some 16km from Aden, the pirates said. Release 'kindly requested' One of the pirate leaders said they only released the ship after negotiations with Puntland officials and local elders. Farah did not disclose whether any ransom had been paid for the crew and the ship, owned by Azal Shipping in Dubai."They kindly requested the release of the ship we held for three years. Puntland forces had attacked us and tried to release the ship by force but they failed. We fought back and defeated them," a pirate known as Farah told the Reuters news agency. Pirates rarely release ships without ransom, and usually raise their demands the longer they hold a vessel - because they charge for their expenses. Close to 120 seafarers are still held by Somali pirates, though that number is considerably down from the height of the piracy crisis two years ago, when more than 600 hostages were held at any given time. Hijackings by Somali pirates have been significantly reduced in the last couple of years because many ships now carry armed guards and there is an international naval armada that carries out onshore raids. In 2012, pirates seized 47 vessels. So far this year, they have taken five, a decrease that could signify the scourge is ending, though experts say it is too early to declare a victory.

Rwanda genocide: ICTR jails Augustin Ngirabatware

A UN war crimes court has sentenced a key organiser of the 1994 Rwandan genocide to 35 years in prison.

The sentence was imposed on Augustin Ngirabatware, a former government minister in Rwanda.

He is the last person to be tried by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), which will now only hear appeals.
About 800,000 people - ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus - were killed in 100 days in Rwanda in 1994.
The ICTR convicted Ngirabatware of genocide, incitement to commit genocide and rape as a crime against humanity, the AFP news agency reports.
"For these crimes the court sentences you to 35 years in prison," Judge William Hussein Sekule told Ngirabatware.
He was planning minister in the militant Hutu-led government at the time of the genocide.
Ngirabatware was arrested in Germany in September 2007 and was transferred more than a year later to the ICTR in Arusha, Tanzania.
The ICTR says on its website that it has completed 71 cases since it was set up under a UN Security Council resolution in November 1994 to try the ringleaders of the genocide.
Ten accused were acquitted while 32 convicts are serving sentences, it says.
It is due to close in 2014 after it has finalised 16 appeal cases.

Congo militia boss Ngudjolo acquitted of war crimes at Hague

 

DR Congo Seeks Democracy 

Former Congolese militia leader Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui has been acquitted by the International Criminal Court of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The case related to the 2003 killings of 200 residents of Bogoro village in the mineral-rich Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The court in the Hague heard reports of victims being burned alive, babies smashed against walls and women raped.
Mr Ngudjolo denied ordering the attack, saying he learned of it days later.
He had been charged with seven counts of war crimes and three of crimes against humanity. Prosecutors said he had enlisted child soldiers to carry out the killings. Some of the killings were carried out with machetes.
But presiding Judge Bruno Cotte said the court acquitted Mr Ngudjolo of all charges, saying the prosecution had "not proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui was responsible" for the crimes committed.

Post-election tension shakes African beacon of stability

Political leaders as well as election observers in Ghana have called for calm after the top opposition party threatened to contest the results of the recent presidential poll. Are Ghanaians likely to listen?

International and regional election observers say Ghana’s recently conducted presidential poll appeared transparent, which saw incumbent John Mahama beating his rival by a slim majority, with a local monitoring group on Monday urging respect for the results.

Yet tensions have been rising in the Ghanaian capital of Accra since Sunday, when the country’s electoral commission declared Mahama the winner with 50.7% - just enough to avoid a run-off with his chief rival Nana Akufo-Addo, who got 47.7% of the vote.
Hundreds of Akufo-Addo supporters demonstrated outside the electoral commission offices, compelling security forces to use tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Congo Rebel Group Demands President's Resignation

The rebel group starting negotiations with the Congolese government wants the country's president to resign, according to a rebel document.

Jean-Marie Runiga, president of the M23 rebels said to be backed by Rwanda, on Thursday showed The Associated Press a list of demands that he said will be presented to the Congolese government.

The rebels' demand for Congolese President Joseph Kabila to step down comes as a leading advocacy group says the president is "unable to effectively govern the country."

The M23 recently withdrew from Goma, the capital of North Kivu province in eastern Congo, in order to begin negotiations with Congolese President Joseph Kabila's government.

New hope for Somalia, says scholar MP

Somali professor on his country's future

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• In September, Somalia established its first stable central government in decades.
• Professor Ahmed Ismail Samatar says the new president is facing "heavy challenges"
• Samatar is a professor at Macalester College in Minnesota, U.S.
• He ran for president in the recent Somali elections and is now a member of parliament

(CNN) -- War-torn Somalia moved a step closer to stability this September after picking its first president elected on home soil in decades.

Political newcomer Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, an academic and activist who has also worked for the United Nations and other organizations, was sworn in the capital Mogadishu after defeating incumbent president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. The milestone vote was hailed by the international community as a sign of improving security in a nation plunged into chaos after years of vicious civil hostilities.

South Africa's Zuma to face leadership challenge

Kgalema Motlanthe, the president's deputy, to run against Jacob Zuma for leadership of ruling African National Congress.

A native of Johannesburg's Alexandra township, Motlanthe, right, was once a member of the ANC's military wing [Reuters] A native of Johannesburg's Alexandra township, Motlanthe, right, was once a member of the ANC's military wing [Reuters]

Kgalema Motlanthe, South Africa's deputy president, has agreed to run against President Jacob Zuma for the leadership the country's ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC). Motlanthe accepted nominations from several provinces and the party's youth league to enter the race to be the ANC's next president, his spokesman Thabo Masebe said on Thursday.