At 4:40 pm on April 26th, 1937, the most advanced aircraft from Adolf Hitler's "Condor Legion" approached the Basque town of Guernica. It was a Monday afternoon and the markets were packed with shoppers and peasants. The church bell suddenly rang out, signifying the approach of enemy aircraft. For the next three hours, Guernica was […]
Prosecutors at The Hague Appeals Court today presented official documents by Sadam Hussein's regime praising the Dutch businessman, Frans van Anraat, for supplying "rare, banned chemical substances" to Iraq "at a reasonable price", and for "expos[ing] himself to extremely dangerous consequences." Van Anraat's case is before the appeals court on genocide charges. He was found […]
Omar Ahmed Khadr, a 20 year old Canadian, was formally charged with war crimes by the US at the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Khadr faces a murder charge for the death of Sgt. 1st Class, Christopher Speer, with a hand grenade in 2002. Khadr also faces charges of attempted murder, conspiring with al […]
Memorials will be held today in California, Massachusetts, and Michigan marking the anniversary of the Armenian genocides that began in the Turkish Ottoman empire on this day in 1915. During World War I, hundreds of thousands, to millions of the Armenian community were forced on a death-march to Syria and Iraq. The Armenian diaspora in […]
Recent clashes between insurgents from the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) and Ethiopian troops backing Somali government forces have resulted in at least 291 civilian casualties in the Somali city of Mogadishu. Spokesmen from the Elman Human Rights Organization, a Somali based group, have said many of the victims were caught in crossfire. Six insurgents […]
By Josh White Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, April 21, 2007; Page A01 The Marine Corps chain of command in Iraq ignored “obvious” signs of “serious misconduct” in the 2005 slayings of two dozen civilians in Haditha, and commanders fostered a climate that devalued the life of innocent Iraqis to the point that their deaths […]
BBC: At least 113 civilians have been killed and more than 200 injured in three days of fighting in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, a human rights group says. The Elman Peace and Human Rights agency said it got the figures from hospitals, other humanitarian groups and counting bodies abandoned in the streets. Heavy fighting is […]
In Chile today, locals celebrate the feast of Saint Expeditus. Legend says that benevolence was granted to local pilgrims by officials after praying to the Saint. The recent history of the region, however, is not so seraphic. Chili's former dictator, Augusto Pinochet, faces continued investigations into atrocities committed at his hands, four months after his […]
Branimir Glavas, an independent parlaimentarian in eastern Croatia, marched to prison in his general's uniform to face war crimes charges at a local court in Osijek, Croatia. He is being detained for ordering the killing of civilians during the 1991 Serbo-Croatia war. The charges allege that Glavas formed a paramilitary unit and operated as a […]
Macedonian War Crimes Tribunal Underway at The Hague On August 12th, 2001, 14 policemen in Macedonia destroyed several homes with hand grenades, fire, and shelling in retaliation for eight soldiers killed by a land mine. The activities resulted in the killing of seven men. This year, the deaths are the first case to go before […]
A previously unknown organization calling itself al-Tawhid al-Jihad Brigade has e-mailed the Palestinian Ramattan news agency claiming they have murdered BBC news correspondent, Alan Johnston. Mr. Johnston was abducted in Gaza City on March 12th. He had been reporting from the occupied Palestinian territories for the last three years. The BBC has received no independent […]
An Ohio man was charged with conspiracy to commit and material support for terrorist acts associated with al Qa'ida. Christopher Paul (a/k/a Paul Kenyatta Laws a/ka/ Abdulmalek Kenyatta), 43, from Columbus, was indicted on three counts; conspiracy to "provide material support and resources, in the form of personnel, training and equipment" to terrorist groups, conspiracy […]
Washington Post: A federal grand jury has indicted an Ohio man on charges of conspiring with the al-Qaeda terrorist network to bomb targets overseas and in the United States, possibly using remote-controlled boats and aircraft. More on this as it develops….
A Rwandan witness, known as C17, and a frustrated defense lawyer had a fiery exchange during a war crimes tribunal in Canada. Richard Perras, representing Desire Munyaneza, was warned by Quebec's Superior Court Justice Andre Denis to be civil in his examination of the witness, after she became exasperated. C17 has testified for two days […]
Google's 3-D satellite image tool, Google Earth, has been recruited by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) to highlight the genocide in Darfur, as well as surrounding regions in Sudan and Chad. Using high resolution imagery, "Crisis in Darfur" offers users the ability to click on various photos showing the savage destruction committed by the […]