Monthly Archives: April 2011

Ivory Coast: Laurent Gbagbo ‘negotiating surrender’

Posted on April 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

April 5, 2011

The UN says three generals loyal to Ivory Coast’s besieged President Laurent Gbagbo are negotiating terms for surrender in return for guarantees of safety for him and themselves. France says negotiators are on the brink of agreeing his departure. Mr Gbagbo is sheltering with his family in the basement bunker of his residence in the main city, Abidjan. Troops loyal to Mr Gbagbo’s rival, UN-recognised President Alassane Ouattara, say they have surrounded the compound. The UN says Mr Gbagbo’s military and civilian advisers are leaving him.

Three of his generals – the head of the armed forces, the head of the police and the head of the republican guard – have opened negotiations, the UN told the BBC’s Andrew Harding, who is on the outskirts of Abidjan. “We are very close to convincing him to leave power,” French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told the National Assembly in Paris. Mr Gbagbo’s spokesman, Ahoua Don Mello, told the Reuters news agency there were “direct negotiations based on African Union recommendations which said Alassane Ouattara is president”. “They are also negotiating judicial and security conditions for Gbagbo’s camp and his relatives,” Mr Don Mello said.

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“Israel urges UN to cancel Goldstone Report on Gaza war”

Posted on April 3, 2011 | Leave a comment

April 3, 2011

Israel has called on the UN to cancel a report that said it possibly committed war crimes during its 2008-2009 military offensive in Gaza. The report’s author, South African judge Richard Goldstone, said on Friday that new accounts indicated Israel had not deliberately targeted civilians. He said that if he had known what he knew now, “the Goldstone Report would have been a different document”. Israel’s prime minister said the remark meant the report “should be buried”. Operation Cast Lead was launched in response to repeated rocket attacks on Israeli territory by militants in Gaza. Some 1,400 Palestinians were killed, including hundreds of civilians, as well as 13 Israelis. The Goldstone Report, published in September 2009, concluded that both the Israeli military and militants from the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which controls Gaza, had committed potential war crimes and possible crimes against humanity during the offensive.

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“Libya: Coalition air strike near Brega kills rebels”

Posted on April 2, 2011 | Leave a comment

April 2, 2011

At least 13 people are reported to have been killed when a coalition plane flying over Libya fired on a rebel convoy between Brega and Ajdabiya on Friday, the rebels say. Doctors at a hospital in Ajdabiya told the BBC that three medical students were among the dead. Nato said it was looking into the incident but that it was very difficult to verify details about what happened. The attack came after rebels reportedly fired an anti-aircraft gun. Meanwhile, Libya’s government rejected a rebel ceasefire offer. Spokesman Moussa Ibrahim dismissed the idea as “mad”.  Troops loyal to Col Muammar Gaddafi would never withdraw from the rebel-held cities they were besieging, he said. He also condemned recent coalition air strikes as “a crime against humanity” and said there had been civilian casualties in one attack on Thursday.  The rebels were on their way to Brega when they fired into the air with an anti-aircraft gun, the BBC’s Nick Springate reported from the scene of the attack.

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“‘Abducted’ Palestinian engineer appears in Israel court”

Posted on April 1, 2011 | Leave a comment

April 1, 2011

A Palestinian engineer has appeared in an Israeli court after being captured in Ukraine and jailed in Israel. No charges were laid, but the court extended Dirar Abu Sisi’s detention. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Mr Abu Sisi was “a Hamas man” who has provided “valuable information”. Mr Abu Sisi accuses Israel of “kidnapping him for no reason”. He also denies any knowledge about a captive Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip – amid media speculation to that effect. Sgt Gilad Shalit was captured by Hamas-linked militants in June 2006.

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