Armed Conflicts

Sri Lanka Cornered Over Human Rights

By Amantha Perera
That it would be a visit fraught with diplomatic tension was undoubted. Navanetham ‘Navi’ Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, was into the third day of her week-long visit from Aug. 25 to Aug. 31 to Sri Lanka when her entourage broke into animated discussion. 

Splintered Damascus Holds Its Breath

By Karlos Zurutuza
“Life is almost normal in the centre of Damascus," local resident Hisham says from the predominantly Christian neighbourhood of Bab Touma. "Only the occasional noise of artillery on the outskirts reminds me that we are at war."

Survivors of Peru’s Armed Conflict Still Waiting

By Milagros Salazar
Venisia Ávalos, a 65-year-old indigenous woman from Peru’s highlands region of Ayacucho, looks for her son’s name among a labyrinth formed by thousands of small grey stones.

Water Scarcity Could Drive Conflict or Cooperation

By Thalif Deen
When the General Assembly declared 2013 the International Year of Water Cooperation (IYWC) three years ago, the U.N.'s highest policy-making body was conscious of the perennial conflicts triggered by competition over one of the world's most critical finite resources.

‘Biggest Guns’ to Control Somalia’s South

By Ahmed Osman
Somali clan leaders say that an Aug. 27 agreement between the government and only a few leaders from the country’s three southern Jubba regions, which aims to resolve the ongoing dispute over who controls the area, creates more problems than it solves.

Disarmament Deal Takes Two Steps Back

By Pavol Stracansky
A Kremlin compromise on nuclear disarmament looks as far away as ever as Russian president Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama use their countries’ strained relations to bolster their own domestic political agendas, experts say.

People Begin to Flee Damascus

By Zack Baddorf
As the United States prepares to fire Tomahawk cruise missiles on military targets inside Syria, Syrians are preparing for a new phase of the conflict that has already left more than 100,000 people dead.

Despite Opposition, Obama Undeterred from Striking Syria

By Jim Lobe
U.S. President Barack Obama indicated Friday he would soon conduct what he called "very limited" military action against Syria to punish its alleged use of chemical weapons which, according to the White House, killed more than 1,400 people in several Damascus suburbs last week.

U.N. Loses Big if U.S. Attacks Syria Unilaterally

By Thalif Deen
If and when the United States launches a military attack on Syria, one of the biggest political losers would be the United Nations.

OP-ED: Military Force Is a Blunt Instrument, Mr. President

By Lawrence Wilkerson
Now that we have heard Secretary of State John Kerry's emotional plea for us to believe the still rather ambiguous intelligence on chemical weapons use in Syria, there are far more substantive answers to be sought from the Obama administration.

‘Thousands’ Missing in Pakistan

By Ashfaq Yusufzai
Twenty-year-old Adnan Khan was among eight persons convicted for an attempt on the life of former president Gen. Pervez Musharraf. The conviction appeared uncertain, just as his whereabouts were before the order by a military court.

U.S. Drive to Attack Syria Stalls

By Jim Lobe
What seemed inevitable just 48 hours ago – an imminent U.S. missile attack on Syrian targets in response to an alleged chemical attack that reportedly killed hundreds of Syrian citizens – stalled Thursday as the justification for military action faced increasing questioning both here and abroad.

UK Publishes Legal Backing for Syria Strike

By AJ Correspondents
The British government has published internal legal advice which it said showed it was legally entitled to take military action against Syria, even if the United Nations Security Council blocked such action.

DR Congo Armed Groups Increase Child Recruitment

By Taylor Toeka Kakala
Over 2,000 children are still being used as soldiers by 27 armed groups in North Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo despite efforts by the United Nations Children’s Fund to remove them from the frontlines and return them to their homes.

One Way to See the Killing in Syria

By Karlos Zurutuza
Zuhair Hassib did not witness the last and the most ghastly massacre in Syria. Images of last year’s Siege of Homs were enough for the artist to have seen. His paintings have brought those horrors home in a way pictures could never have.

U.S., U.N. in Diplomatic Cross-Talk Over Syria

By Thalif Deen
When the administration of President George W. Bush launched a military attack on Iraq in March 2003, it was nearly 18 months before Kofi Annan, then-U.N. secretary-general, described the invasion as "illegal" and in "violation of the U.N. charter" because the United States did not have Security Council authorisation.

U.S. Neocon Hawks Take Flight Over Syria

By Jim Lobe
In an echo of the tactics they used to promote U.S. intervention in the Balkans, Iraq and Libya, a familiar clutch of neo-conservatives published a letter Tuesday urging President Barack Obama to go far beyond limited military strikes against Syria in retaliation for its government's alleged use last week of chemical weapons that reportedly killed hundreds of people.

In Rush to Strike Syria, U.S. Tried to Derail U.N. Probe

By Gareth Porter
After initially insisting that Syria give United Nations investigators unimpeded access to the site of an alleged nerve gas attack, the administration of President Barack Obama reversed its position on Sunday and tried unsuccessfully to get the U.N. to call off its investigation.

Rwanda Tribunal Digs Up Partial Truth

By Ephrem Rugiririza
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) based in Arusha, Tanzania, is due to conclude its business at the end of 2014 following several deferrals. A United Nations Security Council Resolution set up the tribunal in 1994.

Peace No Longer Rests on the Palestinian Issue

By Pierre Klochendler
The end of the world’s most enduring conflict was always regarded as the essential linchpin of Mideast security. As direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians resume following a three-year hiatus, it seems too late for peace between them - if the declared goal of a peace deal within nine months is achieved - to end the violence unleashed by the ‘Arab springs’.

Major U.S. Debate Over Wisdom of Syria Attack

By Jim Lobe
While some kind of U.S. military action against Syria in the coming days appears increasingly inevitable, the debate over the why and how of such an attack has grown white hot here.
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