About the author(s):
Katharine Fortin is an Associate Professor at Utrecht University where she teaches IHL and IHRL. Before joining Utrecht University, she worked at the ICTY, ICC and Norton Rose Fulbright. She is the author of The Accountability of Armed Groups under Human Rights Law (Oxford University Press, 2017) which won the 2018 Lieber Prize. She has written widely about the framework of law that applies to armed groups in non-international armed conflicts and is one of the editors of the Armed Groups and International Law blog.
Thanks to student assistant Sam Jackson for the preparation of this monster news roundup for January. In general, we plan to keep doing weekly news roundups, as we know that they they are much easier to read than monthly roundups!
1st January – 7th January
War-weary Syrians in Kurdish-held Manbij wait to learn fate
Turkish-backed rebels pushing for further mass displacement from Afrin: Monitor
Syria rebel-jihadist clashes intensify, 50 dead
Documenting the death of 976 individuals due to torture in Syria in 2018
Clashes between ‘radical’ fighters and rebels ‘leave 31 dead in western Aleppo’
Next round of Yemen talks could be in Amman: rebels
Iraq’s ‘ISIS families’ are a recipe for future conflict
Egypt, Israel in close cooperation against Sinai fighters: Sisi
Yemen: Houthi rebels’ food aid theft only tip of iceberg, officials say
Two killed as Tunisian security forces storm armed group hideout
Yemen govt reports Hodeidah rebel ‘attacks’ to UN
In Yemen, Iran-aligned rebels tighten their grip through fear and intimidation
13 killed in intercommunal violence in Burkina Faso
Algeria shuts southern borders to Syrians over security fears
Somalia: Al Shabaab parades 13 soldiers defected from Jubaland
Attack on UN compound in Somalia may be ‘violation of international humanitarian law’
Armed attackers kill 37 Fulani civilians in Mali
Sudanese opposition groups issue declaration for regime change
‘Bandits’ kill 10 troops along Niger-Nigeria border
Colombia Farc: 85 ex-rebels killed since peace deal
An ordinary Kashmiri’s appeal for peace
Thousands flee clashes between Buddhist group and Myanmar army
Death toll hits a new peak in Indian Kashmir
Two killed in bombing in troubled south Philippines
8th January – 14th January
Syria’s Idlib province seized by HTS militants after deal with rebels
HTS offensive could draw in Syria and Turkey
Rebels regroup in northern Syria following truce with HTS militants
Syrian jihadists press attack on Turkish-backed rebels
Two ‘American IS fighters’ captured by Syrian militia
UN experts warns of growing influence of Sudanese armed groups in Libya
Yemen soldiers killed in Houthi drone attack on base
Libya’s militias should not run prisons: UN chief
Houthis have no intention of implementing Swedish agreement, says coalition
UN: Human trafficking worsens as children used as sex slaves
Kenya’s new security conundrum after ousting al-Shabab
Armed groups postpone Darfur peace talks in support of Sudan’s uprising
12 civilians killed in jihadist attack in Burkina Faso
Up close with Gafaranga, a child soldier who escaped a militia group
Colombia: Missing Farc leader Ivan Marquez reappears on video
Violence skyrocketing in Colombian municipality
Funeral held for Kashmir rebel leader killed in clash
EU, UN urges armed actors in Rakhine to spare civilians
Thailand: Insurgents bomb school, attack hospital
Myanmar army to launch ‘crackdown’ on Rakhine rebels
15th January – 21st January
The weaponization of artificial intelligence
Syria’s Kurdish fighters ready to help set up ‘safe zone’
‘Yemen’s Houthi militia using Iranian-made drone aircraft’: Arab coalition
Ashrawi of PLO: Trump administration is Israel’s partner in targeting UNRWA and Palestinian refugees
Sadr urges technocrats as armed factions look beyond the border
Armed groups in Sabha, Murziq reject joining Haftar’s forces
Libya: Civilians under threat from militias
Two days of clashes near Libya capital leave 10 dead
Iraqi airstrike kills three Islamic State terrorists in Kirkuk
East Libyan forces heading south to secure oil sites
Kenyans face up to ‘homegrown’ threat after hotel attack
10 UN peacekeepers killed in attack on Mali’s Aguelhoc camp
Thousands flee as militants kill more than 100 soldiers in northeast Nigeria: aid agencies
UN: Sudan, armed groups violate international sanctions
Why is Kenya an al-Shabab target?
Canada ‘appalled’ by killing of its national in Burkina Faso
Several killed in attack on upscale Nairobi hotel complex
Sudan’s al-Bashir mocks armed groups over delay of Darfur peace talks
In eastern Burkina Faso, local grievances help militancy take root
Bogota blast blamed on one-armed bomb expert linked to rebel group
Fleeing crisis, some Venezuelans are recruited by rebel forces fighting in Colombia
For enduring peace, Colombia must protect advocates for rights and prosecute war crimes
Myanmar army kills 13 in attack on Rakhine rebels
Thailand: Insurgents kill Buddhist monks
Over 1000 Rohingya flee India for Bangladesh fearing crackdown
Four arrested over Northern Ireland car bomb, New IRA suspected
22nd January – 28th January
Preparing for the future: Insurgents get a vote
Cease-fire in Syria’s Idlib province is at risk after extremists take over
OIC calls for ‘end to Israel’s assaults on Palestinian prisoners’
CAR unrest: Govt and rebels hold talks in Sudan
Saudi envoy says Hodeidah deal make-or-break for Yemen peace efforts
Libya militias agree to end clashes south of capital
Scores of Afghan troops killed in suicide bombing claimed by Taliban
Nigeria: Armed conflict continues to uproot thousands, driving up humanitarian need
Colombia’s ELN rebel commanders in Havana deny role in blast
Colombia pressures Cuba to turn over ELN rebel leaders
Twin explosions kill 20 people at Philippines cathedralIs the southern Thailand insurgency ramping up again?