UN willi nvestigate mass murders in Mali

Burnt house in the village Ogassogu. (Picture Malian government)

The United Nations has sent a team of investigators to Mali's restive Mopti region, where more than 150 people were killed this weekend, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday. The raid took place on Saturday in the village of Ogossagou, home to the Fulani herding community, near the town of Mopti in central Mali.

Local officials and security sources told AFP news agency that the death toll had climbed to 160, while the UN rights office said at least 153 people were killed and 73 were wounded.

The "horrific attacks" marked a "significant" surge in "violence across communal lines and by so-called 'self-defence groups' apparently attempting to root out violent extremist groups", said Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN rights office. 

In the Mopti region alone, attacks had led to "some 600 deaths of women, children and men, as well as thousands of displaced persons" since March 2018, she told reporters.

In Algeria new leaders emerge at the helm of the protests against Bouteflika

Thousands of students, university professors and health workers rallied in Algiers on Tuesday calling for President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to quit. Bouteflika, who has ruled for 20 years, bowed to the protesters last week by announcing he would not stand for another term. But he stopped short of stepping down immediately and said he would stay in office until a national conference had been convened and a new constitution would be adopted. The demonstraters perceived this move as a masquerade and a way to stay on for a fifth term without having been elected.

The protests have now been going on for about a month. Last Friday an enormous amount of people took part in a demonstration of really hitherto unknown proportions. In the meantime a new group of leaders has emerged, emboldened by the huge protests. The new leaders late on Monday issued a statement titled “Platform of Change”, demanding that Bouteflika step down before the end of his term on April 28 and the government resign immediately.
The Algerian authorities have long quite able to manipulate the opposition. But now the mass demonstrations emboldened well-known figures to lead the reform drive. Prominent members of the new group include lawyer and activist Mustapha Bouchachi, opposition leader Karim Tabou and former treasury minister Ali Benouari, as well as Mourad Dhina and Kamel Guemazi, who belong to an outlawed Islamist party. Zoubida Assoul, leader of a small political party, is the only woman in the group.

Dutch 'Christians for Israel' protest against GreenLeft party that assured BDS is legitimate

Some dozens of people on Tuesday morning assembled in front of the bureau of the political party GroenLinks (GreenLeft) in Utrecht in the Netherlands to protest against a motion that the party adopted at its last convention, whereby it said that BDS (Boycott, Desinvestment and  Sanctions) is a legitimate weapon in the struggle for Palestinian rights. The protestors, members of ''Christian for Israel'', the biggest fan club of Israel in the Netherlands, carried slogans like 'GreenLeft has the wrong friends'', "Shame on GreenLeft'' and ''BDS strives to anihilate the Jewish State''.
What seems to have escaped the attention of the Christians was that GreenLeft did not adopt the goals or methods of the boycott, but  only spoke about BDS as legal and in line with the freedom of expression. In fact GreenLeft even rejected BDS itself. That, however, was lost on this bunch of Isarel loving people, who use to cheer at the establisment of any new colony in occupied territory, or any new breach of international law by the Israeli occupation.
Christians for Israel seems to have more than 100.000 members who are all enthousiastic supporters of the rightist Israeli government, the colonization of the West Bank and the suppression of the Palestinians. They frequently turn criticism of Israel into ''anti-semitism''. It is one of the main organizations in Holland that can be held responsible for the constant denial of basisc facts that is a characteristic of Dutch Middle East policy.      

Millions take part in third mass protest against re-election of Algerian president Bouteflika

Milions of Algerians have defied large contingents of riot police and resumed mass demonstrations against ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's bid to extend his 20-year rule. Acesing to the lefrtist newspaper Le Matin (d' Algérie) five million people alone marched in the capital Algiers.

The rally was slowed to a near-crawl by the huge numbers taking part, with participation swelled by women marking International Women's Day. Train and metro services were suspended without explanation.

While the rallies were mostly calm, police used tear gas in several areas of the city, including to block the road to the presidential palace, news agencies reported. Later on Friday, state TV said security forces had detained 195 protesters, citing offences such as looting as grounds for the arrests.

Anti-Bouteflika protests were also staged in several other cities, including easterly Oran and westerly Constantine, according to Algeria's TSA news website.
The demonstrations marked the third consecutive Friday on which Algerians have taken to the streets in a bid to press the 82-year-old president to step down

Last year in Yemen: About 100 civilian victims every week

Almost 100 civilians were either killed or wounded every week in Yemen in 2018, with children accounting for a fifth of all casualties, the United Nations has said. According to figures released by the world body's refugee agency on Thursday, more than 4,800 civilian deaths and injuries were reported over the course of 2018,

Children accounted for 410 deaths and 542 injuries, the UNHCR said.

Relying on open source data for its findings, the agency noted that nearly half of all the casualties - 48 percent - were reported in the western city of Hodeidah, whose strategic port has been the scene of fierce fighting between Houthi rebels and Saudi-UAE-backed fighters supporting Yemen's government.
The UN figures also showed that a staggering 30 percent of the civilians were either killed and wounded inside their homes, with non-combatants also targeted when travelling on roads, working on farms and at other civilian sites.