Five members of the SAS have been arrested by British military police on suspicion of allegedly committing war crimes while on operations in Syria.

The case against the five revolves around the alleged murder of a suspected jihadist in Syria who was killed on operations two years ago. Case files recommending prosecution of murder charges have been sent by service police to the Service Prosecuting Authority, the military equivalent of the CPS.

It is alleged the five used excessive force in the incident, although the soldiers involved are understood to deny this, arguing they believed the dead man posed a legitimate threat, so justifying his killing.

The SAS has been actively deployed in Syria for the past decade, engaged covertly in the fight against Islamic State and supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces, Kurdish allies of the west based in the north-east of the country.

An SAS soldier, Matt Tonroe, was killed by friendly fire in 2018 alongside the US commando Jonathan Dunbar while on a joint operation against IS in Manbij, northern Syria. They were killed when an explosive carried by a colleague detonated.

It is not certain that any of the arrests will result in a prosecution, and war crimes convictions of British soldiers are exceptionally rare. But the arrests come at a time when the activities of the SAS in Afghanistan are separately coming under scrutiny in a public inquiry examining claims that 80 Afghans were summarily killed by the unit.

Read more here.

On Friday, President Biden announced plans to carryout a US military airdrop of food and supplies into Gaza.

The announcement comes just a day after Israeli forces opened fire on thousands of Palestinians lining up for desperately needed food assistance. The massacre left more than 750 wounded and killed at least 112 Palestinans. 

Biden has stated that the military airdrop will take place in the coming days. He added that the United States is also currently exploring additional ways of getting aid to Palestinians. 

White House spokesperson, John Kirby, emphasized that this would be an ongoing effort, "this isn’t going to be one and done" Kirby says. 

According to Kirby, the first airdrop would likely be MREs or meals ready-to-eat.

Speaking to reporters Biden said "we need to do more and the United States will do more." 

The United States is one of the largest providers of military assistance to Israel, between 1946 and 2023 Israel recieved $124bn in the form of military and defence aid. 

"Aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough," Biden added.

The United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) has highlighted that an average of 97 aid trucks were able to enter Gaza each day. This number is significantly below the target of 500 trucks per day. 

At least 576,000 people in the Gaza Strip - one quarter of the enclave's population - are one step away from famine, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Read more here.

Human rights experts have condemned a decision by Indonesia’s outgoing president to award the rank of honorary four-star general to his presumed successor, Prabowo Subianto, a controversial figure accused of human rights violations.

Prabowo, 72, a former son-in-law of the dictator Suharto and a special commander under his regime was dismissed from the military over allegations he was involved in kidnapping and torturing pro-democracy activists in 1998.

Prabowo, who has since softened his image by presenting himself as a harmless grandpa, is presumed to have won this month’s presidential election. His campaign was boosted by the tacit support of Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, whose son was his running mate.

Prabowo admitted in a 2014 interview with Al Jazeera that he was involved in kidnappings of activists during Suharto’s era, but said he was under orders and that his actions were legal.

Of more than 20 activists kidnapped in 1998, 13 are still missing.

Prabowo is also accused of involvement in rights abuses in Papua and Timor-Leste, which he has denied.

He was banned from entering the US for two decades over allegations of rights abuses, until he was appointed defence minister under Jokowi.

Gufron Mabruri, the executive director of the Indonesian rights group Imparsial, told the Associated Press the decision to award Prabowo with an honorary four-star title would “embarrass the honour and dignity of the Indonesian military”.

Prabowo’s campaign benefited significantly from the unofficial support of Jokowi, and the outgoing leader has been accused of interfering in the election to protect his legacy and establish a dynasty.

Andreas Harsono, Indonesia researcher for Human Rights Watch, said Jokowi was “using his presidential authorities to accumulate power for himself and his family, of course, using the military honour rule to serve his narrow interest and misleading the public about military service”.

According to unofficial tallies by polling agencies, based on millions of ballots sampled from the across the country, Prabowo secured more than 55% of the vote in on 14 February. Such counts have proved reliable in past elections.

Read more at the Guardian 

Nicaragua has filed a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Germany for providing Israel financial and military aid, and for suspending funding for the UN Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA).

The case brought on by Nicaragua builds on South Africa's ICJ case against Israel. In it Nicaragua states that Germany is violating the 1948 Genocide convention and the 1949 Geneva convention on the laws of war in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Nicaragua has asked the ICJ to issue emergency measures that would require Germany to stop its military aid to Israel. 

Typically, the World Court sets a date for a hearing on any requested emergency measures within a week of a case being filed.

Along with the United States, Germany is one of the largest arms exporters to Israel. 

On Thursday, Israeli troops opened fire on thousands of Palestinians waiting for food assistance in Gaza. The attack killed at least 112 palestinans and left over 750 wounded. 

Since 7 October 30,000 Palestinians have been killed. 

Read more here and here. 

A member of the US Air Force has died after setting himself on fire outside of the Israeli Embassy in Washington in protest against Israel’s war on Gaza.

The 25-year-old US airman, Aaron Bushnell of San Antonio, Texas, died from his injuries on Monday according to the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, DC.

Before setting himself on fire, Mr. Bushnell reportedly livestreamed himself on the streaming site, Twitch, declaring that he would “not be complicit in genocide.”

After setting himself on fire, Mr. Bushnell repeatedly shouted “Free Palestine.”

The Air Force stated that it would provide further information a day after military officials notified Mr. Bushnell’s next of kin.

Self-immolation has also previously been used as a form of extreme protest against the oppression of Tamils at the hands of the Sri Lankan government.

Pictured: Murugathasan Varnakulasingham

On 13 February 2009, 26-year-old Murugathasan Varnakulasingham self-immolated in protest outside the United Nations in Geneva over the inaction of the international community in the face of the 2009 genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Since 7 October more than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli bombardment of Palestine.

Read more here and here.

The UN Human Rights Office has stated that warring sides in Sudan have committed abuses that could amount to war crimes, including indiscriminate attacks on civilian sites such as hospitals, markets, and refugee camps. 

The 10-month conflict has killed thousands and displaced approximately 8 million people.

In the report, Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated, "Some of these violations would amount to war crimes." He emphasizes that "The guns must be silenced, and civilians must be protected."

The UN report investigates incidents throughout December. 

In addition to the report, Turk's office has stated that they have reviewed "credible" but unconfirmed video evidence that appears to show Sudanese army soldiers parading with decapitated heads of perceived RSF supporters while chanting ethnic slurs. 

Sudan's army has stated the video was "shocking" and that it would investigate the incident. 

Previously, the US formally determined that both the Sudanese army and the RSF had committed war crimes. Both sides have stated that they would investigate these allegations and prosecute any fighters involved.

Read more here. 

UN experts are calling for a full investigation into credible allegations that Palestinian women and girls have been subjected to sexual assault while in Israeli detention. 

A panel of experts has stated that there is evidence of at least two cases of rape alongside other cases of sexual humiliation and threats of rape. 

The UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, has stated that the actual extent of the sexual violence could be significantly higher. Alsalem says "We might not know for a long time what the actual number of victims are."

Reem Alsalem also notes that victims hesitate to report sexual assault due to fears of retaliation.

Since the attacks on 7 October, there has been an increasingly permissive attitude towards sexual violence against Palestinian women and girls in Israeli detention according to Alsalem. 

"I would say that, on the whole, violence and dehumanization of Palestinian women and children and civilians has been normalized throughout this war", the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls stated.

Read more here.

The UK’s minister for veterans, Johnny Mercer, has effectively admitted in front of a public inquiry that he believed members of the SAS had engaged in dozens of unlawful killings of Afghan civilians between 2010 and 2013.

Asked by the chair of the inquiry to clarify that he was describing "allegations of straight murder" by the SAS, Mr Mercer replied, "Yes."

The Independent Inquiry relating to Afghanistan, launched in the wake of reporting by the BBC and other media outlets, is investigating whether British special forces killed civilians and unarmed people on night raids in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2013.

The Triples - from Afghan units CF 333 and ATF 444 - accompanied the SAS on many of the raids being scrutinised.

Referring to conversations with several former members of the Triples, Mr Mercer told the inquiry that the allegations presented to him were "horrific" and had "confirmed my worst fears".

He said they included accounts of the SAS executing detainees, including children, who had already been restrained and posed no threat. He added there was "no reason why a person under control should lose their life".

The BBC revealed in 2022 that one SAS squadron had killed at least 54 people, including detainees and children, in suspicious circumstances in one six-month tour of Afghanistan.

Read more here

The Foreign Secretary has announced sanctions on 4 extremist Israeli settlers who have committed human rights abuses against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.  

There have been unprecedented levels of violence by extremist settlers in the West Bank over the past year. Some residents of illegal Israeli settlements and outposts have used harassment, intimidation and violence to put pressure on Palestinian communities to leave their land. 

The government notice said that the most recent sanctions will target extremist Israeli settlers who have “violently attacked Palestinians” in the occupied West Bank.

The sanctions will impose financial and travel restrictions in a bid to tackle continued settler violence which threatens West Bank stability. The government notice said those sanctioned have used “physical aggression, threatened families at gunpoint, and destroyed property as part of a targeted and calculated effort to displace Palestinian communities”.

Two of the individuals designated today – Moshe Sharvit and Yinon Levy – have in recent months used physical aggression, threatened families at gunpoint, and destroyed property as part of a targeted and calculated effort to displace Palestinian communities. One illegal outpost, set up by Zvi Bar Yosef, has been described by local Palestinian residents as a “source of systematic intimidation and violence.” 

Violence in the West Bank reached record levels in 2023 (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs). Israel’s failure to act has led to an environment of near total impunity for settler extremists in the West Bank. 

There have been almost 400 Palestinian deaths in the West Bank since October, of which a quarter have been children.

In the 12 weeks after the Hamas attacks, 83 children were killed in the West Bank — more than double the number who died in all of 2022. There have been a number of disturbing incidents. In one CCTV video from November, an eight-year-old boy is seen collapsing on the tarmac after he is shot in the back while fleeing Israeli soldiers in Jenin. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said at the time that its soldiers were responding to explosive devices being thrown at them.

Read more here

In a joint statement published on Wednesday, the leaders of Canada, New Zealand, and Australia call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza in response to Israel's planned military operation in Rafah. 

The statement emphasizes that Rafah is currently providing refuge for 1.5 million Palestinians and that an expanded military operation would be catastrophic.

"An immediate humanitarian ceasefire is urgently needed. Hostages must be released. The need for humanitarian assistance in Gaza has never been greater. Rapid, safe, and unimpeded humanitarian relief must be provided to civilians," the joint statement by the three Prime Ministers said.

"The International Court of Justice has been clear: Israel must ensure the delivery of basic services and essential humanitarian assistance and must protect civilians. The Court’s decisions on provisional measures are binding."

Canada, Australia, and New Zealand reiterate their commitment to a two-state solution in which an independent Palestinian state exists alongside Israel. 

The joint statement comes just weeks after both Canada and Australia suspended funding for the United Nations agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in response to allegations by Israel that UNRWA staff participated in the attacks on 7 October. 

Earlier this week six Canadian labor unions representing over 2 million workers sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau requesting a reversal of the decision to pause funding for UNRWA. 

"UNRWA is an irreplaceable aid organization relied upon by millions of Palestinians for over 7 decades," the letter reads. It continues to state that "it is particularly cruel for large donor countries to deny this critical organization its funding at this time, considering the current catastrophic humanitarian crisis caused by ongoing bombardment by Israel."

Read the full joint statement here and the full letter here. 

Ethiopia’s federal security forces killed at least 45 civilians in a massacre in Amhara state in late January, the independent state-affiliated Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said on Tuesday.

It is one of the worst episodes of violence in the Amhara region since last August, when powerful local Fano militias began a rebellion against the government's plans to disarm them.

A statement said the EHRC had confirmed “the identity of at least 45 civilians who were extrajudicially killed by government security forces for allegedly ‘supporting [ethnic Amhara armed group] Fano’.”

The killings in the Amhara town of Merawi follow months of clashes last year between Ethiopia’s military and Fano, a “self defence” organisation with no publicly known command structure that draws volunteers from the local population.

Numerous witnesses spoke to the BBC last month on condition of anonymity.

"They went into my brother's house… They brought him and 12 others out to the streets and shot them," a labourer told the BBC.

"The soldiers were threatening us [and] accusing us of sheltering the Fano and providing them food," said another resident, who is adamant the civilian massacre was revenge for militia attacks on government troops.

Another eyewitness is grieving her younger brother, who was a civil servant.

"He was with his son. They told me to hold the child. They took [my brother] and killed him."

Most of those killed were young men, according to witnesses.

Both the US and the European Union have expressed their concerns at the move, which comes amid intense ongoing fighting between Fano militias and the army.

Read more here

On Monday a Dutch appeals court ordered the Netherlands to block all exports of F-35 jet parts to Israel due to concerns they are being used to violate international law in Gaza. 

The court has stated that the government has seven days to comply with the order. 

The lawsuit against the Dutch government over F-35 jet exports to Israel was brought on by various rights groups including the Dutch arm of Oxfam.

Siding with human rights groups the court said, "It is undeniable that there is a clear risk the exported F-35 parts are used in serious violations of international humanitarian law."

The court added, "Israel does not take sufficient account of the consequences for the civilian population when conducting its attacks."

In a statement, Oxfam Novib director Michiel Servaes says "We hope this ruling will strengthen international law in other countries so that the citizens of Gaza are also protected by international law."

The Dutch government stated that it would appeal to the Supreme Court.

Israel's war on Gaza has displaced 2.3 million people and killed 28,000 Palestinians. 

Read more here.

Thousands of people are fleeing violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo as fighting intensifies between the Congolese army and the M23 armed group.

Fighters reportedly surrounded the strategic town of Sake on Wednesday, a crucial step before reaching Goma, the capital of North Kivu. Capturing Sake would deal a logistical blow to Congolese soldiers.

It is the latest episode in a resurgence of fighting that has seen tens of thousands added to the nearly seven million who have been forced from their homes in the country because of multiple conflicts.

Rebels from the ethnic Tutsi-led M23 movement are blocking the two main roads into Goma from the north and the west and preventing produce from getting through.

In a region already plagued with militia violence, M23 rebels launched a major new offensive in March 2022, sparking a conflict that has led to military intervention and mediation efforts by East African regional leaders. They brokered a ceasefire last year but it has been repeatedly violated.

Clashes between the rebels, army forces and self-defence groups that support them have escalated recently, forcing entire communities in Masisi and Rutshuru territories to flee to perceived areas of greater safety on the outskirts of Goma.

The Congolese army and United Nations peacekeepers have been struggling to contain M23’s advance. And as fighting continues, thousands of those who fled Sake have arrived in Bulengo, about 10km (six miles) west of Goma.

The DRC government this week promised that it would not let Goma, situated close to the border with Rwanda, fall into M23 hands. The armed group briefly overran North Kivu province in 2012.

On Wednesday, M23 said in a statement that this was not its goal and described its actions as “defensive manoeuvres”.

The DRC, Western powers and a UN expert group said the Tutsi-led rebel group is supported by Rwanda. Rwanda has denied all involvement, but the accusations have led to a diplomatic crisis in the region.

Natalia Torrent, head of a Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) team in Mweso, said violent clashes broke out two weeks ago as the army and pro-government militia tried to reclaim the town.

After a lull, fighting picked up over the weekend and the MSF team received 30 wounded people in recent days, she told Reuters by phone on Tuesday.

MSF has had to evacuate some of its own staff after bullets struck a hospital in which thousands of Mweso residents were taking shelter. Most have since deserted the town.

The UN peacekeeping mission in DRC deployed troops at the end of January to secure a corridor for people fleeing Mweso. Many have sought safety in Sake.

Read more here

On 8 February, UNICEF issued a statement warning that an escalation of Israel's attacks in Rafah "will mark another devastating turn in a war that has reportedly killed over 27,000 people - most of them women and children."

Israeli Prime Minister has stated that he ordered the military to develop a plan to both evacuate civilians from Rafah and defeat remaining Hamas battalions. 

There are approximately 1.5 million Palestinians in Rafah seeking refuge from Israel's military invasions in the rest of Gaza. 

UNICEF's Executive Director, Catherine Russell, emphasizes that "thousands more could die in the violence or by lack of essential services, and further disruption of humanitarian assistance."

Russell continues "We need Gaza's last remaining hospitals, shelters, markets, and water systems to stay functional. Without them, hunger and disease will skyrocket, taking more child lives."

UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has also warned that the expansion of Israel's war on Gaza into Rafah will "exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare."

Read the full statement here.