UN Fights to Release Child Soldiers in Chad

(NEWSER) - Robert Mugabe has backtracked on his denial of the Zimbabwean cholera crisis, AFP reports. “He is acknowledging there is a problem,” said a UNICEF official who met with him today. “He recognizes there is a problem with the water and the sewer systems.” The admission comes as opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai returned to the country, Voice of America reports. More»

French, US embassies prepare to evacuate amid fighting

(NEWSER) - Rebels looking to overthrow Chad's president stormed the capital today, advancing toward the African nation’s presidential palace and ransacking its parliament building, CNN reports. Ndjamena has been the site of fierce clashes between rebels and government forces, and today, a military source told the AFP it “is in the hands of the rebels.” Chad’s foreign minister disputed the claim, insisting Ndjamena is under control. More»

So-called 'social affairs center' really internment facility: human rights groups

(NEWSER) - Cambodians being held at a UN-funded internment camp are frequently beaten and raped, treatment that has resulted in at least three deaths. Guards at the “social affairs center” say its residents are free to leave when they choose—but human rights watchdogs and ex-inmates say Prey Speu is an “illegal, clandestine prison” for Camdobia’s “undesirables”: homeless people, prostitutes, and drug users, reports the Guardian . More»

Mission provides logistical support to brutal national army

(NEWSER) - Women and children beaten to death with clubs, hacked up with machetes—or, if they're "lucky," gang-raped and left alive. Such shocking acts are sadly commonplace in the conflict that has consumed Congo, perpetrated by both Rwandan rebels and their enemies in the Congolese army. The army, however, enjoys generous logistical support from the UN peacekeeping mission, even though the campaign has led to 1,400 civilian deaths, countless rapes, and mass displacement. More»

(NEWSER) - Former Liberian President Charles Taylor defended displaying human skulls along roadways in his country to scare people into obeying soldiers' orders, reports the Times of London. “Skulls were used as symbols of death,” he told the judges at his trial at the Hague. “Enemy soldiers had been killed and their skulls were used. We did not think that symbol was anything wrong." More»