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13 April 2015 - NPWJ News Digest on Middle East and North Africa Democracy
Articles
Islamic State militants claim attacks on embassies in Libya
by The Guardian, 13 Apr 2015
Islamic State militants have claimed responsibility for two bomb attacks on embassies in Libya in the latest strikes against foreigners, embassies or oilfields in the country. A bomb exploded at the gate of the Moroccan embassy in the Libyan capital of Tripoli early on Monday, causing some damage but hurting nobody, a security official said, only hours after gunmen attacked South Korea’s mission in the city. Militants claiming loyalty to Islamic State said on Twitter that they were responsible for both attacks. It was not possible to verify the authenticity of the claims. Isis has exploited chaos in the north African country where two governments allied to a host of armed groups fight for control four years after the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi. The group also claimed two bomb attacks in the Sinai region of Egypt on Sunday which killed 14 people, including 11 security personnel.
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Jewish Settlements Accused of Using Palestinian Child Labor
by The New York Times, 13 Apr 2015
Human Rights Watch says Jewish West Bank settlements are using Palestinian child labor in farming. In a 74-page report issued Monday, the group says the farms employ children as young as 11, pay them low wages and subject them to dangerous working conditions. It says they often work in high temperatures, carry heavy loads and are exposed to hazardous pesticides. Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 war and has built dozens of settlements there since. Palestinians from nearby villages often find employment there in construction and agriculture.
Sudan activists call for mass boycott of presidential election
by The Guardian, 13 Apr 2015
Political activists in Sudan are campaigning for an unprecedented mass boycott of Monday’s general election, denouncing it as “a political charade”. President Omar al-Bashir - the world’s only sitting leader wanted on genocide charges - is set to extend his 26-year rule in polls which rebels are threatening to sabotage, major opposition parties intend to sit out and the European Union warns will lack credibility. As voting began on Monday, police officers outnumbered voters and polling places stood empty in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum. Nearly 13 million people are registered to vote, with results expected on 27 April. Bashir is wanted on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide over his long military campaign in the western Darfur region. He is fighting to crush another insurgency in Blue Nile and South Kordofan since the secession of South Sudan in 2011. Armed rebel groups have rejected the vote as “propaganda” and threatened to disrupt it by force. Officials say the election will not take place in one district of Darfur and seven in South Kordofan for security reasons.
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Egypt's Sinai Peninsula hit by deadly bomb attacks
by BBC news, 12 Apr 2015
At least 14 people have been killed in separate bomb attacks in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, security forces have said. Eight people died and 45 others were injured in an explosion outside a police station in El-Arish. At least six soldiers lost their lives and two were wounded in an attack on an armoured vehicle, near the northern town of Sheikh Zuweid. Militants from the Sinai Province group, affiliated to Islamic State, have said they carried out the attacks. Sinai has become increasingly lawless since Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in 2011. Insurgents have intensified attacks since his Islamist successor Mohammed Morsi was ousted in 2013. North Sinai has been under a state of emergency and a curfew since October, when an attack on a checkpoint killed dozens of soldiers.