· March, 2011

Stories about War & Conflict from March, 2011

Bosnia & Herzegovina: Towards Partition

At OpenDemocracy.net, Bedrudin Brljavac writes about the situation in Bosnia & Herzegovina: “Fifteen years since the end of the war, ethno-nationalist leaders continue to pursue political agendas leading to the...

31 March 2011

Brazil: On Opening the Archives of the Dictatorship

A collective blogging was called to demand the opening of the archives of the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964-1985), responsible for torturing of thousands and for killing 380 Brazilians. Of these, 147 remain missing and nothing is known about the fate of their bodies. Until now their families are suffering without knowing their stories.

31 March 2011

Serbia: Gaddafi's Cyber Army Oppose Rebels and NATO

A Facebook page entitled "Support for Muammar al-Gaddafi from the people of Serbia" has become a show of support for the controversial Libyan leader, with over 62,500 members. Libyan opposition activists have also reported cyber attacks on opposition websites coming from Serbia. Sasa Milosevic reports on the online support for Muammar al-Gaddafi in Serbia.

30 March 2011

Mexico: New (Dis)Agreement on Reporting Violence

On March 24, most of the biggest Mexican media outlets signed the "Agreement to Cover Violence in Mexico," an agreement that unifies the editorial criteria to cover and report news related to "the drug war." Many support and defend the document, but the text has also sparked strong disagreement and criticism.

29 March 2011

Côte d'Ivoire: Where is Gbagbo's General, Philippe Magou?

Monday March 14, 2011, was a busy day in Côte d'Ivoire. After violence this past weekend in the Abobo district of southerly economic capital Abidjan, Ivorians in the city were woken up by Kalashnikovs and heavy artillery. For a few days now, the rumors in Abidjan have been growing as to Ivorian army General Philippe Mangou's responsibility in this crisis.

29 March 2011

Russia: 2010 Cyber-Crime Market Research

RuNet Echo

Group IB, Russian cyber-security research company, publishes [ru] Russian Cyber-Crime Market in 2010 report. According to the research, Russian hackers commit nearly 35 percent of all cyber-crimes. DDOS-attacks (from $90...

28 March 2011

An Interview with Andy Carvin

With 40,000 Twitter followers and a dedicated stream of local sources, Andy Carvin has become a first stop on Twitter for news throughout the Middle East and North Africa. In this interview with Carvin--an early Global Voices contributor and current NPR strategist--we find out how he uses Twitter to spread the news.

28 March 2011

Libya: Citizen Reporting from the Battlefield

Videos continue to seep out from war-torn Libya as protesters battle Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces in a bid to overthrow his 42-year-old regime. Here is a selection of the latest videos taken by netizens on the frontlines of major cities where the battle for Libya is still fought.

27 March 2011

Why Bangladesh?

Jyoti Rahman at Kafila discusses the idea, nationalism and the events that led to the independence of Bangladesh 40 years ago.

27 March 2011

India: Arms Yes, Bread No

Dheera Sujan at South Asia Wired comments on the news that India has become the world’s largest arms importer: “yes arms by all means, more arms. So we can have...

26 March 2011

Libya: Where is Eman Al Obeidy?

"Where is Eman Al Obeidy?" has become a pressing question, after a distraught Libyan woman burst into a Tripoli hotel full of foreign journalists, telling then that scars and bruises on her face and body has been inflicted by 15 Muammar Gaddafi's militia, who arrested her at a checkpoint for two days, where they gang raped her.

26 March 2011

Syria: Protesters Demolish Symbols of Regime

In Syria, the faces of President Bashar al-Assad and his father, former President Hafez al-Assad, are regularly seen on billboards, buildings, and in the form of statues. Visitors to the country are often surprised by the prevalence of such images, while Syrians have grown used to them as a daily feature of life. Yesterday, a number of videos surfaced in which protesters tear down the symbols of the regime: posters and statues of the ruling family.

26 March 2011