Philippines Peace Deal Again Under Threat

Published on Mar 28, 2015 by Luke Hunt

The long-promised peace deal struck between Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the Southern Philippines is struggling to hold after fighting again erupted, this time on two fronts with more than 80,000 people forced to evacuate their homes.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

A War Crimes Stage Ready for the Next Act

Published on Mar 28, 2015 by Luke Hunt

Marathon efforts to prosecute Pol Pot’s surviving henchmen have never been short on controversy. “Too late,” “too long,” and “too expensive” are among the chief criticisms faced by officials at the Khmer Rouge tribunal. Written by Luke Hunt, this story first appeared in Warscapes.Hopes for justice recently took another hit with accusations that the defense teams for Brother No. 2 Nuon Chea and former head of state Khieu Samphan were deliberately stalling proceedings in their genocide trial at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), a purpose-built court on the dusty outskirts of Phnom Penh.The court, as one long-time observer put it, had been ground down in legalese. That was until arguments about whether it should continue exploded....

Must Go On; Can't Go On

Published on Mar 28, 2015 by Luke Hunt

THE Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts for Cambodia (ECCC), an unusual and ambitious international legal body with a name to match, has occupied a compound on the dusty outskirts of the country’s capital since 2006. Officially its goal is justice for the victims of the Khmer Rouge, whose bloody misrule ended in 1979.In recent years the ECCC’s lawyers and judges have bickered and toiled, usually in obscurity but sometimes under a spotlight, often testing the tolerance of Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Sen. Last week they may have breached it.Read more from The Economist..

Bashar Al Assad wishes you a merry Christmas’

Published on Dec 7, 2014 by Luke Hunt

A barrel bomb from a Syrian army helicopter plummets to earth but, instead of exploding and killing scores, it bounces and spins to a stop, the first sign this is not what it seems. Dwarf-like ISIL fighters grab the barrel and roll it to a fortified compound as sinister music swirls, tiny feet pitter-patter and a black ISIL banner flutters overhead.Read more from Dan Boylan at The National..

Al-Qaeda Declares War on China, Too

Published on Nov 2, 2014 by Luke Hunt

Al-Qaeda central appears to have joined the Islamic State in calling for jihad against China over its alleged occupation of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.Read more from Zachary Keck in The Diplomat..