FOCUS on the Laws of War: The ICC and ICJ

The Ukraine war has renewed conversations about justice and accountability over crimes that violate international law. The alleged massacre in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha and claims that Russian forces are targeting civilians have mobilized figures in Western nations, including U.S. President Joe Biden, to call for prosecutions of war criminals, reports Business Insider. 

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Somalia Elections Again Delayed, Drawing Western Warnings

Somalia’s federal parliamentary elections have been postponed with no planned makeup date, drawing the ire of Western backers that have condemned the delay. 

March 15 was the deadline for each of Somalia’s five states to separately hold elections for the country’s lower house of parliament. By the end of the day, however, the central government failed to announce the completion of the vote nationwide. While voting was completed in the states of South West and Galmudug, the states of Jubaland, Hirshabelle, and Puntland cumulatively still had 40 vacant seats to fill as of the date of the deadline, according to Africanews.

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Bosnia Risks Implosion Amid Serb President’s Ethnic Rhetoric

Decades-old tensions are flaring in Bosnia and Herzegovina as the leader of one of the country’s three dominant groups moves toward secession. The Balkan nation is governed by an ethnicity-based system of government featuring three presidents: one Bosniak, one Croat, and one Serb.

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Tigray Conflict Escalates Amid New Offensive and Famine Warnings

Ethiopian troops have launched a new offensive to regain control of the restive Tigray region from ethnic separatists. According to The New York Times, the October offensive comes as a result of months of planning and has seen the use of airstrikes and foreign-made drones made in China, Iran, and Turkey. Government forces are also enlisting the help of anti-Tigrayan militias, although troops from neighboring Eritrea are currently uninvolved. 

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