El Salvador’s Controversial Gang Truce Has Consequences

Skyrocketing murder rates in El Salvador led the country to surpass Honduras as the deadliest country in the Western Hemisphere. Yesterday, the General Attorney’s Office announced the arrest of 21 people involved in the 2012 controversial gang truce that crumbled in 2014.
In 2012, rival leaders of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18 were brought together to stop acts of violence– the first part of a controversial peace process that unfortunately never moved beyond the initial phase. Without financial assistance, the government was prevented from making improvements to overcrowded prisons and creating programs to help released cons re-integrate into the community (4). In exchange for the ceasefire in homicides, incarcerated gang members were transferred from maximum-security prisons to jails closer to their families (6). As a result, the murder rate fell by half, but some hesitate to uphold the claim that violence declined as much as the government claims. Although homicides fell, disappearances increased. The truce collapsed in 2014. By 2015, El Salvador was swarmed with reinvigorated violence with a 70% rise in violence deaths making it the bloodiest year since the country’s civil war (2).
The election of former leftist guerilla President Salvador Sanchez Ceren in 2014 imposed an aggressive stance against gangs (6). On March 25, 2016, MS-13 and 2 factions of Barrio 18 announced a cease-fire to their street war against each other and the government, claiming that they are uniting to stop the violence assaulting their country (5). Both government and gangs are claiming responsibility for the recent decreases in violence. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that the government efforts would have such a dramatic and quick effect – the Special Forces unit that one government official listed as cause for the government’s supposed success in curbing gang violence was only deployed last month. On April 18, gang leaders of the recent ceasefire attributed the fall in homicides to their truce, claiming it proved the gangs are “men of their word” (1).
Although the arrests of those involved in the gang negotiations have been applauded by the public majority who blame the gangs for the violence that has earned their country one of the most deadliest reputations, some experts are warning that politically motivated arrests may lead to dire consequences (2). Many of the senior negotiations have not been detained, whereas half of those arrested held low-level administrative roles, including psychologists, teachers, senior police officers and prison wardens.

1. http://qcostarica.com/government-and-gangs-claim-credit-for-sharp-drop-in-el-salvador-murders/
2. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/04/el-salvador-arrests-negotiators-gang-truce
3. http://latindispatch.com/2016/05/04/21578/
4. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/04/el-salvador-violence-deaths-murder-2015 (2)
5. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/el-salvadors-gangs-call-a-cease-fire-but-many-doubt-it-will-hold/2016/04/02/79222748-f5c2-11e5-958d-d038dac6e718_story.html
6. http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-el-salvador-gangs-20150418-story.html

Will the civil war in Syria ever end in peace?

US Secretary of state John Kerry stated that Syrian president Bashar Alassad strategy might not end the civil war; he might actually makes it worse. President Bashar Alassad wants expand his area by controlling the northern city of Aleppo, which is under control by the Rebels. Aleppo are going through a stressful times especially because more than 250 people have been killed in the past 10 days.

On Saturday, the UN special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura said that Russia have been working with UN and US to include Aleppo in the “Regime of Calm”, which have covered Damascus and Latakia. Unfortunately, today a rebel rocket fire have hit a governmental controlled area of Aleppo killing almost 19 people and plus a hospital was hit killing three people and 17 people were wounded. This was a consequence of when the government forces send an air strike that hit a hospital in a rebel-held area killing 55 people.

Mr. Kerry is hopeful that the violence will end and peace can be restored and he actually warned President Assad that his actions might lead to more violence and might cause to a total destruction to the ceasefire and might lead to war again. If president Assad thinks that he can take Aleppo easily than he’s wrong and he will make the situation worse and as long he is the president then the Rebels won’t stop fighting.

President Bashar Alassad strategy is to gain control of the whole country again and Aleppo was part of his plan, which he stated on February. In addition, Russia and Syria have planned to target hospitals and other medical facility so they can have an easy way to invade the area with it’s ground forces. War might still continue because Russia stated on March that it would withdraw their army from Syria, but they remain in place. The specially want to control Aleppo because of it’s economic, military and symbolic importance to all parties. The UN Security Council Ban Ki moon is trying to pass a resolution, which demands the protection of hospital and other medical facilities, because there’s no justification for the attacks and it will lead to a humanitarian disaster.

 

Sources:

http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/aleppo-push-was-always-part-of-assads-strategy

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36199633

Suicide bombings in Samawa, Iraq admist civil unrest

Suicide bombings in Iraq’s southern city of Samawa, 155 miles south of Baghdad, once again rocked the country this Sunday amidst already tense civil protests. The blast killed 32 people and wounded 73 others, including women and children. Shortly after, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement made on twitter. The statement included a detailed description of the execution of the attacks stating that the assailant “blew up his car in the middle of a gathering of the Shiite Ministry of Interior Special Forces (al-Maghaweer forces). He killed and wounded a number of them.” After Shiite firefighters and policemen arrived at the scene, a second car explosion went off and killed more victims.

The initial explosion was set off near government office buildings and the second followed some 60 meters away near a bus stop. The double car explosion set debris into the air and huge flames created smoke clouds in the sky. It is expected that the death toll should rise as firefighters continue to clear the scene. Unverified photographs show the remnants of the exploded cars as well as the burnt bodies of civilians on the ground.

The attack occurred in the midst of heated protests by civilians in Iraq’s Green Zone, the international zone of Baghdad that historically has been off limits to normal Iraqi’s. The protestors who had stormed the citadel retreated on Sunday after their Shiite cleric leader, Moktada al-Sadr, mandated it so as to preserve the honor of the 8^th century imam Moussa al-Kadhim. The protestors chanted for government transparency and an end to corruption through the resignation of the President, Prime Minister, and speaker.

Iraq’s internal turmoil and terrorist attacks were echoed in its northern neighbor Turkey, who on Sunday also suffered an ISIS-claimed car bomb attack that left two dead and 22 injured.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/01/middleeast/iraq-violence/index.html

http://www.ibtimes.com/after-isis-suicide-bombing-attack-iraq-samawa-death-toll-expected-grow-2362307

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iraq-car-bombings-isis-claims-responsibility-after-two-blasts-latest-info-in-city-of-samawa-a7008811.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/world/middleeast/iraq-protesters-leave-baghdad-green-zone-on-clerics-order

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/isis-attacks-kill-32-southern-iraq-bombing-turkey-kills-two-n565496