News Brief

• Burundi: Grenade attacks on the homes of four prominent opposition leaders occurred almost simultaneously on March 8, the latest example of increasing violence against opposition to the ruling CNDD-FDD party. [HRW] Meanwhile, UNHRC started a collaborative effort to repatriate Burundian refugees who’ve been living in Tanzania for upwards of 30 years. HRW background, BBC Background
• Somalia: The armed wing of the Islamic courts, al-Shabaab, lived up to its promise to start beheading government soldiers. [BBC] BBC background to Somali conflict
• Zimbabwe: Increase in violence reported in run-up to (ahem, sham) elections on March 29, solidifying Mugabe’s position as Petty Dictator Extraordinaire. [AllAfrica]
• Darfur: Hollywood to the rescue.
• Sudan/Chad: In the latest game of “Stratego: The African Coup Version,” Chad is reporting that Sudanese-backed rebel groups entered the country in a renewed attempt to overthrow the government. Sudan, in turn, accuses the Chadian government of sponsoring rebel groups in Darfur. This has obvious implications for the stalled peace process in Darfur—perhaps next time the mediators should bring an economy-sized bottle of Excedrin to the table.