WASHINGTON: The US Senate on Monday confirmed the promotion of Army Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue, who had been a commander in Afghanistan during the US withdrawal, after it was briefly blocked by a Republican senator.
Senator Markwayne Mullin had placed a hold on Donahue’s nomination to become a four-star general and the top commander of the US Army in Europe.
President-elect Donald Trump and his allies have decried the 2021 US military withdrawal from Afghanistan and vowed to go after those responsible for it. During his successful campaign for re-election, Trump said in August he would ask for the resignation of every senior official “who touched the Afghanistan calamity.”
Donahue was confirmed on Monday by unanimous consent, part of many military promotions approved as a group. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Donahue commanded the military’s 82nd Airborne Division during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and was the last American soldier to leave the country as US forces evacuated in August 2021.
While the image of Donahue, carrying his rifle down by his side as he boarded the final C-17 transport flight out of Afghanistan, has become synonymous with the chaotic withdrawal, he is seen in the military as one of the most talented army commanders.
Under Senate rules, one lawmaker can hold up nominations even if the other 99 all want them to move quickly.
US Senate approves promotion of general involved in Afghanistan withdrawal
https://arab.news/nu8gg
US Senate approves promotion of general involved in Afghanistan withdrawal
- Donahue commanded 82nd Airborne Division, was last American soldier to leave Afghanistan as US forces evacuated in Aug. 2021
- President-elect Trump has said he would ask for the resignation of every senior official “who touched the Afghanistan calamity”
UN’s top court opens Myanmar Rohingya genocide case
- The Gambia filed a case against Myanmar at the UN’s top court in 2019
- Verdict expected to impact Israel’s genocide case over war on Gaza
DHAKA: The International Court of Justice on Monday opened a landmark case accusing Myanmar of genocide against its mostly Muslim Rohingya minority.
The Gambia filed a case against Myanmar at the UN’s top court in 2019, two years after a military offensive forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya from their homes into neighboring Bangladesh.
The hearings will last three weeks and conclude on Jan. 29.
“The ICJ must secure justice for the persecuted Rohingya. This process should not take much longer, as we all know that justice delayed is justice denied,” said Asma Begum, who has been living in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district since 2017.
A mostly Muslim ethnic minority, the Rohingya have lived for centuries in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state but were stripped of their citizenship in the 1980s and have faced systemic persecution ever since.
In 2017 alone, some 750,000 of them fled military atrocities and crossed to Bangladesh, in what the UN has called a textbook case of ethnic cleansing by Myanmar.
Today, about 1.3 million Rohingya shelter in 33 camps in Cox’s Bazar, turning the coastal district into the world’s largest refugee settlement.
“We experienced horrific acts such as arson, killings and rape in 2017, and fled to Bangladesh,” Begum told Arab News.
“I believe the ICJ verdict will pave the way for our repatriation to our homeland. The world should not forget us.”
A UN fact-finding mission has concluded that the Myanmar 2017 offensive included “genocidal acts” — an accusation rejected by Myanmar, which said it was a “clearance operation” against militants.
Now, there is hope for justice and a new future for those who have been displaced for years.
“We also have the right to live with dignity. I want to return to my homeland and live the rest of my life in my ancestral land. My children will reconnect with their roots and be able to build their own future,” said Syed Ahmed, who fled Myanmar in 2017 and has since been raising his four children in the Kutupalong camp.
“Despite the delay, I am optimistic that the perpetrators will be held accountable through the ICJ verdict. It will set a strong precedent for the world.”
The Myanmar trial is the first genocide case in more than a decade to be taken up by the ICJ. The outcome will also impact the genocide case that Israel is facing over its war on Gaza.
“The momentum of this case at the ICJ will send a strong message to all those (places) around the world where crimes against humanity have been committed,” Nur Khan, a Bangladeshi lawyer and human rights activist, told Arab News.
“The ICJ will play a significant role in ensuring justice regarding accusations of genocide in other parts of the world, such as the genocide and crimes against humanity committed by Israel against the people of Gaza.”
