IANSA Update 1 February 2008

Kenya: Two opposition party MPs shot dead, negotiations to end violence postponed
Chad: Rebels clash with government forces; armed attack on UNHCR office
Colombia: Redepaz calls for release of all hostages
Japan: Police order new checks following December gym shooting
Other news: Article on German guns in Kenya; IANSA key dates

Kenya: Two opposition party MPs shot dead, negotiations to end violence postponed

Two members of Kenya's opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) have been shot dead, postponing negotiations on the violence that has erupted since the disputed re-election of Mwai Kibaki as president. David Kimutai Too was shot dead in the Rift Valley town of Eldoret on 31 January. Kenyan police are calling it a "crime of passion", but the ODM said it was a politically motivated execution. Mugabe Were was shot outside his house in Nairobi on 29 January. Both deaths sparked new rounds of violence: in Eldoret, police reportedly fired bullets in the air to disperse protesters. More than 800 people have died in the post-election unrest. Read more here.

Chad: Rebels clash with government forces; armed attack on UNHCR office

Rebels in Chad have clashed with government forces as they advance from the east of the country towards the capital, N'Djamena, after seizing a strategic central town on 30 January. The rebels want to drive President Idriss Deby from power. A series of armed attacks on the UN refugee agency and other aid organisations has led to the evacuation of staff from the UNHCR office in Guereda in the east. Read more here.

Colombia: Redepaz calls for release of all hostages
Redepaz in Colombia will join other NGOs on 4 February in a rallyingcall for the immediate release of all hostages held by guerrillas. The coalition will also call for the implementation of a humanitarian exchange and prompt measures for an international sponsored peace process to take place in Colombia. Read more here.

Japan: Police order new checks following December gym shooting
Japan's National Police Agency has ordered new checks on all registered firearms after two people were shot dead by a licensed gun owner in Sasebo in December 2007. Police departments plan to complete checks by the end of March. Around 175,000 people in Japan had licenses to own 340,000 firearms in 2006. Gun owners must renew their licenses every three years and undergo reviews including medical checks, photos of the weapons and where they are stored. Police visit each gun owner's home to see first-hand how the firearms are stored. Read more here.

Other news

• IANSA member Roman Deckert of BITS in Germany has published an article on the use of German Heckler & Koch G3 assault weapons in the Kenyan post-election violence. The article reports that H&K exported 500 G3s to the police in 1967, but that a further 200 000 were purchased from UK licensed production. The National Council of Churches of Kenya reports that young herdsmen openly display their G3s. Read more here.
• IANSA members are asked to mark their calendars with two vital dates for 2008! The Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence is 2-9 June, and the Biennial Meeting of States (BMS) on the Implementation of the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms will take place in New York from 14-18 July.

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