Sudan's security forces arrested a Somali insurgent leader while he was attempting to cross the border to Eritrea, the Somali news website Mareeg Online reported March 14 from Mogadishu. Muse Abdi Arale, defense secretary for the Hizbul Islam group, was reportedly arrested while trying to enter in Eritrea with money embezzled from the rebel group. Sheikh Hassan Mahdi, a senior official from Hizbul Islam, confirmed this version of events to Mareeg Online.

A court in Marseilles March 12 ordered that anti-Islamic campaign posters put up by the far-right National Front be taken down. The posters, proclaiming "No to Islamism," depict a fully veiled woman standing next to a map of France with the pattern of the Algerian flag on it, and are directly inspired by Swiss posters deployed during the referendum on minarets. The court held them to constitute an unlawful disturbance of public order. In a press release, the party denounced the decision as "a serious violation of the freedom of opinion and of speech during an election period" and said it will appeal against it. The Algerian government had issued a complaint about the posters.

The Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) war crimes court indicted the former Serb commander of a special police brigade March 13 for his alleged role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre during the Bosnian civil war. The BiH prosecutor accuses Nedjo Ikonic of participating in the killing of thousands of Muslim men and boys including more than one thousand who escaped Srebinaca but were detained in a warehouse in the nearby village of Kravice. Ikonic was extradited to BiH in January after he was arrested on an international arrest warrant. Three other former Bosnian Serb policemen have been indicted on charges of genocide for their alleged roles massacre.

Spokesperson for Serbia's Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor Bruno Vekaric announced March 13 the arrest of nine individuals suspected of committing war crimes during the 1998-1999 Kosovo war. The nine, members of the Serbian paramilitary group Sakali, are accused of the systematic murders of 41 ethnic Albanians in May 1999. In all, roughly 200 civilians residing in and around the village of Cuska are believed to have been killed by these and 15 other suspects. Those in custody are scheduled to appear before an investigative judge.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on March 13 jointly denounced the Swedish Parliament's March 11 passage of a resolution recognizing the Ottoman Empire's killing of Armenians between 1915 and 1923 as genocide. At a meeting of European foreign ministers in Finland, Davutoglu questioned the rationale of the move, one that Bildt characterized as the "politicization of history." Both ministers noted concerns that the resolution would undermine the progress that Armenia and Turkey have made toward stabilizing their relations.

Bolivia will gain access to Atlantic ports in Uruguay in exchange for a pledge of natural gas exports to Montevideo in an agreement signed in La Paz March 14 by presidents Evo Morales and José Mujica. A new road will follow the Paraguay-Paraná river system, while the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) will begin construction of a new pipeline between the countries. The regional grouping URPABOL (Uruguay-Paraguay-Bolivia) has approved the project, and Brazil is also expected to cooperate, with its Puerto Cáceres serving as one hub on the river route. (NNN-Prensa Latina, March 14)

The Bolivian Armed Forces has completed the declassification of files from the years of military dictatorship. According to Defense Minister Ruben Saavedra, Chief of Staff General Ramiro de la Fuente handed over the files to Public Ministry officials three days before schedule last month. The files are mostly from the regime of Gen. Luis García Meza (1980-1981), and will be placed at the disposal of judicial authorities to investigate the disappearance of opposition figures under his rule.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez on March 14 called for Internet controls and demanded that authorities crack down on a website he accused of spreading false information. "The Internet cannot be something open where anything is said and done. No, every country has to apply its own rules and norms," Chávez said during a televised speech, singling out Noticiero Digital, a Venezuela news site he said falsely reported the assassination of one of his ministers.