The International Criminal Court (ICC) on April 28 delivered an order on reparations for the victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz in Timbuktu between April 2, 2012, and Jan. 29, 2013, when the Malian city was occupied by jihadist forces.

Clashes broke out May 4 in Syria's southern as-Suwayda (Suweida) province between the central government's Internal Security Forces and Druze armed groups affiliated with the region's self-declared "National Guard." Fighters from the Guard's "501 Knights of Hamza" battalion attempted to advance toward government lines in the governorate's western countryside under heavy cover fire, including from truck-mounted machine-guns and rocket-launchers. Government forces responded with mortar fire. (TNA)

Prominent Iraqi women's rights defender Yanar Mohammed was killed outside her Baghdad residence on March 2 by two unidentified men. No group has claimed responsibility for the assassination.

Amnesty International on March 6 condemned the recently adopted "Criminal Procedure Regulation for the Courts" (De Mahakumu Jazaai Osulnama) in Afghanistan, saying that the legislation violates the rights of women, girls and minority groups in the country.

With his Christmas air-strikes on Nigeria, Trump is blundering into a conflict fundamentally driven by desertification related to the very climate change that he denies, and which now threatens democratic rule throughout the West African region. And while the Muslim-Christian sectarian strife that Trump hypes is a large element of the situation, the violence has gone both ways—and also targeted Muslim minorities such as Shi'ites, and even indigenous Jews. Furthermore, making Christians the perceived beneficiaries of imperialist intervention is only likely to exacerbate the tensions and make Christians more of a target. In Episode 310 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg takes an in-depth and unsparing look. 

United Nations experts on Dec. 23 urged Iran to immediately halt the execution of Zahra Shahbaz Tabari, a 67-year-old electrical engineer detained at Lakan Prison in Rasht. In their statement, the experts detailed severe procedural violations, including arrest without a warrant, prolonged solitary confinement, a trial lasting less than ten minutes via video conference, and denial of access to a chosen lawyer. The experts stated:

Houthi de facto authorities in Yemen have detained dozens of political opponents since July, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on Nov. 27. The rights group said that at least 70 people associated with the opposition party Yemeni Congregation for Reform, or Islah, were detained on Oct. 28 in Dhamar governorate. HRW noted that 21 of these individuals have been subject to an "unfair trial" on "dubious accusations of espionage," with 17 sentenced to death by firing squad, and two sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

President Donald Trump praised Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as "incredible in terms of human rights" during an Oval Office meeting Nov. 18, preemptively deflecting questions about the kingdom's extensive record of abuses as the crown prince pledged $1 trillion in US investments.