Use of Force, and International Humanitarian Law

On the basis of an arrest warrant issued by a judge in Spain, British authorities are holding General Augusto Pinochet, the former head of state of Chile, on Spanish charges of crimes against humanity, including genocide and terrorism, that are alleged to have occurred during Pinochet's rule in Chile. It is anticipated that a request to extradite him to Spain will be forthcoming. 

 

On August 20, American cruise missiles struck targets in Afghanistan and Sudan. The target in Afghanistan was identified as an extensive terrorism training complex. U.S. officials said that the United States had convincing evidence that the organization of Osama Bin Laden was responsible for the bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on August 7, and that a meeting of members of an international terrorist network he supported was imminent at the Afghan site when the missile attack occurred.

 

Following the recent bombing and shelling of Grozny and other parts of Chechnya in an attempt to quell the resistance there to Russian authority, Russia has urged residents of Grozny to leave the city or face loss of life and property in Russia's "counter-terrorism operation." (New York Times translation of leaflets dropped on Grozny on December 6.) It has been reported that some civilian residents are too elderly, sick or injured to leave the city. The current Russian operation is aimed at defeating the remaining Chechnyan resistance forces in the city.