Nepal: another bomb blast at refugee camp.

On 25 August, an unidentified group detonated a bomb in the Sanischare-based Bhutanese refugee camp in the eastern Nepali district of Morang. This is the fourth bomb attack by individuals suspected of being against resettlement. Fortunately, no one was injured in any of the attacks.

According to the local police forces, the group of four persons detonated the bomb in between the homes of Birkha Bahadur Baniya and Khadak Bahadur Subedi in Sector F1 of the refugee camp. Police suspect that a group of Bhutanese refugees, who are against the resettlement of the refugee population to third countries, were behind the attack. These groups believe that if the resettlement goes ahead, it will effectively eliminate their hopes of returning home.

Germany: UN refugee agency criticises asylum practices.

On 22 August, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) criticised the government for first recognising and then withdrawing the refugee status of thousands of Iraqi nationals, regardless of the security situation in Iraq and whether they could go back and live in dignity. This, UNHCR argued, was contrary to the rules set out in the Geneva Convention on Refugees and under European law.

Germany deports to Northern Iraq refugees convicted of crimes, as well as those considered to pose a threat to Germany's national security. Security concerns in Iraq in August 2007 led to a brief suspension of deportations, but they resumed without public notice in late 2007 and early 2008.

According to the Minister of the Interior of the Federal Country Brandenburg, 17 Iraqis were deported by Germany to Northern Iraq in 2007. In 2008, according to estimates, approximately two Iraqis have been forcibly returned to northern Iraq every month.

Democratic Republic of Congo: fragile peace deal in the east endangered by heavy fighting.

In the early hours of 28 August, intense clashes lasting for several hours erupted between government forces and rebels loyal to renegade General Laurent Nkunda in the Rutshuru region (approximately 50 km from Goma, the capital of the North Kivu province). The UN Peacekeeping mission MONUC has dispatched patrols and negotiated with the two sides, restoring calm to the area — but the situation remains tense. The recent confrontation is reported to be one of the heaviest since the signing of a peace deal struck at the beginning of this year between 22 warring parties, among them Nkunda's CNDP.
In the last months, reports of continued recruitment and arms movements in the area had increased and MONUC Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Paul Dietrich acknowledged that there was "too much tension in the air" in recent days and something was bound to happen. In its weekly press conference on 20 August, MONUC had also condemned a worrying rise in the recruitment of children by armed groups, including the CNDP.