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In UN of Guterres UNMAS Marcaillou Sent Somalis To Their Deaths No Answer To Press

By Matthew Russell Lee, CJR SG Ho The Hill

UN GATE, Aug 2 – Two weeks ago Inner City Press started in writing the UN of Secretary General Antonio Guterres about its role in sending nine Somalis to their deaths, cannon fodder sent to cut down trees in which Al Shabaab was hiding. The UN agency was UNMAS, previous exposed by Inner City Press for incompetence and harassment, before and after Guterrees thew Inner City Press out of the UN 760 days ago. But this is a new low.

 On July 17, Inner City Press asked UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric and Farhan Haq and Melissa Fleming, "On Somalia, what are the SG's responses on deadline to the murder of 9 Somali street cleaners by Al-Shabaab -- The project was funded by UNMAS and implemented by a company called Ukroboronservice. Survivors say basic security precautions were ignored."

  Nothing. No answer to the Press; no answer to Somalis. “Though the Gov’t accused Al-Shabaab for Feb 25, 2019, this report also points that the UN and respective contractors ignored the death threats and made gross negligence,” Senator Abshir Axmad said. “This is indeed troubling. I urge the UN to explain and fully address this matter.”

The UN steals public money and kills the people is it supposedly helping. Guterres should resign.

Back on December 9, 2019 as Guterres after Inner City Press questions to him about UN corruption he encourages has banned Inner City Press from a "UN Human Rights" event on December 10, we ran  another story from a UN whistleblower. It involves the UN Mine Action Service, (under) overseen by UN Peacekeeping chief Jean Pierre Lacroix. Because Guterres' decayed UN has reached the point where it physically ousts those who ask Guterres about (his) corruption and then refuses to response to written questions on such matters, here it is, as now exclusively reported by Inner City Press: "Agnes Marcaillou, the head of UNMAS whom Inner City Press before being roughed up and banned by Guterres questioned many times including about her staffer David Bax buying a missile in Somalia and sharing DNA evidence with intelligence services, is accused of bullying. The victims blame LaCroix, Bintou Kieta and ultimately Guterres for doing nothing. A fish rots from the head. The whistleblowers express outrage at Marcaillou commenting on the weight (and more) of longtime UNMAS director of operations Paul Heslop, in joint appearance here with Daniel Craig.
  How does Guterres' UN allow this from some, also like Michel Sidibe, while using his OIOS against others? Lacroix, reportedly personally close with Marcaillou, has tried to some talks in January on a new way forward. Few believe him.
And here's another reason: in the DR Congo where the UN uses a "Force Intervention Brigade" to neutralize groups, seven peacekeepers were killed last month. Rest in peace. But when on November 16 UN Peacekeeping chief Jean Pierre Lacroix came to the UN Press Briefing Room that Antonio Guterres has banned Inner City Press from for 760 days, he did not specify when their offensive action was decided on, nor on which Congolese Army units they were working with, see below. Now Lacroix is fending off this report from his MONUSCO's former spokesman. Inner City Press at noon asked in writing Guterres, his deputy, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric, his deputy Farhan Haq and Alison Smale who promised such questions would be answered six including these: "November 19-1: On DRC, please immediately state how many UN system personnel have been withdrawn from Beni and explain the discrepancy between what WHO (and a former MONUSCO spokesman) say ("#RDC According to the #Beni press, 45 UN staff, including 17 #PAM, 19 WHO and 9 UNICEF executives have left Beni for temporary re-deployment in Goma. This comes 24 hours after the attack of the Battalion base of Malawi #MONUSCO Beni.") and Mr Lacroix's “"The whole of UN, WHO-led operations against Ebola continue in and around Béni, with strong support of MONUSCO which is reinforcing protection in Béni & carrying out operations against armed groups."

November 19-2: Further on Mr Lacroix and DRC, since I was banned from attending his Nov 16 press conference, please immediately state which FARDC units the Malawi and Tanzania FIB forces were working with and how they were vetted." Eight hours later, nothing, nothing at all. But Lacroix haad issued a denial: "The whole of UN, WHO-led operations against Ebola continue in and around Béni, with strong support of MONUSCO which is reinforcing protection in Béni & carrying out operations against armed groups." This while Lacroix, in Cairo, declined to answer banned Inner City Press' online questions
here, including about reported rapes by Cameroon peacekeepers in CAR, still no answer from Lacroix or the UN. We'll be continuing to ask: Antonio Guterres the censor doesn't get to choose who covers the UN. On November 16 amid softball questions, the excuses given didn't add up or raise more questions: the UN peacekeepers don't know how to fight in the jungle. They don't speak the language. They rotate out too quickly and re-training has to start again. How can the UN be this ineffective after so many years and billions of dollars spent in DRC? Lacroix let drop that there are captured ADF combatants and he'll get information from them. Does his and Guterres' UN know or care if torture is used? No one asked. Guterres' UN is corrupt.  In Mali's Gao a compound of the UN Mine Action Service was the target of an attack claimed online by Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) as against forces from the UK, incoming UN Security Council member Germany and UNSC candidate Canada. Inner City Press, still banned from the UN for the 132nd day by UNSG Antonio Guterres, asked in writing:  After the noon briefing it was banned from, Guterres' deputy spokesman sent the following, seemingly clunkily translated from French: "On question Nov. 13-3, we have the following to say: The UN Mission in Mali, MINUSMA, and the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) report that a suspected car bomb detonated at a mine action implementing partner's compound in Gao in Gao region yesterday evening. Two civilians were killed as well as nine UNMAS demining partner personnel and several civilians were wounded in the attack.

This while Guterres lets his own guards oust the press then has a spokesman who said you can only ask UN Security about it. It seems Guterres is a corrupt censor. Five UN Security officers, most with automatic weapons, pushed Inner City Press' reporter out of the UN on June 22 as it was filming and preparing to write about Secretary General Antonio Guterres' claims about his visit to Mali, where he didn't even inquire into a recent case child rape by a UN Peacekeeper. With the event still ongoing, Inner City Press was approached by UN Lieutenant Dobbins and told that since it was just past 7 pm it had to leave the building.

 That is not the rule, nor the practice; in any event, the Guterres Eid al -Fitr event listed in the UN Department of Public Information was still ongoing, making it unquestionable that Inner City Press had a right to be in the UN and cover it.

   But even as Inner City Press dialed DPI's Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit, getting only voice mail, Dobbins made a call and UN “Emergency Response Unit” officers arrived, with barely concealed automatic weapons. One of them repeatedly pushed Inner City Press' reporter in the back, forcing him through the General Assembly lobby toward the exit. Periscope video here. Longer YouTube (40 min) here.


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