Showing posts with label Jebel Moon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jebel Moon. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Darfur: Sudan's Janjaweed on the attack again

NOTE from Sudan Watch editor: Further to a news report from The Telegraph reprinted here at Sudan Watch yesterday (Tue 23 May), the following report from BBC News dated 4 weeks ago, states that: 

"A major city in Sudan's Darfur region has been under fierce attack - days after thousands of people arrived there seeking safety after their own town was set ablaze by horse-riding Arab militias known as Janjaweed. 

For the first time in Geneina's history, the hospital has been completely evacuated. All health institutions in the city are closed," the country's Central Committee for Sudanese Doctors says on Twitter.


Even during the height of the Darfur conflict that started in 2003 - a war that has left about 300,000 people dead and more than two million homeless - Geneina's hospital in West Darfur kept operating.


Darfur is rich in gold - and there are accusations Janjaweed incursions are part of attempts to gain control of more land for prospecting."

Read more below about why Sudan's Janjaweed is on the attack again in Darfur, southwest Sudan. Click on a link in report to see video of a group of men. Yellow highlighting is mine for easy future reference. 

Incidentally, the labels at the end of each post, and a search box in the sidebar here, can be used to search Sudan Watch's archive. Due software improvements over the years, it takes a little time and patience to unearth old reports. In the early years, it was so dangerous reporting on Sudan, I would condense 10-20 reports within a single post so the reports couldn't be picked up by search engines and attract attention. 

From: BBC News [reprinted at Sudan Watch, Tue 24 May 2022]

By MOHANAD HASHIM

Published 26 April 2022 

Darfur: Why are Sudan's Janjaweed on the attack again?















IMAGE SOURCE, AFP. Caption, Rapid Support Forces expanded out of the Janjaweed and some of its members have been involved in the recent violence


A major city in Sudan's Darfur region has been under fierce attack - days after thousands of people arrived there seeking safety after their own town was set ablaze by horse-riding Arab militias known as Janjaweed.


"For the first time in Geneina's history, the hospital has been completely evacuated. All health institutions in the city are closed," the country's Central Committee for Sudanese Doctors says on Twitter.


Even during the height of the Darfur conflict that started in 2003 - a war that has left about 300,000 people dead and more than two million homeless - Geneina's hospital in West Darfur kept operating.


An aid worker in Geneina told the BBC that he and his colleagues were staying at a safe house and gunfire could be heard across the city.


Many families who already live in camps in the south of the city after fleeing from the Janjaweed in the past are panicking and leaving their makeshift accommodation.


The recent violence began 80km (50 miles) east of Geneina in Kreinik on Friday and more than 200 have been killed in clashes.


What sparked the clashes?


The fighting was caused by a dispute between Arab nomads and members of the Massalit community, who have clashed over land for decades.


It began after two Arab nomads were killed near Kreinik, a town that has become home to many displaced ethnic black Massalit communities over the last two decades - people who were driven from their rural villages by Janjaweed raids.















IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES. Caption, Many people have been driven out of their settlements over the last two decades


In retaliation for the nomads' deaths, early on Friday morning Arab fighters raided Kreinik, leaving nine people dead and 16 injured.


Then on Sunday, a more co-ordinated attack was launched, this time backed by Sudan's Rapid Support Force (RSF), a paramilitary force that grew out of the Janjaweed.


The attackers arrived in 4x4 vehicles mounted with machine guns, known as "technicals", motorbikes, camels and horses, a statement issued by the Kreinik Voluntary Youth group said.


An unverified video shared on social media shows a large group of Arab fighters on pick-up trucks and motorcycles as they set on their way to attack. Men in RSF fatigues could be seen in the clip.


The town was set alight and local sources said schools and clinics were not spared - six teachers were killed in the raid.


A hospital supported by the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was targeted.


"Three people, including two medical workers, were killed. The hospital´s pharmacy was also looted," MSF said in a statement.


Why didn't the security forces stop the attack?


For many years, UN peacekeepers were trying to keep the peace, but they withdrew at the end of 2020 after their mandate expired - their presence resented across the divides. But even when they were deployed, they would not have been able to stop an attack of this ferocity.


Maintaining peace and security in Darfur is now supposed to be carried out by a joint force made up of the police, army, the RSF and the rebel groups which signed a peace deal in 2020.


But behind the scenes - they are all have competing ambitions and in no way represent a united front.


For example, the police have many non-Arab Massalit members and the RSF has many former Janjaweed members - some of whom have been caught up in the recent fighting.


The local unit tasked with protecting Kreinik withdrew from its positions before the attack, according to local activists.


Why did the fighting spread to Geneina?


The Janjaweed and RSF were chasing a group of fighters from Kreinik to Geneina - and it led to the rampaging of the hospital and general chaos as ethnic tensions flared.















IMAGE SOURCE, BBC. Caption, Geneina is the traditional capital of the Massalit kingdom - a symbol of black power in Darfur, so is viewed with disdain by the Janjaweed, who have been accused of ethnic cleansing in Darfur.


Conflict first erupted in Darfur in 2003 when mostly non-Arabs took up arms against the government, complaining about discrimination and a lack of development.


The government retaliated by mobilising Janjaweed to fight the rebels, unleashing violence that caused global outrage that led to the deployment of peacekeepers and international arrest warrants.


It is the third time Geneina has come under attack since 2019 - a time of change for the country as Omar al-Bashir was ousted as president after nearly 30 years in power.


In March this year violent clashes left dozens dead and injured as well as several villages burnt in the Jebel Moon area to the north of Geneina.


Darfur is rich in gold - and there are accusations Janjaweed incursions are part of attempts to gain control of more land for prospecting.


Adam Rajal - a spokesman for the IDPs Co-ordination Committee, a group that liaises between all the camps for those who have fled their home since 2003 - suggests it is also an attempt to dismantle the camps.


He implies that perpetrators of alleged war crimes in Darfur are worried by the fate of a former Janjaweed leader whose trial has recently begun at the International Criminal Court (ICC).


Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, denies charges of committing crimes against humanity. He is the first person to be tried by the ICC over the conflict - and Bashir too is wanted by the court for war crimes and genocide, which he denies.


"The target is to depopulate towns and dismantle the camps… these IDP camps are the most visible proof of the crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and the war crimes perpetrated by the previous regime," says Mr Rajal.


Why is the RSF so powerful?


The governor of Darfur's regional government Minni Minawi, a former rebel leader, has accused the authorities in Khartoum of not doing enough to rein in the RSF.


But the paramilitary force wields a lot of power in the junta, and its leader Lt-Gen Mohamed Hamdan "Hemeti" Dagolo, is Sudan's deputy leader.


Originally a Chadian Arab, he grew up in Darfur - and has expanded the RSF's membership to include fighters from across the country.


Observers say he is also using the inter-communal violence in Darfur to further his political ambitions.


The Janjaweed has long been accused of recruiting Arab fighters from Chad and other Sahel countries - encouraging them to bring their families as part of attempts to change the political constituency in Darfur.


Gen Hemeti has never commented on the allegations or on the recent violence in West Darfur, but in his public statements he calls for Darfur's diverse communities to live in peace.


More on the Darfur conflict:

View the original here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-61217999

Sunday, November 28, 2021

At least 35 people killed in clashes in Sudan’s Darfur in Jebel Moon mountains close to the Chad border

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: The following copy of a report originally written by Agence France-Presse (AFP) and published by Al Jazeera.com is from a reprint at MSN.com powered by Microsoft. I am copying the reprint here incase Al Jazeera deletes or moves any of its reports on Sudan. Note that MSN's version has a copyright symbol and a credit to Aljazeera.

Also, note that the version at Aljazeera.com (see link below) contains a 28 minute video by 'Aljazeera Human Rights Production' entitled 'Rights Denied' and is not included in MSN's reprint. Aljazeera's version of AFP's report contains three hyperlinks leading to three separate reports by Aljazeera that are not included MSN's reprint. I have underlined, using blue, to show where Aljazeera added three hyperlinks in its version of AFP's report.

Clearly, Aljazeera has embellished AFP's report and the embellishments are not included in MSN's reprint together with Aljazeera's subheading which I have added below in italics and used yellow to highlight it and the 'KEEP READING' and three reports added by Aljazeera to its version of AFP's report. 

The photo and caption has been added by Aljazeera but does not indicate where or when the photo was taken. It could be an old photo from The Associated Press (AP).  

Here is the copy of a report at and by Al Jazeera.com, reprinted by MSN.com powered by Microsoft

Publication date on both reports is Thursday 25 November 2021

Title: Dozens killed in clashes in Sudan’s restive Darfur


At least 35 people have been killed in days of fighting between herders in Sudan’s western Darfur region with more than a thousand homes set on fire, officials have said

© Provided by Al Jazeera  While the main conflict in Darfur has subsided, with a peace deal struck with key rebel groups last year, the arid region has remained awash with weapons and violence often erupts over land, access to agriculture or water [File: Mustafa Younes/AP]

The violence broke out on November 17 between armed Arab herders in the rugged Jebel Moon mountains close to the border with Chad, said Omar Abdelkarim, Sudan’s Humanitarian Aid Commissioner in West Darfur state on Thursday.

“The clashes left more than 35 people dead on both sides,” he told the AFP news agency. “Around 16 villages have been completely burned down”.

West Darfur governor Khamis Abdallah said the violence was sparked by “a dispute over camel looting”, and that “military reinforcements have been sent to the area and the situation has stabilised”.

Some people have fled west seeking safety across the border to Chad, he added.

Darfur was ravaged by a civil war that erupted in 2003, that pitted ethnic minority rebels complaining of discrimination against the Arab-dominated government of Omar al-Bashir.

More than 300,000 people died and 2.5 million were displaced, according to the United Nations.

Al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court to face charges of genocide in Darfur, was deposed and jailed in April 2019 following mass protests against his 30-year rule.

While the main conflict in Darfur has subsided, with a peace deal struck with key rebel groups last year, the arid region has remained awash with weapons and violence often erupts over land, access to agriculture or water.

A United Nations peacekeeping mission ended in Darfur last year.

The latest clashes come against a backdrop of political turbulence, as Sudan reels from the aftermath of a military coup last month that drew wide international condemnation and sparked mass protests.

On October 25, top General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan overthrew the country’s post-al-Bashir transitional government and detained the civilian leadership.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was freed from effective house arrest and reinstated, after signing a deal with al-Burhan that was viewed by critics as “whitewashing” the coup.

View reprint: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/dozens-killed-in-clashes-in-sudan-e2-80-99s-restive-darfur/ar-AAR7RRV

View Alazjeera's version of AFP's report and a 28 minute video by 'Aljazeera Human Rights Production' entitled 'Rights Denied' here: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/25/dozens-killed-in-clashes-in-sudans-restive-darfur - Officials say the dispute between Arab herdsmen was sparked by a 'dispute over camel looting'.

KEEP READING

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Darfur Sudan news round-up: Alex de Waal, New York Times, SRS (Sudan Radio Service)

Sharp Increase in Lethal Violence in Darfur
Report from Alex de Waal's blog, Making Sense of Sudan
By Alex de Waal, published on Saturday, 5 June 2010:
May 2010 saw the largest number of recorded violent fatalities in Darfur since the arrival of UNAMID in January 2008. According to the figures compiled by the Joint Mission Analysis Centre (JMAC), there were 491 confirmed fatalities and 108 unconfirmed but very probable fatalities during the month, about five times higher than the average for the last year.

The reason for the increase in violence is fighting between JEM and the Sudan Armed Forces, which accounts for 440 deaths. At the time of the ceasefire agreement signed in N’djamena in February (and subsequently in Doha), JEM was required to relocate inside Darfur and joint Sudanese and Chadian forces began patrolling the border. A large and well-equipped JEM force established itself at Jebel Moon. The ceasefire lasted two months, and after it collapsed, with no additional progress in the Doha talks, the fighting rapidly resumed, alongside GoS efforts to prevent Khalil Ibrahim from returning to the field. Unwilling to fight defensively, JEM preferred to go on the offensive. It was forced out of Jebel Moon and instead dispersed across Darfur and into parts of Kordofan, taking the war to these areas. The largest number of clashes has been in south-east Darfur but JEM has also been active in the vicinity of al Fashir.

Reports indicate that JEM has made alliances, possibly tactical and operational, with the SLA in Jebel Marra and with disgruntled Arab groups.

JEM forces have also been responsible for an upsurge in carjacking, capturing 13 vehicles. Among them were UNAMID supply trucks carrying fuel and other provisions. Cut off from its Chadian supply base, JEM is now resupplying itself from whatever resources it can find in Darfur and Kordofan, and UNAMID supplies are an attractive target.

Even without this, May would have been an above-average month for lethal violence, because of an increase in inter-tribal fighting in West Darfur, which caused 119 fatalities (monthly total for inter-tribal fighting: 126). The previous two months have actually seen even higher levels of inter-tribal violence, including fighting in the Kass-Jebel Marra area between the Missiriya and Nuwaiba Arab tribes. The repercussions of the collapse of the Suq al Mawasir pyramid scheme in al Fashir also have security repercussions, first in that the angry defrauded investors have been mobilizing to make their case to the authorities, and second in that commanders of armed groups had been profiting from the scheme and are now left without that source of easy income.
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