Plagiarism at Sudan Tribune - Darfur Minawi group denies UN "accusations" of rape and killing

Once again, the Sudan Tribune has published an article without referencing source and/or author. Stealing the work of news reporters and passing it off as their own is blatant plagiarism. It's hard work trying to figure out the source of their reprints. They've allowed themselves to get away with it for too long.

Yesterday, here at Sudan Watch, I noted a UN Sudan Situation Report containing news from AMIS about an SLM-Nur informant alleging rape and murder by SLA-Minnawi faction. The Sudan Tribune headlined the story as "UN accuses Darfur SLM-Minawi of rape, murder" - they'd copied a report by Sapa/AFP, inserted a few extra words, created a title and passed it off as their own work.

Today, the Sudan Tribune published another unsourced article entitled Darfur Minawi group denies UN accusations of rape and killing. Excerpt:

A Darfur rebel faction, which signed a May peace deal for the western Sudanese region, denied accusation published in a UN report s of raping and murdering civilians in an offensive against rebel holdouts.

A spokesman for the Minnawi faction, Mahjoub Hussein, denied these charges Monday in an interview with the pan-Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera.

We officially reject this statement made by the UN, and we demand an immediate international investigation," said Hussein, wearing a camouflage shirt. "These allegations are an attempt to tarnish the image of the movement."

The UN mission issued "situation reports" for Sunday and Monday that reported numerous attacks in North Darfur, particularly around Um Sidir, Tawilla and northwest of El Fasher. Most of the incidents were reportedly cases of the Minawi faction of the Sudan Liberation Army attacking the Abdelwahid faction of the same rebel group.

Minni Minawi, the overall leader of the SLA, signed the May 5 accord, but Abdelwahid Elnur, the leader of a breakaway faction, rejected it.

"Intra SLA fighting in and around Tawilla has forced the displacement of about 4,000 Internally Displaced Persons," the UN reported.

The report quoted the refugees as accusing the Minnawi faction of raping, kidnapping and killing people indiscriminately in the Tawilla district.

"One Internally Displaced Person alleged he witnessed 15 young women being raped and then killed," said the UN situation report for Sunday.

Decades of low-level clashes in Darfur over land and water erupted in early 2003 when ethnic Africans took up arms against the Arab-led government in Khartoum, which responded with a counter-insurgency campaign that is accused of widespread atrocities.

The conflict has killed 300,000 people and displaced another 2 million. Some 235,000 refugees from Darfur fled across the border into Chad. And an estimated 50,000 Chadians have fled their homes near the border in recent months.

As noted here previously, the UN merely reported an allegation made to AMIS by an SLM-Nur informant.

I'm tired of propaganda and self serving warmongers. James Smith of Aegis Trust managed to get his opinion piece in The Times (see here below). From what I can gather, no other news reports have emerged counteracting claims by the head of AMIS that - contrary to what the AU president announced at the AU summit - the AU is pulling out of Darfur on September 30. Note September 30 is the date when Save Darfur organisation in Washington DC has another rally planned.

July 7 2006 Bad reporting has made Darfur's conflict worse, and might even lead to an unnecessary international war (Reuters)

July 10 2006 Self-Service & Kiosk Association - Kiosks add impact to Clooney genocide exhibit: Nick [Clooney] collaborated with Cincinnati’s National Underground Railroad Freedom Center to exhibit the work. The museum staff opted to use kiosks with the exhibit, to offer immediacy and interactivity. They draw foot traffic to the exhibit with a looping five minute video, narrated by Nick. The exhibit runs June 14 through July 15.

July 11 2006 James Smith, Aegis Trust - The clock ticks. Sudan heads for disaster: The world seems to be turning away from the refugees of Darfur - but the United Nations has a duty to act. A COUNTDOWN of less than 90 days has begun until the vulnerable people of Darfur are abandoned by world leaders who cannot make a decision - whether to protect them or leave them at the mercy of a Government that has killed at least a quarter of a million and driven millions more from their land. The scene is set for the world's worst humanitarian crisis to tip from bad to worse.