Darfur War Child raised in Abu Shouk IDP camp: Abdoalnaser Ibrahim, Businessman (Boy) by 11!

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: I received an astonishing email last Monday from a stranger, Mr Abdoalnaser Ibrahim in Canada. Here is a copy, reprinted in full with permission, followed by my reply and Abdoalnaser's story of his childhood in Abu Shouk IDP camp, North Darfur circa 2004.

Email from Abdoalnaser Ibrahim 

Dated Monday, 11 March 2024

Photo: Abdoalnaser Ibrahim, Aspiring Data Analyst | Certified in Data Analytics | Petroleum Engineer

I am a survivor of the 2003 Darfur genocide, spent most of my life in Abushock IDP camp - my Mom wnated for us to get educated and have better life after my father's passing away in the war - I worked hard both in education and in supporting my family. In 2013 I was amongst Sudanese top students and joined University of Khartoum and studied engineering and been volunteering since for the cause of no other child should live what I have been through.

In 2022 I joined UN Youth Delegate program sponsored by Germany for Sudanese youth and attended the UN General Assembly of Sep 2022.

After that I came to Canada, applied for asylum and currently living in a refugees shelter - all excited to enjoy my new life, support family, contribute to Darfur betterment as well as inspire youth around the world in IDP camps and Refugee camps.

Going through your profile was such a delight as you were one of those who have worked hard so that kids like me and all war victims (I was 7 at 2003) can have a better life, heal from what they have lived and get justice.

Also, I witnessed the visit of Koffi Annan, Colin Powell, condoleezza rice and the accompanying delegates to our IDP camps.

Thank you from my bottom of heart for the good that you did to us 🙏

Please let me know if by any chance you would be available for a quick virtual meeting - I would love to know you, the work you did and still doing.

Stay safe and sound !

__________________________________

HERE is a copy of my reply to Abdoalnaser, sent a few days later:

Dear Abdoalnaser, 

Greetings from England UK and thank you for connecting and for your wonderful messages, gratefully received and much appreciated. 

Your news and words brought me to tears. Over the years, I've often wondered what became of all the babies, children and youngsters in Darfur from 2003-4 onwards. Now through the wonders of the internet I have, for the first time in 20 years, heard from one of those children with some feedback. 

You write beautifully with interest, warmth and humour. Your English is very good. I liked your story (boy to man) and wanted to ask you for your permission to publish it and its photos at Sudan Watch. 

Your story is a truly inspiring. What strikes me about your writings and that of some of the Lost Boys [and Girls] of (South) Sudan - some of whom became child soldiers - is that your extraordinary experiences, hard work, resilience, tenacity and persistence have made you incredibly strong clever people with charming manners and personalities. 

I must stop now or another day will pass without you receiving my gratitude and thanks from the bottom of my heart. 

I'm thrilled you got through it all. 

Extremely well done, I look forward to keeping in touch. 

Warm regards, 

Ingrid.

_____________________________

THIS is Abdoalnaser's story of his childhood living in Abu Shouk camp, North Darfur, one of the largest camps for internally displaced persons in Sudan, written in his own words.

Businessman (Boy) by 11!

By Abdoalnaser Ibrahim

Dated February 14, 2024

Story about a business idea in my childhood and a message to internally displace persons and refugees around the world

Photo: Myself after a hectic business day in 2010 taking a photograph for high school application.

Post Darfur 2003 conflict at which I lost my father, and after which me, the rest of my family and many others were forced by war to leave our homes and settle into IDP camps — all have lost loved ones and property, I was 7 years old by then. The situation in our IDP camp was very challenging — but luckily humanitarian organizations generously provided us with the needed aids to survive.

That situation tasked me in a very early age with big questions about life and the future, by the age of 10 years old — I asked my mother to allow me work and share with her the financial responsibilities she was desperately trying to meet – selling her valuables and doing tough labor, she agreed after negotiations — with the condition of not defaulting on my education.

I started working as a plastic containers distributor by carrying a big package on my shoulders containing many of them, going to shops across Abushock and Abuja IDP camps block by block — and asking them if they wanted some. But the tremendous effort exerted in distributing / selling never corresponded with the income gained — average of 3 SDGs (SDG: Sudanese Pounds / currency, I SDG = 3.34USD back then) per day at best with scanning the whole two camps walking, after doing that for a year -I started thinking about alternative ways to do a business that rewards better and pays off, that is when I got into Amir Alpha product selling (a glue- adhesive for many surface materials).

Image: Amir Alpha product carton.

The inspiration stemmed from the fact that shop owners in the two camps when bringing products for final selling, they usually go to a specific side of the market (Food and utilities), but the Amir Alpha product was in another side of the market, so after shop owners are loaded with lots of goods from the first side, it becomes harder for them to go to the other side with the amount of goods they bought, and for just one product, but they often do not even remember it. The reliability of a shop owner in Sudan is in part influenced by whether they have all necessities available for customer buyers, that keep customers returning to same shop — so many shop owners ask me a lot about whether I have it or can provide it — for they get asked about the Amir Alpha product a lot by many loyal customers wanting to fix their broken items, I also asked many others whether they have it and would buy if I were to provide it — and a sizable number of them responded positively.

That is when I got a penalty at the 90th minute, and charged myself with providing it for the shop owners, I would buy a carton and divide the Amir Alpha products inside into dozens a pack, a carton like the one attached above in green makes 21 dozens — the whole carton cost around 30 SDGs back then and I would sell a dozen pack for 2.5 SDGs — making around 22.5 SDGs pure profit, and I am the boss of myself — so with this amount of income I turned into only working on weekends to focus on school — and would use half of it and contribute the rest to family welfare, as time goes by — I have scaled up my business and continued profiting until other competitors appeared in the market, but by then I have already built personal connections with my customers and gained their loyalty.

That window of freedom to work in early childhood taught me valuable life lessons and skilled me in many areas of life, which shaped my resilience and creativity of today.

Back then — I would just look at a shop owner and know whether they were going to buy or not, and was resilient enough to rarely skip a prospect buyer in my scanning of the two camp shops.

So this is a message to all struggling youths around the world including those in refugee and IDP camps, experiencing sheer poverty, balancing education and labor — maybe you were not born into the right context you wish have happened, your thinking power, resourcefulness, and grit are priceless if projected and replicated into businesses, tech, and many other walks of life — your minds are capable as much as MIT and Harvard graduates, if not more - provided with an opportunity to grow, be restless in seeking opportunities and learning new tools to gain more flexibility and ease carrying out your day to day affairs, 

(For example; just today as I was applying to a range of jobs - I discovered a setting in windows that enables you to access any item you have copied before, it indeed increased my productivity afterwards).

END

Sudan: SAF & RSF clashes in Al Fasher, North Darfur displaces some people from Abu Shouk and As Salam

DTM (Displacement Tracking Matrix) Sudan Flash Alert - Update Sixteen
Dated Friday, 01 March 2024 - here is a copy:

Conflict in Al Fasher (Al Fasher Town), North Darfur

On 29 February 2024, clashes renewed between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Al Fasher Town of Al Fasher locality, North Darfur. As a result, field teams reported displacement from Abu Shock and As Salam IDP Camps to western neighbourhoods within Al Fasher Town. Estimates on the number of displaced individuals are yet to be provided by the field teams. In addition, one child was reportedly injured. The situation remains tense and unpredictable. 

Disclaimer: Due to the current circumstances, the DTM network is relying on remote interviews with key informants and further verification is not possible at this time.

*DTM Sudan Flash Alerts provide an initial estimation of affected population figures gathered from field reports. All information is therefore pending verification through DTM’s Emergency Event Tracking (EET) and/or registration activities and is not to be used as official figures.

Source: VIEW IN BROWSER

_________________________

Related

Sudan Watch - February 25, 2024

Sudan: SAF & RSF clashes in Al Fasher, North Darfur

On 23 and 24 February 2024, clashes renewed between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Al Fasher Town of Al Fasher locality, North Darfur. 

https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2024/02/sudan-saf-rsf-clashes-in-al-fasher.html

END

Sudan: Areas of immediate humanitarian concern are Al Fasher N Darfur, River Nile, Wad Medani Aj Jazirah

SUDAN 

Areas of immediate humanitarian concern

Flash Update No: 01, as of Monday, 18 December 2023 

Source: OCHA 

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Situation in Al Fasher, North Darfur State
On 16 December 2023, clashes renewed between SAF and RSF in Al Fasher Town of Al Fasher locality, North Darfur. As a result of the violence, the DTM reported three individuals were reportedly killed, and 10 others were injured. It was also reported that approximately 750 people have been displaced. Affected residents have been displaced from Abu Shock and Al Salam IDP camps to eastern neighborhoods within Al Fasher Town. Personal and commercial property was reportedly burnt and looted. The situation remains tense and unpredictable.

Situation in River Nile State
On 17 December, the authorities in River Nile State issued a decision to close the Nile crossings and bridges at 22.00 hours to 06.00 hours. These include nightly closure of the Umm Al-Tuyour and Al-Bashir bridges which constitute Nile crossing points for movement between the River Nile State and the Northern and Khartoum states.

Following RSF’s attack and looting of the Sudanese Police Force Station at Umm Shadida, in Shendi locality there have been increased fears of possible assaults on Atbara or Ed Damer due to their strategic connection with the rest of Sudan including eastern Sudan and Northern State.

Situation in Wad Medani, Aj Jazirah State
For information regarding the situation in Wad Medani please refer to our latest flash update: Sudan: Clashes in Wad Madani between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - Flash Update No: 03 (as of 18 December 2023)

Background

After years of protracted crisis, Sudan plunged into a conflict of alarming scale in mid-April 2023 when fighting between SAF and RSF, broke out initially in the capital Khartoum on April 15, and quickly expanded to other areas across the country. Khartoum has been the site of heavy fighting, while severe violent clashes and heavy bombardments have also been reported in the greater Darfur and Kordofan regions. The hostilities have resulted in extensive damage to critical infrastructure and facilities, including water and healthcare, the collapse of banking and financial services, frequent interruptions to electricity supply and telecommunication services and widespread looting. Since the conflict broke out, humanitarian needs have increased and almost 25 million people now require assistance in Sudan. More than 6.7 million people have been forced to leave their homes in search of safety elsewhere.

An estimated three million people live in North Darfur State. 2.7 people need humanitarian assistance. Since April 15, nearly 446,000 people are displaced in North Darfur with about 86 per cent displaced from within the State. 147,000 of those are in Al Fasher town. About 966,000 people are in crisis (IPC 3) and above levels of food security in the state with 335,000 in Al Fasher between October 2023 and February 2024, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). There are ten humanitarian organizations working in the state, including one INGO and nine NNGOs. So far this year humanitarian organizations have reached 383,000 people in the State with food assistance, WASH, health and other humanitarian interventions.

An estimated two million people live in River Nile State, 636,000 people need humanitarian assistance. Since April 15, nearly 616,000 people fled to River Nile State, 94,000 of those are in Atbara. About 247,000 people are in crisis (IPC 3) and above levels of food security in the state with 27,000 in Atbara between October 2023 and February 2024, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). There are 16 humanitarian organizations working in the state, including four INGOs, seven NNGOs and five UN agencies. So far this year humanitarian organizations have reached 201,000 people in the State with food assistance, WASH, health and other humanitarian interventions.
 
***
For more information, please contact: Sofie Karlsson, Head of Communications and Analysis, OCHA Sudan, karlsson2@un.org, Mob: +249 (0)912 174 456

Download the Flash Update here

Related Content

Sudan: Clashes in Wad Madani between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - Flash Update No: 03 (as of 18 December 2023)

View original: https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/sudan-areas-immediate-humanitarian-concern-flash-update-no-01-18-december-2023

END

Sudan food markets burned in North & South Darfur

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Lately, I find myself double checking dates on news reports because the content is so similar to the start of Darfur war. 

At least this time the world can see verifiable and timely satellite imagery and detect truthful news from Darfur. 20 yrs ago it was like from another planet. No maps of Darfur were on the internet. Now we can see evildoings.

Starve Darfuris of food was a tactic used in Darfur war. Force them to flee from fire so they're traumatised and controlled by chaos, fear and anxiety. 

Report from dnyuz.com

By New York Times

Friday 21 April 2023

Large Food Market Burned in Darfur Camp, Satellite Images Show

A large market for food and other supplies serving a camp for displaced people was partly damaged during a fire on Wednesday, reflecting the dangerous toll recent fighting has taken on Sudan’s most vulnerable citizens. The extent of the destruction was evident in satellite imagery and social media videos analyzed by The New York Times, which found that the blaze destroyed or damaged approximately 18 acres of the market.

Over the past week, Sudan has been engulfed in violence as the Army and a paramilitary group, Rapid Support Forces (R.S.F.), vie for control of the country. Already, the Abu Shouk camp, located in El Fasher, the regional capital of North Darfur, was experiencing supply shortages.

According to Thomas Okedi, the area manager for the Norwegian Refugee Council, the camp hadn’t received any aid in the week before the fire started. He blamed the current fighting and turmoil for the blaze, saying it started because of a stray bullet or looters igniting one of the shops, and then spread quickly through some of the makeshift structures.

A satellite image from Wednesday afternoon shows the fires still burning, with small shops on the eastern side of the market reduced to ash, and flames consuming other structures.

A video shared on social media shows the blaze, with a man taking the video saying: “May God help us. This market is completely destroyed.” Another video, taken a few hours later, shows the charred, smoking remains of shops and equipment.

“As of right now, Abu Shouk market is operating at very limited capacity,” Mr. Okedi said. “With the reduction of food supplies and the stopping of humanitarian aid, the situation is getting more dire.”

Many humanitarian groups have halted their operations because of the fighting, and there are growing concerns about how people will get access to food and water.

Fighting has been reported in El Fasher by Doctors Without Borders, which said that it had treated almost 300 wounded civilians, 44 of whom died from their injuries, in the city this week.

Nearly 900,000 internally displaced people lived in North Darfur before the current escalation of violence. The Abu Shouk camp alone is home to more than 100,000 people, according to Mr. Okedi. Some of them were displaced by a genocidal campaign in the early 2000s waged by the Sudanese Army and so-called Janjaweed militias. The R.S.F. grew out of the Janjaweed, and is now fighting its former ally, the Army.

Another food market, 100 miles south of El Fasher in the capital of South Darfur, Nyala, went up in flames on Sunday. Satellite imagery from April 20 shows the aftermath.

A few homes less than a mile from the market also burned down. Additionally, the satellite imagery shows signs of looting at various places in the city, and unidentified security forces, including tanks, positioned in a residential area.

At least 413 people have been killed and 3,551 others around the country have been wounded in the violence, the World Health Organization reported on Friday.

The post Large Food Market Burned in Darfur Camp, Satellite Images Show appeared first on New York Times.

View original: https://dnyuz.com/2023/04/21/large-food-market-burned-in-darfur-camp-satellite-images-show/

Security situation in Darfur 12 April 2010 - 4 UNAMID South African peacekeepers missing nr Nyala, S. Darfur, W. Sudan

Darfur/UNAMID Daily Media Brief 2010-04-12
From United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)
EL FASHER (DARFUR), Sudan, Tuesday, April 13, 2010/APO:

Security situation in Darfur
Notwithstanding the fact that four UNAMID peacekeepers remain unaccounted for, the security situation in Darfur remains calm. UNAMID has mobilized its resources in the Nyala region and is working closely with the Government of the Sudan and local authorities in the search for the missing peacekeepers.

UNAMID military forces conducted 58 patrols including routine, short range, long range, night, and Humanitarian escort patrols, covering 45 villages and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps during the reporting period.

UNAMID police advisors also conducted 58 patrols in villages and IDP camps.

UNAMID leadership joins patrol of IDP camps
UNAMID Joint Special Representative (JSR) Ibrahim Gambari today accompanied UNAMID police as they conducted a patrol of Abu Shouk and Al Salam Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps outside El Fasher, North Darfur. He was accompanied by Deputy Joint Special Representative (DJSR) Mohamed Yonis and Police Commissioner Micheal Fryer.

The delegation visited Community Policing Centres in both camps, as well as polling stations, where IDPs were casting their votes in the country’s first multi-party elections in 24 years.

After speaking to several voters, JSR Gambari remarked “they want to vote, they want to exercise their right to vote. I am very happy that I was here to see them.”

Ghana’s Kufuor visits Darfur as head of AU Election Mission
Former Ghanaian President, John Agyekum Kufuor, and head of the African Union (AU) Liaison Office in Sudan, Ambassador Mahmoud Kane, were received today by UNAMID Joint Special Representative (JSR) Ibrahim Gambari at the Mission’s headquarters in El Fasher, North Darfur.

The Ghanaian statesman is heading a 50-member AU observer team for the first multi-party elections in Sudan since 1986.

Mr. Kufuor and Mr. Kane were briefed by UNAMID senior officials on the current security and situation and the political landscape of Darfur.

“We hope the electoral process will open opportunities for the people of the Sudan and enable them, using democracy [to] work for peace within the borders of this huge country,” Kufuor said.

Other international bodies, such as the Arab League and the Carter Center, have observers on the ground.

Darfur/UNAMID peacekeepers reported missing
From United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) via APO:

EL FASHER (DARFUR), Sudan, April 13, 2010 - Four UNAMID peacekeepers have not been seen or heard from in nearly 24 hours. The peacekeepers last movement was reported at 16:00 hrs on 11 April 2010, as they departed their team site just outside of Nyala, South Darfur, on a 7km journey back to their private accommodation.

“There have been no sightings of our staff and we are deeply concerned for their well-being,” said UNAMID Joint Special Representative Ibrahim Gambari, who is in direct contact with Sudanese Government officials over this issue.

UNAMID has mobilized its resources in the region and is working closely with the Government of the Sudan and local authorities in the search for the missing peacekeepers.

Four South African peacekeepers kidnapped in Sudan's Darfur
From English.news.cn 2010-04-13 14:37:29 Editor: Xiong Tong

KHARTOUM, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Four peacekeepers belonging to the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) have been kidnapped by unknown gunmen in the restive western Sudanese region of Darfur, a UNAMID source told Xinhua on Tuesday.

The anonymous source said the four South African peacekeepers, two male and two female, were stopped by some 10 gunmen when they were driving from their working site to their private accommodation near Nyala, the capital city of the South Darfur state, on Sunday.

The source quoted witnesses as saying that the four policemen were forced to step off their vehicle at gunpoint.

No armed group in Darfur has made contacts with the UNAMID to claim responsibility for the kidnapping, the source noted.

UNAMID spokesman Noureddine Mezni has refused to confirm or deny the kidnapping, noting that the four peacekeepers were reported missing since Sunday.

"I can not confirm or deny this report (of the kidnapping), I have no confirmations on what had happened," the spokesman said on Tuesday.

Fears raised as four AU-UN peacekeepers go missing in Sudan's Darfur region
From UN News Centre - ‎Monday, 12 April 2010
Four peacekeepers serving with the joint African Union-United Nations force in the western Sudanese region of Darfur have not been seen or ...

Red Cross: 8 staff kidnapped in eastern Congo‎
From The Associated Press - Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Three foreign Red Cross workers were kidnapped in the Philippines last year, and French staff members were seized in Chad and Sudan. ...

NEC Sudan says elections will be held in 1500 centers in Darfur region

Photo: Sudanese refugees walk in Abou Shouk refugee camp, on the outskirts of the north Darfur capital of el Fasher, Sudan, Wednesday, April 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Dr Al Asaam says elections will be held in 1500 centers in Darfur region

Khartoum, April 8 (SUNA) - The National Election Commission on Thursday met at its headquarters, under the chairmanship of its President Abel Alier, with a delegation from the European Elections Observers Mission in Sudan.

Professor Mukhtar Al Asaam member of the Commission has pointed out that the meeting was held on the request of the European observers' delegation to explain the reasons that spurred them to issue a statement in which they have said they would be pulling out of Darfur. He said the European delegation has stressed it would be issuing a statement in which it would explain the real reasons behind the pull out of Darfur which are related transportation and stay in Darfur and that non of the reasons cited was among t hose circulated by the media on lack of stability there.

Dr Al Asaam has said the delegation of the commission headed by the NEC chairman Abel Alier that visited Darfur in the past couple of days has reaffirmed that the security situation in Darfur was better than t he situate ion a few months ago and that stability for holding the election was prevailing. He referred to the preparation of some 1500 centers that are fully secured for the election process.

On her part the head of the European delegation has praised the difficult work undertaken by the commission and that her visit to the commission shows the good relations between the delegation and the NEC.

Photo: A Sudanese street tailor sews a dress in the town of Al Fasher, northern Darfur, April 7, 2010. (Reuters/Zohra Bensemra)



Photo: A Sudanese refugee girl stands by vendor sitting under electoral posters, at a market in Abou Shouk refugee camp, on the outskirts of the North Darfur capital of el Fasher, Sudan, Wednesday, April 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)



Photo: Boys shine shoes in the town of Al Fasher, northern Darfur, April 7, 2010. (Reuters/Zohra Bensemra)



Sudanese refugee vendors sit by their goods as they wait for customers in the market of Abou Shouk refugee camp, on the outskirts of the North Darfur capital of el Fasher, Sudan, Wednesday, April 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)



Photo: A Sudanese refugee woman shops for food supplies at a market in Abou Shouk refugee camp, on the outskirts of the north Darfur capital of el Fasher, Sudan, Wednesday, April 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)



Photo: A Sudanese refugee family load food supplies on a cart in the market of Abou Shouk refugee camp, on the outskirts of the North Darfur capital of el Fasher, Sudan, Wednesday, April 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Don't rubbish Sudan elections - Former U.S. President Carter will be among the official observers

Don't rubbish Sudan elections
From Cif Guardian.co.uk
By Simon Tisdall, Friday 9 April 2010:

The elections won't be perfect, but the chorus of condemnation from those pursuing a Darfur-focused agenda misses the point



A Sudanese man kisses a picture of President Omar al-Bashir at a protest against the arrest warrant issued against him last year. Photograph: Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty

Not a single vote has yet been cast in Sudan's elections but already international pressure groups and domestic opponents of the current government are queuing up to rubbish the process. This chorus of condemnation seems a little premature. It also misses the point. While it's likely the polls will be flawed in important respects, in a fundamental sense, that does not matter. For the major players inside and outside Sudan, the elections, beginning on Sunday, are merely a staging post on a much longer journey.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court, is among the most outspoken critics. He said sending EU and African Union observers to monitor the vote was a waste of time. "It's like monitoring a Hitler election," he said. Moreno-Ocampo urged western countries to concentrate instead on arresting Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, charged by the ICC with war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

Moreno-Ocampo has a particular axe to grind. Like the Waging Peace and the Save Darfur Coalition pressure groups, broader issues of democratic governance and implementation of the 2005 comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) that ended Sudan's ruinous north-south civil war take second place, in his view, to the importance of avenging Darfur and arraigning Bashir in The Hague.

"It is clear to all observers that these much heralded 'multi-party elections' have never been more than an attempt by [Bashir] to legitimise his position in the eyes of the international community," said Sophie McCann of Waging Peace. The process was "unsalvageable". For its part, Save Darfur seized on the partial poll boycott by some opposition parties to urge the US, Britain and others to disown the whole business and condemn Bashir's "dictatorial rule".

Mixed motives also lie behind the decision of the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), the main southern political party, to boycott polling in Darfur and the north. The SPLM and other opposition groups have voiced concerns about the accuracy of the 2008 census on which voting is based, the ruling National Congress party's (NCP) monopoly of state resources, and alleged bias of the national elections commission.

These worries are shared by independent organisations such as the Carter Centre (former US president Jimmy Carter is due in Sudan with 60 observers) and the International Crisis Group, which says many displaced Darfuris will be denied a vote. Human Rights Watch accuses both the government and the SPLM of intimidating political rivals, although the picture is mixed. Overall, media controls have been relaxed and some opposition leaders have been give airtime.

Yet Sudan experts say it's clear that the SPLM's main concern is not the elections at all, but rather avoiding any delay to January's CPA-directed referendum on southern independence (which is widely expected to result in Sudan's partition). Thus its decision not to contest the presidential or parliamentary votes in northern areas suits Bashir's NCP very well, despite protestations to the contrary. The unspoken deal is plain enough: Bashir the bogeyman gets re-elected and relegitimised, while the south (comprising 25% of the population) and its US-backed president, Salva Kiir, gets independence (and 50% of Sudan's oil wealth).

Political opportunism and pragmatism have combined neatly. "The SPLM decided to pull out simply because they know they are not going to win the presidency," said NCP official Omar Rahma in an al-Jazeera interview. Nor does the SPLM seem troubled by the fact that its unilateral decision to mount a partial boycott threw other opposition parties, with which it was supposedly co-ordinating, into confusion. That the SPLM boycott worries western pressure groups is a measure of their naivety.

The Obama administration and Britain cannot be accused of such credulousness. What they most want from these elections is already clear – and it is not a democratic showcase or Bashir's arrest. They want north-south deals on border demarcation and oil-revenue sharing, settlements in trouble spots such as Abyei and South Kordofan, and a successful independence referendum as envisaged by the CPA. The US, in particular, sees a future southern Sudanese republic as an important ally.

The western powers see in this outcome the prospect of a final, lasting peace in Darfur, wider regional stability encompassing Chad, and ultimately, Khartoum's rehabilitation. A recent joint statement by the foreign secretary David Miliband and the US secretary of state Hillary Clinton set priorities: "Irrespective of the outcome of elections, it is essential that work continues and is accelerated to meet remaining CPA deadlines."

Predictions that Sudan's elections will produce an Afghanistan-style fiasco of rigging and recrimination misunderstand the position. All the main actors want a success, and that is what they will most probably deem the polls to be, with the usual caveats and reservations, almost whatever the outcome. This conformity of purpose elicited a remarkable boast from Bashir, speaking in Sinar on the Blue Nile last week: "Even America is becoming an NCP member. No one is against our will."

Simon Tisdall (pictured above) is an assistant editor of the Guardian and a foreign affairs columnist. He was previously a foreign leader writer for the paper and has also served as its foreign editor and its US editor, based in Washington DC. He was the Observer's foreign editor from 1996-98

Further reading



Former US President Jimmy Carter speaks to reporters as he arrives at Khartoum International Airport, ahead of the country's national elections on April 11. "We are hoping and praying that it will be a fair and honest election for those are participating," Carter said. (AFP/Ashraf Shazly Thu Apr 8, 2010)



Former US President Jimmy Carter, left, leaves after speaking to the media following his arrival in the capital Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 8, 2010. The Carter Center said Thursday that former President Jimmy Carter will be among the official observers when Sudan conducts national elections next week. (AP Photo/Abd Raouf)



A Sudanese man reads a newspaper under posters of presidential candidates in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)



A campaign poster for Sudan People's Liberation Movement's southern presidential candidate Salva Kiir hangs from a tree in a remote village in Dongoi in Western Equatorial State, April 7, 2010. (Reuters/Finbarr O'Reilly)



Sudanese election officials receive training during a mock voting session ahead of Sunday's general election, in the village of Mvolo in Western Equatorial State, April 7, 2010. (Reuters/Finbarr O'Reilly)



Workers from the National Elections Commission (NEC) prepare polling boxes at the central NEC ballot distribution center in Khartoum April 8, 2010. (Reuters/Mohamed Nurdldin)



Workers from the National Elections Commission (NEC) carry polling boxes at the central NEC ballot distribution center in Khartoum April 8, 2010. (Reuters/Mohamed Nurdldi)



A Sudanese worker from the National Elections Commission (NEC) checks ballot boxes at the central NEC ballot distribution center of Khartoum April 8, 2010 (Reuters/Ahmed Jadallah)



Sonia, a French adviser for the Sudanese National Elections Commission (NEC), checks ballot boxes at the central NEC ballot distribution center of Khartoum April 8, 2010. (Reuters/Ahmed Jadallah)



A Sudanese worker loads election material including ballot papers and voting booths into a waiting helicopter of the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur, UNAMID to be transported to the voting center of the north Darfur town of Mellit, in the airport of el Fasher, Darfur, Sudan Thursday, April 8, 2010. Preparations continue for the upcoming multiparty general elections in Sudan starting on April 13. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)



A Sudanese refugee boy walks past a UNAMID (African Union/UN Hybrid operation in Darfur) vehicle near a polling station at Abou Shouk refugee camp, on the outskirts of the north Darfur capital of el Fasher, Sudan, Wednesday, April 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)



A UNAMID (African Union/UN Hybrid operation in Darfur) peacekeeper stands guard near a polling station, in background, at Abou Shouk refugee camp, on the outskirts of the North Darfur capital of el Fasher, Sudan, Wednesday, April 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)



Sudanese refugee boys stand by a UNAMID (African Union/UN Hybrid operation in Darfur) peacekeeper guarding a nearby polling station at Abou Shouk refugee camp, on the outskirts of the North Darfur capital of el Fasher, Sudan, Wednesday, April 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)



UNAMID (African Union/UN Hybrid operation in Darfur) peacekeepers patrol the area surrounding a polling station at Abou Shouk refugee camp, on the outskirts of the north Darfur capital of el Fasher, Sudan, Wednesday, April 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)



Sudanese police patrol in the town of Al Fasher, northern Darfur April 8, 2010. (Reuters/Zohra Bensemra)



European Union chief elections observer Veronique De Keyser speaks to journalists at Abu Shouk camp outside El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, April 7, 2010. (Reuters/Andrew Heavens)



European Union election observers leave El Fasher airport in North Darfur, led by EU chief observer Veronique De Keyser (centre), April 7, 2010. The European Union on Wednesday withdrew its election observers from Sudan's Darfur region, saying safety fears were hindering their work. (Reuters/Andrew Heavens)



A European Union election observer boards a plane at El Fasher airport in North Darfur April 7, 2010. (Reuters/Andrew Heavens)



A Sudanese woman crosses the street infront of a vehicle with electoral posters on the hood at the main market of the Darfur town of el Fasher, Sudan Thursday, April 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)



A disabled woman on a tricycle rides past campaign posters for the upcoming April 11 presidential and legislative elections in the town of Al Fasher, northern Darfur April 8, 2010. (Reuters/Zohra Bensemra)



A Sudanese woman uses her mobile while passing by electoral posters at the main market of the Darfur town of el Fasher, Sudan Thursday, April 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Confused Signals From SPLM Over Northern Boycott - Or Is It Withdrawal?
SRS - Friday, 9 April 2010 (Juba) – SPLM chairman Salva Kiir Mayardit says his party has withdrawn its candidate for the presidency, Yasir Arman, but has not called for a general boycott of the elections in the north, as announced on Wednesday by the SPLM secretary-general, Pagan Amum.

SSHEC Satisfied With Progress of Elections Run-Up
SRS - Friday, 9 April 2010 (Merowe) – President Omar al-Bashir has reiterated that there will be free and fair elections throughout the country. Addressing the public during the official opening of a hydro-electric plant at Merowe Dam on Thursday, President al-Bashir said elections which will begin on Sunday will be free of any irregularities. President al-Bashir was speaking at Merowe Dam, at the end of his presidential campaign.

Al-Bashir Says Elections Shall Be Fair Because It Is God's Will
SRS - Friday, 9 April 2010 (Juba) – The South Sudan High Elections Committee has described the campaign period for the April elections as ‘peaceful and without irregularities’. Jersa Kide Barsaba told SRS that the Committee has only received one official complaint which it could not verify.



Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter speaks to the press after meeting officials of the national election commission at their headquarters in Khartoum April 9, 2010. Sudan's first multi-party elections in 24 years are on track to start on Sunday, with Khartoum dismissing a U.S. suggestion that it would consider supporting a brief delay to ensure greater stability. (Reuters/Mohamed Nurdldin Fri Apr 9, 1:11 PM ET)



International observers from the U.S.-based Carter Center prepare to leave for Sudan's Northern states to monitor voting, in Khartoum April 9, 2010. Reuters/Mohamed Nurdldin Fri Apr 9, 1:38 PM ET)

UNAMID Sudan: Security situation in Darfur, 03 Feb 2010 - Justice Mohamed Chande Othman tours Darfur incl Abu Shouk camp & Swilinga

Source: United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)
El Fasher (Darfur), Sudan, Wednesday, February 3, 2010/via APO:
UNAMID Daily Media Brief / 2010-02-03

Security situation in Darfur
The security situation in Darfur remains relatively calm but unpredictable.

UNAMID military forces conducted 55 patrols including routine, short range, long range, night patrols, and Humanitarian escort patrols, covering 66 villages and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps during the reporting period.

UNAMID police advisors also conducted 108 patrols in villages and IDP camps.

Independent Expert on the Situation of Human Rights visits North Darfur
The newly appointed Independent Expert on the situation of Human Rights, Justice Mohamed Chande Othman, arrived in the North Darfur capital of El Fasher today. He is expected to undertake occasional visits to the Sudan and engage in constructive dialogue with the Government and other relevant stakeholders on human rights concerns brought to his attention as mandated by the Human Rights Council.

Upon arrival, Mr. Othman was briefed by the UNAMID Deputy Joint Special Representative, Henry Anyidoho, the Director of Human Rights, Ms. Marie-Therese Keita, and other UNAMID substantive sections. The Independent Expert also paid a courtesy visit to the Wali (Governor) of North Darfur, Mr. Osman Kibir, and visited the Abu Shouk internally displaced persons (IDP) camp and Swilinga village to assess first hand the returnees as reported.

Mr. Othman and his entourage are next scheduled to travel to Nyala, Zalingei and El Geneina in South and West Darfur respectively.

Head of Darfur Integrated Operation Team bids farewell to Darfur
The current head of the Integrated Operational Team (IOT), Mr. Michael Gaouette, yesterday concluded a four-day visit to Darfur. He was accompanied by Mr. Jack Christofides, who will succeed him as head of IOT in March.

During his visit, Mr. Gaouette met with the Mission’s leadership to discuss the current political, security and humanitarian situation in Darfur. He observed that UNAMID had made significant progress and that its presence had made an impact on the ground. However, he added that there remains much work to be done.

The Darfur IOT delivers support to the Mission by resolving operational issues at the working level and providing integrated advice to senior management. Mr. Gaouette stated that the IOT’s future objectives are to help secure a peace agreement for Darfur and assist in its implementation.

SOURCE: United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)

Click on label here below to view previous reports and latest updates on the security situation in Darfur.

Message to Red Cross: Please check Darfur prison conditions

Inmates' Relatives Concerned About Darfur Prison Conditions
Report by SRS - Sudan Radio Service, Tuesday, 22 December 2009:

(El Fashir) – Relatives of prisoners from Abu Shok IDP camp in Darfur are protesting about the harsh living conditions endured by inmates who have been in prison for more than six months without trial.

Speaking to SRS on Sunday, a relative of Mayor Hussein Sajoa who preferred to remain anonymous claimed that the prisoners are being tortured and brutally treated.

[Relative]: “These people have been in prison for almost seven months now and so far none of them have been accused of any crimes. We were just told that they are being arrested under ‘emergency legislation’. The prisoners are being tortured both physically and psychologically, and Mayor Hussein Sajoa and Mayor Adam Haroun have had to see a doctor and they started undergoing tests since yesterday. Concerning Sheikh Abdul Razig; Razig’s health and mental state is not good; he is now acting like someone who has completely lost his mind. He can’t even sit with the other prisoners.”

A member pf the Northern Darfur legislative council, Sheikh Duda Adam Hamid, also spoke out against the prisoners’ treatment.

[Duda Adam]: “Our brother, Abdul Razig, who is one of the very active persons as far as the displaced people are concerned, was arrested for no good reason six months ago and was thrown in jail. This automatically led him to have a serious mental problem which he is currently suffering from. Yesterday, there was a group which went to visit the prison, including the chairperson of the social affairs committee in the legislative council, Madam Aisha Mohammed Ahmed. She went to visit Abdul Razig in prison and she found that the man’s mental condition was very bad, and so she spoke to the person in charge and he promised her that the patient will be taken to Professor Ibrahim, the psychiatrist. We are still asking for the release of the prisoners.”

At the beginning of the year, authorities in El-Fashir arrested the leaders of different IDP camps in the Darfur region.

Andrew Heavens on AU Peace and Security Council trip to N. Darfur, W. Sudan 24 Nov 2009

North Darfur’s governor Osman Kebir told Tuesday’s trip he had welcomed about 800 delegations since July 2006.

One official was overheard referring to El Fasher’s “red carpet camps” where residents turn out to welcome party after party.

It was a reminder just how slick all sides to the Darfur conflict have become in selling their story to passing dignitaries — the rebels too have their spokespeople, websites and organised media tours...



Photo: View from the African Union bus driving through Abu Shouk camp, north Darfur. AU Peace and Security Council trip to North Darfur, 24/11/09. (Source: Andrew Heavens Flickr 25/11/09)



Photo: UNAMID headquarters El Fasher, Darfur. AU Peace and Security Council trip to North Darfur, 24/11/09. (Source: Andrew Heavens Flickr 25/11/09)

Related report from Reuters Blogs, November 25, 2009:
A slick visit to Darfur’s red carpet camps
By Andrew Heavens in Khartoum, Sudan

There was a time when visits to Darfur were uncertain affairs, fraught with danger. These days — as long as you travel with the right people and stick strictly to the right route — they can be as comfortable as a coach trip.

The African Union delegation plane touched down in El Fasher, North Darfur’s capital, at 9.35 a.m. on Tuesday. We were on the bus heading back to the airstrip at 4.40 p.m.

In between, the members of the African Union’s peace and security council visited the governor’s walled-in compound, where ambassadors watched tribal dancing and a PowerPoint presentation (complete with CD-ROM handout).

The next stop was the heavily secured UNAMID peacekeeping headquarters. Next, a razor-wired police station, 200 metres outside a displacement camp, where around 40 residents had been waiting for two hours to talk to the delegates.

Forty-five minutes later, the 18-vehicle convoy of buses, 4×4s and armed escorts drove slowly through Abu Shouk camp. Then there was one final stop at the governor’s to eat dinner and admire his collection of gazelle and exotic birds. The AU ambassadors and women in the party received souvenir mats.

Darfur has got used to hosting visitors in the six years since it became one of the world’s best known conflict zones.

North Darfur’s governor Osman Kebir told Tuesday’s trip he had welcomed about 800 delegations since July 2006 which would make about one a day, without adjustment for understandable overstatement.

One official was overheard referring to El Fasher’s “red carpet camps” where residents turn out to welcome party after party.

It was a reminder just how slick all sides to the Darfur conflict have become in selling their story to passing dignitaries — the rebels too have their spokespeople, websites and organised media tours.

Critics question the use of these Darfur day-trips, especially around El Fasher, which is a world away from the region’s remaining badlands where four groups of foreigners have been kidnapped since March.

Members of the AU group defended the visit, saying it was a symbolic gesture of concern and solidarity, adding they would pass on the points made during the 45-minute briefing in Abu Shouk to Khartoum and their headquarters in Addis Ababa.

It might have been interesting to find out what the residents of Abu Shouk themselves thought about the quick consultation.

But this journalist and a colleague were quickly brought back into line when we tried to sneak out of the police compound and walk to the edge of the actual camp.

“You can’t go there, what are you doing?” asked one of the officials with the AU group. “You might speak to the wrong people … And why are you making things more complicated for us than they already are?”

Photo: Bird in the compound of the governor of North Darfur. AU Peace and Security Council trip to North Darfur, 24/11/09. (Source: Andrew Heavens Flickr 25/11/09)



Photo: A young Sudanese child is helped with a drink of clean water at the Abu Shouk refugee camp near El Fasher, in Darfur, Sudan, in August 2004. (AFP/Jim Watson/Sudan Watch front page)



Photo: Traditional dancer with sword performs for the governor of north Darfur (second right) and chair of the African Union peace and security council (far right). (Source: Andrew Heavens Flickr 25/11/09)