Showing posts with label David Blair. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David Blair. Show all posts

Saturday, August 15, 2009

South Sudan faces new war over oil (David Blair in Malakal, Upper Nile State)

South Sudan faces new war over oil

Southern Sudan covers an area three times the size of Britain but has less than 13 miles of tarred road and is one of the poorest places on earth Photo: PETER MARTELL/AFP

South Sudan faces new war over oil
The Daily Telegraph, August 15, 2009
By David Blair in Malakal, Upper Nile State, southern Sudan
The gunmen who raided the cluster of mud huts beside the White Nile struck with merciless efficiency.

By the time they vanished into the night, hundreds of homes had been razed, 11 people lay dead and the village's inhabitants faced starvation, having lost all their precious cattle.

"Everyone is on his own now," said Jamuth Nyading, a 42-year-old Sudanese herdsman, who gathered his two wives and 12 children and fled to the nearby town of Malakal. "You cannot cultivate, you cannot herd cattle, you cannot go fishing in the Nile without risk of being killed. We can't go back, not only because of fear, but also lack of food."

Mr Nyading's ordeal would be grimly familiar had it taken place in Darfur, the region of western Sudan blighted by civil war and awarded the dubious blessing of world attention for the last six years.

Instead, he abandoned his home in southern Sudan, an area supposedly at peace since a landmark agreement four years ago ended decades of fighting.

Struck in January 2005, this "comprehensive peace agreement" was hailed as a moment of genuine hope. A rapturous signing ceremony brought down the curtain on the longest and bloodiest civil war in African history, pitting Sudan's Arab, Muslim north against the black tribes of the south, who include Christians and followers of traditional African beliefs. The south had bitterly resented Khartoum's rule, claiming the northerners' attitudes had changed little since the days of slavery - when southerners were seen as heathens fit only for serfdom.

Entirely separate from Darfur's troubles, this ethnic and religious faultline inflicted suffering on a scale that almost defies comprehension, claiming two million lives during two spells of conflict, the first of which began a few weeks before Sudan won independence from Britain in 1956. The second round of this war between north and south, lasting from 1983 until 2005, started when an earlier peace deal collapsed.

Today, people in southern Sudan fear that history is repeating itself. The calm that has prevailed since 2005 is breaking down, while the "comprehensive peace agreement" is steadily unravelling.

This year, more people have been forced from their homes in the south - and more have died violently - than in Darfur. Some 214,000 refugees have fled their villages across the 10 southern states, while the death toll probably runs into the thousands.

Only a fortnight ago, some 185 people were shot and speared to death in the southern Jonglei state in a single morning.

The central question is why all this fighting has suddenly begun. The south has always suffered tribal skirmishing, generally over cattle and grazing. Mr Nyading is from the Shilluk tribe, while the raiders who destroyed his village in Upper Nile state were from the Dinka people, their traditional rivals.

But this time, observers claim to detect a hidden hand, stirring tribal enmity with much bigger stakes in mind. The renewed hostilities may be aimed at sabotaging a referendum set for January 2011 over independence for the south. The region's future has wider importance, for large oil reserves lie beneath its lush plains.

Those reserves are coveted by the north as a resource to sell to China, whose appetite for Sudan's oil has given Khartoum a financial and diplomatic windfall.

During the civil war, when rebels from the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) fought President Omar al-Bashir's regime, the north deliberately ignited ethnic conflict in the south, arming some tribes to fight others. Ministers in the Government of Southern Sudan, which has enjoyed autonomy since the 2005 peace agreement, believe Khartoum is back to its old tricks.

"We suspect with some evidence that our partners in the north are still training, arming and sending to southern Sudan the former militia groups who fought alongside them during the war," said General Oyay Deng Ajak, a former SPLA chief of staff who now serves as the south's regional cooperation minister.

"There is an increase in weapons and supplies coming into southern Sudan from the north. Somebody, somewhere is coordinating this operation and we very much suspect it is our brothers in Khartoum."

Both north and south know the clock is ticking. If the referendum goes ahead in January 2011, as laid down in the peace agreement, few doubt the south will choose to break away and a new country will emerge in the heart of Africa.

But the south has about 75 per cent of Sudan's 6.3 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, giving the north a vital interest in preventing it from seceding. One way would be to stir violence across the south, to the point where the situation is too unstable for the referendum to be held.

"They want to make southern Sudan ungovernable," said Gen Ajak. "They want to discredit us and tell the international community 'these people cannot govern themselves and if they become independent, they will be a failed state'."

China's interests are closely aligned with Mr Bashir's. Beijing has invested heavily in developing Sudan's reserves, which provide beween seven and ten per cent of China's imported oil. The China National Petroleum Corporation, a state energy giant, is exploiting the most productive fields, including those in the south, and Beijing has also built a 900-mile pipeline linking these reserves with Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

To guarantee these supplies, China needs Sudan to stay united. President Hu Jintao has duly sold weapons, including jet fighters, to Sudan's armed forces and given Mr Bashir consistent diplomatic support.

Either way, the referendum carries huge risks. If the poll is delayed or cancelled, Gen Ajak said that people in the south would feel cheated and another war could start. If, however, the referendum goes ahead and the south chooses independence, the north may launch a war to hold onto the oil.

Some believe the recent violence amounts to the opening shots of this new conflict. The claim of a "hidden hand" behind at least some of the killing is supported by independent evidence.

A ship recently arrived in Malakal having travelled up the Nile from Khartoum. A 30-year-old man, who saw the vessel being searched, told the Sunday Telegraph that it contained Kalashnikov assault rifles and ammunition, hidden beneath a cargo of food.

Another 20-year-old man said the national army had tried to recruit him for a monthly salary of £200. Those who sought to entice him said they had been ordered to sign up 400 southerners in Malakal alone. These recruits, once in Khartoum's pay, could be used to destabilise their homeland.

The bitter mistrust between the SPLA and their old enemies in Khartoum has already cost lives in Malakal. The town's muddy streets were pounded by heavy artillery and tanks in February when a day of fighting between the two sides left at least 60 dead. A school was bombarded, killing about a dozen children. The United Nations is now digging shelters for its staff in Malakal.

However, there is no conclusive proof of a high-level decision in Khartoum to cause turmoil in the south. The region, which covers an area three times the size of Britain, possesses less than 13 miles of tarred road and is one of the poorest places on earth.

Yet the Government of Southern Sudan chooses to spend 30 per cent of its budget on the military - independent estimates say this figure may be nearer to 60 per cent - while health, education and development get only 28 per cent.

These priorities suggest the south is arming for war, leaving foreign aid agencies to conduct development work. But the recent violence has disrupted even the aid workers' efforts. "We're looking to do longer term, more sustainable interventions," said Maya Mailer, a policy adviser for Oxfam. "But when this insecurity takes place and people are displaced as a result, we're pulled back into doing emergency programming."

In Malakal, many fear that another war is inevitable. A local chief, who asked not to be named, said his people were caught between the SPLA and Khartoum. "Every community is being divided by the two governments, so people who are on one side are encouraged to attack the other side," he said.

The chief's own village was raided in December, an incident he blames on Khartoum's allies. "The people are bribed with money and guns to attack their own people. They are our own relatives who attack us," he said.

Related Articles

See Sudan Watch, 24 Feb. 2009: 
-- "This (fighting) is because Tang arrived yesterday in Malakal. The U.N. tried to persuade him to leave but he refused," James Hoth told Reuter. -- Reuters report Tue Feb 24, 2009 JUBA, Sudan: Militia clash with south Sudan army in Malakal.

Monday, August 10, 2009

LRA targets children of Sudan: David Blair's report from Witto, Western Equatoria, S. Sudan

Here is a long awaited report from The Daily Telegraph's Africa correspondent David Blair. I have lost count of the number of times over the past year that I wondered about his lack of reporting on Africa and even worried that he might be ill. So, it was a wonderful surprise for me last night to find the following report filed from South Sudan's Western Equatoria! Fingers crossed that he remains in the region to report more on what is really going on. This morning (Monday, 10 August 2009) I published news here at Sudan Watch about southern Sudan where a humanitarian disaster more serious than that in Darfur, western Sudan is unfolding.
From The Daily Telegraph
Lord's Resistance Army targets children of Sudan
By David Blair in Witto, Western Equatoria province, South Sudan
Published: 7:00AM BST Monday 10 Aug 2009

The Lord's Resistance Army, which specialises in abducting and murdering the young, has turned on a new and pitifully vulnerable target: the children of southern Sudan, one of Africa's most isolated and troubled regions.

Lord's Resistance Army targets children of Sudan

Local people call LRA fighters the "ton-tong", meaning "machete", because this is their chosen weapon for murdering victims Photo: GETTY

The LRA, which emerged in neighbouring Uganda and has kidnapped tens of thousands of children during two decades of guerrilla war, is now striking across a vast area of bush and plain along Sudan's south-western frontier.
These raids on defenceless villages, usually mounted by small groups of rebels searching for children to abduct and food to steal, have forced more than 55,000 people to flee their homes. Western Equatoria province has been worst hit, with scores of villages abandoned and new refugee camps springing up.

Local people call LRA fighters the "ton-tong", meaning "machete", because this is their chosen weapon for murdering victims.
Mary Anja, who does not know her age but looks about 30, lived in Diko district until the LRA attacked her village. Knowing that the rebels were hunting for children, local people tried to evacuate as many as possible, along with their mothers, on two tractors.

Mrs Anja gathered her three infant sons and climbed onto one vehicle's trailer. Meanwhile, her daughter, Phoebe, who is about 12, boarded the second tractor.

But this tiny convoy drove straight into an LRA ambush. "The ton-tong fired bullets in the air, then they shot out the tyres of the tractor," said Mrs Anja. "When people tried to jump out, they shot at the people." As the terrified women and children tried to flee, one baby boy, less than a year old, was shot dead in the arms of his mother. Another woman was wounded in the leg, while a Sudanese soldier, who had tried to protect the convoy, died in a hail of bullets.

Mrs Anja managed to flee with her three sons. As she ran, she knew nothing of the fate of Phoebe, travelling on the second tractor. "I was thinking 'Phoebe is not here'. I started crying while I ran," said Mrs Anja.

By this time, Phoebe was already in the hands of the LRA. The guerrillas surrounded her tractor, firing in the air and singling out Phoebe along with five other girls and one boy. "They surrounded us. We couldn't run and then they said 'sit down'. One of the rebels tied us up," said Phoebe.

The captives were led away into the bush. For the next three days, Phoebe was forced to march for 18 hours at a time. "If you don't walk fast enough, you are beaten with sticks," she remembered. "I was thinking, 'I may be killed like those who have been killed by the ton-tong before'. And I asked myself 'what has happened to my mother and my brothers'?"

Phoebe could not have known that her family was safe. They had managed to reach another village, from where Mrs Anja and her sons were brought to a refugee camp at Witto, some 50 miles away.

Shortly before dawn on the fourth day of the march, Phoebe and three other girls managed to slip away as their captors slept. For the next 12 days, they walked through the bush, surviving on river water and wild berries, until they reached the town of Tore Wandi.

Phoebe, emaciated and dehydrated, was taken to hospital, where her mother eventually found her. Today, she has recovered and the family lives in Witto camp, where Oxfam provides sanitation and basic essentials for about 500 refugees.

They cannot understand why they have become the LRA's latest targets. This nihilist movement, which emerged in Northern Uganda more than 20 years ago, has no coherent aim. Its psychotic leader, Joseph Kony, claims to be a prophet and says that he wants to rule Uganda according to the Ten Commandments.

But Kony's rebellion has no purpose save murder, so no-one joins him voluntarily. Hence the LRA must abduct children, who are then brainwashed into becoming soldiers and sent to kidnap more young recruits. In this brutal fashion, the LRA constantly replenishes its ranks.

Uganda has managed to expel the rebels from its territory with a series of offensives. But the LRA has scattered across a new killing ground, covering Sudan's borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.

No-one can tell how many children have disappeared in this vast area. Joseph Ngere Paciko, the deputy governor of Western Equatoria, has recorded 250 abductions in his province alone.

"There have also been cases in far-away villages, where we have no access, so the real number is certainly higher," he said. "Our people don't understand why this is happening. Why should the LRA come and kill our people every day?"

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Govts of Uganda, Sudan and DR Congo today launch joint offensive against Uganda LRA rebels in DRC, Uganda says

Today, the governments of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan launched a joint military offensive against the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) bases in Garamba, eastern Congo, an army spokesman said.

Let's hope this news is of a genuine effort to eradicate the LRA who have been on the rampage for more than 20 years, committing unspeakable crimes and atrocities that are far worse than anything that has happened in Darfur.

Further details are here below in a report just in from the BBC and in a Factbox from Reuters giving some details about leader Joseph Kony and his LRA rebels, along with a profile by the Telegraph's David Blair and a recent photo of Kony who is estimated to have abducted more than 20,000 children to fight as footsoldiers in the LRA.

Also, here below is a blog post and extract from an article on the LRA by freelance journalist Rob Crilly. The whole 2000 word article is up for sale. Rob does not mention a price but in the comments at his post at From The Frontline blog he says that he is open to offers. If anyone reading this is able to sponsor Rob's article for publication here at Sudan Watch (and its sister sites Congo Watch and Uganda Watch) please email me. I have spent over four years raising awareness of the LRA and would appreciate Rob's article being published asap in the hope of it being helpful to the poor forgotten people of Northern Uganda. No doubt Rob's article is very good. It needs to be shared as widely as possible. Here are just a few of the reasons why, in pictures:

See Sudan Watch, February 06, 2006: One of the world's most wanted men: Ugandan LRA terrorist group chief Joseph Kony flees Southern Sudan into DR Congo - UN calls NGOs into Kony hunt

Gulu victim

Photo: Gulu victim. The LRA use torture to instil fear. Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has become synonymous with torture, abductions and killings. (BBC photo) from Sudan Watch archives.

Uganda1

Photo: Two young boy's get treated for severe burn wounds in the Lira hospital in northern Uganda, Feb 23, 2004, after a massacre believed to be committed by the Lord's Resistance Army rebel group in the Barlonyo camp 26 kilometers north of the town that killed at least 200 people. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo) from Sudan Watch archives.

Northern Uganda

Photo: Ochola John was deformed by rebels from Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army (BBC) Read the victim's heartbreaking testimony: June 30 2006 Sudan Watch and Uganda Watch - LRA victim: 'I cannot forget and forgive'

ARMIES 'ATTACK UGANDA REBELS'
From the BBC Sunday, 14 December 2008 7:36 PM GMT:
Three African armies have launched a joint offensive against Ugandan rebels based in eastern DR Congo, military officials say in Uganda.

Uganda, DR Congo and the government of South Sudan reportedly moved against the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in the Garamba region of DR Congo.

LRA leader Joseph Kony, wanted by the International Criminal Court, has recently stalled on a peace deal.

The LRA has led a rebellion for more than 20 years in northern Uganda.

The fighting has displaced some two million people.

Uganda's government has been involved in lengthy peace negotiations with the LRA, but the rebels' leader has demanded that arrest warrants for him and his associates are dropped before any agreement can be struck.

A statement announcing the operation was released in the Ugandan capiital Kampala by the intelligence chiefs of all three armed forces.

The statement said the attack targeted the "terrorists" at their bases in the forested area of Garamba, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, AFP news agency said.

"The three armed forces successfully attacked the main body and destroyed the main camp of Kony, code-named camp Swahili, setting it on fire," the statement said.
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FOR SALE: LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY FEATURE
December 10, 2008 blog post by Rob Crilly:
Earlier this year photographer Kate Holt and I chartered a plane to fly from Dungu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to the tiny village of Doruma which was recovering from repeated attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army. We found people living in fear of the next assault, as LRA raiding parties roamed the jungle looking for sex slaves, porters and fighters.

We uncovered evidence that Joseph Kony was cynically using a halt in hostilities - called to allow peace talks - in order to rearm, recruit and reorganise. With food distributed by aid agencies and satphones delivered by the Ugandan diaspora, his fighting force was more efficient that ever. And one his key aides, a recent defector, told us that Kony would never sign up to peace.

FOR eight days Raymond Kpiolebeyo was marched at gunpoint through the steaming Congolese jungle, not knowing whether he would live or die. For six nights he slept with eight other prisoners pinned under a plastic sheet weighted down with bags and stones to prevent escape. Their sweat condensed on the sheeting inches above their faces before dripping back and turning their plastic prison into a stinking, choking sauna.

He was a prisoner of the Lord’s Resistance Army, a cult-like band of brutal commanders and their brutalised child soldiers.

“They told us that if one of use tried to escape we would all be shot,” said Raymond, a 28-year-old teacher from the town of Doruma, close to the border with South Sudan.

In the end the story was commissioned but never ran. So, I am offering a 2000wd feature, an unparalleled insight into the bizarre world of Joseph Kony, for sale. Please contact me by the using the comments section below…

Moonlight in Dungu, N.E. DR Congo

Photo: Two young children stand outside their hut in the moonlight in Dungu, in North Eastern DR Congo, on 19 June, 2008. (Photo by Kate Holt kateholt.com)
Note, although Rob does not mention a price, in the comments at his blog post, he says he is open to offers. I would be most grateful for any ideas or suggestions that would help the article get published. If anyone reading this is able to sponsor the article (or knows someone who can) for publication here at Sudan Watch, Uganda Watch and Congo Watch, please email me. The plight of the poor people of Northern Uganda and LRA victims must not be forgotten. Please help in any way possible. Thank you.
- - -

WHO ARE UGANDA'S LRA REBELS?
December 14, 2008 factbox from Reuters:
WHAT HAS HAPPENED:

Thousands of people have been killed and 2 million displaced during the 22 years of fighting between Kony's rebels and the Ugandan government. The conflict has destabilised parts of oil-producing south Sudan and mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Last October LRA fighters carried out a series of raids near Congo's porous northern border with Sudan, looting homes and burning buildings in a pattern similar to months of violence. LRA fighters killed at least 52 people, and abducted another 159 children and 10 adults during attacks in northern Congo in September, that country's U.N. peacekeeping mission, MONUC, said.

A landmark truce was signed in August 2006 and was later renewed. But talks brokered by south Sudan collapsed last April after Kony failed to sign the pact as planned.

Mediators gave Kony until the end of November to give his final approval to the peace deal. However, he again failed to appear to sign a final peace deal and told traditional elders at the end of last month he would still not sign a final peace deal until an international arrest warrant for him is scrapped.

Kony is wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for his role in a conflict that has destabilised a swathe of central Africa.

THE LRA AND A HUMANITARIAN CRISIS:

Self-proclaimed mystic Kony began one of a series of initially popular uprisings in northern Uganda after President Yoweri Museveni seized power in 1986. But his tactics of kidnapping recruits and killing civilians alienated supporters.

The LRA was infamous for abducting children for use as soldiers, porters and "wives". Although there are no universally accepted figures, the children are believed to number many thousands. Some are freed after days, others never escape.

Kony's force was once backed by Khartoum as a proxy militia, although Sudan said it cut all ties with it. Kony quit his hideouts in south Sudan in 2005 for the Democratic Republic of Congo's remote Garamba forest.

Many northerners reviled the LRA for its atrocities, but also blamed Museveni for setting up camps for at least 2 million people as part of his counter-insurgency strategy, fuelling one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

WHAT DOES KONY WANT?

Kony has said he wants to rule Uganda by the Biblical Ten Commandments, but at peace talks his group also articulated a range of northern grievances, including the theft of cattle by Museveni's troops and demands for more political power.
- - -

PROFILE: Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army

By David Blair
The Daily Telegraph
November 29, 2008
When Joseph Kony's minions began peace talks with Uganda's government in 2005, their first task was to think of some coherent aims on behalf of their psychotic leader.

Joseph Kony

Photo: Joseph Kony is estimated to have abducted more than 20,000 children to fight as footsoldiers in the Lord's Resistance Army (Reuters photo)

Kony, who is about 47 and holds the distinction of being the first man ever to be indicted by the International Criminal Court, has waged war with no purpose since 1988.

He began his campaign in Northern Uganda, posing as a messianic figure who communed with holy spirits. The nearest Kony ever came to a political goal was a pledge to rule Uganda according to the Ten Commandments.

At the beginning, he won some followers largely because President Yoweri Museveni had ignored Northern Uganda and excluded Kony's Acholi people from power.

By 1992, Kony had staked his claim to be fighting in the name of the Lord by naming his movement the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). But his rebellion amounted to a vicious cult, not a classic insurgency, and had no purpose save rebellion itself.

Consequently, no-one would volunteer to fight for Kony's non-existent cause, leaving him with little choice but to abduct children and force them to become his footsoldiers. How many innocents have suffered this fate is unknown – but the official estimate of 20,000 is almost a decade out of date. The real total may be two or three times higher.

The peace talks with Uganda's government have yielded a draft agreement, which Kony's representatives insist he will sign.

But a paper deal may not abate his murderous campaign.

Kony has been driven from Uganda, where no LRA attacks have occurred for almost three years. Instead, Congo's defenceless people are now his chosen victims.

Even if Kony makes peace with Uganda, his onslaught in Congo may continue.

Africa's children will only be safe when this mystical psychopath meets his well-deserved end.
- - -

MAP OF SUDAN SHOWING JANUARY 1, 1956 LINE OF DEMARCATION

This is an interesting map. Click here for a larger view.

Sudan map showing January 1, 1956 Line of Demarcation

Source: US Government
U.S. Policy Toward Sudan
Robert B. Zoellick, Deputy Secretary of State
Testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Washington, DC
September 28, 2005

[Cross posted today at Sudan Watch's sister sites Congo Watch and Uganda Watch]
- - -

UPDATE SUNDAY 14 DECEMBER 2008

December 14, 2008 Voice of America News report - excerpt:
A joint statement, signed by the three governments' chiefs of military intelligence, say the forces destroyed the main camp of LRA leader Joseph Kony and set it on fire. There was no immediate word on Kony's fate but the statement said the operation was still in progress.
Full story: AFRICAN NEIGHBORS ATTACK UGANDAN REBELS.

SNAPSHOT - GOOGLE'S NEWSREEL SUNDAY EVENING GMT 14 DECEMBER 2008

Regional forces launch offensive against Uganda's rebel group
Xinhua, China - 28 minutes ago
KAMPALA, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Military forces from Uganda, southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) launched an attack on Sunday morning on ...

UPDF attacks Kony
Daily Monitor, Uganda - 1 hour ago
The UPDF yesterday attacked the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels, ending a 29-month ceasefire and signalling the complete failure of peace talks meant to end ...

UPDF planes attack Kony's Congo base
New Vision, Uganda - 1 hour ago
By Henry Mukasa UGANDA, South Sudan and DR Congo yesterday morning jointly attacked Joseph Kony’s rebels hiding in Garamaba forest. ...

Congo war hurts cross-border trade
New Vision, Uganda - 1 hour ago
By Samuel Balagadde THE political turmoil in DR Congo is frustrating cross-boarder trade between the with Uganda, a top businessman complained over the ...

Ministers want sanctions on LRA leader
New Vision, Uganda - 1 hour ago
By George Kalisa THE Foreign ministers of the member states of the Tripartite Plus Joint Commission have called on the UN Security council to impose travel ...

LRA base 'attacked' in Uganda
Aljazeera.net, Qatar - 3 hours ago
Troops from Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and southern Sudan have attacked the bases of Uganda's Lord's
Resistance Army (LRA) in eastern Congo, ...

Joint operation against Ugandan rebels begins
Radio Netherlands, Netherlands - 3 hours ago
Military forces from Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and southern Sudan have begun a joint operation against Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), ...

Ugandan rebels face joint offensive in DRCongo
ABC Online, Australia - 3 hours ago
By Africa correspondent Andrew Geoghegan Three central African countries have launched a joint offensive against Ugandan rebels in the Democratic Republic ...

African neighbours in joint raid on Ugandan rebels
AFP - 4 hours ago
KAMPALA (AFP) — Forces from Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and southern Sudan launched a joint military operation Sunday against Uganda's rebel ...

Governments launch military offensive on Uganda rebels
Reuters UK, UK - 4 hours ago
By Jack Kimball KAMPALA, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and south Sudan launched a joint military offensive on Sunday against ...

Armies 'attack Uganda rebels'
BBC News, UK - 5 hours ago
Three African armies have launched a joint offensive against Ugandan rebels based in eastern DR Congo, military officials say in Uganda. ...

FACTBOX-Who are Uganda's LRA rebels?
Reuters AlertNet, UK - 5 hours ago
Dec 14 (Reuters) - The governments of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan on Sunday launched a joint military offensive against the ...

African Neighbors Attack Ugandan Rebels
Voice of America - 1 hour ago
By VOA News Three central African governments say their armies have launched a joint offensive against Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army. ...

Nations launch offensive against Uganda LRA rebels
Reuters South Africa, South Africa - 2 hours ago
By Jack Kimball KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and southern Sudan launched a joint military offensive on Sunday against Ugandan ...

African Armies Conduct Joint Offensive Against Ugandan
TransWorldNews (press release), GA - 2 hours ago
Armies from Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan have reportedly engaged in a joint offensive against Ugandan rebels based in the eastern DR ...

Friday, November 14, 2008

David Blair is back reporting on Sudan! Oyeee! If peace comes to Darfur, thank Messrs Ocampa and Bashir with a joint Nobel Peace Prize (I'm serious!)

Historic stuff has been happening in Sudan over the past few months. More later. Watch this space. Sudan Watch can now be delivered by email or to a news reader via an Atom feed. See top corner of sidebar here on the right.

It's great to see the Telegraph's Africa Correspondent David Blair back to reporting on Sudan. I've missed his reports. Perhaps the hiatus was due to his move from Johannesburg to London. Welcome to England David (if you're still here!) now that we're in recession and it's been pouring with rain. Heh.

November 14, 2008 Telegraph UK report by David Blair - If peace comes to Darfur, thank the International Criminal Court :
When Sudan's military dictator declared a unilateral ceasefire in Darfur this week, he was conducting the biggest plea bargain in history. President Omar al-Bashir, who seized power in a coup in 1989 and leads one of Africa's most ruthless regimes, did not try to halt Darfur's bloodshed out of the kindness of his heart. On the contrary, for the past five years, his armed forces and their associated militias, popularly known as the janjaweed or "devils on horseback", have pillaged villages at will, waging a ruthless war that has claimed some 300,000 lives, either from violence, starvation or disease.

Instead, Mr Bashir called the ceasefire because he faces a little legal difficulty. In July, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, asked for Sudan's leader to be formally charged with three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of war crimes.

At present, the ICC's "pre-trial chamber" is considering this request. So far, Mr Bashir has not been formally charged and no arrest warrant exists in his name. But this could change quite soon. Early next year, the judges will probably decide whether to uphold Mr Moreno-Ocampo's accusations.

If they go ahead and formally charge Mr Bashir, he will achieve the unenviable status of being the only head of state in the world to face criminal proceedings at the ICC. All this has deeply wounded Mr Bashir's dignity. He knows that if he is formally charged - and particularly if the three counts of genocide are upheld - he will carry the mark of Cain.

So he needs a way out and, fortunately for Mr Bashir, the founders of the ICC have unwittingly given him a loophole. Under Article 16 of the Rome Statute, which established the court in 2002, the United Nations Security Council can vote to defer legal action against any individual.

If Mr Bashir is charged, he could ask the Security Council to let him off the legal hook. Of the five permanent members, China is a close ally of Sudan. Beijing gets about 10 per cent of its imported oil from Sudan and has invested billions in the country's energy reserves.

Russia has no oil interests in Sudan, but it has sold Mr Bashir plenty of weapons over the years. The fearsome MI-24 helicopter gunships, which Sudan's air force has employed to level villages in Darfur, were made in Russia.

So Mr Bashir can probably count on two votes in the Security Council. But he still needs the support of Britain, America and France to be sure of an "Article 16 deferral".

In public, all three countries have said precious little about their position on this vital question. Privately, they are using the possibility of a deferral as much needed leverage over Sudan's regime.

For once, Mr Bashir needs their votes - and so he must make concessions. Hence the declaration of a ceasefire this week.

The dictator's predicament may also explain why Sudan has quietly locked up Ali Kushayb, a notorious militia leader who has been formally indicted by the ICC for alleged war crimes.

The next time Mr Bashir calls a cabinet meeting in Khartoum, there might be another nervous face at the table. One of his colleagues, Ahmad Harun, holds the remarkable distinction of being minister of humanitarian affairs and an indicted war criminal. All that you need to know about Sudan's regime is betrayed by the fact that the man holding formal responsibility for the aid effort in Darfur has also been charged with 51 counts of alleged war crimes.

In order to get his deferral from the Security Council, however, Mr Bashir may have to lock up Mr Harun. In the finest traditions of African dictators, Mr Bashir may sacrifice his friends in order to save his own skin.

But there is another course open to the president. Instead of trying to appease his trio of critics on the Security Council, Mr Bashir could adopt a far tougher approach. On the table are two nuclear options.

Mr Bashir could simply retaliate against his own people by shutting down the aid effort in Darfur - and then blaming the West for their suffering. A sizeable constituency of African, Middle Eastern and even Western opinion would probably fall for this.

A nascent peacekeeping force, jointly deployed by the United Nations and the African Union, is slowly establishing a presence in Darfur. Unamid, as the force is known, has achieved hardly anything - and the Khartoum regime makes its life as difficult as possible. The second option open to Mr Bashir is to expel Unamid altogether and then denounce his Western critics if Darfur suffers another round of violence.

So far, there is no sign of the president choosing these options. Instead, by calling a ceasefire, he seems to be adopting what Western aid workers call a "positive" response to his possible indictment.

But if Mr Bashir is formally charged, this will sorely test his goodwill. Many thousands of lives could hang on this unique example of plea bargaining by a president who fears becoming an international outlaw.
Have your say - Copy of Comments

What a disgusting world we live in - full of pathetic political horse trading - when the realities are concrete and foul.

Since China gets 10% of her oil from the Sudan it clearly is a place of mineral wealth and ought to be, based on the standard criteria for wars funded by resource hungry powers, ripe for a proper military invasion not a pathetic token UN peacekeeping force.

Let's look at it the way the leaders of the world see it:

It's all well these problem states killing hundreds of thousands of their own citizens when there is nothing of value to the outside world involved in their internal squabbles - but woe betide them if their civil wars get in the way of mineral wealth being ripped off by third parties paying one faction of another for it - even though it never trickles down to the benighted average citizens in their abject poverty, when not simply being murdered for their pathetic patch of subsistence land.

Post-colonial Africa is a bloody appalling place and frankly what the citizens of that continent do to each other left to their own devices is the best argument possible as to why the colonial era actually did them all a favour. How unPC is that?

Maybe China and others should be leading a tacit second colonial era - if it means schools, hospitals, stability and enough food. Anarchy, endemic corruption and tribalism has to end somehow...
Posted by simon coulter on November 14, 2008 11:20 AM
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The Sudan is a vast terriotory populated by the Arab Muslims in the North and the Black 'Christians' in the South. The North have always looked down on the South, regarding themselves as superiors. And that lies at the heart of the problem. It would be a pity if the State were split, but that is the way it seems to be heading.
Posted by swatantra on November 14, 2008 9:54 AM
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Thats a powerful analysis of the situation in Darful. Bashir did not have the inention whatsoever to stop the war and the ICC prosecutor did the right thing. Remember the peace talks had been suspended but were recently rescusitated when Ocampo applied for an arrest warrant against Bishir. However legaly speaking i am not sure if the genocide charges will be sustainable against Bishir, I am of the opinion that the evidence there is scanty to support this averment especialy in view of the legal definition of the term genocide itself. The court can accept the charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity but i doubt if it can accept the genocide one for the reason that violence was not targeting a specific ethnic group.
Posted by Innocent mawire on November 14, 2008 6:44 AM
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Saturday, February 17, 2007

Don't let Chad become like Darfur, begs Oxfam (Telegraph)

The United Nations Security Council will soon decide whether to send a peacekeeping force to Chad. If approved, these troops are expected to deploy along the border with Sudan and protect civilians. - Full story by David Blair, Telegraph, 17 Feb 2007.

Friday, February 16, 2007

Telegraph's David Blair may be related to family who adopted Tony Blair's dad

Snippet from David Blair's blog entry Feb 15 - Rest assured - we're not related:
My understanding is that the Prime Minister's father was adopted by a family called Blair, and so he took their name and passed it on to his son.

But for this quirk of fate, the Prime Minister would have a different surname. It's just about possible that I might be distantly related to the family who adopted Blair's dad, but not to the man himself.

If any of you were curious, I hope this sets your mind at rest.
I didn't know Tony Blair's father was adopted. I'd like to see an experienced Africa correspondent like David Blair interview PM Blair about what he thinks of Sudanese rebel groups operating out of Europe and the UK. Who is behind them? How are they funded? Who buys and plants landmines in South Sudan and Darfur in Western Sudan? Horrible. Murky. Shudder.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Telegraph's Diplomatic Correspondent David Blair

The Daily Telegraph's Africa Correspondent David Blair is now the Daily Telegraph's Diplomatic Correspondent.

David also authors Telegraph Blog - excerpt:
One of the key problems that journalists face is that readers often assume they agree with people they quote in their reports. So as I begin this job, can I make one request? When I quote the allegations or opinions of others, please do not assume that I share them.
Heh. Keep on blogging David!

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Bashir: Africa's most deluded leader

Sometimes you have to ask what planet Africa's dictators inhabit. I used to think that President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe led the field when it came to utterly delusional statements. Now I believe that President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan narrowly takes the prize.

Read more by the Telegraph's Africa Correspondent David Blair (Telegraph blogs 6 Dec 2006, Africa's most deluded leader)

Monday, November 20, 2006

Darfur stalemate for UN (David Blair)

Telegraph Blogs: David Blair: 16 Nov 2006: Darfur stalemate for UN. Excerpt:
Today in Addis Ababa, the five permanent members of the Security Council and a multitude of officials and representatives of Sudan's regime have gathered for a big conference.

They are trying to agree on a "hybrid" peacekeeping force which would probably combine elements of the UN and of the African Union. Its mandate, deployment timetable and everything else are up for negotiation.

In other words, Resolution 1706 is being renegotiated at this moment. I know that plenty of UN resolutions have not been implemented. But 1706 was only passed 10 weeks ago and it's already being pulled to pieces.

British officials say they must be realistic and flexible. Sudan has vetoed a UN force. That's the reality of the situation. So everyone needs to find a formula for a peacekeeping force that's acceptable to Khartoum. We can't just walk away and leave Darfur to suffer. Fair enough.

But we always knew that Sudan would veto a UN force. So why pass the Resolution if you know it's got no chance of being implemented?
I wish David Blair would interview Col Gaddafi to find out what he thinks.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

A hollow 'breakthrough' (David Blair)

The new agreement signed in Addis Ababa for a Darfur peacekeeping force has been hailed as a "breakthrough" by Tony Blair, among others. I fear it is nothing of the sort. The full text of this deal is very illuminating.

Read more at Telegraph Blogs: David Blair: November 2006: A hollow 'breakthrough'

Saturday, October 21, 2006

David Blair visits Djibouti: Foreign troops guard oil gateway

How many Western soldiers can you fit inside a tiny African country? This question ran through my mind as I had breakfast in Djibouti this morning...

There are Western troops all over the place.

Read more by David Blair at Telegraph Blogs 20 Oct 2006.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Why Darfur was left to its pitiful fate (David Blair)

Sep 5 2006 report from The Telegraph's Africa correspondent David Blair [hat tip POTP]:
As helicopter gunships and Antonov bombers sweep across the rugged plains of Darfur, striking villages at will, Sudan's emboldened regime must scent victory. When it comes to spurning international pressure and exposing the vacuity of Western rhetoric, President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan has proved himself a master.

More than two years after Colin Powell, then America's secretary of state, declared the civil war in western Sudan a "genocide" - and after the passage of no fewer than 11 UN resolutions on Darfur – Mr Bashir feels confident enough to launch yet another offensive. At this moment, his forces are laying waste to villages and forcing more families into squalid refugee camps.

Mr Bashir has made a fool of the West. The fighting now raging in North Darfur province, near the local capital of El Fasher, compares with the heaviest since the war began in 2003. UN officials expect it to escalate, for Khartoum is pouring more troops into the area. Mr Bashir, a dour, harsh and unscrupulous general who seized power in a coup 17 years ago, must scarcely believe his good fortune. How has he managed it?

First, a brief look at how we reached this juncture. When Darfur's war broke out, Mr Bashir's Arab-dominated regime faced a grave threat from black African rebels. He could not trust his regular army to suppress this challenge, because most of its rank-and-file were recruited in Darfur and hailed from the same tribes as the insurgents.

So he relied on the notorious Janjaweed militias. These mounted gunmen, drawn from Khartoum's traditional allies among Darfur's Arab tribes, were given carte blanche to pillage the regime's enemies. This dealt the rebels a heavy blow – but also forced two million into refugee camps. The result was an avalanche of international condemnation.

In the summer of 2004, one Western foreign minister after another visited Darfur and spoke words of grave concern. Mr Powell went so far as to accuse Khartoum of carrying out a genocidal campaign, targeted largely on the Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit tribes. He was probably wrong: a UN investigation later ruled that genocide had not taken place. There is no evidence that Mr Bashir intended to eradicate these tribes – and proving genocide turns on whether one party intended to destroy a specific ethnic group.

Yet for a few months in 2004, Sudan felt the full glare of international scrutiny and a succession of UN resolutions followed. Resolution 1556 demanded that Sudan disarm the Janjaweed by August 30, 2004. Mr Bashir solemnly pledged to do so. Four months earlier, Sudan had signed a ceasefire agreement. In December 2004, it promised to ground its warplanes.

It scarcely needs to be said that Khartoum ignored each of these deals. But Mr Bashir never felt strong enough to reject them out of hand. In public, he bowed to every UN resolution and promised obedience, even if his behaviour exposed the mendacity of his words. Contrast this with his response to the Security Council's latest missive on Darfur. Resolution 1706, passed last Thursday, called for the deployment of a fully fledged peacekeeping force in Darfur, consisting of 17,300 troops and 3,300 civilian police.

But the newly emboldened Mr Bashir reacted with scorn. After spending months accusing the UN of "plotting" to "re-colonise" Sudan, he gathered his cabinet on Sunday and announced a "decisive rejection" of the resolution, urging his country to prepare "for the confrontation" with the UN. The unpalatable fact is that Mr Bashir has been watching the West since the onset of Darfur's agony and believes he can get away with almost anything.

In fact, the miscalculations of Western governments have actually strengthened him. Instead of placing pressure on Khartoum, they chose to sponsor a wholly ineffective African Union force of 5,000 troops and 2,000 civilians to Darfur – which made no impact.

The West also backed an endless round of peace talks between Khartoum and Darfur's rebels in Nigeria's capital, Abuja. In retrospect, this was probably the most disastrous move of all. The outcome of the talks was a half-baked peace agreement concluded in May. Mr Bashir's regime signed the deal – but the rebel movement split over whether to follow suit. One faction of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), dominated by the minority Zaghawa tribe, signed up. But another SLA group, drawn from the much larger Fur tribe, refused to follow. So Mr Bashir's enemies tore themselves to bits, thanks largely to a peace deal mediated by Hilary Benn, the International Development Secretary, and Robert Zoellick, then America's deputy secretary of state.

This deeply flawed agreement also gave the regime an opening to buy off Minni Minawi, the Zaghawa leader, making him "special adviser" on Darfur affairs. Mr Minawi's rebels, now allied with the Khartoum regime, will fight alongside Mr Bashir's army in the offensive against their former comrades. This has given Khartoum the confidence to launch the new offensive. Having withstood the pressure of 2004 and seen his rebel enemies obligingly fall apart, Mr Bashir feels under no pressure from the West.

What should have been done? Instead of waiting until last Thursday, a resolution calling for peacekeepers should have been passed in 2004. That was the moment to call for an international force, backed by a robust mandate allowing the protection of civilians. Instead of using Sudan's moment of maximum weakness, the West dithered for two years. Mr Bashir weighed his opponents in the balance and found them wanting. Tragically, the resolution was eventually passed at the hour of his greatest strength – and the people of Darfur are paying the price.

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Dafur rebels are a squabbling rabble costing lives

The key political battle in Darfur is now being waged inside the SLA, writes Telegraph Correspondent David Blair in his blog entry July 3. Excerpt:
Minni Minawi, the leader of the rebel faction who signed the deal, is embroiled in a power struggle with Abdul Wahid al-Nur, the standard bearer of the SLA's rejectionist wing. Tribalism lies at the heart of this bitter rivalry. Minawi is from the Zaghawa tribe while Nur is from the much larger Fur tribe.

This struggle between these two men is costing lives. Most of the fighting in Darfur is now taking place within the ranks of the SLA, where tribal antagonism between Fur and Zaghawa is acute. The clash between Minawi and Nur is also polarising the refugee camps, where many of their followers live.
Full story. [hat tip POTP]

Monday, June 26, 2006

Sudanese military delegation continues it visit to Pakistan

Sudanese Lt-Gen Staff Mohamed Faiz Youcef Ahmadani, deputy chief of staff of the Land Forces for Operations and Training, and his 12-member entourage continue their visit to Pakistan, hold meetings with military officials, visiting army establishements, says an unsourced SudanTribune article from Rawalpindi (Pakistan?) dated June 25, 2006 - excerpt:
The Sudanese Lt-Gen Ahmadani called on Pakistani Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen Ehsanul Haq and spent a busy day here on Saturday.

They visited the Joint Staff Headquarters, General Headquarters (GHQ), Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POS) Wah and Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT), Pakistani newspaper The News reported.

During their visit to the Joint Staff Headquarter, Lt-Gen Ahmadani and his delegation called on Gen Ehsanul Haq, remained with him for some time and discussed matters of professional interest.

At the GHQ the delegation called on Inspector-General Training and Evaluation Lt Mohamed Masood Aslam and discussed matters of professional interest during the meeting.

Earlier, the Sudanese delegation visited POD at Wah and the HIT. They went round various shops and appreciated the standard of defence productions.
Note, June 22 2006 Telegraph UK report by David Blair claims Pakistani terrorist groups in Darfur vow to fight UN force.

Friday, June 23, 2006

Many in Darfur's SLA rebel group are as young as 16

David Blair's Darfur diary (4) UK Telegraph June 23, 2006 - excerpt:
We drive across the desert to Galap, an area of Northern Darfur province controlled by rebels from the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA). Another checkpoint manned by government soldiers marks the front line between opposing forces. Here, the soldiers wave us through. They wear t-shirts, dark glasses, camouflage trousers and flip-flops. This crazy dress code is adopted by the fighting men on both sides of this war.
sla1.jpg
After this checkpoint, we cross about five miles of "no-man's land", empty of people and all signs of habitation save for one ruined and abandoned village. Then an SLA checkpoint marks our entry into rebel-held territory.

Once again, we are welcomed by a rag-tag bunch of SLA fighters, many of them child soldiers. I ask one 16-year-old how long he has spent with the rebels. "Three years," he says. "Have you ever been to school?" I ask. He gives me a blank look. "No, there was no chance for that," he replies.

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Pakistani terrorist groups in Darfur vow to fight UN force

Two terrorist groups, styling themselves the "Jihad Brigade" and the "Darfur Blood Organisation", have already emerged in Darfur, vowing to fight any UN deployment.

UN officials say that Pakistanis have recently arrived in Darfur and are believed to lead the two new groups. But their strength is probably no more than a few score.

Full report Telegraph by David Blair in Khartoum 22 June 2006.

Friday, June 16, 2006

Darfurian Nur covets post of Darfur's Vice President - Darfur rebels turn against each other (David Blair)

If SLM/A's Nur signed the Darfur Peace Agreement, who would take up the position of Vice President, SLM/A's Minnawi or Nur? I've yet to find a news report that answers this question. David Blair, in his Telegraph report from Jebel Marra June 16, 2006 points out that Nur (a Darfurian) is believed to covet the post of Darfur's Vice President. Minnawi (a Chadian) is set to take up the post because, unlike Nur and the other rebel group JEM, he signed the Darfur Peace Agreement. Are they now using their people to slug it out between themselves until winner takes all? Copy of David Blair's report:

On a sun-baked plateau, strewn with razor-sharp volcanic rock, hundreds of Darfur's rebels chanted a new war cry across their desolate mountain stronghold.

"Minni is betraying his people," they cried. "Down with Minni!"

These black African rebels in western Sudan rose against the regime three years ago but they were not denouncing their enemies in Khartoum.

Instead, their target was Minni Minawi, leader of a rival faction of their own Sudan Liberation Army (SLA).

A split in the rebel movement has transformed Darfur's civil war. The battle-lines in this conflict, which has forced at least two million people to flee their homes and claimed up to 300,000 lives, either through violence or disease, were once easy to describe.

The insurgents, drawn largely from Darfur's black African tribes, fought against Sudan's Arab-dominated regime and its notorious "Janjaweed" militias.

Today, by contrast, most of the fighting is taking place within the SLA. Clashes between rival factions account for the great majority of the 50 incidents recorded by the United Nations in the largest of Darfur's three provinces since May 1.

The delivery of aid is already being sabotaged. Rebel commanders have closed the Binasa area to aid workers, denying essential help to about 60,000 people in a region once considered relatively safe.

The signing of a Darfur peace agreement in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, last month triggered the split. Mr Minawi's faction endorsed the deal along with Sudan's regime but Abdul Wahid al-Nur, his main rival within rebel ranks, refused to sign.

Tribal rivalry lies at the heart of the split. Mr Minawi is from the Zaghawa tribe, which has provided most of the fighters in the rebellion, while Mr Nur is from the Fur tribe, the largest among the region's six million people.

The name Darfur means "home of the Fur" and Mr Nur's followers believe they have a special right to denounce the peace deal and continue fighting.

"The Fur are the owners of this land," said Sultan Suleiman Hassab al-Rassoul, who holds sway over a large area of the Jebel Marra mountains, which provide an impregnable fortress for the SLA's Fur faction.

About 300,000 people live here, all under the tight control of leaders such as Sultan Rassoul.

"Please assure the world that all the people here are standing by Abdul Wahid and rejecting the signing of the peace agreement," said the Sultan.

Under the agreement, a larger slice of Sudan's oil revenues would go to Darfur, with Khartoum providing GBP 180 million within 12 months and an extra GBP 120 million every year thereafter.

A politician from Darfur, probably an SLA leader, would occupy the fourth highest position in Sudan's regime, serving as "special adviser" to President Omar al-Bashir.

But Mr Nur is believed to covet the post of vice-president. He also wants more oil money, supposedly to compensate those who have suffered in the fighting.

In their Jebel Marra bases, his rebels proclaim their willingness to fight on. They shy away from the fact that, since the agreement was signed, their principal targets have been other rebels, not the regime.

"If he had signed, he would have betrayed his people," said Salah Adam Tor, who commands SLA forces loyal to Mr Nur in the Finna area of Jebel Marra.

"We are not against peace. We want peace. But it must be a just peace and we will fight to the last until we achieve that." Jebel Marra is filled with those have suffered in this war. Awatif Adam Abar, 34, lost four of her five children when government forces raided her village three years ago, forcing her to flee into the mountains.

An Antonov bomber opened the attack, destroying her home and killing her son, Abdusalaam, eight.

"I was at the well when the bombs fell. I came back to the house and I found Abdusalaam lying dead," she said. "His body was in pieces. I took his head with me. I wanted to bury some part of him in a grave."

Asked what she wanted for her country, Mrs Abar replied: "Peace."
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June 16 2006 Telegraph Timeline of Darfur conflict

Friday, April 14, 2006

Khartoum armed Arab insurgents inside Chad and dispatched them to overthrow Deby?

Western diplomats believe Sudan is trying to oust Mr Deby in retaliation for his role in the Darfur war, writes David Blair in Telegraph April 14. Excerpt:
Western diplomats believe Sudan is trying to oust Mr Deby in retaliation for his role in the Darfur war.

Khartoum has accused him of arming the rebels who began the fighting in Darfur three years ago.

Mr Deby comes from the black African Zaghawa tribe, also present in Darfur. The Zaghawas were among the tribes who rose up against Khartoum's control of Darfur.

Sudan believes Mr Deby sent arms to the main rebel group in Darfur, styling itself the Sudan Liberation Army.

Western diplomats have no doubt Sudan responded by arming Arab insurgents inside Chad and dispatching them to overthrow Mr Deby.

He is deeply unpopular in much of Chad, where Zaghawas make up only seven per cent of the population. The Arab tribes are his traditional opponents and they look to Khartoum's Arab-dominated regime for support.
Further reading

Apr 02 2006 Mohamat Nour's Chadian rebel United Front for Change (FUC) aims to depose Chadian president Deby

Apr 10 2005 African military monitors now on Sudan-Chad-CAR border - On Feb 8, 2006 the leaders of Sudan and Chad signed a peace agreement to end increasing tension over Darfur, pledging to normalize diplomatic relations and deny refuge to each other's rebel groups. The agreement is known as the Tripoli Declaration. On March 21, 2006 the African Union Peace and Security Council endorsed plans to deploy military observers on the Chad-Sudan border as per the Tripoli Declaration. Next day, the African Union sent observers on the Chad-Sudan border.

Apr 10 2006 FUC in eastern Chad mount fresh offensive to get to N'Djamena and oust Chadian President Deby

Apr 13 2006 France supports Deby - Chad says rebel attack on capital N'Djamena defeated - Chad claims rebels replused, blames Sudan for fomenting 'coup'

Apr 13 2006 French Mirage fighter dropped bomb near Chadian rebels heading for N'Djamena

Apr 13 2006 UN evacuating 148 staff from Chad into Cameroon - French planes had fired "warning shots"

Leaders of Sudan, Chad ok peace agreement

Photo: Leaders of Chad and Sudan on the evening of Wednesday 8 Feb 2006 signed a peace agreement in Tripoli, Libya under which they promised to immediately expel armed groups hostile to their respective governments. See Apr 10 African military monitors now on Sudan-Chad-CAR border.

Mahamat Nour Abdelkrim

Image via Genocide au Darfour blog entry posted by Le Comite 30 March 2006 - excerpt:
MAHAMAT NOUR ABDELKRIM
Le "capitaine" Mahamat Nour, ex-officier de l'armee tchadienne, est recherche pour avoir dirige les Janjawids, et avoir ete le principal planificateur du genocide au Darfour. De par sa nationalite tchadienne, il servait d'alibi au gouvernement soudanais. -- Human Rights Watch found evidence of coordination between Janjaweed militias and Muhammad Nour's RDL rebels.
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Darfur's men vanish from refugee camp

Apr 14 2006 Reuters report Darfur's men vanish from refugee camp - Freelance Reuters journalist Gabriela Matthews reports on the recruitment of Sudanese refugees from camps near Darfur by armed groups. Life is tough for everyone in the camps, including aid workers.
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Summary: Chad Fighting Sign of Trouble

Summary by The Associated Press Staff and agencies Apr 13, 2006:
COUNTRY OF CONFLICT: Chad suffered through a 1960-90 civil war and several small-scale insurgencies since 1998. Libya has repeatedly invaded, and 200,000 refugees from Sudan's Darfur region now live in eastern Chad.

OIL CONNECTION: Cracks began to form within the government when it started pumping oil in 2004. The rebellion is at least in part over who gets to control oil revenue.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Array of amoral governments and rebel groups: Beijing is a key villain in Darfur's tragedy - Russia is also to blame

Land at any airport in Darfur and you see rows of Russian helicopter gunships, bristling with rockets and cannon, ready to raid villages in coordination with the Janjaweed, writes David Blair in the Daily Telegraph 8 February 2006.

David Blair recently visited Darfur where he witnessed the aftermath of a Janjaweed raid that displaced 55,000 people a fortnight ago. In today's article he says Darfur bleeds in the great scramble for Sudan's oil:
"Every village has been wrecked, burned or abandoned and every inch of the vast African plain is devoid of life. For mile after mile, there are no people. The huts they once inhabited are blackened shells. The fields they once worked are empty. There will be no harvest this year, just as there has been no harvest since the outbreak of war. Then, amid desolation and solitude, it becomes brutally obvious where the people are. Kalma refugee camp, with 96,000 inhabitants, teems with life. These are the survivors of the carnage, now reduced to living in shacks made of plastic sheets with "UNHCR" stamped on them.

There are 1.8 million refugees in Darfur and another 200,000 in neighbouring Chad. The unpalatable truth is that they have fallen victim to unscrupulous regimes around the world. During the Cold War, they would have been caught between the two superpowers. Today, China, Russia and a host of African countries are the authors of this tragedy - though primary responsibility must rest with Sudan's regime. ...

Beijing is a key villain in Darfur's tragedy. Russia is also to blame."
Set an example by facing moral responsibility

David Blair thinks what can be done about it is this:
"First, we must give more aid. Aid agencies are scaling down operations because donations are drying up. Secondly, we must send a fully fledged UN peacekeeping force, with a robust mandate and proper logistical support.

But these are only palliatives. We must also face our own moral responsibility. Every time the Janjaweed destroy a village, they shame Britain, America and every country that sat in the council chamber and voted for all those UN resolutions without any apparent intention of enforcing their grand phrases."
Cynical games keep the insurgency alive and fuels the war

Also note he says the Darfur rebels are just as bad as the Janjaweed:
"Amid all the justified outrage over the Janjaweed, Darfur's rebels have escaped much of the blame they deserve. They are just as brutal as the Arab militias. Wrecked villages, all destroyed by the rebels, litter parts of Darfur. The insurgents get their guns from Chad, Libya and Eritrea, which have long-standing grievances against Khartoum. They arm Darfur's rebels as a convenient means of retaliation. This cynical game keeps the insurgency alive and fuels the war.
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Anyone who helps China with energy is a friend

Note, I found this excerpt while looking for factoids showing how much China depends on Sudan for its oil requirements. David Blair quotes the dependency as being 7%. He may be right, I thought it had increased to 20%.

From the Washington Post July 13, 2005 Big Shift in China's Oil Policy by Peter S Goodman:
"No matter if it's rogue's oil or a friend's oil, we don't care," said an energy adviser to the central government who spoke on the condition he not be identified, citing the threat of government disciplinary action. "Human rights? We don't care. We care about oil. Whether Iran would have nuclear weapons or not is not our business. America cares, but Iran is not our neighbor. Anyone who helps China with energy is a friend."
The reason I have posted the excerpt is to say I believe Western companies should be doing business with countries like the Sudan as it may enable them to help locals and give them more leverage with the UN Security Council.

Monday, February 06, 2006

One of the world's most wanted men: Ugandan LRA terrorist group chief Joseph Kony flees Southern Sudan into DR Congo - UN calls NGOs into Kony hunt

On October 3, 2005 the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrrest warrant for Joseph Kony, leader of the LRA. Ugandan LRA leaders have been named by the ICC as the world's most wanted men.

Today, UN Mission in DR Congo (MONUC) reports that Kony has fled his hideout in southern Sudan and crossed the White Nile heading to the DR Congo.

Associated Press report says Kony crossed into lawless northeastern Congo on Sunday afternoon - and may be heading to Central Africa - and that he passed through Congo's Garamba National Park.

Also today 6 Febuary 2006, All Africa says the UN Security Council is soliciting NGOs working in northern Uganda to help in the hunt for Kony.

Uganda's LRA rebels want to destabilize peace in S Sudan

Photo: Joseph Kony, leader of LRA. The US government sees LRA a terrorist group. Click on image for report on LRA attack on a civilian truck at Teretenye village near Ikotos in southern Sudan, an indication that the rebels want to destabilise the peace in southern Sudan. The LRA use child soldiers and have caused unbelievable misery for millions of people in Northern Uganda, DR Congo and Southern Sudan. Read 6 Feb 2006 Shocking Ordeal of Child Soldiers.

Note, the US government views the LRA as a terrorist organisation.

For information on the LRA glance through archived posts at Uganda Watch and Congo Watch, some listed here below.

Gulu victim

Photo: Gulu victim. The LRA use torture to instil fear. Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has become synonymous with torture, abductions and killings. Click into image for further details. (BBC Sudan Watch archive)

Further reading:

July 31, 2005 Garang warns Kony

Sep 24, 2005 Ugandan LRA rebel chief 'in DR Congo'

Sep 24, 2005 Who are the LRA? Q&A: Uganda's northern rebellion

Oct 2, 2005 Uganda's LRA attempting to close road between Juba and Yei?

Oct 3, 2005 ICC Issues Arrest Warrant for Joseph Kony

Oct 4, 2005 UN mission in DR Congo has said it intends to use all means necessary to drive out the LRA

Oct 4, 2005 UN airlifts Congo troops to deal with Uganda's LRA rebels

Oct 8, 2005 Uganda rebel leaders named by ICC as world's most wanted men

Jan 16, 2006 by David Blair: Joseph Kony: A monster at large

Jan 29, 2006 UN urged by Uganda to rout out LRA from Sudan, DRC

More on Joseph Kony's LRA in archives at Uganda Watch and Congo Watch (see sidebar here).

LRA murdered UN peacekeepers in E Congo

Murdered UN peacekeepers

Photo: Workers in Uganda offload caskets holding bodies of eight Guatemalan UN peacekeepers murdered in East Congo by Vincent Otti's group on January 23, 2006. Otti is Kony's deputy.