ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan KC appeals for information on international crimes in Darfur, Sudan

THE International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor Mr Karim Khan KC issued an urgent appeal today (Tuesday, 11 June 2024) in The Hague for information and evidence of atrocities in Darfur, Sudan, saying his ongoing investigation “seems to disclose an organised, systematic and a profound attack on human dignity.” Mr Khan called on international organisations, partners and national authorities to collect evidence and information and hand it over to him. View the appeal on video and two reports here below. 

Provide evidence and information to the ICC here: https://otplink.icc-cpi.int

Note, Subtitles for this video can be viewed in different languages: click on above video, click on wheel "Settings", click on "Subtitles", click on "Auto translate", scroll "list of languages", click on language, desired Subtitles will appear at bottom of video. Size of font for Subtitles can be adjusted: click on wheel "Settings", click on "Subtitles", click on "Options" in top right corner. Playback speed for audio and Subtitles can be adjusted: click on wheel "Settings", click on "Playback speed", select speed.

Also, follow along using a Transcript here: https://youtu.be/2D2DYptFW8st

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Report from The Washington Post

By MIKE CORDER, AP (The Associated Press)

Dated Tuesday, 11 June 2024 5:08 am EDT. Here is a full copy:

ICC prosecutor appeals for evidence of atrocities in Sudan after rebels attack hospital in Darfur

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor is appealing for information and evidence of atrocities in Sudan’s western Darfur region

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor appealed Tuesday for information and evidence of atrocities in Sudan, saying his ongoing investigation “seems to disclose an organized, systematic and a profound attack on human dignity.”

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan released a video statement in the aftermath of an attack Sunday by the notorious Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group that forced the closure of a main hospital in the western Darfur region. The group fired shots and looted the hospital in al-Fasher, aid group Doctors Without Borders reported.

The attack came as the RSF, which has been fighting the Sudanese army for a year, intensified its offensive seeking to wrest control of the city, the military’s last stronghold in the sprawling Darfur region. Two weeks of fighting last month in and around al-Fasher has killed more than 120 people.

“The terrible events in West Darfur, including El-Geneina, in 2023 are among our key investigative priorities,” Khan said. “In addition, I am extremely concerned about allegations of widespread international crimes being committed in al-Fasher and its surrounding areas as I speak.”

A long-running conflict

Sudan’s conflict began in April last year when soaring tensions between the leaders of the military and the RSF erupted into fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country.

The war has killed more than 14,000 people and wounded thousands more, while pushing its population to the brink of famine. The U.N. food agency warned the warring parties last month that there is a serious risk of widespread starvation and death in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan if they don’t allow humanitarian aid into the region.

The war also created the world’s largest displacement crisis as more than 10 million people have been forced to flee their homes, including over 2 million people who crossed into neighboring countries, the U.N. migration agency told The Associated Press Monday.

Khan said he is urgently investigating in Sudan.

“The evidence my office has collected to date seems to show credible, repeated, expanding, continuous allegations of attacks against the civilian population, in particular, attacks directed against camps for internally displaced persons,” he said.

“It seems to show the widespread, prevalent use of rape and other forms of sexual violence. It seems to disclose consistently the shelling of civilian areas, the looting of properties and attacks against hospitals,” he added, stressing that he was “particularly concerned by the ethnically motivated nature of these attacks against the Masalit and other communities.”

The ICC already has an ongoing investigation in Sudan

The ICC has long been investigating atrocities in Sudan, dating back to a previous devastating conflict in Darfur. The court has issued arrest warrants for former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges including genocide allegedly committed in Darfur between 2003-2008.

The RSF was born out of Arab militias, commonly known as Janjaweed, mobilized by al-Bashir against non-Arab tribes in Darfur. At the time, they were accused of mass killings, rapes and other atrocities, and Darfur became synonymous with genocide.

Khan referred back to the previous conflict in his message Tuesday.

“It is an outrage that we are allowing history to repeat itself once again in Darfur,” he said. “We cannot and we must not allow Darfur to become the world’s forgotten atrocity, once again.”

Photo [not shown here] caption: FILE - Sudanese soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces unit, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of the military council, secure the area where Dagalo attends a military-backed tribe’s rally, in the East Nile province, Sudan, on June 22, 2019. The RSF, attacked the South Hospital in al-Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur province on Sunday, June 9, 2024 opening fire on medical staff and patients, Doctors Without Borders said in a statement. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

View original: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/06/11/sudan-icc-investigation-khan-rsf-darfur/2e3324a8-27d2-11ef-835a-2a6acac1f8a6_story.html

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Further Reading

From International Organisation for Migration (IOM) 11 June 2024:

DTM Sudan Mobility Update (02). IOM, Sudan

This report provides an overview of the total population of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sudan, including those displaced both before and after the onset of conflict on 15 April 2023.  

See full report here: https://dtm.iom.int/reports/sudan-mobility-update-02

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UPDATE by Sudan Watch Editor 

On Wednesday, 12 June 2024 at 15:26 GMT:

The above video can be viewed at X in post by ICC 8:45AM June 11, 2024.

#ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC announces campaign calling for information and cooperation in relation to allegations of international crimes being committed in #Darfur, Sudan, including in Al Fasher.

Info can be sent to #OTPLink:https://t.co/IYVUCvyWCA

Watch 👇 pic.twitter.com/H1sMPGB8jP

— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) June 11, 2024

END

Sudan: JEM leader says his forces prepare to fight RSF

Report at Sudan Tribune
Dated Monday, 5 February 2024 - here is a copy in full:

JEM leader says his forces prepare to fight RSF

Gibril Ibrahim greets his supporters after his return to Khartoum on November 15, 2020

February 5, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) –  Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim, head of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), strongly criticized the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and disclosed that his forces are preparing to wage war against them in Al-Jazirah state.

Speaking at a rally in Port Sudan, Ibrahim condemned the RSF’s attacks and accused them of pursuing a destructive agenda that threatens the entire nation. He rejected their claims of supporting democracy, characterizing them as a force intent on harming the people.

By attacking the central Sudan state “The RSF’s actions expose their true intentions,” Ibrahim declared. “Their project is not aligned with democracy or any other noble slogan.”

The JEM leader’s statement comes amid general mobilization by the army to retake several states from the paramilitary forces. The army leaders said their campaign would start by Al-Jazirah which the RSF seized in mid-December 2023.

Ibrahim, along with Minni Arko Minawi of the Sudan Liberation Movement, decided to abandon neutrality and join the army in this conflict.

He expressed his belief that the situation in Sudan is unique and has been influenced by international and regional actors. He further characterized the situation as incompatible with the nature of the Sudanese people.

“This situation is unprecedented, orchestrated by regional and global powers,” he asserted. “It represents a perversion of the true character of the Sudanese people,” he said referring to the war crimes and systematic looting practiced by the RSF elements.

Ibrahim went further, declaring the JEM’s commitment to actively opposing the RSF. “We will be at the forefront of liberating Madani,” he vowed, referring to the state capital. “The JEM is preparing for this moment,” he further unveiled.

His words align with reports of mobilization by armed movements in Darfur, including forces led by Minawi and Mustafa Tambour, who reportedly would participate in the under-preparation offensive against the RSF. (ST)

View original: https://sudantribune.com/article282018/

END

Darfur war leader Abdul Wahid Nur is in South Sudan

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: A day after I mentioned Abdul Wahid Nur's name here, I go to sleep and wake up to find him in this news report by AFP.

He’s 55. 20 years ago he and his gormless gang along with a more intelligent and ruthless JEM gang started the Darfur war. Tintin springs to mind here. 

AFP's report says he is now based in Juba, South Sudan but doesn't say how he funds his work-free life, travel, hotel rooms, fancy clothes, family if any.

France & Germany host Darfur rebels. Maybe supporters pay for him to laze around Paris, save his skin, drink beer, visit Israel. He makes my foot itch. 

The report is copied here in full to show the standard of his chat. Note that he states the obvious saying Sudanese people want a civilian government. 

He rarely visits Darfur as support for him has dwindled. He has delusions of becoming president of Sudan or Darfur or anywhere that'll have him. 

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Report from Yahoo News

By Agence France-Presse (AFP)

Dated Thursday 4 May 2023, 11:24 am BST - full copy:

'No winner' in Sudan war: exiled Darfur rebel leader

Sudanese exiled rebel leader Abdel Wahid Nur -- a veteran of decades of fighting in the troubled Darfur region -- says there can be "no winner" in the war now raging between two rival generals.

"The Sudanese people want neither of them," Nur, now based in neighbouring South Sudan, told AFP. "They want a civilian government."

Battles have flared for weeks between Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

"What's happening in Sudan is a disaster," Nur, 55, said in an interview in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, where he lives after spending years in Paris.

"There is no winner in this war," said the leader of a faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) whose members, he said, have not joined the fighting.

The battles have turned Khartoum into a war zone and also killed scores in Darfur, which Nur said once more suffers "war crimes and crimes against humanity".

Nur was a leader of the Darfur rebellion from 2003 when African minority groups rose up against Arab elites they accused of monopolising Sudan's political power and wealth.

The Islamist-backed strongman then in power, Omar al-Bashir, unleashed the notorious Janjaweed militias, the forerunners of the RSF, whose atrocities shocked the world.

The unrest killed at least 300,000 people and displaced 2.5 million, according to the UN. The bloodshed led to international charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes against Bashir and others.

Although Darfur's conflict subsided over the years, the region remains awash with weapons and sporadic violence erupts, often over access to water, land and resources.

- 'Hands of oppression' -

Sudan's military ousted Bashir in April 2019 following mass pro-democracy protests, and Burhan has been the de facto leader since then.

Daglo, from Darfur's pastoralist camel-herding Arab Rizeigat people, rose to prominence with the Janjaweed, which made up the bulk of the RSF formed in 2013.

In October 2021, Burhan and his then number-two Daglo jointly staged another coup that upended the country's fragile transition to civilian rule.

The two generals then engaged in a power struggle, most recently over the RSF's integration into the regular army, which has now flared into bloody violence.

"The two bodies fighting now once acted as Bashir's hands of oppression," said Nur.

"The army and Burhan personally supervised the making of the Janjaweed," he said, adding that his own movement opposes both and only fights "oppression".

Nur described the conflict as the expected outcome of a "political struggle that became militarised".

The current fighting has killed more than 550 people, wounded thousands and sent more than 100,000 fleeing abroad.

In West Darfur state, the UN says, the hostilities "have triggered intercommunal violence", which have seen many deaths and accounts of rampant looting and burning of property.

- Ambition to rule -

Nur's SLM faction refused to sign a 2020 peace deal with Sudan's short-lived transitional government installed following Bashir's ouster.

It charged that the accord, signed by other rebel groups, failed to address the root causes of Sudan's conflicts.

Nur said his movement had however observed "a unilateral ceasefire since Bashir's ouster and have since committed to it" to give a chance to the planned transition to civilian rule.

Nur belongs to the ethnic Fur tribe in Darfur, and analysts believe his faction still maintains considerable support.

A report last year by UN experts said Nur's faction was among Darfuri armed groups "receiving payments and logistical support" in exchange for sending mercenaries to strife-torn Libya.

The UN experts, in 2020, also said Nur's group had strengthened its miliary capability following the discovery of gold in its area.

Nur rejects the allegations and says he does not support either side in the current war, stressing that his fighters play no role in it.

Nur said the conflict reflects the two generals' ambitions to rule Sudan but is only "increasing the suffering" of the people, especially in Darfur.

In a country with a history of military coups, Burhan and Daglo have each touted themselves as champions of democracy seeking to restore the transition to civilian rule.

Nur, recalling the mass youth-led protests that led to Bashir's overthrow, said the Sudanese people reject both of them.

"I don't think they will ever accept military rule," he said.

bur/it/fz

View original: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/no-winner-sudan-war-exiled-102413405.html?guccounter=1

[Ends]

WAR CRIMES AND HUMANITARIAN CRISES ALERT: ICC must indict Sudanese leaders Burhan and Daglo

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: 

Over the past twenty years I have been behind this screen watching and waiting for peace and civilian rule to blossom in Sudan and South Sudan. 

During the latter part of Mr Bashir's presidency I posted here saying I disagreed with him being indicted because the time was not right. In those days Sudan was ruled by tribal leaders and warriors such as Musa Hilal. 

Now I believe the time is right to arrest Sudan's current leaders Messrs Burhan and Daglo. If they are not, I believe, given their history and psychopathy, there will be humanitarian crises unlike anything before. Rule of law will evaporate, looting and civil disobedience will reign.

In my view, we are now witnessing the start of humanitarian crises in and around Sudan while Russia aims for a naval base in Port Sudan on Red Sea for ships with nuclear capability in exchange for military equipment.

All I can think to do is use this blog as a lighthouse flashing a light into a dark stormy sea with sirens warning not to believe a word from Burhan and Daglo. Their evilness and greed knows no bounds. They may end up like Libya's Gadaffi and must be removed from their thrones while alive.

In short, I believe it is now up to the ICC to have these two serial killers arrested and put in the dock in The Hague to answer for the atrocities of the past 20 years in Sudan starting with Darfur in western Sudan.

Longtime readers of Sudan Watch, of which there are many around the world, will know I am not a political activist or doing this for personal gain. I am an anti-poverty campaigner wanting peace to flourish in Sudan.

A few minutes ago I emailed this post to the ICC. I state it here for the record so whatever transpires from now on they can't say they were not warned. The ICC must act now or be dismantled as a waste of money.

God bless the people of Sudan, keep them safe and well with food and water, medical care and security. This time, thanks to progress in technology and satellite communications, the world really is watching.

[Ends]

Hamdok's video message to Al-Burhan, Mohamed "Hemeti" Dagalo, and leaders of the SAF and RSF

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Many years before Sudan's president Bashir was jailed he fondly nicknamed Dagalo "Hemeti". He saw him as his replacement and the son he never had. He dislikes being called Hemeti. 

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From: BBC News LIVE - full copy

Saturday 15 April 2023 at 16:37 GMT UK

Edited by Rob Corp

Fighting must stop immediately - former  Sudanese prime minister

Copyright: Getty Images

Abdallah Hamdok in 2021

Image caption: Abdallah Hamdok in 2021

Former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok has made a statement in a video posted on his Facebook account.

He says the "exchange of fire must stop immediately" and calls on the Sudanese people to "stay strong". 

Quote Message: My first message is to General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the leaders of the Sudanese military, and to Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, and the leaders of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). 

The exchange of fire must stop immeditately, and the voice of reason must rule, everyone will lose, and there is no victory when it is atop the bodies of our people." from Abdallah Hamdok Former Prime Minister of Sudan

My first message is to General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the leaders of the Sudanese military, and to Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, and the leaders of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The exchange of fire must stop immeditately, and the voice of reason must rule, everyone will lose, and there is no victory when it is atop the bodies of our people."

Abdallah Hamdok

Former Prime Minister of Sudan

He asks the Sudanese people not to allow "the drums of war to take over", before issuing a plea to the international community to "do their duty in finding a solution".

Hamdok served from 2019 until he was ousted in the October 2021 coup, before being reinstated again a month later.

He resigned last year after long-running disagreements with the army.

Source and further updates by the BBC here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-africa-65285254

[Ends]

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From BBC Live 

Saturday 15 April 2023 at 7:02 GMT UK - full copy

Military action will not resolve situation - UK foreign secretary

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has tweeted in the last few moments. 

He says the violence in Sudan "must stop immediately". 

Quote Message: The UK calls on the Sudanese leadership to do all they can to restrain their troops and deescalate to prevent further bloodshed. 

The UK calls on the Sudanese leadership to do all they can to restrain their troops and deescalate to prevent further bloodshed.

Quote Message: Military action will not resolve this situation." from James Cleverly UK Foreign Secretary

Military action will not resolve this situation."

James CleverlyUK Foreign Secretary

[Ends]

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Sudan: PM Hamdok meets French President Macron and Darfur war SLA rebel Abdelwahid Nur in France

NOTE from Sudan Watch editor: Here is news of a 30 Sep 2019 meeting between Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Mr Abdelwahid Nur, leader of Darfur war rebel group Sudanese Liberation Army. Mr Nur helped lead the SLA, one of two rebel groups (the other was JEM) that started the Darfur war in 2003 costing 300,000-400,000 Darfuri lives and unimaginable pain and suffering for millions of others. 

The meeting took place in France where, for the past 15 years Mr Nur has sheltered, enjoyed good food, beer and five star hotels. Nur, now aged 50, led and directed the Darfur war by satellite phone from the comfort and safety of an armchair in Paris, France where he still lives in self imposed exile. He fled to France soon after the Darfur war. He is too scared to return to Darfur and face the dwindling support of 'his people'.

In my view he is an arrogant self-serving dim-wit who spouts nonsense and has delusions of becoming president of Sudan. He once set up an office in Israel. He is infuriating. So is France's interest in Chad and the Sudans oil. See 2005 report 'South Sudan: French energy giant Total in oil talks with SPLM/A over White Nile' https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2005/03/south-sudan-french-energy-giant-total.html. 

Photo: Darfur rebel Abdelwahid Nur, leader of Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA-AW) 

Credit: Sudan Tribune.com report 31 Aug 2019 ‘SLM’s al-Nur calls for referendum on Sudan’s transitional authority before peace talks’

News report from MSN.com

By Agence France-Presse (AFP) - www.afp.com

Published: Tuesday 01 October 2019

Title: Sudan PM meets Darfur rebel chief in 'essential' step to peace: Macron

Sudan's prime minister has met a senior Darfur rebel leader living in France, President Emmanuel Macron said Monday, hailing an "essential step" for peace in the troubled east African nation.

Photo: © Bertrand GUAY Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok visited French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace

"We facilitated talks that Prime Minister (Abdalla) Hamdok had yesterday with Abdulwahid Nur, who is in our country," Macron said at a press conference with Hamdok after discussions in Paris.

"I think the step taken yesterday is an essential step," he added. "The Sudanese deserve to finally live in peace and security."

Nur, who is exiled in France, leads the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA/AW), which does not recognise Hamdok's government, which is tasked with leading the country's transition to civilian rule.

Hamdok said that his meeting with Nur, which he had expected to last 30 minutes, went on for nearly three hours and involved "very profound exchanges".

"We discussed the roots of the Sudanese crisis and possibilities for a solution and... we are going to lay the first stones for this edifice of peace," he said.

Sudan's western region of Darfur fell into widespread conflict in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated government of Omar al-Bashir, who was toppled in April this year.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the years-long conflict in Darfur and more than two million displaced, according to the United Nations.

"I accepted to meet the new prime minister not as a prime minister, but as a political figure" in the new political landscape, Nur told AFP on Monday.

"There is no peace, there is no accountability, there is no free press -- the killing in Darfur, in the Nuba mountains, in the Blue Nile is continuing," he said.

"All of us we want to sit together in a partnership country, in a partnership of equal citizenship rights, to identify all together what are the problems of Sudan and what is the solution," he said.

However Nur, 50, stressed that "we are not recognising the military council and we are not recognising the new government".

Hamdok's visit to France was his first to Europe as prime minister, and comes after France's foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian visited Khartoum earlier this month.

Macron reiterated Monday that France was ready to help rebuild Sudan's economy, announcing a 15 million euro ($16.3 million) aid package and plans for a donors' conference in the coming weeks.

View original: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/sudan-pm-meets-darfur-rebel-chief-in-essential-step-to-peace-macron/ar-AAI4z6Y