WAR CRIME ALERT: UN peacekeeper slain in Abyei, Sudan/South Sudan. When will the ICC investigate?

Note from Sudan Watch Editor:  Two UN peacekeepers have been attacked in Abyei a contested region along the border of Sudan and South Sudan. According to the United Nations (UN) any attack on peacekeepers is a war crime. 

I am sad to note that on 17 July 2019 two United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) peacekeepers, conducting a routine patrol at the Amiet Market in Abyei, came under attack by unknown assailants with guns. One peacekeeper was killed while the other was wounded. Five civilians from Abyei were also killed in the incident, one was a child. The two peacekeepers are from Ethiopia.

Image credit: BBC News online

When I first started this site Sudan Watch 16 years ago, I chronicled every attack on peacekeepers in Sudan and South Sudan. But after the number reached 100, I stopped counting as it became too upsetting. The outcome of investigations were rarely reported, little was done by the International Criminal Court (ICC), the perpetrators were rarely brought to justice by the authorities in Sudan and South Sudan. 

How many people have been arrested and charged for attacking peacekeepers in Sudan and South Sudan? Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has been quoted as saying (see reports below) that the killing of a peacekeeper is a war crime that falls under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

In the name of all peacekeepers slain in Sudan and South Sudan and their families who must be still grief stricken, I hereby call on the ICC to investigate the deaths of all peacekeepers in Sudan and South Sudan. No matter how many years have passed, peacekeepers are special soldiers who risk their lives to protect civilians and help keep peace. I believe many had to work under Chapter 6 mandate, unable to fight back. 

If any person from the ICC is reading this: what has happened since the ICC's investigation into Haskanita? Enter the word Haskanita into the search box here at this site Sudan Watch or search for Haskanita online.

As this lengthy blog post includes two news reports covering an ambush in Jonglei, South Sudan in 2013, plus an extremely lengthy analysis by a Eric Reeves, a Sudan researcher based in the USA, I am reprinting reports on the attack in Abyei, and Eric’s commentary, separately, I'll add links to them here.  Eric's essay contains many details concerning approximately 50 attacks on peacekeepers in Sudan during 2008-2013. 

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Article from The Hindu

By Special Correspondent New Delhi

Published: April 10, 2013 01:45 IST

Updated: June 10, 2016 07:39 IST

Attack on peacekeepers a war crime: Ban Ki-moon

Photo: United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.  

The bodies of the five Indian peacekeepers, who were killed in an ambush in South Sudan on Tuesday, are on their way to India by a special United Nations aircraft, even as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the killings a war crime and urged the African nation to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) also condemned the incident and reiterated its full support to the mission of which the Indian soldiers were a part.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed anguish over the killings. “I pay tributes to our brave soldiers,” Dr. Singh said in his message to the bereaved families.

The U.N. said the five Indian peacekeepers and two South Sudanese attached to the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and five civilian contractors were killed in an ambush in Jonglei, South Sudan’s largest state, where over 150 people were killed last month in a battle between the army and insurgents of a local rebel leader. Nine others were injured in the attack, and some are in critical condition.

Mr. Ban said the killing of peacekeepers was a war crime falling under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. He expressed his deepest condolences to the governments of India and South Sudan and the families of the peacekeepers, the staff members and the contractors killed in the attack.

The Security Council joined Mr. Ban in calling on the South Sudanese government to swiftly investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.

SOURCE: https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/attack-on-peacekeepers-a-war-crime-ban-kimoon/article4599333.ece

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Article from The Hindu 

Published: April 10, 2013

Killing of peacekeepers a war crime: Ban Ki-Moon

Terming the killing of five Indian peacekeepers as a war crime, United Nations Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon has called on the Government of South Sudan to bring the perpetrators of the crime to justice. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) also condemned the incident and reiterated its full support to the mission of which the five slain Indian soldiers were a part.

According to the U.N., five Indian peacekeepers, two South Sudanese with the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and five civilian contractors were killed in an ambush in Jonglei state of South Sudan. Nine others were injured in the attack, and some are in critical condition.

Stating that the killing of peacekeepers is a war crime that falls under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, Mr. Ban said he was appalled by the attack on an UNMISS convoy on Tuesday.

The Secretary-General expressed his deepest condolences to the governments of India and South Sudan and to the families of the peacekeepers, staff members and contractors killed in the attack.

The UNSC also condemned the attack and joined Mr. Ban in calling on the Government of South Sudan to swiftly investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.

The UNSC reiterated its full support for UNMISS and the troop contributing countries and called on all parties in South Sudan to cooperate with the mission. 

SOURCE: https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/killing-of-peacekeepers-a-war-crime-ban-ki-moon.244926/

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Further Reading

Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General on the situation in Abyei

UN Press Release

Published: July 17, 2019

https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2019/07/unisfa-peacekeeper-slain-in-abyei-sudan.html

Sudan: Darfur rebel groups say agreement signed between TMC and FFC does not represent all the FFC

Article from Middle East Monitor

July 18, 2019 at 4:52 am

Armed movements in Sudan: political declaration will not achieve peace

Photo: Sudanese people gather to celebrate the ongoing negotiations between Transitional Military Council and the Forces for Freedom and Change opposition alliance, in Khartoum, Sudan on 5 July 2019 [Mahmoud Hjaj / Anadolu Agency]

Armed movements in Sudan announced, Wednesday [17 July], their reservations about the political declaration signed between the Military Council and the Forces of Freedom and Change. The stated that the declaration does not meet the aspirations for achieving a comprehensive peace in the country.

“We do appreciate the motives of those who signed the agreement. However, these parties do not represent all the Forces of Freedom and Change. The agreement ignores important issues being discussed in Addis Ababa upon which progress has been made,” said Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North leader, Malek Akar.

“There has been an in-depth dialogue between active leaders in the Forces of Freedom and Change and the Sudan Revolutionary Front,” Akar said in a statement seen by Anadolu Agency.

He continued: “The agreement has negatively affected this dialogue and what it includes about peace does not go beyond public relations.”

“We are for the Forces of Freedom and Change, and this agreement will lead to different positions… We are studying with our comrades in the Revolutionary Front a position that we will announce today,” Akar added.

Gibril Ibrahim, head of the Justice and Equality Movement, said on Twitter: “the signing of a political agreement between the Transitional Military Council and parties from the Forces of Freedom and Change disregards the consultations taking place in Addis Ababa.”

“The Sudan Revolutionary Front is not a party to this agreement,” Ibrahim added.

There have been consultations in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa between the Sudan Revolutionary Front and the Forces of Freedom and Change to reach understandings on achieving peace in conflict areas.

Since 2003, the Darfur region has endured conflict between the Sudanese government and rebel movements, killing more than 300,000 people and displacing about 2.5 million people out of a total of 7 million people, according to the United Nations.

Since June 2011, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – north – has been waging an armed insurgency in the provinces of South Kordofan (south) and the Blue Nile (south-east), affecting one million and two hundred people, according to UN statistics.

On Wednesday morning, the Sudanese parties signed with initials the document of the Transitional Phase Agreement between the Military Council and the Forces of Freedom and Change in Khartoum after a three-day postponement and negotiations since Tuesday evening.

The agreement provides for the formation of a sovereign council of 11 members, with five military officers who would be selected by the Military Council, five civilians would be chosen by the Forces of Change, in addition to a civilian figure who will be determined by consensus between the two sides.

A military member shall preside over the Council of Sovereignty for 21 months from the date of signature of the Agreement, followed by the Presidency of a civilian member for the remaining 18 months of the transitional period (39 months).

The Military Council has been in power since the army leadership ousted Omar Al-Bashir on April 11 from the presidency (1989- 2019), under pressure from widespread protests that have started since late 2018, denouncing the deteriorating economic conditions.

SOURCE: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190718-armed-movements-in-sudan-political-declaration-will-not-achieve-peace/

Sudan opposition in disagreement with the way power-sharing deal has been done and the content

Article from africanews.com

By AFP Thursday, 18 July 2019 

Sudan opposition skeptical about power-sharing deal

“We are not against the agreement in its sense, but we are in disagreement with the way it has been done and the content.”

Sudan’s opposition has raised skepticism about the recently signed power sharing deal.

After weeks of protests following the overthrow of long serving leader, Omar al-Bashir, military rulers finally inked the long-awaited deal.

But now, the opposition is raising some questions.

“Still in spite or irrespective of what had happened this morning, we are still open-minded to sit with leaders of FFC (Forces of Freedom and Change) to bring the agreement, whatever agreement they signed this morning back to the drawing table, to develop and improve it and make it acceptable to all Sudanese”, said Gibril Ibrahim, chairperson of Justice and Equality Movement.

Gibril Ibrahim, who is also leader of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front, detailed some demands.

“We are not against the agreement in its sense, the purpose, but we are in disagreement with the way it has been done and the content. We were here to develop the content, to make sure that the issues that we consider instrumental, such as issues of peace, marginalization, issues of the vulnerable people in Sudan. FFC (Forces of Freedom and Change) has not yet done so.

The agreement reached on Wednesday between the military and the protesters also provides for the establishment of a “sovereign council”.

It’s a body responsible for managing the transition for a little over three years, first led by the military and then by civilians.

SOURCE AFP 

https://www.africanews.com/2019/07/18/sudan-opposition-skeptical-about-power-sharing-deal/

UNAMID: 2 Egyptian peacekeepers killed, 3 injured nr Katila, south of Edd al Fursan, S. Darfur, W. Sudan (Update 1)

UNAMID calls upon the Government of the Sudan to identify, capture and swiftly bring the perpetrators to justice and reminds all parties that any attack against peacekeepers constitutes a war crime.

Two UNAMID peacekeepers killed in South Darfur
Source: United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)
Date: Friday, 07 May 2010/PR/ 19-2010/via ReliefWeb

El Fasher, 07 May 2010 – Today at about 11.30hrs, a military convoy from UNAMID's Egyptian contingent, with three vehicles and 20 personnel, was ambushed near Katila village, 85km south of Edd al Fursan, South Darfur, by a group of unidentified armed men who indiscriminately opened fire, without warning, on the peacekeepers.

The attackers fled when the convoy returned fire. The attack left two peacekeepers killed in action and three seriously wounded. The injured soldiers were air-lifted to UNAMID's hospital in Nyala, South Darfur, and are reported in stable condition.

The AU-UN Joint Special Representative (JSR) Ibrahim Gambari expressed outrage at this cowardly attack against UNAMID's peacekeepers, who are in Darfur to help restore peace and stability. UNAMID remains undaunted and unwavering in its commitment to carrying out its mandate in the service of peace.

UNAMID calls upon the Government of the Sudan to identify, capture and swiftly bring the perpetrators to justice and reminds all parties that any attack against peacekeepers constitutes a war crime.

This attack brings to 24 the number of UNAMID personnel killed in hostile actions since the Mission's was established in January 2008.

Communication and Public Information Division Media Contacts

Kemal Saïki, Director; saiki@un.org, tel.: +249 (0)92 244 3529 / mobile: +249 (0)92 241 0020

Noureddine Mezni, Spokesperson; mezni@un.org, mobile: +249 (0)91 253 8420/ +249 (0)91 217 4276

Mayada Umbadda, Media Relations; umbadda@un.org, mobile: +249 (0)91 250 1966

+ + +

Further reports
Gunmen kill 2 peacekeepers in Sudan's south Darfur
The Associated Press (CAIRO) ‎Friday, 07 May 2010 - excerpt:

Egypt's Foreign Ministry also condemned the attack, and said in a statement that Egyptian officials were working with their Sudanese counterparts to find out who was responsible.

Two Egyptian peacekeepers killed in Darfur ambush
AFP (KHARTOUM, Sudan) Friday, 07 May 2010 - excerpt:

In New York, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said: "The secretary-general is equally incensed" by this attack. (...)

The statement also said that UNAMID "remains undaunted and unwavering in its commitment to carrying out its mandate in the service of peace" despite the bloodshed. "There is absolutely no reason why our peacekeepers should have been attacked. This is a criminal act of violence that we are forcefully denouncing," Saiki said on UN radio. (...)

AU chief Jean Ping also confirmed the deaths earlier in a statement to AFP in Addis Ababa, expressing "shock and regret" at the deaths of the two Egyptians.

In April four South African peacekeepers who had been held in Darfur were freed unharmed after 15 days in captivity.

Their abductors said the kidnapping occurred in order to show the world "that security conditions in Darfur did not allow for elections".

Click on labels here below to view previous reports.

+ + + UPDATE on Sunday, 09 May 2010 + + +



Photo: Egyptian peacekeepers carry one of the coffins of the two Egyptian peacekeepers who were killed on Friday, as their bodies are prepared for repatriation at Nyala airport in Sudan, Saturday, May 8, 2010. (AP Photo/UNAMID, Albert Gonzalez Farran) EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO SALES



Photo: An Egyptian peacekeeper prays beside the coffins of the two Egyptian peacekeepers who were killed on Friday, as their bodies are prepared for repatriation at Nyala airport in Sudan, Saturday, May 8, 2010. (AP Photo/UNAMID, Albert Gonzalez Farran) EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO SALES



Mohammed Hossain, one of the three Egyptian peacekeepers who were injured, in addition to two colleagues who were killed, is treated at a UNAMID medical facility in Nyala, Sudan, Saturday, May 8, 2010. (AP Photo/UNAMID, Albert Gonzalez Farran) EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO SALES

High level Egyptian officials visit Sudan
From MirayaFM - Sunday, 09 May 2010 14:05:

The Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Abul Ghait and the Egyptian Intelligence Chief, Omar Suleiman arrived to Khartoum today. Speaking to Miraya, the Egyptian Ambassador to Khartoum, Mohammed Abdel Munaim Al Chazali, said that Abul Gait and Omar Suleiman will meet President-elect Omar Al Bashir and the Vice President Ali Osman Taha.

The two officials will also travel to Juba to meet with First Vice President Salva Kiir Mayardit.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit arrives to meet Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in Khartoum May 9, 2010. (Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)



Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit speaks to the press after meeting Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in Khartoum May 9, 2010. (Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

Note, Sudan Watch report dated 27 May 2007 re Egyptian peacekeeper killed in El Fasher, North Darfur - UN NGO's Leave El Fasher - Egyptian UN soldier killed in Sudan's North Darfur - excerpt:

The circumstances surrounding the death of Lieutenant-Colonel Ehab Nazih, a Military Staff Officer from Egypt, are still under investigation, according to UNMIS, which confirmed that late Friday, three armed men, wearing civilian clothes, broke into the private house he shared with seven other UNMIS staff.

After taking money and valuables from the other occupants of the house, the armed men moved to the victim's room and demanded money from Lt. Colonel Nazih, who gave them all the money he had and was then shot.

He was rushed to the a Hospital run by the African Union Mission in Darfur (AMIS), where he was pronounced dead, UNMIS said, offering thanks to "the AMIS staff and medical personnel who did all they could to save the life of their UNMIS colleague." + + +

ICC prosecutor to indict Darfur rebels within weeks

October 18, 2008 (Reuters) report at Sudan Tribune says ICC prosecutor to indict Darfur rebels within weeks. Excerpt:

"In a couple of weeks I will present my third case against some rebel commanders who were attacking African Union peacekeepers," Moreno-Ocampo told a Council on Foreign Relations symposium, sponsored by Hollywood actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.

Moreno-Ocampo has been investigating a 2007 attack on an AU base in Haskanita, Darfur which killed 12 peacekeepers and was blamed on rebels. A U.N. report said vehicles used in the attack bore the initials "JEM," which could have stood for the Justice and Equality Movement, a powerful rebel group.

Khalil Ibrahim, leader of the group, said in July that if any of his guerrillas was indicted they would be handed over to the international court for trial.

See Sudan Watch September 24, 2008: ICC prosecutor to investigate Sudan's Darfur rebels crimes - What happened at Haskanita? (Part 1)