Nomads Abyei Sudan Security Situation - Misseriya and Rizeigat tribes fighting in Kass region NW of Nyala, S. Darfur

YESTERDAY [Monday, 23 August 2010], after nearly five days, fighting between the Misseriya and Rizeigat tribes reportedly continued in the Kass region, located approximately 90 kilometers northwest of Nyala, South Darfur. Mediation efforts were attempted by the Deputy Wali (Governor) of South Darfur over the weekend. A UNAMID verification mission is underway to provide an assessment on the situation, including the number of casualties.

Gunshots were heard last night [Monday, 23 August 2010] in one sector of the Kalma internally displaced person (IDP) camp, located on the outskirts of Nyala, South Darfur. A UNAMID patrol immediately proceeded in the direction of the shooting. At the site, four RPGs were found, as well as more than 100 spent cartridges.

A UNAMID verification patrol is scheduled today [Tuesday, 24 August 2010] in the Kass region, located approximately 90 kilometers northwest of Nyala, South Darfur. The exact number of casualties following inter-tribal fighting remains unknown, as only the Misseriya tribe has declared their figures, while Rizeigat casualty figures remain unconfirmed.

A committee has been established at the state level to resolve the renewed conflict between Misseriya and Rizeigat tribes which began on Monday 16 August 2010. The body has since met with the leaders of the two groups and presented them with recommendations to cease the fighting.

UNAMID continues to conduct day and night confidence building patrols within the Kalma IDP camp. Access continues to be granted to humanitarian NGOs for entry into Kalma by the Humanitarian Aid Commission. No new population movements within and out of the camp have been reported. Submersible pumps in the most populated parts of Kalma continue to function.

UNAMID military forces conducted 78 patrols including routine, short-range, long-range, night and humanitarian escort patrols covering 63 villages and IDP camps. UNAMID police advisors conducted 116 patrols in villages and IDP camps.

West Darfur
Yesterday [Monday, 23 August 2010] UNAMID Joint Special Representative, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, concluded a two-day visit to El Geneina and Zalingei, West Darfur where he met with Mission personnel, UN Agencies and the humanitarian community. He was briefed on the security and humanitarian situation in the respective area.

The visit included meetings with local government officials and security committee members, during which he reiterated his call to the government to apprehend those committing criminal acts against UNAMID peacekeepers. Government officials reassured the Mission and international aid workers of their commitment to safety and security. The JSR further stressed the need for UNAMID to adopt more robust patrols in and around the IDP camps.

Professor Gambari also visited Mournei (IDP) camp located about 48 kilometers south of El Geneina.

UNAMID’s new Police Commissioner takes up duties
Mr. James Oppong Boanuh of Ghana arrived at the Mission’s headquarters in El Fasher, North Darfur, this week to take up his duties as UNAMID’s Police Commissioner. He succeeds Mr. Micheal Fryer of South Africa who left in April after serving since the Mission’s inception in January 2008.

Ghana is currently the largest police contributing country to UNAMID with a total of 500 police officers.

Senegal adds to Formed Police Units
Yesterday [Monday, 23 August 2010] UNAMID received its second Senegalese Formed Police Unit (FPUs). The units, consisting of 140 personnel, will be deployed in El Geneina, West Darfur. The new arrivals, brings the total number of FPU officers in the Mission to 1,959.

SOURCES:

Daily Media Brief - Monday 23 August 2010 from UNAMID (United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur) EL FASHER (DARFUR), Sudan/via APO.

Daily Media Brief - Tuesday 24 August 2010 from UNAMID (United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur) EL FASHER (DARFUR), Sudan/via APO.
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"FINE WORDS BUTTER NO PARSNIPS"

Click here for:
Briefing to the UN Security Council on the Humanitarian Situation in Darfur
Statement by John Holmes
Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
Monday 23 August 2010
Source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
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MISSERIYA COUNT LOSSES AT 88 DEAD, 32 INJURED

Misseriya count losses at 88 dead, 32 injured in clashes near Kass, Darfur
Report from Radio Dabanga - Monday 23 August 2010:



(KASS) - A leader of the Misseriya tribe said the clashes around Kass have resulted in 88 dead and 32 injured from the Misseriya while he did not know the exact number of killed and wounded on the side of the Rizeigat. Violence between the two Arab tribes broke out last week after nearly two months of relative calm following a reconciliation deal signed in late June.

The Misseriya tribal leader, Izz-Al-Din Issa Mandil, appealed over Radio Dabanga for the belligerent parties to stop hostilities and convene a peace conference. He also called on the state government to do its duty to stop the violence.

Nuwayba clashes with Misseriya spread from Kass into West Darfur
Report from Radio Dabanga - Friday 20 August 2010:



(WADI SALIH) - The tribal clashes between the Nuwayba Rizeigat and the Misseriya spread from South Darfur to West Darfur. According to reports from the areas of Tanaku and Duraysa in Wadi Salih, there were dozens of dead and wounded in fresh clashes.

Sources in West Darfur said that a joint force of army and police were directed to go to the areas of events. Meanwhile, clashes continued between the parties in Kass Locality for a fourth day in a row along the Wadi Milla and west of Jabal Awda. Witnesses said that there were a number of new dead and wounded in the clashes on Thursday. The Governor of South of Darfur, Hamid Musa Kasha, reportedly arrived in the areas of events to calm the situation and control the response.

Before these latest reports, sources had already put the number of dead at about 50. The fighting between the two tribes follows nearly two months of relative peace after a reconciliation deal in late June.

50 dead in Misseriya-Nuwayba clashes near Kass, S. Darfur
Report from Radio Dabanga - Thursday 19 August 2010:

(KASS) - The number of people killed in continuing clashes between the Misseriya and the Nuwayba section of the Rizeigat tribe in Kass Locality rose yesterday to an estimate of 50. Sources in the area told Radio Dabanga that fighters have been using Land Cruiser to clash in the villages of the Maleh valley. One local official said that people are busy with 70 dead and wounded.
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NOMADS NOT GUARANTEED VOTING RIGHTS?

Arab nomads settling in contested Sudan region: official
Report from AFP by Guillaume Lavallee – Sunday 01 August 2010:

(KHARTOUM) - Members of an Arab nomadic tribe are settling in a contested region straddling north and south Sudan, hoping to vote in referendum next year that will define its status, a Sudanese official said on Sunday.

Members of the Misseriya tribe, who are accused by southerners of being close to the Khartoum government, are said to be moving into parts of Abyei, the chief administrator of the region Deng Arop Kuol told reporters in the Sudanese capital.

"The issue that is concerning the people of Abyei and troubling them very much is the issue of settlement that is taking place within the boundaries of Abyei," Kuol said.

"It is the Misseriya who are settling in those areas. The target is to settle in 20 locations in the area north of Abyei and they already started to settle in those areas now," he said.

"We are getting information that they intend to settle 25,000 families in those areas and the number of people will go up to 75,000 in those areas. We believe it is something organised," Kuol added.

As south Sudan holds its referendum on independence in January, residents of the oil-rich Abyei region will simultaneously vote on whether they want to belong to north or south Sudan.

Abyei's referendum law gives the right of vote to members of the southern Dinka Ngok tribe and it is up to the referendum commission to decide which "other Sudanese" are considered residents of the region and can therefore vote.

The law has angered the Arab Misseriya -- a nomadic tribe that migrates each year to the Abyei region looking for pastures for their cattle -- because it does not guarantee them voting rights.

The referendum commission for Abyei has not yet been formed, because representatives of north and south Sudan have failed to agree on who will head it -- leaving the question of Misseriya eligibility still open.

"The Misseriya... are in no way meant to vote in the Abyei referendum because they are not residents. They are meant to be nomads," said Kuol.

Deadly clashes in May 2008 in Abyei had raised fears of a return to civil war between north and south Sudan. Both parties decided to take the matter of the sensitive border to arbitration in The Hague.

Last year, the Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague refined the borders of Abyei, leaving the Heglig oil fileds out of the Abyei region, the heartland of the Dinka Ngok.

Both north and south authorities had accepted the ruling, which was criticised by the Misseriya.

The Hague decision was not "fair" and "definitive" and has not enabled both parties to resolve their differences, said Salah Cos, adviser to President Omar al-Bashir for security matters, in a statement over the weekend.

Sudan produces 500,000 barrels of oil per day and has reserves estimated at six billion barrels.

Most of it lies on the border between north and south.

ABYEI'S REFERENDUM LAW DOES NOT GUARANTEE VOTING RIGHTS TO ARAB MISSERIYA?

Sudan: Oil threatens South’s independence
Report from afrik-news.com by Konye Obaji Ori - Monday 02 August 2010:

Northern Sudan has been accused of settling Arab nomadic tribes in oil-rich Abeyi region where votes are required to influence whether or not the oil-rich Abyei would belong to North or South Sudan, ahead of a January 2011 referendum.

The chief administrator of the disputed oil-rich Abyei region, Deng Arop Kuol told reporters in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, that members of the Khartoum-backed Arab Misseriya tribe were moving into parts of Abyei, in order to vote in next year’s referendum that will define the status of the oil-rich region.

“The issue that is concerning the people of Abyei and troubling them very much is the issue of settlement that is taking place within the boundaries of Abyei. It is the Misseriya who are settling in those areas. The target is to settle in 20 locations in the area north of Abyei and they already started to settle in those areas now," Kuol was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.

The oil-rich Abyei region overlaps between North and South Sudan. And the January referendum on independence in South Sudan would require residents of the oil-rich Abyei region to simultaneously vote on whether they want to belong to north or south Sudan.

"We are getting information that they intend to settle 25,000 families in those areas and the number of people will go up to 75,000 in those areas. We believe it is something organized," Kuol said.

According to reports, Abyei’s referendum law, however, does not guarantee voting rights to the Arab Misseriya — a nomadic tribe that migrates each year to the Abyei region looking for pastures for their cattle.

Even though the settling Arab Misseriya tribe are not allowed to vote according to the referendum law, South Sudan authorities remain suspicious of their influx to Abyei, a region responsible for most of Sudan’s 500,000 barrels of oil production per day.

With an estimated six billion barrels of oil in the region, the economies of either North Sudan or an independent South Sudan would be affected by the outcome of votes in Abyei come January 2011. "The Misseriya... are in no way meant to vote in the Abyei referendum because they are not residents. They are meant to be nomads," Kuol adds.

Last year, the Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague refined the borders of Abyei, leaving the Heglig oil fileds out of the Abyei region, and both the North and South authorities had accepted the ruling.

Deadly clashes in May 2008 in Abyei had raised fears of a return to civil war between North and South Sudan. And while both authorities decided to take the matter of the sensitive border to arbitration in The Hague, a forthcoming referendum for secession is threatening the fragile peace that has existed over the oil-rich region.

With the issue of Arab Misseriya’s voting eligibility still unresolved, and the referendum commission for Abyei not yet established, because Sudan’s Northern and Southern authorities have failed to agree on who should head it, questions of a peaceful and smooth separation of Sudan remains unanswered.

NCP SAYS MISSERIYA NOMADS SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO VOTE, SPLM SAYS NO?

Unrest feared as Sudan talks stall
Report from Al Jazeera - Upated on Monday, 02 August 2010 22:43:

The ruling party in Sudan has sought to play down concerns about potential violence after talks between officials from the north and the south stalled over a referendum in the disputed oil-producing Abyei region.

A senior member of the National Congress Party (NCP) told Al Jazeera on Monday that there was no reason that the collapsed talks should escalate into a new conflict.

"I think the Abyei problem will be solved and I don't think there is any war to be expected," Rabie Abdul Atti said.

As South Sudan holds a referendum on a possible return to independence in January, Abyei will simultaneously vote on whether the region should belong to the north or the south.

But the NCP and Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), which governs the south, cannot agree on who will be eligible to vote.

"The issue of the Abyei referendum has come to a standstill," Deng Arop, a SPLM representative who heads Abyei's administration, told reporters on Sunday.

"This has the potential to ... cause a regional and international conflict."

More than two decades of bitter war between north and south Sudan left an estimated two million people dead. A peace deal signed in 2005 created a federal unity government that shared power between the north's ruling party and the former southern rebels.

Tribe controversy

Abyei's referendum law gives the right of vote to members of the southern Dinka Ngok tribe and it is up to the referendum commission to decide which "other Sudanese" are considered residents of the region and therefore eligible to vote.

The ruling NCP says the Misseriya, a big pro-unity nomadic tribe which grazes its cattle in the south during the dry season, should also vote.

The SPLM says the tribe as a bloc should not be allowed to vote, but that individuals with long-term residence in the region should be able to do so.

"The Misseriya ... are in no way meant to vote in the Abyei referendum because they are not residents. They are meant to be nomads," Arop said.

He said Misseriya had begun to settle 75,000 people in the north of Abyei to change the demographic of the region and influence the vote.

Arop estimated there were about 100,000 original Abyei residents excluding the Missiriya.

He called on the NCP to stop the settlements.

"If the government is not supporting this then it should take action to stop it," he said.

Abyei has been a contentious issue between the SPLM and the NCP both before and after the 2005 peace deal.

Border arbitration

Deadly clashes between the Sudanese army and the SPLM in Abyei in May 2008 raised fears of a return to war between north and south Sudan. Both parties decided to take the matter of the sensitive border to arbitration in The Hague.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration refined the borders, leaving the Heglig oil fields in the north, out of the Abyei region.

Both north and south authorities have accepted the ruling, but it was criticised by the Misseriya tribe.

Douglas Johnson. a former former member of the Abyei Boundaries Commission, told Al Jazeera that the threat of renewed violence in Abyei is "very serious".

"There have been clashes on the border, there have been clashes within Abyei, and this latest report of movement in large scale of Misseriya into northern areas of is very worrying," he said.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Click into above report to view video: Al Jazeera's Tarek Bazely explains the complexity of the Abyei issue.
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IN DEPTH from Al Jazeera

Q&A: Sudan's Abyei dispute



Grazing and land rights are key issues for those who live in Abyei [EPA]

Abyei tribes fear losing land



Both the African Dinka and Arab Misseriya tribes say Abyei belongs to them [EPA]

Click on Abyei label here below, and keep on scrolling, to read reports in the archives of Sudan Watch.

S. Sudan Rhino City photo - Bileel area and southern areas of Nyala selected to be the alternative IDP camps instead of Kalma camp, S. Darfur

SOMEONE once said 17 years is the average life of a refugee camp. Not sure if it is true. Kalma camp in South Darfur, western Sudan, is already at least 6 years old. Plans are underway for it to be relocated within South Darfur to Bileel area and southern areas of Nyala to create two new camps, each housing 25,000 - 30,000 IDPs, provided with all basic services. The area of each residence will be 150 - 200 square meters.

How great it would be if the IDPs were given land rights to their new residences, and the IDPs and world-class volunteer Sudanese architects, village planners, environmentalists, historians and psychologists were consulted on the design of new camps in Sudan.

Imagine them pooling their skills and knowledge to create beautifully simple arty traditional African villages with access to solar power, microfinancing, education, training, employment and sports facilities. It need not involve a lot of money. People pulling together with decent leadership can work wonders. Think of the children of Sudan and those born in Kalma camp. For all we know, SLM and JEM rebel group leaders, who care only about their own skins, might continue on the warpath (a lucrative way of life for them) for the next 20 years.

See interesting Rhino City photo below, plus a news roundup, and a report saying UNAMID and the local South Darfur government have agreed to work together to construct a security trench which will span Nyala town’s perimeter. Note that the trench, measuring 2 meters deep and 2 meters wide, will span approximately 40 kilometers long and is expected to be completed within 4 to 5 weeks.

I say, imagine if they filled the trench with water, it could be a moat for security, a swimming pool for children and a watering hole for thirsty trees, birds and animals. An oasis. Dream on.

This photo reminds me of a 1960's aerial shot of Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, before it became a city. Surely the Sudanese can find a way to turn their deserts and hot sunny weather to their advantage. Everyone loves Sudan.



Photo: "This is Kalma Camp. Believe it or not these kids are lucky, Kalma Camp is near the airport, close to Nyala, the closest thing I've seen to a modern city in Darfur and it has lots of access to aid organizations". (Photo and caption from bbs.keyhole.com by bit Cartographer/Google Earth)
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South Darfur Plans to Build Construct Two IDPs Camps
Report from Sudan Vision Daily
Sunday, 22 August 2010

(Nyala - smc) - SOUTH Darfur government directed the Engineering Department in the State to start the preliminary survey in Bilail area and the southern areas of Nyala selected to be the alternative IDPs camp instead of Kalma camp.

South Darfur Deputy Governor, Dr. Abdul Karim told (smc) that Kalma IDPs camp will be transferred to the new site in agreement with UNAMID, UN, NGOs and the IDPS themselves.

He said that Kalma IDPs camp became one of the security threats, expressing their intension to construct two big camps with 25 – 30 thousands IDPS capacity provided with all basic services adding the area of each residence will be 150 – 200 square meters.

He pointed out that the machineries of the work were directed to the new sites to start implementation, adding that all the NGOs working in the humanitarian activities in the State visited the new sites and expressed satisfaction with.

He said that the government shouldered all the construction expenses, affirming the IDPs movement to the new sites will not start unless the construction work is completed.

It is to be noted that Kalma IDPs camp witnessed in the recent days violations from armed groups which brought arms to the camp a matter that agitated chaos inside the camp.

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Darfur/UNAMID Daily Media Brief - Monday, 16 August 2010
Report from United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)
El Fasher (Darfur), W. Sudan - via APO 16 August 2010:

Security situation update
THE situation in Kalma Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in South Darfur remains tense. Intensified patrols by UNAMID forces have led to a significant decrease in cases of gunfire overnight. UNAMID Deputy Joint Special Representative Mohamed Yonis, Force Commander Patrick Nyamvumba and Acting Police Commissioner Adeyemi Ogunjemilusi today travelled to Nyala to confer with state authorities concerning recent developments.

The majority of Kalma’s sectors have reported improvements in security, with IDPs returning to their homes and resuming normal activities.

UNAMID, Government dig security trench around Nyala
Responding to the increase in incidence of kidnappings and carjackings in Nyala, South Darfur, targeting the international community in particular, UNAMID and the local government have agreed to work together to construct a security trench which will span the town’s perimeter.

UNAMID’s Chinese Engineering Company began work on Sunday on the Mission’s half of the trench. The measure is designed to reduce the high incidence of criminality by regulating travel to and from the town. While limiting entry and exit through small roads, the town will remain fully accessible through major roads and highways.

The trench, measuring 2 meters deep and 2 meters wide, will span approximately 40 kilometers long and is expected to be completed within 4 to 5 weeks. Local authorities will provide 24 hour protection for UNAMID equipment and personnel until the project’s completion.

UNAMID patrols
UNAMID military forces conducted 87 patrols including routine, short-range, long-range, night and humanitarian escort patrols covering 69 villages and IDP camps.

UNAMID police advisors conducted 164 patrols in villages and IDP camps.

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Southern Sudan's Rhino City



Photo source: New Sudan Vision
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UPDATE Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Two more photos and captions, with thanks to Alan Boswell's blog post published 17 August 2010. Alan Boswell is an American freelance journalist currently based in Juba, South Sudan.

The “Rhino City” location in relation to Juba’s current layout:



Wau, South Sudan’s second-largest city, is set to turn into this awkwardly elongated beast:


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South Sudan Builds Juba’s Rhino City In PR Wars
Report from Anorak.co.uk
Friday, 20 August 2010

IN southern Sudan, the blueprints are unveiled for regional cities shaped as animals and fruits.

At a cost of $10bn (£6.4bn) Juba will be designed in the shape of a rhinoceros. Wau will become a giraffe. Yambio will be shaped like a pineapple.

Juba is the capital of the region – plans are to make if the capital of the new state of South Sudan. Guess where the office of the regional president will be situated. At the back? Somewhere down between the legs? No, it’s where the rhinoceros’s eye should be.

Over in Wau, the sewage treatment plant is appropriately placed under the giraffe’s tail.

All good stuff. But cities have a habit to sprawl and the rhino might well develop a tumour or just spread until it resembles Lagos, which from space resembles a dog squatting on a huge toilet…

The plans were unveiled by the Undersecretary for Housing and Physical Planning, Daniel Wani. The plan is earmarked to cost over £10bn. Southern Sudan’s total annual budget this year is less than $2 billion.

He says:

“Juba, as an example, is a slum city. So our plan is to create a nuclear city outside Juba,” he said. “We have been given land 15 kilometers west of Juba by the state, and we met the community, they are excited to give us this land. We call it Rhino City. And equally also we have been given land in the other nine capitals.”

The thing soon starts to look like a PR stunt to draw interest to a region bereft of funds and ravaged by a civil war that ended in 2005…

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News from The New York Times' Blogrunner

Headlines Around the Web

What's This?

REUTERS

AUGUST 16, 2010

US: Barclays to pay $298 million in

sanctions case

AFP

AUGUST 16, 2010

Darfur expels five aid workers

SUDAN WATCH

AUGUST 16, 2010

Sudan: New strategy - South Darfur

State sets a plan for illegal arms

collection - IDPs in Kalma camp not

allowed to practice military activities

SPERO NEWS - RELIGIOUS NEWS

AUGUST 14, 2010

Darfur: probe underway into

abduction of two UN-African Union

peacekeepers

HARRY'S PLACE

AUGUST 14, 2010

Girifna braves repression to

struggle for democracy in Sudan

More at Blogrunner »

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News from SRS - Sudan Radio Service:

Friday, 20-Aug-2010

• No Secular State In Sudan Asserts NCP
• Stalemate Over Referendum Commission May Lead To Delay In Poll, Says Political Analysts
• Avail Credible Information On Oil Revenue Urges Global Witness
• GOSS To Allow Freedom Of Expression On Unity And Separation
• No Qualified Science And Maths Teachers In South, Says Ministry
• Ten Abducted In Cattle Raids In Jonglei State
• Rumbek Hospital Offers Free Fistula Treatment
• Fish Industry Boosted In South
• Sudan Sports Latest

Thursday, 19-Aug-2010

• Southern Referendum Bureau Says Referendum Will Take Place As Scheduled
• NCP Refutes Media Report On The Nomination Of Referendum Seceretary General
• GOSS Not Ready To Respond To Humanitarian Crisis In The Aftermath Of The Referendum
• US Special Envoy Discusses Referendum And Abyei With GoS Officials
• Forty Sudanese Arrested In Egypt For Trying To Sneak Into Israel
• GOSS To Employ 200 Foreign Qualified Civil Servants
• Sudan Sports Latest

Wednesday, 18-Aug-2010

• Opposition Political Parties To Boycott Consensus Meeting On Thursday In Khartoum
• Southern Sudan Not Prepared For Independence
• Judges Of Southern Sudan complets A Ten Week Course On Civil And Criminal Laws Procedures
• Western Bahr Al Ghazal State In Dire Need Of Medical And Education Services
• The Ministry of Labor and Public Service Says Pension Of Civil Servants Must Be Paid
• Sports Latest

Aid groups allowed into Darfur Kalma camp - South Sudan plans animal-shaped cities

FOURTEEN days after Sudanese authorities cut off aid to Kalma, the largest internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in South Darfur, three international NGOs and UN agencies (the UN Children’s Fund, World Food Programme and Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA) have been allowed to re-enter the settlement. Click here for full story by IRIN, Tuesday, 17 August 2010.
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Darfur/UNAMID Daily Media Brief - Tuesday, 17 August 2010
From United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)
EL FASHER (DARFUR), Sudan, August 18, 2010/APO:

Security situation update
Two Jordanian peacekeepers with UNAMID’s police contingent, who were abducted on Saturday 14 August, have been released this afternoon. More information is provided in the related press release sent earlier today.

Concerning the Kalma Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp, humanitarian groups were allowed access yesterday, following more than two weeks of being denied. Urgently needed medicine and fuel has been rushed to the camp, the latter to power water pumps. UN representatives continue to mediate between rival IDP groups to resolve remaining tensions.

UNAMID patrols
UNAMID military forces conducted 92 patrols including routine, short-range, long-range, night and humanitarian escort patrols covering 84 villages and IDP camps.

UNAMID police advisors conducted 150 patrols in villages and IDP camps.

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From The New York Times

Headlines Around the Web

What's This?

METAFILTER

AUGUST 18, 2010

Lost Boys return home to build schools

BOSTON GLOBE

AUGUST 18, 2010

South Sudan plans animal-shaped cities

THE SEATTLE TIMES

AUGUST 17, 2010

New twist to urban planning in Sudan

SUDAN WATCH

AUGUST 17, 2010

SPLM/A defector George Athor Deng threatens to fight to topple Government of Southern Sudan

CBSNEWS.COM

AUGUST 17, 2010

Sudan Army Frees Kidnapped Jordan Peacekeepers

More at Blogrunner »

SPLM/A defector George Athor Deng threatens to fight to topple Government of Southern Sudan

Last April, southern Sudan officials confirmed that George Athor Deng, a defeated candidate and former Lt. General and Deputy Chief of General Staff for Moral Orientation in the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), who had contested as independent candidate for governorship of the region’s largest state of Jonglei, was behind a deadly assault on the army’s military barrack of Doleib Hills area near the Upper Nile state’s capital, Malakal on April 30th. Click on Athor label here below for further details.

SPLA Renegade Athor Threatens To Disrupt Referendum
Source: SRS - Sudan Radio Service
Date: Tuesday, 17 August 2010. Full copy:

(Jonglei) – The renegade SPLA General George Athor has threatened to disrupt the referendum process in southern Sudan if the SPLM refuses to talk peace with him later this month.

General Athor rebelled after he lost in the April elections demanding a re-run of the elections for the governorship of Jonglei state.

Speaking to SRS in an exclusive interview on Monday from Jonglei state, General Athor said his attempts to seek peace have proved futile.

[George Athor]: “Referendum will not take place if am outside and others are outside. And if he [Salva] is dreaming that referendum will take place it will never. It will need unity of all southern Sudanese. So let us talk before the end of August, if August goes then I believe the referendum will go. And I am one among the people who will really fight to topple this government and not think to talk to them again because they have wasted what we have fought for, for almost 23 years. So my appeal to all southern Sudanese, let them tell Salva that he shouldn’t let us lose this chance, let us try to solve this problem, amicably before time.”

Last Sunday the SPLA captured a helicopter at Faluj Airstrip in Upper Nile state claiming that those on board were senior officers allied to the renegade General Athor.

In the interview Athor admitted that the captured helicopter was carrying some of his political allies, but denied that there were military officers allied to his group.

[George Athor]: “They captured rebels? Where are their uniforms, where are all the things that can indicate that this people are military people. They were only civilians. They were people assisting me; most of them are drivers, and others. One of them was the former commissioner of Khor-Fulus county. He was my campaign manager in northern Jonglei state. So when we were attacked at Khor-Fulus, they ran to Fangak county and hid there and they got a chance on a helicopter that was coming with relief to Fangak. They then boarded the helicopter then when the helicopter landed in Faluj they were apprehended, tortured and they are now in Juba.”

Attempts by SRS to reach the SPLM for reaction, were fruitless.

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News from SRS - Sudan Radio Service:

Tuesday, 17-Aug-2010

• Sudan Expels Foreign Aid Workers
• SPLA Renegade Athor Threatens To Disrupt Referendum
• SPLM Accuses NCP Of Planning Ethnic Cleansing In Abyei
• Jordanian Peacekeepers Kidnapped In Darfur Released
• Catholic Bishop Calls On International Community Not To Influence Southern Decision On Referendum
• Referendum To Go As scheduled Despite Delays
• IDPs Suffer Unrest And Disturbance In Darfur, Says Report
• Stop Early Marriages Urges Health Officilas In Unity State
• Sudan Sports Latest

Monday, 16-Aug-2010

• South Not Ready For The Referendum, Says Minister
• Mbeki Urges The Timely Conduct Of The Southern Referendum
• UN Urges Government To Allow Access To Kalma IDP Camp
• Kalma Camp To Be Relocated, Says Government
• Land Commissioner Says Land Registration To Be Conducted At All Government Levels
• Sudan Sports Latest

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Further Reading

1. Sudan Watch - June 02, 2006:
2. Darfur's JEM rebel leader says "We're going to have our own country" - excerpt:

Khalil Ibrahim, who took part in talks with Slovenian President Janez Drnovsek on Wednesday, told the Slovenian public broadcaster that his Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) would seek independence if there was no peace in Darfur.

"Now as the next step that means that we will ask for self-determination - we're going to have our own country," Khalil told TV Slovenija, which said that this is the first time he has mentioned the possibility of independence.

Sudan Watch - July 25, 2006:

SLM Abdel Wahid al-Nur declares his aim is to become President of Sudan - excerpt:

UN SGSR Jan Pronk, in his latest blog entry, reveals that this week, Abdel Wahid al-Nur declared that his aim is to become President of Sudan. Note also, Mr Pronk confirms JEM's aim is not peace but power in Khartoum ...

Sudan Watch - March 31, 2010:

UNAMID JSR meets with SLM leader Abdul Wahid Al-Nur in Paris, France - excerpt re H.E. Dr. Luka Biong Deng meeting with Cdr. Abdul Wahid Al-Nur, 22 July 2008, Washington, DC:

“SPLM is our strategic Ally; SLM is not competing with the SPLM. The SPLM is the leading force for change in Sudan, and we need to remain allies”, said Chairman Abdul Whaid Al-Nur. He stressed the need for discussions between the two movements around the SPLM Roadmap for Darfur in order to settle points of difference to begin a process of cooperation and coordination between two movements. Cdr. Al-Nur also emphasized the importance of the establishment of direct channels of communication between the respective Leadership of the SLM and SPLM.

1. Afghans believe US is funding Taliban

   25 May 2010 ... Daniella Peled: Intellectuals and respected Afghan professionals are convinced the west is prolonging conflict to maintain influence in the ...
   www.guardian.co.uk/.../2010/.../afghans-believe-us-funding-taliban - Cached

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   www.bbc.co.uk/news/10372309 - Cached