HERE is a copy of an important tweet by US-based Sudan expert Dr Eric Reeves (@sudanreeves) whose amazing woodturning skills enable him to create exquisite pieces to sell. 100% of all proceeds from all sales benefit girls and women who have been the victims of genocidal sexual violence. The longtime charity is, I believe, run by TeamZamZam in Darfur where help ranges from counselling to buying millet, sugar, lentils, painkillers, waterproof tents, blankets and other necessities, too many to list here.
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NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: My heart jumped when I saw the above tweet about Musa Hilal. Every day I search for news of Musa Hilal hoping for clues as to what he is doing and which side he ia taking. It is possible that he may have buried the hatchet with Hemeti and joined the RSF.
Sheikh Hilal is a respected Arab tribal leader and old time warrior who rules over large swathes of Sudan using benevolence. He commands a huge loyal following. If news of his return to the battlefield is true, and I hope it is, Hemeti (if he's alive) will have sleepless nights and tremble in his flip-flops at the thought of Hilal seeking revenge while fighting onside with SAF.
If the news is true, in my view, it is a big game changer. Can't wait to find out more and what kind of deal SAF made with Warlord Hilal to induce him to side with SAF like he did when Sudan was led by President Bashir.
Musa Hilal is featured in the first blog post here at Sudan Watch. In the archives there were many great photos of him in full Arab regalia riding magnificent championship quality horses. Sadly, the photos were among 3,000+ Flickr deleted overnight, without warning, from this site's paid Flickr account. I helplessly watched in horror as each photo and thousands of hours of my work evaporated. Someone wanted them gone.
Here is the first photo of Hilal published online. It is from the BBC captioned "The rebels started the war - Musa Hilal". The report dated 14 Nov 2004 entitled "Janjweed 'leader' denies genocide" is still online.
Most news outlets can't match BBC's massive databases. After 2004, I discovered news reports I'd linked to with short excerpts, were deleted or moved, breaking a link to the story. Since then, I have copied reports in full for the benefit of journalists, researchers and future historians etc.
To see the photo and read the BBC report click here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/4007191.stm
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THERE are many reports on Musa Hilal in the archives of Sudan Watch, too many to list here. Here is a short list to give an idea of how motivated Musa Hilal will be to avenge Hemeti who toppled him and publicly humiliated him by jailing him, his sons, brothers, affiliates where they were treated badly.
But first, here is a full copy of the tweet - including yellow highlighting - posted by Eric Reeves @sudanreeves 2:59 PM · Aug 8, 2023 in case the tweet disappears in the future. It says:
"Between continued large-scale violence in much of #Darfur, rainy season flooding, and failure of yet another agricultural season, the region is on the road to a massive humanitarian catastrophe—present relief supplies are woefully inadequate, given need. Security nowhere in sight
[From a reliable Sudanese source / August 7, 2023]
- In Nyala, South Darfur, shelling yesterday killed one person and injured 3 (civilians in their homes). Clashes between SAF and RSF began when the RSF started to shell the SAF garrison and some neighborhoods in the city. The whole city is suffering from a lack of electrical power supply since the RSF/Janjaweed sabotaged the electric power station for the city of Nyala.
- In other news from Darfur, it seems the notorious Janjaweed leader Musa Hilal is back in action - but now on the side of the SAF against Hemedti’s RSF, according to witness accounts. Originally Musa Hilal was the leader of Janjaweed at the beginning of the Darfur genocide in 2003, This was until Hemedti removed him from the leadership of the Janjaweed apparatus and jailed him. Now it seems Musa Hilal is back to settle accounts with Hemedti. The SAF have struck a deal with Musa Hilal to come back and fight against Hemedti, many observers say.
- In Khartoum yesterday there were fierce fights in the old sector of Omdurman residential neighborhoods. Residents were told by SAF to move out because their neighborhoods were becoming theaters of military operations. There was massive displacement of civilians moving from the central neighborhoods to the south parts of Omdurman.
- Observers have reported that the two fighting parties are getting more supporters to join their ranks every day." [End]
Thanks Eric. Please try find out more about what Musa Hilal's doing and post anything you can, no matter how small. If the news is true, you might spot clues in sudden build ups/clashes. Best wishes for continued strength.
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Here is the list of some reports on Musa Hilal, the first is this from the archive of Human Rights Watch:
Video Transcript: Exclusive Video Interview with Alleged Janjaweed Leader
March 2, 2005 7:00PM EST
In late September 2004, a Human Rights Watch delegation interviewed Musa Hilal, a tribal leader from North Darfur who has allegedly organized Janjaweed militia to attack non-Arab tribes.
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VO: Human Rights Watch confronted Musa Hilal with reports that he had personally commanded the Janjaweed militia that attacked and killed civilians in Tawila in February 2004. He denied leading his tribesmen into battle, stating that they were organized into official militia, known as PDF, led by Sudanese military commanders.
MH: Regarding the problem of Tawila, I already told you about the issue of the commanders, and as for newspaper reports, actually, I’ve said enough already. All of the people in the field are led by top army commanders. The highest rank is major, and officers, and some sergeants, and some captains, and so on.
These people get their orders from the western command center, and from Khartoum.
I’ve never thought of becoming a soldier, or a military commander, and of leading troops and attacking the rebels’ command areas in Tawila, or anywhere else. That’s not true.
As a coordinator and mobilizer, as I said before, yes, it’s true, I mobilize people, I coordinate with recruiters. I’ve been with the PDF commanders, but I was never a commander of troops in a war zone, here or there.
VO: Hilal’s denial of leadership is contradicted by eyewitness testimony. Several men interviewed by Human Rights Watch in Kebkabiya, North Darfur, said that they had twice seen Musa Hilal dressed in a military uniform, leading his troops in celebrating military victories. Both instances occurred in January 2004, when Musa Hilal gathered townspeople in the market in Kebkabiya and announced he had rid fifty villages north of town of the “opposition.” He also accused Kebkabiya residents of supporting the opposition. After he spoke, the witnesses said, Janjaweed militiamen on horses and camels looted the marketplace.
Human Rights Watch challenged Musa Hilal’s claim that he had never participated in attacks, citing evidence that he had led groups that committed attacks in the Kebkabiya area.
MH: Listen, Doctor, they have to get this idea out of their heads. These troops in the west of Kebkabiya, in the north of Kebkabiya, in the south of Kebkabiya, inside the mountains of Jebel Marra -- these troops have commanders leading them, in accordance with military rules.
I’m from Kebkabiya. I come and go with groups there, and I travel with the nomads; I visit their families. This much is true. I attended a small conference on reconciliation, and I’m very involved in establishing relationships of mutual coexistence, specifically west of Kebkabiya. It’s very peaceful from the Mea area up to Wadi Bare, especially my area, which is called Serif Umra, there are about 86 villages made up of different tribes -- Arabs, Fur, so many tribes, Tama, Gimir. I’m involved in encouraging good relationships and establishing local defense forces, made up of Arabs and Fur, to defend Arab and Fur villages. We have to make sure that the Arabs patrol Fur villages, and Fur patrol Arab villages, to defend them from attack.
There are some people in this war that are not part of the joint patrols, and they’re not rebels – they’re criminals; they want to profit off the situation. We build the joint defense forces from different tribes to defend these villages. We’ve secured the area very well, especially west of Kebkabiya. This area is not affected by the war: there’s no displacement, no one is fleeing, the markets are open, the roads are open – it’s a very secure area right now. It’s my area, I’m not denying that I’m involved in this, and I’ll continue to be involved: it’s a good thing that I’m doing.
But as for the military units, with guns, that move around to attack rebel areas or that are attacked by rebels – they’re under the orders of field commanders.
VO: The government of Sudan maintains that the Janjaweed militia is not under army supervision but rather is independent of government control or influence. But Musa Hilal claims that his tribesmen are organized into government-sponsored militia, and that he does not have the power to demobilize or disarm them. He says that this responsibility rests with the Sudanese government.
MH: It’s the government’s concern. They’re the ones that gave the PDF the guns; they’re the ones that recruited the PDF; they’re the ones that pay their salaries; they give them their ID cards. They can disarm them or they can leave them alone; that’s the government’s concern.
Our job is to mobilize the people – the government has told us to mobilize people. We’ve gone to the people to tell them to join the PDF and defend your country, defend the land, defend the country’s most important things, and that you have to fight for your survival and the country’s stability. If the government comes back to us and tells us that they want to demobilize the people that we brought to them, that’s the government’s concern.
VO: On July 30, 2004, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution that gave the government of Sudan thirty days to disarm the Janjaweed. But Musa Hilal claims that the government of Sudan has never asked him to tell his tribesmen to disarm.
MH: I don’t have a relation or link by which they can talk to me personally. If they want to talk they can talk to the tribal leaders’ conference and issue the orders, like previous orders to disarm the rebels or the Janjaweed. I think the PDF is a military organization. There’s no link by which they can come talk to me.
VO: Musa Hilal specifically denies that his tribesmen have committed attacks independently, outside of government control. He blames unidentified criminals for such attacks.
MH: Is this question specifically directed to me and my people: are you saying that we attacked the rebels without the presence of the military? That’s not true. I just want to tell you something there’s criminals on all sides, from all tribes in the area, whether my people or other people. There are people who aren’t part of the PDF or the rebels. These people are greedy and selfish. I’ll give you an example: when the bull or the cow dies, all the vultures come from the sky to feed off the carcass. The problem between the government and the rebels -- sometimes criminals take advantage of the situation and they commit crimes. And these crimes exist and you can’t say who’s responsible for them. There’s a lot of propaganda made up about this. You can’t tell who did them, where they went; everything is hazy.
VO: But as a tribal leader in the Kebkabiya area of North Darfur, Musa Hilal is in an excellent position to know exactly who is committing major, large-scale crimes such as massacres and the destruction of villages. All the witnesses Human Rights Watch interviewed in Musa Hilal’s region reported that the military attacks were coming from his people. There is nothing hazy about it: Musa Hilal is covering up his major role in the destruction of Darfur.
Human Rights Watch has obtained Sudanese government documents that show Musa Hilal’s responsibility for leading Janjaweed militia. A memo dated February 13, 2004 from a local government office in North Darfur orders “security units in the locality” to “allow the activities of the mujahedeen and the volunteers under the command of Sheikh Musa Hilal to proceed in the areas of [North Darfur] and to secure their vital needs.” The memo specifically tells security units not to interfere in the activities of Hilal’s volunteers.
Despite the evidence against him, Musa Hilal shows little concern about the possibility that he might someday be found criminally responsible. Asked if he feared prosecution, he said:
MH: With common criminals? First, I am not a criminal. Thank God I’m not afraid. I’ve never had any fear. If there’s a concrete complaint and an investigation is opened against me, I can go to court -- nobody is above the law -- but not because of allegations made by Ali al Haj and Khalil Ibrahim, who are rebel leaders, who make up dark information and give to the UN, and they put my name on the list. That’s not right.
VO: On January 25, a U.N.-sponsored Commission of Inquiry presented a report on the gross violations of human rights committed in Darfur, based on extensive fact-finding and evidence collection conducted in the region. The report stated that the government and Janjaweed militia “conducted indiscriminate attacks, including killing of civilians, torture, enforced disappearances, destruction of villages, rape and other forms of sexual violence, pillaging and forced displacement, throughout Darfur. These acts were conducted on a widespread and systematic basis, and therefore may amount to crimes against humanity.”
The Commission of Inquiry strongly recommended that the Darfur situation be referred to the International Criminal Court. It said that the prosecution of those likely responsible for the most serious crimes in Darfur would contribute to peace in the region. The report identified individuals possibly guilty of these abuses, but withheld their names from the public. It is likely that the Commission of Inquiry included Musa Hilal on this list of individuals alleged to be guilty of crimes against humanity.
Source: https://www.hrw.org/news/2005/03/02/video-transcript-exclusive-video-interview-alleged-janjaweed-leader
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Here is a copy of an article from and by Radio Dabanga.org
Dated 27 November 2017 - MISTERIYA / KHARTOUM
Musa Hilal, Revolutionary Awakening Council leadership arrested in Darfur
Musa Hilal, chairman of the Revolutionary Awakening Council, arrives as captive in Khartoum on Monday (RD)
Musa Hilal, former janjaweed leader and chairman of the Revolutionary Awakening Council, as well as his sons, brothers, entourage, and senior members of the Council’s leadership, were arrested on Sunday and arrived today in Khartoum.
The official Sudan News Agency (SUNA) reports that the Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemeti), has affirmed that Hilal was arrested on Sunday at Misteriya area, North Darfur. Gen. Hemeti, says that Musa Hilal was “involved in a plot against Sudan which has external dimensions”.
Hemeti said that in addition to Hilal, a number of his aides and three of his sons have also been detained. He also referred to detention of “a person who holds a foreign nationality among the forces of Musa Hilal”, indicating that this man had advanced communication equipment, “a matter which confirms the involvement of foreign parties in the acts for undermining the security and stability in Darfur”.
Hemeti affirmed stability of the security situation at Mustariha area, reiterating determination of his forces to continue implementing their duties.
Sons and brothers
Sources from the area also confirm the Hilal’s sons Habib, Fathi, and Abdel Basset were also held, along with his brothers Omar Hilal, Adam Ramadan, and Mohamed Barma Yusuf.
Brothers, sons and affiliates of Hilal were also captured (RD)
The arrests seem to verify claims made by Hilal’s Council last month of a plan for the RSF to capture him and send him “alive or dead” to Khartoum. In a statement, the Council accused “influential parties” within the government of “seeking to punish Hilal”, who has refused to cooperate with the government’s current campaign of arms collection.
Witnesses have told Radio Dabanga that at least 11 members of the Border Guards militia were killed in Sunday’s clashes. Callers said that civilians, including at least three women, were also killed during Sunday’s clashes, but exact numbers have not yet been ascertained. The area is reportedly under siege – all roads in and out are controlled by the RSF. Large military reinforcements have arrived with “tanks, armoured vehicles, and 500 armed vehicles”.
Arms collection
A spokesman for the RSF, Colonel Abdelrahman El Jaali, confirmed the death of the RSF director of general supplies, Brigadier Abdelrahim Gumma, in Hilal’s heartland of Misteriya during the confrontations that led to the arrest. Col. El Jaali told SUNA that Gumma was killed when he went to investigate an ambush on two vehicles transporting Hilal-led militia elements arrested within the framework of the forcible arms collection campaign.
He stressed that the state will go ahead in its project for collecting weapons and confronting those who tend to undermine the national security.
Also on Sunday, a spokesman for the RSF, Colonel Abdelrahman El Jaali, announced the arrest of Haroun Mahmoud Madikheir, the spokesman for the Revolutionary Awakening Council at Wadi Bari south of Misteriya of Kutum locality in North Darfur. Madikheir was reportedly on his way to Chad with his bodyguards.
El Jaali said in a statement to SUNA that the rapid support militia managed to arrest the most important person in the leadership and the founder of the Revolutionary Awakening Council accompanied by his personal guard.
View original here: https://www.hrw.org/news/2005/03/02/video-transcript-exclusive-video-interview-alleged-janjaweed-leader
or here at Sudan Watch - Tuesday, September 10, 2019
ICC: Hilal knows truth about Hemeti & Darfur war (Part 2)
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2019/09/icc-hilal-knows-truth-about-hemeti.html
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Further Reading
Sudan Watch - July 04, 2019
Musa Hilal interview in Darfur 2004 and Khartoum 2005
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2019/07/sudan-warlord-sheikh-musa-hilal.html
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Sudan Watch - June 30, 2010
Musa Hilal & Janjaweed - Misseriya and Rizeigat tribes sign peace deal in W. Darfur, W. Sudan
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2010/06/african-sheikh-musa-hilal-janjaweed.html
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Sudan Watch - June 27, 2019
Al-Bashir should face justice, says ICC
Al-Bashir taken from Kober prison to prosecutor's office in Khartoum Sudan,
formally charged with corruption and money laundering
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2019/06/mass-killings-in-darfur-al-bashir.html
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Sudan Watch - June 28, 2019
ICC: Darfur suspects must stand trial
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2019/06/icc-violence-against-civilians-in.html
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Sudan Watch - 20 July 2016
Musa Hilal called for end to tribal fighting in Darfur
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2019/09/sudan-hilal-called-for-end-to-tribal.html
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Sudan Watch - September 10, 2019
Musa Hilal faces court martial in Khartoum (Part 1)
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2019/09/sudan-musa-hilal-faces-court-martial-in.html
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Sudan Watch - September 10, 2019
Musa Hilal knows truth about Hemeti & Darfur war (Part 2)
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2019/09/icc-hilal-knows-truth-about-hemeti.html
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Sudan Watch - September 14, 2019
Musa Hilal given senior govt position (Part 3)
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2019/09/sudan-musa-hilal-given-senior-govt.html
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Sudan Watch - Thursday, July 04, 2019
Sudan Warlord Sheikh Musa Hilal interview in Darfur 2004 and Khartoum 2005
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2019/07/sudan-warlord-sheikh-musa-hilal.html
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Sudan Watch - Thursday, July 04, 2019
Warlord Sheikh Musa Hilal of Darfur, Sudan: Lynchpin of Arab Janjaweed Militia Recruitment
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2019/07/warlord-sheikh-musa-hilal-of-darfur_4.html
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Sudan Watch - Friday, June 28, 2019
ICC: Violence against civilians in Darfur Sudan must stop and all ICC Darfur suspects must stand trial
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2019/06/icc-violence-against-civilians-in.html
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Sudan Watch - Thursday, June 27, 2019
Mass killings in Darfur, Al-Bashir should face justice, says ICC - Al-Bashir taken from Kober prison to prosecutor's office in Khartoum Sudan, formally charged with corruption and money laundering
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2019/06/mass-killings-in-darfur-al-bashir.html
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