Showing posts with label Musa Hilal Interviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Musa Hilal Interviews. Show all posts

Monday, May 15, 2023

Sudan: Could Arab tribal chief Hilal undercut Hemeti?

NOTE from Sudan  Watch Editor: I have just visited the archives of this site Sudan Watch 2004. The news headlines at that time seem to show we've gone full circle over past 20 years and are now back to square one. Here is an excerpt from one of the first reports reprinted here in 2004, followed by a recent report featuring the Arab tribal chief Mr Musa Hilal now aged 63.

Sudan Watch - Sunday, August 22, 2004

Janjaweed Leader Moussa Hilal - interview with UK Telegraph and IslamOnline.net


Aug 22: UK Telegraph news report by Philip Sherwell in Khartoum, copied here in full:

 

Tribal leader accused over Darfur says he was acting for government 

The sheikh accused by the United States of co-ordinating Janjaweed militiamen has admitted that he was "appointed" by Sudan's government to recruit Arab tribesmen to "defend their land". 


In an interview with The Telegraph, Musa Hilal scorned calls for his arrest on the eve of this week's visit to Sudan by Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, and the United Nations' deadline for Sudan to begin its promised crackdown on the Janjaweed. 


"I don't care what my enemies say about me," he said, jabbing his finger. "I have no concerns about being arrested. I don't think the Sudanese government would be stupid enough to take that decision." 


Mr Hilal has been identified by the US State Department as the most senior of seven Janjaweed leaders allegedly responsible for the ethnic cleansing conducted against predominantly black African villagers by Arab militiamen in the province of Darfur. 


Mr Hilal, 43, a tall man who has three wives and 13 children and leads a tribe of more than 200,000 people, denies the accusation. He was not an "agent" of the government, he said, but acknowledged allegations that the Khartoum government was using the camel and horse-riding Arab militia to suppress the rebellion. 


"I am one of the tribal leaders responsible for collecting people for military service for the country," he said, claiming that he organised his followers to defend themselves against Darfurian rebels. 


"I was appointed by the government to organise people to defend their lands but legally, not illegally. They were defending themselves against the mutineers." 


Read full story: https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2004/08/janjaweed-leader-moussa-hilal.html

________________________

Report from AlJazeera.com

By Mat Nashed


Dated 3 May 2023 - full copy:


Could an old tribal foe undercut Sudan’s Hemedti?


The RSF could be more vulnerable in its stronghold in Darfur, where a rival foe is challenging Hemedti.

PHOTO: Musa Hilal (centre right) celebrates with former President Omar al-Bashir (centre left) at the wedding of the former's daughter [File: Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/Reuters]


After two weeks of armed conflict, Sudan’s feared paramilitary leader, Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, has fought the army to a deadlock in the capital of Khartoum.


But his Rapid Support Forces could be more vulnerable in their stronghold in Darfur, where a rival has challenged Hemedti for tribal supremacy, analysts and residents told Al Jazeera.


Enter Musa Hilal, a respected tribal chief from the same Arab Rizeigat tribe that Hemedti hails.


Back in 2003, Hilal fought on behalf of the government against mostly non-Arab armed groups, who were rebelling against what they said was the state’s neglect and exploitation of Darfur. According to Human Rights Watch, Hilal’s forces – the Popular Defence Forces, called “Janjaweed” by the rebels – were accused of committing summary executions and using rape as a weapon of war.


Between 2003 and 2009, about 300,000 people were killed in the armed conflict, as well as from disease and famine brought on by the war. But while Hilal was scorned worldwide, he was rewarded back home.


In 2005, Sudan’s former leader, Omar al-Bashir, put Hilal’s fighters under the army’s control and tasked them with protecting Sudan’s frontiers.


Three years later, al-Bashir appointed him as his special adviser and even awarded him a seat in parliament in 2010.


“The thing with these militia leaders is that they start off as proxies [for the central government] and then they end up having their own political ambitions,” said Hafiz Mohamad, a Sudanese researcher for Justice Africa, which advocates for human rights across the continent.


Despite Hilal’s ascension in Khartoum, he eventually returned to Darfur after growing frustrated at the government’s continuing neglect of the region.


The fallout prompted al-Bashir to turn to Hemedti – then a little-known trader and a former fighter – to command a new armed group called the RSF. One of Hemedti’s early tasks was arresting Hilal for refusing to disarm his forces.


Now, Hilal could look to settle scores by helping the army weaken the RSF.


“When Bashir created the RSF, he gave all sorts of resources to Hemedti. That’s really when this rivalry started. Hilal started a rebellion against the government and one of Hemedti’s first tasks was to contain him,” Mohamad said.


Mobilising forces?


In March 2021, Hilal was pardoned after spending six months in prison, before Hemedti and army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan – the two generals now fighting each other – upended the country’s democratic transition through a coup in October 2021.


Hilal has kept a low profile since his release, yet some analysts believed that the army has been trying to co-opt him – and fighters from his tribe – to undercut Hemedti.


“Hilal has been under Military Intelligence protection since his re-emergence,” one expert, who did not wish to disclose his name for fear of losing important sources and access to Sudan, told Al Jazeera.


Signs of a warm relationship between Hilal and the military have been reported. In June 2022, Hilal and his Revolutionary Awakening Council participated in peace talks with a number of other armed groups from Darfur, according to the latest United Nations Panel of Experts report on Darfur.


Sudan’s army sent the head of military intelligence, Major General Mohamed Ahmed Sabir, to mediate talks between the factions under the auspices of Promediation, a French NGO that assists mediation efforts between state and non-state groups.


The discussion centred around the peaceful return of Sudanese mercenaries, many of whom are loyal to Hilal, from Libya.


Months later, in the lead-up to the war between the army and RSF, Arab activists in Darfur reported that the military was recruiting from their clan in order to form a new border force that could undercut Hemedti.


The military has not denied that it was recruiting from Darfur, yet it did refute that it was coveting fighters from a certain tribe or clan. However, Hilal’s role and whereabouts remain uncertain.


“Rizeigat leaders were warning against an ongoing campaign to recruit fighters. The mobilisation is ongoing, but where Hilal fits in is not clear,” said Suliman Baldo, the founder of the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker, a think tank covering political affairs in the country.


“The fact that all these [Rizeigat] tribal leaders were complaining about [recruitment], shows that it was an intense activity,” he added.


From strongmen to politicians


While Hilal and Hemedti are both from the Rizeigat, they are from two different clans within it.


The former is from the Mahamid and the latter from the Mahariya.


But, similar to Hilal, Hemedti evolved from being a militia fighter to having his own political ambitions.


The difference is that while Hilal maintains a loyal following in North Darfur, Hemedti has been able to cultivate relationships with regional backers, such as the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Eritrea.


Those powerful friends give Hemedti and the RSF an outsized advantage against any attempt by Hilal to fight him, said Anette Hoffman, an expert on Sudan for the Clingendael Institute, an independent Dutch think tank.


“If there were no foreign players involved, Hilal would be able to mobilise through his tribal links, including whatever links he has in Chad,” she told Al Jazeera. “But with such powerful backers, Hilal just doesn’t compare any more to Hemedti.”


Despite Hilal’s disadvantages, Hoffman expected him to still try and mobilise fighters, which could make the fighting in Darfur significantly bloodier in the weeks and months to come.


“If we see Hemedti get killed at some point, then we could see a disintegration of the RSF and also of the Rizeigat as an ethnic group,” she said. “Hilal would then play a role that leads to more suffering and more fighting and access to arms. He would help to turn things uglier than they already are.”


For non-Arab communities in West Darfur, the scarier scenario is if Hilal and Hemedti put their differences aside in order to fight the army, said Zakaria Bedour, a local human rights monitor in the province.


She stressed that Mahamid militias and communities are already receiving support from the RSF in order to target non-Arabs in el-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur. The latest violence is due in part to a power vacuum in the region, prompting Arab militias to try and grab control over land and water resources.


The attacks have killed nearly 200 people, according to local doctors. Internally displaced camps sheltering non-Arab communities were also burned to the ground, while markets, hospitals and warehouses belonging to international relief organisations were looted.


“If [Hemedti and Hilal] get along, there will be consequences for the African tribes and the internally displaced people. [Hilal and Hemedti] remember the displaced people as being in opposition to them [in previous wars],” warned Zakaria.


“The consequence would make the [Arab] forces much bigger than the [armed non-Arab groups] in [West Darfur].”


Play Video - Duration 01 minutes 11 seconds

Video posted on social media documents destruction in Sudan


Play Video - Duration 01 minutes 13 seconds

Video shows destroyed Sudanese food market


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The journey out of Sudan


View original: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/3/could-an-old-tribal-foe-undercut-sudans-hemedti


[Ends]

Monday, February 24, 2020

Sudan to hand Bashir for trial by ICC - Sudan launches investigation into Darfur crimes and alert to Interpol

NOTE from Sudan Watch editor: Here below is a news report from the FT dated 11 February 2020 entitled 'Sudan to send al-Bashir for trial at The Hague'. The report says, quote "Sudan will send Omar al-Bashir, its former leader who was ousted in a coup last April, to The Hague to stand trial for genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur, according to a top Sudanese official".

Also copied below are some excerpts from an in-depth online BBC report dated 22 December 2019 entitled 'Darfur conflict: Sudan launches investigation into crimes'. The report states that Mr Bashir's former intelligence chief Mr Salah Gosh is among those under investigation, that there are four cases against Mr Gosh and that investigators have started a procedure to bring him back to Sudan by Interpol. The report goes on to say, quote "it is unclear whether Mohamed Hamdan "Hemeti" Dagolo is under investigation. A former Janjaweed militia leader in Darfur, he turned against Bashir as protests grew and was named vice-president of Sudan's Transitional Military Council (TMC) after Bashir was forced out".

Incidentally, ten years ago the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Mr Bashir on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Mr Bashir was one of 51 names recommended by the UN in 2005 for prosecution by the ICC for Darfur atrocities. Mr Gosh, reportedly currently residing in Egypt, is on the list.

Surprisingly, the current vice-president of Sudan's TMC, Gen Mohamed Hamdan "Hemeti" Dagolo, leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - unless previously known by another name - does not appear to be on the list. Perhaps because the list is dated 2005 and Hemeti's Darfur war crimes were not committed until several years later (or to be precise: subsequent to 2013 according to Eric Reeves' tweet dated 16 Feb 2020 [ https://twitter.com/sudanreeves/status/1229111767990562816 ] regarding Hemeti complaining about himself being marginalised (you can't make this stuff up) by the Hamdok government and calling for a code of conduct! 

The List of Top wanted Janjaweed leaders - Who's who on Darfur (Africa Confidential) published online in 2005 can be found under ‘Further Reading’ below. 
- - -

Copy of online news report from The Financial Times - www.ft.com
By DAVID PILLING in London 
Publication date: 11 February 2020
TitleSudan to send al-Bashir for trial at The Hague

Former leader could face charges for genocide and crimes against humanity
Photo: Omar al-Bashir was toppled in April last year after ruling Sudan for 30 years © Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty

Sudan will send Omar al-Bashir, its former leader who was ousted in a coup last April, to The Hague to stand trial for genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur, according to a top Sudanese official.

Without naming Mr Bashir specifically, Mohamed al-Hassan al-Taishi, a civilian member of Sudan’s joint military-civilian sovereign council, told a press conference on Tuesday that anyone facing an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court would face trial in The Hague. 

“We agreed that everyone who had arrest warrants issued against them will appear before the ICC. I’m saying it very clearly,” Mr al-Taishi said, according to multiple reports. 

Mr Bashir, who ruled Sudan for 30 years, was toppled last year after months of protests in which millions of ordinary Sudanese took to the streets demanding his resignation. His regime was accused of committing atrocities, including murder and rape, in Darfur, a region in the west of the country, during an uprising against Khartoum. 

Last July, the military agreed to share power with civilians as part of a 3½-year transition towards democratic elections. Mr Bashir is currently in prison in Khartoum. 

We hope he will be sent [to The Hague], said Michel Arditti, permanent secretary to Abdul Wahid al-Nour, leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement, a rebel group in Sudan that fought against Mr Bashir’s regime. 

Mr Arditti cautioned that some loyalists to Mr Bashir’s regime opposed extradition, although he said there were members of the sovereign council, including General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the chairman, and Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemeti, who might be willing to “trade him in”. 

Last week Mr Burhan took the unusual step of meeting Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, in Uganda while he is due to visit Washington for a meeting with Michael Pompeo, US secretary of state, this month. “This could be seen as painting a new picture of Sudan moving back into the international fold,” said Jonas Horner, a Sudan expert with the Crisis Group.

Mr Horner said giving up Mr Bashir could even be part of negotiations aimed at removing Khartoum from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, essential to get investments flowing back into a Sudanese economy that is on its knees.

Sudan’s new government is desperate to show that it can improve lives for those who rose up against Mr Bashir, but it has made slow progress. Sporadic protests have continued throughout the country and splits have emerged within the sovereign council.

The ICC has been pressing for the trial of Mr Bashir for war crimes following his conviction in a Sudanese court last December for minor crimes of money laundering.

The UN estimates that up to 400,000 people died in the conflict in Darfur and nearly 3m more were displaced, with militia formed by Mr Bashir blamed for the worst atrocities.

The ICC has a patchy record in prosecuting people for serious war crimes. Last year it sentenced Bosco Ntaganda, a Congolese former rebel leader, to 30 years in prison. Mr Arditti said it was not clear whether the ICC, which has not been able to send investigators to Sudan, had assembled a watertight case against Mr Bashir.

Calls made by the FT to the prime minister’s office in Khartoum went unanswered.

All Comments
Zoran 6 DAYS AGO
Let the people of Sudan fulfill their potential! 

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2020. All rights reserved.
- - -

Further Reading

Excerpts from BBC Africa online news report - www.bbc.co.uk
Publication date: 22 December 2019
Title: Darfur conflict: Sudan launches investigation into crimes
Image copyright REUTERS
Image caption Ex-ruler Bashir already faces a range of other charges

“Sudan has launched an investigation into crimes committed in the Darfur region under former President Omar al-Bashir, the state prosecutor [Tagelsir al-Heber] says. A trial could take place outside the country, Tagelsir al-Heber said. Ten years ago the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Bashir on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. […] 

Mr Heber said the Darfur investigation was focusing on "cases against former regime leaders". He did not give names, but said no-one would be excluded from the investigation. All crimes committed during the Darfur conflict would be looked at, he said - including numerous incidents of murder and rape. If necessary, the trial could take place abroad, Mr Heber said, raising the prospect that Bashir could be transferred to the ICC in The Hague. […]

Bashir's feared former intelligence chief Salah Gosh is also being investigated, Mr Heber said. The head of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) quit in April two days after the Bashir was ousted and left the country. "There four cases against Salah Gosh and we started a procedure to bring him [back to Sudan] by Interpol," he said.

It is unclear whether Mohamed Hamdan "Hemeti" Dagolo is under investigation. A former Janjaweed militia leader in Darfur, he turned against Bashir as protests grew and was named vice-president of Sudan's Transitional Military Council (TMC) after Bashir was forced out.

- - -

Article from Sudan Watch archive dated 21 February 2006
Title: List of top wanted Janjaweed leaders - Who's who on Darfur (African Confidential)

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

ICC: Hilal knows truth about Hemeti & Darfur war (Part 2)

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor:  The following article by Radio Dabanga dated 27 Nov 2017 features the Nov 2017 arrest of Sheikh Musa Hilal in North Darfur by Hemeti’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Coloured highlighting is mine.

See the second photo: a captive’s shoulder appears to be newly bruised, his shirt is being roughly pulled, he looks dazed and exhausted, the arm of a lowlife RSF thug seems to be raised in a violent manner.  

The eyes of the captives look strange, like they have been through hell. Surely they feel shocked, devastated, humiliated and ruthlessly betrayed by Messrs Bashir and Hemeti. 

Hemeti inveigled himself into Bashir's life who treated Hemeti like the son he never had. Bashir felt protected by Hemeti. Together, Bashir and Hemeti protected themselves. 

The arrest took place during the Bashir era. Hemeti ordered the RSF to bring Musa Hilal to Khartoum "dead or alive". Musa Hilal sought peace for Darfur, had the skills and gold to do so, posing a threat to Bashir's regime and Hemeti's lust for power in Darfur and its gold.

Musa Hilal is a warrior, for 16 years he has known the truth about his former underling Hemeti, the RSF and Janjaweed, what went on in Darfur and Khartoum, and the policing of vast areas far away from Khartoum. 

Musa Hilal’s daughter is married to Chad’s president Idriss Deby. Hemeti hires men from Chad for his RSF. 
Musa Hilal and his relatives and affiliates have been locked up in Omdurman prison for almost two years.  Have they been given a fair trial? Who is checking that they are being properly treated and cared for?

Could the UN/International Criminal Court (ICC) arrange to transport Musa Hilal and his relatives and affiliates to the safety of the ICC in The Hague where the truth could be told to help bring peace to Sudan?

Musa Hilal and his relatives and affiliates must be kept safe, treated respectfully and taken good care of now and in the future as they could help bring peace to Darfur and Sudan - and, in turn, South Sudan.

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.

Sudan: Musa Hilal faces court martial in Khartoum (Part 1)

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: A few minutes ago (12 noon in England, UK) I completed drafting six blog posts featuring Sheikh Musa Hilal of North Darfur, Sudan.

Radio Dabanga in The Netherlands is doing such a fine job of reporting that I have re-printed, here below, their article on Musa Hilal published today [10 Sep], re-titled it "Part 1" and, as a matter of urgency, I have followed it by jumping to my blog post titled "Part 6" and re-titled it "Part 2" in order to bring it forward for publishing today. The other parts, and more, will follow this week. Yellow highlighting is mine.

In my view, this news is important and urgent. Musa Hilal and his relatives and affiliates must be protected as soon as possible, kept safe and taken good care of, now and in the future, as they could help bring peace to Darfur and Sudan, and South Sudan. God bless the Sudanese people and the peace makers. 

Article from Radio Dabanga.org
Dated 10 September 2019 - KHARTOUM / MISTERIYA
Former Darfur janjaweed leader Hilal faces court martial in Sudan capital
Photo:  A bewildered Musa Hilal arrives in Khartoum after his arrest in Darfur in 2017 (RD)

A military court in Khartoum resumed proceedings on Tuesday [10 Sep 2019] to try former janjaweed leader Musa Hilal, who was detained two years ago, along with hundreds of his supporters.

The Revolutionary Awakening Council (RAC) which was founded by Hilal, said in a statement on Monday [09 Sep 2019] that the Council was surprised to hear that morning that their leader and his detained followers were summoned to appear before the military court without warning.


The RAC statement questions how it is possible that a court martial will try Hilal and his comrades while they were detained during the regime of ousted President El Bashir.

“Opens the door to ask whether the regime has fallen entirely or not. 

The regime that was overthrown by a popular uprising and brought a new system representing the goals of the revolution, freedom, peace, and justice.” The statement says.

The statement also asks why Hilal and his companions remain in prisons and detention cells until now, after the overthrow of the Al Bashir regime.

The RAC rejected any kind of trials (military or civilian) for political prisoners.

RAC: “Stop this absurdity”
In his statement, the RAC called for their immediate and immediate release, and called on the government of Sudan, represented by the Sovereign Council, Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, to intervene immediately to “stop this absurdity to preserve the law and the achievements of our glorious revolution”.

In May 2018, the Darfur Bar Association criticised the military trial of Hilal, “which is being conducted without taking into account the principles of a public trial”. According to the Darfur lawyers at the time (prior to regime change), Hilal’s “trial is a violation of the fair trial standards enshrined in the Sudanese Constitution and the law, which is casting doubts on its fairness and integrity, regardless of the acts attributed to Musa Hilal and his affiliates”.

Hilal should immediately be transferred to a criminal court. “This would constitute the only guarantee for correcting the violated legal procedures,” the statement read.

Families
The families of the detainees, most of them belonging to the Mahameed clan, of which Hilal is the leader, have reiterated their demand for their immediate and unconditional release.

The statement of the families of the detainees refused any trial of these detainees, whether civil or military courts, and demanded in return the Prime Minister Hamdouk’s immediate intervention and the issuance of a decision to release all political detainees.

After the deposal of President Al Bashir and the release of a number of political detainees, mainly fighters of armed movements, relatives and followers of Musa Hilal have publicly called for his and his men’s release more than once.
Supporters of Hilal organised a large demonstration in Misteriya in North Darfur last week, demanding his release.

On August 27, 10 of Hilal’s imprisoned affiliates entered into a hunger strike to protest their continued detention in a military prison in Omdurman. According to the spokesman for Hilal’s Revolutionary Awakening Council, “they have been subjected to systematic ill-treatment by the prison authorities and deprived of their most basic rights such as medical treatment and to meet their relatives through visits”.

In a statement, the organisers of the demonstration demanded from the newly established Sovereign Council and Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdouk to intervene, and release all political prisoners in the country “as soon as possible, without any conditions”.

“The failure to release all political detainees is a conspiracy in order to isolate them politically, and exclude them from the ongoing political process,” the statement reads.

The demonstrators appealed to the Forces for Freedom and Change and other political and civil forces to pressure the authorities to release all “political prisoners and prisoners of war”.

The statement also demanded the representatives of the revolution do their part towards their comrades in the struggle who are part of the charter of freedom and change and are still in prison remnants of the former regime.

Janjaweed
Hilal was arrested in a raid on his stronghold in Misteriya, North Darfur, in November 2017. His sons, brothers, and entourage, were detained as well. Hilal, who refused to operate with the government’s disarmament campaign, was transferred to Khartoum. His trial secretly began on April 30.

Hilal is held responsible for the atrocities committed in Darfur against civilians after the conflict erupted in 2003. In that year, he was released from prison by the Sudanese government with the purpose to mobilise Darfuri Arab herders to fight the insurgency in the region.

With full government backing, Hilal's janjaweed targeted villages of African Darfuris. They rarely came near forces of the armed rebel movements.

In 2008, Hilal was appointed as Presidential Assistant for Federal Affairs. In January 2014, he announced his defection from the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), and established the RAC.

The Council consists of Hilal’s militiamen and a number of North Darfur native administration leaders. RAC commanders took control of the Jebel Amer gold mining area in El Sareif Beni Hussein locality in July 2015. According to a UN Security Council report in April 2016, Hilal and his entourage were profiting from vast gold sales in Darfur.

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Monday, September 09, 2019

Sudan: Hilal's N. Darfur supporters call for his release

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor:  The International Red Cross ought to visit Musa Hilal and other detainees in Omdurman prison in Sudan to check on their welfare and ensure that they are receiving adequate care and that their human rights are respected and adhered to regardless of their crimes. 

Article from and by Radio Dabanga.org
Dated Monday 02 September 2019 - MISTERIYA
North Darfur supporters of Musa Hilal continue to call for his release
Musa Hilal's sons, arrested in North Darfur, arrive in Khartoum, Novermber 17, 2017 (RD)

Supporters of former Janjaweed leader Musa Hilal, being held in an Omdurman prison for almost two years, organised a large demonstration in Misteriya in North Darfur on Sunday, demanding his release.

In a statement, the organisers of the demonstration demanded from the newly established Sovereign Council and Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdouk to intervene, and release all political prisoners in the country “as soon as possible, without any conditions”.

“The failure to release all political detainees is a conspiracy in order to isolate them politically, and exclude them from the ongoing political process,” the statement reads.

The demonstrators appealed to the Forces for Freedom and Change and other political and civil forces to pressure the authorities to release all “political prisoners and prisoners of war”.

Hilal was detained, along with his sons and hundreds of his militiamen, by members of the Rapid Support Forces, in November 26, 2017, when they refused to hand their weapons during a large disarmament campaign in Darfur.

RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemeti’ said at the time that Hilal and his supporters were “involved in a plot against Sudan which has external dimensions”.

After the deposal of President Al Bashir and the release of a number of political detainees, mainly fighters of armed movements, relatives and followers of Musa Hilal have publicly called for his and his men’s release more than once.

On August 27, ten of Hilal’s imprisoned affiliates entered into a hunger strike to protest their continued detention in a military prison in Omdurman. According to the spokesman for Hilal’s Revolutionary Awakening Council, “they have been subjected to systematic ill-treatment by the prison authorities and deprived of their most basic rights such as medical treatment and to meet their relatives through visits”.