Showing posts with label Terrorism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Terrorism. Show all posts

Monday, December 25, 2023

Panic grips Sudan as terrorists move toward south. Civilians flee Sudan register at UNHC in Renk S.Sudan

In Tambul, halfway between Khartoum and Wad Madani, witnesses said RSF members rampaged through one of the state's main markets, shooting into the air at random. And many who tried to flee the onslaught were unable to. Activists, who risk their lives to document the horrors, said the RSF had set up checkpoints across the state, stopping civilians as they tried to flee and ordering them to turn back. Read more.


Report from Daily Sabah
By Agence France-Presse - AFP
Al-Jazira State, Sudan
Dated Monday, 25 December 2023 5:54 PM GMT+3 - here is a copy in full:

Panic grips war-hit Sudan as paramilitaries move toward south

Civilians fleeing conflict in Sudan wait for asylum registration procedures at the U.N. High Commissioner, in Renk, South Sudan, Dec. 18, 2023. 
(AFP Photo)

The war-hit Sudan has plunged into a state of panic as reports emerged that the country's notorious paramilitary forces were moving south in their war against the army.


On a countryside road in battle-ravaged Sudan, the hum of a passing vehicle turns villagers' blood cold, fearing their arrival.


"They've created a state of total panic," said Rabab, who lives in a village north of Wad Madani, the Al-Jazira state capital and the latest site of fierce battles between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).


Like others AFP spoke to, she requested to be identified by first name only out of fear of retaliation from fighters who have consistently targeted civilians during more than eight months of war.


On Saturday at least eight people were killed by RSF fighters in a village in Al-Jazira state, witnesses told AFP, saying they had been shot after trying to stop their looting.


Just south of Khartoum, more than half a million people had sought shelter in Al-Jazira after the fighting overwhelmed the Sudanese capital.


This month, however, paramilitaries pressed deeper into the state and shattered one of the country's few remaining sanctuaries, forcing more than 300,000 people to flee once again, the United Nations said.


Those who remain – unable or unwilling to leave – have found themselves in what the Red Cross has called "another death trap."


Since April 15, Sudan has been gripped by a war pitting army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.


By the end of November, at least 12,190 people had been killed in the fighting, according to a conservative estimate from the Armed Conflict and Location Event Data project.


The United Nations says more than 7 million people have been displaced by the war. At least 85,000 had sought refuge in Wad Madani.


In the village of Aykura, 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of Wad Madani, one resident told AFP by phone that "the RSF has taken everything – the cars, the trucks, the tractors."


He, too, stressed the need for anonymity to protect him from paramilitary violence.


'At war with us?'


Before the war, Al-Jazira was a key agricultural hub.


However, as the RSF has moved southwards from Khartoum it has taken over swathes of agricultural land and terrorised the farmers that till it.


By Saturday, RSF fighters were seen north of Sennar, about 140 kilometers south of Wad Madani, according to witnesses.


The RSF has become notorious for looting property, with civilians who fled watching in horror as fighters posted videos of themselves on social media taking joyrides in stolen cars and vandalizing homes.


In the market of Hasaheisa, a town 50 kilometers north of Wad Madani, an AFP correspondent saw shop doors flung open with the merchandise looters had not wanted strewn on the ground.


Omar Hussein, 42, stood in the wreckage of his family business.


Every store and vehicle they owned was destroyed. "Is the RSF at war with the army or with us?" he said.


On Saturday, fellow Hasaheisa resident Abdin found "seven men in RSF uniform carrying machine guns" at his door.


They questioned him about the car in his driveway, "and took it at gunpoint."


When Rabab was robbed, she did not receive the courtesy of a knock.


"They fired their guns in front of the house, stormed in and left no room unsearched," she said.


Free rein


Home invasions have been a hallmark of RSF takeovers – as have sexual assaults.


According to Sudan's Combating Violence Against Women Unit, most sexual violence occurs "inside homes, when gunmen – whom survivors describe as wearing RSF uniforms – break in and assault women and girls."


Both the RSF and the army have been accused of a range of systematic violations including indiscriminate shelling of residential neighborhoods, arbitrary detention of civilians and torture.


In Tambul, halfway between Khartoum and Wad Madani, witnesses said RSF members rampaged through one of the state's main markets, shooting into the air at random.


And many who tried to flee the onslaught were unable to.


Activists, who risk their lives to document the horrors, said the RSF had set up checkpoints across the state, stopping civilians as they tried to flee and ordering them to turn back.


Three days into the RSF's assault on Wad Madani, the army said it opened an investigation into "the retreat of forces from their positions" in the city.


Burhan warned every "negligent and complacent person" would be held to account after the RSF – accused of committing atrocities in the Darfur war where it fought on behalf of the army – had free rein.


View original: https://www.dailysabah.com/world/africa/panic-grips-war-hit-sudan-as-paramilitaries-move-toward-south


ENDS

Saturday, August 12, 2023

Sudan: Facebook removed RSF and leader's Hemeti's account. Next @X @elonmusk @instagram please?

WONDERING why Sudan's RSF is not classed as a terrorist organisation. It's all over the place, terrorising, attacking, killing, raping unarmed civilians and children, torturing and executing PoWs, fighting and killing government forces in order to take over Sudan's military, government, land and riches.

Here is a copy of a tweet by Cameron Hudson (@_hudsonc) 4:17 PM Aug 11, 2023 regarding Facebook removing the RSF's and Hemeti's account. It says, Alhamdulillah. Now @X @elonmusk @instagram https://t.co/Bc2RAH9hqI

Saturday, May 27, 2023

NEW COLD WAR? Africa must not become ‘geostrategic battleground’ warns AU leaders

Report at TheAfricaReport.com

By AFP (Agence France-Presse)

Dated Friday 26 May 2023; 09:24 - full copy:


NEW COLD WAR?

Africa must not become ‘geostrategic battleground’ warns AU

Moussa Faki Mahamat (1st L), Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) looks at a photo exhibition during the 60th anniversary of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), now African Union (AU), at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa on May 25, 2023. (Photo by Amanuel Sileshi / AFP)


Africa must not become a “geostrategic battleground” for global powers, as it grapples with several threats to its own peace and security, African Union leaders warn.


The continent of 1.3 billion people has found itself at the centre of a tussle for influence among the major powers, which has redoubled since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine 15 months ago.


And just as the AU marked the anniversary of the creation of its forerunner, the Organisation of African Unity, on this day in 1963, Ukraine itself announced it wanted to boost ties with Africa.


“In this international context of confrontation of divergent political interests, the will of each side threatens to transform Africa into a geostrategic battleground, thereby creating a new Cold War,” AU Commission chair Moussa Faki Mahamat said.


“In this zero-sum game, where the gains of others would translate into losses for Africa, we must resist all forms of instrumentalisation of our member states,” he added in an address at AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.


Moscow is seeking deeper political, economic and military ties in Africa as well as Asia as Russia becomes increasingly isolated on the international stage over the conflict in Ukraine.


‘Capacity for resilience’


Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who is currently on a tour of Africa, on Wednesday urged certain African nations to end their “neutrality” over the war.


In February, 22 AU member states abstained or did not vote on a UN General Assembly resolution that called for Russia withdraw from Ukraine.


Two of them – Eritrea and Mali – voted against the resolution.


And in a statement to mark the pan-African body’s anniversary, Kuleba also announced a Ukrainian diplomatic push on the continent.


“We want to develop a new quality of partnership based on three mutual principles: mutual respect, mutual interests, and mutual benefits,” he said, announcing plans to establish new embassies in Africa and hold a Ukraine-Africa summit.


In this zero-sum game, where the gains of others would translate into losses for Africa, we must resist all forms of instrumentalisation of our member states.


Moscow itself has scheduled a Russia-Africa summit in July, following a trip to several African countries at the start of the year by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.


China and the US have also despatched their foreign ministers to the continent in rival diplomatic offensives this year.


Beijing has funded major infrastructure development in Africa but denies Western charges it is practising “debt-trap diplomacy”, while Russia is a key arms exporter and is making forays through mining projects, analysts say.


‘Conflicts and terrorism persist’


Faki meanwhile also hailed the successes of the 54-nation AU which succeeded the OAU in 2002: “Independence and victory against apartheid, that of significant economic and scientific progress, sports, arts, the growing international role of Africa and so on.”


However, he also acknowledged “negative factors such as democratic decline through unconstitutional changes of government, with their litany of oppression and gagging of freedoms, insecurity, the spread of terrorism, violent extremism, the uncontrolled circulation of arms, the harmful effects of climate change”.


Despite the difficulties, Faki said, Africa remains “characterised by its greater capacity for resilience”, pointing for example to its response to the Covid-19 pandemic.


The current head of the African Union, Comoros President Azali Assoumani also denounced “the unconstitutional changes of power” which have multiplied in Africa in recent years.


“Inter and intra-African conflicts but also terrorism persists and consequently the peace, security, democracy and development of our continent are threatened in several of our countries,” he said.


Assoumani spoke of the conflict between rival generals in Sudan which erupted in mid-April and has persisted despite several truce agreements.


“We must convince our brothers in Sudan to favour dialogue so that the fratricidal war raging in this country ends,” he added.


View original: https://www.theafricareport.com/310874/africa-must-not-become-geostrategic-battleground-warns-au/


[Ends]

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Britain to blacklist Russia Wagner group as terrorists - Mercenaries given same status as Isis and al-Qaeda

Britain is poised to formally proscribe the Wagner group of mercenaries as a terrorist organisation to increase pressure on Russia

Proscription would make it a criminal offence to belong to Wagner, attend its meetings, encourage support for it or carry its logo in public, putting it on the same footing as groups such as Islamic State and al-Qaeda


It would also impose financial sanctions, which would be significant because the group and all its members would be barred from using UK courts to silence journalists and campaigners. Officials said it would have implications for Wagner’s ability to raise money if any funds went through British financial institutions


More recently, there have been fears the group could try to expand its presence in Sudan as the country slides towards civil war


Read more from The Times

By Steven Swinford, Political Editor 

Matt Dathan, Home Affairs Editor

George Grylls, Defence Reporter

Dated Wednesday May 10 2023, 12.01am - full copy:


Britain to blacklist Russia’s Wagner group as terrorists


Mercenaries will be given same status as Isis and al-Qaeda


Britain is poised to formally proscribe the Wagner group of mercenaries as a terrorist organisation to increase pressure on Russia.


The group has played a central role in President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and is leading attempts to take the eastern town of Bakhmut, which has become a focus of the war for both sides.


A government source said that, after two months of building a legal case, proscription of the group was “imminent” and likely to be enacted within weeks.


Proscription would make it a criminal offence to belong to Wagner, attend its meetings, encourage support for it or carry its logo in public, putting it on the same footing as groups such as Islamic State and al-Qaeda.


It would also impose financial sanctions, which would be significant because the group and all its members would be barred from using UK courts to silence journalists and campaigners. Officials said it would have implications for Wagner’s ability to raise money if any funds went through British financial institutions.


Meanwhile, Putin launched a fresh tirade against the West during a scaled-back Victory Day parade in Moscow to commemorate the end of the Second World War. He accused the West of “unleashing war against Russia” and said supporters of Ukraine included “neo-Nazi scum”.


There were signs, however, of the toll the Ukraine war had taken on the Russian army. In Moscow just one tank took part in the parade on Red Square — a Second World War-era Soviet T-34 — and planned celebrations in at least 21 Russian cities were cancelled.


Wagner, often referred to as a private military company, is a group of mercenaries accused of human rights abuses that came to international attention after the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014. It is led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, an ex-convict and former hotdog seller known as “Putin’s chef”.


Prigozhin, 61, was able to use British courts to bring a libel case against Eliot Higgins, a British journalist, after revelations by his website Bellingcat about the group’s shadowy operations. The case collapsed in March last year after the outbreak of war in Ukraine and personal sanctions imposed on Prigozhin, but government sources said it was an example of how proscription could help to prevent Wagner’s influence and operations in the UK.


For many years Wagner was closely linked with the Kremlin but the invasion of Ukraine has led to strains in the relationship between Prigozhin and Putin. In an expletive-strewn outburst last week, Prigozhin said “scumbag” Russian generals were responsible for the deaths of Wagner fighters as he accused them of depriving them of ammunition in the nine-month battle for Bakhmut.


The Bakhmut offensive has cost Moscow thousands of casualties. Wagner, which is using prisoners to fight alongside its professional recruits, has sustained many of the losses.


As well as the war in Ukraine, the group has been involved in numerous conflicts across Africa and the Middle East — fighting for control of goldmines in the Central African Republic and helping to prop up President Assad’s regime in Syria. More recently, there have been fears the group could try to expand its presence in Sudan as the country slides towards civil war.


There has not been evidence that Wagner or individuals linked to it are operating in the UK since the war in Ukraine started and proscription is largely seen as a symbolic move. However, a government source said there had been “suspicions” that the group had helped launder money out of the UK along with organised crime groups after financial sanctions were imposed against Russian oligarchs and Putin allies in the wake of the war.


In order to proscribe the group, the Home Office would need to build a case for why the legal step was required, which could include references to classified intelligence.


Some Whitehall sources expressed cynicism over the move, given the lack of involvement of Wagner in the UK. One source said: “I don’t suppose anyone walks around London saying ‘I’m a member of the Wagner Group’. This sounds more like someone in government itching to find something else to punish Putin with.”


David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, said: “It is only right that the government appears to be finally listening to Labour’s calls for its proscription as a terrorist organisation.”


IMAGE 

GRAPH MAP


PHOTO

Wagner is still recruiting heavily in Russia

MAXIM SHIPENKOV/EPA


PHOTO

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group, has accused Russian generals of causing the deaths of his fighters in Bakhmut through ammunition shortages

AFP/GETTY IMAGES


View original: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/government-russian-wagner-group-africa-putin-war-2023-rtfjcwjxb


Thursday, August 05, 2010

JEM threaten to take Darfur and Kordofan for themselves - Sudan, Libya agree to restrict JEM leader's activities

BAD news from AFP and Sudan Tribune: JEM terrorists threaten to take Darfur and Kordofan for themselves. Good news from Xinhua News Agency: Sudan, Libya agree to restrict JEM leader's activities. See three reports below.

Report by Xinhua News Agency (via iStockAnalyst.com)
Thursday, 05 August 2010 at 1:06 PM - excerpt:
Sudan, Libya agree to restrict JEM leader's activities
KHARTOUM, Aug. 5, 2010 (Xinhua News Agency) -- Sudan and Libya have agreed to restrict Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) leader's activities in Libya and to prevent him from launching any hostile activity against Sudan, a Sudanese official said Thursday.

"Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's visit to Libya has achieved good results. We have agreed with the Libyan side that Khalil Ibrahim (who is now residing in Libya) is not to launch any hostile activity against Sudan from inside the Libyan territories, " Sudanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Hassan Ali told reporters at Khartoum airport on Thursday.

"Khalil Ibrahim should join the peace process in Doha. If he insisted on his rejective stance on negotiations, he will isolate himself," said Ali.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Thursday returned to Khartoum after a two-day visit to Libya, during which he held talks with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on issues of joint border, the presence of JEM leader in Libya and South Sudan referendum.

The Sudanese state minister further said al-Bashir has acquainted his Libyan counterpart with the developments of the Darfur situation and the government's new regional strategy.

He added that the Sudanese president also called on Libya to play an active role in Sudan's unity and the Darfur issue.

Sudan on early July closed its border with Libya, saying the traffic on the joint border exposes the passengers to threats of rebels who commit banditry or impose illegal fees on the passengers.

Khartoum denied that the move was taken in response to the presence of JEM leader in Libya.

Gaddafi in July asked Khalil Ibrahim to join the peace negotiations in Doha, saying Libya has informed Khalil not to do any thing that might cripple the peace talks.
- - -

JEM TERRORISTS THREATEN TO TAKE DARFUR AND KORDOFAN FOR THEMSELVES

Report by AFP (via www.africasia.com)
Wednesday, 04 August 2010 - excerpt:
Darfur JEM to demand self-rule if conflict goes on
Darfur's most active rebel group said on Wednesday it would demand self-determination for the devastated Sudanese region if conflict with the government continues, a spokesman told AFP.

Justice and Equality Movement spokesman Ahmed Hussein Adam said the group, which withdrew from peace talks with Khartoum in May after renewed clashes with the military, said self determination would be at the "centre of our demands."

"If there is no political horizon, if the genocide continue, if the government keep denying human rights, democracy and rule of law then we will have no other choice than to ask for self-determination for Darfur and Kordofan," he said.

"Self-determination means either unity on a new basis or independence," he added without detailing what he meant by the first option.

Darfur was an independent sultanate from the 17th century until 1916. [,,,]

Khartoum is demanding the arrest of its leader Khalil Ibrahim, who is in Libya, where Bashir began a two-day visit on Wednesday.
- - -

Report by Sudan Tribune
Wednesday, 04 August 2010:
Self-determination emerging as an option for Darfur: JEM
August 3, 2010 (WASHINGTON) - The people of Darfur will soon be left with no option but to demand the right of self-determination in a manner similar to Southern Sudan, a senior Darfuri rebel official said today.

Early next year, the citizens of Southern Sudan are scheduled to decide whether they want to remain part of a united country or form their own state. This was stipulated by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed between the Arab-Muslim dominated North and the largely Christian and animist South.

"Our people need hope, they have the right to live under state of citizenship, freedom, democracy, equality and rule of law. We cannot accept this indefinite state of status-quo," said Ahmed Hussein who is the official spokesperson of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

"There is an ongoing genocide in Darfur which is entering a new phase. The [Khartoum] regime is working towards having a forcible return by dismantling the IDPs camps, using food as weapon, expelling and intimidating aid groups through abduction, assassinating IDP leaders, assaulting peacekeepers," Hussein added.

The JEM official emphasized that the Sudanese government is deploying these tactics "to liquidate the cause of our people" adding that the shift of international focus from Darfur to South Sudan encouraged Khartoum to execute this plan.

"Under these circumstances, JEM will be left with no other choice than to call for self-determination for Darfur as well as Kordofan. We must remember that Darfur was an independent Sultanate until 1916, exercising sovereignty and conducting its own foreign relations," Hussein said.

This is the first time JEM, considered to be the Darfur’s most powerful rebel group, makes such a call for self-determination. The Sudanese government has flatly rejected this demand saying this not even a topic for negotiations.

Last year, Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) led by Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur who resides in exile in France, issued a statement demanding the right of self determination though it was later downplayed by its leader.

The development might be a cause of concern to Arab and African nations which see the breakup of Sudan as a major threat to stability and peace in the region already in a fragile and unpredictable state.

Hussein referred to the recent advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Kosovo saying that it sets a legal precedent in other parts of the world including Darfur.

"People around the world are now allowed to decide on their destiny and future to preserve their dignity and humanity," he said.

Many critics in Sudan blame the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) for encouraging secessionist sentiments in the country through marginalizing non-Arab ethnicities and holding strongly to the core of wealth and power. Others say that the ruling party has played ’divide and conquer’ among tribes in Darfur and the South to weaken these regions and remain in control.

In Darfur for example, some experts and politicians accuse the government of allowing Arab tribes from West African nations to come and settle in Darfur creating new conflict over lands and complicating existing ones.

The JEM spokesperson chided the UN Security Council UNSC for staying mute on the events that took place in IDP camps.

"The world is silent even as the government attacks the IDP camps. In Kalma they are passing weapons from the Eastern side of the camp through the security and intelligence agents. This is a war crime and the UNSC must take up its responsibility and intervene to stop this and further support the International Criminal Court to investigate the events that occurred last week," he added.

A crisis erupted after deadly fighting last week swept the Kalma and Zalingi refugee camps — strongholds of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) led by Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur who resides in exile in France.

Up to 11 people were killed in the fighting reportedly between supporters of Nur’s SLM and those who are supporters of the peace process currently underway in Doha between Khartoum and a rebel umbrella, Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM).

SLM-Nur claimed that the government manipulated a handful of people in the camps to fly to Doha as IDP representatives and then enter the camp along with weapons and ammunition sparking the clashes.

The Sudanese government wants the African Union - United Nations peacekeepers to hand over six people it accuses of inciting the violence.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has indicted Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes and genocide in Darfur, where mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in 2003 accusing Khartoum of neglecting the region.

Peace talks on Darfur are underway in the Arab Gulf state of Qatar between Khartoum and LJM but observers say that the absence of JEM and SLM-Nur from the negotiations mean that any peace accord signed will not bring peace to the restive region.

JEM has suspended participation in the talks despite a promising start which led to signing of a framework agreement earlier this year. The movement accused the government of breaching the temporary ceasefire agreement and attacking its positions. (ST)
- - -

Quotes of the Day
"Are you one of the group’s members who like to get credit for what you haven’t toiled for? I conclude with the quotation from Indira Gandhi of India that “My grandfather once told me there are two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group because there was less competition there.” -Paul Ongee, 4 August 2010 (in a comment posted at Sudan Tribune report "Self-determination emerging as an option for Darfur: JEM")

"Dr. John [Garang] once said: Sudan will disintegrate into West; East; North and the South as a result of historical and contemporary political and economic marginalization of vast Country side by a small clique in khartoum. As soon as the South goes, Darfur and the east are likely to follow unless otherwise." -Atungdiak, 04 August 2010 (in a comment posted at Sudan Tribune report "Self-determination emerging as an option for Darfur: JEM")
- - -

UPDATE - Thursday, 05 August 2010:
Excerpts from a report by Reuters (KHARTOUM) 05 August 2010:
Bashir returns to Sudan with Libyan promises
... Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir returned to Khartoum on Thursday after a two-day visit to Libya, saying he had secured Libyan guarantees to curb any Darfur rebel attacks.

"The two sides agreed that Khalil would not launch any attacks against Sudan from Libyan territories," State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Hassan Ali told reporters at Khartoum airport on Bashir's return.

Ali who had travelled with Bashir in a high-level delegation to Libya also said Ibrahim now had no option but to return to peace talks in Doha.

JEM says Ibrahim is not under restrictions in Libya and no longer has any desire to return to Darfur. ...

U.S. gov't cites Sudan as state sponsor of terror - 10,999 terrorist attacks worldwide in 2009 claimed 14,971 lives

A new U.S. government report “Country Reports on Terrorism 2009,” released today, tracked the 10,999 terrorist attacks worldwide last year that claimed 14,971 lives. This reflected the lowest number in five years, down from a high of 14,443 attacks in 2006 that left 22,736 people dead.

The report identified Iran, Syria, Sudan and Cuba as state sponsors of terrorism, calling Iran the most active of the four.

Source: Report from United States Department of Defense
By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service - excerpt:
State Department: Al-Qaida Still Top U.S. Terror Threat
WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2010 – Transnational terrorism poses the United States’ gravest security threat, with al-Qaida’s core in Pakistan remaining the most-formidable terrorist organization targeting the U.S. homeland, according to a new State Department report covering worldwide terrorist activity during 2009.

“Country Reports on Terrorism 2009,” released today, notes al-Qaida’s continued adaptability and resilience and concludes that its desire to attack the United States and its interests abroad “remains strong.”

Citing U.S. intelligence community assessments, the report concludes that al-Qaida actively plotted against the United States and continued recruiting, training and deploying operatives, including some from Western Europe and North America, during the reporting period. It also recognizes al-Qaida’s efforts to expand its operational capabilities by partnering with other terrorist groups, with varying degrees of success.

These developments came despite al-Qaida setbacks during 2009. The report cites a Pakistani military offensive aimed at eliminating military strongholds, the loss of many top leaders and conditions that have made it more difficult for al-Qaida to raise money, train recruits and plan attacks.

Daniel Benjamin, the department’s counterterrorism coordinator, said al-Qaida’s attacks on Muslims have hurt its standing in the Muslim world. The latest annual State Department report aims to enhance understanding of the international terrorist threat and help to shape efforts to confront it, he explained.

The report tracked the 10,999 terrorist attacks worldwide last year that claimed 14,971 lives. This reflected the lowest number in five years, down from a high of 14,443 attacks in 2006 that left 22,736 people dead.

The report identified Iran, Syria, Sudan and Cuba as state sponsors of terrorism. Calling Iran the most active of the four, the report said its support for extremists in the region “had a direct impact on international efforts to promote peace, threatened economic stability in the [Persian] Gulf, jeopardized the tenuous peace in southern Lebanon and undermined the growth of democracy.”

Also identified in the report were terrorist safe havens, by region. In South Asia, it cited Afghanistan and Pakistan; in the Middle East, Iraq, northern Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen; in Africa, Somalia and the Trans-Sahara; and in East Asia and the Pacific, the Sulawesi Sea and Sulu Archipelago.

In the Western Hemisphere, the report identified Venezuela as well as the Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay tri-border area as terrorist safe havens. [...]
- - -

Report by AFP - Thursday, 05 August 2010:
US declines to put NKorea back on terrorism blacklist

The Obama administration declined Thursday to put North Korea back on a blacklist of countries supporting terrorism despite pressure from lawmakers to do so.

In its report for 2009, the State Department kept the same countries on the list as it did in 2008 -- Iran, Sudan, Cuba and Syria -- with Iran again listed as the "most active state sponsor of terrorism."

Former US president George W. Bush de-listed North Korea in 2008 after it vowed to end its nuclear program, agreed to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and pledged to disable its nuclear plants.

The Obama administration has kept it off the list again after citing narrow legal definition for what constitutes support for terrorism.

In June 2009, 16 US Republican Senators urged President Barack Obama's administration to place the communist regime back on the US blacklist.

The North conducted its second nuclear test the previous month and defied international criticism by firing a volley of short-range missiles and threatening to attack the capitalist South.

Though the report does not cover events this year, Republican senators renewed their call for North Korea to be listed again after South Korea and the United States blamed it for sinking a South Korean warship in March.

In keeping four countries on the blacklist, the Country Reports on Terrorism 2009 said "Iran remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism".

"Iran?s financial, material, and logistic support for terrorist and militant groups throughout the Middle East and Central Asia had a direct impact on international efforts to promote peace, threatened economic stability in the Gulf and undermined the growth of democracy," it said.

The US accuses Iran of actively supporting groups like the Taliban in Afghanistan, Shiite groups in Iraq and Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Palestinian territories.

On Sudan, the report said the government was cooperating with US counter-terrorism efforts, but said "Al-Qaeda-inspired terrorist elements as well as elements of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and HAMAS, remained in Sudan in 2009."

The report said the United States disagrees with Syria's support for what it calls national liberation movements, groups Washington considers are terrorist.

"Syria continued to provide safe-haven as well as political and other support to a number of designated Palestinian terrorist groups, including HAMAS, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC)," the report.

The report complained that Cuba still gives safe haven and ideological support for three terrorist organizations.

"The Government of Cuba has long assisted members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army of Colombia (ELN), and Spain?s Basque Homeland and Freedom Organization (ETA), some having arrived in Cuba in connection with peace negotiations with the governments of Colombia and Spain," it said.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

W. Sudan, Darfur: JEM leader returned to Libya after being detained by Chadian authorities at N'Djamena airport for 19 hours

CHAD refused entry to Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) leader Khalil Ibrahim on his way back to the battlefield on Wednesday (19 May) ordering him to return to Libya after a 19-hour diplomatic standoff at the country's main airport.

"He is in the air," top JEM official al-Tahir al-Feki told Reuters, adding he was returning to Tripoli after 19 hours on board a Libyan Afriqiyah airlines plane.

Chad's Interior Minister Ahmat Mahamat Bachir said his country did not want JEM passing through: "We have re-established relations with Sudan so we cannot allow these undesirable people to pass through Chad," he said.

Chadian airport authorities had detained Mr Ibrahim, denying him access to Darfur via Chad, a JEM spokesman told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Wednesday.

Authorities at N'Djamena airport refused entry to Mr Ibrahim and a number of other JEM members who had arrived from the Libyan capital Tripoli at 1:00 am (0000 GMT), JEM spokesman Ahmed Hussein Adam told AFP.

"When they landed, Chadian authorities confiscated their passports and refused to let them into Chadian territory and ordered them to go back (to Libya)," Adam said, speaking by telephone from London.

Adam said Chadian authorities wanted Ibrahim to fly back to Tripoli en route to Doha.

Also, Adam said Ibrahim had refused to return to Libya, as had the crew of the Afriqiyah airlines plane, and the rebel leader was currently sitting inside the aircraft with his retinue at N'Djamena airport.

Authorities in Chad were trying to get Ibrahim and the JEM delegation to the Qatari capital Doha, the venue of recent peace talks between the JEM and the Khartoum government, Adam said.

Source: See related reports below. Note that the BBC reported it is unclear why Mr Ibrahim had travelled from Libya to Chad; JEM had been told after the signing of the February agreement that it was no longer welcome in Chad.

Khalil Ibrahim

Photo: A spokesman from the Sudanese Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) said that their leader Khalil Ibrahim, seen here in 2009, is being held by Chadian airport authorities, denying him access to Darfur via Chad. (AFP/File/Ibrahim al-Omari)

Related reports

Khalil Ibrahim Detained By Chadian Authorities in N'Djamena Airport
SRS - Sudan Radio Service - Wednesday, 19 May 2010:
(Cairo) - The Chadian authorities have been holding Dr. Khalil Ibrahim, the leader of the Darfur anti-government group, the Justice and Equality Movement, at N’Djamena airport since Wednesday morning.

Dr. Ibrahim was on his way from Egypt to his movement’s stronghold in Western Darfur.

A senior JEM official, Mansour Arbab Yonis, spoke to SRS on Wednesday from Egypt.

[Mansour Arbab Yonis]: “The Chadian authorities have been holding him at N’Djamena airport since this morning (Wednesday) since 2 a.m. and he is still being held and he has been denied entrance to N’djamena. We urge the international mediation team, particularly the AU-UN mediator Djibril Bassole to intervene, in order to transport our brother from N’Djamena to the field, but brother Bassole has not taken any serious measures yet.”

Arbab described the move by Chadian authorities as a conspiracy to force JEM to go back to the negotiation table with the government.

[Mansour Arbab Yonis]: “We explain this move as a conspiracy, because they want to force JEM back to the talks by force, without any progress in the mediation. We have informed the Chadian foreign affairs ministry about the movement of the JEM leader, but we were shocked by this weird and new behavior, and we are very sorry about this behavior.”

In January, Sudan and Chad signed a military agreement in Khartoum about border security. According to the agreement, the two countries have deployed 3000 troops to prevent the movement of the each country’s anti-government groups.

The agreement also stipulated that Chad and Sudan will chase out and stop hosting anti-government groups in both countries.

Persistent attempts by SRS to get a reaction from the Chadian authorities were unsuccessful.
Chad denies entry to Darfur rebel leader
The Associated Press (AP) - via The Washington Post - Wednesday, 19 May 19 2010; 12:26 PM by Sarah El Deeb (AP Writer Dany Padire in N'Djamena, Chad contributed to this report) - excerpt:
(Cairo) - Chad's Minister of Interior Ahmat Mahamat Bachir said Khalil Ibrahim, leader of the Justice and Equality Movement, was coming from Tripoli on a Libyan flight. Security units surrounded the plane and denied him entry into the country.

"He was not welcome in Chad," the minister said.

Ahmed Hussein, the spokesman for the group, said Chadian authorities seized Ibrahim's travel documents and those of his accompanying delegation and told them to return from whence they came.

The flight crew, however, refused to take them back to Libya because of their lack of documents.

"This is a serious precedent," Hussein said, calling the move illegal.

He called on Chad and the joint U.N.-African Union peace mediator to intervene to end the standoff and allow Ibrahim back into Sudan's western Darfur region, the site of a seven-year rebellion that has killed hundreds of thousands. Chad is a common route to Darfur.

Hussein said the decision to stop Ibrahim at the airport was a "conspiracy" to force JEM to return to peace talks, hosted by the Gulf emirate Qatar.

He said Chad can't hand Ibrahim over to Sudan because it would risk "grave consequences."
Darfur rebel chief detained in Chad: spokesman
Agence France-Presse (AFP) - Wednesday, 19 May 2010 - excerpt:
(Khartoum) - Authorities at Ndjamena airport refused entry to Khalil Ibrahim and a number of other JEM members who had arrived from the Libyan capital Tripoli at 1:00 am (0000 GMT), JEM spokesman Ahmed Hussein Adam told AFP.

"When they landed, Chadian authorities confiscated their passports and refused to let them into Chadian territory and ordered them to go back (to Libya)," Adam said, speaking by telephone from London.

"The pilot refused to let them onboard the plane because they did not have the necessary documents. Khalil and his delegation are currently in Ndjamena airport," Adam said.

Khalil and his delegation had planned to head to Darfur through Chad, the only passage for them into the war-torn region of western Sudan.

Authorities in Chad are now trying to get Ibrahim and the JEM delegation to the Qatari capital Doha, the venue of recent peace feelers between the JEM and the Khartoum government, Adam said.

Those talks were suspended after the JEM accused the army of attacking its positions last month. The government then issued a warrant for the arrest of Ibrahim.

Adam said that by moving the JEM delegation to Qatar, Chad was "pushing the group to sign an agreement which is against the interests of the people of Darfur."

In January, Chad signed an agreement with Sudan to normalise relations, ending years of tension between the neighbouring countries.
Darfur Jem leader Khalil Ibrahim stopped in Chad
BBC News - Wednesday, 19 May 2010 17:15 UK- excerpt:
The leader of Darfur's main rebel group has been prevented from entering Chad while en route from Libya to Sudan.

Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) leader Khalil Ibrahim was told at Chad's airport to return to Libya.

A top Jem official told the BBC Chad is trying to "pressure" Jem into resuming peace talks with Sudan.

Jem has always had strong ties with Chad, but this has changed in recent months as relations between Chad and Sudan have improved.

The passports of Mr Ibrahim and other Jem members were confiscated and the Jem leader is currently at the airport in Chad's capital, N'Djamena.

The Chairman of Jem's Legislative Council Eltahir Adam Elfaki told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that Chad's actions had not been a surprise.

"We have never been not suspicious," he said.

"We always suspect that sometimes deals that may be done behind the corridors would affect the relation [between Jem and Chad]."

In the past, Jem has regularly used Chad as a base for its troops and a transit point for its officials.

But in February, Chad's President Idriss Deby agreed with Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir to stop supporting rebels in each other's country.

Sudan has long accused Chad of backing rebels in Darfur, while in 2008, Chad accused the Sudanese of helping a rebel group which almost reached N'Djamena, before being beaten back.

It is unclear why Mr Ibrahim had travelled from Libya to Chad.

Jem had been told after the signing of the February agreement that it was no longer welcome in Chad.

And some observers believe that Chad's refusal to admit Mr Ibrahim is a sign that President Deby intends to respect his agreement with Sudan.
Darfur rebel leader caught in airport standoff
Reuters - Wednesday, 19 May 2010
(Reporting by Andrew Heavens; editing by Philippa Fletcher) - excerpt:
(Khartoum) - A Darfur rebel leader was caught in a diplomatic standoff in Chad's main airport on Wednesday after authorities refused to let him enter the country on his way back to the battlefield, his movement said.

Chadian officials met Khalil Ibrahim, the head of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), when he flew into the Chadian capital N'Djamena from Libya at 1 a.m. (0000 GMT). They confiscated passports from his party and ordered him to return to Tripoli, JEM's spokesman said.

The showdown is a major setback for the rebel group which in the past had strong links with Chad's leadership and regularly used the country as a base for its troops and a transit point for its officials.

JEM spokesman Ahmed Hussein Adam told Reuters the incident was part of a "conspiracy" by the Chadian government and international mediators against the movement to force it to return to floundering peace talks with Sudan's government.

Adam said Ibrahim had refused to return to Libya, as had the crew of the Afriqiyah airlines plane, and the rebel leader was currently sitting inside the aircraft with his retinue at N'Djamena airport.

"We would like to make it very clear to the Chadian authorities that we condemn their behavior and we condemn their actions and we urge them to allow Dr Khalil to go to the field," said Adam.

"We have information that the Chadian authorities are in contact with Djibril Bassole (the head of Darfur's joint U.N./African Union mediation team). They are trying to hijack Dr Khalil and the others to take them to Doha."

"If they did that kind of thing they would make a very big mistake."

No one was immediately available to comment from Chad's government or the mediation team.

Adam said Chadian authorities wanted Ibrahim to fly back to Tripoli en route to Doha.

Sudan has asked Interpol to circulate an arrest warrant for Ibrahim in connection with a JEM attack on Khartoum in 2008 but Chadian authorities have not said whether they would cooperate.
Chad prevents JEM leader from entering into Ndjamena orders him to leave
Sudan Tribune - Wednesday, 19 May 2010 - excerpt:
(LONDON) - Chadian authorities have refused to allow Khalil Ibrahim leader of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) to enter into Ndjamena and confiscated his passport.

Khalil was left Egypt yesterday to Libya from where he flow on regular flight into Ndjamena but when he arrived in the Chadian capital the authorities confiscated his passport and ordered him to return to Tripoli, Ahmed Hussein Adam JEM spokesperson told Sudan Tribune.

"They even refused him to leave the plane but the crew said they can’t take him back to Tripoli unless he has valid travel documents," he added.
Here is a copy of a noteworthy comment posted to Sudan Tribune article (see above) entitled "Chad prevents JEM leader from entering into Ndjamena orders him to leave":
19 May 21:34, by silake comba
This behaviour by the Chadian authorities can be interpreted in one case as a preasure on Khalil to go back to the negotiations table in Doha and in this case the Deby regime must have taken this decision either as a result of direct instructions or under preasure from Khartoum or Doha itself. In all cases, it is an unethical conduct and it is a sign of complete lack of morals on the part of Deby who had been rescued, as a regime, by Khail more than once. I think, this incident is expected for a person who is working for others using the Darfurian cause as a truck. At the time when Darfurians of all sectors have been paying the price with soul and blood, Khaill is using these sacrifies to meet the ambitions and interests of Islamists in Khartoum and beyond.He has also been serving the very regime of Deby. This shall be the fate of somebody like Khalil who betrayed the cause of Darfur in favour of his masters in Khartoum and N’jamena.What makes Khalil not to negotiate in good faith is the fact that he is not concerned with or about the Darfurians tragedy. I’m sorry to say this but this is the very truth.
silake Ali Comba, CAIRO
judybamirgi@gmail.com
JEM and GONU Trade Insults Over International Justice
SRS - Sudan Radio Service - Tuesday, 18 May 2010:
(Cairo) - The Darfur anti-government group, the Justice and Equality Movement, says President Omar al-Bashir should comply with the ICC warrant arrest instead of calling on Interpol to arrest their leader.

Recently, the Government of Sudan's Justice Minister, Abdel Bassit Sabdarat, urged international law enforcement agency to arrest Khalil Ibrahim.

Khalil Ibrahim addressed members of the Sudanese community in Cairo on Thursday.

[Khalil Ibrahim]: “This situation reflects Khartoum‘s weakness because I was with them for five years inside Sudan and they attempted to assassinate me more than ten times but all attempts failed. I also visited them in Khartoum and now I'm going back to the front. If they want to arrest me, let them arrest me at the front line.”

In an interview with SRS in Cairo, JEM commander Suleiman Sandal said that the Interpol can not interfere in political crises, it can only solve criminal cases.

[Suleiman Sandal]: “Interpol can not intervene in political crimes, Interpol deals with the normal crimes and our conflict with the government is political and military. It is a legal war and it’s being carried out according to international law and they can’t catch him in Egypt because JEM has a presence in Egypt. Egypt is a free country and can host any movement and any person it likes, but if the government wants Dr. Khalil Ibrahim to face justice, let al-Bashir first go to the ICC because he is accused by the ICC of war crimes.”

Suleiman Sandal was speaking to SRS on Thursday from Cairo.
Darfur rebel leader 19-hour standoff ends
Reuters - Wednesday, 19 May 2010 5:25pm EDT
(Reporting by Andrew Heavens, Opheera McDoom and Moumine Ngarmbassa in N'Djamena; editing by Ralph Boulton) - excerpt:
(Khartoum) - Chad refused entry to a Darfur rebel leader on his way back to the battlefield on Wednesday, ordering him to return to Libya after a 19-hour diplomatic standoff at the country's main airport.

Chadian officials had stopped Khalil Ibrahim, the head of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), when he flew into the Chadian capital N'Djamena from Libya at 1 a.m. (0000 GMT).

They destroyed the passports of everyone in his party and ordered him to return to Tripoli, Ibrahim said.

The showdown was a major setback for the rebel group which in the past had strong links with Chad's leadership and regularly used the country as a base for its troops and a transit point for its officials.

"He is in the air," top JEM official al-Tahir al-Feki told Reuters, adding he was returning to Tripoli after 19 hours on board a Libyan Afriqiyah airlines plane.

"We are still hopeful he will be able to return to the field," he added.

Libya also shares a border with Darfur.

Ibrahim said there was a "conspiracy" between the Chadian government and international mediators to force JEM to return to floundering Qatar-hosted peace talks with Sudan's government.

Chad's Interior Minister Ahmat Mahamat Bachir said his country did not want JEM passing through:

"We have re-established relations with Sudan so we cannot allow these undesirable people to pass through Chad," he said.

Khartoum has long accused Chad of supporting and arming JEM during the seven-year conflict. But the oil-producing countries began a rapprochement at the end of 2009, and in February Chad brokered a ceasefire and an initial peace deal between JEM and Sudan's government.

JEM is one of two rebel groups that took up arms against Sudan's government in 2003, accusing it of neglecting the remote western region of Darfur and marginalizing its population.

The movement is dominated by the Zaghawa tribe, who live in Darfur and neighboring Chad. Ibrahim has close family links to Chadian President Idriss Deby. JEM also helped Deby fight back two rebel attacks on N'Djamena.

In a statement, Sudan praised the Chadian move against Ibrahim and said it showed Deby's commitment to the agreement not to allow any armed rebel movement to use its territory to launch attacks on Sudan.

"(Khalil Ibrahim) headed toward N'Djamena with no prior arrangements with the Chadian government," the statement added.

Ibrahim said that he refused to be flown to Qatar as proposed by the U.N.-African Union mediation of the faltering Darfur talks.

"They are trying to hijack me and force me to fly back to (Qatar's capital) Doha," Ibrahim said. "But we already signed two agreements and the government breached both those agreements and they are fighting us."

No one was immediately available to comment from the mediation team.
Darfur Group ‘Disappointed’ With Chad
Voice of America (VOA) by Peter Clottey - Wednesday, 19 May 2010 - excerpt:
The Darfur-based Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) said its leader, Khalil Ibrahim, was prevented from entering Chad and kept on an airplane for at least 12 hours before Libya came to his rescue.

Ahmed Hussein Adam, JEM’s spokesman, told VOA the group is disappointed with the way their leader was treated.

The United Nations and African Union (UN/AU) chief mediator is mandated to facilitate the return of the JEM leader to Sudan as stipulated in a recent peace accord signed between the group and President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir’s government.

“Dr. Khalil consulted with the leadership of JEM and finally he accepted the offer of the Libyans on the condition that from there (Tripoli) he will go to Darfur and he will go to Sudan. That action did not remove the responsibility of Djibril Bassole, the chief mediator. Because, still now, we want Djibril Bassole to take that responsibility and to facilitate the arrival or the departure of Dr. Khalil from Tripoli to Darfur,” he said.

Officials in Chad stopped JEM’s leader in the capital, Ndjamena and prevented him from using the airport as a transit point on his return trip to Sudan.

The Darfur-based rebel group said Chadian authorities destroyed travel documents belonging to its leader, as well as that of his entourage, and ordered him to return to Libya’s capital, Tripoli.
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