Egyptian heavy transport company arrives in Nyala, South Darfur, Western Sudan to boost strength of joint United Nations-African Union force (UNAMID)

Photo: Egyptian heavy transport company arrives in Nyala, South Darfur Thursday, 13 November 2008 (UN)

November 14, 2008 Press Release from UN.org - Darfur: Egyptian troops arrive to boost strength of joint UN-African Union force:

November 13, 2008 – More than 160 Egyptian personnel arrived in Darfur today as part of a large battalion that will boost the strength of the joint United Nations-African Union force deployed earlier this year in an attempt to quell the fighting and humanitarian suffering in the strife-torn Sudanese region.

More personnel from the Egyptian infantry battalion are expected to arrive on Friday and Saturday in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state and the headquarters of the force known as (UNAMID).

Deputy Force Commander Major General Emmanuel Karake Karenzi welcomed the new arrivals, who will be deployed in Umm Kadada in North Darfur, where they will join the 177 members of the advance party that is already on the ground.

“I want you to look at yourselves as part of one family,” he told the Egyptian personnel. “You are therefore more than soldiers of peace; you are also ambassadors of the African Union and ambassadors of the United Nations.”

Another 184 members of the Egyptian infantry battalion are expected to arrive at the end of the year. Egypt’s contribution to UNAMID includes a signal company, engineering company, heavy transport company and another infantry battalion that is expected to arrive in the near future.

UNAMID should have about 26,000 uniformed personnel, including just below 20,000 troops, when it reaches full deployment. It currently has only around 10,000 personnel, and senior UN officials have repeatedly called on countries to supply the remaining troops and equipment that are needed.

An estimated 300,000 people have been killed and 2.7 million others displaced from their homes in Darfur since rebels began fighting Government forces and allied militiamen, known as the Janjaweed, in 2003.

Yesterday UNAMID joined Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in welcoming the Sudanese Government’s declaration of an immediate ceasefire between its forces and the rebel movements in Darfur and also Khartoum’s stated plan to disarm allied militias operating in the region.

“This ceasefire could signal the start of a new phase in the search for a just and lasting peace in Darfur,” UNAMID said in a statement.

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November 13, 2008 report (via ReliefWeb) by the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) - UNAMID welcomes the arrival of the main body of the Egyptian infantry battalion:

EL FASHER, Darfur, Sudan, November 13, 2008 - A new batch of the Egyptian Infantry Battalion consisting of 164 personnel arrived in El Fasher today. More personnel of the same battalion comprising of 326 are expected to arrive on 14 and 15 November 2008. The new batch will be deployed in Umm Kadada, North Darfur, where they will join the 177 advanced party that is already on the ground. The rest of the battalion, consisting of 184 personnel is expected to arrive at the end of this year.

UNAMID Deputy Force Commander, Major General Emmanuel Karake Karenzi, welcomed the Egyptian new arrivals and urged them to assimilate with their colleagues in the UNAMID Force. "You are now part of the larger force and must be prepared to work with your colleagues from different countries; I want you to look at yourself as part of one family, you are therefore more than soldiers of peace; you are also Ambassadors of the African Union and Ambassadors of the United Nations."

Egypt's contribution to UNAMID includes a Signal Company, Engineering Company, a Heavy transport Company and another Infantry Battalion that is expected to arrive in the soon future.

In addition to the 10 Battalions currently on the ground from Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa, UNAMID is expecting an additional 8 Infantry Battalions; Egypt (2), Ethiopia (2), Thailand (1), Senegal (1), Burkina Faso (1), Tanzania (1).

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November 14, 2008 UPI report (via Middle East Times) - Egyptian troops deploy to Darfur:

KHARTOUM, Sudan, November 14, 2008 (UPI) -- In a follow-up on promises to commit troops to support security operations in Sudan, more than 160 Egyptian personnel deployed to Darfur Thursday and Friday.

The Egyptian troops arrived in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, to support the U.N.-African Union operations on Thursday and Friday. UNAMID is working to end the ongoing flareups of violence in Darfur between rebel forces and the Sudanese government troops, the United Nations reported.

Officials are working to increase the strength of UNAMID to approximately 26,000 troops. There are currently only around 10,000 personnel to support UNAMID operations in Darfur. Egyptian officials say an additional 184 infantry battalion from Egypt are expected deploy to Darfur before January.

UNAMID Deputy Force Cmdr. Maj. General Emmanuel Karake Karenzi welcomed the Egyptian unit. Karenzi said the Egyptian's will be deployed to support operations in Umm Kadada in North Darfur.

"I want you to look at yourselves as part of one family," Karenzi said in a statement. "You are therefore more than soldiers of peace; you are also ambassadors of the African Union and ambassadors of the United Nations."

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November 13, 2008 report from Sudan Tribune - After delays, Egyptian battalion to arrive in Darfur:

November 12, 2008 (EL FASHER) – The Egyptian infantry battalion for peacekeeping in Darfur will deploy Thursday to Saturday, joining the African Union – United Nations hybrid operation (UNAMID), a spokesman said Nov. 7.

An Egyptian heavy transport company arrived in Nyala, South Darfur on Wednesday, consisting of 155 soldiers and officers. An additional seven personnel were already on the ground as part of an advance party.

"The Egyptian company will primarily support the distribution of cargo between sector logistics bases, the movement of bulk cargo, including water and fuel tankers, and provide transport and engineering capabilities," stated UNAMID.

In preparation for the arrival of the main body of the infantry battalion, consisting of 490 personnel, another advance party of now 177 personnel has been doing logistics work for the incoming troops since February.

Egypt has also deployed a signal company, and on August 14 it deployed an engineering company of 335 military personnel.

UNAMID reported that the security situation in Darfur was relatively calm during the first week of November, despite the increase in carjackings, particularly in southern Darfur.

"Banditry activities, rape cases, are still prevalent in the region," stated the mission.

Mission Force Commander Martin Agwai expected 1,200 troops from Egypt in May, but there have been delays.

Beyond the normal logistical challenges of moving military equipment to a region as remote as Darfur, major delays are attributable to security incidents along the vast government-held stretch of roads from Port Sudan to Darfur.

Sudanese contractors often refuse to undertake the journey. Consequently, the Egyptian advance party was tasked with driving their own equipment from El Obeid to Um Kadada.

The 72 drivers and 4 officers from the first Egyptian battalion arrived in Um Kadada on September 15, but subsequently flew to El Obeid and moved their equipment by road on September 22, according to the UN secretary-general’s latest report to the Security Council.

During August and September rains, UNAMID was able to move three armed convoys involving 165 vehicles from El Obeid to El Fasher. One 40-vehicle convoy encountered more than 100 World Food Programme (WFP) trucks at the Kordofan-Darfur border, where the WFP convoy had stood idle for three weeks, reportedly owing to lack of escorts, the secretary-general reports.

Another cause of delay is that the equipment has to pass through approval by customs, national intelligence and national security officials at Port Sudan.

The equipment of the Egyptian transport company arrived in Port Sudan on January 31, but only 15% of it had arrived in Nyala in Darfur by the end of May, according to the secretary-general’s June 17 report on deployment.

Moreover, construction work on the Um Kadada base, where the Egyptians were to deploy, was not begun when it was meant to in early June, due to an inability to offload heavy engineering machinery.

Hocine Medili, a UNAMID logistics official, traveled to Um Kadada in North Darfur on October 13 to inspect the readiness of the Egyptians’ team base. Medili was accompanied by the Egyptian officer in charge of deployment, the UNAMID military planning officer and the mission’s chief engineer.

At that time, the Egyptian battalion was expected to join the mission at the end of October.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1769 (2007) authorized UNAMID to have a strength of up to 19,555 military personnel, including 360 military observers and liaison officers. Today’s deployment brings the total number of UNAMID troops in Darfur to 9,122.

Sudan confirms purchase of Russian MiG-29 jet fighters

MOSCOW, November 14, 2008 (RIA Novosti)

Sudan has bought an undisclosed number of MiG-29 fighters from Russia, the northeast African state's defense minister said on Friday.

"The deal is done. The aircraft have been bought," Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein told a RIA Novosti news conference.

Russia earlier denied media reports of MiG-29 deliveries to Sudan directly or via third countries.

A Sudanese opposition newspaper reported on Monday that the Sudanese government had taken delivery of 12 MiG-29 fighters through a Belarusian company.

ICC Prosecutor Ocampo seeks arrest warrants next week for rebels' attack on AU peacekeepers in Haskanita, S. Darfur, Sudan 29 Sep 2007 (Part 2)

Oyeee! More good news! ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo seeks arrest warrants next week for the attackers and murderers of African Union peacekeepers at Haskanita, Southern Darfur, Sudan on 29 September 2007.

ICC Prosecutor Seeks Arrest Warrants In Third Darfur Probe
November 14, 2008 report from Dowjones Business News:

THE HAGUE (AFP)--The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Friday he would seek arrest warrants next week in a new probe into war crimes in Darfur - his first into acts by Sudanese rebel groups.

"Next week, we will request new arrest warrants for the attack against African Union peacekeepers in Haskanita" in southern Darfur in September last year, Luis Moreno-Ocampo told a gathering in The Hague of state parties to the Rome Statute that created the ICC.

"This is our third Darfur investigation."

Ten African Union peacekeepers were killed in an attack on Haskanita in southern Darfur in September last year.

In a report to the U.N. Security Council in June, Moreno-Ocampo said he had information that the killings were committed by two rebel splinter factions.

In May last year, the ICC issued warrants against Sudan's former interior minister, Ahmad Harun, and Ali Kushayb, a leader of the government-backed Janjaweed militia, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the country's Darfur region.

And in July this year, the prosecutor asked the court to issue a warrant for the arrest of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, allegedly committed in Darfur.

A panel of judges is reviewing the evidence to determine whether there are reasonable grounds to proceed with the case, which Bashir has shrugged off.

He has so far also refused to hand over Harun and Kushayb.

Moreno-Ocampo said Friday that the Sudanese government has done nothing to bring war criminals to book.

"Denial and impunity remain."

The ICC is the world's first independent, permanent war crimes court.

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November 14, 2008 report from Sudan Tribune - ICC prosecutor to charge Darfur rebels over peacekeepers attack next week:

Luis Moreno-Ocampo’s third case on Darfur investigates a rebel attack on the Haskanita military base last year that left 10 African Union (AU) soldiers dead and one missing.

Ocampo made the announcement during a speech Friday at the opening session for the assembly of ICC state parties.

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November 14, 2008 report from The Hindu - Darfur rebels targeted by ICC prosecutor

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP): The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Friday he will seek arrest warrants next week related to a deadly attack on African Union peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region.

The case is the first by the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal to target Darfur rebels, who are fighting government troops and the allied janjaweed militia of Arab nomads in a five-year conflict that has left up to 300,000 dead.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo said his third Sudan investigation is focused on attacks in the northern Darfur town of Haskanita.

He gave no further details during a speech Friday, but earlier said he was investigating a rebel attack on the Haskanita military base on Sept. 29, 2007, that left 10 African Union soldiers dead and one missing.

Richard Dicker of Human Rights Watch welcomed the announcement.

"We have not seen his application, but the significance must be the seriousness of killing ... those who are mandated to protect civilians at risk,'' Dicker told The Associated Press.

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Photo: The Chief Prosecutor Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, sworn in on the 16th of June 2003. (ICC)



Photo: An African Union Mission in the Sudan (AMIS) peacekeeper stands in front of the coffins of his killed colleagues during a funeral ceremony at the Mission's forward headquarters in El Fasher, North Darfur province October 4, 2007. Seven Nigerian peacekeepers and three military observers from Mali, Senegal and Botswana were killed during an attack by rebel militia on their base in Haskanita during the night of 29 September 2007. Reuters/Stuart Price/AMIS/Handout (Sudan)



Photo: In this photo made available by African Mission in Sudan, soldiers of the African Union Mission in the Sudan (AMIS), stand to honour their dead colleagues, as the coffins of 10 AMIS troops are seen during their funeral ceremony at the Mission's Forward Headquarters at el Fasher, Darfur, Sudan Thursday, October 4, 2007. Rebel forces stormed a small African Union base in northern Darfur, killing 10 peacekeepers from the African Union mission. AP Photo by Stuart Price (Sudan)



Photo: In this photo made available by African Mission in Sudan (AMIS), AMIS personnel pay their last respects over a coffin of a peacekeeper during a funeral ceremony at the Mission's Forward Headquarters in El Fasher, Darfur, Sudan, on Thursday, October 4, 2007. (Sudan)



Photo: The coffins of 7 Nigerian soldiers killed while on peacekeeping duty in Darfur are given military honors in a burial ceremony at Nigeria's main military cemetery in Abuja October 5, 2007. Seven Nigerian peacekeepers and three military observers from Mali, Senegal and Botswana were killed during an attack by rebel militia on their base in Sudan during the night of September 29, 2007. AP Photo/Sunday Alamba (Nigeria)



Photo: Military pallbearers carry the casket of Lance Corp. Danjuma Madaki at a burial ceremony for seven soldiers killed while on peacekeeping duty in Darfur. AP Photo/Sunday Alamba (Nigeria)



Photo: The coffins of 7 Nigerian soldiers killed while on peacekeeping duty in Darfur are given military honours in a burial ceremony at Nigeria's main military cemetery in Abuja October 5, 2007. AP Photo/Sunday Alamba (Nigeria)



Photo: Soldiers and civilians participate in a Muslim prayer next to the coffins of three Muslim soldiers, at a burial ceremony for seven peacekeepers killed while on duty in Darfur, Friday, October 5, 2007. AP Photo/Sunday Alamba (Nigeria)



Photo: Relatives of one of the peacekeepers killed in Darfur cry during a funeral ceremony. Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde (Nigeria)



Photo: Rashidat Ajao cries during the burial of her husband Private Toyin Ajao, one of seven soldiers killed while on peacekeeping duty in Darfur and interred in Nigeria's main military cemetery in Abuja, Friday, October 5, 2007. AP Photo/Sunday Alamba (Nigeria)
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For photos of the war crimes at Haskanita see Sudan Watch September 24, 2008: ICC prosecutor to investigate Sudan's Darfur rebels crimes - What happened at Haskanita? (Part 1)

David Blair is back reporting on Sudan! Oyeee! If peace comes to Darfur, thank Messrs Ocampa and Bashir with a joint Nobel Peace Prize (I'm serious!)

Historic stuff has been happening in Sudan over the past few months. More later. Watch this space. Sudan Watch can now be delivered by email or to a news reader via an Atom feed. See top corner of sidebar here on the right.

It's great to see the Telegraph's Africa Correspondent David Blair back to reporting on Sudan. I've missed his reports. Perhaps the hiatus was due to his move from Johannesburg to London. Welcome to England David (if you're still here!) now that we're in recession and it's been pouring with rain. Heh.

November 14, 2008 Telegraph UK report by David Blair - If peace comes to Darfur, thank the International Criminal Court :

When Sudan's military dictator declared a unilateral ceasefire in Darfur this week, he was conducting the biggest plea bargain in history. President Omar al-Bashir, who seized power in a coup in 1989 and leads one of Africa's most ruthless regimes, did not try to halt Darfur's bloodshed out of the kindness of his heart. On the contrary, for the past five years, his armed forces and their associated militias, popularly known as the janjaweed or "devils on horseback", have pillaged villages at will, waging a ruthless war that has claimed some 300,000 lives, either from violence, starvation or disease.

Instead, Mr Bashir called the ceasefire because he faces a little legal difficulty. In July, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, asked for Sudan's leader to be formally charged with three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of war crimes.

At present, the ICC's "pre-trial chamber" is considering this request. So far, Mr Bashir has not been formally charged and no arrest warrant exists in his name. But this could change quite soon. Early next year, the judges will probably decide whether to uphold Mr Moreno-Ocampo's accusations.

If they go ahead and formally charge Mr Bashir, he will achieve the unenviable status of being the only head of state in the world to face criminal proceedings at the ICC. All this has deeply wounded Mr Bashir's dignity. He knows that if he is formally charged - and particularly if the three counts of genocide are upheld - he will carry the mark of Cain.

So he needs a way out and, fortunately for Mr Bashir, the founders of the ICC have unwittingly given him a loophole. Under Article 16 of the Rome Statute, which established the court in 2002, the United Nations Security Council can vote to defer legal action against any individual.

If Mr Bashir is charged, he could ask the Security Council to let him off the legal hook. Of the five permanent members, China is a close ally of Sudan. Beijing gets about 10 per cent of its imported oil from Sudan and has invested billions in the country's energy reserves.

Russia has no oil interests in Sudan, but it has sold Mr Bashir plenty of weapons over the years. The fearsome MI-24 helicopter gunships, which Sudan's air force has employed to level villages in Darfur, were made in Russia.

So Mr Bashir can probably count on two votes in the Security Council. But he still needs the support of Britain, America and France to be sure of an "Article 16 deferral".

In public, all three countries have said precious little about their position on this vital question. Privately, they are using the possibility of a deferral as much needed leverage over Sudan's regime.

For once, Mr Bashir needs their votes - and so he must make concessions. Hence the declaration of a ceasefire this week.

The dictator's predicament may also explain why Sudan has quietly locked up Ali Kushayb, a notorious militia leader who has been formally indicted by the ICC for alleged war crimes.

The next time Mr Bashir calls a cabinet meeting in Khartoum, there might be another nervous face at the table. One of his colleagues, Ahmad Harun, holds the remarkable distinction of being minister of humanitarian affairs and an indicted war criminal. All that you need to know about Sudan's regime is betrayed by the fact that the man holding formal responsibility for the aid effort in Darfur has also been charged with 51 counts of alleged war crimes.

In order to get his deferral from the Security Council, however, Mr Bashir may have to lock up Mr Harun. In the finest traditions of African dictators, Mr Bashir may sacrifice his friends in order to save his own skin.

But there is another course open to the president. Instead of trying to appease his trio of critics on the Security Council, Mr Bashir could adopt a far tougher approach. On the table are two nuclear options.

Mr Bashir could simply retaliate against his own people by shutting down the aid effort in Darfur - and then blaming the West for their suffering. A sizeable constituency of African, Middle Eastern and even Western opinion would probably fall for this.

A nascent peacekeeping force, jointly deployed by the United Nations and the African Union, is slowly establishing a presence in Darfur. Unamid, as the force is known, has achieved hardly anything - and the Khartoum regime makes its life as difficult as possible. The second option open to Mr Bashir is to expel Unamid altogether and then denounce his Western critics if Darfur suffers another round of violence.

So far, there is no sign of the president choosing these options. Instead, by calling a ceasefire, he seems to be adopting what Western aid workers call a "positive" response to his possible indictment.

But if Mr Bashir is formally charged, this will sorely test his goodwill. Many thousands of lives could hang on this unique example of plea bargaining by a president who fears becoming an international outlaw.

Have your say - Copy of Comments

What a disgusting world we live in - full of pathetic political horse trading - when the realities are concrete and foul.

Since China gets 10% of her oil from the Sudan it clearly is a place of mineral wealth and ought to be, based on the standard criteria for wars funded by resource hungry powers, ripe for a proper military invasion not a pathetic token UN peacekeeping force.

Let's look at it the way the leaders of the world see it:

It's all well these problem states killing hundreds of thousands of their own citizens when there is nothing of value to the outside world involved in their internal squabbles - but woe betide them if their civil wars get in the way of mineral wealth being ripped off by third parties paying one faction of another for it - even though it never trickles down to the benighted average citizens in their abject poverty, when not simply being murdered for their pathetic patch of subsistence land.

Post-colonial Africa is a bloody appalling place and frankly what the citizens of that continent do to each other left to their own devices is the best argument possible as to why the colonial era actually did them all a favour. How unPC is that?

Maybe China and others should be leading a tacit second colonial era - if it means schools, hospitals, stability and enough food. Anarchy, endemic corruption and tribalism has to end somehow...
Posted by simon coulter on November 14, 2008 11:20 AM
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The Sudan is a vast terriotory populated by the Arab Muslims in the North and the Black 'Christians' in the South. The North have always looked down on the South, regarding themselves as superiors. And that lies at the heart of the problem. It would be a pity if the State were split, but that is the way it seems to be heading.
Posted by swatantra on November 14, 2008 9:54 AM
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Thats a powerful analysis of the situation in Darful. Bashir did not have the inention whatsoever to stop the war and the ICC prosecutor did the right thing. Remember the peace talks had been suspended but were recently rescusitated when Ocampo applied for an arrest warrant against Bishir. However legaly speaking i am not sure if the genocide charges will be sustainable against Bishir, I am of the opinion that the evidence there is scanty to support this averment especialy in view of the legal definition of the term genocide itself. The court can accept the charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity but i doubt if it can accept the genocide one for the reason that violence was not targeting a specific ethnic group.
Posted by Innocent mawire on November 14, 2008 6:44 AM
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Russia, EU sign deal on Chad peacekeeping operation - First Russian peacekeepers leave on EU mission to Chad today

MOSCOW, November 14, 2008 (RIA Novosti) - First Russian peacekeepers leave on EU mission to Chad - report in full:

The first contingent of Russian peacekeepers will leave Russia for Chad on Friday as part of a joint EU mission to support the UN in the Central African country, a Russian Air Force spokesman said.

Russia signed an agreement with the EU on November 5 to deploy a contingent of up to 200 service personnel and four Mi-8MT helicopters in the Central African region for up to a year.

"The deployment of the first detachment of a helicopter group [around 10 personnel], part of the EU operation to support the UN in Chad and the Central African Republic will leave on November 14 from the Migalovo air base [Tver]," Lt. Col. Vladimir Drik said.



Clashes between Chadian rebels and government troops have been devastating the region since 2003, when a loose coalition of three opposition groups attempted for the first time to oust President Idriss Deby. The groups' leaders accuse Deby, who seized power in 1990, of embezzling millions of dollars in oil revenue.

The foreign ministers of the 27 EU-member states approved in April a plan to send a peacekeeping mission to Chad and the Central African Republic. The EUFOR contingent, comprising 3,700 personnel from 14 EU countries, began a year-long UN humanitarian mission in March to help protect Sudanese refugees and internally displaced Chadians.

Russia has already deployed a helicopter support group in neighboring Sudan. It currently comprises 120 personnel and four Mi-8 helicopters, which provides transport services for UN military observers in Sudan and accompanies cargoes, as well as carrying out rescue operations.

Chad gained independence from France in 1960. Since 2003, Chad and Sudan have accused each other of inciting conflict on their common border, which includes most of the troubled west Sudanese region of Darfur.

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BRUSSELS, November 5, 2008 (RIA Novosti) - Russia, EU sign deal on Chad peacekeeping operation - report in full:

Russia signed on Wednesday an agreement with the EU which will see Russia troops participate in peacekeeping operations in Chad and the Central African Republic, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported.

The document was signed in Brussels by Russian EU envoy Vladimir Chizhov and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree in early September to send a Russian military contingent to Chad and the neighboring Central African Republic to support a UN mission in the region.

The Russian peacekeeping contingent, totaling up to 200 service personnel, and four Mi-8MT helicopters, will be deployed in the conflict zone for up to a year on the basis of a six-month rotation.

Clashes between Chadian rebels, allegedly supported and armed by Sudan, and government troops have been devastating the region since 2003 when a loose coalition of three opposition groups attempted for the first time to oust President Idriss Deby. The groups' leaders accuse Deby, who seized power in 1990, of embezzling millions of dollars in oil revenue.

The foreign ministers of the 27 EU-member states approved in April a plan to send a peacekeeping mission to Chad and the Central African Republic. The EUFOR contingent, comprising 3,700 personnel from 14 EU countries, began a yearlong UN mandate in March to help facilitate humanitarian work and protect Sudanese refugees and internally displaced Chadians.

Russia has already deployed a helicopter support group in neighboring Sudan. It currently comprises 120 personnel and four Mi-8 helicopters, reequipped to UN and international standards.

The group provides transport for UN military observers in Sudan, while also transporting and accompanying cargoes. It also carries out rescue operations.

Chad gained independence from France in 1960. Since 2003, Chad and Sudan have accused each other of inciting conflict on their common border, which includes most of the troubled west Sudanese region of Darfur.

South Sudan govt VP Riek Machar met with senior UN personnel on the Uganda peace process and monitoring the movement and activities of the LRA

Here is a copy of a November 12, 2008 post at Congo Watch: DR Congo forces to suspend operations against Ugandan terrorist group LRA on condition that Kony signs Final Peace Agreement by end of Nov.

Monday 10 November 2008 (Sudan Tribune) report by James Gatdet Dak - DR Congo forces to suspend operations against the LRA:

Photo: DR Congo President Kabila shaking hands with Government of South Sudan (GOSS) VP, Riek Machar, Nairobi, November 7, 2008. (Photo: J.G. Dak, ST)

November 9, 2008 (NAIROBI) – Regular forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will cease military operations against the Ugandan rebels, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), said President Lauren Kabila.

LRA forces have been reportedly clashing with Congolese troops for the last two months inside DR Congo as the rebels have been allegedly destroying Congolese villages and abducting children.

President Kabila told the Government of Southern Sudan’s Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar in their meeting in Nairobi on Friday that his forces would ceasefire with the LRA on condition that Joseph Kony signs the Final Peace Agreement with the Uganda government by the end of November.

The DR Congo President who came to attend the AU Summit in Nairobi to resolve the conflict in his country expressed his support to the Uganda peace process and he called on the LRA leadership to re-assemble its forces in the designated area at Sudan’s border with his country.

Machar who also participated in the Summit held a consultative meeting with senior United Nations personnel on the Uganda peace process.

They discussed possibility of stationing some members of the Cessation of Hostilities Monitoring Team (CHMT) with UN MONOC forces based in Dungu and other areas inside DR Congo to monitor the movement and activities of the LRA.

CHMT was established in Juba to monitor the implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement signed two years ago between the Uganda government and the LRA, and it is composed of senior military officers from Kenya, South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, DR Congo, Uganda, Southern Sudan and the LRA.

The Team is led by Major General Wilson Deng of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).

MONOC forces would also provide the CHMT members to be based in DR Congo with necessary logistical support.

Vice President Machar, who is the Chief Mediator of the Uganda peace talks, said he had also reached an understanding with UNMIS in Southern Sudan to reconstruct the main road from the Sudan-DR Congo border at Ri-kwangba up to Maridi town in Western Equatoria state.

The UN MONOC forces would also construct a road from the DR Congo side of the border to link the two countries by land.

He said this would also connect Sudan’s UNMIS and DR Congo’s MONOC by land and would make movement and trade between Western Equatoria state and DR Congo possible.

A Stake holders’ Consultative Conference held in Kampala this week called on the LRA leader to sign the peace agreement by November 29, 2008.

Since April 10 this year, the LRA leader Joseph Kony has refused to sign the peace deal, demanding that the Ugandan government should first approach the International Criminal Court (ICC) to defer indictment on him for alleged serious crimes he committed during his rebellion.

President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda on Thursday said his government would approach the ICC to defer the indictment after the LRA leader has signed the Final Peace Agreement.

LRA has proved to be a threat to regional security and analysis say the Government of Southern Sudan’s mediated Juba peace process is the best chance to end its 22 years rebellion.

Don't miss today's in-depth post at Congo Watch.

Remember the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour

On 2 May, 1915, in the second week of fighting during the Second Battle of Ypres Lieutenant Alexis Helmer was killed by a German artillery shell. He was a friend of the Canadian military doctor Major John McCrae. It is believed that John began the draft for his famous poem 'In Flanders Fields' that evening.

In Flanders Fields

John McCrae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.



The poppy is the recognized symbol of remembrance for war dead. The flower owes its significance to the poem In Flanders Fields, written by Major (later Lieutenant-Colonel) John McCrae, a doctor with the Canadian Army Medical Corps, in the midst of the Second Battle of Ypres, in Belgium, in May 1915.

The poppy references in the first and last stanzas of the most widely read and oft-quoted poem of the war contributed to the flower's status as an emblem of remembrance and a symbol of new growth amidst the devastation of war.



Two minutes of silence at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month because that was the time (in Britain) when the armistice became effective. The two minutes recall World War I and World War II. Before 1945 the silence was for one minute, and today some ceremonies still only have one minute of silence despite this.

In the United Kingdom, although two minutes' silence is observed on November 11 itself, the main observance is on the second Sunday of November, Remembrance Sunday. - Wikipedia
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"The Meaning of God"

By Mahatma K. Gandhi
(Young India, October 11, 1928)

There is an indefinable mysterious Power that pervades everything.

I feel It, though I do not see It.

It is this unseen Power which makes Itself felt and yet defies all proof,
because It is so unlike all that I perceive through my senses.

It transcends the senses....

That informing Power or Spirit is God....

For I can see that in the midst of death life persists, in the midst of untruth, truth persists, in the midst of darkness light persists.

Hence I gather that God is Life, Truth, Light. He is love.

He is supreme good.

But he is no God who merely satisfies the intellect
If He ever does.

God to be God must rule the heart and transform it.
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Gandhi's Peace Prayers

Hindu Peace Prayer
I desire neither earthly kingdom, nor even freedom from birth and death. I desire only the deliverance from grief of all those afflicted by misery. Oh Lord, lead us from the unreal to the real; from darkness to light; from death to immortality. May there be peace in celestial regions. May there be peace on earth. May the waters be appeasing. May herbs be wholesome and may trees and plants bring peace to all. May all beneficent beings bring peace to us. May thy wisdom spread peace all through the world. May all things be a source of peace to all and to me. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti (Peace, Peace, Peace).

Islamic Peace Prayer
We think of Thee, worship Thee, bow toThee as the Creator of this Universe; we seek refuge in Thee, the Truth, our only support. Thou art the Ruler, the barge in this ocean of endless births and deaths.
In the name of Allah, the beneficient, the merciful. Praise be to the Lord of the Universe who has created us and made us into tribes and nations. Give us wisdom that we may know each other and not despise all things. We shall abide by thy Peace. And, we shall remember the servants of God are those who walk on this earth in humility and, when we address them, we shall say Peace Unto Us All.

Christian Peace Prayer
Blessed are the PEACEMAKERS, for they shall be known as The Children of God. But I say to you: love your enemy, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To those who strike you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from those who take away your cloak, do not withhold your coat as well. Give to everyone who begs from you; and, to those who take away your goods, do not ask them again. And as you wish that others would do unto you, do so unto them as well.

Jewish Peace Prayer
Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, that we may walk the paths of the Most High. And we shall beat our swords into ploughshares and our spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation - neither shall they learn war any more. And none shall be afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken.

Shinto Peace Prayer
Although the people living across the ocean surrounding us are all our brothers and sisters why, Oh Lord, is there trouble in this world? Why do winds and waves rise in the ocean surrounding us? I earnestly wish the wind will soon blow away all the clouds hanging over the tops of the mountains.

Bahá'í Peace Prayer
Be generous in prosperity and thankful in adversity. Be fair in thy judgement and guarded in thy speech. Be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness and a home to the stranger. Be eyes to the blind and a guiding light unto he feet of the erring. Be a breath of life to the body of humankind, a dew to the soil of the human heart and a fruit upon the tree of humility.
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Further reading

Tuesday, November 14, 2006 - Sudan Watch:
The Anglo-Zulu war - A Lesson Learned?



Cross posted to Congo Watch, Uganda Watch, Ethiopia Watch, Kenya Watch

Bin Laden's son Omar Osama has been deported from Spain and is being questioned by Egyptian authorities in Cairo

November 9, 2008 BBC report:

Bin Laden son questioned in Egypt

One of Osama Bin Laden's sons has been deported from Spain following a failed asylum bid and is being questioned by the Egyptian authorities in Cairo.

Omar Osama Bin Laden, 27, arrived in Spain on Monday with his British wife and claimed his life was in danger in the Middle East.

But Spanish officials said there was no provision for the couple to claim asylum under Spanish law.

The pair have also been unsuccessful in securing British visas.

Mr Bin Laden, one of the al-Qaeda leader's 19 sons, made his claim for asylum at Barajas airport during a stopover on a flight from Egypt to Morocco with his 52-year-old wife, Zaina Alsabah Bin Laden, formerly Jane Felix-Browne of Cheshire.

He said the petition was rejected due to "insufficient evidence of danger or threat to [his] life". An appeal against the ruling is also believed to have been rejected.

He and his wife remained in a transit area until being deported on Saturday.

An unnamed Egyptian official told the Associated Press that a decision had not yet been taken on whether to allow them to enter the country.

Omar Bin Laden, a metals trader, says he has urged his father to give up violence and has not seen him since 2000.

Mrs Bin Laden says his life is in danger because he "stands up and asks for peace" and that Spain is their "only chance of surviving".

Photo: Mr Bin Laden says he has not spoken to his father for eight years (Getty Images/BBC)
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Postscript from Sudan Watch Ed.

This evening, in response to a previous post here at Sudan Watch (Ref: Wednesday, November 05, 2008 - Bin Laden's son Omar Osama loses asylum bid in Spain) an anonymous Sudan Watch reader emailed me to say:

"Sorry if I am being stupid, but what does this have to do with Sudan?"

I responded with this reply:

Thank you for subscribing to Sudan Watch.

Please click into Sudan Watch main page http://sudanwatch.blogspot.com

And see search box in top left hand corner of page.

Type into the search box two words: bin laden.

The search will produce a page of posts from Sudan Watch archives.

Scroll through the whole page to receive the answer to your question.

Thank you for reading Sudan Watch.

Bin Laden's son Omar Osama loses asylum bid in Spain

November 5, 2008 International Herald Tribune report via foolocracy.com:

Bin Laden’s Son Seeks Asylum In Spain

Omar Osama Bin Laden, one of Osama Bin Laden’s sons, is requesting political asylum in Spain. Bin Laden is at Madrid’s Barajas airport in a special section for asylum seekers. Spain has three days to respond to his request. It was not known on what grounds Bin Laden was seeking asylum.

Bin Laden, a pacifist, urged his father to “find another way” during a CNN interview earlier in the year.

Bin Laden, 27, married a 51-year-old British woman last year.

He also sought asylum in Britain, but the request was turned down because authorities thought his loyalty to his father would “cause considerable public concern.” Bin Laden was with his father in Sudan and Afghanistan, but left before the 9/11 attacks.

“I am proud of my name, but if you have a name like mine you will find people run away from you, are afraid of you,” said Bin Laden.

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November 5, 2008 Associated Press report via The New York Times:

Son of Osama Bin Laden Loses Asylum Bid in Spain

MADRID, Spain (AP) -- Spain's Interior Ministry says it has rejected an asylum request from a son of Osama bin Laden.

A ministry official says the government determined that 27-year-old Omar Osama bin Laden did not ''meet the conditions necessary for entering Spain.''

The official would not elaborate or discuss the younger bin Ladder's reasons for seeking asylum upon arriving Monday at Madrid's Barrages Airport. The ministry official spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity in line with government policy.

Omar Osama Bin Laden has 24 hours to appeal and remains in an airport transit area.

The Spanish official said the government usually seeks a recommendation from the U.N. refugee agency in asylum request cases. He says the agency also recommended against asylum.

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UPDATE: See Sudan Watch post dated Sunday, November 09, 2008: Bin Laden's son Omar Osama has been deported from Spain and is being questioned by Egyptian authorities in Cairo

Ukraine says military hardware carried by hijacked Ukrainian ship MV Faina had been officially sold to Kenya (Update 1)

Photo: The seized vessel MV Faina is staying in the port of Hobyo, 500 kilometers northeast of the Somali capital Mogadishu. (Itar-Tass)

Friday, 31 October 2008 (Itar-Tass) report - Faina owner doing utmost to agree on ship and crew’s release - excerpt:

The owner of the Ukrainian ship Faina and an intermediary are doing their best to agree with Somali pirates on the release of the ship and the crew, the ship owner said on Friday.

NATO warships have encircled the Faina. The alliance command said it would not permit to bring the weaponry from the ship to the shore, where Islamic armed units were fighting against the Somali government.

The destination of the weaponry is still in question. Kenya said it had purchased the tanks and other armaments but refused to pay the ransom because the delivery had been incomplete. The Kenyan government said that the owners of the weaponry and the ship must hold negotiations with the assailants. There is also information that the weapons were routed to South Sudan.

Ukrainian First Vice-Premier Alexander Turchinov told a press conference on October 3 that the military hardware carried by the Faina ship had been officially sold to Kenya.

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In the face of Somali piracy, all eyes on Kenya army



Photo: The MV Faina. (Reuters/U.S. Navy Handout) Source:  Friday, October 31 2008 (www.nation.co.ke)report by Dominic Wabala - In the face of Somali piracy, all eyes on Kenya army - excerpt:

The Department of Defence (DoD) spokesman Bogita Ongeri told the Saturday Nation that because the ship was in international waters, the Kenyan navy was not obliged to rescue it.

“In such an incident where the ship is in international waters, Kenya can only collaborate with other countries who have interests in the area. We are fully involved in the anti-piracy operations in conjunction with other concerned countries but can only act within the law,” Mr Ongeri said.

However, analysts say that if the weapons aboard the MV Faina fell into the hands of insurgents, it could tip the balance of power in the war-wrecked country - and create havoc at the Kenya-Somalia border.

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Previous reports

Oct 09, 2008 Sudan Watch: MV Faina cargo was for Ethiopia? NATO agrees to join anti-piracy operations off coast of Somalia: seven of its frigates will arrive within two weeks.

Oct 02, 2008 Sudan Watch: US warships surround Ukrainian ship hijacked nr Somalia: Cargo for Sudan - Moscow sends warship - Germany joins EU forces - Kenyan official arrested.
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UPDATE - Nov 08, 2008:

GOSS = Government of South Sudan?



Photo: Freight manifest (bill of laden) from the Ukrainian ship MV Faina. Contract numbers on the manifest include the initials GOSS, thought to stand for government of South Sudan. (BBC report October 7, 2008 - Hijacked tanks 'for South Sudan')

See Rob Crilly's African Safari blog post at From The Frontline 8 November 2008 - Britain, Leaks and those Awkward Tanks

5 HTC oil workers ambushed (by Arab Baggara tribe?) between Heglig, S. Kordofan & Mayom County, Unity, S. Sudan: 3 Sudanese killed, 2 Yemenis missing

More bad news. Thursday, 30 October 2008 (Reuters) report - Three Sudanese oil workers killed in south Sudan - excerpt:

(JUBA, Sudan) Three Sudanese working with the Yemeni HTC oil company were killed and two Yemenis were believed missing after they were ambushed in Unity State in southern Sudan, a spokesman for the state said on Thursday.

Andrea Kuong told Reuters the group was ambushed while travelling between the Heglig oil-producing area in South Kordofan and Mayom County in Unity State on Wednesday.

"Two Yemenis were kidnapped, they (police) believe. But they are not 100 percent sure. They are still missing," he said.

He blamed the incident on the Baggara tribe, an Arab nomadic group that grazes cattle in Unity State. "This is not the first time Baggara have ambushed cars," he said.

The energy-producing region between north and south Sudan has seen escalating attacks against oil workers in the last six months.

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+ + + Two HTC Yemen staff killed in Sudan + + +

More sad news. Wednesday, 29 October 2008 (AFP) report - Two Yemeni oil company staff killed in Sudan - excerpt:

Gunmen shot dead two Sudanese staff from a Yemeni oil company in southern Sudan on Wednesday while they were driving to work, the country manager of the company told AFP.

A Sudanese government official said the gunman had also kidnapped a Yemeni oil worker, but HTC Yemen Sudan-manager Abdelkarim al-Harabi said he could not confirm the abduction.

"Two Sudanese working for us were killed today about 12 pm (0900 GMT). We don't know who is responsible," Harabi told AFP.

A Sudanese government official confirmed the deaths and said that a Yemeni oil worker was also kidnapped in Unity State, which is part of semi-autonomous southern Sudan.

Harabi said he was in touch with staff from Yemen to clarify whether anyone was missing.

1 of 2 missing CNPC oil workers found alive by Sudan army - 1 soldier killed, 1 wounded - Captors led by Misseriya tribesman Abu Humaid Ahmed Dannay

Good news. Friday, 31 October 2008 (Xinhua Beijing via Reuters Africa, reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Paul Tait) - Kidnapped Chinese oil worker found in Sudan-Xinhua excerpt:

A Chinese oil worker held hostage in central Sudan for more than a week after being taken from an oil field with eight colleagues has been found alive by the Sudan army, state media said on Friday, citing the Chinese embassy.

Four of the Chinese oil workers were confirmed killed earlier this week, while three others were in hospital after being rescued.

"The Chinese embassy said that it would continue to cooperate with the Sudanese authorities and to do their best to find out the fate of the last Chinese worker," Xinhua said.

China sent a team of officials to Sudan on Thursday to seek the release of the oil workers after four of those kidnapped died in a clash between their captors and Sudanese forces.

Let's hope the other poor chap is found alive and well. More updates here later.
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1 soldier killed, 1 wounded while tracking kidnapped Chinese oil workers - Kidnappers led by Misseriya tribesman Abu Humaid Ahmed Dannay

Bad news. Sudan Tribune (Khartoum) report Thursday, 30 October 2008 - Soldier killed while tracking kidnapped Chinese oil workers - excerpt:

One soldier was killed and another wounded Wednesday night during the tracking of the kidnappers of Chinese oil workers.

The kidnappers are led by Abu Humaid Ahmed Dannay, a Misseriya tribesman who said the abduction was aimed at drawing attention to the lack of development in the region and the failure of oil companies operating there to help provide services or jobs for natives.

Note, the report points out that:

the Misseriya were also blamed for the kidnapping of four Indian oil workers and their Sudanese driver in the same area in May. All five managed to escape or were released unharmed, the last one in July.

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Today, I came across the following news item at China's Foreign Ministry website, dated 26 March 2004:

Q: Is it true that the other Chinese worker abducted by the rebels of Sudan has been rescued?

A: According to the latest information from the Chinese Embassy in Sudan, thanks to all-out efforts of China, Sudan and ICRC, the second Chinese worker abducted by the anti-government militants of Sudan was rescued on the morning of 27th March(Beijing Time), following the safe escape of the other Chinese worker on 19th March. Currently the rescued person is in good health and spirit. The Charge d'Affaire a.i. of the Chinese Embassy in Sudan had greeted the rescued worker by phone. Therefore, the two Chinese workers abducted by the anti-government militants of Sudan are all out of danger.

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Also today, the following excerpt from Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Jiang Yu's Regular Press Conference 30 October 2008:

Q: "... about the Chinese hostages in Sudan, exactly how many of them were killed, how many were rescued and how many are still missing?

A: "... according to the latest information, among the nine CNPC workers kidnapped in Sudan, four were killed, three were rescued, two are still missing. The rescued have already received medical treatment and are now safe.

This morning, a working group led by the Foreign Ministry, with members from the Ministry of Commerce and CNPC left for Sudan. The working group will join our Embassy in Sudan in taking care of the aftermath and conveying condolences of the CPC Central Committee and State Council to the victims and consolation to the rescued. They will keep contact with Sudan, urging it to continue the rescue efforts to their best, bring the murderers to justice and take every measure necessary to protect life and property of Chinese citizens in Sudan.

Q: Sudan and China gave different numbers of casualties and those missing in the kidnapping incident. Do you reach consensus on that now? Could you also tell us who are the members of the working group handling the incident?

A: I have briefed you earlier on the latest developments. Among those kidnapped, four were killed, three were rescued and two were still missing. This is the latest figure I have got up to now.

On October 19th, just the next day after the kidnapping, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has sent a working group to Sudan to handle the aftermath. The second working group, a governmental taskforce headed by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, with members from the Ministry of Commerce and the CNPC set off to Sudan early this morning.

For further reports, click on Abyei label here below.

China sends team to Sudan to help find 2 missing oil workers: Kidnappers are from Arab Misseriya tribe and are associated with JEM terrorist group

Note, below copied report reveals that Mukhtar Babu El-Nimer, chief of the Arab Misseriya tribe in the Muglad region of South Kordofan said the kidnappers of the Chinese oil workers were of his tribe, but associated with JEM rebel group.

China Sends Team to Sudan to Help Find Two Missing Oil Workers

Thursday, 30 October 2008 (Bloomberg) report by Dune Lawrence and Heba Aly - excerpt:

China sent a team of government officials to Sudan to help to find two oil workers who went missing after the Sudanese government attempted to rescue them and seven others from kidnappers, the foreign ministry said.

Four employees of China National Petroleum Corp. were killed during the rescue attempt and three others were injured. Officials from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Commerce, and CNPC left for Sudan today, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said told reporters in Beijing.

"The kidnappers hurt the workers during a rescue operation by the Sudan government," Jiang said.

The Sudanese authorities have denied that they carried out a rescue attempt of the hostages, who were abducted on Oct. 18 while working in South Kordofan, bordering the Darfur region and straddling the contested border between north and south Sudan.

The kidnappers killed the oil workers after they thought a government plane that was resupplying troops in the area was preparing to attack them, Ali Yousif, director general of protocol at the Sudanese Foreign Ministry, said in a telephone interview yesterday in Khartoum, the capital.

"There was a plane bringing food and water to the troops in that area, who were surrounding the kidnappers from very far," Yousif said. "When they saw the plane, they thought it was coming to attack them, so they killed the hostages and ran away."

The government has blamed the rebel Justice and Equality Movement for the abductions. JEM said it wasn't involved. Both China and Sudan have called the incident a "terrorist" act.

JEM has repeatedly accused China of supporting Sudan's military actions in Darfur through arms sales and investment in the oil industry, the third biggest in sub-Saharan Africa. China National Petroleum is the nation's top oil producer.

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Will killing of oil workers harden China's Darfur policy?

Wednesday, 29 October 2008 (CSM) report by Heba Aly, Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor and Scott Baldauf, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor - excerpt:

Mukhtar Babu El-Nimer, chief of the Arab Misseriya tribe in the Muglad region of South Kordofan, said the kidnappers were of his tribe, but associated with the JEM rebel group.

"They want development. This area has no development and the oil is pouring out of it. The government has done nothing for them," he said.

Oil workers have been targeted in the region before. In May, the same Misseriya tribe kidnapped four Indian oil workers. All but one escaped or were released.

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Related reports

Thursday, 30 October 2008 (Sudan Watch) Chinese hostages in Abyei, Kordofan: 4 dead, 3 injured, 2 missing after rescue attempt by Chinese and GOS forces

For further reports, click on Abyei label here below.

Unknown gunmen attack 9 UN peacekeepers in Kutum, N. Darfur, Sudan: 1 killed, 1 injured while guarding well - SANDF to investigate

Gunmen kill peacekeeper guarding well in Darfur

Thursday, 30 October 2008 (Guardian) report by AP writer Sarah El Deeb - excerpts:

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) - Gunmen opened fire on a group of South African peacekeepers guarding a well in Darfur, killing one and seriously wounding another, a spokesman for the joint U.N.-African Union mission said Thursday.

Nine South African peacekeepers were guarding the well, which provides water to the peacekeepers and general population of Kutum in northern Darfur, when the attack occurred Wednesday night, said peacekeeping force spokesman Noureddine Mezni.

"A convoy of vehicles with armed (men) attacked the force," Mezni said, adding the attackers fled after peacekeepers returned fire.

One of the peacekeepers died after reaching the nearest camp, about half a mile from the well. The other, a seriously wounded female soldier, was evacuated to el-Fasher, North Darfur's provincial capital.

"We were securing a water well used by the population. We are not part of the conflict," he said, adding the brazen attack left peacekeepers "shocked."

Mezni said the peacekeepers were still investigating who was behind the attack and would not be deterred from carrying out their mission.

In July, some 200 gunmen ambushed a convoy in northern Darfur, killing seven peacekeepers in one of the most brazen attacks against the force. The attackers have not yet been identified. Three other peacekeepers were killed in separate attacks around Darfur this year.

Peacekeepers have rarely blamed any of the warring factions in the conflict zone, and attackers have only been arrested once.

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UN Peacekeeper Killed, Another Wounded in Sudan's North Darfur

Thursday, 30 October 2008 (Bloomberg) report by Heba Aly - excerpts:

A South African soldier serving with the United Nations-led peacekeeping mission in Sudan's Darfur region was killed yesterday, bringing the death toll among the force's members to 11 since July, the UN said.

Gunmen yesterday attacked peacekeepers in the Kutum area of northern Darfur, Noureddine Mezni, spokesman of the UN-African Union mission, known as Unamid, said by phone from El-Fasher. One male soldier died of his injuries, while a female South African trooper was wounded, he said.

"With this South African soldier, we have now lost 11 peacekeepers since the beginning of the mission,'' Mezni said.

A Nigerian soldier was killed on Oct. 6 in southern Darfur in an attack on his convoy. In July, seven peacekeepers were killed and 22 injured in a single ambush on a police and military patrol. The same month another peacekeeper was shot and killed in western Darfur by gunmen in five vehicles. A 10th died in September when she was stung by a scorpion.

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Murderous attack against UNAMID peacekeepers

Thursday, 30 October 2008 report by United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID):

(El Fasher) On Wednesday 29 October, at approximately 1800 hours, South African soldiers serving with the African Union – United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) came under attack from unidentified men who arrived in several heavily armed vehicles.

At the time of the incident, the contingent was securing a water point near the Kassab Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp, in the vicinity of Kutum, 103 kilometers north-west of El Fasher, North Darfur. One peacekeeper was killed and another wounded as a result of the attack. The injured female soldier and the body of the peacekeeper who died were evacuated to El Fasher.

The Mission has sent troops to reinforce the attacked location, search for the assailants and conduct an investigation.

UNAMID strongly condemns this cowardly act of violence targeting United Nations personnel who work tirelessly to alleviate the dire suffering of Darfurians.

UNAMID peacekeepers are serving in Darfur in an effort to bring back and maintain peace in this beleaguered part of the Sudan and all parties are, once again, reminded that, under international law, any attack against peacekeepers constitutes a war crime.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1769 (2007) authorized the deployment of up to 19,555 military personnel, including 360 military observers and liaison officers and up to 3,772 police personnel and 19 formed police units. There are currently 9,073 military personnel serving with UNAMID.

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+ + + Rest In Peace fallen soldiers + + +

Snapshot of Google's newsreel 15:37 GMT Thursday, 30 October 2008:

UN soldier shot dead in Darfur
Radio Netherlands, Netherlands - 45 minutes ago
A South African UN soldier has been shot dead in the Darfur region of Sudan. Another soldier was seriously injured when their unit came under fire. ...

Inquiry into death of SA peacekeeper
The Times, South Africa - 3 hours ago
An inquiry will be conducted after gunmen killed a South African soldier and wounded another in Darfur, the South African National Defence Force said today. ...

Gunmen kill South African peacekeeper in Sudan's Darfur
Reuters UK, UK - 4 hours ago
By Alaa Shahine KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Unknown gunmen have killed a South African peacekeeper and wounded another in Sudan's western Darfur region, ...

Gunmen kill UN/AU peackeeper in Sudan's Darfur
Reuters - 4 hours ago
KHARTOUM, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Gunmen have killed a peacekeeper and wounded another in an attack in North Darfur in western Sudan, the joint United ...

UN peacekeeper killed in Darfur attack
Africasia, UK - 5 hours ago
Gunmen killed a South African peacekeeper with the UN-led mission in Sudan's Darfur region and seriously wounded a female soldier in the second deadly ...

Gunmen kill peacekeeper in north Darfur
International Herald Tribune, France - 5 hours ago
AP KHARTOUM, Sudan: A spokesman for Darfur peacekeepers says unknown gunmen attacked two South African troops guarding a water well in the north of the ...

SA soldier dies in Sudan shooting
Sowetan, South Africa - 1 hour ago
Defence Minister Charles Nqakula today announced the death of a South African National Defence Force soldier in Sudan. "This tragic incident occurred at a ...

South African soldier killed, another seriously injured in Darfur
Monsters and Critics.com - 3 hours ago
Johannesburg - A South African soldier was killed and another seriously injured in an attack by gunmen on their unit in the conflict-hit western Sudanese ...

SANDF to investigate death of soldier in Sudan
BuaNews Online (press release), South Africa - 36 minutes ago
Pretoria - A Board of Inquiry will be set up by the South African National Defence Force to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a South ...

Gunmen kill peacekeeper in north Darfur
PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung), Austria - 3 hours ago
AP KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) - Gunmen on vehicles assaulted a group of South African peacekeepers guarding a water well in Darfur, killing one and seriously ...

Chinese hostages in Abyei, Kordofan: 4 dead, 3 injured, 2 missing after rescue attempt by Chinese and GOS forces

Conflicting news reports over the past few days made it unclear as to how many of the nine kidnapped Chinese oil workers were killed, and by whom, in the oil rich region of Abyei, a province of south Kordofan, central Sudan.

China National Petroleum Corporation is the parent company of the oil workers’ employer. The workers were kidnapped on October 18, 2008.

As noted here yesterday, Tuesday, October 28, 2008, reportedly, the nine oil workers were kidnapped by Awlad Omran, a sub-clan of al-Misseriya Arab tribe. [An omda of the Misseriya tribe is leader of the Janjaweed from Habila to Forbranga. Hard-line elements in Khartoum may seek to use the Misseriya as proxies to destabilise the region and scuttle the CPA]

Today, Wednesday, October 29, 2008 Sudan confirms that three of the nine oil workers were killed, the three injured are currently receiving medical treatment, and three are still missing. China says Sudan hostages died in failed rescue (see report copied here below).

Sudanese Foreign Minister, Mutrif Siddiq, said the kidnappers planned to take the hostages over into neighboring Darfur, west Sudan.

Voice of America's report from Khartoum Tuesday, October 28, 2008 (see copy here below) says Ali al-Sadiq confirmed that five Chinese oil workers had been killed Monday and he said:

"At around 3 pm local time yesterday, the abductors of the Chinese oil workers, without any provocation, have killed five of those nine Chinese workers. Two of them managed to escape with injuries and the remaining two were recaptured by the Justice and Equality Movement.

Yesterday's report by Associated Press (copied here below) says that Chinese and Sudanese government forces were involved in a rescue attempt of the nine hostages during which the captors executed five of the hostages, while two were rescued and two more remain missing.

Later on today, an AFP report from Khartoum said the body of a fourth Chinese hostage was found in Sudan today as two local staff for a Yemeni company were shot dead. Also, news just in:

Fourth body of Chinese hostage killed in Sudan retrieved

KHARTOUM, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- The body of a fourth Chinese worker abducted in southwest Sudan by local militants earlier this month has been recovered, officials of the Chinese Embassy in Sudan said on Wednesday.

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Bodies of 3 killed Chinese workers transferred to Khartoum

Wednesday, October 29, 2008 (China Daily/Shanghai Daily/CRI) report:

The bodies of the three Chinese workers killed by kidnappers in Sudan were transferred to the airport in Khartoum late Tuesday, October 28, 2008

A dozen Chinese peacekeepers saluted the coffins covered in red Chinese flags, Shanghai Daily reported.



Photo: Workers cover the coffins of the killed Chinese workers with China's national flags before unloading them from an aircraft at the airport in Khartoum on Tuesday, October 28, 2008. (Xinhua).

The kidnappers of the nine Chinese oil workers in Sudan panicked when they saw a military aircraft and killed at least three of their hostages, Sudanese officials said Tuesday.

The aircraft was monitoring the hostages, said Mohammed Doureik, the commissioner of Abyei in the province of south Kordofan where the October 18 abduction took place.

"There were no clashes. There was a panic when they saw the plane and they killed them," said Doureik, who has been following negotiations with tribal leaders for the release of the remaining hostages.

Originally the Sudanese government said four had been killed, but the undersecretary at the Foreign Ministry, Mutrif Siddiq, said that only three of the Chinese workers were confirmed dead and three others were injured and now receiving medical care. The remaining three are missing.

Siddiq said the kidnappers planned to take the hostages over into neighboring Darfur according to communications intercepted between the kidnappers and the rebels who operate there.

The Sudan government’s forces are now scouring all the hiding places to search for the missing, he added.

Sudan's Defense Minister Abdel Rahim Hussein called the murders a "terrorist act," and Foreign Ministry officials said there would be new measures to protect foreign interests.

China on Tuesday condemned the killings, urging the African nation to take all measures to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals.

"We feel strong indignation and condemn the terrorist act by the kidnappers on unarmed Chinese company staff," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular press conference in Beijing.

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China says Sudan hostages died in failed rescue

Wednesday, October 29, 2008 (Associated Press) report via Boston Herald:

BEIJING - Kidnappers killed five Chinese oil workers in Sudan during a failed rescue attempt by the Sudanese government, China’s Foreign Ministry said today.

A ministry spokeswoman gave few details about Monday’s rescue effort and the deaths — among the most violent acts China has faced in recent years during the expansion of Chinese businesses worldwide.

Two other workers were rescued during Monday’s operation while two more remained missing, said Jiang Yu, the spokeswoman.

Late Tuesday, the ministry said it was still investigating what had happened, after receiving new information from the Sudanese government that indicated four hostages had died, four were rescued and one was still missing.

Mohammed Doureik, the Sudanese commissioner of Abyei where the oil workers died, said the kidnappers panicked when they saw a military aircraft fly overhead and killed their hostages.

He said the plane was monitoring the hostages, who had been kidnapped Oct. 18.

Jiang said the Chinese government was involved in the rescue, but would not elaborate or say if officials had been in contact with the kidnappers. A working group of Chinese Embassy officials and executives from China National Petroleum Corp., the parent company of the oil workers’ employer, was in Sudan at the time, she said.

China’s account differed from that given by the Sudanese Foreign Ministry, which said Monday that the workers had been killed execution-style "without provocation." Spokesman Ali Sadiq said two more Chinese were injured but managed to flee and two others were still being held by the kidnappers.

The discrepancies between accounts could not immediately be resolved. Jiang defended both governments’ actions and put the onus on the kidnappers.

"The Chinese and Sudanese governments have made great efforts for their rescue," Jiang said at a regular news conference. "We express strong indignation and condemnation to the inhumane terrorist deed of the kidnappers in killing these unarmed Chinese workers."

But the kidnapping and rescue underscore both the dangers faced by Chinese firms and the pressure Beijing is under to protect its business interests as they expand globally, sometimes in conflict-ridden parts of the world.

China’s presence in Sudan — part of its push to expand worldwide to buy energy and other raw materials or find new markets — has become a target of disaffection. China buys nearly two-thirds of Sudan’s oil, providing what critics say are crucial revenues to a Sudanese government involved in a civil war in the Darfur region, where 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced.

Rebels have warned Chinese and other oil firms to leave the country, saying their operations help support the government in Khartoum.

"The incident rings the safety alarm bell for Chinese investing overseas," said Shu Yunguo, director of the Africa Research Center at Shanghai Normal University.

Shu and other experts said the killings would nevertheless not deter China in its search for energy and other raw materials to fuel economic growth — and that as a result ensuring workers’ safety had become a challenge.

"The one thing this reflects is the unfortunate cost that China pays for engagement in the world in less than stable situations, whether it’s Nigeria, in Pakistan, in (the Pakistani province of) Baluchistan, or Sudan," said David Zweig of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

"But China, being a latecomer and having invested so much in Sudan, is not about to pull out so fast," said Zweig.

Chinese oil workers have been attacked or taken hostage in Nigeria and Ethiopia. Earlier this month, Islamic militants captured two Chinese telecommunications engineers in Pakistan.

The recent hostage-taking was the third attack on Chinese targets in Sudan in 12 months.

The kidnappers snatched the China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corp. workers near an oil field in the southwestern region of Kordofan.

Sudan’s government has blamed rebels from Darfur for kidnapping the Chinese, but on Monday a spokesman for the rebels denied involvement. A tribal leader from Kordofan told The Associated Press the kidnappers belonged to a local militia that claims it is neglected and demands jobs and benefits.

Jiang said China would not cut its business ties with Sudan, saying they were beneficial to both countries.

"We have actually played a constructive and contributing role in Sudan’s economic and social development. Our companies have brought a lot of benefit to the local people and we will continue to keep our friendly cooperation with Sudan," she said.

Though international rights groups criticize Beijing for not using its financial ties to pressure Khartoum to end violence, China has said it is working to advance the peace process in Darfur. It has about 140 peacekeepers and engineers deployed in Darfur.

Last year Beijing appointed a veteran diplomat to oversee the issue. The diplomat, Liu Guijin, returned to Khartoum on Friday for his fifth visit, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

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Sudan Urges Condemnation of Darfur Rebel Group for Oil Worker Deaths

Tuesday, October 28, 2008 (Voice of America) report from Khartoum by Blake Evans-Pritchard:

Sudan has urged the international community to strongly condemn the Justice and Equality Movement rebel group from Darfur, which it accuses of executing five Chinese oil workers that were kidnapped last week. For VOA, Blake Evans-Pritchard reports from Khartoum.

A spokesman for the ministry of foreign affairs in Khartoum, Ali al-Sadiq, confirmed that five Chinese oil workers had been killed Monday.

He said, "At around 3 pm local time yesterday, the abductors of the Chinese oil workers, without any provocation, have killed five of those nine Chinese workers. Two of them managed to escape with injuries and the remaining two were recaptured by the Justice and Equality Movement. The minister of foreign affairs has issued a statement last night strongly condemning the act and requesting the international community to do the same. The ministry also believes that JEM has committed so many atrocities in the past without being condemned by the international community."

The nine oil workers, employed by the China National Petroleum Corporation, were seized last week, along with their driver, in South Kordofan State. The Block 4 oil field where they had been working is east of Darfur on the border between North and South Sudan.

Al-Sadiq said the government is working with local tribal chiefs to locate the two missing oil workers.

The Justice and Equality Movement accuses China of supporting Khartoum in the conflict with Darfur, and says that it wants Chinese nationals out of the region. It has also been pushing for fairer distribution of the oil wealth.

But a rebel group spokesman, Ahmed Hussein, denied involvement.

He said: "JEM is not responsible for this attack. It has no question whatsoever with this incident. This is just [an] allegation from the Sudanese government because they know it [JEM] is the only force that is challenging them politically and militarily."

Both Beijing and Khartoum have said the relationship between the two countries will not be affected by the murders of the oil workers.

Ministry of foreign affairs spokesman, Ali al-Sadiq said, ""This act is not going to hamper or to affect in any way the strong ties between Sudan and China. The two countries are going to work hard for the prosperity and for the mutual benefit of the two nations."

Analyst Oswald Clint, of the Sandford C. Bernstein investment research and management firm, agreed that the incident will have little impact on China's involvement in Sudan.

He said, "Africa still has significant undeveloped resources and will continue to be attractive despite the on-the-ground risks. The Chinese will continue to seek out those assets in those areas, as they have to secure steady crude flows through China from as many places as possible, just to feed demand."

Clint added, "Those sort of risks you are seeing in Sudan are also happening in other countries as well. The oil companies have been dealing with them for many decades. You do not switch off an investment because of some on-the-ground activity, because of some kidnappings. Look at Nigeria."

During the past year, kidnappings in African oil-producing giant Nigeria have become more and more frequent. But Clint says he does not see this making a great difference to foreign investment in the oil sector there.

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Mon Oct 20, 2008 - Chinese ambassador to Sudan Li Chengwen, left, and Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Ali Sadiq, right, speak to media after meeting to discuss the fate of nine Chinese oil workers who were kidnapped in an oil-rich region of southwestern Sudan, in the capital Khartoum, Sudan Monday, Oct. 20, 2008. Sudan's Foreign Ministry says the kidnappers of nine Chinese oil workers are demanding a share of the region's oil profits. (AP Photo/Abd Raouf)



Mon Oct 27, 2008 - China's envoy to Darfur Liu Guijin speaks to reporters following a meeting with Sudanese foreign ministry officials in Khartoum. Tribal chiefs in central Sudan have set out into the bush hoping to meet the kidnappers of nine Chinese oil workers for the first time and start negotiations for their release, a tribesman has said. (AFP/Ashraf Shazly)



Tue Oct 28, 2008 - China's envoy to Darfur Liu Guijin and Sudanese foreign ministry spokesman Ali al-Sadiq speak to reporters in Khartoum. The bodies of Chinese hostages and colleagues recovering from a kidnapping ordeal are to be flown to Khartoum as Sudan vowed to step up security for foreign oil workers across the country. (AFP/File/Ashraf Shazly)



Tue Oct 28, 2008 - Chinese UN peacekeepers stand in honour next to the caskets of three Chinese kidnapped and killed oil workers ahead of repatriation in Khartoum airport. The bodies of three Chinese oil workers and three of their colleagues wounded in a kidnapping ordeal arrived in Khartoum on Tuesday for full military honours ahead of repatriation. (AFP/Ashraf Shazly)



Photo: Chinese UN peacekeepers stand in honour next to three caskets, draped in Chinese flags, of kidnapped and killed Chinese oil workers ahead of their repatriation at Khartoum airport. (AFP/Ashraf Shazly)



Photo: Coffins containing the bodies of three kidnapped Chinese oil workers arrive at the airport in Khartoum, Sudan, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008. The kidnappers of nine Chinese oil workers in Sudan panicked when they saw a military aircraft fly overhead and killed at least three of their hostages, Sudanese government officials said Tuesday, contradicting Chinese claims of a botched rescue attempt. (AP Photo/Abd Raouf)



Photo: Chinese Peacekeepers line up as the bodies of three Chinese citizens, killed after being kidnapped, arrive at Khartoum Airport, October 28, 2008. Sudan said it was searching for three missing Chinese oil workers on Tuesday after what Beijing described as a failed attempt to rescue nine Chinese men kidnapped in the African country more than a week ago. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said four workers were killed during the operation. But the Sudanese government, which said the killings were unprovoked, revised the death toll to three. Three others escaped with injuries. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin (SUDAN) Reuters Tue Oct 28, 2008



Photo: Chinese Peacekeepers salute as the bodies of three Chinese citizens, killed after being kidnapped, arrive at Khartoum Airport, October 28, 2008. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin (SUDAN)



Photo: In this photo released by UNMIS, coffins containing the bodies of three kidnapped Chinese oil workers arrive at the airport in Khartoum, Sudan, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008. (AP Photo/UNMIS, Johann Hattingh)



Photo: Coffins containing the bodies of three kidnapped Chinese oil workers arrive at the airport in Khartoum, Sudan, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008. (AP Photo/Abd Raouf)



Photo: In this photo released by UNMIS, coffins containing the bodies of three kidnapped Chinese oil workers arrive at the airport in Khartoum, Sudan, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008. (AP Photo/UNMIS, Johann Hattingh)



Photo: Tue Oct 28, 2008 Chinese and Sudanese officials carry a coffin of one of three Chinese citizens killed in south Kordofan, central Sudan, after being kidnapped, at Khartoum Airport, October 28, 2008. Sudan said it was searching for three missing Chinese oil workers on Tuesday after what Beijing described as a failed attempt to rescue nine Chinese men kidnapped in the African country more than a week ago. than a week ago. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said four workers were killed during the operation. But the Sudanese government, which said the killings were unprovoked, revised the death toll to three. Three others escaped with injuries. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin (SUDAN) flown from South Kordofan in central Sudan



Graphic map of Sudan showing its oil fields and the international consortium involved. Tue Oct 28, 2008 (AFP/Graphic/Anibal Maizcaceres)

For further reports on Abeyi, click on Abyei label here below.

ICC prosecutor to indict Darfur rebels within weeks

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

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

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

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

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