Friday, April 14, 2006

AU, UN teams hold meeting on Darfur

Two teams from the AU Commission and the UN Secretariat have met in Addis Ababa over Sudan's Darfur region, the AU has said today to discuss the implementation of the AU Peace and Security Council communique of March 10. They also discussed the UN Security Council's Resolution 1663 of March 24, 2006 pertaining to the envisaged transition to a UN operation in Darfur. - UPI/AND April 14, 2006:
The statement said the teams agreed to work together to expedite planning for the envisaged transition to a UN operation in Darfur. In the meantime, the AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS), which currently has about 7,000 personnel, including peacekeepers and observers, would be strenghtened, the statement said.

They also agreed to establish mechanisms for coordination and joint planning, in consultation with the Sudanese government and other parties concerned, it said.

The AU delegation was led by Commissioner for Peace and Security, Said Djinnit while the UN team was led by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hedi Annabi, the statement said.
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Chad hosts 250,000 refugees and displaced people in its eastern region

Today, Chadian President Deby said if the international community did not solve the Darfur crisis by June and guarantee security on the border then his country would no longer shelter Sudanese refugees.

Apr 15 2006 The Times President threatens to expel 200,000 who escaped Darfur

Apr 14 2006 IRIN President threatens to expel Darfur refugees as attacks surge in lawless east - There are 250,000 refugees and displaced in eastern Chad.

Annan says a UN force should be sent to Darfur, even if Sudanese won't agree?

According to a report at Radio Netherlands 14 April 2006 "Mr Annan told the NOVA television programme that a UN force should be sent, even if the Sudanese government were not to agree." Copy of report, in full:

"NATO not UN should be protecting Darfur"
by RN Security and Defence Editor Hans de Vreij:

Lord Owen, a former international peace negotiator believes the plea by UN's Special Representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk for a 'robust' UN force to be sent into Darfur is unlikely to materialise. Lord Owen, formerly EU representative during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina and now a member of Britain's House of Lords, told Radio Netherlands that only NATO would have the capability to do "hard peacekeeping" as he phrased it.

However, he added that NATO was likely to continue with the new tasks it has in Afghanistan first, before engaging troops to establish peace in Darfur. For the time being, the alliance's role there is limited to providing logistical assistance to a small peacekeeping force from the African Union.

NATO problems

Jan Pronk last week strongly spoke out against any NATO intervention in the region of Darfur. He said that action by NATO would cause,

"...massive support by the whole of the [Sudanese] population against such an intervention. People will think that this is just a third theatre of Western intervention after Afghanistan and Iraq. They will fight."

Instead, Jan Pronk believes a UN peacekeeping force consisting mainly of African and Asian troops with 'enabling' support from Western UN member states would be acceptable for the Sudanese government.

During a brief visit to the Netherlands, UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan said on Thursday that he had sought unspecified military support from the Netherlands and countries like France and the United Kingdom for a new peacekeeping mission in Darfur.

Mr Annan told the NOVA television programme that a UN force should be sent, even if the Sudanese government were not to agree.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council is yet to give a green light for the dispatching of such a force. But according to Lord Owen, the UN lacks key capabilities for "hard peacekeeping", such as an air force or heavy artillery.

"In many of these regions, you will need this. You can subcontract that to NATO, as we did in Bosnia, but there were a lot of problems with that, such as 'dual-key' command."

Referring to Jan Pronk, Lord Owen added that he respected his views.

"He is an experienced figure; he is there in the field, so I respect his judgment. But he has got a history, he has not always been strong on defence.

Disgrace

Lord Owen referred to the situation in Darfur as,

"... a disgrace. The trouble is, at the moment I don't think the African Union is yet ready to ask for NATO to come in. What we are doing in NATO is right, we are helping the African Union, flying troops in, we're giving them logistical support, we're acting in the background. Personally, I doubt the African Union can deal with Darfur and I think there will come a moment when the states in the region will ask us to go in."
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See NATO ready to help UN in Darfur - What happened to NATO supporting African Union Mission in Darfur?

US Deputy Secretary Zoellick Welcomes AU Chair Konare

US State Department transcript of remarks before meeting with Alpha Oumar Konare, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, April 14 2006.

Statement on Chad, Darfur by Security Council President

Statement to the press, delivered today by Security Council President Wang Guangya (China), says the situation in Darfur and the mounting tension at the border between the Sudan and Chad was under consideration by the members of the Security Council. Excerpt:
The members of the Security Council express support for the efforts of the African Union and invite the Secretary-General and the African Union to make available their good offices to address this crisis.

Chad Conflict At 800 Casualties?

Prensa claims some 400 soldiers and rebels died and 387 were injured in the past few hours in Chad, Administration Minister Mahamat Ali Abdallah reported Friday. Ali Abdallah did not mention civilian victims, but humanitarian organizations said about 100 civilians went to hospitals.
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Chad: Around the clock surgery in N'djamena's main hospital

"We had to perform quite a lot of double inferior limbs amputations. Most of the wounded are quite young. We've been treating girls and even a three-year old baby." - MSF Press Release:

Since yesterday afternoon, MSF has been treating heavily wounded civilians after widespread violence in Chad reached its capital city, N'Djamena. So far, surgical teams have provided treatment to more than 60 people in the Hopital General de Reference National (HGNR), the main reference hospital in the country. [via PoTP]

Central African Republic closes border with Sudan

Central African Republic closed its border with Sudan on Friday in protest at what it called Khartoum's "aggression" following rebel attacks on its neighbour Chad, its foreign minister said.

"We are closing the border. We condemn the aggression against Chad," Central African Republic's Foreign Minister Jean Paul Ngoupande told Reuters, adding the country was stopping short of cutting diplomatic ties with Khartoum.

Chadian

Full report Reuters (Image courtesy AFP) 14 April 2006.

Chad cuts Sudan ties after attack

"We have taken the decision to break our diplomatic relations with Sudan today and to proceed to close our frontiers," Chadian President Idriss Deby told a rally in N'Djamena.

Mr Deby warned that the international community had until the end of June to resolve the conflict in Darfur, otherwise they would have "to find another country" to shelter some 200,000 Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad. He said he had ordered all Sudanese diplomats to leave the country. Full report BBC 14 Apr 2006.
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Sudan's government denied it was helping anti-Deby rebels

"Let me repeat that Sudan is not involved in these Chadian internal affairs. They have a revolt, we are not involved," said Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Jamal Ibrahim. Full report Reuters 14 Apr 2006.

During a press conference at Khartoum Airport today Sudanese FM Lam Akol said Sudan hoped that Chad would remain stable. "Chad's instability would negatively affect the security in Sudan. What is taking place at the moment was a Chadian internal concern that has no connection with us" he said.

FUC rebels in Chad

Photo: Chadian rebels from the United Front for Democratic Change (FUC), an alliance of nine rebel groups, on drill in rebel territory, February 10, 2006. Reuters/Opheera Mcdoom

Chad says to stop oil output if no World Bank deal

Chad will stop its oil production from Tuesday unless it reaches an agreement with the World Bank to end a dispute over the use of oil revenues, a government minister said on Friday - Reuters 14 Apr 2006:
"We will turn off the tap in a week if there is no agreement with the World Bank," Human Rights Minister Abderamane Djasnabaille told a news conference after a cabinet meeting. He said production would be stopped on Tuesday, April 18 at midday.

The World Bank suspended loans to Chad on Jan. 12, saying the government had breached an agreement with the bank when it changed a law to access oil profits from a pipeline operated by a U.S.-led consortium that were meant to benefit the poor. The bank also froze pipeline profits saved in a London escrow account, which it has refused to release to the government. The savings include royalties from the pipeline's operator, Exxon Mobil.

"The World Bank does not have the right to block funds that do not belong to it," Djasnabaille said.

Chad parades captured rebels incl Sudanese police officer

Reuters report by Daniel Flynn says Chad's government on Friday paraded captured rebels it said were recruited by Sudan. Excerpt:
The 160 prisoners, looking downcast and some wearing bedraggled camouflage uniforms, were displayed sitting on the ground before reporters and dignitaries in Independence Square at a rally aimed at bolstering popular support for Deby.

At least one was wounded, his arm dripping blood onto the ground, while another slumped forward in a faint. The captives were shown along with 14 military vehicles, some damaged, which the government said it seized while repelling Thursday's rebel assault. Some of the vehicles were mounted with machineguns and rocket launchers.

"What you can see here are mercenaries the Sudan government has recruited among Sudanese and Chadians over there (in Sudan)," Chad's territorial administration minister, General Mahamat Ali Abdallah Nassour, told reporters.

One of the prisoners displayed in N'Djamena told reporters he was a Sudanese police officer of Chadian parents who had been offered 500,000 CFA francs to fight with the rebels.

Mahamat Ali Mahamat, 31, said he entered Chad for the first time three weeks ago and that a "difficult social situation" obliged him to join the rebels.

Chad captures and parades FUC

Photo: Prisoners captured after a rebel assault on the capital, N'Djamena, put on display at the Place d'Independence (BBC)

Khartoum armed Arab insurgents inside Chad and dispatched them to overthrow Deby?

Western diplomats believe Sudan is trying to oust Mr Deby in retaliation for his role in the Darfur war, writes David Blair in Telegraph April 14. Excerpt:
Western diplomats believe Sudan is trying to oust Mr Deby in retaliation for his role in the Darfur war.

Khartoum has accused him of arming the rebels who began the fighting in Darfur three years ago.

Mr Deby comes from the black African Zaghawa tribe, also present in Darfur. The Zaghawas were among the tribes who rose up against Khartoum's control of Darfur.

Sudan believes Mr Deby sent arms to the main rebel group in Darfur, styling itself the Sudan Liberation Army.

Western diplomats have no doubt Sudan responded by arming Arab insurgents inside Chad and dispatching them to overthrow Mr Deby.

He is deeply unpopular in much of Chad, where Zaghawas make up only seven per cent of the population. The Arab tribes are his traditional opponents and they look to Khartoum's Arab-dominated regime for support.
Further reading

Apr 02 2006 Mohamat Nour's Chadian rebel United Front for Change (FUC) aims to depose Chadian president Deby

Apr 10 2005 African military monitors now on Sudan-Chad-CAR border - On Feb 8, 2006 the leaders of Sudan and Chad signed a peace agreement to end increasing tension over Darfur, pledging to normalize diplomatic relations and deny refuge to each other's rebel groups. The agreement is known as the Tripoli Declaration. On March 21, 2006 the African Union Peace and Security Council endorsed plans to deploy military observers on the Chad-Sudan border as per the Tripoli Declaration. Next day, the African Union sent observers on the Chad-Sudan border.

Apr 10 2006 FUC in eastern Chad mount fresh offensive to get to N'Djamena and oust Chadian President Deby

Apr 13 2006 France supports Deby - Chad says rebel attack on capital N'Djamena defeated - Chad claims rebels replused, blames Sudan for fomenting 'coup'

Apr 13 2006 French Mirage fighter dropped bomb near Chadian rebels heading for N'Djamena

Apr 13 2006 UN evacuating 148 staff from Chad into Cameroon - French planes had fired "warning shots"

Leaders of Sudan, Chad ok peace agreement

Photo: Leaders of Chad and Sudan on the evening of Wednesday 8 Feb 2006 signed a peace agreement in Tripoli, Libya under which they promised to immediately expel armed groups hostile to their respective governments. See Apr 10 African military monitors now on Sudan-Chad-CAR border.

Mahamat Nour Abdelkrim

Image via Genocide au Darfour blog entry posted by Le Comite 30 March 2006 - excerpt:
MAHAMAT NOUR ABDELKRIM
Le "capitaine" Mahamat Nour, ex-officier de l'armee tchadienne, est recherche pour avoir dirige les Janjawids, et avoir ete le principal planificateur du genocide au Darfour. De par sa nationalite tchadienne, il servait d'alibi au gouvernement soudanais. -- Human Rights Watch found evidence of coordination between Janjaweed militias and Muhammad Nour's RDL rebels.
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Darfur's men vanish from refugee camp

Apr 14 2006 Reuters report Darfur's men vanish from refugee camp - Freelance Reuters journalist Gabriela Matthews reports on the recruitment of Sudanese refugees from camps near Darfur by armed groups. Life is tough for everyone in the camps, including aid workers.
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Summary: Chad Fighting Sign of Trouble

Summary by The Associated Press Staff and agencies Apr 13, 2006:
COUNTRY OF CONFLICT: Chad suffered through a 1960-90 civil war and several small-scale insurgencies since 1998. Libya has repeatedly invaded, and 200,000 refugees from Sudan's Darfur region now live in eastern Chad.

OIL CONNECTION: Cracks began to form within the government when it started pumping oil in 2004. The rebellion is at least in part over who gets to control oil revenue.

Cambodians clean up Sudan's killing fields

Good luck to a group of 109 Cambodian soldiers leaving Phnom Penh tomorrow to join the UN demining mission in southern Sudan.

Twenty-six of the 135-person team to be stationed in the southern Sudanese city of Malakal are already in place with 25 vehicles, 70 mine detectors and six trailers, as well as other different types of logistical equipment.

Cambodian mine clearing soldiers

Photo: Cambodia mine-clearing soldiers stand at the Council of Ministers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday 12 April 2006. (EPA/Mak Remissa/Rompres)

A seeing-off ceremony was held Wednesday presided over by Prime Minister Hun Sen. "It is the first time in the history of Cambodia to take part in an international UN peacekeeping mission. This is our pride and the great honor for our military, nation and the people," the premier said.

He went on to say that "it is a humanitarianism mission, so it is our obligation to participate the mission and play more and more important role in the regional and international affairs."

Cambodian mine clearing soldiers

Photo: Mr Douglas Gardner, United Nations Resident Coordinator (L) hands over the UN flag to a mine-clearing soldier at the Council of Ministers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday 12 April 2006. (EPA/MAK REMISSA/Rompres)

Cambodian mine clearing soldiers

Photo: Prime Minister Hun Sen (C) walks past a UN flag at the end of a ceremony to commit Cambodian peacekeepers to Sudan at the Council of Ministers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday 12 April 2006. (EPA/MAK REMISSA/Rompres)

CHRONOLOGY- Recent events in Chad

Timeline via Reuters.

Chad's President Idriss Deby

Photo: Chad's President Idriss Deby (R) inspects weaponry captured from the rebels in the capital N'djamena April 14, 2006 a day after Chadian insurgents attacked N'Djamena in the boldest assault yet by fighters who have vowed to end Deby's nearly 16-year rule and block a May 3 presidential election in which he is standing for re-election.

Deby said on Friday if no international solution was found for the Darfur crisis by the end of June his country would no longer shelter refugees from that Sudanese region. - Reuters/Claire Soares

Some news reports estimate 200,000 - 250,000 Sudanese refugees in Chad.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

UN evacuating 148 staff from Chad into Cameroon - French planes had fired "warning shots"

All calm on the streets of the capital after dawn attack, taxis and cars start circulating again, reports IRIN.

A spokesman for the French military said in Paris on Thursday lunchtime "we are undertaking exercises in Chad to preserve the security of French nationals". He denied that French forces had attacked rebel positions though said that French planes had fired "warning shots".

UN agencies scaling back in east Chad

IRIN reports UN aid workers have warned that the current instability is a particular threat in eastern Chad which is nearing the end of a short window of opportunity to build up food stocks, before the rainy season makes roads impassable from the end of June.

The UN said it was evacuating 148 non-essential staff from its various agencies to neighboring Cameroon aboard two chartered aircraft while some embassies, including the US, said they planned to evacuate family members, Betel Miarom reported Apr 13.

Foreign ministry advises Swiss in Chad to stay indoors

The Swiss foreign ministry in Bern is following events in Chad closely. "But there is no desperate need to evacuate the estimated 100 Swiss citizens who are there," spokesman Lars Knuchel told swissinfo.

301249.jpg

France supports Deby - Chad says rebel attack on capital N'Djamena defeated

Chadian President Idriss Deby's forces fought off the most daring strike yet by rebels against the capital N'Djamena on Thursday, as international concern grew over the escalating conflict. Reuters says Deby earlier told French radio he was in the presidential palace and the situation in the city was under control.

"France has lent its political support to President Deby and his government ... the rebels have to be given a warning," a source close to French President Jacques Chirac said, adding Chirac had called Deby several times in recent days.

Full report by Betel Miarom Reuters 13 Apr 2006.

Chad claims rebels repulsed, blames Sudan for fomenting 'coup'

FUC rep in France Laona Gong

Photo: Chadian rebels' FUC representative in France and former Chadian foreign minister Laona Gong poses during an interview in Paris. Gong has alleged that French fighter planes, part of a 1,200-man contingent in the former French colony, had bombed rebel-held towns in eastern Chad, causing civilian casualties. (AFP/Jacques Demarthon) 13 AFP Chad claims rebels repulsed, blames Sudan for fomenting 'coup'

Apr 13 2006 AP Troops in Chad put down rebel assault - Government troops using tanks and attack helicopters repelled a rebel assault on Chad's capital Thursday. An Associated Press reporter saw 10 bodies in the streets, and residents reported seeing many more.

Tense calm in Chadian capital after rebel coup attempt

Taxis were back on the streets Thursday as a tense calm returned to the Chadian capital of Ndjamena after a daring rebel coup attempt failed just three weeks ahead of planned presidential elections, local news reports said.

'The rebel columns have been entirely destroyed and there is now only some light weapon fire near the National Assembly, but the situation is now completely under control,' President Idriss Deby told French radio Radio France Internationale (RFI).

The French radio also reported one rebel was killed while some 50 people, mostly civilians, were injured during the attack. Full report M&C 13 Apr 2006.

France ready to evacuate some 1,500 French nationals in Chad if situation worsens

Speaking on French radio, Deby said fighting in the capital was under control and Chadian soldiers had wiped out a column of resistance close to the Sudan border.

Meanwhile, France, Chad's former colonial ruler, has reinforced a thousand strong military contingent it has in the country. It says it is ready to evacuate some 1,500 French nationals if the situation gets worse.

Full story EuroNews 13 Apr 2006.

French Mirage fighter dropped bomb near Chadian rebels heading for N'Djamena

Report just in from Bloomberg (Update 3) April 13, 2006 - excerpt:

A French Mirage fighter dropped a bomb near a column of Chadian rebels heading for the capital N'Djamena as a "warning" to insurgents seeking to overthrow President Idriss Deby, a French official said. The bomb fell "in the sand" yesterday and didn't cause any casualties, a French Defense Ministry spokesman, who asked not to be identified, said by telephone today.

Rebels of the United Front for Democratic Change, or FUC, battled government forces in N'Djamena beginning at dawn today before being repelled, President Deby said in an interview with Radio France International. The attack was "suicidal," he said.

"The situation in N'Djamena is under the control of the defense and security forces,'' Deby told RFI.

Attacks by the FUC rebels who are based along the eastern border with Sudan have increased in advance of presidential elections scheduled for next month. Deby, who seized power in 1990, is standing for re-election in polls that most opposition parties are boycotting. The main rebel forces are about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from N'Djamena, the French spokesman said.

Possible Coup

"I hope we're not in a situation where you've got a coup and an overthrow of the government,'' U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick said today in Washington.

Deby is a Zaghawa, an ethnic group that represents about 1.5 percent of Chad's 10 million people, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported on its Web site. His grip on power has been weakened by defections of former allies in recent months.

"It's dissatisfied elements of former Deby allies who are powerful figures in this rebellion," Jason Mosley, Africa editor at the Oxford Analytica, said in a telephone interview today.

Deby's nephew General Abakar Youssouf Mahamat Itno, who was Chad's senior army officer, died last month in fighting against rebels operating along the Sudanese border.

Deby may not remain in power beyond next week, Mosley said.

"The speed with which the rebel advance has moved towards N'Djamena indicates that their objective is to take Deby out," Mosley said. "They are not going to stop just because they didn't take the National Assembly this morning.''

Refugee Camps

A major concern amid the turmoil is the safety of camps in eastern Chad that house refugees from Sudan's Darfur region, Zoellick said following a speech at the Brookings Institution, a policy study group.

"The most up-to-date information I have is that the situation in the camps is stable and OK," Zoellick said. "We have to try to make sure that the people who are in the refugee camps are safe and can feed their babies."

Landlocked Chad produces about 170,000 barrels of oil a day and ships it in a pipeline that runs through Cameroon to the Atlantic Ocean. Exxon Mobil Corp. owns 40 percent of the project Petroliam Nasional Bhd. 35 percent and Chevron Corp. the rest.

In January, the World Bank cut off $124 million in loans to Chad after the central African nation changed its laws that ensured revenue from its oil pipeline would boost spending on education, health care, social services and rural development.

The changes, approved on Dec. 29 by Chad's parliament, will weaken the country's ability to reduce poverty, the World Bank said. The government has argued it needed to amend its Petroleum Revenue Management Law to boost revenue.

Casualty Claim

Yesterday's air attack by French planes caused an unknown number of casualties, said the FUC rebel representative in France, former Chad Foreign Minister Laona Gong, Agence France-Presse reported.

"We deplore numerous civilian victims of French bombings in the towns of Adre and Moudeina," AFP cited Gong as saying.

Jean-Francois Bureau, the chief French Defense Ministry spokesman, denied that there had been any attack on towns.

"here were no casualties," Bureau said. "We are not involved in any military action. We are there to protect our nationals."

About 1,500 French nationals live in Chad, a former French colony, and the French army has 1,250 soldiers in the country, the Defense Ministry said.

Deby came to power in 1990, when he successfully ousted then-President Hissene Habre after an offensive on N'Djamena from bases in Sudan.

In recent months, Deby has accused the Sudanese government of backing the rebels who have operated from Sudan's western region of Darfur.

Mosley of Oxford Analytica said that while the crisis in Chad distracts international attention away from the civil war in Darfur, there is no hard evidence that the government in Khartoum is arming the Chadian rebels.

"Just because they are able to set up shop in Darfur doesn't mean the Sudanese government is arming them," Mosley said. "Operating in Sudan doesn't make you a Sudanese proxy."

To contact the reporter on this story:
Helene Fouquet in Paris at hfouquet1@bloomberg.net;
Joe Bavier in Abidjan, Ivory Coast through Johannesburg at (27) prichardso10@bloomberg.net

See Update 4 for above report.

Further reading

Apr 10 2006 FUC in eastern Chad mount fresh offensive to get to N'Djamena and oust Chadian President Deby

Apr 11 2006 BBC Chad rebels attack refugee camp - Chad has 12 camps hosting Sudanese refugees from Darfur. A large number of army officers have deserted to join the FUCD, a coalition of rebel groups led by Mahamat Nour from bases in Darfur on Sudan's border with Chad. But Chad's government is refusing to call the attackers rebels and blames Sudan for the incident at the camp. Chad says the assailants were mercenaries supported by Khartoum.

Apr 11 2006 BBC Chadian rebels raid central town

Apr 11 2006 Propaganda war in Chad aimed at sowing fear and panic

Apr 12 2006 BBC Chad rebels 'advance on capital' - The BBC's Stephanie Hancock in N'Djamena says people in the capital are going to work as usual, but are not sending their children to school in case of unrest.

Apr 13 2006 EU calls for calm in Chad

Apr 13 2006 UNHCR alarmed over possible impact of Chad violence on refugees

Apr 13 2006 The Times Analysis: Conflict in Chad has roots in Darfur

Sudan's president calls on all Sudanese to say no to "foreign" troops in Darfur

Addressing a conference of the Sudanese Youth National Union on Wednesday, the president called on all Sudanese to say no to foreign troops in Darfur, Xinhua reported 13 Apr 2006 - excerpt:

"Attempts to intervene in Sudan's affairs would continue unless all Sudanese decided that no foreign soldier would be allowed to set a foot on the Sudanese soil whatever be the justification," said al-Bashir.

"Foreign intervention is but the old colonization cloaked in the new cloth of the suspicious organizations and arms dealers," al-Bashir added.

International non-governmental aid organizations have repeatedly accused the Sudanese authorities of "imposing greater restrictions on relief operations."

Al-Bashir reaffirmed Khartoum's commitment to finding a peaceful and comprehensive political solution to the question of Darfur through negotiations.

In an interview with the Saudi Al-Ekhabariya TV Channel on Wednesday, al-Bashir denounced the suspicious Western attempts to fuel and prolong the conflict in Darfur in order to realize special agenda.

Al-Bashir lauded the role being played by the Arab countries with respect to supporting peace and rehabilitation in Sudan.

Analysis: Conflict in Chad has roots in Darfur

Apr 13 2006 analysis by Jonathan Clayton, Africa correspondent of The Times, says today's attempted military coup in Chad is a result of the blind eye turned to the troubles in Darfur - excerpt:

The Sudanese and Chadian governments have armed the rival militias and in doing so they have let the genie out the bottle. Now, even if they wanted to do so, it is unlikely they could get it back in. At the same time the Sudanese government has prevented the UN from establishing a credible force in the area.

The east of Chad and the Darfur region of western Sudan are effectively the same place - the border between them is arbitrary and the same tribes live on both sides. They have no allegiance to either country, only to their clans.

Why is Sudan accused of backing the rebels?

The Zagawa tribe, the tribe to which Chad's President Deby belongs, was one of the three main tribes involved in the fighting against the Sudanese Government in the early days of the Darfur conflict.

Now the Sudanese has started backing the anti-government rebels in Chad in retaliation. At best, they say that since coming to power in 1990 President Deby has turned a blind eye to anti-Sudan movements in Chad, at worst he supported them and fuelled the conflict.

What is the United Force for Change (FUC)?

The FUC consists of other eastern tribes opposed to the Zagawa tribe of the Chadian President. This is a part of the world which hasn't changed for centuries, so there is historic enmity dating back for centuries, making it an easy recruiting ground for rebels.

They are very keen on deposing President Deby before the election in May. They know perfectly well that he will win - if you are the incumbent you always win - and things will become even more entrenched. Since the President's army is not particularly effective, the militias, presumably with the help of the Sudanese army, have swept across Chad in rapid time to reach the capital.

What would happen if President Deby is overthrown?

It would be very much business as usual. In a way, things in Chad can't get much worse. It will be bad news for the refugees who fled Sudan, they will find themselves under a Government supported by the same figures from whom they initially fled. The major problem is that increased instability in the area would make the aid efforts that are underway even more difficult.

Will the West intervene?

The only joker in the pack is France. It does have quite a large military detachment in Chad and a couple of airstrips. The French may decide that they want to keep President Deby in power, but I don't imagine any other countries will get involved. President Deby is no hero but it maybe a question of "better the devil you know".

UNHCR alarmed over possible impact of Chad violence on refugees

UNHCR says its High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres expressed alarm Thursday over violence in Chad and the possible consequences for the security and welfare of some 200,000 refugees from Darfur in camps in the east of the country.

"I urgently appeal to all sides in this political upheaval to respect the civilian character of the refugee camps and to leave in peace those who have already fled the terrors of Darfur," said Guterres.

Arab League accused of backing Khartoum

The Arab League is partly to blame for Khartoum's opposition to a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur, according to political analysts and Sudanese NGOs based in Western countries.

Although both sides are Muslim, the victims are non-Arab Africans, and a group of civil society organizations charges that for this reason, the Arab League is unconcerned about the carnage. Full report by Stephen Mbogo CNS 13 Apr 2006.

EU calls for calm in Chad

In a statement released in Austria, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the 25-nation bloc, the EU urged all states in the area, in particular Chad and Sudan, to "take the necessary steps to restore calm as soon as possible."

"The Presidency of the European Union also sharply condemns the recent incursion by armed rebels into the refugee camp Goz Amer close to the Sudanese border," the statement said.

In the statement, the EU also reminded all parties of the importance of ongoing peace talks and said it would "monitor with close interest the possible effects of events in Chad in these negotiations." Full report Pravda 13 Apr 2006.

Difficult journey for displaced Dinkas in Darfur returning home to Sudan's Northern Bahr El Ghazal province

Concern is growing at the fate of thousands of displaced Dinka tribes people attempting to return to their homes in Sudan's Northern Bahr El Ghazal province from South Darfur, International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported 11 Apr 2006 - excerpt:

Displaced Dinkas

Photo: IOM assists displaced Dinkas in Kiir Galama, Northern Bahr El Ghaszl province (Louis Hoffman/IOM 2006)

With the assistance of community leaders, IOM has to date registered some 4,500 stranded internally displaced Dinkas in the locality of Kiir Galama, on the southern banks of the river Kiir.

"Their living conditions are desperate," said IOM's Louis Hoffmann. "They are stranded without potable water, adequate food or health care and have no money to move on. Their situation is set to worsen as more displaced people arrive in Kiir Galama on a daily basis."

In response to a request from the governor of Northern Bahr El Ghazal and in coordination with the UN, IOM yesterday organized the first land convoy from Kiir Galama to assist a group of 321 displaced Dinkas to return to their places of origin in the region of Jaac, some 40 kilometres south in the central highlands of Northern Bahr El Ghazal province.

While many had walked from South Darfur to the KiirRiver, the remaining group was too distressed to make the last part of the voyage on foot. They are part of a much larger group of tens of thousands of fellow tribes people who were displaced by conflict and drought in South Sudan to South Darfur 19 years ago and who were again displaced by the fighting in Darfur in 2003.

Since the signing of the comprehensive peace agreement between Khartoum and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement in January 2005, more and more internally displaced people have been making their way home to South Sudan.

With little wealth after having lost their possessions in their initial flight to Darfur and again deprived of any assets by the conflict in Darfur, their journey home is proving to be long and difficult as they are forced to sell whatever they can to pay for train and truck fees to take them home.

This week IOM will open a way station at Samaha to provide basic facilities such as water, sanitation, and shelter for the displaced Dinkas.

"We are running against time as many more displaced people will want to return to Northern Bahr El Ghazal province before the onset of the rainy season," added IOM's Louis Hoffmann. "Once the rains begin, roads will increasingly become impassable, and reintegration at a community level will prove too difficult to support returns until later in the year when the rains end."

IOM has also opened an office at Ed Daein in order to track the spontaneous returns and to monitor the vulnerability of groups travelling home, information which will also be used for planning return and reintegration programmes for the displaced upon arrival at their final destinations.

As part of a wider assistance programme to help internally displaced people (IDPs) who wish to return to their homes in South Sudan, IOM has already established a way station in Kadugli in South Kordofan province which is providing clean water, sanitation, shelter, hygiene and emergency health care and referral.

For further information, please contact Louis Hoffmann, Tel: +882 16433 38260: Email: lhoffmann@iom.int

New life in South Sudan

Feb 9 2006 The Dinka's epic trek across South Sudan continues - 250,000 cattle have arrived so far in 34 cattle camps around Bor
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Displaced to Darfur, Dinkas fall victim to 2 Sudan wars

Excerpt from Dec 19 2004 article in Boston Globe by Raymond Thibodeaux, Globe Correspondent provides some background to the Dinkas displaced to Darfur, from southern Sudan:

In southern Sudan, the pro government Arab militias were called Murahaleen. They were predecessors to the Arab militias, known as the Janjaweed, who are terrorizing Darfur today.

Michael Garang is a lanky, 42-year-old Dinka who, like Deng, is from Bahr al-Ghazal. He and the other Dinkas who fled to Darfur from southern Sudan survived on jobs as day laborers for the Arabs and the Fur, Darfur's largest tribe. His wife, like most Dinka women, found jobs cleaning houses, doing laundry, or collecting water and firewood.

"When the Janjaweed came to our village, they wanted to kill the Furs and the Dinkas. Even though we were neighbors and friends, the Arabs living among us never raised a gun to protect us," Garang said.

The reason most of the 7,500 Dinkas refused to leave the Otash camp is that few of them had registered for food rations and were forced to remain near Nyala to find jobs to earn enough money to feed themselves. The Dinkas also were protected by the aid workers at the Otash camp, as police and Arab militias rarely harassed residents in their presence.

The camp is crowded with thousands of families squeezed into tiny, fragile huts. They live on the edge of starvation, made worse by the recent upsurge in violence that has halted food relief by the United Nations and many nongovernmental aid agencies. On the other side of Nyala is the Beliel camp, where 5,000 Dinkas have lived since years before the Darfur crisis broke out.

As the aid coming into Beliel fizzled, many of the Dinkas were absorbed by Nyala's labor-intensive job market, spurred by both Arab and African business leaders who have come to depend on the low wages for which the Dinkas are willing to work.

For the more than 1.5 million people forced off their land by the fighting in Darfur, the Dinkas' predicament is an ominous forecast for their own lives in the coming years, especially as the crisis in western Sudan shows signs of escalating.

In much of Africa, where land confers identity and status, Darfurians, like the Dinkas before them, are becoming landless and increasingly vulnerable to attacks by progovernment militias, mostly drawn from nomadic Arab herding tribes with a centuries-old legacy of antagonism toward African farmers.

"The situation here is so miserable that most of us just want to go back home to southern Sudan to be buried on our own land," said Roberto Dimo, a 99-year-old Dinka who lives in a tiny, sand-dusted hut in Otash. "But the Arabs have taken our land, so we can't even do that."

Further reading

Mar 30 2004 IRIN Fighting reported in Bahr al-Ghazal between different Dinkas groups

Apr 9 2004 Eric Reeves The lesson of the Darfur truce accord IRIN reports on the fate of Dinkas from southern Sudan caught up in the racially/ethnically animated destruction of Darfur: "Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the state of Southern Darfur, western Sudan, say their camp was looted and burned by Arab militiamen on 4 April [ ]. The camp, home to thousands of Dinkas -- an ethnic group from southern Sudan -- is located on the edge of Abu Jura, a village about 40 km from Nyala. Almost all of it was burned by Janjawid -- Arab militias -- several of the IDPs told IRIN in Nyala. 'We are targeted because we are black,' a Dinka teacher claimed. 'The Janjawid said: "We don't want any black skin here." (IRIN Nyala, Darfur, April 8, 2004)

Oct 19 2004 Emily Wax, Beliel Camp, Sudan Sudan's Dinkas, displaced by past conflict, fear violence in Darfur. Note, Beliel is less than five miles from Kalma, South Darfur.

Feb 10 2006 Sudan's identity and the notion of broken promises - In 1964 and 1965, Al Misseriya massacred Dinkas and other Southern Sudanese in El Muglad and Babanusa. Some members of Al Misseriya, who would want to rewrite history of the area, currently claim that the conflict in question was between Al Misseriyia and the rebels.

Jan 21 2006 Juba Declaration is meaningless without ratification - The recent nomination of under-secretaries for GOSS demonstrates that Salva Kiir is uncompromising Dinka tribalist. Out of 18 under-secretaries, nine are Dinkas. There is only one Nuer from the list. The nomination is an insult to SSDF's negotiating team in Juba and it is tribalism as usual. What will be the work of "political committee" stipulated in the Juba Declaration if Salva Kiir is continuing to fill the GOSS with Dinkas from Bahr-El Ghazal?

Cambodian mine-clearing soldiers join UN mission in Sudan

Good luck to a group of 109 Cambodian soldiers who leave Phnom Penh on Saturday to join the UN demining mission in southern Sudan. Twenty-six of the 135 soldiers chosen were already in place in Sudan with 25 vehicles, 70 mine detectors and six trailers, as well as other different types of logistical equipment.

A seeing-off ceremony was held Wednesday presided over by Prime Minister Hun Sen. "It is the first time in the history of Cambodia to take part in an international UN peacekeeping mission. This is our pride and the great honor for our military, nation and the people," the premier said.

He went on to say that "it is a humanitarianism mission, so it is our obligation to participate the mission and play more and more important role in the regional and international affairs."

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen

Photo: Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen walks past a demining unit, during a ceremony before the departure of the Cambodian humanitarian demining unit for the UN peace keeping operation in Sudan, in Phnom Penh April 12, 2006. (Reuters) Full report Xinhua/ST 12 Apr 2006.

Rice urges world act now to stop Darfur atrocities

The United States has said it is premature to offer its own forces for Darfur. Most of UN peacekeepers are expected to come from Africa and some Asian countries, with North America and Europe helping with funding, intelligence and logistics.

"I understand that the Sudan government sometimes says that they don't favour this, but they have failed in their obligation to protect the people of Darfur and they clearly need international help," said Rice.

"The world needs to act," she said. "We really can't afford to wait."

Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick said it was in the Sudanese government's interests to allow the international community to intervene in Darfur.

"You either get the approval of the government ... or you invade and that is a very big, serious challenge," said Zoellick, who later made clear he was not suggesting an invasion of Sudan but rather that their cooperation was preferable to an invasion.

Reuters/Scotsman 13 April 2006.

[Such statements don't make sense. Who is "the world"? Who is going to invade without an UN Resolution? Who are Rice and Zoellick addressing such statements to?]

UK Donation for Roads May Open New Era of Driving Across Sudan

The World Food Programme (WFP) today welcomed a donation of US$8.7 million from the United Kingdom's Department for International Development earmarked for the United Nations food agency's giant road works project in southern Sudan.

WFP is rebuilding more than 3,000 kilometres of roads in the war-ravaged region at a cost of US$183 million. Two decades of fighting between the north and the south, which ended last year, almost completely destroyed southern Sudan's road network.
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Government of South Sudan 2005-6 budget

Mar 28 2006 Sudan Tribune Government of South Sudan 2005-6 budget - See attached a PowerPoint presentation to the recent Donors Conference meeting held in Paris 10 March 2006, by the GOSS Minister of Finance. It deals with the 2005-6 budgets and the policies behind those.

UK, US call for sanctions against 4 Sudanese over Darfur

AP report says the UK and the US called for sanctions Wednesday against four Sudanese who have blocked peace efforts and violated human rights in Darfur. But Russia said it wants to study the list, warning that it could aggravate the fragile peace process. Excerpt:

Britain sent the list to the chairman of the Security Council committee in charge of sanctions against Sudan. Under council rules, if no country objects in 48 hours, the sanctions will take effect but because of the Easter Holiday the objection period has been extended until Monday.

Since freezing financial assets are involved, the UK's UN Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry said, the names won't be disclosed until the sanctions take effect, hopefully on Monday. If the sanctions are approved, they will be the first against any participants in the Darfur conflict.

"What we're going to do today is the start of a process," Jones Parry said. "I join with ... the United States in putting forward today four names representing a balanced package."

Other council members, including Argentina, Denmark, France, Japan, Peru and Slovakia, also support the list, council diplomats said. (ST/AP)

Turkey sends field hospital in Darfur, western Sudan

Turkey will open a field hospital in Darfur, Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday. Releasing a statement, the ministry said two executives of the Turkish Red Crescent had gone to Sudan on 30 March to determine the needs of the region. "Five C-130 cargo planes of the Turkish Air Forces will ship a fully-equipped field hospital to the region," the statement said.

The hospital has a 50-bed capacity and two operating rooms, the Turkish Anatolia news agency reported.

The statement recalled that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who had paid a visit to Sudan between 27-29 March and seen the tough living conditions of around 30,000 people in Otach refugee camp, ordered establishment of a field hospital in the region. Full report ST 13 April 2006.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Merowe Dam area set for further confrontation and unrest

An unsourced article at the Sudan Tribune, dated 11 April 2006, reports violence started on Friday in the Amri area of the Hamdab (Merowe) Dam when the dam authority carried out its final survey by force. According to the article, the survey - which was supposed to take place last December - has been postponed many times due to the objection of the affected communities. The area is set for further confrontations and unrest, observers believe.

Note Jan 12 2006 The El Multaga resettlement site - Sudan's Chinese backed Merowe Dam is for the greater benefit of Sudan.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Security Council calls for smooth transition to UN operation in Darfur, western Sudan

The Security Council today called on "all parties" to ensure a smooth and successful transfer to a UN operation in Darfur, while also commending the African Union's mission in the region and endorsing the AU Peace and Security Council's 30 April deadline for achieving peace. Full report UN News Centre.

Note, China holds the presidency for this month.

UN Security Council President Ambassador Wang

Photo: UN Security Council President Ambassador Wang (China)

Apr 11 2006 DPA - The council asked Secretary General Kofi Annan to send an assessment team to Darfur before April 30 to plan for the transition from the AU to the UN force. The AU had decided to pull out of Darfur by year's end, but agreed that some of its 7,000 troops would join the UN peacekeeping mission. The council said in a statement that the UN operation in Darfur would have "strong African participation and character."

Apr 11 2006 Reuters - The 15-nation Security Council, in a policy statement read at a public meeting, backed the African Union's April 30 deadline for reaching an agreement in the Abuja talks and reaffirmed its decision "to hold accountable those impeding the peace process and committing human rights violations." Diplomats said Britain would soon distribute a list of individuals it believes are blocking the peace process, who could become the targets of U.N. sanctions, such as a travel ban and having their foreign assets frozen. But China, which has veto power, has said it was not in favour of sanctions.

Apr 11 2006 UN Security Council calls for Sudan to explain Egeland fiasco

Apr 11 2006 AP/ST TEXT: Full UN security Council Statement

Apr 12 2006 AP/Guardian Edith Lederer Council Wants Deal on Darfur Conflict - US Ambassador John Bolton said the next step will be council consideration of a list of people subject to sanctions for blocking peace efforts. Britain's Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry welcomed the statement, saying "the key thing is that between all of us working with the regional organizations, we tackle the problem of the politics, the security and the humanitarian access in Darfur."

Deputy UN Secretary-General, Mark Malloch Brown on Darfur

Mar 11 2006 Malloch Brown appointed Deputy UN Secretary-General - excerpt:
America and Europe should provide troops and money for a major international peacekeeping force for Darfur, the new deputy UN secretary-general, Mark Malloch Brown, said yesterday.

Mr Malloch Brown, who was appointed last Friday, told the Guardian that only modern mobile forces, trained in helicopter operations, could be effective in Darfur. Peacekeeping operations by poorly equipped African and Asian countries were no longer sufficient. "We want the rest of the world to make a higher level of contributions to peacekeeping, involving more mainstream militaries around the world. It's going to need a whole new level of investment and logistical support," he said.

"You can't do this [peacekeeping in Darfur] through just troops on the ground with Landcruisers or lightly armoured vehicles because this place is the size of France. However many troops you have, the only way they are going to be effective in preventing attacks on civilians is if they are highly mobile.

"That means militarised helicopters that can protect themselves against ground fire and troops trained in helicopter-based operations. This is a very different model of peacekeeping."

Sudan's VP Taha meets SLA leaders Minawi and Nur

The UN News Centre's near verbatim transcript of a press briefing by Jan Pronk, UN special envoy for Sudan, 17 August 2005, explains the Darfur rebels are flown to the peace talks and sleep at the Hilton in Abuja, Nigeria.

Hilton Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria

Photos: The Hilton Hotel, Abuja is a 45 minute drive from the airport and offers ultra modern facilities. The Zuma Rock and Gurara Waterfalls are only a short drive away.

Hilton Hotel, suite Abuja, Nigeria

AP report says on Tuesday 11 April, 2006 Sudan's Second Vice-President, Ali Osman Taha, met one of the leaders of Darfur rebel group SLM, Mani Arkoi Minawi, at his residence in the Hilton Hotel, Abuja.

Sudan's VP Taha

Photo: Ali Osman Taha (Sudan Watch archive 14 Mar 2006)

The meeting was a follow-up to one held in Tripoli, Libya last March. Taha had told Minawi that what they discussed in Tripoli had received full interest from the Sudanese leadership.

Meni Minawi Arkowri

Photo: Meni Minawi Arkowri (Sudan Watch archive 14 Mar 2006)

On Sunday 9 April, 2006 Taha met Abdelwhaed al-Nur the leader of the other faction of the SLM

Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur

Photo: Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur attends at the Darfur peace talks in Abuja Feb 4, 2006. (Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde)

On Monday April 10, 2006, the African Union's chief mediator for the Darfur peace talks, Salim Ahmed Salim, met with Taha in Addis Ababa to review the outcome of the high-level consultations which took place over the weekend in Abuja.

Sudanese government and Darfur rebels start face-to-face talks

Photo: Salim Ahmed Salim, special envoy on the Darfur talks addresses the gathering at the venue of the Darfur peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria, Monday, Oct. 3 2005 when the talks entered the final phase

Hilton Hotel, Abuja

The Hilton Hotel, Abuja, pictured here, has 670 rooms and suites and is set in beautiful landscape grounds, less than one kilometre from the Ministries and Embassies.

Displaced people in Darfur Sudan

Photo: A general view of a Sudanese internally displaced people camp housing over 730 families, December 3, 2005. Darfur peace talks in Abuja have dragged on for two years. Fighting in Darfur began three years ago.

EU gives $424 million for Africa peace operations

The European Union has set aside 350 million euros ($424 million) for continued support of African-led peacekeeping operations in Africa, including Darfur, EU officials said April 11, 2006 - Reuters:
The new funds for the EU's African Peace Facility, created three years ago with a 250 million euro budget, are intended to cover the 2006-10 period.

"There is no development without stability, and no development without security," EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel told a news conference after a ministerial meeting of the 25-nation bloc.

The African Peace Facility has been mostly used to support African Union efforts to halt violence in Darfur, Michel said.

He confirmed the EU was preparing to give 50 million euros to help the AU finance a six-month extension of its mission, adding to 162 million already given by the bloc for that operation.

The AU says it costs around $24 million a month to run its [Darfur] mission, for which it relies on donor nations.

UN Security Council calls for Sudan to explain Egeland fiasco

The UN Security Council reports this morning its regret at the Sudanese government denying entry of the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator to Darfur and called for an explanation:
In a presidential statement read by this month's Council President, Wang Guangya (China), the Council also expressed its regret and its "grave concern over the humanitarian consequences" at the Government's decision not to renew the contract of the Norwegian Refugee Council.

The Council, reiterating its full support for the Inter-Sudanese Peace Talks on the Conflict in Darfur in Abuja, Nigeria, endorsed the decision of the African Union Peace and Security Council that 30 April was the final deadline for reaching an agreement.
Also today, China's Xinhua reports UN Council demands parties in Sudan to reach agreement by April 30.

Vacancy: Ockenden seeks Field Director, South Sudan

Ockenden International, a UK-based secular NGO working with refugees, seeks a Field Director to oversee their programmes in south Sudan. Full job specification and details on how to apply are on the Ockenden website.

Propaganda war in Chad aimed at sowing fear and panic

"The UN and most NGOs have decided to reduce staff at Goz-Beida ... as a security precaution," UNHCR spokesman Matthew Conway told Reuters:

Speaking by telephone from Abeche, some 270 km (170 miles) to the north of Goz-Beida, Conway said the rebels appeared to have pulled back from both Koukou Angarana and the refugee camp.

"All our offices in the east have checked in and calm is prevailing," he said.

"PROPAGANDA WAR"

Diplomats and aid workers said recent rebel statements announcing the capture of major towns in the east -- which later turned out to be false or exaggerated -- appeared aimed at sowing fear and panic among local officials.

The government says it still controls the country.

"There's a propaganda war being fought here," said one diplomat, who asked not to be named.

Chad's government blamed Sudan for Monday's raid on the refugee camp, which it said caused damage and casualties.

The UNHCR's Conway said the agency had received no reports of civilian casualties.

"Sudan has decided to destabilise Chad with carefully planned terrorist strikes," Chad's Information Minister Hourmadji Moussa Doumgor said in a statement which described the rebels as "mercenaries in the pay of Sudan".

Since last year, insurgent groups, their ranks swelled by army deserters, have been harrying Deby's forces from the east.

Diplomats say it remains to be seen whether they can push to N'Djamena before the elections. Rebel fighters killed the Chadian army commander, who was Deby's nephew, last month.

In May's election, Deby -- who won power in a 1990 military revolt from the east -- will face four candidates with links to his government.

Source: Reuters report by Betel Miarom 11 April, 2006 with additional reporting by Pascal Fletcher in Dakar.
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Chad rebels from bases in Darfur attack refugee camp

BBC report: Chad has 12 camps hosting Sudanese refugees from Darfur. A large number of army officers have deserted to join the FUCD, a coalition of rebel groups led by Mahamat Nour from bases in Darfur on Sudan's border with Chad. But Chad's government is refusing to call the attackers rebels and blames Sudan for the incident at the camp. Chad says the assailants were mercenaries supported by Khartoum.

Apr 10 2006 FUC in eastern Chad mount fresh offensive to get to N'Djamena and oust Chadian President Deby

Apr 11 2006 BBC Chadian rebels raid central town

Apr 12 2006 BBC Chad rebels 'advance on capital' - The BBC's Stephanie Hancock in N'Djamena says people in the capital are going to work as usual, but are not sending their children to school in case of unrest.

Egypt: Mubarak tackles Darfur over phone with Annan

President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt received a phone call from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to discuss Darfur, SIS/andn reported April 11, 2006.

Monday, April 10, 2006

FUC in eastern Chad mount fresh offensive to get to N'Djamena and oust Chadian President Deby

Apr 10, 2006 AFP report says rebels from the United Front for Change (FUC) Monday mounted a fresh attack in eastern Chad. Excerpt:

The rebels seized the village of Koukou, 50 kilometres (31 miles) southeast of the town of Goz Beida, where they also took a refugee camp, home to 17,000 Sudanese who fled the civil war in Darfur, said a source close to the UNHCR. Armed men took control of the UNHCR's offices in the camp, taking nine staff hostage and killing a Chad policeman, the same source said.

A spokesman for the FUC confirmed to AFP that the rebels had taken Koukou, but denied that they had invaded the refugee camp. "We attacked Koukou around 1500 GMT, and took the village without encountering any resistance," said Abdoulaye Abdelkerim. "We did not enter the refugee camp... it wouldn't make any sense for us to do that," he added. "Our goal is to get to N'Djamena and oust (President Idriss) Deby."

FUC rebels in Chad

Apr 2 2006 Mohamat Nour's Chadian rebel United Front for Change (FUC) aims to depose Chadian president Deby

Chadian rebel group FUC leader Mohamat Nour

Photo: Chadian rebel group FUC leader Mohamat Nour. See Feb 12 2006 Reuters exclusive interview: Mahamat Nour the Chad rebel leader demands change, by force if needed

Apr 10 2006 BBC Chad rebels attack military base - "This is only the beginning - our morale is very high," Abdel Rahman Abdel Karim, one of the rebel FUCD leaders, told Reuters news agency by phone after the attack on the Haraze Mangueigne garrison.

Apr 10 2006 Sapa-dpa Rebel attacks in Chad ahead of polls - Ndjamena renewed its accusation against neighbouring Sudan of supporting the rebels, who are stepping up attacks in a bid to topple embattled president Idriss Deby's 15-year hold on power.

Apr 4 2006 SLM claims Sudanese troops and Janjaweed now massed in Geneina, W Darfur to bring down Chad's President Deby

Mar 31 2006 Mercenaries from Sudan attacked Chadian town of Modeina - dozens killed, 4,000 civilians displaced

AU mediators fail to move Darfur peace talks forward

The warring parties finished two days of high level talks mediated by AU Chairman but failed to achieve a breakthrough to end more than three years of fighting, IRIN reported today. A seventh round of peace-talks will continue in the Nigerian capital Abuja.

NATO officials cautious on support for Darfur peacekeepers

April 10, 2006 AP report says NATO officials gave a cautious response Monday to a report that the US will propose sending several hundred alliance advisers to beef up an African peacekeeping mission in Darfur. Excerpt:
The Washington Post reported the Bush administration wants the advisers assigned to African Union headquarters units to assist with logistics, communications, command and intelligence. Citing administration officials, the report said plans under consideration envisaged fewer than 500 NATO advisers including some US troops.

NATO military planners are drawing up options for boost the alliance's support for the AU force in response to a request last month from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. However, officials at alliance headquarters said the US would struggle to persuade allies to commit so many troops.

One official said the military planners were looking at dozens rather than hundreds of NATO experts to support the AU. The military is expected to submit options to NATO's political authorities this month, said officials who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the planning.

NATO planes helped fly in the current 7,000-strong African peacekeeping force and the alliance has sent a small number of experts to AU headquarters in Ethiopia to provide training and advice. Officials said the number of NATO experts there rarely reached double figures.

The UN is seeking to replace the AU force with a stronger UN peacekeeping mission and has asked NATO to help prepare the changeover.

NATO has agreed to increased support, but allied and UN officials want to keep the mission African-led. They are concerned any deployment large numbers of European or North American troops could inflame regional sensitivities - particularly if the mainly Muslim Sudanese government opposes a NATO deployment.

NATO's Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has repeatedly said increased support for the African peacekeepers will not entail allied "boots on the ground" in Darfur.
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Mar 7 2006 NATO rules out troop presence in Darfur

Why a more robust force in Darfur needs to be a UN force

Jan Pronk (the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for the Sudan and head of the peace support operation for southern Sudan) in his blog entry 7 April 2006, explains the only way to avoid failure with a new ceasefire agreement is to bring a more robust force to Darfur and why, in his view, it can only be a UN force. Excerpt:

"Before the Security Council can take further decisions concerning the proposed transition towards a UN peace force in Darfur, it expects to receive an assessment of the situation in Darfur and of the possible modalities of a take-over. It is self evident that his should be a joint assessment, carried out by experts from both the AU and the UN. However, the Government has already declared that an assessment mission would not be welcome. After all, so they say, why would an assessment be necessary if there is no transition? Minister of Foreign Affairs Lam Akol has even declared that a transition, if any, would only imply a change of the present AU mandate into a new AU mandate. So far, the African Union has not corrected this surprising interpretation. Neither has the AU approached the Sudanese authorities requesting permission for an assessment. It seems that we are in a deadlock.

In Abuja there is progress, however. Early this month I paid another visit to the negotiations, my fourth time since the beginning of his year. I concluded that as far as the two substantial chapters are concerned - sharing of power and sharing of wealth - further talks will not help. Time is ripe for decisions, to cut the knot and strike a bargain. This could happen soon. We may expect a fresh position of SPLM within the Government of National Union. SPLM so far has supported its coalition partner, the NCP. However, it has come under pressure to take a more independent and forthcoming stance. From his side President Beshir seems to have instructed his negotiating team to define a possible deal.

The talks concerning the third chapter, security and cease fire arrangements, are also showing some progress. The military experts at both sides are talking with each other. A certain mutual understanding seems to emerge. For the first time the SLA has disclosed the positions which it claims to hold. The mediators have become engaged in some mapping of positions. If parties would recognize each others strengths and positions, mediators could try to convince them to freeze the status quo. Thereupon positions could be consolidated in the medium term, creating space for further peace talks - including the start of an all inclusive Darfur-Darfur dialogue - and for disarmament and demobilisation.

The African Union intends to reach an agreement around end April. Calling this a deadline would not be credible. The parties, despite the commitments made by all of them, had so clearly disregarded the previous deadline (31 December 2005) that setting a new one would not make much sense. End April is an objective which could be reached, in particular if the parties and the mediators would not aim at complete, unambiguous texts. The text of the so-called Enhanced Humanitarian Cease Fire Agreement which seems to emerge from the present talks is much better than the D'Jamena cease fire agreement of May 2005. However, it is also more complicated, because of the zoning of positions, which have to be verified, and the introduction of buffer zones and corridors between the zones, which requires checking and monitoring of troop movements. I am afraid that the African Union peace force in Darfur, given its present size, strength and composition, will not be able to carry out that task. Success in the talks may breed failure on the ground. The only way to avoid a new failure is to bring a more robust force to Darfur. In my view that can only be a UN force."

Gulf countries and their charities not publicised enough

Talking to IRIN during his first visit to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Jan Egeland said that too often humanitarian aid was associated with the West, adding that Gulf countries gave 94 per cent of their assistance directly to countries needing it. IRIN quotes Mr Egeland as saying:
"The Gulf region was among the most generous in the world. They are excellent at providing water and sanitation, very effective and quick.

All the important work that the Gulf countries and their various charities are doing is not well enough recognized, in particular in the West."
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SINCE WHEN WAS THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES AT THE CENTRE OF THE RELIEF WORLD?

Dubai, city of gold souks and luxury hotels, gateway to the Gulf, hub of humanitarianism... Er, did someone say "humanitarianism"?

Read more by AlertNet's Tim Large who is blogging the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development (DIHAD) Conference and Exhibition.
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GLOBAL AID CONFERENCE IN DUBAI APRIL 10-12

Keynote address by Jan Egeland at DIHAD 2006. - via ReliefWeb April 10.

Apr 10 2006 UN News Centre UN relief chief calls on Middle East to channel more aid through United Nations

Geldof blames China for problems in Sudan's Darfur

Anti-poverty campaigner and Live 8 organiser Sir Bob Geldof accused China on Monday of being responsible for the continuing civil war in Darfur.

The Irish rock star, nominated for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for organising last year's Live 8 benefit concerts, said China was protecting the Sudanese government because it provides 6% of China's oil.
"I was in Darfur 20 years ago and people were killing each other then. It's an ancient battle between nomadic people and settled people, between Arab Africans and black Africans, between Islam and Christians ... The reason why it has not been resolved is because of China," Geldof said.

"The Chinese protect the Khartoum government, who are killers, and they will not allow a vote in the Security Council ... so 250 000 people die in Darfur," he said.

Today's greatest political problem, Geldof said, was the "continuing economic decline of a continent [Africa] that is 12,8km from Europe".
Full story Mail & Guardian 10 Apr 2006.

Darfur crimes graphic

Reuters graphic shows a detailed map of Sudan's Darfur region and location of refugee camps well over a year ago. Since the graphic was produced, around the the time when the International Criminal Court was about the announce a formal investigation into suspected crimes against humanity in Darfur, more camps have opened. (Sudan Watch archives)

Mendez: Action is particularly needed in Darfur, where the threat of genocide continues to loom large

Excerpt from article entitled Darfur, much more needs to be done by Juan E Mendez, Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, The Washington Times, 9 April 2006 via Sudan Tribune:

Juan Mendez

"Part of my job is to provide the Security Council information regarding the worst type of human-rights violations, those warranting a response by the international community.

I have based my work on the existing, universally binding legal obligation expressed in the 1948 Genocide Convention not only to punish genocide, but to prevent it. This legal commitment was reinforced at the September 2005 World Summit with a broader, political and moral commitment by which all member states of the United Nations have now accepted the responsibility to protect civilians from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

That protection may include, in limited cases, nonconsensual means when governments are unwilling or unable to protect their own citizens. As special adviser, I have stressed that international involvement with the consent of the government in question is always preferable.

Yet despite these obligations and commitments, people continue to be targeted for violence and murder solely because of their ethnic origin. This is happening most flagrantly today in the Sudanese region of Darfur.

Action is particularly needed in Darfur, where the threat of genocide continues to loom large."

Further reading

Apr 7 2006 UN's Mendez on Darfur: "Left unattended, the situation may degenerate into genocide"

Apr 8 2006 UN Action Plan to Prevent Genocide - Juan E Mendez of Argentina, Special Adviser on Prevention of Genocide

Apr 8 2006 What is the difference between genocide and ethnic cleansing?

Apr 9 2006 Juan Mendez, UN Special Adviser on Prevention of Genocide, tells press "definitely ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur"

Apr 9 2006 The Genocide Convention required States to prevent genocide - Mendez

Jan Pronk's Weblog: Talks deadlocked over transition from AU to UN peace force in Darfur

Excerpt from blog entry April 7, 2006 by Jan Pronk, UN special envoy in Sudan:
Talks about a transition from an African Union peace force in Darfur towards a United Nations force are deadlocked. The final decision is in the hands of the Government of Sudan. The transition is meant to protect unarmed civilians against attacks by militia that still seem to be supported by Government forces. However, the Government rejects such a transition and seems to get away with this. Read more...

African military monitors now on Sudan-Chad-CAR border

On Feb 8, 2006 the leaders of Sudan and Chad signed a peace agreement to end increasing tension over Darfur, pledging to normalize diplomatic relations and deny refuge to each other's rebel groups. The agreement is known as the Tripoli Declaration.

On March 21, 2006 the African Union Peace and Security Council endorsed plans to deploy military observers on the Chad-Sudan border as per the Tripoli Declaration. Next day, the African Union sent observers on the Chad-Sudan border.

Leaders of Sudan, Chad ok peace agreement

Photo: Leaders of Chad and Sudan on the evening of Wednesday 8 Feb 2006 signed a peace agreement in Tripoli, Libya under which they promised to immediately expel armed groups hostile to their respective governments. - PANA

Today, Apr 10, 2006, an unsourced article at Sudan Tribune says the deployment of military monitors through the Sudan Chad border started April 9, 2006 when African observers departed from Tripoli, Libya, to monitor the common border from Chadian, Sudanese and Central African sides. Excerpt:
Chad-Sudan border monitoring team which is made up of members from Libya, Burkina Faso, Congo and Sudan left Tripoli International Airport this morning for the city of Al-Fashir in Sudan's Darfur to carry out its mission of monitoring the Sudanese side of the border with Chad at points set along the Sudanese side of the border.

Another team of observers from the Libya and the CAR left Tripoli International Airport for the city of Birao in CAR to start its mission of monitoring the Sudan-Chad-Central African Republic border.

A third team of observers from the Libya, Burkina Faso, and Congo is also scheduled to leave tomorrow for the city of Abeche in Chad where Chadian monitors will join them. The team of monitors from these four countries will be in charge of monitoring the Chadian side of the border with Sudan along set monitoring points.
Note, the article explains dispatch of these teams comes in implementation of the decision of the ministerial committee set up under the Tripoli Declaration issued by the African mini summit which was held on 8 February 2006 in Libya to contain the tension between Sudan and Chad. The ministerial committee set up teams to monitor the Sudan-Chad border and identified arrangements to implement the mechanism agreed by the directors of external security services of Libya, Congo, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic in their Tripoli meeting held on 28 February 2006. Under the Tripoli agreement signed on 8 February, the leaders of Sudan and Chad agreed to normalize diplomatic relations and to immediately commit themselves to work to prevent the presence of rebel groups on each other territory.

Chad-Sudan-CAR border map

Photo: Click on map image to see Chad-Sudan-CAR border

Map of Libya

Photo: Map of Libya

Feb 18 2005 Tony Blair hails Gaddafi's efforts for Darfur

Feb 21 2006 Libya's Gaddhafi and Senegal's Wade discuss African solution to Darfur crisis - United States of Africa?

Feb 23 2006 Libya offers African Union 100,000 troops, 1,000 tanks, 100 aircraft to close Chad-Sudan border

Feb 24 2006 Libya's Gaddhafi and Sudan's al-Bashir discuss Darfur crisis - see list of further reports

Feb 26 2006 Chad-Sudan border peacekeeping force - AU chair and Libyan leader Col Gaddafi follow up on Tripoli mini-summit

Feb 28 2006 Libya's Kadhafi urges Africans to fund AU troops in Darfur

Feb 28 2006 Egypt, Libya leaders reject UN Darfur force

Mar 6 2006 Libya sets up surveillance groups on Chad-Sudan borders

Mar 8 2006 Libya receives Sudanese Vice-President Ali Taha

Mar 9 2006 US hopes Libya could expand its mediation efforts for peaceful solution to Darfur conflict

Mar 8 2006 Sudan, Egypt, Libya to hold new Darfur talks

Mar 8 2006 Libya, US discuss relations and Darfur problem

Mar 10 2006 AU proposes 9 month Darfur mission - Sudan ready to reinforce it with 10,000 troops - half SPLA - within 3 wks

Mar 15 2006 Libya to host summit on Darfur - Sudan, Egypt leaders to attend

Mar 15 2006 Gaddafi will urge Sudanese President al-Bashir to hold direct talks with Darfur rebel leaders

Mar 24 2006 Sudan will be president of Arab League summit in Khartoum

Mar 24 2006 Gaddafi lashes out at 'backward society' in Middle East

Mar 25 2006 Sudan says UN takeover of AMIS would encourage intransigence from the armed groups - Sudan wants South Sudan CPA as a model for Darfur

Mar 25 2006 Sudan believes Arab summit supports Khartoum stance on Darfur

Mar 26 2006 Gaddafi arrives in Khartoum for Arab summit Mar 28-29

Mar 27 2006 Libya, Sudan leaders meet to discuss Darfur and Chad

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Darfur war criminals chat and luxuriate in hotels while millions depend on UN aid

Still no breakthrough in Darfur peace talks today. Deadline is April 30.

Obasanjo and Sassou, the past and current AU chairmen, held all-night talks with the warring parties in a secluded guest house in Nigerian presidential complex and Sassou reconvened with them for a plenary on Sunday afternoon but failed to break the impasse.

Darfur peace talks impasse

Photo: Nigerian President Obasanjo (R) hosted the talks. Current AU chairman, Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso (Reuters)

Mohamed Tughod, JEM chief negotiator

Photo: Mohamed Tugod, JEM chief negotiator

After two years of negotiations between the Sudanese government and two rebel groups (who's paying for the rebels' expenses, fancy suits and hotels?) there is this gem to report:
"I can't say that there are any tangible results," Ahmed Tugod, chief negotiator for the JEM rebel group, said after today's talks.

"We are back to the stage of consultations between the parties and the mediation at the hotel."
_41514622_ap_darfur203.jpg

Meanwhile, in Darfur, where the uprising over the past three years has killed 400,000 people and forced 2 million to flee their homes, most parts are inaccessible for aid workers due to violence, anarchy and lack of security.

Sudan is the size of Europe or one quarter of the United States. North Darfur is 1,000 miles away from Khartoum. 7,500 African Union peacekeepers monitoring a non-existent peace agreement are hamstrung without a protection force mandate and helicopters. 14,000 aid workers in Darfur, a region the size of France, are hindered from their work by the Sudanese government, and risk their lives to reach the millions of displaced Sudanese people who rely on food aid and emergency relief.

The Genocide Convention required States to prevent genocide - Mendez

Note the following excerpt from Sudan Watch entry today entitled Juan Mendez, UN Special Adviser on Prevention of Genocide, tells press "definitely ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur" - particularly where it says "In legal terms, it was not only genocide that required the international community to act. The International Commission of Inquiry had stated that war crimes and crimes against humanity also required the international community to act. In addition, the Genocide Convention required States to prevent genocide."
Asked if what was happening in Darfur was genocide, Mr Mendez replied that there had been a separate body entrusted with making that decision. His job was not to qualify situations that he paid attention to as whether or not they could be defined as genocide, but rather prevention. The International Commission of Inquiry determined that there was, at the very least, enough evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and that the element of intent, of whether it was genocide or not, should be left to a court of law -- the International Criminal Court.

He did not believe that just calling the situation genocide would help, he said, adding that there was definitely ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur. All of that should prompt the international community to act. In legal terms, it was not only genocide that required the international community to act. The International Commission of Inquiry had stated that war crimes and crimes against humanity also required the international community to act. In addition, the Genocide Convention required States to prevent genocide.