UK supports international efforts undertaken in the UNSC aiming to suspend decision by the ICC to indict Sudan's president Al-Bashir says UK's FM

Thursday, 20 November 2008 report from Sudan Tribune - British FM pledges to defer Bashir indictment: Sudan state media:

November 18, 2008 (KHARTOUM) — London and Paris are working together to introduce a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution freezing ICC move against president Bashir, the British Foreign Secretary David Miliband told Sudan official news agency (SUNA).



Photo: British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, speaks during an interview with the Associated Press, in Damascus, Syria, on Tuesday Nov. 18, 2008 (AP)

“The UK supports the international efforts undertaken in the UNSC aiming to suspend a decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir for another year” Miliband told SUNA in an interview from Damascus.

“We realize that these international measures will not solve the crisis but will complicate it even further and may be put the future of peace in Sudan on the brink of collapse” he added.

Miliband’s statements contrast that of UK Foreign Office Minister for Africa Lord Malloch Brown who said in September that suspension “is a very bad idea”.

Since Sep 13, Eritrean govt has interfered with delivery of U.S. Embassy’s diplomatic pouches - Washington warns against travel to Somalia and Eritrea

Thursday 20 November 2008 AFP report via Sudan Tribune - Washington warns against travel to Somalia and Eritrea:

November 19, 2008 (WASHINGTON) — The State Department issued yesterday a warning against travel to Somalia and Eritrea, following attacks in Somalia’s Puntland and Somaliland regions, and after the Eritrean government interfered with the delivery of U.S. diplomatic pouches.

"Kidnapping, murder, illegal roadblocks, banditry, and other violent incidents and threats to U.S. citizens and other foreigners can occur in many regions" in Somalia, the State Department said in a statement.

Five suicide car bombs ripped through key targets Oct. 29 in northern Somalia, including U.N. offices and a presidential palace, killing 19 people and the five bombers.

Noting that the U.S. has no diplomatic presence in the country, the statement said "U.S. citizens also are urged to use extreme caution when sailing near the coast of Somalia." A number of attacks and seizures by pirates have occurred in the waters off the Horn of Africa, "highlighting the continuing danger of maritime travel near the Horn of Africa," the State Department said.

In addition to unrest between rival political factions and clans in Somalia, the statement issued Saturday mentioned violent attacks in Mogadishu, border disputes in Somaliland, as well as kidnappings and attacks against international relief workers.

The State Department also warned against travel to Eritrea, noting that "since September 13, the government of Eritrea has repeatedly, and in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, interfered with the unfettered delivery of the U.S. Embassy’s diplomatic pouches."

"Until this matter is resolved, the consular section of the U.S. Embassy has no choice but to suspend all non-emergency services." The U.S. Embassy in Asmara has been unable to receive "critical" materials and supplies such as U.S. passports, the statement said.

The State Department also noted heightened tensions along the country’s borders with Ethiopia and Djibouti and escalating tensions between Eritrea and Ethiopia.

ICC judges to review LRA cases in light of deal between Kampala and LRA - Ugandan army and LRA guilty of crimes against humanity says AI & UHRC

Oyeee! At long last, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and Uganda's army (UPDF) are coming under the world's spotlight.

Give up and get down to doing an honest day's work all you cretinous lazy bum terrorists. We're watching you drugged up lowlife cowards getting your jollies from raping and killing women and children.

After seven long years, the West's war on terrorists and war criminals is starting to come to fruition. We'll get you. Plenty of room is now in place to accommodate war criminals at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

We use thermal imaging and satellites to track and watch you hiding under bushes. There's no hiding place for you on Earth. Big Brother knows where you are and what you are doing day and night.

Reports released on Monday by UK-based Amnesty International and Uganda Human Rights Activists (UHRC) find the LRA and UPDF guilty of crimes against humanity.

Uganda army guilty of crimes against humanity - AI, UHRC reports
November 17, 2008 PANA report from Kampala, Uganda via Afriquenligne:

As embattled Ugandan government accuses the vicious rebel force of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) of committing all sorts of atrocities on hapless civilians in the war-wrecked northern region, human rights groups have found its army guilty of committing similar crimes against humanity.

In separate "stinging" reports obtained Monday, both Amnesty International (AI) and Uganda Human Rights Activists (UHRC) accused the Uganda People Defence Forces (UPDF) of turning their guns against civilians during their counter-insurgency operations against LRA and disarmament operations in the country's north-eastern sub-region.

AI, a UK-based human rights group, in a report based on a five-month study in no rthern Uganda districts of Gulu, Amuru, Kitgum, Pader and Lira, found widespread sexual and physical abuses perpetrated by both the government soldiers and rebels, leaving their victims traumatised.

"Hundreds are left impaired, unable to fend for themselves any more, yet discriminated by relatives and state authorities," Dr. Godfrey Odongo, AI researcher for East Africa and lead author of the report, stated.

"Many years on, victims and survivors of human rights violations still bear the scars of these violations (and) little has been done to ensure that they access effective reparations to address their continued suffering and help them to rebuild their lives.

"There was general impunity for soldiers who committed Human Rights violations a gainst civilians."

Dr. Odongo, who described the stinging reports as forward looking, said they focused on reparations rather than what happened or the violations suffered, citing a host of victims giving harrowing testimonies of the suffering they are undergong, caused by UPDF.

Geoffrey Okumu, a war victim, was quoted in the report as saying, in May 1990, government soldiers stormed their neighborhood, arrested and killed his father an d brother on allegations of being LRA rebel collaborators and possessing illegal guns.

"My father and brother denied the accusations but the soldiers took them away. Not very far from where I remained, I heard gunshots and later realised they had been killed. We had lost a bread winner (so) I dropped out of school to fend for my siblings," AI quoted Okumu as testifying.

In Amuru district, the reports quoted Rose Apio as saying that she watched four of her relatives die after being shot by government soldiers and is now struggling to raise four orphans left by her eldest brother killed in the bizarre shooting.

Martin Abit, 38, a resident of Pader District told AI that UPDF soldiers arrested his elder brother, a non-combatant, during a counter-attack on LRA and he was later killed together with "several other people".

"The UPDF battalion (in the area) took his body with them and promised to give the body to the family for burial but to this day, the body has never been returned to our family for burial," the reports quoted Abit as alleging.

"It is not clear if the government army took the corpse away to destroy evidence that would otherwise incriminate them in committing murder or for ritual purposes, a common practice in some parts of the country.

"Survivors need medical attention, counseling and psychological support. Formerly abducted children need access to education," the UK-based rights group asserted.

"Families need compensation for the deaths and injuries that occurred, restitution for their destroyed land and property, an apology for the violations and proper reburials for their loved ones.

"The government needs to start acting on these needs now," the report added in conclusion.

As usual, Army and Ministry of Defence Spokesman, Major Paddy Ankuda, poured scorn on the reports, saying AI cannot be taken seriously because people who should have given the side of the UPDF account were available but were never contacted.

"If there is any incriminating evidence that our soldier kills anyone, there is no shortcut; they face the law," Ankuda said on telephone Monday afternoon.

"The fresh allegations of human rights abuses by the UPDF chronicled by AI are "outrageous and indefensible," Ankuda shot back.

Since the United Nations sponsored International Criminal Court (ICC) issued warrants of arrest for LRA leadership to answer multiple charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, courtesy of Uganda government, there has been voices saying Uganda army too should face trial in the Hauge.

The indictment remains a sticking issue in the country's peace process brokered by Southern Sudan Vice President Dr. Reick Macar, with LRA leader Joseph Kony refusing to sign the final peace pact if not withdrawn.

Uganda Human Rights Activists (UHRA), in a separate report, stated that soldiers deployed in the disarmament programme code-named 'Operation Restore Hope' in July this year, are torturing and extorting money from residents in Teso and Karamoja sub-regions.

According to the report, Mr. John Ogwang, a resident of Kokong Parish, Kapir Sub-county, in Kumi District, died after he was reportedly tortured by soldiers in an attempt to get a gun from him.

"The late Ogwang was arrested 2 September by soldiers under the command of Major Alfred Obore Opio, from his village.

"They tied his arms behind the back before taking him to Kapir military barracks while being tortured to reveal where he kept a gun.

"By the time they reached (the barracks), Ogwang's body was swollen from head totoes. At the military detach, he was starved for two days till he collapsed," UHRC cited one, out of host of cases in its report.

"Although the operation has good intentions of getting rid of illegal guns in Teso, the officers have abused their authority and should be brought to book," the report, signed by UHRA Coordinator, Valentine Moses Oleico, suggested.

The 3rd Division spokesperson, Captain Henry Obbo, was quoted to have confirmed Ogwang's death, saying "he died while in transit from Kapir military detachment to Soroti police" base.

Captain Obbo also dismissed reports that Ogwang was starved to death while in their harsh custody.

I say, about time too! Too little attention has been paid to the atrocities committed by the LRA in Uganda, South Sudan, CAR and recently in the DR of Congo where they are hiding out in the jungle. No doubt special forces are on their trail.

Since the LRA have been on the rampage all over the place, why not in Chad, Darfur, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, I ask myself. Why have they been allowed to be on the rampage for 20 years? Who is behind this psycho terrorist group?

After 4.5 years of bloging news on the LRA, the conclusion I have reached is that they are off their heads, as high as kites on mind altering substances, and are worse than Al-Qaeda. More later.

See Uganda Watch, Thursday, November 20, 2008 - ICC judges to review LRA cases in light of deal between Kampala and LRA: Rethink comes in light of a deal between Kampala and the LRA providing for domestic war crimes prosecutions.
Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR)
Date: Wednesday, 19 November 2008
By Katy Glassborow in The Hague and Joe Wacha in Gulu, northern Uganda (AR No. 193, 19-Nov-08).

[Cross posted today at Sudan Watch's sister sites Uganda Watch and Congo Watch]

Last month Internews launched community radio 88 FM, the only station in Kurmuk, South Sudan

Report by Internews via Anyuak Media October 17, 2008 - In South Sudan, Community Radio Provides a Voice for the Voiceless:

October 16, 2008 (Nairobi) – Since Sudan’s 22-year old civil war ended in 2005, news has been slow in coming to the most remote regions of the country. To provide news and information and give voice to thousands of Sudanese, Internews has built four community radio stations in South Sudan and is training nascent journalists to run them. We are also planning to build two more this upcoming year.



Photo: Musa “Mosquito” Atebera, a reporter at Voice of Community in Kauda, in the studio. (AM)

“I love my radio station because it is contributing to the reconciliation of my community,” says one of the newly minted journalists at the latest station Internews has launched, in Kurmuk, South Sudan. The station, called 88 FM, went on the air this month after more than a year of hard work and intensive training. It is the only station in the Kurmuk region.

“We were able to send out a signal today when testing the transmitter, and I wish you could have been able to see the excitement on everyone’s face when they were listening to the station,” said Sammy Muraya, a professional journalist from Kenya, who is working with the Kurmuk team to help launch the station. “I was walking with Dominic (the station manager) in the market here and he had borrowed a small radio and he made sure that he told everyone we met that the Kurmuk radio station was already on air. I have to say that the people up here have been waiting for so long for the station . . . everyone is so excited!”

88 FM in Kurmuk is part of Internews’ project, “Radio for Peace, Democracy and Development in South Sudan,” which began in 2006 through a grant from the US Agency for International Development.

Internews constructed the buildings, built the transmission towers, and secured frequency allocations for the stations. Equipment such as mixers, microphones, computers, recorders and editing software soon filled the stations. Because electricity is unavailable in the region, Internews installs alternative energy sources, including solar and wind power, in all its stations. It is one of the more technically challenging aspects of building stations in Sudan, to stay on the air consistently when there is no electricity. Using alternative energy involves carrying batteries that weigh 64 kilos up steep mountains to transmission sites, installing solar panels in places where they won’t get damaged by roaming goats and cows, and establishing back-up generator systems to recharge battery cells on cloudy days.

One after the other, the stations went on the air. The first three stations Internews established, Nhomlaau FM (whose name means “Freedom” in Dinka) in Maluakon, Naath FM (“Citizen” in Nuer) in Leer and Voice of Community in Kauda, each now broadcast six days a week, a minimum of eight hours per day, in at least ten different languages, including Arabic, Dinka, Maban, Uduk and Toro.

Journalists in these very rural parts of South Sudan are hard to come by. In fact, at the new station in Kurmuk, all five staff members were recruited solely on the basis of their enthusiasm and a strong desire to learn, and they had to be trained from scratch.

“I was having just an idea about being a journalist but, where to start and where to end was not known,” said station manager  Dominic Santo Atem. “But now I have the full idea and very good tools!”

In the coming year, Internews will continue to focus heavily on training, working to build the skills of young radio journalists in reporting, production and management skills, as well as understanding their role as community journalists and the media’s role as watchdogs of good governance and democracy. 

In an anonymous survey in which Internews asked the staff about their work, they reported a deep commitment and understanding of the role media play in their lives. “The radio promotes peace and reconciliation and brings out the voice of marginalized people,” explained one reporter. “For me, being a journalist means a lot,” reported another. “It is to educate, advocate and entertain the outside world and my community.”

Since much of Southern Sudan is underserved by other media, community radio offers a vital service to the population in providing news and information.

Deborah Ensor, Program Director for Internews in Sudan, explains, “Community radio differs from state or commercial radio in a number of ways. Its fundamental aim is to provide a voice for the voiceless, run by and for the community it serves, and accountable to them rather than shareholders, private owners or government.”

As one Internews-trained journalist put it, “I am the voice for the community.”`

Here's wishing them all the best of luck.

Ethiopian authorities warn of terrorist attacks - Ethiopia arrested individuals it said had links to OLF leaders in Eritrea

Security Alert: US Embassy in Ethiopia issues terror alert warning US citizens against taking part in the Great Ethiopian Run 23 Nov 2008. Excerpt:

FROM THE EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES
Warden Message
November 14, 2008
Security Alert – Great Ethiopian Run
The U.S. Embassy is issuing this warden message to inform American citizens that in light of the Government of Ethiopia’s warning of an unspecified terrorist threat concern in Ethiopia, as detailed in a Warden Message dated November 6, the Embassy has ordered all Embassy American staff and their family members not to take part in the Great Ethiopian Run, scheduled for November 23 in Addis Ababa.  Private American citizens are likewise advised to avoid the event.  This precautionary measure is in keeping with the Embassy’s advice that Americans avoid public gatherings and public places.

- - -

From Ethiopia Watch November 14, 2008 - excerpt:

Ethiopia arrested individuals it said had links to OLF leaders in Eritrea

November 7, 2008 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopia on Friday said that an extremist group leader who is responsible for a number of terror attacks is killed by local people in the Western Oromia region of Wollega Zone. Read more ...

UNMIS & MONUC to reconstruct road linking S. Sudan and DR Congo - Riek Machar visits Kenya to discuss a proposed peace agreement between Uganda & LRA

November 12, 2008 (KHARTOUM) report from Anyuak Media by SRS - Road to Link UN Missions In Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo:

GOSS Vice President Dr. Riek Machar says he has reached an agreement with the United Nations Mission in Sudan to reconstruct the road linking southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Speaking in Nairobi on Friday, Dr. Machar said UNMIS will construct the road from Maridi in Western Equatoria state to Ri-kwamba on the border with the DRC.

MONUC, the UN mission to the DRC, has said it will also construct a road to the Sudanese border from the DRC side.

Dr. Machar said that apart from connecting Sudan’s UNMIS and the DRC’s MONUC by land, the road would facilitate transport and trade between Western Equatoria state and the DRC.

Dr. Riek Machar was in Nairobi to discuss a proposed peace agreement between Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army.

Machar met DRC President Joseph Kabila at the meeting in Nairobi to talk about co-coordinating UN forces in Uganda and the DRC.

The two discussed the possibility of stationing some members of the Cessation of Hostilities Monitoring Team (CHMT) with UN MONUC forces inside the DRC to monitor the movement and activities of the LRA.

CHMT is composed of senior army officers from Kenya, South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, the DRC, Uganda, southern Sudan and the LRA.

The team was established in Juba to monitor the ceasefire agreement signed two years ago between the Uganda government and the LRA.

- - -

Ministry of Transport to Complete Construction of Roads in South Sudan

November 7, 2008 (JUBA) by Juma John Stephen - The Ministry of Transport and Roads (Government of South Sudan), has signed a 4,312,239 million US dollars agreement with a Khartoum-based construction firm, Sutrac CAT Khartoum, to supply road construction equipment.

The Director of Roads and Bridges, Engineer Gabriel Makur Amuor, said that the money will be used to purchase equipment to complete the construction of all central trunk roads and all feeder roads connecting to the Payams and Bomas in South Sudan.

“The 2007 GoSS budget provided for the purchase of road construction equipment, comprising of five tippers, two graders, one water tank, one fuel tanker, one wheel loader, two excavators and a bulldozer, among others. These will see the completion and commissioning of roads in South Sudan”, said Eng. Makur.

Eng. Makur added that due to logistical obstacles, some of the equipment are still held at Port Sudan and will soon be cleared.

“We are working hard to ensure that we have all the equipment by the end of this year so that we can commence the construction of Nimule-Juba and Kajo Keji roads respectively”, he said.

The Nimule-Juba road will cost 120 million US dollars while the Kajo  Keji will cost 7 million US dollars.

Eng. Makur commended the World Food Programme for its continued support in the re-building of South Sudan, citing the world body’s generous provision of food and funds to upgrade the  Kaya – Rumbek road.

- - -

Sudan Watch Ed: Cross posted to sister blog Congo Watch (where the subscribe by email is working - but isn't working for me at Sudan Watch - nor can I get Sudan Watch feed to work in my newsreader. If anyone reading this has subscribed to Sudan Watch via email and is receiving the emails OK (or not) please let me know by email or leave a comment here. Thanks.)

UNAMID peacekeepers drive through Kalma camp nr Nyala, S. Darfur 14 Nov 2008 - Sudan's camps breed long-term dangers

Photos: UN-African peacekeepers drive through Kalma refugee camp in Darfur, Sudan, Friday, Nov. 14, 2008. (AP Photo/Sarah El Deeb)



Darfur camps breed long-term dangers

November 15, 2008 (AFP) report via Sudan Tribune:

(KALMA CAMP, southern Darfur) — Camps that shelter tens of thousands of Darfuris made homeless by the brutal conflict in western Sudan are seething dens of frustration that aid workers fear will breed long-term insecurity.

New-found cooperation by Khartoum is quickening the deployment of the UN-led peace mission, but a recent upsurge of violence is stifling humanitarian work among the vast numbers classified as internally displaced people (IDPs).

Civilians complain that life is getting worse despite a government peace initiative and the African Union-United Nations mission (UNAMID), as they struggle on without jobs on half the UN basic food rations handed out in April.

"Five years in the camp is like prison," said 25-year-old volunteer English teacher Atayeb Mohammed Adam in Kalma camp, where 92,000 people huddle on dusty plains 13 kilometres (eight miles) from Nyala, capital of South Darfur.

"We’ve been dragged into these IDPs camps, which is completely inhuman. As youths, we are unable to move around. We are suffering from a lack of jobs. If women go outside, they are raped. If youth go outside, they are killed.

"People are afraid. They are very sad because there is no work, no freedom and no skills to learn... People are angry and confused."

Darfur’s conflict erupted when rebels rose up against Khartoum in February 2003, fighting for wealth, power and resources. UN officials estimate that up to 300,000 people have died and fighting has degenerated into a vastly more complex web.

Across Africa, central Asia and the Middle East, many refugee camps have been a source of militancy and radicalism and aid workers fear such a trend in Sudan.

"By staying so long, the IDPs become a target for mobilisation by the (armed) movements," UNAMID civil affairs chief Wariara Mbugua said. "They become a target for infighting among the IDP leadership and that destabilises the entire management of the IDP camp."

Crime is rising. One of the largest schools in the North Darfur camp of Abu Shouk was burnt down. Local leaders tell UN officials they are worried about weapons coming into camps. Ethnic rivalry is bubbling to the surface.

UNAMID has become so concerned about increased instability that it has set up a taskforce uniting all components of the mission and humanitarian workers.

"You are going to see crises of health, a totally uneducated population that is growing up because you have no schools... so I think all round there’s a very significant danger," said Mbugua.

"You have young people who are growing without hope and they are going to be susceptible to anything in the future, whether it’s criminal activity, whether it’s just picking up a gun."

Two months ago, government troops raided Kalma and killed more than 30 people, claiming the biggest camp in Darfur was awash with weapons, allegations never independently substantiated.

UNAMID lacks a mandate to intervene but is desperate to do what it can to provide security.

So it is pouring money and men into Kalma, establishing its first permanent presence in a camp, housing Bangladeshi police in freshly painted barracks. The Bangladeshis have planted sunflowers near the stinking portable toilets.

"We need a force well equipped and well armed to protect us in the camp... We don’t want to die again. We don’t want to be killed again," a barrel-chested Sheikh Ali, the main camp leader, told visiting senior UNAMID management.

"Things have started to change and now things are OK," says the sheikh, stabbing the dust with his walking stick, a swelling crowd craning their necks to watch the exchange between Western reporters and their leader.

Rodolphe Adada, the stocky Congolese ex-foreign minister who is the top civilian in UNAMID, spent more than two hours sitting under a thatched canopy as camp leaders reeled off a litany of woes over a din of hacking coughs.

Earlier he drove out in a 16-vehicle convoy, crunching over dirt tracks to see the debris of a UN-contracted helicopter that crashed — either an accident or an attack — in a field near Kalma, killing four crew members in September.

One witness expressed surprise at a UN routine of at least one night patrol, questioning whether it could amount to a real "24-hour presence".

"After two to two-and-a-half hours they had driven through the camp, stopping now and then to say hi, but never, never veering off the main thoroughfare," the witness told AFP, asking not to be named.

"They returned to the little UNAMID permanent shelter. I thought it was a break but no that was it. For the rest of the night people checked their email, watched music videos online, got a bit of sleep. I could not believe it."

Although UNAMID was billed the largest UN peacekeeping force in the world with a final strength of 26,000, only 9,287 soldiers and 2,355 police have deployed, with numbers expected to rise to 12,613 by the end of the year.

Kalma’s patrols are the exception, not the rule. Even at full strength, which no one expects until well into 2009, there will be 19 police units of just over 100 personnel each, for all the camps.

UN officials say more than 2.2 million have been displaced and although numbers are difficult to confirm, there are around 80 IDP camps in Darfur.

But weapons are also turning against the aid workers.

"We’ve had people with guns put in their faces, robbed at night — UN staff, NGOs this has happened to — and in some places it’s been a lot more frequent and almost daily... that’s worrying," said one UN official.

"When it happens almost every day and it’s targeting humanitarian organisations, is it a sign of someone just not happy with them?

"Or a sign it’s time for you to go? Or is it ’I don’t have food to feed my family so I’m going to take your laptop and I’m going to sell it in the market for 100 dollars or so’?" the official added.

The United Nations says the Sudanese government paints its attack helicopters white, making them indistinguishable from those operated by peacekeepers.

UN helicopters have come under fire in five incidents in two months. UN officials in Darfur say they are looking at possibly getting approval from New York to paint their aircraft a different colour.

"We’ve suspended road trips for humanitarians. Then if we start receiving threats to air travel the whole mission will be under threat," said one UN security official on condition of anonymity. (AFP)



Photo: UN police officer Adeniram Adejoice, from Nigeria, holds the babies handed to hear by two refugee women, while on patrol in the Abou Shouk refugee camp in North Darfur, Sudan, Sunday Jan. 27, 2008. (AP)

South African peacekeeper killed by unknown gunmen at a water point nr UNAMID Kutum base, N. Darfur, Sudan 29 Oct 2008 laid to rest

SA soldier killed in Sudan laid to rest
Saturday, 15 November 2008 SABC News report:

Hundreds of people, including the top brass of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), are attending the funeral service of Corporal Ben Benjamin Titus, currently underway at Danville near Mafikeng in North West.

Titus died two weeks ago following a shooting incident at the Waterpoint base in Sudan. He was 34 years old.

Titus was based at 10 South African Infantry Battalion in Mafikeng and was deployed to Sudan as a member of the United Nations/African Union Mission in Darfur. He is survived by his wife, Belinda.

- - -

UNAMID bids farewell to peacekeeper killed in action
November 4, 2008 UNAMID report from El Fasher, Darfur, Sudan:

The African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur today bid farewell to one of its Peacekeepers killed on 29 October 2008 whilst conducting his duties in North Darfur. Corporal Ben Benjamin Titus was killed by unknown gunmen at a water point near Kutum base, North Darfur.

The Deputy Joint Special Representative (DJSR), Mr. Henry Anyidoho, on behalf of the Joint Special Representative, expressed his heartfelt condolences to the family of the late peacekeeper, to the South African Contingent and Government of the Republic of South Africa.

The DJSR said that the continued support of South Africa in peacekeeping will be enshrined in the African Union and the United Nations in their resolution of the Darfur conflict. “The death of Corporal Titus is not only a loss to his family, but to UNAMID as well,” he added, emphasizing that “such attacks on our mission will not impede our determination on bringing about lasting peace.”

Also speaking at the farewell ceremony in El Fasher on behalf of the Force Commander, General Martin Luther Agwai, the Force Chief of Staff, Brigadier General George Kyaka, reiterated that “solution in Darfur cannot be achieved through violence”. He paid respect to the late Peacekeeper and expressed sympathy to his family, the South African Contingent and the Government of the Republic of South Africa.

Attending the farewell was Col. Joseph Tshugulu, the South African Contingent Commander who addressed the participants and gave a brief background on the life of the deceased.

- - -

Statement by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) regarding the funeral arrangements of a soldier who died in Sudan
November 14, 2008 - South African Government Information:

The funeral service of Corporal Ben, Benjamin Titus (34) will be held at the Dutch Reformed Church (NG Kerk) in Rus Street, Danville, Mafikeng (North West) on Saturday, 15 November 2008 at 08:00.

The remains of Corporal Ben Benjamin Titus will be laid to rest at the Danville Cemetery in full military honours. Corporal Titus is survived by his wife, Mrs Belinda Titus.

The late Corporal Titus passed away on Wednesday 29 October 2008 following a shooting incident at the water point base in Sudan. He was based at 10 South African Infantry Battalion, Mafikeng and was deployed in Sudan as a member of the United Nations/African Union Mission in Darfur.

Enquiries:
Colonel Petrus Motlhabane
Tel: 012 355 6388
Cell: 072 288 3402

Issued by: Department of Defence
14 November 2008

- - -

THE MINISTER OF DEFENCE ANNOUNCES THE DEATH OF A SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL DEFENCE FORCE SOLDIER IN SUDAN
STATEMENT BY THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
Date of Release: 30 October 2008 :

The Minister of Defence, Mr Charles Nqakula, regrets to announce the death of a South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldier, following a shooting incident in Sudan on Wednesday 29 October 2008.

This tragic incident occurred at a water point about three kilometres from Kutum base in Sudan. Corporal Ben, Benjamin Titus (34), was on duty at the water point with other members of his unit. At approximately 18:00 (local time), two unknown men approached and opened fire on the soldiers. Corporal Titus was hit and died instantly, while another soldier was also shot and injured. The injured soldier has been transferred to the United Nations Hospital at Al Fasher and is in a serious but stable condition.

The situation around the base is being closely monitored.

Corporal Titus was based at 10 South African Infantry Battalion, Mafikeng, and was deployed in Sudan as a member of the United Nations/African Union Mission in Darfur. He is survived by his wife, Mrs Belinda Titus.

The Chief of the South African National Defence Force, General Godfrey Ngwenya, has ordered that a Board of Inquiry be convened to investigate the circumstances surrounding this incident.

The Minister of Defence, Mr Charles Nqakula, on behalf of the Department of Defence and the Chief of the South Africa National Defence Force, General Godfrey Ngwenya, have extended their deepest sympathies and condolences to the family of the deceased.

Enquiries: Brigadier General Kwena Mangope
(012) 355 6302 or 072 538 6888

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South Africa: SANDF to Investigate Death of Soldier in Sudan
October 30, 2008 Pretoria BuaNews (Tshwane) report:

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 African soldier who died in Sudan on Wednesday.

Corporal Ben, Benjamin Titus, 34, was on duty at the water point, about three kilometres from Kutum base in Sudan, with other members of his unit.

At approximately 6pm (local time), two unknown men approached the soliders and opened fire on them.

Corporal Titus was hit and died instantly, while another soldier was also shot and injured.

The injured soldier has been transferred to the United Nations Hospital at Al Fasher and is in a serious but stable condition.

The situation around the base is being closely monitored.

Corporal Titus was based at 10 South African Infantry Battalion, Mafikeng, and was deployed in Sudan as a member of the United Nations/African Union Mission in Darfur.

He is survived by his wife, Belinda Titus.

- - -

SA peacekeeper killed in Darfur
October 30, 2008 (SA) Reuters:

Khartoum - Unknown gunmen have killed a South African peacekeeper and wounded another in Sudan's western Darfur region, the United Nations/African Union force (UNAMID) said on Thursday.

The killing brings to 11 the number of peacekeepers who have lost their lives since the beginning of this year when the joint mission took over from the African Union force.

Violence against the under-staffed force has surged in the last three months, during which 10 peacekeepers were killed, underlying the difficulty of securing the region.

Noureddine Mezni, UNAMID spokesperson, said the two soldiers were attacked on Wednesday while securing a water point in the town of Kutum in north Darfur.

"They were injured and evacuated to UNAMID camp in Kutum. One of them died and the other, a female soldier, is alive," Mezni said. The families of the two have been informed of the incident, he said.

With little more than 11 000 military and police personnel, the joint force is far short of its promised strength of 26 000 peacekeepers.

Western diplomats, UN officials and human rights groups blame the slow deployment on obstructions by Sudan, UN bureaucracy and a shortage of helicopters and other transportation equipment.

Sudan, however, said it has made significant progress recently to speed up the deployment of the force.

A Sudanese government official said Western powers, particularly the United States, acknowledge this fact but would not say so in public.

"In private they say 'we know this issue (UNAMID) is not just your responsibility'," the official said on condition of anonymity. "But they won't say this in public."

Western members of the UN Security Council have made progress on deploying the force one of their key demands to suspend a possible arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

The ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo accused Bashir in July of masterminding a campaign of genocide in Darfur. Sudan says it does not recognise the court.

International experts estimate that 200 000 people have died and 2.5 million have fled their homes since the Darfur conflict flared in 2003 when mostly African rebels rose against the government, charging it with neglect. Khartoum puts the death toll at 10 000 people.

Mezni said the female soldier was shot in the chest but was in a stable condition. She was being treated at the UNAMID clinic in El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, he added.

In October, one Nigerian sergeant was shot dead after up to 60 armed bandits ambushed his convoy. In early July, seven members of the force were killed and another 22 were wounded in an ambush by militia fighters in North Darfur.

A week later, another Nigerian officer was killed in a car-jacking incident in west Darfur.

- - -

Gunmen attack SA peacekeepers
October 30, 2008 (SA) AP report by Sarah El Deeb:

Khartoum - Gunmen on vehicles assaulted a group of South African peacekeepers guarding a water well in Darfur, killing one and seriously wounding another, a spokesperson for the joint UN-African Union mission said on Thursday.

The attack took place on Wednesday night, said Noureddine Mezni from the peacekeeping force known as UNAMID.

A total of nine South African peacekeepers were guarding the well, used by the force and the population of Kutum in northern Darfur, he said.

"A convoy of vehicles with armed (men) attacked the force," Mezni said, adding that the peacekeepers fired back. The armed men then fled, leaving two peacekeepers seriously wounded.

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

Mezni said the peacekeepers remain "shocked" at the attack.

"We were securing a water well used by the population. We are not part of the conflict," he added.

The joint UN-AU mission took over peacekeeping duty this year from a beleaguered African Union mission. But the new force has struggled with growing insecurity in the conflict-wracked Darfur as it operates with less than 50% of its authorised capacity.

The force is also facing shortages of equipment, mostly transport and combat helicopters which hinders its access to wide swaths of the remote western region of Sudan and leaves the peacekeepers vulnerable to repeated attacks.

Mezni said the peacekeepers were investigating who was behind the attack and remain "undeterred" to carry out their mandate.

However, the UNAMID has rarely blamed any of the warring factions in the conflict zone, and only in one incident were attackers arrested.

The mission has lost at least 10 other peacekeepers since deploying in Darfur.

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

- - -

UNAMID funeral ceremony El Fasher July 12, 2008 for seven slain peacekeepers



Photo: Officers from Gambia serving with the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) lay the U.N. flag on a coffin before the funeral ceremony for seven slain peacekeepers in El Fasher July 12, 2008. The peacekeepers were killed in an ambush by Darfur militiamen while on a routine patrol in North Darfur on Tuesday, in the worst direct attack on UNAMID forces since they began work on December 31. Photo from Reuters Pictures



Photo: Soldiers from Gambia serving with the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) stand near the coffins of seven slain peacekeepers before the funeral ceremony in El Fasher July 12, 2008. Photo from Reuters Pictures



Photo: Soldiers serving with the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) carry the coffin of one of seven peacekeepers, who were killed by Darfur militiamen while returning from a patrol in North Darfur, during a funeral ceremony in El Fasher July 12, 2008. It was the worst direct attack on UNAMID forces since they began work on Dec. 31. Reuters/Albany Associates/Stuart Price/Handout (Sudan).

Peacekeepers killed in Darfur returned home to Rwanda

July 17, 2008 (VOA) report by Thomas Rippe, Kigali - Peacekeepers Killed in Darfur Returned Home to Rwanda:

The bodies of five Rwandan soldiers, who were serving with the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Sudan's Darfur region, have been returned to Rwanda. They were among seven peacekeepers killed last week in the most severe attack on the peacekeeping force since it began operating in Darfur in January. Rwanda remains committed to the mission in Sudan, but urges other nations to honor their commitments as well. Thomas Rippe reports for VOA from Kigali.

Families of the five slain soldiers huddled on the windy tarmac of Kigali International Airport late Wednesday. Many wore bright purple scarves in remembrance of the 1994 Rwandan genocide in which 800,000 people were killed.

Photo: Bodies of Rwandan soldiers, who were serving with the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Sudan's Darfur region, return home, 16 Jul 2008 (T. Rippe/VOA)



Photo: Grieving families of slain soldiers receive coffins at Kigali International Airport, 16 Jul 2008 (T. Rippe/VOA)

God bless + + + Rest In Peace + + +

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.

- - -

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).

- - -

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)
+ + +

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.

- - -

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