In haste, here is a copy of a post I wrote for Sudan Watch, drafted last December but not published until today:
This morning I awoke early and switched on my computer to find an anonymously authored email with photos attached. Here is a copy of the email together with my (unsent) reply, some of the photos and news of the chief Darfur peace mediator's warning that a recent surge in fighting is endangering civilians and undermining hopes for a settlement.
Hello
Sudan Watch post on 4 December reminded that there is enormous evil in the world and great deception. This is a great moral struggle and you faltered. I send these images as a witness to truth, please return to.
reAd your latest post on Sudan and frankly was I appalled by statements:
I actually feel sorry for Mr Bashir because I believe he has worked tirelessly to hold Sudan together and has done a good job.
The other reason I feel so disappointed is that this latest news from the ICC is music to the rebels ears and emboldens them along with millions of their uneducated followers sitting doing nothing at the expense of millions of hardworking, law abiding tax payers around the world
Please they can go no where back to there land.
In Christ Almighty, Bear Witness to the Desperate
Here pictures [...]
(captions by author of Sudan Watch)
MESSAGE TO WARRING FACTIONS IN SUDAN: TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT YOUR WAR IS DOING TO YOUR PEOPLE
To the anonymous emailer I would like to say this:
Thank you for taking the time and trouble to contact me with your heartfelt message and disturbing images.
Yes I agree there is enormous evil in the world and great deception by people who are fit and well and driven by self interest.
If you had followed Sudan Watch on a real time basis over the past 4.5 years, you would know how many thousands of hours I have spent deploring the plight of the defenceless people of Sudan, especially defenceless women and children and peacekeepers. I have spent thousands of hours publishing news on the shortage of water in Sudan and the urgent need for clean drinking water.
I am not a defender of the rebels or the Sudanese government. I am against people who use violence to get what they want.
My political compass is that of Mahatma Gandhi's. I believe his Salt March was much more effective than the senseless use of guns and munitions.
As your pictures show, there is nothing good to say about armed struggles. The archives of Sudan Watch hold many posts about Kalma camp. There are also reports on what happened to Haskanita. I wish I had a batch of photos of the injuries sustained by peackeepers and government personnel. War stinks. And yet the savedarfurcrowd are calling for military intervention: in other words MORE WAR!
All wars end in a political settlement. So why not get Al-Nur out his comfy armchair in Paris and get him to peace talks.
I am glad you were appalled by my statements, at least it shows that someone reads what I am publishing. Sudan Watch contains nigh on 4,000 postings. On average the majority of postings contain more than one entry, in some cases ten separate entries. There are at least 10,000 news reports and more than 2,000 photos. Bearing in mind that one post can take several hours to put together, I would guess that over 4.5 years it represents at least 40,000 hours on raising awareness of what is happening in Sudan. Had I been paid to do so, I would have earned at least £400,000 - £800,000 - for sure, over $1m. This blog is a labour of love, freely given for the children of Sudan, in the name of peace.
In all honesty, I can vouch for the fact that Mr Bashir has worked tirelessly to hold Sudan together. The truth of such a statement can be found in the entire archives of Sudan Watch. Sudan has not become a failed state and, despite over 30 armed groups freely running amok in Sudan while Al Qaeda is entrenched in Khartoum, I think the Sudanese can thank their lucky stars that their country has not become a Somalia.
The largest humanitarian operation in the world exists in Sudan. The Darfur war is costing unimagineable misery, pain, grief and suffering.
Only recently have I come to the conclusion that 90% - or maybe even 99% of people are inherently wicked. When the chips are down, there is a fine line between humans and beasts. Survival of the fittest.
The chief Darfur peace mediator has warned that a recent surge in fighting in the remote region of Sudan is undermining hopes of resolving the six-year conflict.
The envoy for the UN and African Union has spent months meeting with rebel groups and government officials to try to craft a peace agreement.
New fighting, however, has gripped parts of Darfur this month. The main rebel group seized control of a town in southern Darfur and advanced on the region's government-controlled capital in the north.
Bassole said Thursday that the fighting is endangering civilians and undermining hopes for a settlement. He called on all sides to stop fighting. Up to 300,000 people have been killed since 2003 and millions have been displaced.
Change the names to Ibrahim's JEM and Al-Nur's SLA - and you get the picture that:
JEM and the SLA Agree on Something
I wish someone would show this cartoon to the Darfur rebel groups so they can see themselves as others see them, and implore them please to stop killing their people and GIVE PEACE A CHANCE.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told journalists in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa that the joint U.N.-African Union peackeeping force will remain in the town of Muhajeria and all sides needed to show restraint, urging rebels to pull out of the town.
"I urge maximum restraint on President Omar al-Bashir and have urged the Justice and Equality Movement rebels to withdraw from the city to protect innocent civilians," Ban said.
The spokesman for the peacekeepers, Nourredine Mezni confirmed to the Associated Press that government planes were bombing the outskirts of the town and some 5,000 residents were now taking refuge around the peacekeepers' compound.
JEM spokesman Ahmed Tugod said government planes were bombing the outskirts of the town Monday and asserted that his forces, which captured the town Jan. 15, would stay and fight government forces.
Sudanese planes bombed close to a rebel-held town in Darfur on Monday after the government asked peacekeepers to leave ahead of a planned assault, the international force said.
Thousands of civilians took shelter around a base run by the joint U.N./African Union force in the south Darfur town of Muhajiriya, a spokesman for the peacekeepers said.
UNAMID said Khartoum asked peacekeepers to withdraw on Sunday because the army was preparing to take the town back from Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebels, who seized it last month.
"But we are not going to leave while there are thousands of displaced people around our camp," UNAMID spokesman Noureddine Mezni said. "The Sudanese government should be aware that their actions are endangering civilians and UNAMID."
Mezni said mediators were trying to talk to the government and rebels to prevent fighting over Muhajiriya.
UNAMID officials said peacekeepers had reported bombing around 3 km (almost 2 miles) east of the town on Monday. No one was immediately available to comment from Sudan's armed forces.
Air attacks in Darfur are banned in U.N. Security Council resolutions, but Sudan's army has said it has the right to confront rebel forces who have not signed peace accords.
Mezni said the U.N./AU representative in Darfur, Rodolphe Adada, met senior government officials in Khartoum on Monday to try to negotiate an end to the crisis over the south Darfur town.
U.N./AU mediator Djbril Bassole planned to fly to neighbouring Chad to meet rebel leaders, he said. (Editing by Matthew Tostevin)
Mediators tried on Monday to avert a Sudanese attack on a rebel-held town in Darfur after the army asked peacekeepers to leave ahead of an assault, the international force said.
A spokesman for the U.N./African Union force said the peacekeepers were still in Muhajiriya and were concerned about the 30,000 civilians there.
U.N. officials said it was the first time Sudan had asked peacekeepers to withdraw from a town in Darfur.
The UNAMID mission is undermanned and under equipped while tension is escalating in Darfur ahead of an expected decision by International Criminal Court judges on whether to indict Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes.
UNAMID spokesman Nourredine Mezni said the U.N./AU representative in Darfur, Rodolphe Adada, planned to meet officials in Khartoum on Monday to try to negotiate an end to the crisis over the south Darfur town.
U.N.-AU mediator Djbril Bassole planned to fly to neighbouring Chad to meet leaders of the Justice and Equality Movement rebels, he said.
In Ethiopia for an African Union summit, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Sudan and rebel groups to stop all violence that threaten the peace process and civilians.
"I have called on the authorities of Sudan to use maximum restraint in this regard," he said.
"WAR ZONE"
UNAMID said Sudan asked the peacekeepers to leave Muhajiriya on Sunday and had now said it was planning an attack.
"The area would be a war zone and they told us we should not return until this is stabilised," Mezni said.
No one was immediately available to confirm the report from Sudan's armed forces.
Muhajiriya has been the centre of more than two weeks of fighting between government and JEM forces -- the worst violence in Darfur in a year.
JEM seized the town in mid January from former rebels who signed a peace deal.
JEM has not signed any accord with Khartoum and the latest fighting has cast a shadow over faltering peace efforts.
UNAMID and JEM officials said the situation was tense in Muhajiriya, but there were no immediate reports of fighting.
"An attack could be imminent," JEM commander Suleiman Sandal told Reuters. He said he was receiving reports from commanders close to the town, which is 80 km from Nyala, the capital of south Darfur.
International experts say 200,000 people have died in Darfur almost six years after mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms, accusing the government of neglect. Khartoum denies accusations of genocide from Washington and campaign groups.
Ban said Ethiopia had pledged tactical helicopters for the peacekeeping force but said the force still lacked 18 "utility" helicopters.
(Additional reporting by Daniel Wallis in Addis Ababa)
Peacekeepers on Sunday said Sudan's government had asked them to withdraw from a rebel-held Darfur town, amid reports state troops were preparing to attack the settlement.
The joint U.N./African Union UNAMID force said it was trying to convince Sudan to let its forces stay in the south Darfur town of Muhajiriya so they could continue to protect more than 30,000 civilians in the battle-scarred area.
Muhaririya has been the scene of more than two weeks of fierce fighting between Sudan government forces, troops from the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and other fighters.
JEM, which currently holds the town, told Reuters its commanders had reported four columns of Sudanese army troops, including one unit with tanks, were approaching the south Darfur town from different directions.
"We think they are planning a large attack," said JEM official Al-Tahir al-Feki. "Our main concern is for the civilians because they will bear the brunt of any fighting."
It was impossible to verify the report of the approaching troops independently and no one was immediately available for comment from Sudan's armed forces.
UNAMID spokeswoman Josephine Guerrero said the Sudanese government on Sunday afternoon asked a 196-strong contingent of UNAMID peacekeepers to withdraw from the town, but had not given a reason for the request.
She said the U.N. and African Union's joint special representative in Darfur, Rodolphe Adada, had flown back to Sudan from a conference in Ethiopia to try and persuade Sudan's government to change its mind.
"We are asking that so we can continue what we are doing which is protecting civilians," she said. The peacekeepers were still in the town early Sunday evening, she added.
Analysts said the fighting around Muhajiriya has been the worst violence the region has seen in a year. (Editing by Sophie Hares)
Sudan's government has asked U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur to withdraw from the flashpoint town of Muhajaria, the scene of clashes with rebels, the peacekeeping force said on Sunday.
"We received a request to withdraw from Muhajaria by the government of Sudan," Josephine Guerrero, a spokesman for the United Nations and African Union peacekeeping Mission in Darfur, or UNAMID, told AFP.
"This decision is not final because there are still discussions underway," he said.
Darfuri rebels of the Justice and Equality Movement seized the town two weeks ago from forces loyal to the Sudanese Liberation Army faction of Minni Minawi, the only rebel group to have signed a peace deal with Khartoum.
Sudanese troops shelled JEM positions near the town in response and JEM said it repulsed a convoy of 130 army vehicles and its air support.
UNAMID has about 190 people stationed in the town, out of 15,000 soldiers in Darfur. Click here for an updated version of the report.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia: Sudanese officials have asked international peacekeepers to leave a town in south Darfur so soldiers can attack rebels who took it over in mid-January.
U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission spokeswoman Josephine Guerrero says Sudan has asked UNAMID to clear out of the town of Muhajeria so Sudanese troops can launch an offensive against rebels from the Justice and Equality Movement, a powerful rebel group.
Guerrero said Sunday that senior U.N. officials will meet with Sudanese officials in Khartoum to discuss the issue. She said the request did not specify when the Sudanese government wanted the international peacekeepers to leave the town of around 30,000 people.
The President Omer Al-Bashir discussed, with the Libyan leader and the Senegalese president the recent fighting in Darfur with the Justice and Equality Movement and the alleged Chadian support to the rebels.
In a series of meetings that he held at the sidelines of the NEPAD summit in Addis Ababa, Al-Bashir accused Chad of supporting the rebel JEM in its latest attack on Muhageriya location in southern Darfur.
Al-Bashir met on Friday January 30 and Sunday 31 with Muammar Gadhafi and Abdoulaye Wade. The two leaders brokered reconciliation agreement between the two neighboring countries, Tripoli agreement in Feb 2006 and Dakar agreement in Marsh 2008.
Ndjamena denied the Sudanese accusations and charged Khartoum of brokering the creation of a new alliance between the Chadian rebels to topple the government of the President Idris Deby.
Yesterday for the first time since a while, the website of the Chadian presidency said Sudan declared war on Chad and reaffirmed the readiness of its army to defeat any attempt to overthrow the President Deby.
Also Ahmed Hussein Adam the spokesperson of the rebel group Ahmed Hussein Adam, dismissed any participation of the Chadian army in the North and South Darfur clashes with the Sudanese army last week.
The rebel official said Khartoum accusations are not serious but only aiming at shift attention form Sudan plans to undertake a military operation to remove the Deby who is accused by Khartoum of supporting the JEM rebels.
"Our troops are operating inside Sudan far from Chad and do not need any external support," said Ahmed Hussein Adam, the spokesman of the rebel movement.
The Sudanese state minister for information Kamal Obeid told reporters that Chadian troops took part in recent attempt by JEM rebels to break out the siege of JEM troops in Muhajriya, South Darfur.
“Chadian forces from the Republican Guard entered Darfur with supplies and ammunitions to lift the siege imposed by the Sudanese armed forces on JEM troops” the Sudanese official said.
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy met today with Ambassador Ramtane Lamamra, the African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security at the AU Headquarters to discuss issues of mutual interest including the latest developments in Darfur and Somalia.
The two parties agreed to continue their close consultations and cooperation in the interest of peace and security in Africa.
Present at the meeting was the AU/UN Joint Special Representative, Rodophe Adada, who had held a working session earlier with Commissioner Lamamra to review UNAMID’s ongoing efforts to implement its mandate.
JSR Adada conducted a series of consultations with several delegations attending the 14th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the AU, including the Libyan Arab Jamahirya Secretary for African Affairs Dr Ali Triki, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway, Raymond Johansen, and the EU Special Envoy for Sudan, Torben Brylle. They all reiterated their continued support for UNAMID.
The United Nations and African Union (AU) joint chief mediator for the peace process in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region today expressed grave concern over renewed combat in the southern part of the vast region, saying it undermines hopes for a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
“The escalation of violence violates the spirit of the Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement on the Conflict in Darfur of 2004 and constitutes a breach of various Security Council resolutions,” Djibril Bassolé said in a formal statement released in Khartoum.
Pointing in particular to military clashes involving the Government of Sudan, the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), and another rebel group known as the Sudan Liberation Army/ Minni Minawi (SLA/MM), he called on the parties to cease fighting to minimize civilian suffering and create “a conducive environment for a political dialogue.”
More than 9,000 people have been displaced in Sudan’s Darfur region as a result of aerial bombing and fighting in the past two weeks, the United Nations said.
Sudanese government aircraft have been bombing rebel positions near the northern state capital of El-Fasher and the southern town of Muhajiriya for the past few days, the UN-led peacekeeping mission in Darfur, Unamid, said in statements. Ground battles between government forces and rebels from the Justice and Equality Movement have also taken place in both locations, it said.
“The security situation in Darfur remains tense,” Unamid said in an e-mailed statement today. “The Unamid camps in Gereda and Muhajiriya, South Darfur, continue to face an increase in the number of civilians seeking refuge as a result of recent clashes.”
In the town of Muhajiriya, 3,000 people have gathered around the peacekeeping base seeking shelter and protection, Unamid said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. About 2,000 people fled their homes and have arrived in El-Fasher and in other places along the border between North and South Darfur states, according to Zeljko Nikolich of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Another 4,000 are on their way, he said by phone from El-Fasher yesterday. Nikolich said OCHA received the figures in reports that could not be verified.
Gained Territory
JEM claims to have made gains in the Darfur area since a battle in Muhajiriya on Jan. 15, after a battle which dislodged a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army led by Minni Minnawi. Minnawi’s faction of the SLA signed a peace accord with the government in 2006.
Government aircraft continued to bomb rebel positions today, Suleiman Sandal Hagger, JEM’s deputy chief of staff, said by phone.
“They are bombing here and there,” he said.
While Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir unilaterally declared a cease-fire in Darfur in November, Sawarmi Khalid, spokesman for the armed forces, later said the army had a right to defend itself against rebel attacks.
To contact the reporter on this story: Heba Aly in Khartoum via Johannesburg atabolleurs@bloomberg.net.
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Condemnation of Darfur Bombings January 27, 2009 U.S. Department of State Press Statement by Robert Wood, Acting Spokesman, Washington, DC:
The United States condemns the military activity carried out by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in North and South Darfur since January 22, as well as the incursion by the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) into Muhajaria and other areas of South Darfur, which resulted in an increase of violence over the last week.
This fighting and subsequent Government of Sudan bombing campaigns have reportedly resulted in the deaths, injuries and displacements of civilians. The bombing campaigns in particular are a violation of the Darfur Peace Agreement, of the Government of Sudan-initiated ceasefire, and of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions on Darfur.
We welcome the statement by the Secretary-General condemning these hostilities. We demand that all parties to the conflict, including rebel movements, cease all violence and provocations in Darfur immediately, and commit to the peace process under the leadership of Joint Chief Mediator Djibril Yipènè Bassolé. 2009/083
"It is frustrating to be out of Muhajariya at a time where we can support the population, but we are trying to return and continue our medical care as before, as soon as the circumstances allow," explained Jose Hulsenbek, MSF's coordinator for operations in Darfur.
Following heavy fighting in Muhajariya, South Darfur, Sudan, on January 15 MSF has had to temporarily relocate most of its medical team to Nyala, the regional capital, an estimated 80 km away.
The team has learned that the MSF base in Muhajariya was completely destroyed by fire, however the MSF clinic remains functional.
"It is frustrating to be out of Muhajariya at a time where we can support the population, but we are trying to return and continue our medical care as before, as soon as the circumstances allow," explained Jose Hulsenbek, MSF's coordinator for operations in Darfur.
After the evacuation of MSF, more than 35,000 people living in Muhajariya and its immediate surroundings who are directly affected by the violence are now without sufficient and urgently needed medical assistance. MSF hopes to be able to return with a full team in the area as soon possible. MSF asks all parties to the conflict to respect humanitarian actors providing essential medical aid to the civilians.
Prior to the team's departure staff were busy treating wounded. There were 25 patients who were given urgent care, 18 of whom were treated for gunshot wounds. The African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) assisted with the transportation of six of the wounded to Nyala Hospital for further care, upon the departure of MSF.
"When we had to evacuate, it was not clear, what would happen to the patients. In the end, for some of the injured a helicopter evacuation to Nyala was arranged and it was a relief for me, that they would get necessary treatment”, said Henrike Meyer medical doctor for MSF who was forced to leave Muhajariya. “If I had the choice, to stay or to go, I guess, I would prefer to stay with the patients."
A small team of Sudanese MSF staff remaining in Muhajariya continue to provide basic life-saving services. However, without surgical services, this is far from meeting the needs of the population. The security situation remains unclear. It is reported that most women and children have fled the town.
Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) aggression on Mahajeriya village of South Darfur State was countered by forces of Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM)/Minawi faction. The clash claimed 47 lives and wounded 80 who have been transferred to Nyala hospital.
In a press conference he held in the State Capital, Nyala, Deputy Governor, Dr Farah Mustafa reported that the incident displaced some 200,000 people to Shaeria Locality.
Reporting Sudan Armed Force (SAF) non-intervention in the clash between the two movements over the said village, Dr Mustafa affirmed SAF capability to roll back any JEM attack on Mahajeriya.
Dismissing JEM control over any area in South Darfur, the Deputy Governor urged domestic and foreign NGOs to extend humanitarian aid to the affected civilians in Mahajeriya.
Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM)/Minawi Faction admitted withdrawal from Mahajeriya village, South Darfur, in favor of Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)/ Khalil Ibrahim Faction, claiming civilians protection against violence that might flare incase of confrontation with Khalil Faction.
SLM General Secretary, Ali Hussein Dosa, reported that, beaten by JEM elements, many civilians fled the area to UNAMID sites seeking security and tranquility.
In a statement to Sudan Vision, Dosa underlined that his faction would not resort to fighting of JEM as it focuses citizens' safety and stability as a priority. He speculated JEM withdrawal from Mahajeriya as a result of domestic and international condemnation it received on assaulting the said village.
Dosa further outlined in detail that, the representatives of Umma National, DUP and Communist Political Parties, that SLM met with, have denounced Khalil's aggression on M Mahajeriya, understanding that the step targets holding of more grounds before the upcoming Darfur peace talks, an aim announced by Khalil himself and reiterated by his spokesman Ahmed Tagad.
Affirimg that Khalil's move will be encountered by Darfur people, notable armed movements, Dosa assumed that Khalil attempt to overwhelmingly and exclusively control Darfur region will undermine the peace process, hence aggravates the suffering of the Darfurians rather than allowing him a positive position during peace negotiations.
For his part, Kenro Oshidari, Acting UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, said he is “deeply concerned” about the humanitarian situation in Muhajariya, where the town’s occupants are exposed to “levels of violence previously not seen.” Civilians rushed to the peacekeeping base for protection during the fighting, UNAMID said Jan. 16.
At least 45 people died, 100 families were displaced and 150 houses burned, the Khartoum-based Sudanese Media Center said.
Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), led by Senior Presidential Assistant Mini Arco Minnawi, rejected the excuses given by JEM for its attack on Mahajeriya area in South Darfur.
"All know that these areas are under our control according to maps accredited by the Abuja agreement," said SLM official spokesman, Saifuldin Haroun.
SLM's rejection came in response to statements which were understood to be an apology by JEM for the attack which it contended was in self-defence.
Meanwhile, UNAMID said it is conducting an investigation on the clashes that occurred between JEM and SLA elements in Mahajeriya area, describing the situation there as tragic because it resulted into hundreds of the displaced seeking refuge behind the UNAMID troops posted near Mahajeriya.
The UNAMID spokesman, Nur Eddin Mezni, stated that the situation was still tense despite cessation of hostilities, adding that UNAMID had sent a force to the region to investigate the incidents. He revealed that UNAMID troops have received large numbers of the displaced who fled the region and sought protection of the peacekeepers. He alerted that a number of aid organizations have withdrawn from the region because of the fighting.
Mezni further enjoined the contesting parties to renounce violence which can only result in killing and destruction and seek to resolve their differences through dialogue. He revealed that intensive contacts have been undertaken by the Mission with the two conflicting parties with the objective of halting the clashes, saying that they have already started providing medical care for the wounded civilians and refuge for aid workers.
On his part, UNSG Ban Ki-moon slammed the clashes and called on the two parties to immediately and unconditionally cease hostilities.
Rebels from the Justice and Equality Movement have taken control of Muhajaria town in the western Sudan region of Darfur, the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission there said on Sunday.
JEM forces have been clashing with ex-rebels from the Sudanese Liberation Army faction of Minni Minawi, the only group to have signed a peace deal with Khartoum, which traditionally controls the area, UNAMID said in a statement.
JEM has "taken full control of Muhajaria, South Darfur," after fierce fighting that has led to additional suffering to the civilian population in the area," UNAMID said.
The UN's humanitarian coordinator in Sudan Kenro Oshidari said on Saturday the fighting has caused an unknown number of deaths and injuries after "levels of violence previously not seen in the town."
Peacekeepers have evacuated six critically injured people, UNAMID said.
An aid agency office has been destroyed and UNAMID peacekeepers are on the ground to protect the local population, the statement said, expressing "grave concern for the lives and safety of the civilian population."
Darfur fighters who signed a peace deal with Sudan's government are poised to attack a strategic town, putting the lives of 30,000 civilians at risk, peacekeepers said on Sunday.
Forces loyal to Minni Arcua Minnawi, a former rebel leader who is now a special presidential assistant, were preparing a counter-attack on Muhajiriya after losing it to rival rebels last week, said the joint U.N./African Union mission (UNAMID).
At least 20 people were injured when Minnawi's wing of the Sudan Liberation Army clashed with the insurgent Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) on Thursday on the outskirts of the town in south Darfur.
A compound run by international aid group Medecins sans Frontieres was destroyed in the fighting and its staff were evacuated from the town, along with workers for French aid group Solidarites.
JEM at the time said it had taken control of Muhajiriya, seen as a stronghold of Minnawi who was the only Darfur rebel leader to sign a peace deal with the government in 2006. Officials from Minnawi's movement denied losing the town.
UNAMID on Sunday released a statement confirming JEM was now in control of the settlement, 80 km (50 Miles) from Nyala, the capital of south Darfur.
It added it had reports Minnawi's forces were regrouping for a counter-attack to regain control of Muhajiriya and that it had grave concern for the civilian population.
"Continued fighting between the two Darfurian movements could lead to a catastrophic humanitarian situation for the 30,000 residents and displaced civilians there," said UNAMID.
The leader of the major Darfur rebel group to sign a peace agreement with Khartoum accused some countries of seeking to make the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) the major power ahead of expected peace talks.  “There is a joint conspiracy between JEM and some countries to make Khalil Ibrahim [JEM chief] get rid of any other factions in so he can become the John Garang of Darfur in Doha negotiations” Minni Minnawi leader of former rebel group Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) told Sudan Tribune by phone today.
“These countries are pushing Ibrahim to use force to become the main power in Darfur but this is impossible and will never happen” Minnawi stressed.
But the senior presidential assistant declined to name the countries backing JEM in this plan.
The Darfur rebel group has recently expressed dissatisfaction what they consider as being sidelined by the Qataris in their mediation efforts to bring the warring parties together.
A crisis erupted between Minnawi’s faction and the southern Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) after the former suggested that the latter is involved in the recent fighting and that they are providing diplomatic and political support to JEM.
However Minnawi later apologized to SPLM chairman Salva Kiir according to the pro-SPLM newspaper Ajras Al-Hurriya.
Minnawi’s statements come days after his forces clashed with JEM at the town of Muhageria in southern Darfur.
Both rebel groups claimed to have inflicted heavy losses on the other side during the fighting that displaced hundreds in the area according to UN peacekeepers
Minnawi sounding angry called on the international community to condemn what he described as “blatant aggression” by JEM.
“Muhageria has enjoyed stability and security for five years. They [JEM] have disrupted the livelihood of the people” he said.
“JEM must withdraw unconditionally from the area” the SLM leader added.
Sudan official news agency reported that Minnawi has flown to El-Fasher in North Darfur.
The former rebel leader accused JEM as being “the military wing” of the Islamist Popular Congress Party (PCP) led by Hassan Al-Turabi something which Khartoum has persistently alleged.
In May 2006, the SLM signed the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) with the Sudanese government and its head Minnawi was appointed as the senior assistant of the Sudanese president in August.
But Minnawi have expressed frustration with implementation of the DPA saying the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) is deliberately stalling it.
Secretary General of Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM)/Minawi, Ali Hussein Dosa, disclosed that a reconciliatory meeting was held yesterday between First VP and SPLM Chairman, Salva Kiir Mayardit and Senior Assistant to the President, SLM Faction Chief, Mini Minawi.
The meeting was convened with the background of SLM claims that SPLM did support JEM in its recent aggression on Mahajeriya.
Affirming removal of differences between the two movements, SPLM and SLM Dosa reported that tense situation exists in Mahajeriya, underlining his Faction readiness to counter and defeat any JEM assault as it did before in Haskanita. He presumed that JEM focuses region's control rather than peace realization or stoppage of bloodshed in Darfur.
In that respect, Dosa affirmed that SLM did not ask for any support for fighting JEM.
It is worth mentioning that a JEM force boarding 60 Toyota Land Cruiser vehicles attacked SLM strongholds in Mahajeriya, and Drafalsalam in South Darfur State recently.
Darfur hybrid peace keeping mission protected aid workers in southern Darfur and offered medical care to the civilians wounded following fighting between the former rebels and another rebel movement.
The location of Muhageria, a stronghold of former rebel Sudan liberation Movement led byMinni Minawi, witnessed fierce fighting today between the SLA-MM and the Justice and Equality Movement rebels.
JEM said inflected heavy casualties on Minawi troops but the Senior Presidential Assistant accused JEM of burning the town saying they attacked his troops and killed a large number of civilians.
"The UNAMID is providing medical care to injured civilians and offering shelter to aid workers after members of two rebel groups opened fire on each other in a South Darfur town today."
The local population began gathering around the UNAMID base for protection, it said.
The hybrid peacekeeping mission established a makeshift hospital at its base in Muhageria to treat the IDPs wounded amid the fighting between SLM-Minawi and JEM.
The UNAMID also helped evacuate staff from two NGOs, Médecins Sans Frontières and Solidarités, who are working in the region.
The two warring parties accuse each other of attacking the positions of the other. Also Minawi says Muhageria belongs to his group because they control it since 2004, but JEM says they
The peacekeeping mission further said it is investigating and monitoring the situation in Muhageria. It also added that the fighting had stopped.
The African Union has asked former South African leader Thabo Mbeki to head a panel on how to reconcile the need for accountability in Darfur with opposition to calls for Sudan's president to be prosecuted.
Jean Ping, the chairman of the AU Commission, made the announcement on Thursday at a meeting of the continent's foreign ministers ahead of a February 1-3 AU summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The African Union urged the International Criminal Court on Friday to suspend its indictment of Sudan's president on genocide charges, saying it could jeopardize any peace process in Darfur.
The head of the AU Peace and Security Council said Friday that members unanimously supported delaying the indictment process for a year so that officials could negotiate peace in the western Sudanese region. "There is a solidarity shown toward the president of Sudan, unanimously," Ramtane Lamamra of Algeria said.
The African Union has asked former South African leader Thabo Mbeki to head a panel on how to reconcile the need for accountability in Darfur with opposition to calls for Sudan's president to be prosecuted.
Jean Ping, the chairman of the AU Commission, made the announcement on Thursday at a meeting of the continent's foreign ministers ahead of a February 1-3 AU summit in Ethiopia.
"I have written to President Mbeki to ask him to chair a high level panel to submit recommendations on how best to reconcile the fight against impunity (in Darfur) while also dealing with reconciliation and forgiveness," Ping said.
Ping gave no other details about his plan for Mbeki.
Meanwhile, the United Nations and African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID) is aiming to deploy 80 percent of its joint peacekeeping force there by March and the rest by June.
UNAMID took over from a smaller AU mission last year -- but is well short of its promised strength of 26,000 troops.
Tanzania's Bernard Membe, who heads the Executive Council of AU foreign ministers, said the success of the mission depended on getting maximum cooperation from Bashir's government.
The AU has called for any indictment to be suspended.
"Most of us are members of the ICC, and much as most of us don't condone atrocities, the solution that we are seeking in Darfur must seek the cooperation of the government," he said.
"The cooperation of the government cannot come if we'll be deploying our troops at the same time as President Bashir is indicted. It will bring a contradiction and the peace process will be brought to a halt."
The African Union (AU) will press for a negotiated peace settlement in the troubled Darfur region in western Sudan, rather than back the warrants of arrest slapped on the Sudanese President Hassan el-Bashir and others accused by the International Criminal Court (ICC), the AU Commission (AUC) Deputy Chairperson, Mr Erastus Mwencha, said in an exclusive interview with PANA here Friday.
Mwencha, however, reiterated that any form of impunity would be firmly tackled by the continental body, irrespective of the circumstances.
The ICC wants Bashir, who was scheduled to arrive in the Ethiopian capital on Friday for the 12th AU summit, to face criminal charges for crimes against humanity, genocide and gross human rights violations.
The AUC and the Arab League, in what is called the Qatar Initiative, wants the warrants of arrest to be withdrawn and replaced with a panel of eminent African persons, chaired by former South African President Thabo Mbeki.
The two organisations are invoking Article 16 of the Rome Statute that created the ICC, which provides for staying of the warrants of arrest when and where circumstances necessitate.
A visiting Russian official announced today that his government is proposing an international conference on Darfur to be held in Moscow later this year.
“We think such a summit would be a good mechanism to those who want to participate in the reviewing the positive developments in Darfur” Margelov was quoted by the Sudan official news agency (SUNA) as saying.
The Russian official said that his country is “actively engaged on Sudan issues and wants to play an active role in UN Security Council (UNSC), Africa and in world affairs”.
Margelov was appointed in this newly created position by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev last December in what appeared to be growing interest in the East African country.
Photo: Russian envoy to Sudan Mikhail Margelov (L) speaks to Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir January 29, 2009 The Russian special envoy to Sudan Mikhail Margelov told reporters following his meeting with president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir that the conference would include experts and political figures as well as all interested parties.
The envoy has made visits to Darfur and the Southern capital of Juba.
Margelov said he obtained “valuable” information that will help him make an evaluation and will convey to the Russian leadership upon his return.
He declined to state what position Russia will take on the issue of the highly expected arrest warrant to be issued by International Criminal Court (ICC) against Al-Bashir.
However he said that stance would take shape after holding consultations next month with the United States and Western Europe.
Russia has voted in favor of resolution 1593 referring the Darfur crisis to the ICC. However it hinted that it is willing to support a deferral under Article 16 of the ICC Statute but did not table a resolution.
President of the semi-autonomous Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS), General Salva Kiir Mayardit, has announced his Government’s formation of a Ministerial Committee to deal with the expected decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants on the President of the Republic, Omer Hassan el-Bashir.
About 7-member ministerial committee to be chaired by the Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Dr. Luka Tombekana Monoja, is charged with the responsibility to workout preparedness plans for the semi-autonomous Government should the ICC issue the arrest warrant.
The Committee shall be reporting to the GoSS President “regularly”.
In the Council of Ministers meeting on Friday, President Kiir also briefed the Council on his recent visit to Washington, DC, where he met with a number of senior American officials including former President, George W. Bush at the White House.
Kiir also met with the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon and President of the World Bank, Robert Zoelleck, among other senior officials.
According to the Minister of Information and Broadcasting and official Spokesperson of the Government, Gabriel Changson Chang, the visit which took place between 5th – 7th January this year came as an invitation from President Bush to celebrate with President Kiir on the 5th January, in the White House, the 4th Anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
Chang added that the visit was also to extend GoSS profound appreciation for the role played by the former US President and his administration in the conclusion of CPA and its implementation.
The visit gave President Kiir and his team the opportunity to update President Bush and his administration about the status of the CPA implementation and to ensure the continuity of the US commitment to CPA implementation in their handing over report to the new administration.
Kiir told the meeting that Bush’s administration identified Government of Southern Sudan as its strategic ally in Sudan and the region and reassured that such policy will continue even with the new administration.
He said the American government is committed to making Southern Sudan stronger politically, economically and militarily.
The Washington respective meetings discussed a number of issues within the context of implementation of the CPA, Darfur peace process and the ICC’s indictment on President el-Bashir.
The Council of Ministers commended the outcome of President Kiir’s visit to Washington DC.
Kiir said his team was not able to meet with any member of the new President Barrack Obama’s team “as they decided not to have any official meeting till they assumed their offices.”
The new administration’s officials however indicated that they would be ready to meet with GoSS officials after the inauguration of President Obama.
Fellow Brit Dr Alex de Waal (recently awarded an OBE for his services to development and conflict resolution in Africa) has just published his latest analysis at his ssrc.org blog Making Sense of Darfur. The analysis contains a neat round-up of news on Sudan and, with regard to averting a constitutional crisis and a return to civil war, a proposal that the UNSC should invoke Article 16 without condition. In other words, as reported by Sudan Tribune 26 January 2009 [Sudan expert calls for ‘unconditional’ deferral of Bashir indictment], the UNSC should exercise its power and suspend any arrest warrant that may be issued by the ICC against Sudan's President Al-Bashir.
The entire archives of Sudan Watch show why I wholeheartedly support the proposal that the UNSC should invoke Article 16 without condition. For the record, here is a copy of the analysis followed by Dr Alex de Waal's critique posted on 27 January 2009 at his ssrc.org blog, Making Sense of Darfur. In addition to a postscript here below, I have added a YouTube video message to implore all warring factions in Sudan to think of Sudan's children and give peace a chance. Also, for future reference, here below is news from Kampala, Uganda that the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has opened a liaison office in Uganda; plus a report from Sudan Radio Service claiming that Sudanese journalists in Khartoum have been told by the UN Mission in Southern Sudan (UNMIS) to check facts with UNMIS before reporting on UNMIS.
Here is the analysis from Making Sense of Darfur by Dr Alex de Waal, 25 January 2009:
Sudan is in a state of high tension at the moment, and we face a dangerous month ahead. Darfur is witnessing its worst fighting for a year.
The immediate cause of the tension is the expected arrest warrant to be issued by the ICC, the immediate cause of the fighting is JEM’s offensive.
The Sudan Government sees the ICC as the gravest threat to its survival it has ever faced and a matter of life and death. It is a national issue, not one confined to Darfur. Up to now, the Sudan Government has responded coolly to the threat, but it is clear that no option is off the table should an arrest warrant be issued.
Key to how the Khartoum leadership responds will be the reactions of others, international and domestic. If the reaction all round were to be that the arrest warrant changes nothing and business as usual should continue, then the NCP and security leadership is likely to remain cool. But if the reactions are otherwise, then the response could be very adverse.
President Omar al Bashir has made it clear that he considers the UN responsible for allowing the ICC Prosecutor to proceed with his application for an arrest warrant, and he will hold the Secretary General and the Security Council responsible should the warrant be issued. Should this happen, all relations with the UN will be up for reconsideration. In Darfur, UNAMID is relatively protected because it is a joint mission with the African Union, which is opposed to the arrest warrant. UNMIS may be more exposed. Possibly the test for the UN will be if its senior officials, including the Special Representatives, are ready to meet with President Bashir, who is their host. If they refuse to meet with him, the government may conclude that they have no business being in Sudan. A similar test may be applied to ambassadors accredited to Sudan: will they meet with the President?
More sensitive still is the question of how the national parties respond. Just recently, Hassan al Turabi was arrested for demanding that Bashir be handed over to the ICC. This, we can be confident, will be the fate of any national political figures who take this line. The government expects that many Darfurians will openly support the ICC and has already discounted this, as far as the IDP camps and rural areas are concerned. But it is unlikely to tolerate open opposition in Khartoum.
The SPLM’s reaction will be pivotal. There seems to be a range of views within the SPLM, with some seeing the indictment as a threat to the CPA and others seeing it as leverage against the NCP. First Vice President Salva Kiir has emphasized the strategic interest of the south in seeing a stable and legitimate Government of National Unity. But it is not difficult to foresee a ratchet of escalation in which the NCP suspends or stalls on certain CPA provisions, leading to a crisis which in turn pushes some SPLM figures to argue that this is the opportunity to short-circuit the CPA and push for unilateral independence. Relations between the NCP and the SPLM will be absolutely crucial in the coming weeks and could determine the country’s fate.
The ICC issue is so preoccupying the NCP leadership that all other political business in Sudan is grinding to a halt. This in itself portends crisis as it means that key CPA implementation deadlines will slip.
Meanwhile, parts of Darfur are again in flames, with the worst fighting in the region since the beginning of 2008. This began with the military takeover of Muhajiriya, formerly controlled by SLA-Minawi, by JEM. Other Minawi strongholds have also fallen and JEM is now threatening Gereida. Minni Minawi tried to fight off the attackers without the Sudanese army, but having lost, the government is responding at scale with its most readily available military asset, the airforce. Reports indicate high-technology bombardment and considerable casualties, in Muhajiriya and other places including Gereida and north Darfur.
The operation was carried out by former SLA-Minawi commanders who had defected, and JEM is now claiming their loyalty. There are some indications that JEM had intended to mount an offensive in South Kordofan, which is already a tinderbox, which would have been a very dangerous escalation of the war, but instead seized Muhajiriya because the opportunity arose.
For some time, JEM has been saying that it is the only armed opposition movement worthy of the name and should be the sole group represented at the planned peace talks in Doha. JEM’s offensive can be seen as an attempt to turn that claim into a reality on the ground. It is common for the run-up to peace talks to see this kind of military action. Taking Muhajiriya also allows JEM to recruit more fighters and to make new appeals to the Arabs.
The timing may also be connected to the ICC. JEM’s leaders do not want any ICC announcement to be solely an international affair, and want to position themselves as the Sudanese champions of the ICC. The government suspects a link between JEM and Turabi on this issue.
The immediate loser in this fighting has been Minni Minawi. He refused Sudan Armed Forces assistance in defending Muhajiriya. Only after losing the battle did the army and airforce intervene. The Sudan Government has been quite open about bombing JEM positions in Muhajiriya. Having lost his main territorial base in Darfur, Minawi is now losing the little independence he possessed. He has called upon SAF to defend Gereida, knowing that as soon as Sudanese troops take up positions there, they will not leave unless by force of arms.
Meanwhile the Arab tribes are agitating for arms from the government, while also watching this contest to see who emerges on top. In this context, the ICC is a mixed blessing for JEM, as an arrest warrant would probably push the Arabs into siding with the government.
Ironically, the Khartoum leadership is less unhappy about JEM taking over Muhajiriya. Their argument is that it is easier to deal politically with JEM once it has a base inside Sudan. It will not be hostage to Chadian agendas and now, for the first time, JEM has an incentive to negotiate a ceasefire because it has something to defend. Bombing Muhajiriya and other areas of JEM activity would therefore not just be a military tactic but a signal that it is time to negotiate a truce.
But the current fighting might also portend something altogether more dangerous: a true showdown. There is no question that some of Khartoum’s leaders see the conjunction of JEM attacks, Turabi’s hardline stand, and the imminent ICC arrest warrant, as the first round of a new war for regime survival. This weekend’s air raids signal that the government has the capacity and readiness to strike as hard as it considers necessary.
What should be done? My proposal is that the UN Security Council should invoke Article 16 without condition. I think that there is sufficient threat to peace and security arising in the current situation for the Security Council to have reason to be seized of the matter. Most unusually, there is an immediate step the Council can take. I do not support putting conditions on the Article 16 deferral. Using every opportunity for leverage on the Sudan Government is not a strategy but a habit, and in my view the absolute priority is to focus on the CPA and Sudan’s progress towards democracy and stability, and only when that objective is agreed does it make any sense to apply additional leverage. The 12-month deferral is the time period in which the strategy for that objective needs to be in place and seen to be working.
Equally importantly, making justice conditional on specific political actions would, in my view, be in violation of basic values of human rights and the independence of the Court. From the viewpoint of The Hague or New York, it may not be evident how much damage is being done to the standing of the ICC by the ongoing escalation of reciprocal machismo.
In this context, there can be both incentive and pressure for a reduction in violence in Darfur, reining in JEM’s adventurism and halting the terror unleashed by the Sudanese airforce.
Photo: Dr Alex de Waal OBE (Sudan Tribune) - - -
ICC's CASE AGAINST BASHIR IS A MESS RIDDLED WITH FLAWS
Here is a critique from Making Sense of Darfur by Dr Alex de Waal, 27 January 2009:
With all the attention to the ICC Prosecutor’s application for an arrest warrant against President Omar al Bashir, it is remarkable how little scrutiny has been given to the contents of the Public Application itself. Frankly, it’s a mess. A few years ago I asked the undergraduate students in my class to prepare the arguments for a debate on the question of whether what was going on in Darfur was genocide or war crimes and crimes against humanity. If one of my students had presented the 14 July Public Application against Bashir, I would have sent it back for revision before I would give it a pass grade. Perhaps that is what the Pre-Trial Chamber is considering now. I hope so.
It is astonishing that, confronted with a government which during its nineteen years in power has presided over a wide range of unspeakable violations including some of the most heinous crimes under international law, the Prosecutor of the ICC should set out a prosecution case which is so riddled with flaws. If the Public Application represents the approach that the Prosecutor would take in a future trial, we face the prospect that Pres. Bashir might well be acquitted of genocide and also quite possibly the other charges too. I am not alone among Sudan’s most seasoned human rights activists and its best-informed political analysts in my astonishment at this shortcoming.
Copy of some responses to “A Critique of the ICC Prosecutor’s Case against President Bashir”
Nassir Alsayeid: January 27, 2009 It is wise enough to consider the political turmoil that will occur following the issuance of arrest warrant by ICC. The gripping regime will not surrender to the international pressures except with a huge price at expense to prepare a safe gate. A new challenge faces the both the justice and peace maintaining conceptions, the emerging achievements which were sponsored by the West such as Peace Agreement that ended the longest civil war in the world will be tested if the ICC arrest will be de facto request. I think it is well known that the non-elected governments will not leave power at any cost.
H. Kamal: January 27, 2009 A well written paper Alex! There is no doubt that the Government of Sudan should be held accountable for the role they played in Darfur. But we would like to see this done properly! It is a pity that we don’t see people like you and Julie Flint in Western media, instead I’m being “forced” to put up with celebrities trying to “educate” me about a part of the world I happen to come from!
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Discussions started taking place at Making Sense of Darfur on 27 January 2009 in post entitled Debating the ICC Critique. Excerpt:
posted by Khalid Omer Dear Alex, I have a number of questions regarding your critique. 1. First in August 2004 you were quoted as describing the Darfur Counter-insurgency as “genocide by force of habit”. Are you reversing positions now?
[Alex de Waal's answer] This is a very good question. My argument was that the methods used by the Sudan government (not just this one but its predecessor too) routinely involved violence against communities of such a scale and nature that it was likely that acts of genocide had been committed in the course of counterinsurgency. (The title of the article was “Counterinsurgency on the Cheap.”) If the Prosecutor had argued that President Bashir’s aim was the repression of the insurgency and that he employed military tactics that almost certainly would entail these kinds of atrocities, and therefore he had a measure of command responsibility for any acts of genocide that were committed by his forces, I would have argued that his case was stronger. Back in 2004, my understanding of the law of genocide was that such acts would indeed have counted as genocide. Now, I’m not sure at all, for reasons I spell out in the critique. While it may be possible (pace the Cassese report) to prosecute individual commanders for acts of genocide, it would be exceptionally hard to argue that the President had command responsibility that involved intending these acts.
- - -
UNAMID OPENS LIAISON OFFICE IN UGANDA
Copy of news from Kampala, Uganda at Sudan Tribune 24 January, 2009:
Photo: UNAMID’s Adada and the Ugandan Minister of Foreign Affairs during the exchange of letters in Kampala, on Jan 23 2009 (UNAMID)
January 23, 2009 (KAMPALA) - Darfur hybrid peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) signed today an agreement with the Ugandan government to establish a liaison office in Etntebbe.
The signing ceremony was attended by the the Ugandan Minister of Foreign Affairs Sam K. Kutesa, the Joint Special Representative (JSR) Rodolphe Adada and the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator Theophane Nikyema.
According to this agreement, the Government of Uganda will facilitate the free, unhindered movement to Uganda of all personnel, as well as equipment, provisions supplies and other goods, which will be for the exclusive use of the UNAMID Liaison Office.
The privileges and immunities also will be extended to UNAMID property, funds and assets, personnel and contractors.
In a speech delivered at this occasion, Rodolphe Adada pointed out that UNAMID activities within the framework of its mandate have demonstrated a need for additional logistical arrangements to support the Mission from offices outside Darfur.
While the foreign minister Sam K. Kutesa, reiterated Uganda’s commitment to work with the United Nations and the African Union to find lasting solutions to conflicts in African and elsewhere.
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UNMIS' MEDIA WORKSHOP FOR SUDANESE JOURNALISTS IN KHARTOUM
January 28, 2009 (Khartoum) - The United Nations Mission in Sudan, (UNMIS), conducted a media workshop on Tuesday attended by about thirty Sudanese journalists working for local and international media agencies in Khartoum.
UNMIS deputy spokesperson, Kouider Zerrouk, said UNMIS will organize a series of workshops on election coverage for journalists.
[Kouider Zerrouk]: “I would like to assure you that the office of the spokesperson will always be open, the phones of the spokesperson - of the two spokespersons are always open. You are free to contact us at anytime, even at night, because the aim is to report accurately so that the news reported should be for the benefit of the public, for the benefit of the journalists themselves and for the benefit of the mission.”
Zerrouk reiterated that journalists in Khartoum should not report anything about the mission until they get accurate information from the mission’s office, to avoid reporting what he calls “irrelevant and misleading information” to the public.
If this news story is true, I wonder how it affects British journalist Andrew Heavens who is based in Khartoum, Sudan and writes for Reuters. - - -
POSTSCRIPT FROM SUDAN WATCH'S EDITOR
Some related reports from the archives of Sudan Watch:
War begets war. Peace begets peace. UNSC must invoke Article 16. The ICC's case against Bashir is a mess riddled with flaws. Please think of Sudan's children and give peace a chance.
YouTube video: John Lennon & Yoko Ono: Give Peace A Chance Courtesy of www.imaginepeace.com - - -
SIR PAUL McCARTNEY'S GLOBAL CONCERT FOR WORLD PEACE: 4 APRIL 2009 IN NEW YORK CITY
Photo: Yoko Ono of imaginepeace.com. Please type your wish to wish@imaginepeace.com and it will join the millions of others at the IMAGINE PEACE TOWER on Videy Island, Reykjavik, Iceland.
The above image is from the IMAGINE PEACE TOWER live Earthcam on Dec 31, 2008 8:21 PM. Click here to send a message to the IMAGINE PEACE TOWER. Imagine Peace in 24 languages.
Since 1981, Yoko Ono has collected over 700,000 PEACE WISHES from people worldwide as part of her interactive Wish Tree exhibits, and also via email and conventional mail. The wishes will be installed around the IMAGINE PEACE TOWER. If you have not had the chance to hang your wishes on one of Yoko’s Wish Trees yet, you can make your own Wish Tree, and/or send your wishes to the IMAGINE PEACE TOWER from the Wish page. You can send as many wishes as you like, at any time. Don't miss this short YouTube video about IMAGINE PEACE TOWER by Yoko Ono.
This post has taken many hours to produce and is the culmination of five years work. This site's sister blogs Congo Watch and Uganda Watch were created to track and file reports on the Lords Resistance Army's terrorism and movements in and out of Sudan. Here is a graph from SiteMeter, giving a snapshot of visitors at Sudan Watch blog on Sunday 18 January 2009.
To date, Sudan Watch (3,924 Posts) has received 440,145 visitors and 647,415 page views. Congo Watch (366 Posts) has received 162,834 visitors and 235,066 page views. Uganda Watch (289 Posts) has received 40,936 visitors and 48,758 page views. A total of 2,441 photos have been posted. These blogs are a labour of love, freely given for the children of Sudan, Uganda and DR Congo.
All I ask for now in return is a small favour: to please spread the word of Paul McCartney's GLOBAL BENEFIT CONCERT FOR WORLD PEACEto be held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Saturday, April 4, 2009. Thanks.
Thank you for reading Sudan Watch. With love and peace from Ingrid xx
"A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead
+ + + Rest In Peace all those who have perished in war + + +
Sudan's Vice President Salva Kiir said that if an ICC arrest warrant is issued for Sudanese President Al-Bashir, Sudan's ruling party will likely abandon the 2005 peace deal that ended the country's north-south civil war, leading to a constitutional crisis and a return to civil war.
Sudan's first vice president said the country could slip back into civil war if an international tribunal issues an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir.
Judges at the International Criminal Court [or ICC] are expected to decide soon on the warrant, requested by prosecutors who accuse Mr. Bashir of war crimes in Darfur.
Vice President Salva Kiir said that if a warrant is issued, Sudan's ruling party will likely abandon the 2005 peace deal that ended the country's north-south civil war, leading to a constitutional crisis.
Kiir represents the semi-autonomous south, which fought a destructive 21-year war with the northern-based government, and is scheduled to vote on independence in 2011.
He became the latest of many Sudanese politicians to warn of negative consequences if the ICC goes after Mr. Bashir.
In his comments, reported by Sudanese media outlets Thursday, Kiir said he raised the issue of the warrant with U.S. officials during his recent visit to Washington. He said he was told the U.S. has no influence on the case.
ICC prosecutors accuse the Sudanese president of orchestrating a genocide in Darfur. Sudanese officials have denounced the court and refuse to cooperate with its investigations.
On Wednesday, relatives of an influential Sudanese opposition leader said he was arrested after calling for Mr. Bashir to surrender to the ICC.
Family and staff of Hassan al-Turabi said police took him into custody late Wednesday.
Turabi said Monday that Mr. Bashir should turn himself in to the court to save Sudan from the sanctions and political turmoil that would follow if he continues to defy the court.
Note, Islamist rebel group JEM are supporters of Islamist Mr Al-Turabi who used to be a close colleague of Sudanese President Al-Bashir.
Reportedly, there are fleets of Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) going into southern Kordofan, especially eastern Jebel. SAF have more than six battalions with very big artilleries in the area.
Southern Kordofan is mainly occupied by the Nuba, various central highland communities and pastoralist Baggara Arabs comprising the Misseriya and Hawazma.
Sudan's army told state media that it had information that a Darfur rebel group planned to attack the area.
The main party in the south says the military build-up is a violation of a 2005 peace deal that ended civil war.
The Joint Integrated Units [JIU] combine SPLA and northern troops deployed in Southern Kordofan in accordance with the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended a 20-year North-South civil war.
The JIU is not under Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), it is under the GoSS Presidency. A decision whether to increase JIU troops will have to be taken by the Presidency.
Clashes this week in Southern Kordofan, reportedly killing at least 16 people, followed attacks by militias on joint armed units deployed in accordance with the North-South peace agreement, a southern Sudanese military spokesman said.
"It is the militias doing all this," said Major General Daniel Peter Parnyang, a spokesman for the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). "The whole thing started on 13 January. The first one was an ambush," Parnyang told IRIN in Juba on 16 January.
"This is [when] they killed one person from the Joint Integrated Units [JIU]. Then they attacked again in Khor [al-Dalayb village] where the JIU is deployed, killing another three."
The JIUs combine SPLA and northern troops deployed in Southern Kordofan in accordance with the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended a 20-year North-South civil war.
Without specifying the armed militias, Parnyang denied they were mere nomads. "We call them militias because these people are well armed," he added. "We are wondering how they got so armed."
Southern Kordofan is mainly occupied by the Nuba, various central highland communities and pastoralist Baggara Arabs comprising the Misseriya and Hawazma. About 289,000 people have returned to the state since 2005.
Although located north of the 1956 border separating North and South Sudan, many of its inhabitants fought with the SPLA during the war against the North.
Like Abyei, it continues to be a troublespot. In December, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement’s (SPLM) highest decision-making body, the Political Bureau, complained that the number of Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) had increased in the state.
According to the SPLM, the SAF doubled its troops in Abujabiiha and Mandi areas. Numbers of Northern Sudanese troops had also increased in areas of eastern Jebel, which was vacated by SPLA troops in mid-2008.
"We understand now that there are fleets of SAF going into southern Kordofan, especially eastern Jebel; we don’t know what their fears are," SPLM spokesman Jien Matthew Chol said in December, a day after the Political Bureau had resolved to send a team to the area.
"The only claim in SAF circles is that JEM [Justice and Equality Movement, a Darfur rebel group] is trying to attack the area, which is actually not very true."
Chol claimed the SAF had been in the area since November. "Now there are more than six battalions with very big artilleries," he said. The area was a key battleground during the North-South war.
"What are all these big artilleries for? At least this is an announcement of war against somebody."
Sara Pantuliano, research fellow with the Humanitarian Policy Group, recently described Southern Kordofan as a state in political turmoil.
Widespread insecurity, grievances about lack of access to services and employment and the blockage of pastoralist movement towards the South had led a number of Misseriya youth to resort to armed violence, she noted.
Asked if the number of JIUs would be increased in the area, Parnyang said the force was not under the SPLA command. "The JIU is not under us, it is under the Presidency," he said. "A decision whether to increase JIU troops will have to be taken by the Presidency."
January 14, 2009 (KHARTOUM) – Armed irregular forces on Tuesday attacked Nuba villages and SPLA military camps in Southern Kordofan, a flashpoint in central Sudan where some of the heaviest fighting occurred during the 1983-2005 civil war.
The clashes reportedly killed 19 people, said the Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT), naming seven of them.
According to SOAT, men from different clans within the Arabic-speaking Hawazma tribe, armed with advanced weaponry, launched an attack on Nuba villages and SPLA military camps in the area of Khor El Delib, Rashad locality, prompting SPLA to retaliate.
Other reports suggest that some 400 police and members of the Popular Defense Forces—the type of militias once mobilized for the war in South Sudan and now in Darfur—attacked the Joint Integrated Unit in Khor El Delib.
The Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) maintains forces in the area despite expectations that the former rebel group will eventually withdraw. That prospect appears unlikely as a military build-up continues in the area: in December 2008, the Sudan Armed Forces deployed more than six battalions in Southern Kordofan, said a SPLM spokesman, Yein Matthew.
The SPLA’s political wing in the area, meanwhile, is engaged in a struggle against Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party for control of the state government.
Among the dead from the clashes Tuesday are one SPLA soldier, Motasium Ismail Naim, a Tagoi from Al Faid, and six Hazama. These are Hamida Abdel Rahman, Abu Hamaid Gargar and Musa Tabig of the Hawazma-Togia from Khor Al Dalib; Ali Sayed Koba, a Hawazma-Togia from Al Fayed Umm Abdel alla; and Omer Al Mahboum and Bashair Omer Koko of the Hawazma from Al Fayed Umm Abdel alla.
South Kordofan’s state information minister, Ali Kuku, told Reuters that additional clashes took place in an area called Abre, resulting in nine nomads shot dead.
