Six fallen peacekeepers from South Africa to be honoured on International Day of UN Peacekeepers 29 May

Tomorrow, 29 May, Dag Hammarskjöld Medals will be awarded posthumously to the military, police and civilian personnel who lost their lives last year serving in United Nations peacekeeping operations.

At United Nations Headquarters in New York, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected to oversee a solemn wreath-laying ceremony in honour of the 132 peacekeeping personnel, 10 of them women, who lost their lives -– whether through attacks, illnesses or accidents –- in 2008 in the service of peace.

Six fallen peacekeepers from South Africa to be honoured on International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers

PRETORIA, South Africa, May 28, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers will be marked on 29 May at the Freedom Park in Pretoria, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, as well as at its peacekeeping missions and offices around the world, with a special focus on women peacekeepers, as the United Nations tries to move towards gender equity in its ranks.

This year’s commemorative ceremonies come at a time when the services of United Nations peacekeepers are in greater demand than ever. There are currently more than 113,000 peacekeepers, including 90,000 military and police personnel from 117 countries, serving in 18 operations on four continents.

At United Nations Headquarters in New York, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected to oversee a solemn wreath-laying ceremony in honour of the 132 peacekeeping personnel, 10 of them women, who lost their lives -– whether through attacks, illnesses or accidents –- in 2008 in the service of peace.

Among the 132 peacekeepers who will be honoured posthumously at the ceremony at the United Nations Headquarters are six personnel from South Africa. Staff Sergeant Samson Davids, Corporal Sibusiso Bafana Nelson Dube and Corporal Morney Reinaart Molouly lost their lives while serving with the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and Private Lesedi Boitumelo Monasia, Corporal Ben Benjamin Titus, and Corporal Sydney Melvin Williams who lost their lives while serving with the African Union – United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur.

As part of the commemoration ceremonies, on 29 May, Dag Hammarskjöld Medals will be awarded posthumously to the military, police and civilian personnel who lost their lives last year serving in United Nations peacekeeping operations. The Secretary-General will speak at the beginning of this ceremony, which starts at 10 a.m. The medals will be received by representatives of the respective Permanent Missions to be forwarded on to the next of kin.

This year, the United Nations is marking the Day with special emphasis on the important role played by women peacekeepers and the need to deploy them in greater numbers.

In his message to mark the Day, the Secretary-General said: “There are still far too few women peacekeepers. With women joining national militaries and police in greater numbers, it is critical that Member States contribute even more female personnel to the United Nations. On this International Day, let us draw on the power of women to strengthen UN peacekeeping while helping women and girls themselves to transform their destinies –- and societies –- for the better.”

However, women make up only 8 per cent of the United Nations police and 2 per cent of its military personnel. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations has urged troop and police-contributing countries to deploy more women. India answered the call in 2007 with the deployment of a 125-member all-female police contingent to Liberia. The United Nations is also working to increase the number of women in senior positions at Headquarters and in field missions.

Of the 117 countries that provide uniformed peacekeepers to the United Nations, the largest contributors are Pakistan (10,626), Bangladesh (9,220), India (8,617), Nigeria (5,792) and Nepal (3,856).

At this time, more than 2,000 soldiers and police officers from South Africa are serving in United Nations peacekeeping operations around the world – in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nepal and in Darfur, Sudan.

A photo exhibition will be on display at the Freedom Park and a short film titled, “Women in Peacekeeping: The Power to Empower” will be shown as part of the commemoration. The video is now available at http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/ondemand/peace/pkdaywomen.rm, or on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAuFQj9xBYc.

United Nations peacekeeping, built on more than 60 years of experience in the field, is widely acknowledged to be an indispensable tool for the international community in tackling the difficult issues of inter-State and, increasingly, intra-State conflicts. United Nations peacekeeping’s legitimacy and universality are unique, derived from its character as a collective security effort undertaken on behalf of a global organization comprising 192 Member States.

Top NCP official Riek Gai Kok calls for State of Emergency in Southern Sudan

From Sudan Radio Service, Thursday, 28 May 2009 (Khartoum):
Top NCP Official Calls for State of Emergency in Southern Sudan

Presidential advisor and prominent National Congress Party member, Dr. Riek Gai Kok, said that the Government of National Unity should declare a state of emergency in southern Sudan.

Dr. Gai was speaking during a debate on tribal conflict in southern Sudan at the International Center for African Studies on Tuesday in Khartoum.

[Riek Gai-Arabic]: “I used to ask myself, as a member of the presidency, if the presidency doesn’t have a role in what is happening in South Sudan. If there is point at which a state of emergency can be declared. These conditions now exist in South Sudan, but they behave as if nothing is happening. People are being burned in churches and people are being killed in hospitals and in the capitals of states people are being thrown into churches and burned. And this is happening among Southerners themselves. These things never happened between us and the northerners during the war. In the name of God, they say that such tragedies are not happening and they behave as if nothing is happening in southern Sudan. There is not even any humanitarian aid.”

Dr. Riek Gai Kok was speaking at a debate about tribal conflict on Tuesday in Khartoum.

Listen to SRS on the radio or on the web at www.sudanradio.org

Update on Sudan Radio Service times & frequencies

For daily news from Sudan Radio Service tune in at the new frequencies and times detailed below and find archived news by visiting http://www.sudanradio.org/news.php

SUDAN RADIO SERVICE
TIMES & FREQUENCIES

From March 2009-October 2009

Monday to Sunday
7:00-8:00 am at 11,805 kHz, near 12 MHz (SW)
8:00-9:00 am at 13,720 kHz, near 14 MHz (SW)

6:00-8:00 pm at 17,745 kHz, near 18 MHz (SW)
8:00-9:00 pm at 9,590 kHz, near 10 MHz (SW)

SRS, Darfur programming

Saturday to Thursday
7:00-7:30 pm at 11,770 kHz, near 12 MHz (SW)

Note, today I updated SRS times & frequencies in sidebar here at Sudan Watch.
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UPDATE:

SRS frequency changes:
Effective March 2010 to October 2010
7-8am at 11,805 kHz 8-9am at 13,720 kHz
6-8pm at 17,745 kHz 8-9pm at 9,590 kHz
SRS Darfur programming:
7-8pm at 11,770 kHz or 17,700 kHz Saturday to Thursday

Mandate Darfur conference invited Eric Reeves to serve as an adviser

Yesterday, I noticed at the foot of an opinion piece by Eric Reeves (author of "A Long Day's Dying: Critical Moments in the Darfur Genocide") that he was invited by the organisers of the Mandate Darfur conference to serve as an adviser. You couldn't make this stuff up if you tried. No wonder Khartoum cancelled!

Seriously, with so many contentious issues on its plate, I can't see how the Sudanese government can manage at this stage to get involved in a conference of 300 civilians who are not part of the Doha talks. I can barely keep up with reading the vast array of news reports on stuff that Sudan is being bombarded with left, right and centre, not to mention the crucial Abyei boundary issue, ICC and thousands of heavily armed criminals crawling around everywhere, threatening to destabilize the whole country and derail the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

Why didn't the Mandate Darfur conference go ahead without the Sudanese government and was weasel Turabi invited as a participant, I wonder. (Web definitions for weasel: a person who is regarded as treacherous or sneaky).

See Eric Reeves' commentary at Christian Science Monitor, 27 May 2009: Stand up to Sudan's thugs - Men with guns can't be the only ones at the peace table

JEM plans to release 60 govt troops as a "sign of goodwill" ahead of Doha peace talks with Sudan's govt

AFP has learnt that talks are underway in Doha between the Qatari brokers, international representatives and JEM. However, negotiations between JEM and the Sudanese government have yet to begin.

May 28, 2009 report by AFP (Doha) - excerpt:
Darfur rebels say plan to release 60 govt troops

Darfur's most active rebel group said on Thursday it intends to free 60 Sudanese troops as a "sign of goodwill" ahead of Qatari-brokered peace talks with Sudan's government.

"The Justice and Equality Movement intends to release 60 government troops that it is holding prisoner," JEM spokesman Ahmed Hussein Adam told AFP in Doha.

JEM had agreed early this month to resume talks with Khartoum to achieve lasting peace in Sudan's western Darfur region.

The talks in Doha broke down when the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant on March 4 against Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. 

"This step does not come as part of a prisoner exchange but we do it unilaterally," Adam said.

"The group has informed the Red Cross in order to hand over the prisoners as soon as possible."

He charged that the government is holding hundreds of JEM members but declined to say how many government prisoners it had captured.

Adam told the official Qatar News Agency that the decision to release the prisoners was "a sign of good will and commitment to make the negotiations ... succeed."

AFP has learnt that talks are underway in Doha between the Qatari brokers, international representatives and JEM. However, negotiations between JEM and the Sudanese government have yet to begin.  [...]

Bashir to attend Cen-Sad summit in Libya

May 28, 2009 by AFP (Tripoli) - excerpt:
Beshir to attend regional African summit in Libya

Sudan's President President Omar al-Beshir, who is facing an international arrest warrant, is to attend a summit of African leaders at the weekend in Libya, a Libyan official said on Thursday.

The two-day summit of the 28-member Community of Sahel-Saharan States (Cen-Sad) opens on Friday in the Libyan city of Sabratha, a UNESCO World Heritage Site west of Tripoli.

"President Beshir will attend the summit. He is always welcome," the official said on condition of anonymity.

"Libya does not recognise the decision taken by the International Criminal Court (ICC)," which issued the arrest warrant for Beshir in March on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, he said.

Beshir's visit will be the second to Libya and the seventh one outside Sudan since the court called for his arrest.

The 11th Cen-Sad summit is due to discuss several issues, namely the conflict between Sudan and neighbouring Chad, according to a copy of a draft agenda obtained by AFP.

Peace between Chad and Sudan is regarded as essential to any lasting settlement to the six-year-old conflict in Darfur. [...]

Libyan Foreign Minister Mussa Kussa has said that the leaders of all the 28 Cen-Sad member countries will be present for the summit which will also discuss the African Union and the situation in several African countries.

Censad, whose headquarters are in Tripoli, describes itself as the biggest economic grouping in Africa.

The organisation groups Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, the Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo and Tunisia.

AU summit to discuss continued membership of the ICC is scheduled for next month in Addis Ababa

AU puts ICC in the dock
From Mail & Guardian by Karabo Keepile, 28 May 2009 - excerpt:

(Johannesburg, SA) - African civil society is mobilising to counter threats by some African countries to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) next month.

The African Union is now criticising the ICC "openly and loudly", said Max du Plessis, senior research associate at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and associate professor of international law at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Du Plessis was speaking at a workshop convened by the ISS last week in Stellenbosch to consider the work of the ICC in Africa, attended by about 40 representatives of African civil society organisations.

An AU summit to discuss continued membership of the ICC is scheduled for next month in Addis Ababa. Some AU states accuse the court of unfairly targeting African countries, the most recent flashpoint being the issuing of an arrest warrant in March for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

AU calls on UN to sanction Eritrea over support of Somali Islamists - Sudan Air resumes flights to Eritrea after 13 years

The return of Sudan Air to Asmara, Eritrea is the latest step in the process of normalization between the two countries who had tense relations in the past.

In 2002, Eritrea and Sudan withdrew their ambassadors and closed the border, after trading accusations of supporting respective opposition groups.

Source: Sudan Tribune report from Khartoum dated Sunday, 24 May 2009 - Sudan Air resumes flights to Eritrea after 13 years

- - -

African Union calls on UN to sanction Eritrea over support of Somali Islamists
From Sudan Tribune Sunday, 24 May 2009:

May 23, 2009 (ADDIS ABABA) — The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AUPSC) called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to sanction Eritrea for supporting Somali Islamist insurgents.

In a statement released after the end of its 190th meeting in the Ethiopian capital on Friday the AUPSC urged the UNSC to impose sanctions on "all those foreign actors, both within and outside the region, especially Eritrea, which are providing support to the armed groups engaged in destabilizing activities in Somalia."

The Council appealed to establish a no fly zone and blockade of sea ports, to prevent the entry of foreign elements into Somalia, as well as weapons and ammunitions to the Islamist insurgency.

The AU peace and security council appeal comes in line with the IGAD request to the UN against Eritrea. In an extraordinary meeting dedicated to the security and political situation in Somalia on Thursday May 20 held in the Ethiopian capital the regional body appealed to impose sanction without delay on Eritrea saying Asmara called for the overthrow of the Somali government and attacks on African peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

Eritrea recalled its ambassador to the African Union following the statement. Asmara however denied reports that it had suspended its membership at the African Union.

Somali government accused Eritrea of supporting Al Shebab insurgents with planeloads of AK-47 assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons.

The Security Council also in a statement on May 15 expressed its concern about reports that Eritrea has supplied arms to those opposing the government of Somalia.

The Eritrean ambassador at the UN rejected these accusations saying his country has been falsely accused of supplying arms to the Somali militants.

"I wish to put on record my government’s strong opposition to, and categorical rejection of, the unsubstantiated accusations leveled against my country," Eritrean Ambassador Araya Desta wrote in a letter to the U.N. Security Council, on Wednesday May 20.

However, an insurgent leader who returned to Mogadishu recently from Asmara where he was established, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, admitted in an interview with Reuters yesterday that Eritrea supported them in their fight to topple the Somali government.

"Eritrea supports us and Ethiopia is our enemy — we once helped both countries but Ethiopia did not reward us," Aweys, said.

Some 45 people were killed in Mogadishu as result of the heavy fighting between the government troops and the insurgents who control important parts of the capital.

Today the Islamists militant also renewed attacks on the position of the African peacekeepers in Mogadishu. There are 4300 peacekeepers from Burundi and Uganda in the capital to protect key government sites.  (ST)

Sudan Delegation Leaves for Doha Talks

Sudan delegation leaves for Doha talks to conduct a new round of talks with the Darfuri armed rebel faction.

From Sudan Vision (Khartoum) by Staff Writer Thursday, 28 May 2009:
Sudan Delegation Leaves for Doha Talks

Sudanese government delegation to Darfur peace talks in Doha chaired by State Minister for Culture, Youth and Sports, Dr. Amin Hassan Omar departed for Doha to conduct a new round of talks with the Darfuri armed rebel faction.

On his part, Acting Foreign Ministry Undersecretary, Dr. Ali Al-Sadiq stated that the importance of the upcoming talks emerges from the preceding moves represented by the US Special Envoy to Sudan, Scott Gration's tours to several countries including China, France, and Britain in the framework of coordinating the stances of the donor countries for the peace process.

He added that this comes also within the framework of the Qatari moves and the visit of its envoy to Sudan and Chad being that to prepare for the negotiations between the Sudanese government and the armed factions and for the normalization of the Sudanese-Chadian relations.

Suspected Israeli airstrike on a convoy in Sudan January 2009 killed 119 people

From Australia.TO News [The Somali government has announced an immediate blockade on airstrips and seaports] Tuesday, 26 May 2009:

An airstrike on a convoy in Sudan this January, which Israel is suspected of having carried out, killed 119 people taking part in a people smuggling operation, Sudan's defence minister has told parliament.

Sudan's state news agency SUNA Tuesday quoted Abdul-Rahim Hussein as telling lawmakers that 56 smugglers, as well as 63 people fleeing Ethiopia and Somalia died in the attack near Sudan's border with Egypt.

Unofficial casualty estimates released in March had put the number of dead at 39 people, riding in 17 trucks.

In his report, Gen Hussein said there were up to 1,000 people in the convoy involved in "a smuggling process at the border with Egypt", Suna reported.

Israel refused to confirm or deny reports it was involved in the airstrike, but shortly after the allegations surfaced in March, Premier Ehud Olmert said that "we hit terrorist infrastructures every place we can, near or far".

While not confirming Israel's role, BBC correspondents said the remark was seen as a heavy hint that Sudan's suspicions were accurate. Hussein said that the incident was still under investigation.

According to reports, Israeli intelligence had discovered that weapons were being trucked through Sudan, heading north towards Egypt, where they were to cross the Sinai Desert and be smuggled into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

The airstrike came as Israel was engaged in a ferocious Gaza offensive.

Sudan forms part of a route along which weapons were smuggled into Gaza via a vast network of tunnels under the strip's border with Egypt. The route begins in Iran, which supports the radical Islamist Hamas in Gaza. It is said to pass through Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Egypt - going from the Persian Gulf around the Arabian Peninsula to the city of Port Sudan on the Red Sea, some 400 kilometres south of Egypt, dpa reports.

- - -

Just in, Snowmail from Channel 4 News UK: The Taliban turn on their Pakistani paymasters - detonating a huge suicide car bomb outside a key Pakistani Intelligence Service building. Dozens are dead, hundreds injured. [I'm watching Channel 4 news now, a Pakistani official appears to be implying that the US is among the Taliban's paymasters]

Canadian company donates funds for railway line linking S. Sudan and Uganda

From Sudan Radio Service, 27 May 2009 (Khartoum):

The Minister of Transport in GONU says that his ministry has formed a joint committee with the Ugandan government to open and renovate roads and a railway line linking the two countries.

Minister Philip Thon Leek spoke to Sudan Radio Service in Khartoum on Wednesday.

[Philip Thon Leek]: “As the minister of roads in GONU, I went to Kampala to attend a joint meeting between the Sudan government and the Ugandan government. We have formed a technical ministerial committee, which is composed of 8 members, 2 members from the Ministry of Roads, 2 from Ministry of Transport in GONU and 4 members from the Ugandan government. Now we are renovating the railway line between Babanosa-Wau, the work on the railway line from Wau-Rumbek and Juba-Gulu will start after we get the funding from the donors. I have just come from a meeting with a Canadian company who will donate funds for the construction of this railway line.”

The railway line which linked towns in southern Sudan and Uganda was closed for more than two decades during the civil war in the region.

AU's Head of Culture and Sports, Daraïtivo Ralaïbo, says African museum for peace to be built in Chad

An AU delegation is working with Chadian authorities to organize the African Youth Day and to create a centre to build capacity among young people, a sports centre and a journalism training centre.

From PANA, N'Djaména, Chad, 27 May 2009 - via Afrique en ligne:
Chad: African museum for peace to be built in Chad

The African Union (AU) and the Chadian government will create the first African museum for peace, human rights and non-violence here, Head of the Culture and Sports Section of the AU, Daraïtivo Ralaïbo, said at a press conference held in the Chadian capital city.

"We have worked technically with the ministry for the promotion of Human rights and freedom to create the first African museum ever for peace, non-violence and human rights in Chad," said Mr. Ralaïbo, who is at the head of an AU delegation in a bid to prepare a conference meant for the cultural renaissance of Africa.

"We wish that the museum were created in N'djamena with the support of the AU Commission and all international partners. We want to achieve something concrete here," he added.

The AU delegation is working with Chadian authorities to organize the African Youth Day and to create a centre to build capacity among young people, a sports centre and a journalism training centre.

Six Darfurians arrested and illegally detained for 10 months without charge?

Terrible news if true. Report from Radio Dabanga, a radio station run by Darfurians in The Netherlands, which broadcasts into Darfur in Fur, Zaghawa, Masalit and Arabic:

Detained Darfurians on honger strike

KHARTOUM (22 May 2009) - Six of Darfur sons are more than a week on a hunger strike. They are detained by the security organ in Khartoum for more than 10 months. They protest against their arrests without any charge. Those who went on strike are: Abedel Ilah Ibrahim Wadia, Hamadi Gibril, Hanazalah Adam, Nogadalla Khalil and Naygey Abdalla.

Lawyer Kamal Omer Abedel Salaam, described to Radio Dabanga that this detention and arrest is illegal, This is against the interim constitution. He said that the security organ arrested these people 10 months ago without any justification. He further explained they were set free on the 12th of May. The security forces rearrested them again. After their re-arrest, they entered the hunger strike until now.

Update - From Radio Dabanga, 25 May 2009:

Habbanya in hunger strike refuse treatment

NYALA (25 May 2009) - The 7 Habbanya detainees have entered a second week of their hunger strike in Nyala prison. The health of 3 detainees was deteriorating. They have been taken to the Nyala hospital for further treatment, but they refused to take medication.They are calling for their immediate release. Their lawyer told Radio Dabanga that the defense-team has decided to appeal against the governor of South Darfur for the arrest without any charges. He told radio Dabanga that such behavior is against the interim constitution. The names of those who went on hunger strike are:

Salah Mohamed Goof Al Shenahy, Al Bushara Abbas Al Bushara, Dr. Mohamed Alamin Ahmed Eishag, Musa Izzedin Ahmed, Mahmoud Mohamed Mahmoud, Mahmoud Mursoud Mahmoud and Ahmed Hamid Mahmoud. This was disclosed to Radio Dabanga by the lawyer from Nyala. The detention of the Habbanya leaders was ordered by the South-Darfur governor, Ali Mahmoud, accusing the men to support attacks on the Fallata. In the same Kober prison in Nyala a prisoner was prevented by his colleagues to hang himself. According to eyewitnesses that spoke to Radio Dabanga in side the prison, said the reasons for his attempt is the severe torture by prison guards. One of the prisoners told Radio Dabanga that he was tortured on daily bases. He said that he is in prison for years and not even his mother was allowed to visit him. Last week radio Dabanga already reported about the widespread torture in the Nyala jail that was confirmed by lawyers in Nyala.

U.S. Senators Isakson and Corker arrive in Khartoum, Sudan

The following commentary by U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia tells us that Sudan is an entirely dry country. Even at a dinner with dignitaries, there is no cocktail reception or even a glass of wine with the meal. I wonder if the same applies at wedding receptions and other celebrations in Sudan. Among the thousands of photos that I've seen of Sudanese insurgents, quite a few have been photographed smoking or looking dopey. Maybe the Sudanese use herbs as an alternative to alcohol. Note to self to find out more from Drima at The Sudanese Thinker.

AFRICA DIARY SEN. JOHNNY ISAKSON
Security, peace issues for Sudan
By Johhny Isakson
For the Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, May 27, 2009:

U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia is traveling in Africa with fellow Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee. As members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on Africa, they are monitoring the progress of a 2005 agreement that helped end years of civil war between northern and southern Sudan. Isakson filed this installment late Monday.

Our trip began Saturday in Washington, D.C., when Sen. Corker and I, along with my brave wife, Dianne, two members of our staffs and a military escort from the Navy, boarded a commercial flight to Rome. A U.S. military plane flew us into Africa.

Some 14 hours after leaving Washington, we landed Sunday afternoon in Khartoum, Sudan, where we were greeted by a sandstorm and a temperature of 110 degrees.

Despite these conditions, a delegation of dignitaries waited outside our plane to greet us. Since arriving, we have been taken everywhere in armored vehicles with a police escort because security problems in Sudan are so bad.

Our meals have been very good so far, but even at a dinner with dignitaries there is no cocktail reception or even a glass of wine with the meal. Sudan is an entirely dry country. Instead, they are constantly serving us juice, soda, coffee and tea in our meetings and with our meals.

Monday night, the head of the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Services hosted an outdoor dinner for us, complete with local music and dancing.

Tuesday, we will leave our hotel at 6:40 a.m. for a charter flight into Darfur and a five-hour tour and briefing. We will meet with U.S. humanitarian workers and some of the more than 2.6 million Sudanese in the refugee camps.

In early 2011, southern Sudan will hold a referendum to determine whether it secedes from the north. Whatever happens will have great effect on Sudan, the Horn of Africa and the rest of the world. It is our intent to discover firsthand the attitude of the government and the conditions of the people.

The Sudanese government wants improved relations with the United States and demonstrated where it has been helpful to the United States —- most importantly, in counter-terrorism.

We emphasized that improved relations will be built on progress toward the comprehensive peace agreement, which requires legislation pending in the parliament on freedom of the press; reconciliation with the south; future agreements between the north and the south on sharing oil revenues; and full cooperation with aid workers delivering humanitarian assistance to the people of Darfur.

Progress toward the implementation of the peace agreement is essential before the referendum. A vote to secede by the south leaves open the opportunity for a renewal of hostility and even the potential of regional conflict, given that the Horn of Africa has been a target for al-Qaida to establish training camps.

Update: Many thanks to Digital for the following comment:

Although the “herb” is quite popular in Sudan with all social classes, alcohol use is rampant, reminds me of the good old days of prohibition in the states.

The lower and middle classes enjoy an alcoholic beverage made of fermented dates and flavored with assorted fruit essences called arragi, and its might powerful stuff I might add. Less popular is a beer made out of sorghum called “marissa”.

The higher classes enjoy black market booze including the ever popular Johnnie walker, international wines, and all your favorite brands of vodkas/rums/gins/beers.

You have to remember that only 25 years ago Khartoum was full of bars, liquor stores and night clubs. Although it is a social taboo to drink, a significant percentage of the populace does indulge, oxymoronic don’t ya think!!

More on this subject later, if I receive more comments or hear from Drima, The Sudanese Thinker.

More than 210 civilians still seeking shelter near UNAMID camp near Umm Barru, N. Darfur

Peacekeepers at Umm Barru say Sudanese soldiers and allied SLA/MM elements remain in control of their military position near the town following fighting on 25 May 2009 between Sudanese government forces backed by the Sudan Liberation Army/Minni Minnawi (SLA/MM), a pro-Government faction, and JEM elements. About 350 civilians fled the fighting and gathered around a UNAMID camp in the area.

More than 210 civilians are still seeking shelter near the UNAMID camp and humanitarian assistance, including food, water and tents, is needed to help the displaced. Peacekeepers are also continuing to monitor the situation and provide medical assistance where required.

Source: UN-AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) May 27, 2009 - via APO:
UNAMID Daily Media Brief, 26 May 2009

Relative calm in Umm Barru

UNAMID peacekeepers report that the security situation in the North Darfur town of Umm Barru is relatively calm today, two days after deadly clashes there between Sudanese Government forces and armed elements from the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

An unknown number of people were killed and dozens of others seriously injured as a result of the fighting on 25 May between Government forces backed by the Sudan Liberation Army/Minni Minnawi (SLA/MM), a pro-Government faction, and JEM elements. About 350 civilians fled the fighting and gathered around a UNAMID camp in the area.

UNAMID peacekeepers based near Umm Barru, which is about 100 kilometres from the Chadian border, report that at least seven people – including three civilians – still need to be evacuated for further medical treatment.

More than 210 civilians are still seeking shelter near the UNAMID camp and humanitarian assistance, including food, water and tents, is needed to help the displaced. Peacekeepers are also continuing to monitor the situation and provide medical assistance where required.

UNAMID reports that while the security situation in the affected area is relatively calm today, it is also unpredictable. Peacekeepers at Umm Barru say Sudanese soldiers and allied SLA/MM elements remain in control of their military position near the town following the fighting.

Sunday’s clashes represent the second time in eight days that JEM elements have attacked a Sudanese military position in North Darfur. On 16 May, they attacked Government forces based near the town of Kornoi.

UNAMID leadership meets United States Senators

The leadership of UNAMID today met a visiting United States Senate delegation, including Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia) and Senator Bob Corker (R-Tennessee), to discuss the situation in Darfur.

Led by the Joint Special Representative, Mr. Rodolphe Adada, the Mission’s senior civilian, military and police officials briefed the Senate delegation on the ongoing work and deployment of UNAMID, recent security and humanitarian developments on the ground in Darfur and UNAMID’s efforts to reduce sexual- and gender-based violence.

South Sudan's President Kiir says peace deal in peril

“The CPA [Comprehensive Peace Agreement], that we concluded as a result of our enormous sacrifices, is seriously threatened by enemies of peace from within our realm and without,” Kiir told a rally in the capital of the semi-autonomous south.

Kiir, who said the violence was an “abnormal pattern of insecurity,” suggested that the fighting was being caused deliberately to destabilise the south. He blamed unnamed outside and internal forces.

Source: Wed 27 May 2009 report by AFP/Juba, Sudan via Gulf Times:
South Sudan says peace deal in peril

Southern Sudanese President Salva Kiir warned yesterday that the 2005 peace deal that ended Sudan’s 22-year civil war was “seriously threatened” by growing levels of violence.

Kiir, who is also first vice president of Sudan, said the north-south Comprehensive Peace Agreement was being put at risk by recent conflict.

“The CPA, that we concluded as a result of our enormous sacrifices, is seriously threatened by enemies of peace from within our realm and without,” Kiir told a rally in the capital of the semi-autonomous south.

Several rival ethnic groups have clashed in the south in recent months, leaving more than 1,000 dead and many thousands more displaced.

Cattle rustling and tribal clashes occur regularly in the south, but the ferocity of recent attacks has shocked many.

Kiir, who said the violence was an “abnormal pattern of insecurity,” suggested that the fighting was being caused deliberately to destabilise the south. He blamed unnamed outside and internal forces.

It is a tense time for Sudan, with national elections due in February and a referendum on independence for the south scheduled for 2011.

“This is a well designed strategy to discredit you as people who cannot govern themselves, particularly as we approach general elections and referendum,” he told crowds.

Kiir was speaking at a rally in the southern capital Juba to mark the 26th anniversary of a revolt by southern troops in the Sudanese army, who formed the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).

He made his speech to large crowds gathered at the mausoleum of the first southern president John Garang, who signed the peace deal in 2005.

Soldiers from the SPLA, now the official army of the south, marched past Kiir and other top southern officials, in a parade that included three tanks and heavy artillery pieces.

The parade was seen by some as a show of force to the south’s former northern enemies, now partners in a unity government.

Sudan security forces attacked by 3,000 tribesmen near Meiram, S. Kordofan

Tuesday, 26 May 2009 report from Reuters by Andrew Heavens in Khartoum:
Sudan tribesmen attack security force, scores killed

Scores of people were killed when 3,000 armed Arab tribesmen on horseback attacked security forces in Sudan's oil-producing Southern Kordofan region on Tuesday, tribal sources and officials said.

Sudan's Interior Ministry said the security forces were attacked close to the town of Meiram soon after arriving to try to prevent a fresh outbreak of fighting between warring Misseriya and Rizeigat nomads.

"While our forces were making administrative and security arrangements (on Tuesday morning) to prevent the parties from fighting, the Rizeigat started heavy firing and attacked," said the ministry's statement.

"It is estimated the attackers were made up of 3,000 fighters on horseback and 35 vehicles."

One tribal source, who asked not to be named, said more than 100 tribesmen, security officers and civilians may have been killed in Tuesday's clashes and other skirmishes between the tribes in recent days.

It was impossible to verify the figures. The ministry statement said there had been deaths and injuries among the security forces and civilians, but gave no figures and no reason for the attack.

The clashes were a reminder of the tense political situation in Southern Kordofan, which borders both the strife-torn Darfur region and southern Sudan, where tensions are still simmering four years after the end of a civil war with the north.

The Rizeigat and Misseriya have clashed in the past, in fighting often rooted in disputes over grazing land and access to water.

Clashes in recent years have been particularly fierce, fueled by bad blood over past killings and a ready supply of arms from other conflicts. A series of reconciliation conferences have failed to achieve lasting settlements.

"They were armed to the teeth, both the Misseriya and the Rizeigat. There were heavy losses on both sides over the past few days," said one senior member of the Misseriya tribe who asked not to be named.

"There were also deaths among the police who were also caught up in it all."

The government raised the political temperature in Southern Kordofan earlier this month by naming a new governor -- Ahmed Haroun, a divisive figure distrusted by local residents and wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Darfur.

On taking up his new post, Haroun said one of his first priorities would be to arrange a reconciliation drive to end conflicts between all the region's warring communities. (editing by Tim Pearce)

International troops attack Yemeni boat near Sudan; 2 Killed

From Yemen Post by Yemen Post Staff, Tuesday, 25 May 2009:
International Troops Attack Yemeni Boat near Sudan; 2 Killed

Two Yemeni fishermen were killed and one was injured while the fate of a fourth one is still unknown after their boat came under an aggressive assault by one of the international naval ships patrolling the Red Sea near Sudan on Tuesday.

A source at the Coast Guard said Abdu Marwani and Muhammad Naj'e were killed immediately after their boat was totally destroyed by a missile which some suspect was an air strike.

Sources at Yemen's navy said it probably came from sea.

While the third fisherman made it to Sudanese coast and is now in critical condition.

The fishermen came from the Midy area, Hajjah before their boat was hit near Sudan's waters.

A coordinated investigation by Yemen and Sudan is underway to explore reasons for the attack.

Meanwhile, director of the Midy district Abdul Majeed Al-Himyari dismissed reports a Yemeni boat was attacked in Yemen's territorial waters, saying the incident took place while the boat was in Sudan's territorial waters.

He told the media the survivor is being investigated by Sudan.

Tuesday's attack comes in a series of attacks against Yemeni fishing boats by international forces patrolling the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Early this year, two Yemeni sailors were killed as their boats came under separate attacks by international troops in the Indian Ocean. Few others were hurt, with troops saying they suspected the boats were for pirates and then hit them.

And this month, the Interior Ministry said a Yemeni boat was provoked, with NATO's mission in the region intimidating its crew.

The area where the boat was hit on Tuesday is witnessing large fuel smuggling, with eyewitnesses affirming boats smuggle diesel to African Horn States daily.

Source: Yemen Post Newspaper.

Hat tip: Armies of Liberation - Yemeni Fishing Ship Blows Up in Sudanese Waters

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UPDATE 28 May 2009:

From Sahwa Net, Hodeida, 28 May 2009:
Maritime kills tow Yemeni fishermen

Two Yemeni fishermen were killed and another was seriously injured on Wednesday off Hodeida coasts as an explosion targeted their boat.

"The incident was occurred as a result of a maritime mine, according to early estimates" official sources told Sahwa Net.

"Abdu Ibrahim and Ahmed Ibrahim were killed, while Saeed Yousuf was seriously injured".

Military sources referred to the prospect of mine remains planted in the area by Eritrea as it attempted to occupy Honaish Island in the late 1990s.

ICC's chief prosecutor says Britain failing to make Bashir's arrest a priority

On reading the following report from The Guardian, I was struck by the thought that ICC Prosectuor Luis Moreno-Ocampo sounds like he is part of Save Darfur Coalition, onside with the rebels:

"Bashir must be stopped," he said. "The destiny of Bashir is to face justice – it's a matter of time. If China, the US, the UK and Europe acted together, we would stop him".

Why not be even handed and say the same of the insurgents? Surely Mr Moreno-Ocampo is aware of the encouragement that his statement gives them. His bias is so blatant one wonders if he has a vested interest in seeing Sudan's president being removed. How do we know that he and the insurgents are not in the pay of a giant oil company such as France's Total or US's ExxonMobil?

Here's hoping that the British government steers well clear of what the ICC, US and France are up to in Africa and stops African insurgents from entering and residing in the UK.

From The Guardian
By Afua Hirsch, legal affairs correspondent
Sunday 24 May 2009:
Britain failing to make Bashir's arrest a priority, says ICC's chief prosecutor

• Moreno-Ocampo singles out UK for criticism
• Sudan president 'commits crimes every day'



Photo: Chief prosecutor of the international criminal court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, speaking at the Guardian Hay Festival (Martin Argles)

The UK's "complex agenda" is preventing it from doing more to ensure the arrest of the Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, for war crimes and crimes against humanity, the world's most powerful prosecutor said yesterday, claiming that Bashir "continues to commit crimes every day".

Speaking at the Hay literary festival, the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, below, singled out the UK as one of a number of permanent members of the UN security council that should show "unity and leadership" in taking a tough line on Sudan.

"Bashir must be stopped," he said. "The destiny of Bashir is to face justice – it's a matter of time. If China, the US, the UK and Europe acted together, we would stop him". But he added: "What's the advantage for UK to be tough with Sudan when they have so much else on the agenda?"

Moreno-Ocampo's comments come as opinion on the Sudanese president's indictment continues to be divided. The prosecutor called for his arrest in July last year, accusing Bashir of orchestrating a campaign of killings, rape and deportation in the western region of Darfur.

A number of African and Arab countries, as well as NGOs working in Darfur, have criticised the decision to indict Bashir, claiming it has jeopardised the Darfur peace process in Doha, Qatar.

The peace talks have seen a flurry of diplomatic activity in recent days. US officials have travelled to China and plan to meet British, French and Russian diplomats to try to end the six-year war between the Arab government in Khartoum and ethnic minority rebels in Darfur.

A hybrid peacekeeping force was established in Darfur in July 2007 under a coalition between the UN and the African Union. With an estimated strength of 26,000 troops, it is expected to become the largest peacekeeping force in the world.

But critics, who say the peace process has been hampered by a lack of co-operation from the Sudanese government, claim that Moreno-Ocampo's decision to call for Bashir's arrest will further compromise the chances of peace in the region.

The comments are the latest development in a long-running series of controversies involving Moreno-Ocampo since he was appointed as the ICC chief prosecutor in 2003. Although respected by many for his record in prosecuting military generals in his native Argentina, he drew widespread criticism for his initial decision to request Bashir's arrest for the crime of genocide.

The charge was later dropped, leaving Bashir charged with counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. [...]

Moreno-Ocampo's talk at the Guardian-sponsored festival in Hay-on-Wye was the first time he had spoken in the UK in such open terms about his role as the world's first criminal prosecutor.

His interview, with international law expert Phillipe Sands, was one of a number of high profile political and legal discussions raising issues on civil liberties and freedom of speech.

Sources in the Foreign Office said they were surprised by Moreno-Ocampo's apparent criticism of UK foreign policy. The UK has supported the independence of the ICC and so far resisted calls by some African and Arab leaders for the warrant for Bashir's arrest to be deferred.

However Britain, along with other permanent UN security council members the US and France, has supported the current Doha peace process and is currently attempting to broker a deal between rebel leaders and the Sudanese government, with the possibility of deferring the indictment against Bashir. [...]

UNAMID say JEM repulsed at base

Peacekeepers say Darfur rebels repulsed at base
Mon May 25, 2009 KHARTOUM (Reuters) - excerpt:

Rebel fighters failed to capture a Sudanese army base in Darfur, International peacekeepers said Monday, contradicting earlier reports of an insurgent victory.

The joint U.N./African Union UNAMID peacekeeping force originally said raiders had overrun the army base in the settlement of Umm Baru, close to the Chadian border in north Darfur Sunday night.

But UNAMID Information Director Kemal Saiki said Monday the reports from peacekeepers there had been confused.

"They did make a push for it, but they did not overrun the post. Put it down to the fog of war," Saiki said.

Sudan's army spokesman Brigadier Uthman al-Agbash told state media that government soldiers had routed the rebel forces and 43 fighters from the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) had been killed and 54 injured.

JEM said it attacked the base Sunday night and gave varying accounts of the fighting. Senior commander Suleiman Sandal insisted JEM was still largely in control of the town on Monday morning and had sent out units to confront an expected government counter-attack from the south and east.

JEM humanitarian chief Suleiman Jamous told Reuters the rebel forces had pulled out of the town after government planes started bombing the area.

"We wanted to save the people of Umm Baru from the bombing. We pulled out after we achieved what we set out to achieve, which was to attack the base and limit the soldiers' ability to harass civilians," Jamous said. [...]

KHARTOUM BOMB

A bomb was left outside a Khartoum office of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) Monday but failed to explode, the former rebel group said.

The SPLM, which fought for two decades in southern Sudan against Khartoum's rule but is now a junior partner in the government, said the bomb was at an office where senior SPLM official Yasir Arman is based.

A pro-government paper recently called for the killing of Arman over comments he had made objecting to the application of Islamic sharia law to non-Muslims. The paper was briefly suspended from publication. [...]

(Reporting by Andrew Heavens; writing by Aziz El-Kaissouni and Alastair Sharp; editing by Robert Woodward)

- - -

Update from Reuters 25 May 2009:

Sudan's army spokesman Brigadier Uthman al-Agbash told state media that government soldiers had routed the rebel forces and 43 JEM fighters had been killed and 54 injured. He told the Sudanese Media Centre 20 of his soldiers had also been killed and 31 injured.

"The remnants of JEM's armed forces have fled to the Sudan- Chad border," he said. Khartoum accuses its neighbour Chad of backing JEM.

North Korea has carried out a nuclear test

North Korea has carried out a nuclear test. Barack Obama is threatening unspecified 'action'. The UN Security Council will meet later tonight.

Source: Channel 4 News Service Snowmail, UK, Monday, 25 May 2009.
- - -

See 25 May 2009 BBC News report Outrage over N Korea nuclear test and comments at Have Your Say
- - -



Photo: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pays respect to his ancestors at the village temple in his birthplace, Haengchi village, in the Republic of Korea. (5 July 2008) From archives of North Korea Watch: Ban visits Republic of Korea for first time since taking helm at UN.

OIC ministers show solidarity with Khartoum

The weekend-long Foreign Ministers of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Damascus, which ended Monday, also offered recommendations Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Yemen and Somalia, the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA reported.

Source: UPI (DAMASCUS, Syria) 25 May 2009 - OIC ministers develop final statement - excerpt re Sudan:

The ministers, in the draft, showed solidarity with Khartoum against "aggressive plots targeting the sovereignty of Sudan" and criticized foreign interference in Sudan's affairs, including the International Criminal Court's indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for crimes arising from fighting in Darfur, KUNA said.

Sudan Tribune up to no good ... again

After spending fifteen minutes looking for the source of the below copied report by Sudan Tribune I have given up. I cannot find a trace of Russian special envoy to Sudan Mikhail Margelov telling Novosti news agency that: “If the international community does not undertake firm and needed steps to prevent conflict, the already tense situation in the region threatens to create a disaster".

I challenge Sudan Tribune to clarify the source of the following report from London. If they don't, I am leaving the title of this post for all to see.

From Sudan Tribune, Saturday 23 May 2009:
Russia calls for international intervention in Sudan-Chad conflict

May 22, 2009 (LONDON) – The international community must intervene to defuse tensions between Sudan and Chad, a senior Russian official said.



Photo: Russian envoy Mikhail Margelov (AFP)

The Russian special envoy to Sudan Mikhail Margelov told Novosti news agency that the conflict between the two countries keeps escalating.

“If the international community does not undertake firm and needed steps to prevent conflict, the already tense situation in the region threatens to create a disaster” Margelov said.

He called on the international community to press both sides and hinted that the UN must also consider sending peacekeepers but did not elaborate.

Both oil producing nations have for years traded accusations of supporting rebel groups and providing them with bases to launch attacks.

Several regional efforts have helped broker reconciliation agreements as recent as this month in the Arab Gulf state of Qatar that have collapsed following rebel attacks from each side.

This month Chad said rebels coming from bases in Sudan launched attack inside its territory. Chad vowed to pursue the rebels inside Sudan.

Margelov said that Darfur region bordering Chad is under rebel control “without effective monitoring” from UN or international organizations. Furthermore he noted the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir.

He said that all these factors combined contributed to the deterioration of the situation in the region.

The dispute between both countries is largely seen as a spillover from the six year conflict in Sudan’s western region of Darfur that displaced millions across the borders. (ST)

China agreed to give Russia, Kazakhstan, Brazil and Venezuela $49 billion in loans this year in exchange for oil supplies

China's PetroChina Co. briefly overtook Exxon Mobil Corp. as the world’s most valuable company after China’s stimulus plan caused a surge in the nation’s stocks this year.

China’s fuel demand is growing, while in Northern America and Europe demand is actually falling.

China agreed to give Russia, Kazakhstan, Brazil and Venezuela $49 billion in loans this year in exchange for oil supplies.

PetroChina last month agreed to buy a 50 percent share in AO Mangistaumunaigas for as much as $1.4 billion after China agreed to lend $10 billion to Kazakhstan, the largest energy producer in the former Soviet Union after Russia.

China National Petroleum Corp., PetroChina’s parent, is the largest foreign developer of oil fields in Sudan.

The U.S. company Exxon Mobil Corp raked in $425 billion in sales last year, or $60.45 for every man, woman and child on the planet. Exxon’s 2008 profit of $45.22 billion was the most ever for a U.S. corporation, marking the fourth consecutive year of record- setting results.

Source: Bloomberg News report dated 25 May 2009:
PetroChina Matches Exxon as Most Valuable Company (Update1). To contact the reporters on this story: John Liu in Shanghai at jliu42@bloomberg.net; Joe Carroll in Chicago at Jliu42@bloomberg.net
- - -
See Sudan Watch, March 23, 2006: Harvard divests from stock held by HMC in China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec Corporation)

JEM takes Sudan army base in Umm Baru nr Chadian border in North Darfur

According to the following report from Reuters, it would appear that JEM, using mortars and heavy guns, have seized a Sudan army base in Umm Baru near the Chadian border in North Darfur. It is the second army base JEM has taken in the area in just over a week. The governor of North Darfur has accused Chad of sending troops to fight alongside JEM during the battle, which he said the Sudanese government forces won.

Note, the report highlights the fact that JEM seeks to control all of Darfur and neighboring Kordofan.



A BBC report yesterday [Raiders 'seize Sudan army base'] says the reported fall of the Umm Baru base comes as a fresh round of peace talks between Sudan and Jem is due to begin on Wednesday in Doha, Qatar.

Reuters report, 24 May 2009, by Andrew Heavens in Khartoum - excerpt:
Darfur fighters take Sudan army base: peacekeepers

Armed raiders using mortars and heavy guns seized a Sudanese army base near the Chad border in Darfur on Sunday, the second to have fallen in just over a week, international peacekeepers said.

The joint U.N./African Union UNAMID peacekeeping force said it could not confirm the identity of those who attacked the base at Umm Baru but suspected the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) that has been active in the area in recent months.

"Umm Baru was overrun. It has fallen," said UNAMID information director Kemal Saiki. "Our own base just a few kilometers away heard the heavy gunfire." Saiki said the attack started at around 4pm (1300 GMT) and ended around 8.30pm.

Any JEM involvement would heighten already deeply troubled relations between Sudan and Chad, as Khartoum accuses the N'Djamena government of backing the insurgent force.

It would also be the second army base JEM has taken in the area in just over a week, marking an escalation in the recent conflict.

There was no one immediately available to comment on the fighting from JEM or Sudan's armed forces.

Tensions have been building along Sudan's remote border with Chad for weeks.

The two oil producers have long accused one another of supporting each other's rebels. Chad earlier this month admitted bombing rebels inside Sudanese territory, while Khartoum says N'Djamena backs JEM, whose leaders have ethnic links with Chadian President Idriss Deby.

JEM said it seized a Sudanese army base at Kornoi, a settlement just 50 km (31 miles) west of Umm Baru, on May 16, along a road that runs toward a crossing point into Chad.

The governor of North Darfur later accused Chad of sending troops to fight alongside JEM during the battle, which he said the Sudanese government forces won.

There have been signs of JEM re-arming and re-grouping in North Darfur in recent weeks -- it fought former rebels aligned with Sudan's government around Umm Baru earlier this month.

JEM, which seeks to control all of Darfur and neighboring Kordofan, shocked many by attacking Khartoum in May 2008 before being stopped a few kilometers short of the presidential palace.

JEM commander Suleiman Sandal told Reuters earlier on Sunday that Sudanese government planes had been bombing around Kornoi and Umm Baru every day since his force's attack on Kornoi. [...]

In many places, fighting has descended into a free-for-all of tribal clashes and banditry.

Armed men stopped a vehicle carrying Nigerian peacekeepers near El Geneina, capital of west Darfur, on Saturday night, and stole their weapons, phones, radio and transport, the joint U.N./African Union force said. No one was injured in the attack.

The U.N.'s World Food Program said a contract driver was shot dead by suspected robbers in Al Deain in South Darfur on Tuesday. [...] (Editing by Philippa Fletcher)

- - -

Report from China View, 25 May 2009:
Sudanese army defeats attack of rebel militants in Darfur

KHARTOUM, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) announced that they had managed to defeat an attack launched by militants of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) at the restive western Sudanese region of Darfur on Sunday.

SAF spokesman Osman Mohammed al-Aghbash told the Sudanese Media Center that the army troops routed the attack at the Umm Baru areain North Darfur by a large military force of the rebel JEM backed by the Chadian army.

The spokesman added that the army troops caused the rebel group a heavy toll in lives and property, which were being accounted.

Meanwhile, the hybrid peacekeeping force of the United Nations and the African Union in Darfur said armed raiders using mortars and heavy guns seized a Sudanese army base at Umm Baru near the Chad border in Darfur on Sunday, the second to have fallen in just over a week.

Tensions have been building along Sudan's remote border with Chad for weeks, causing concerns of neighboring countries and other countries in the region.

JEM said it seized a Sudanese army base at Kornoi, a settlement just 50 km west of Umm Baru, on May 16, along a road that runs towards a crossing point into Chad. Editor: Mu Xuequan

Maps from Sudan Watch archives. Also, see:

Dec. 7, 2008: Sudan’s South Kordofan the next Darfur?

Nov. 21, 2006: PINR - Intelligence Brief: Rebels Advance on the Central African Republic. Copy:

Just in from Adam Wolf, editor for PINR's Africa region: PINR - Intelligence Brief: Rebels Advance on the Central African Republic. Excerpt:
"As long as the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region continues unresolved, Khartoum's lack of oversight in the area provides a rear base for both Chadian and C.A.R. insurgents that are seeking to gain control of their respective countries. More concerning, however, is the risk of a regional war should troops from either Chad or C.A.R. support attacks on Sudanese territory."

- - -

UPDATE Monday 25 May 2009:
Peacekeepers say Darfur rebels repulsed at base
Mon May 25, 2009 KHARTOUM (Reuters) - excerpt: Rebel fighters failed to capture a Sudanese army base in Darfur, International peacekeepers said Monday, contradicting earlier reports of an insurgent victory.

Darfur rebels accuse Sudan of daily bombing

SAF searching for rebels who took Kornoi, N. Darfur at weekend.

Some tweets by Rob Crilly:

First impressions of N'djamena: blimey it's hot
12:00 PM May 12th from txt

First impressions of N'djamena: gosh what a lot of chinese people
12:03 PM May 12th from txt

Riding through N'Djamena on a motorbike is like putting your face in front of a big hairdryer on, erm, hot
6:58 AM May 13th from web

Heading east for Abeche tomorrow
11:31 AM May 14th from web

Gotta go. Silly 6pm UN curfew
9:55 AM May 15th from web

#darfur Bedding down for 3rd nigjht with JEM rebels in "liberated" North Darfur
10:54 AM May 20th from web

#darfur Watched antonov bombing to the south yesterday and it was back again this evening bombing to the north. hasn't spotted us
10:57 AM May 20th from web

#darfur Sleeping under the stars beside an AK47 (not mine)
12:38 PM May 20th from web

#darfur Antonov back at 6 am. Have small idea of fear they can bring
10:29 PM May 20th from web

#darfur More bombing. SAF searching for rebels who took Koarnoui at weekend
4:18 AM May 21st from web

Dawn chorus of bombing resumes. 5 days #darfur
10:39 PM May 21st from web

Making dash for the border #darfur
4:08 AM May 22nd from web

Safely in Bahai. Looking for car #darfur
4:43 AM May 22nd from web

On road to Tine, bruce on safari soundtrack. Stop for prayers #darfur
12:54 PM May 22nd from web

Kipping in police chief's spare room #darfur
1:10 PM May 22nd from web

Safely back in Abeche after a road trip to forget.
about 3 hours ago from web

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From Reuters Sunday, 24 May 2009 by Andrew Heavens in Khartoum - excerpt:
Darfur rebels accuse Sudan of daily bombing

Darfur rebels on Sunday accused Sudan's government of mounting daily bombing raids around their positions and said they were expecting another clash with state troops soon.

The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) said it had faced regular raids since its rebel forces seized the strategic town of Kornoi last weekend in North Darfur, the scene of a recent surge in fighting and growing tensions with neighbour Chad.

U.N. sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had received unconfirmed reports of aerial attacks in territory around the settlements of Tina, Kornoi and Umm Baru, all along a key road that leads northwest to a crossing point into Chad.

No one from Sudan's armed forces was immediately available to comment.

"There is a government Antonov over my head right now," said senior JEM commander Suleiman Sandal, speaking to Reuters by satellite phone on Sunday morning.

"They have been bombing every day. They bomb randomly. Yesterday we were bombed by Migs," he said. It was unclear how many casualties there were.

Sandal said his commanders had heard Sudanese government troops were heading towards them, from El Fasher, capital of North Darfur.

"More fighting is imminent. But we are ready for anything that comes," he said.

Air attacks in Darfur are banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions and a series of failed ceasefires, but Khartoum has in the past reserved the right to attack JEM and other rebels who did not sign a 2006 Darfur peace deal.  [...] (Editing by Andrew Roche)

US envoy Scott Gration to visit China, Qatar, Britain and France on Darfur peace

US envoy to visit China, other nations on Darfur peace
From AFP, Friday, 22 May 2009 (WASHINGTON) - excerpt:

US special envoy Scott Gration is due over the next week to visit China, Qatar, Britain and France to revive efforts to bring peace to Sudan's western Darfur region, a US official said Friday.

"This is all an effort to align positions on the Darfur peace process under the leadership of United Nations-African Union joint chief mediator Djibril Bassole," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters.

"He leaves tomorrow (Saturday) May 23 and completes his travel June 1," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters.
He will meet with senior Chinese government officials in China and hold a meeting with his counterparts from China, Russia and Britain, France and the European Union in Doha, Qatar.

He will then travel to London for talks with senior British officials and reconvene the so-called Sudan diplomatic troika of the United States, Britain and Norway.

He will visit Paris to meet with senior French officials and try to encourage Sudan Liberation Army faction leader Abdul Wahid Mohammed Nur, who is exiled in France, to join the Darfur peace process. [...]

Is the Darfur bloodshed genocide? Opinions differ (Edmund Sanders)

The genocide label may have prolonged the Darfur conflict by raising the stakes and complicating peace talks, experts and diplomats say.



Photo: Muhajeria, in south Darfur, was razed in internecine rebel rivalry, one example of the complexities in the region. Critics of the genocide label says it inflames the situation and that the Khartoum government’s counterinsurgency, though brutal, didn’t intend to wipe out the Darfur tribes, but subdue them. (Photographer: Lynsey Addario/For The Times)

U.S. presidents and some activist groups have called the bloody campaign by the Sudanese Arab-led government and allied militias 'genocide.' But others doubt the violence fits the legal definition.

From Los Angeles Times
Is the Darfur bloodshed genocide? Opinions differ
By Edmund Sanders
May 4, 2009
Reporting from El Fasher, Sudan:

What if the conflict many call the "first genocide of the 21st century" weren't one at all?

In the United States, many see the six-year war in Darfur as a bloody campaign by a Sudanese Arab-dominated government against rebellious "African" tribes in western Sudan. Two consecutive American presidents and several activist groups have defined it as genocide.

But others, while acknowledging the severity of the violence, question whether it meets the legal definition of genocide. The United Nations determined in 2005 that the Sudanese government wasn't committing genocide in Darfur. Human Rights Watch and Doctors Without Borders avoid the G-word too.

The International Criminal Court renewed the debate in March when it issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir. Judges said his counterinsurgency tactics in Darfur may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, but that there was no evidence of genocide.

The debate raises touchy and politically explosive questions: What constitutes genocide? Why does -- or doesn't -- Darfur fit the mold? Has the label helped, or hurt, the people of Darfur? And what does it matter anyway if what has occurred in Darfur is viewed as genocide rather than, say, war crimes or "ethnic cleansing"?

Most agree that it has mattered a lot.

When former U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell first described Darfur as a case of genocide in 2004, a $1-billion-a-year international aid effort quickly followed, elevating the crisis above other African conflicts, including those in Somalia and Congo, where the mortality rates in recent years have been higher and the displacement greater.

"The word 'genocide' has so much power," said Neha Erasmus, program coordinator for Justice Africa in London. "Darfur really took hold of the American psyche after it was called genocide."

But the global attention also brought heightened politics and at times led to resources being misdirected, aid workers say.

A misconception that hundreds of people are dying each day in Darfur has led many in the West to push for emergency security measures such as military intervention, U.N. peacekeepers and no-fly zones, and to overlook larger issues such as stalled peace talks and millions of people dependent on foreign aid, said Thierry Durand, director of operations for Doctors Without Borders.

"The magnitude of violence in Darfur has been huge, but it's not genocide," Durand said. "The situation on the ground has not been an emergency since 2004. The real problem is the dependency in the camps. But the whole thing has become over-politicized."

The genocide label also may have prolonged the conflict by raising the stakes and complicating peace talks, experts and diplomats say.

"Genocide puts a moral price on this that limits the room to maneuver," said one Western diplomat in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, who did not want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the topic. "How can you deal with a genocidal government? Can you compromise with evil?"

John Prendergast, a former Clinton administration advisor and founder of one of the advocacy groups that have lobbied the United States to declare the Darfur violence a genocide, said the "invocation of that word saved hundreds of thousands of lives. Absent that, it would have been harder to get this on the radar screen."

But he dismissed the is-it-or-isn't-it controversy as legal semantics. "Well-meaning scholars can disagree, but the debate is a crushing diversion from what we need to do to find a solution," he said.

It's a question now facing President Obama. As a candidate, Obama opposed attempts to normalize Sudanese relations, accusing the Bush administration of trying to reward a brutal regime.

As president, Obama is navigating that rhetoric as he searches for an end to the crisis. His ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice, describes the situation in Darfur as an "ongoing genocide," but his new envoy to Sudan, J. Scott Gration, called the nation a "friend" and reopened the door to improved ties during a recent visit to Khartoum.

To many, such a policy sets a dangerous precedent. A determination of genocide should trigger immediate action to end the killing, including military intervention if necessary, legal experts say.

But after the U.S. described the Darfur bloodshed as genocide, its policy consisted of economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure.

"If this is the first genocide of the 21st century, why the heck are we talking about travel bans and asset freezes?" asked Alex De Waal, a noted Sudan expert and program director with the nonprofit Social Science Research Council. "Would you do that with Hitler?"

De Waal, who does not consider the campaign in Darfur genocide, said the U.S. stance has "diluted" the sense of international urgency that should accompany a finding of genocide.

So is what happened in Darfur genocide? The simplest legal definition is an attempt to annihilate, in whole or in part, a national, racial, ethnic or religious group.

No question that Darfur fits some of the criteria. About 35,000 people have been killed, according to the ICC, and at least 100,000 more have died from disease and starvation. The U.N. estimated last month that about 50 civilians still die each month in Darfur, down substantially from the thousands who died monthly in 2003 and 2004.

Most victims are from the Fur and Zaghawa tribes, both associated with rebels. Hundreds of their villages were burned by government troops and allied militias, known as janjaweed. Government officials and militia leaders have been quoted as referring to the tribes as "slaves" and "subhuman."

But the U.N. and ICC have raised doubts about "genocidal intent." Simply put, they question whether the government is trying to wipe out the tribes or if it instead wants to terrorize them into submission or chase them away, which doesn't necessarily constitute genocide.

"The crucial element of genocidal intent appears to be missing, at least as far as the central government authorities are concerned," the U.N.'s International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur concluded in 2005. "Rather, it would seem that those who planned and organized attacks on villages pursued the intent to drive the victims from their homes, primarily for purposes of counterinsurgency warfare."

Pose the genocide question to U.N. officials and aid workers here in Darfur, and you'll probably get an awkward smile and silence. Many fear being called genocide "deniers" or "apologists" for the Sudanese government.

Former special U.S. envoy to Sudan Andrew Natsios was skewered by Darfur activists and U.S. lawmakers for suggesting in 2007 that the genocide was over. A new envoy was named by the end of the year.

Yet even in Darfur, there is disagreement.

"This isn't like the Nazis or Bosnia or Rwanda," said Abdalla Adam Khater, a Darfur analyst who lost 100 members of his extended family during an attack in 2003. "This isn't about hatred. It's more about power, money and land."

But Mohamed Salim Jadala, a human rights attorney in Darfur, contended that evidence of genocide would emerge only after the regime's fall. He said the act of labeling Darfur as genocide led government officials to conceal and curtail their actions.

"The government couldn't carry out the genocide because the international community took notice," he said. "But just because the government never had the chance to finish what it started doesn't mean it wasn't genocide or that they won't try again."

edmund.sanders@latimes.com

Hat tip: Save Darfur Accountability Project

ICC Haskanita: Send a message to these killer thugs

Here is an opinion piece from The Age by Rebecca Hamilton (who is in Australia, writing a book on Darfur, I think) May 23, 2009. Pity it wasn't authored by the rebel supporting Save Darfur Coalition who, in my view, are responsible for prolonging the Darfur war. The rebels won't give up on using violence to get what they want while they have Save Darfur Coalition onside.

Send a message to these killer thugs

Courts have a role in protecting the protectors in the world's trouble spots.

THIS week, Darfuri rebel commander Abu Garda made his first appearance before the International Criminal Court in The Hague. I watched as the charges of war crimes against African Union peacekeepers were read out to him.

The pristine courtroom felt more than just geographically distant from the dusty, crowded refugee camps I have visited on the Chad-Darfur border. But what took place in that room will reverberate, not only in Darfur, but across current and future peacekeeping missions worldwide.

The ICC judges found reasonable grounds to believe that Abu Garda is responsible for three counts of war crimes, based on his involvement in a September 2007 attack that left 12 peacekeepers dead and eight injured. Those numbers pale in comparison to the hundreds of thousands of Dafuri civilians who have died over the past six years of the conflict in Sudan's western region. 

Consequently, some will question the prosecution's decision to spend scarce resources investigating a crime with a relatively low number of direct victims. But the absolute numbers involved do not accurately reflect the severity of this type of crime or the breadth of damage it can cause.

On April 7, 1994 — the first day of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda — 10 Belgium peacekeepers were murdered. Their killers, the Interahamwe militia, who would go on to slaughter more than 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu civilians in the following 100 days, calculated that killing 10 peacekeepers would be enough to scare off the rest of the peacekeeping mission. They were right. The murders precipitated the withdrawal of most of the remaining UN peacekeepers. The countries that deployed them did not want to risk further casualties in defence of a humanitarian mission.

Late last year the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda did — 14 years after the fact — find Rwandan colonel Theoneste Bagosora criminally responsible for the murder of the Belgian peacekeepers. But this charge of murder failed to recognise that it was not only the peacekeepers' lives that were lost. The UN withdrawal that followed the murders left the Interahamwe to carry out genocide virtually unimpeded, increasing the overall death toll relative to what it would have been if the peacekeepers had remained. Another charge is needed to account for such second-order effects, which occur whenever peacekeepers are attacked. The case against Abu Garda does just that.

The ICC is authorised to prosecute individuals for the crime of intentionally attacking the people or property involved in a peacekeeping mission. Abu Garda has been charged with this crime, in addition to a charge of violence to life for the murder of the peacekeepers, and a pillaging charge for the property stolen from the peacekeepers' base.

By prioritising this crime over the countless others that have been perpetrated in Darfur, the prosecution is sending a signal that would-be perpetrators of future attacks against peacekeepers will not miss. There is now a permanent international court with both the mandate, and the will, to hold individuals criminally responsible for the full impact of an attack on a peacekeeping mission.

No case will bring back the sons of Senegal, Nigeria, Rwanda, Mali, Botswana, Uganda or Ghana — each country has lost troops in their service to the peacekeeping mission in Darfur. Nor will it bring back the lives of Darfuris who have been killed while the peacekeepers sent to protect them were themselves under attack. But by pursuing this case, the ICC sends an important reminder to the world: to have any hope of protecting civilians, we must safeguard the rights of the peacekeepers we send to protect them.

Rebecca Hamilton is an Open Society Institute fellow. She has worked at the International Criminal Court and with displaced people in Sudan.

Chinese firm signs deal to explore gold in Gibait, Red Sea State, Sudan

From TradeInvest Africa (Cape Town) 22 May 2009 - via AllAfrica:
Sudan: Chinese Firm Signs Deal to Explore Gold

Chinese company Poly Technology in partnership with Sudanese firm Dan Fodio have won exploration licenses for gold in the Red Sea state.

They are expected to start work soon in the Gibait area, thought to be rich in minerals.

It is estimated 20 tonnes of gold exist in the area.

According to a report in the Sudan Tribune, Dan Fodio and Poly Technology are already partnering to explore iron in eastern Sudan.

Established in 1981 as a construction and trading company, the Dan Fodio Corporation comprises 32 companies involved in oil industry, dam construction and major agriculture schemes.

AU AL OIC Bashir meeting: OIC to construct 120 Darfur villages at US $485 million

This sounds interesting but does not explain when or where in Darfur the 120 villages will be constructed.

From Daily Trust by Uthman Abubakar, 22 May 2009 via AllAfrica:
Sudan: OIC to Build 120 Darfur Villages At U.S. $485 Million

The Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) has announced plans to construct 120 villages in the battered Darfur region of Western Sudan at the cost of $485 million US Dollars.

The Secretary-General of the organization, Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, made the announcement through a joint statement issued by the leaders of the African Union (AU), the Arab League and the OIC after closed-door talks with President Omar Al-Bashir in Khartoum, Tuesday.

Dr. Jean Ping, AU Commission Chairman, Mr. Amr Moussa, Arab League Secretary-General, and Dr. Ihsanoglu were in Khartoum on a two-day visit on the invitation of President Al-Bashir in keeping with their commitment to coordinating efforts towards ending the 6-year-old Darfur crisis.

The OIC chief also said in the joint statement that the organization would hold a special meeting of its member-countries dedicated to the Darfur peace process and development. He did not say when the construction of the villages would commence.

During the meeting with President Al-Bashir and other Sudanese officials, the principles of the three organizations, according to the statement, discussed the political development, humanitarian and security situations in the 3-state war-wrecked region and the implication of the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant of arrest on Al-Bashir, among other crucial issues.

They reiterated their call on the rebel movements in Darfur to join the peace process, calling on the international community to exert pressure on the recalcitrant parties to drop their confrontational and hard-line stance and join the peace process for the common good of all.

Chadian gov't should start negotiations with Chadian rebels - Libya hopes to restore confidence between Sudan and Chad

"The Chadian government should start negotiations with the Chadian rebels, that should happen," the UN deputy secretary general Haile Menkerios told AFP on Saturday.

"The problems in Darfur, Chad and Sudan exist because of governance issues in the two countries," he said.

"At least in Sudan, there is a peace process. A similar approach should also happen in Chad between the government and the rebels."

From Sudan Tribune, Thursday 21 May 2009:
Libya hopes to restore confidence between Sudan and Chad

May 20, 2009 (KHARTOUM) – Libya hopes to ease the current tension between Sudan and Chad and restore confidence and relations between the two neighboring countries, a Libyan official said.

Libyan deputy foreign minister Ali Abdelsalam Al-Triki who is in charge with African affairs was yesterday in Khartoum where he delivered a message to the Sudanese President from the Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi about the ongoing tension between Sudan and Chad.

"We spoke about plot which is targeting Sudan as part of the Arab nation," Al-Triki told the official SUNA after the meeting. He further added "Libya hopes it will be able to normalize the relations between Sudan and Chad and to remove the tension and mis-confidence between the two countries through their commitment to the principles of non intervention in the internal affairs of other countries and good neighborliness."

He also expressed hope to revive what was agreed between the two countries and find a mechanism to stop border incursions from both sides and not to harm bilateral relations.

The Chadian President Idriss Deby had slammed Libyan opposition to condemn Sudan over Chadian rebels’ attack on May 4. He also rejected African Union mediation in the conflict with Sudan. Libya is the current chairman of the regional body.

French Defense Minister Hervé Morin was in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, early this week to deliver a message from the French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Gadhafi urging him to pursue his efforts to ease the current tension between Sudan and Chad.

In Paris, Bernard Kouchner told the French parliament on Wednesday that the French army didn’t intervene to support the Chadian troops to repel the rebel attack. He further stressed on the Sudanese responsibility saying the rebels attacked from the Sudan.

In Ndjamena, the President Deby once again accused Sudan of wanting to destroy Chad and recruiting "mercenaries" to accomplish this mission. He urged the press to not speak about rebels but Sudanese agents.

He made these statements in a show of trophies of war organized in the Independence Square in the capital where some 50 pick-up trucks bearing the logo of the rebel UFR were parked together with some weapons.

"Here is the proof that the Khartoum government is determined to destroy Chad by using mercenaries," Deby said.

Ndjamena show reminds a similar display of trophies organized by the Sudanese government in Omdurman after the attack of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement on Khartoum in May 2008.

Regional and international organizations without enthusiasm condemned the Chadian rebel attack earlier this month, but also some official voiced the need to exert efforts to settle the Chadian internal conflict as it is the case for Sudan.

"The Chadian government should start negotiations with the Chadian rebels, that should happen," the UN deputy secretary general Haile Menkerios told AFP on Saturday.

"The problems in Darfur, Chad and Sudan exist because of governance issues in the two countries," he said.

"At least in Sudan, there is a peace process. A similar approach should also happen in Chad between the government and the rebels." (ST)

Photo: Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi attends the opening of the African heads of State summit on February 2, 2009 in Addis Ababa. (Reuters/ST)

From Sudan Tribune, Tuesday, 19 May 2009 - excerpt:
France asks Libya to ease Sudan Chad tension

May 17, 2009 (PARIS) — French President Nicolas Sarkozy today urged the Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi to pursue his efforts to ease the current tension between Sudan and Chad.

French Defense Minister Hervé Morin was in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, to deliver a message from President Sarkozy to his Libyan counterpart on a strategic partnership, the official JANA said.

"Sarkozy appealed to the (Libyan leader) to continue his efforts to overcome the tension in Sudan-Chad relations. Also France expressed satisfaction at the prospects for the resumption of negotiations between the government of Sudan and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)," the agency further reported.

Peace and good luck Col. Gaddafi.

France says Sudan was backing the Chadian rebels

Yesterday, according to Sudan Tribune report here below, France's foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner told the French parliament that Sudan was backing the Chadian rebels who clashed with government troops in eastern Chad earlier this month. The minister also said that the French troops based in the troubled country didn’t take part in the military operations.

From Sudan Tribune, Friday 22 May 2009:
French Prime Minister says Sudan is the key of Chad troubles

May 21, 2009 (YAOUNDE, Cameroon) – French Prime Minister said today that Sudan is responsible of political troubles in the neighboring Chad saying the solution of Ndjamena unrest lies in Khartoum.

"Everyone can see very well that the solution to the problems of Chad is not to be found in Chad," said Fillon during a discussion with students at the international relations institute in Cameroon’s capital Yaounde.

"They are to be found in Sudan, they are to be found in the resolution of conflicts which affect Sudan and its neighbors," he further said.

Fillion was referring to the six year conflict in Darfur.

Yesterday the foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner told the French parliament that Sudan was backing the Chadian rebels who clashed with government troops in eastern Chad earlier this month. The minister also said that the French troops based in the troubled country didn’t take part in the military operations.

Fillon echoed Kouchner statements saying French President Nicolas Sarkozy does not want to see French army playing a role in the Chadian internal affairs.

"That is the reason why these armed forces didn’t intervene during the crisis that has taken place in Chad," he said.

Paris which backs the government of President Idriss Deby asked Libya to intervene between the two neighboring countries. A Libyan minister was in Khartoum to propose a mediation plan. Unconfirmed reports say Sudan pledged to study the Libyan proposal while Tripoli is in trouble with Ndjamena which says accepting only UN solution.

Sudanese officials blame Paris for its unconditional support to Chadian government, saying it was even unable to dissuade President Deby to implement the signed previous agreement or to stop its support to Darfur rebels.

Also after three raids carried by the Chadian government inside the Sudan, Khartoum warned it will hit the Chadian army if it attacks once again the Sudanese territory. The UNAMID spoke in its daily briefing of Thursday about "tense" situation in the region.  (ST)

Population of South Sudan: 8.26 million?

Sudan's census figures showed a total population of 39.15 million, with 30.89 million or 79 percent living in the mainly Muslim north, and 8.26 million or 21 percent living in the predominantly Christian and animist south. Considering that the population of Darfur is estimated to be around 6 - 6.5 million, the census figure for the population of South Sudan seems rather low.

Southerners dismiss Sudan pre-poll census count
From Reuters Thu May 21, 2009 by Andrew Heavens in Khartoum:

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan on Thursday released the first detailed results of a census vital to elections due next year, but the figures were dismissed by former southern rebels who said the southerners' total was too low.

Any lengthy dispute over the census count risks delaying Sudan's first democratic election for more than 20 years, as well as a referendum on southern independence -- both centrepieces in a frayed north-south peace deal.

The census figures showed a total population of 39.15 million, with 30.89 million or 79 percent living in the mainly Muslim north, and 8.26 million or 21 percent living in the predominantly Christian and animist south.

The south's dominant Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) accused northern politicians of manipulating the figures and under-counting the number of southerners both in the south and Khartoum.

The census figures will be used to define the constituencies for the election due in February 2010 before the referendum on southern independence scheduled for the following year.

The SPLM and smaller southern parties are currently allocated just over a third of the seats in Sudan's national parliament, under the terms of the peace agreement, a proportion which could shrink if it is accepted that southerners only make up 21 percent of the population.

Northern and southern Sudan fought each other for more than two decades in a civil war that was fuelled by a mixture of religion, ideology, oil and ethnicity.

'POLITICALLY MOTIVATED'

The conflict, separate from fighting in Sudan's western Darfur region that flared in 2003, ended in the 2005 peace deal which set up a north-south coalition government.

"We believe in many ways this census is politically motivated and designed," senior SPLM official Yasir Arman told Reuters in comments critical of the north's dominant National Congress Party (NCP).

"It is clear the only elections the NCP are ready for are unfair and unfree elections."

Arman said earlier counts had shown southerners made up a third of Sudan's total population, not the fifth recorded in Thursday's figures.

He said there was also a suspiciously sharp jump in the population of South Darfur state, part of northern Sudan, compared with earlier censuses.

Arman said Sudan would now have to find another, fairer way to work out the borders of constituencies and power-sharing between the two sides.

"We have to have a new voter registration. The constituencies should be divided according to the voter registration," he said.

No one was immediately available to comment from the NCP, led by Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

The Director General of Sudan's Central Bureau of Statistics Yasin Haj Abdin told reporters at the launch of the census he could not comment on how the results would be used politically. But he defended the accuracy of the figures.

"This census is much better than all the other censuses that have been conducted in Sudan the past. It is not advisable to compare these figures with figures from other censuses."

Even more detailed census findings, covering everything from housing to disability levels, would be released later in the year, he added.

One key area of the north-south agreement that the census figures will not impact is the sharing out of oil revenues between the north and the south. Southern Sudan gets half of the revenues from the oil drilled inside its territory under the terms of the CPA, and that share is not affected by the size of its population.

The census, carried out in April and May 2008, was hit by boycotts, demonstrations and lost questionnaires. More than 100 northern monitors were expelled from the south and Darfur rebels said they kidnapped 13 staff.