EL FASHER, Sudan, Nov 8 (Reuters) - A U.N. team has arrived in Sudan to investigate whether genocide has occurred in Darfur.
George Somerwill, a U.N. spokesman in Sudan, told Reuters the international commission of inquiry arrived late on Sunday and would travel to Darfur in the west of Sudan on Wednesday. He said they were due to return to the capital Khartoum on Nov. 20.
"It is to begin its investigation of reports of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in Darfur by all parties, including to determine whether or not acts of genocide have occurred and to identify the perpetrators of such violations," he said of the team's mandate.
Somerwill did not give details of the make-up of the team. In October U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan named a five-member panel led by Italian judge Antonio Cassese to investigate whether genocide has taken place in Darfur. The panel was created at the request of the U.N. Security Council.
Cassese was the first president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, a court based in The Hague that is looking into suspected war crimes in the Balkans including during Bosnia's 1992-1995 war.
Two U.N. human rights watchdogs told the U.N. Security Council in September that war crimes had probably occurred on a "large and systematic scale" in Darfur.
Monday, November 08, 2004
U.K.'s Blair Says Sudan Failing to Make Progress on Peace Plan
Nov. 8 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair said Sudan is failing to make progress bringing peace to the Darfur region, raising the chances of United Nations sanctions against the oil-rich nation.
"It is a very difficult and very delicate situation,'' Blair told Parliament in London. ``If anything, it has gotten worse in the last few weeks. If we do not get obedience and compliance in the next few weeks we will have to return to the UN Security Council.''
Sanctions would threaten Sudan's ability to sell oil on the international markets, which accounts for 75 percent of the nation's export earnings. Sudan started exports in 1999 and plans to boost production to 500,000 barrels a day by the end of next year from 345,000 barrels a day in June.
Last month, Blair traveled to the Sudanese capital of Khartoum for talks with Bashir, winning a commitment from the government to allow African Union troops into Darfur and to increase protection for Western aid workers in the region.
Peace Talks
African Union officials have yet to win Sudan's agreement on a security agreement outlining how and where troops could act in the region, Agence France-Presse reported today, citing delegates to peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria.
Blair said his agreement with Bashir required progress "by the end of the year.'' If that process fails, Blair said he will seek some sort of action from the UN Security Council, which could reprimand Sudan or levy economic or diplomatic sanctions.
Economic sanctions would hurt Chinese and Indian companies most, since the U.S. banned trade with Sudan in 1997. In 2002, the U.S. further tightened its sanctions, barring Americans from doing business with the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Co., a group that taps Sudanese crude and ships it to overseas customers.
Western Companies
Except for Sweden's Lundin Petroleum AB, Western oil companies have pulled out of Sudan as violence flared between government and rebel troops in 1983. Chevron Corp. explored in the region from the 1960s to 1985.
Talisman Energy Inc. of Canada sold out in 2003, as did OMV AG of Austria. Total SA of France suspended work in Sudan but retains rights to drill, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
China National United, or Chinaoil, and China National Chemicals, known as Sinochem, were awarded contracts in August to buy half of the Sudanese Nile Blend crude oil for sale in the fourth quarter.
Those companies, controlled by the Chinese government, also have stakes in drilling projects in Sudan and in a pipeline that exports most of the nation's crude. Oil & Natural Gas Corp. of New Delhi works in Sudan.
Sudan also needs outside help to expand petroleum refineries at Port Sudan on the Red Sea and Khartoum in the center of the nation. Those plants, with a combined capacity of 72,000 barrels a day, produce gasoline for cars and butane for cooking. The government wants each plant to produce 100,000 barrels a day.
With a population of 39 million, Sudan has an annual gross domestic product of about $15.6 billion and external debts of $21 billion. Britain allocated 62.5 million pounds ($112 million) of aid for Sudan this year.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000102&sid=adXqgi0SaJ08&refer=uk
"It is a very difficult and very delicate situation,'' Blair told Parliament in London. ``If anything, it has gotten worse in the last few weeks. If we do not get obedience and compliance in the next few weeks we will have to return to the UN Security Council.''
Sanctions would threaten Sudan's ability to sell oil on the international markets, which accounts for 75 percent of the nation's export earnings. Sudan started exports in 1999 and plans to boost production to 500,000 barrels a day by the end of next year from 345,000 barrels a day in June.
Last month, Blair traveled to the Sudanese capital of Khartoum for talks with Bashir, winning a commitment from the government to allow African Union troops into Darfur and to increase protection for Western aid workers in the region.
Peace Talks
African Union officials have yet to win Sudan's agreement on a security agreement outlining how and where troops could act in the region, Agence France-Presse reported today, citing delegates to peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria.
Blair said his agreement with Bashir required progress "by the end of the year.'' If that process fails, Blair said he will seek some sort of action from the UN Security Council, which could reprimand Sudan or levy economic or diplomatic sanctions.
Economic sanctions would hurt Chinese and Indian companies most, since the U.S. banned trade with Sudan in 1997. In 2002, the U.S. further tightened its sanctions, barring Americans from doing business with the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Co., a group that taps Sudanese crude and ships it to overseas customers.
Western Companies
Except for Sweden's Lundin Petroleum AB, Western oil companies have pulled out of Sudan as violence flared between government and rebel troops in 1983. Chevron Corp. explored in the region from the 1960s to 1985.
Talisman Energy Inc. of Canada sold out in 2003, as did OMV AG of Austria. Total SA of France suspended work in Sudan but retains rights to drill, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
China National United, or Chinaoil, and China National Chemicals, known as Sinochem, were awarded contracts in August to buy half of the Sudanese Nile Blend crude oil for sale in the fourth quarter.
Those companies, controlled by the Chinese government, also have stakes in drilling projects in Sudan and in a pipeline that exports most of the nation's crude. Oil & Natural Gas Corp. of New Delhi works in Sudan.
Sudan also needs outside help to expand petroleum refineries at Port Sudan on the Red Sea and Khartoum in the center of the nation. Those plants, with a combined capacity of 72,000 barrels a day, produce gasoline for cars and butane for cooking. The government wants each plant to produce 100,000 barrels a day.
With a population of 39 million, Sudan has an annual gross domestic product of about $15.6 billion and external debts of $21 billion. Britain allocated 62.5 million pounds ($112 million) of aid for Sudan this year.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000102&sid=adXqgi0SaJ08&refer=uk
Saturday, November 06, 2004
U.N. envoy Jan Pronk says more troops needed in Darfur
UNITED NATIONS -- The U.N.' s special envoy to Sudan told the Security Council on Thursday that Darfur is sliding into anarchy as government and rebel forces battle over control of the territory. The U.N. official, Jan Pronk of the Netherlands, said that U.S.-supported plans to send 3,300 Africans soldiers to halt the violence in Darfur are inadequate and that more than twice that number are needed to restore calm.
http://www.kansas.com/mld/eagle/news/nation/10102856.htm
http://www.kansas.com/mld/eagle/news/nation/10102856.htm
U.S.Airmen return from Darfur mission
11/5/2004 - RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AFPN) -- Two C-130 Hercules and about 100 Airmen returned here Nov. 5 after completing a two-week airlift mission moving African Union troops into the Darfur region of Sudan.
During the mission, the Airmen moved 47 Nigerian and 238 Rwandan soldiers, and more than 25,000 pounds of cargo. The last mission was flown Nov. 3.
The mission began Oct. 21 when an advance team of about 30 Airmen arrived at Kigali International Airport, Rwanda, to set up the operations. Airmen on the team represented various specialties such as logistics, contracting, airfield management, security forces and communications. The majority of the Airmen deployed from here and Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England.
About 90 more Airmen deployed from here Oct. 22 to begin the mission.
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123009111
During the mission, the Airmen moved 47 Nigerian and 238 Rwandan soldiers, and more than 25,000 pounds of cargo. The last mission was flown Nov. 3.
The mission began Oct. 21 when an advance team of about 30 Airmen arrived at Kigali International Airport, Rwanda, to set up the operations. Airmen on the team represented various specialties such as logistics, contracting, airfield management, security forces and communications. The majority of the Airmen deployed from here and Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England.
About 90 more Airmen deployed from here Oct. 22 to begin the mission.
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123009111
Friday, November 05, 2004
Sudan belatedly tries to sharpen its act
By Alice Thomson (Filed: 05/11/2004) Telegraph UK:
We were wandering around the souk in Khartoum late at night - dodging the boys selling plastic AK-47s and looking at the camel saddles - when the electricity went. The market was plunged into darkness, and suddenly a hand grabbed my elbow. Anywhere else in the world, particularly in any other fundamentalist Muslim country, I would have been frightened. But in northern Sudan the people are incredibly hospitable to "Khawaja" - Westerners. The man was merely guiding me to the pavement.
Walking by the Nile in the early morning, the washerwomen wave. One man asked if I was Russian. When I explained that I was English, he laughed as he told me that my country had done bad things, going back to Kitchener. In the refugee camps and the homes I visited for The Daily Telegraph Christmas Appeal, everyone offered tea and fizzy drinks.
But they are nervous. In the camps, the tribal elders listen to the BBC Arabic service. In Khartoum, the news was switched off only when Manchester City played Norwich. The presidential election is as crucial to the future of the Sudanese as to Seattle.
"Bush has won," said one man, cradling his head in his hands. Hayder Ahmed is a psychologist. He was imprisoned and tortured by the Sudanese government for refusing to join the army at university. But he says he would prefer any Sudanese government to George W Bush.
"Emotionally, we were for Kerry even though we didn't understand what he stood for," he said.
"After Afghanistan and Iraq, Bush could go for us next," said his friend, Imad Musa. "It's either us, Iran or Syria. He can do what he wants now he has won such a big victory."
In northern Sudan, this is their fear - that they will become the next Iraq, just as their lot seems to be improving. They know the world's attention has swung to the largest country in Africa. In the past three months, they have received visits from Hilary Benn, Colin Powell, Jack Straw, Kofi Annan and Tony Blair. They are becoming used to the motorcades and cameras.
The "Western elders" all lectured them on the atrocities being perpetrated in Darfur. Hilary Benn, the International Development Secretary, called the 1.5 million refugees, and the reports of rape and looting, "unacceptable". Colin Powell made it clear that the Janjaweed irregulars terrifying Darfur had to be bought under control. Kofi Annan begged for peace. And you know, said Mr Blair, it really would be better if the Khartoum regime sorted itself out and held independent elections. Hanging over their words was the threat: if you don't get your act together, you could be next.
In many ways, Sudan is in dire straits, particularly in southern Darfur, where villages continue to be torched by the Janjaweed. But the situation in the rest of the country is improving. In the north, the imams are relaxing their grip. Women walk with their heads uncovered. At an orphanage I visited two years ago, babies found on the streets by the police were often left to die; single mothers were stoned. Now the same police beam as they rush the babies to the doctors.
It is no longer illegal to talk negatively about the regime. As a result, many I met were openly outraged by corruption. Even the ministers are trying belatedly to sharpen up their act. "Iraq has been a lesson to us all," said one Sudanese minister, who didn't want to be named.
"If Americans troops arrive, our country will suffer for another 40 years."
In the Darfur refugee camps, foreign intervention is welcome. The area is suffering from a crippling famine and US Aid, the EU and Britain have flown in enough food to feed one million people for the next six months. The refugees no longer trust their own government, whom they believe armed the nomadic Janjaweed against the farmers.
But everyone else I met wanted to keep the West out. "They are what you call a sticking plaster with their aid, and for that we are very grateful. But what we need is more African Union troops; at present, we only have 3,000 of them to keep the peace," said one Sudanese director of an aid agency. "This continent needs to prove we can change on our own."
Most insist that anything that can be seen as occupation will play into the hands of foreign
fundamentalists. "Arabs, Africans, Christians, Muslims: we will be obliged to take up arms against the West."
Mr Blair has promised that Africa is his top priority. He has been saying that since his party conference speech three years ago. Now he seems to mean it. When Britain takes over the presidency of both the G8 and the European Union next year, Africa will be the main topic.
Sudan is an obvious starting point. So what do the Sudanese think Mr Bush and Mr Blair should do? The answer on the streets is that they should put more pressure on those involved in the peace agreements. Then ensure that Khartoum sticks to its promise of independent elections.
Easier said than done. Britain, when it is not shaking Robert Mugabe's hand, has been pushing for regime change in Zimbabwe for years. Sanctions didn't work in toppling Saddam.
What's different about Sudan? "Everyone has had enough of war. We want to be normal. Every family has lost at least one member," said a paediatrician who fled the south 20 years ago.
The war in Iraq has been both a curse and a blessing to Sudan. It has meant they no longer like America, in the way they liked the America of Ronald Reagan, who gave them aid when they were starving in the 1980s.
But it has also shown everyone - from ministers to imams to rebels - that, if they don't sort out their own affairs, they could become a country occupied by both Western troops and foreign fundamentalists.
http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2004/11/05/do0502.xml&
We were wandering around the souk in Khartoum late at night - dodging the boys selling plastic AK-47s and looking at the camel saddles - when the electricity went. The market was plunged into darkness, and suddenly a hand grabbed my elbow. Anywhere else in the world, particularly in any other fundamentalist Muslim country, I would have been frightened. But in northern Sudan the people are incredibly hospitable to "Khawaja" - Westerners. The man was merely guiding me to the pavement.
Walking by the Nile in the early morning, the washerwomen wave. One man asked if I was Russian. When I explained that I was English, he laughed as he told me that my country had done bad things, going back to Kitchener. In the refugee camps and the homes I visited for The Daily Telegraph Christmas Appeal, everyone offered tea and fizzy drinks.
But they are nervous. In the camps, the tribal elders listen to the BBC Arabic service. In Khartoum, the news was switched off only when Manchester City played Norwich. The presidential election is as crucial to the future of the Sudanese as to Seattle.
"Bush has won," said one man, cradling his head in his hands. Hayder Ahmed is a psychologist. He was imprisoned and tortured by the Sudanese government for refusing to join the army at university. But he says he would prefer any Sudanese government to George W Bush.
"Emotionally, we were for Kerry even though we didn't understand what he stood for," he said.
"After Afghanistan and Iraq, Bush could go for us next," said his friend, Imad Musa. "It's either us, Iran or Syria. He can do what he wants now he has won such a big victory."
In northern Sudan, this is their fear - that they will become the next Iraq, just as their lot seems to be improving. They know the world's attention has swung to the largest country in Africa. In the past three months, they have received visits from Hilary Benn, Colin Powell, Jack Straw, Kofi Annan and Tony Blair. They are becoming used to the motorcades and cameras.
The "Western elders" all lectured them on the atrocities being perpetrated in Darfur. Hilary Benn, the International Development Secretary, called the 1.5 million refugees, and the reports of rape and looting, "unacceptable". Colin Powell made it clear that the Janjaweed irregulars terrifying Darfur had to be bought under control. Kofi Annan begged for peace. And you know, said Mr Blair, it really would be better if the Khartoum regime sorted itself out and held independent elections. Hanging over their words was the threat: if you don't get your act together, you could be next.
In many ways, Sudan is in dire straits, particularly in southern Darfur, where villages continue to be torched by the Janjaweed. But the situation in the rest of the country is improving. In the north, the imams are relaxing their grip. Women walk with their heads uncovered. At an orphanage I visited two years ago, babies found on the streets by the police were often left to die; single mothers were stoned. Now the same police beam as they rush the babies to the doctors.
It is no longer illegal to talk negatively about the regime. As a result, many I met were openly outraged by corruption. Even the ministers are trying belatedly to sharpen up their act. "Iraq has been a lesson to us all," said one Sudanese minister, who didn't want to be named.
"If Americans troops arrive, our country will suffer for another 40 years."
In the Darfur refugee camps, foreign intervention is welcome. The area is suffering from a crippling famine and US Aid, the EU and Britain have flown in enough food to feed one million people for the next six months. The refugees no longer trust their own government, whom they believe armed the nomadic Janjaweed against the farmers.
But everyone else I met wanted to keep the West out. "They are what you call a sticking plaster with their aid, and for that we are very grateful. But what we need is more African Union troops; at present, we only have 3,000 of them to keep the peace," said one Sudanese director of an aid agency. "This continent needs to prove we can change on our own."
Most insist that anything that can be seen as occupation will play into the hands of foreign
fundamentalists. "Arabs, Africans, Christians, Muslims: we will be obliged to take up arms against the West."
Mr Blair has promised that Africa is his top priority. He has been saying that since his party conference speech three years ago. Now he seems to mean it. When Britain takes over the presidency of both the G8 and the European Union next year, Africa will be the main topic.
Sudan is an obvious starting point. So what do the Sudanese think Mr Bush and Mr Blair should do? The answer on the streets is that they should put more pressure on those involved in the peace agreements. Then ensure that Khartoum sticks to its promise of independent elections.
Easier said than done. Britain, when it is not shaking Robert Mugabe's hand, has been pushing for regime change in Zimbabwe for years. Sanctions didn't work in toppling Saddam.
What's different about Sudan? "Everyone has had enough of war. We want to be normal. Every family has lost at least one member," said a paediatrician who fled the south 20 years ago.
The war in Iraq has been both a curse and a blessing to Sudan. It has meant they no longer like America, in the way they liked the America of Ronald Reagan, who gave them aid when they were starving in the 1980s.
But it has also shown everyone - from ministers to imams to rebels - that, if they don't sort out their own affairs, they could become a country occupied by both Western troops and foreign fundamentalists.
http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2004/11/05/do0502.xml&
Darfur crisis now affects two million, UN reports
Copy of report:
THE crisis in Darfur is now affecting at least two million people as violence and insecurity in the war-torn region of Sudan intensify, the United Nations warned last night.
Kofi Annan, the UN general secretary, accused the Sudanese government and rebels of trying to take more territory in Darfur, and spoke of strong indications that war crimes have been committed in the region.
The UN has demanded that Khartoum take action to end the violence, disarm the government-backed Janjaweed militias blamed for many attacks and punish the perpetrators.
The latest evidence of continued fighting in Darfur is contained in a report which went before the UN Security Council last night.
The report, written by Jan Pronk, the senior UN envoy to Sudan, recommends council members take "prompt action" to get the government and rebels to comply with UN resolutions and urges countries with influence to exert pressure on the parties to negotiate a peace deal.
According to copies of the report circulated ahead of publication, the estimate of people in Darfur affected by the conflict rose during September from 1.8 million to 2 million, an upward trend expected to continue until the end of the year.
The increase stems mainly from the growing number of internally displaced people who have fled their homes because of insecurity, now 1.6 million, the report said. A further 400,000 people affected by the conflict require humanitarian assistance.
The report said various sources had reported a new rebel group, the National Movement for Reformation and Development, has attacked government troops and threatened African Union troops deployed to help end the violence.
Until the government starts taking more than "pinprick" action against the perpetrators, the report warned, no displaced people will dare return home and no group will agree to disarm.
"Without an end to impunity, banditry goes from strength to strength, menacing the population and obstructing the delivery of aid to desperate people in isolated areas," the report said.
"There are strong indications that war crimes and crimes against humanity have occurred in Darfur on a large and systematic scale."
An international commission appointed by Mr Annan has three months to study human rights violations and determine whether genocide has occurred in Darfur.
THE crisis in Darfur is now affecting at least two million people as violence and insecurity in the war-torn region of Sudan intensify, the United Nations warned last night.
Kofi Annan, the UN general secretary, accused the Sudanese government and rebels of trying to take more territory in Darfur, and spoke of strong indications that war crimes have been committed in the region.
The UN has demanded that Khartoum take action to end the violence, disarm the government-backed Janjaweed militias blamed for many attacks and punish the perpetrators.
The latest evidence of continued fighting in Darfur is contained in a report which went before the UN Security Council last night.
The report, written by Jan Pronk, the senior UN envoy to Sudan, recommends council members take "prompt action" to get the government and rebels to comply with UN resolutions and urges countries with influence to exert pressure on the parties to negotiate a peace deal.
According to copies of the report circulated ahead of publication, the estimate of people in Darfur affected by the conflict rose during September from 1.8 million to 2 million, an upward trend expected to continue until the end of the year.
The increase stems mainly from the growing number of internally displaced people who have fled their homes because of insecurity, now 1.6 million, the report said. A further 400,000 people affected by the conflict require humanitarian assistance.
The report said various sources had reported a new rebel group, the National Movement for Reformation and Development, has attacked government troops and threatened African Union troops deployed to help end the violence.
Until the government starts taking more than "pinprick" action against the perpetrators, the report warned, no displaced people will dare return home and no group will agree to disarm.
"Without an end to impunity, banditry goes from strength to strength, menacing the population and obstructing the delivery of aid to desperate people in isolated areas," the report said.
"There are strong indications that war crimes and crimes against humanity have occurred in Darfur on a large and systematic scale."
An international commission appointed by Mr Annan has three months to study human rights violations and determine whether genocide has occurred in Darfur.
Pronk's latest report for UNSC demands no concrete measures
Editorial: The Heart Of Darkness - 5 November 2004 - copy of report and other notes:
The report by Jan Pronk, the United Nations’ envoy to Darfur, makes grim reading, indeed. Since the UN became involved in Darfur the number of refugees has doubled to almost two million. And more are coming in every day. Fleeing refuges, mostly women and children, have been slaughtered at a rate of 2,000 a day.
Pronk uses strong language for a diplomat. He reports that war crimes are being committed “on a large and systematic scale”, and that both the Khartoum authorities and the rebel militias are engaged in grabbing as much territory as they can even if that means destroying the lives of numerous people.
Although Pronk minces no words, his report is ultimately disappointing because he demands no concrete measures to cope with a situation that he labels as desperate. All he does is call for “urgent action” and more money. Writing a check for $150 million as Pronk demands, of course, is not hard for the major powers. What is harder is to decide what action to take on the ground.
The United Nations, still sulking over the toppling of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, is clearly reluctant to recommend military action even under its own flag. This deliberate and rather pompous exclusion of all forms of military action cannot but weaken the UN’s position in Sudan. The reason is not hard to divine. Why should the rival military gangs, involved in this genocidal struggle, stop their activities if they know that they can do so with impunity?
The tragedy in Darfur has exposed the dangers of the entire do-good industry of which the United Nations’ is the center. This industry provides food, medical aid and shelter in conflict situations. By doing so it enables the parties to the conflict to use all their resources for war rather than meeting the basic demands that the good-industry is meeting. In Darfur the UN is feeding villagers who will be killed tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. But it is also, indirectly, feeding the killers. The UN builds the tent cities that receive villagers driven out of their homes, but also attract others who simply wish to flee poverty.
That the UN has decided to speak out on Darfur, rather than remain silent as it did during the Rwandan genocide, is welcome. But speaking out is not enough. Passing yet another Security Council resolution would not save a single life in Darfur. Another “serious warning” from Kofi Annan is unlikely to put the fear of God in the Janjaweed killers or their manipulators.
Later this month, the Kenyan capital Nairobi will host a peace conference on Sudan. The Sudanese government and the rebel Sudan people’s Liberation Army (SPLA) are scheduled to finalize a peace accord brokered by the United States after months of negotiations. The peace accord will enable the Sudanese government to divert some of its resources from fighting an endless war in the south to other pursuits. By all indications Khartoum intends to use those resources for a more aggressive policy in Darfur. And that is bad news for the people of Darfur.
- - -
Pronk said Arab tribes drove their neighbors off their land two years ago to get more space for themselves and their cattle in an act of "pure ethnic cleansing." But now it was payback time, with rebels stealing cattle and blocking camel tracks "leading to a survival of the fittest and death for the weakest."
Pronk said the government no longer fully controlled the militias, with lines between the military, militia and police blurred. And he said the rebels were split, fighting each other for private gain and taking no responsibility for damages and loss of life as they gained territory. "We may soon find Darfur is ruled by warlords," Pronk said.
Pronk said the council should speak with "one voice" when its goes to Nairobi in an effort to seal an agreement between the government and rebel groups in the south, which might serve as a model for Darfur as well as insist on a timetable for talks being held on the Darfur crisis.
The report by Jan Pronk, the United Nations’ envoy to Darfur, makes grim reading, indeed. Since the UN became involved in Darfur the number of refugees has doubled to almost two million. And more are coming in every day. Fleeing refuges, mostly women and children, have been slaughtered at a rate of 2,000 a day.
Pronk uses strong language for a diplomat. He reports that war crimes are being committed “on a large and systematic scale”, and that both the Khartoum authorities and the rebel militias are engaged in grabbing as much territory as they can even if that means destroying the lives of numerous people.
Although Pronk minces no words, his report is ultimately disappointing because he demands no concrete measures to cope with a situation that he labels as desperate. All he does is call for “urgent action” and more money. Writing a check for $150 million as Pronk demands, of course, is not hard for the major powers. What is harder is to decide what action to take on the ground.
The United Nations, still sulking over the toppling of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, is clearly reluctant to recommend military action even under its own flag. This deliberate and rather pompous exclusion of all forms of military action cannot but weaken the UN’s position in Sudan. The reason is not hard to divine. Why should the rival military gangs, involved in this genocidal struggle, stop their activities if they know that they can do so with impunity?
The tragedy in Darfur has exposed the dangers of the entire do-good industry of which the United Nations’ is the center. This industry provides food, medical aid and shelter in conflict situations. By doing so it enables the parties to the conflict to use all their resources for war rather than meeting the basic demands that the good-industry is meeting. In Darfur the UN is feeding villagers who will be killed tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. But it is also, indirectly, feeding the killers. The UN builds the tent cities that receive villagers driven out of their homes, but also attract others who simply wish to flee poverty.
That the UN has decided to speak out on Darfur, rather than remain silent as it did during the Rwandan genocide, is welcome. But speaking out is not enough. Passing yet another Security Council resolution would not save a single life in Darfur. Another “serious warning” from Kofi Annan is unlikely to put the fear of God in the Janjaweed killers or their manipulators.
Later this month, the Kenyan capital Nairobi will host a peace conference on Sudan. The Sudanese government and the rebel Sudan people’s Liberation Army (SPLA) are scheduled to finalize a peace accord brokered by the United States after months of negotiations. The peace accord will enable the Sudanese government to divert some of its resources from fighting an endless war in the south to other pursuits. By all indications Khartoum intends to use those resources for a more aggressive policy in Darfur. And that is bad news for the people of Darfur.
- - -
Pronk said Arab tribes drove their neighbors off their land two years ago to get more space for themselves and their cattle in an act of "pure ethnic cleansing." But now it was payback time, with rebels stealing cattle and blocking camel tracks "leading to a survival of the fittest and death for the weakest."
Pronk said the government no longer fully controlled the militias, with lines between the military, militia and police blurred. And he said the rebels were split, fighting each other for private gain and taking no responsibility for damages and loss of life as they gained territory. "We may soon find Darfur is ruled by warlords," Pronk said.
Pronk said the council should speak with "one voice" when its goes to Nairobi in an effort to seal an agreement between the government and rebel groups in the south, which might serve as a model for Darfur as well as insist on a timetable for talks being held on the Darfur crisis.
Bono, McCartney join Band Aid 20 lineup
Friday, November 5, 2004 LONDON - Paul McCartney, U2 frontman Bono, Robbie Williams and Dido are among the performers lined up for the new recording of the all-star Band Aid charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas."
The tune, which will be credited to Band Aid 20 in acknowledgement of the anniversary of the 1984 release, will be issued November 29 in the UK on Mercury/Universal.
Others on board include Snow Patrol and Natasha Bedingfield. McCartney will play bass on the track and Bono will reprise one of the most famous lines in the original lyric: "Well tonight, thank God it's them instead of you."
McCartney, Williams and Dido are understood to be recording their parts separately from the November 14 session at London's Air Studios; Williams recorded the whole track in Los Angeles on Monday.
British artist Damien Hirst will design the sleeve artwork for the release, which will raise money for the Band Aid Trust's famine relief in Africa, specifically in the blighted Darfur region of Sudan.
Travis' Fran Healy will play guitar on the recording. "It's dead exciting," he told Billboard.com. "When it was first recorded, I was 11 and I went everywhere looking for it and I couldn't find it, and now we're going to do the follow-up to it. It's going to be great, McCartney's doing it, Bono's going to sing his own line, [and] we're going to help out with some music, with Nigel [Godrich, who'll produce the single]. I really wanted to get Franz Ferdinand involved in it -- I think they're going to do it, although I haven't spoken to [executive producer] Midge Ure for about a week now."
"Midge did a thumbnail sketch of the original with new music on it," Healy continued. "He's got the Darkness doing the guitars at the end, and he's changed the arrangement of it. He shipped that over to L.A. where Nigel was working with McCartney. If it turns out absolutely s---, it does not matter. What I will say is you've got to buy the record because it's the only record that's going to save lives this side of Christmas, and you can't ask for more than that."
The tune, which will be credited to Band Aid 20 in acknowledgement of the anniversary of the 1984 release, will be issued November 29 in the UK on Mercury/Universal.
Others on board include Snow Patrol and Natasha Bedingfield. McCartney will play bass on the track and Bono will reprise one of the most famous lines in the original lyric: "Well tonight, thank God it's them instead of you."
McCartney, Williams and Dido are understood to be recording their parts separately from the November 14 session at London's Air Studios; Williams recorded the whole track in Los Angeles on Monday.
British artist Damien Hirst will design the sleeve artwork for the release, which will raise money for the Band Aid Trust's famine relief in Africa, specifically in the blighted Darfur region of Sudan.
Travis' Fran Healy will play guitar on the recording. "It's dead exciting," he told Billboard.com. "When it was first recorded, I was 11 and I went everywhere looking for it and I couldn't find it, and now we're going to do the follow-up to it. It's going to be great, McCartney's doing it, Bono's going to sing his own line, [and] we're going to help out with some music, with Nigel [Godrich, who'll produce the single]. I really wanted to get Franz Ferdinand involved in it -- I think they're going to do it, although I haven't spoken to [executive producer] Midge Ure for about a week now."
"Midge did a thumbnail sketch of the original with new music on it," Healy continued. "He's got the Darkness doing the guitars at the end, and he's changed the arrangement of it. He shipped that over to L.A. where Nigel was working with McCartney. If it turns out absolutely s---, it does not matter. What I will say is you've got to buy the record because it's the only record that's going to save lives this side of Christmas, and you can't ask for more than that."
Emergency Security Officer - Save the Children UK - South Darfur, Sudan
9 months (possible extension to 12 months), Unaccompanied Status
£ 22,744 plus competitive benefits package
Due to the urgent nature of this position, applications will be reviewed as received and prior to the closing date stated below
SC UK has worked in Sudan - both North and South - since the 1950s. The programme seeks a balance between emergency and long-term development and between work with the displaced and host communities.
Due to the current emergency in Darfur, SC UK Sudan programme is expanding its programme in South Darfur, which is a fast changing security environment, characterised by predictable and unpredictable threats. Therefore, the need has arisen for an experienced Security Officer to provide effective security management. Your key areas of responsibility will include:
Supporting the Programme and Area Managers to implement SCUK Sudan Security Guidelines and modifying and adjusting them according to the local security situation.
Developing site specific security and evacuation plans.
Conducting threat/risk assessments and compiling reports on security assessments of SCUK sites.
Co-ordinating and liasing on SCUK security matters with all actors in the region.
Identifying information sources and creating an information gathering network.
Providing security training for SCUK staff throughout South Darfur.
Supervising country wide communication systems consisting of HR, VHF, satellite and data systems and train staff on the use this equipment and radio protocols.
To fulfil this challenging role you will have substantial experience in overseas humanitarian security in insecure or hostile environments.
You will be able to demonstrate your technical competence in field based communication systems and be experienced in training staff in the use of systems and also on security and safety related subjects.
You will have solid knowledge and understanding of organisational security issues, threat/risk assessment, security management and security awareness in an insecure environment.
Experience of having worked in an area of conflict, together with a willingness to travel within Sudan is essential.
Type of work: Contract. Location: South Darfur, Sudan. Closing date: 19.11.2004. Date job appeared on the site:05.11.2004
To apply: Recruitment and selection procedures and checks reflect our commitment to the protection of children from abuse. Save the Children aims to be an equal opportunities employer.
Please apply online to help reduce our costs: www.savethechildren.org.uk/jobs
Alternatively, if you have problems applying on line please send your c.v. and covering letter to jobs eafrica@savethechildren.org.uk quoting Ref. EA 2507
Closing date: 19th November 2004
http://www.oneworld.net/job/view/10437
£ 22,744 plus competitive benefits package
Due to the urgent nature of this position, applications will be reviewed as received and prior to the closing date stated below
SC UK has worked in Sudan - both North and South - since the 1950s. The programme seeks a balance between emergency and long-term development and between work with the displaced and host communities.
Due to the current emergency in Darfur, SC UK Sudan programme is expanding its programme in South Darfur, which is a fast changing security environment, characterised by predictable and unpredictable threats. Therefore, the need has arisen for an experienced Security Officer to provide effective security management. Your key areas of responsibility will include:
Supporting the Programme and Area Managers to implement SCUK Sudan Security Guidelines and modifying and adjusting them according to the local security situation.
Developing site specific security and evacuation plans.
Conducting threat/risk assessments and compiling reports on security assessments of SCUK sites.
Co-ordinating and liasing on SCUK security matters with all actors in the region.
Identifying information sources and creating an information gathering network.
Providing security training for SCUK staff throughout South Darfur.
Supervising country wide communication systems consisting of HR, VHF, satellite and data systems and train staff on the use this equipment and radio protocols.
To fulfil this challenging role you will have substantial experience in overseas humanitarian security in insecure or hostile environments.
You will be able to demonstrate your technical competence in field based communication systems and be experienced in training staff in the use of systems and also on security and safety related subjects.
You will have solid knowledge and understanding of organisational security issues, threat/risk assessment, security management and security awareness in an insecure environment.
Experience of having worked in an area of conflict, together with a willingness to travel within Sudan is essential.
Type of work: Contract. Location: South Darfur, Sudan. Closing date: 19.11.2004. Date job appeared on the site:05.11.2004
To apply: Recruitment and selection procedures and checks reflect our commitment to the protection of children from abuse. Save the Children aims to be an equal opportunities employer.
Please apply online to help reduce our costs: www.savethechildren.org.uk/jobs
Alternatively, if you have problems applying on line please send your c.v. and covering letter to jobs eafrica@savethechildren.org.uk quoting Ref. EA 2507
Closing date: 19th November 2004
http://www.oneworld.net/job/view/10437
Thursday, November 04, 2004
Tensions Rise in Sudan As Rebels And Government Begin to Lose Control, UN Says
UN News Service (New York) November 4, 2004 - copy of report:
With both Sudan's government and its rebels losing control of their fighting forces in troubled Darfur, warlords may take over unless an international peacekeeping force is fully deployed, negotiations are speeded up and political leaders are held accountable for their actions, the United Nations envoy for Sudan said today.
"The government does not control its own forces fully," Special Representative Jan Pronk told the Security Council in a briefing on Secretary-General Kofi Annan's monthly report on the situation in the war-torn region. "It co-opted paramilitary forces and now it cannot count on their obedience The border lines between the military, the paramilitary and the police are being blurred."
Within the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) "there is a leadership crisis," Mr. Pronk said. "There are splits. Some commanders provoke their adversaries by stealing, hijacking and killing, some seem to have begun acting for their own private gain."
The rebels now control so much of the territory that they must take responsibility for the people there and become political leaders, he said, "or they may turn to preying on the civilians in areas they control by force - and we may soon find Darfur is ruled by warlords."
Tensions have been rising since August and, as of November, fighting and provocation have become more widespread, threatening food production and putting the whole population at risk of becoming dependent on humanitarian aid, Mr. Pronk said.
"Governmental authorities are not able to exert a moderating influence, or they respond with untimely and even counter-productive measures," he said.
At a news conference after his briefing, Mr. Pronk said the deployment of an adequate number of African Union (AU) troops was being delayed by bureaucracy, lack of funding and differing perceptions of the situation on the ground.
The planned Security Council meeting later this month in Nairobi, Kenya, could convince the parties that they are expected to negotiate in good faith and adopt a Declaration of Principles, a timeframe and detailed agenda for further political issues, he said.
The Secretary-General's report pointed out that despite slow political progress, "violence in Darfur is on the rise. New movements are threatening the peace in Kordofan, in the East and in Khartoum. There is reluctance at the negotiating table in Abuja (Nigeria), distrust, internal division, lack of capacity to negotiate and no sense of urgency."
In Darfur, the Sudanese Government's failure to end impunity has discouraged both disarmament of fighters and repatriation from refugee and internally displaced persons' (IDP) camps, as "banditry goes from strength to strength," it says.
The Government "must build on the very limited action it has taken so far and present a comprehensive and concrete programme for holding accountable those responsible for widespread and systematic violations over the past year or more," the report says.
After the briefing, Ambassador John C. Danforth of the United States, which holds the Council's rotating presidency for November, read a press statement in which the 15 members voiced their deep concern about the findings in Mr. Annan's report and the deterioration in the security and humanitarian situation confirmed in Mr. Pronk's briefing.
They condemned attacks on civilians, sexual violence, hostage-taking and other violations in Darfur "by all parties, including the Government of the Sudan, rebel groups and the Janjaweed militias," Ambassador Danforth said.
Concerned about the government's forced relocation of IDPs in Otash, Old Sharief and New Sharief, contrary to Council resolutions approved earlier this year, the Council called on the Sudanese Government once more to cease all forcible relocations, return those removed and allow relief workers immediate access to all internally displaced people's camps.
With both Sudan's government and its rebels losing control of their fighting forces in troubled Darfur, warlords may take over unless an international peacekeeping force is fully deployed, negotiations are speeded up and political leaders are held accountable for their actions, the United Nations envoy for Sudan said today.
"The government does not control its own forces fully," Special Representative Jan Pronk told the Security Council in a briefing on Secretary-General Kofi Annan's monthly report on the situation in the war-torn region. "It co-opted paramilitary forces and now it cannot count on their obedience The border lines between the military, the paramilitary and the police are being blurred."
Within the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) "there is a leadership crisis," Mr. Pronk said. "There are splits. Some commanders provoke their adversaries by stealing, hijacking and killing, some seem to have begun acting for their own private gain."
The rebels now control so much of the territory that they must take responsibility for the people there and become political leaders, he said, "or they may turn to preying on the civilians in areas they control by force - and we may soon find Darfur is ruled by warlords."
Tensions have been rising since August and, as of November, fighting and provocation have become more widespread, threatening food production and putting the whole population at risk of becoming dependent on humanitarian aid, Mr. Pronk said.
"Governmental authorities are not able to exert a moderating influence, or they respond with untimely and even counter-productive measures," he said.
At a news conference after his briefing, Mr. Pronk said the deployment of an adequate number of African Union (AU) troops was being delayed by bureaucracy, lack of funding and differing perceptions of the situation on the ground.
The planned Security Council meeting later this month in Nairobi, Kenya, could convince the parties that they are expected to negotiate in good faith and adopt a Declaration of Principles, a timeframe and detailed agenda for further political issues, he said.
The Secretary-General's report pointed out that despite slow political progress, "violence in Darfur is on the rise. New movements are threatening the peace in Kordofan, in the East and in Khartoum. There is reluctance at the negotiating table in Abuja (Nigeria), distrust, internal division, lack of capacity to negotiate and no sense of urgency."
In Darfur, the Sudanese Government's failure to end impunity has discouraged both disarmament of fighters and repatriation from refugee and internally displaced persons' (IDP) camps, as "banditry goes from strength to strength," it says.
The Government "must build on the very limited action it has taken so far and present a comprehensive and concrete programme for holding accountable those responsible for widespread and systematic violations over the past year or more," the report says.
After the briefing, Ambassador John C. Danforth of the United States, which holds the Council's rotating presidency for November, read a press statement in which the 15 members voiced their deep concern about the findings in Mr. Annan's report and the deterioration in the security and humanitarian situation confirmed in Mr. Pronk's briefing.
They condemned attacks on civilians, sexual violence, hostage-taking and other violations in Darfur "by all parties, including the Government of the Sudan, rebel groups and the Janjaweed militias," Ambassador Danforth said.
Concerned about the government's forced relocation of IDPs in Otash, Old Sharief and New Sharief, contrary to Council resolutions approved earlier this year, the Council called on the Sudanese Government once more to cease all forcible relocations, return those removed and allow relief workers immediate access to all internally displaced people's camps.
International Officials Look Into Relocation of Displaced People in Darfur
By Cathy Majtenyi - Nairobi - 4 November 2004:
An intergovernmental organization says it is looking into what it calls the forced relocation of displaced people in the war-torn Darfur region of western Sudan. The Sudanese government has denied any wrongdoing in the relocation.
The International Organization for Migration is investigating the circumstances under which several thousand residents of camps in Nyala, south Darfur were transferred to different locations by Sudanese troops earlier this week.
The International Organization for Migration, which works closely with the United Nations, wants to determine if the Sudanese government has been abiding by the terms of an earlier agreement on how to deal with internally displaced people in Darfur.
The head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Khartoum, Ramesh Rajasingham, explains.
"According to the agreement that we have with the government here that has been signed between the International Organization of Migration and the government of Sudan, the authorities have to inform IOM of any voluntary movement of IDPs so that IOM can then go and view their specific criteria that they have established to determine whether the IDPs have moved voluntarily or not," he said. "This did not take place."
Mr. Rajasingham said many displaced people reported that they were moved involuntarily. He said it is against international law for displaced people to be transferred to different locations against their will.
"We are also very concerned that the IDPs, who already suffered more than enough, are then put under increasing pressure not of their own will," he said. "They are traumatized and in addition to that they now have to go through this forced move."
The spokesman for Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohamed Ahmed Abdel Ghassar, told VOA there was only one location where people were transferred out of.
He said the settlement was not a camp for internally displaced people set up by the government or the International Organization for Migration, but was actually a group of 154 squatter families who were living illegally on private land.
"Of course, the owners, the landlords of this land came and requested that this is their land and they have to get it back," he said. "And the authorities tried to convince them that they can be moved to another place, especially [since] the place where they have been was not good, it was not healthy, and they accepted."
Mr. Ghassar said the residents moved voluntarily, but when they got to the new location, they started rioting and were stopped by Sudanese security forces.
He said the Sudanese government is also investigating the situation.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2004-11-04-voa38.cfm
An intergovernmental organization says it is looking into what it calls the forced relocation of displaced people in the war-torn Darfur region of western Sudan. The Sudanese government has denied any wrongdoing in the relocation.
The International Organization for Migration is investigating the circumstances under which several thousand residents of camps in Nyala, south Darfur were transferred to different locations by Sudanese troops earlier this week.
The International Organization for Migration, which works closely with the United Nations, wants to determine if the Sudanese government has been abiding by the terms of an earlier agreement on how to deal with internally displaced people in Darfur.
The head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Khartoum, Ramesh Rajasingham, explains.
"According to the agreement that we have with the government here that has been signed between the International Organization of Migration and the government of Sudan, the authorities have to inform IOM of any voluntary movement of IDPs so that IOM can then go and view their specific criteria that they have established to determine whether the IDPs have moved voluntarily or not," he said. "This did not take place."
Mr. Rajasingham said many displaced people reported that they were moved involuntarily. He said it is against international law for displaced people to be transferred to different locations against their will.
"We are also very concerned that the IDPs, who already suffered more than enough, are then put under increasing pressure not of their own will," he said. "They are traumatized and in addition to that they now have to go through this forced move."
The spokesman for Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohamed Ahmed Abdel Ghassar, told VOA there was only one location where people were transferred out of.
He said the settlement was not a camp for internally displaced people set up by the government or the International Organization for Migration, but was actually a group of 154 squatter families who were living illegally on private land.
"Of course, the owners, the landlords of this land came and requested that this is their land and they have to get it back," he said. "And the authorities tried to convince them that they can be moved to another place, especially [since] the place where they have been was not good, it was not healthy, and they accepted."
Mr. Ghassar said the residents moved voluntarily, but when they got to the new location, they started rioting and were stopped by Sudanese security forces.
He said the Sudanese government is also investigating the situation.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2004-11-04-voa38.cfm
Monday, November 01, 2004
Government of Sudan and the international community have completely failed the people of Darfur
Despite promises, neither the international community nor the Government of Sudan has provided adequate assistance and security to the people in Darfur, concludes international relief organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in a report presented today.
Over a year after their escape from their villages and after countless promises from the Government of Sudan and world leaders, peoples lives are still daily under threat.
"So much talking, so much attention, but so little is changing on the ground with regards to security for civilians," said MSF emergency co-ordinator Ton Koene. "The world has to remind itself the violence and suffering has still not ended."
The MSF report shows the pervasiveness of the violence and appalling consequences of the atrocities committed against people in Darfur. Camps of refuge are anything but -- displaced Darfurians tell MSF that they are living under the guard of some of the same armed men that burned their villages and killed their families. They are too scared to go home and yet frightened to remain where they are. Even now, safety is an illusion for Darfurians.
In this, the Government of Sudan and the international community have completely failed them.
To redress the situation the people of Darfur must have expanded assistance in terms of quality and quantity delivery of aid wherever they have chosen to seek refuge freedom from the threat of violence, the fundamental cause of this crisis.
- - -
SOUTHERN SUDAN PEACE TALKS BREAK FOR ONE MONTH
While fresh fighting breaks out in Darfur, the Southern Sudan peace talks break for a month.
Peace talks to end Sudan's southern war are on hold until later this month, after the U.N. Security Council holds its regular meeting in Nairobi in a move to pressure both sides to sign a deal.
The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the regional body that is chief mediator in the talks, today (Monday) said both sides agreed to shelve negotiations until November 26 when lower-level negotiators will return.
Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) rebel leader John Garang and Sudan's First Vice President Ali Osman Taha are then due to return on December 11 with the aim of finalising a pact to end Africa's longest-running civil war.
- - -
Note, reports say 10,000 refugees are dying every month. The death toll of 70,000 has remained static during past month which means by December, 30,000 more will have died, bringing the death toll to 100,000. (These are UN figures for past seven months only - the UN have no figures for the thirteen months prior to March 2004.)
Several months ago, USAID predicted a death toll of 300,000 by Christmas. Recent reports say a further 100,000 Darfurians may soon flee over the border into Chad, adding unimaginable strain to the 200,000 already there in camps. 85% of deaths in camps are due to malnutrition and disease.
Yesterday, 2,000 Sudanese were reported fleeing for shelter over the border into Uganda.
Sudan's rebel groups are using innocent civilians, and the UN Security Council, as pawns in their war. The rebels' continuing violence, and blocking of aid to 1.5 million hungry and defenceless men, women and children, makes them as evil, greedy and ruthless as the government of Sudan.
Over a year after their escape from their villages and after countless promises from the Government of Sudan and world leaders, peoples lives are still daily under threat.
"So much talking, so much attention, but so little is changing on the ground with regards to security for civilians," said MSF emergency co-ordinator Ton Koene. "The world has to remind itself the violence and suffering has still not ended."
The MSF report shows the pervasiveness of the violence and appalling consequences of the atrocities committed against people in Darfur. Camps of refuge are anything but -- displaced Darfurians tell MSF that they are living under the guard of some of the same armed men that burned their villages and killed their families. They are too scared to go home and yet frightened to remain where they are. Even now, safety is an illusion for Darfurians.
In this, the Government of Sudan and the international community have completely failed them.
To redress the situation the people of Darfur must have expanded assistance in terms of quality and quantity delivery of aid wherever they have chosen to seek refuge freedom from the threat of violence, the fundamental cause of this crisis.
- - -
SOUTHERN SUDAN PEACE TALKS BREAK FOR ONE MONTH
While fresh fighting breaks out in Darfur, the Southern Sudan peace talks break for a month.
Peace talks to end Sudan's southern war are on hold until later this month, after the U.N. Security Council holds its regular meeting in Nairobi in a move to pressure both sides to sign a deal.
The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the regional body that is chief mediator in the talks, today (Monday) said both sides agreed to shelve negotiations until November 26 when lower-level negotiators will return.
Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) rebel leader John Garang and Sudan's First Vice President Ali Osman Taha are then due to return on December 11 with the aim of finalising a pact to end Africa's longest-running civil war.
- - -
Note, reports say 10,000 refugees are dying every month. The death toll of 70,000 has remained static during past month which means by December, 30,000 more will have died, bringing the death toll to 100,000. (These are UN figures for past seven months only - the UN have no figures for the thirteen months prior to March 2004.)
Several months ago, USAID predicted a death toll of 300,000 by Christmas. Recent reports say a further 100,000 Darfurians may soon flee over the border into Chad, adding unimaginable strain to the 200,000 already there in camps. 85% of deaths in camps are due to malnutrition and disease.
Yesterday, 2,000 Sudanese were reported fleeing for shelter over the border into Uganda.
Sudan's rebel groups are using innocent civilians, and the UN Security Council, as pawns in their war. The rebels' continuing violence, and blocking of aid to 1.5 million hungry and defenceless men, women and children, makes them as evil, greedy and ruthless as the government of Sudan.
"Belated Birthday Greetings to the UN" - Rwanda in slow motion
Here is a must-read report for new visitors to this site, and regulars who may be in need of a refresher - along with the following post "Belated Birthday Greetings to the UN" by British blogger Eric:
The 24th of October was the UN's birthday. I would have posted something about it on the day, but I was far too busy baking a cake (chocolate cake, before you ask) to celebrate the outstanding success it has had in recent years in promoting "international peace and security," and "universal respect for and observance of human rights."
If you doubt the UN's ability to carry out this last task, then put you mind at rest. The enlightened attitudes at the UN mean that the Sudan can still hold a seat on the UN Commission on Human Rights. At least the Sudan government are well qualified to recognise human rights abuses:
TWENTY-TWO-year-old Fatima Ahmed speaks stoically about the events of that morning in August 2003 that have left her biding her time on a mat under a makeshift canopy in Touloum refugee camp, serving visitors heavily chlorinated water from relief rations.
It was early morning, she said, when the helicopter gunships and warplanes assaulted her village of Abu Gamra in northern Darfur. She recalled people playing dead during the airstrike to survive.
But that did not spare some of the Zaghawa villagers. The aerial attack was followed by the arrival of government soldiers in trucks and janjaweed on horses and camels.
They began killing children and adults indiscriminately, Ahmed said.
Her father and at least nine others in her family were among those killed. Other family members were captured. She does not know their fate.
The attack was not directed at rebels, Ahmed said. "The government and janjaweed know the location of the liberation army, but they attack the poor people in villages," she said.
Slice of chocolate cake anyone?
Thought not.
posted by Eric.
- - -
Note to Jim and friends at passionofthepresent.org - After six months of blogging almost daily about Darfur, I stand by a post I wrote last April that questioned the tragedy in Darfur and put the spotlight on the UN, EU and aid agencies. I'd be supportive of any initiative that puts pressure on the aid agencies (to lobby for security) and calls for the resignation of Kofi Annan. - Ingrid in UK.
The 24th of October was the UN's birthday. I would have posted something about it on the day, but I was far too busy baking a cake (chocolate cake, before you ask) to celebrate the outstanding success it has had in recent years in promoting "international peace and security," and "universal respect for and observance of human rights."
If you doubt the UN's ability to carry out this last task, then put you mind at rest. The enlightened attitudes at the UN mean that the Sudan can still hold a seat on the UN Commission on Human Rights. At least the Sudan government are well qualified to recognise human rights abuses:
TWENTY-TWO-year-old Fatima Ahmed speaks stoically about the events of that morning in August 2003 that have left her biding her time on a mat under a makeshift canopy in Touloum refugee camp, serving visitors heavily chlorinated water from relief rations.
It was early morning, she said, when the helicopter gunships and warplanes assaulted her village of Abu Gamra in northern Darfur. She recalled people playing dead during the airstrike to survive.
But that did not spare some of the Zaghawa villagers. The aerial attack was followed by the arrival of government soldiers in trucks and janjaweed on horses and camels.
They began killing children and adults indiscriminately, Ahmed said.
Her father and at least nine others in her family were among those killed. Other family members were captured. She does not know their fate.
The attack was not directed at rebels, Ahmed said. "The government and janjaweed know the location of the liberation army, but they attack the poor people in villages," she said.
Slice of chocolate cake anyone?
Thought not.
posted by Eric.
- - -
Note to Jim and friends at passionofthepresent.org - After six months of blogging almost daily about Darfur, I stand by a post I wrote last April that questioned the tragedy in Darfur and put the spotlight on the UN, EU and aid agencies. I'd be supportive of any initiative that puts pressure on the aid agencies (to lobby for security) and calls for the resignation of Kofi Annan. - Ingrid in UK.
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Eritrea mobilises more troops along Sudan common border: report
This sounds ominous. Sudan started moving its troops - thousands of them along a border a few months ago. 200 French troops are on the Chad-Sudan border. Strange reports come out about Eritrea ranging from Sudan attempting to assassinate the President of Eritrea - to the U.S. running training camps for the Sudan rebels to weaken the regime in Khartoum.
Note the report is by the pro-governmental Al-Anba daily newspaper, and the material is from the BBC Monitoring Service in England.
KHARTOUM, Oct 30, 2004 -- Sudan has obtained important reports about the deployment of some 400 troops by Eritrean authorities from Assab sea port of Eritrea into Sudanese territory.
The reports further said that 250 troops had at the same time been moved from Massawa sea port to the Sudanese border. The reports said the two military groups had joined others already stationed along the Sudanese border, raising their number to 5,900.
The reports said that alongside the deployed troops, seven helicopters have been made available
.
- - -
Tension between Eritrea and Sudan heightens
October 22, 2004 report from Middle East online: Ismail expects Eritrea to launch attack on Sudan after Asmara uncovers Sudanese-backed plot to kill President.
Further reading at Eritrea Daily
Note the report is by the pro-governmental Al-Anba daily newspaper, and the material is from the BBC Monitoring Service in England.
KHARTOUM, Oct 30, 2004 -- Sudan has obtained important reports about the deployment of some 400 troops by Eritrean authorities from Assab sea port of Eritrea into Sudanese territory.
The reports further said that 250 troops had at the same time been moved from Massawa sea port to the Sudanese border. The reports said the two military groups had joined others already stationed along the Sudanese border, raising their number to 5,900.
The reports said that alongside the deployed troops, seven helicopters have been made available
.
- - -
Tension between Eritrea and Sudan heightens
October 22, 2004 report from Middle East online: Ismail expects Eritrea to launch attack on Sudan after Asmara uncovers Sudanese-backed plot to kill President.
Further reading at Eritrea Daily
Saturday, October 30, 2004
Putin Bans Weapons Sales to Janjaweed, Unofficial Groups in Sudan
On October 25, 2004, Moscow News reported that Vladmir Putin has signed a decree banning the sale of all weapons to non-government bodies in Sudan, including the Janjaweed armed groups that have been accused by the international community of genocide in the southern province of Darfur.
The Russian president signed the document “On measures to implement UN Security Council resolution 1556 of 30 July 2004” on Monday, gauging fears his trade with the African state was fueling ethnic strife there by supplying weapons used to kill civilians.
Sudan was billed as Russia’s biggest arms client — since 2002, it has procured MiG-29 fighter-jets, Mi-24 attack helicopters and a range of weapons and munitions.
But Russian weapons sales to Sudan — which were labeled a “model in the use of Russian military platforms to quell an African insurgency” by Middle Eastern news agencies — have sparked concern that the weapons are being used by the Janjaweed in raids against civilians in Darfur to quell what Sudan has called an uprising, but what international groups are saying is genocide.
[via Patrick Hall at The Horn of Africa]
Pity Mr Putin did not extend his decree to include the Government of Sudan. Several months ago I posted something about GoS telling Minsk it had a whole load of spare cash to spend on new weaponary.
The Russian president signed the document “On measures to implement UN Security Council resolution 1556 of 30 July 2004” on Monday, gauging fears his trade with the African state was fueling ethnic strife there by supplying weapons used to kill civilians.
Sudan was billed as Russia’s biggest arms client — since 2002, it has procured MiG-29 fighter-jets, Mi-24 attack helicopters and a range of weapons and munitions.
But Russian weapons sales to Sudan — which were labeled a “model in the use of Russian military platforms to quell an African insurgency” by Middle Eastern news agencies — have sparked concern that the weapons are being used by the Janjaweed in raids against civilians in Darfur to quell what Sudan has called an uprising, but what international groups are saying is genocide.
[via Patrick Hall at The Horn of Africa]
Pity Mr Putin did not extend his decree to include the Government of Sudan. Several months ago I posted something about GoS telling Minsk it had a whole load of spare cash to spend on new weaponary.
U.S. warns rebels to curb attacks in Darfur
The United States is increasingly worried about attacks by rebel groups in Darfur.
Charles Snyder, the U.S. special envoy for Sudan, said yesterday Sudan was making some efforts to respect the cease-fire and to curb the Janjaweed and that he was more worried that the rebel groups SLM and JEM were continuing to launch attacks.
"What I find more disturbing is that many of the incidents that are happening now are (as a result of) rebel action," he added. "The SLM and the JEM have been fairly provocative in their activities ... and we are actually warning them that their best behavior is required in this process as well."
Snyder said that his main objective at the Abuja talks was to get the April 8 Darfur cease-fire to hold, saying a political settlement was a longer term objective but less immediately pressing than the need to stop the violence.
"If the violence is still going on, the political discussion to some degree is pointless" he said, saying both sides might use attacks to influence the talks and simply produce more bloodshed.
Charles Snyder, the U.S. special envoy for Sudan, said yesterday Sudan was making some efforts to respect the cease-fire and to curb the Janjaweed and that he was more worried that the rebel groups SLM and JEM were continuing to launch attacks.
"What I find more disturbing is that many of the incidents that are happening now are (as a result of) rebel action," he added. "The SLM and the JEM have been fairly provocative in their activities ... and we are actually warning them that their best behavior is required in this process as well."
Snyder said that his main objective at the Abuja talks was to get the April 8 Darfur cease-fire to hold, saying a political settlement was a longer term objective but less immediately pressing than the need to stop the violence.
"If the violence is still going on, the political discussion to some degree is pointless" he said, saying both sides might use attacks to influence the talks and simply produce more bloodshed.
Sudan rebels say fresh bombing raids on Darfur threaten peace talks
SLA and the JEM rebels said Sudanese government forces launched fresh bombing raids on areas of Darfur under its control. The raids were in and around the towns of Haskanit on Thursday and Al-Mahla on Friday. Both towns lie near rebel bases.
"If things continue like this, there is no way we are going to stay in Abuja to talk about peace," SLA spokesman said, threatening to counterattack government and Janjaweed forces.
Officials with the AU-backed Cease-fire Commission, in Sudan and Nigeria, said they had no knowledge of the attacks.
During the Darfur peace talks in Nigeria this past week, the Sudanese government and two Darfur rebel groups SLM and JEM each gave separate presentations outlining long-term political solutions to the conflict, but they did not interact.
The government proposed devolving more power to Darfur’s three states. The SLM called for a separation of religion and state.
Neither the government nor the Islamist JEM referred to the role of religion in their proposals.
Face-to-face talks expected late yesterday did not take place. Instead, rebel and government delegates held a series of separate discussions with AU mediators and Nigerian Foreign Minister, aimed at breaking deadlock over a hoped-for security accord.
Last night's discussions went on past midnight, but the mediators failed to get the parties to sign an accord.
Negotiations are expected to reconvene tomorrow.
- - -
Mediators from the African union has proposed a security agreement project for both the two delegations of the government and the rebels who are holding a round of talks in Abuja, capital of Nigeria. One official in the African Union said that the two delegations will study the documents and will be meeting "after several days" to ratify it.
"If things continue like this, there is no way we are going to stay in Abuja to talk about peace," SLA spokesman said, threatening to counterattack government and Janjaweed forces.
Officials with the AU-backed Cease-fire Commission, in Sudan and Nigeria, said they had no knowledge of the attacks.
During the Darfur peace talks in Nigeria this past week, the Sudanese government and two Darfur rebel groups SLM and JEM each gave separate presentations outlining long-term political solutions to the conflict, but they did not interact.
The government proposed devolving more power to Darfur’s three states. The SLM called for a separation of religion and state.
Neither the government nor the Islamist JEM referred to the role of religion in their proposals.
Face-to-face talks expected late yesterday did not take place. Instead, rebel and government delegates held a series of separate discussions with AU mediators and Nigerian Foreign Minister, aimed at breaking deadlock over a hoped-for security accord.
Last night's discussions went on past midnight, but the mediators failed to get the parties to sign an accord.
Negotiations are expected to reconvene tomorrow.
- - -
Mediators from the African union has proposed a security agreement project for both the two delegations of the government and the rebels who are holding a round of talks in Abuja, capital of Nigeria. One official in the African Union said that the two delegations will study the documents and will be meeting "after several days" to ratify it.
Egypt hosts an African ministerial meeting on Darfur
Egypt announced it will host a meeting on Darfur within the few coming days including the foreign ministers of countries that took part in Tripoli summit which was held two weeks ago which are Egypt, Chad, Libya and Sudan.
News reports in Cairo quoted the Egyptian foreign minister Ahmad Abu al-Gheit has asserted Egypt's rejection to imposing sanctions on Sudan and its support for the government of Khartoum.
Abu al-Gheit warned that continued pressure on Sudan will lead to dismantling this country and converting it into several states.
- - -
Sudanese foreign minister Mustafa Othman Ismael started a tour in the countries of the African Union to brief them on latest developments and explaining the official position of the government regarding the crisis.
News reports in Cairo quoted the Egyptian foreign minister Ahmad Abu al-Gheit has asserted Egypt's rejection to imposing sanctions on Sudan and its support for the government of Khartoum.
Abu al-Gheit warned that continued pressure on Sudan will lead to dismantling this country and converting it into several states.
- - -
Sudanese foreign minister Mustafa Othman Ismael started a tour in the countries of the African Union to brief them on latest developments and explaining the official position of the government regarding the crisis.
Ethnic cleansing and genocide investigation: UN Commission due in Khartoum November 6, 2004
UN Commission are due in Khartoum next week to investigate allegations of ethnic cleansing and genocide in Darfur.
Justice Minister Ali Osman Yassin told Al Rai Al Aam newspaper that he was officially notified by the UN on Thursday that the commission would arrive on November 6.
A five-member UN panel has been created by Secretary General Kofi Annan to look into allegations of genocide and investigate reports of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in Darfur.
The Sudanese minister of justice and attorney general Ali Muhammad Othman Yassin said that the UN committee will start its mission by convening a meeting with the Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, the minister of foreign affairs Mustafa Othman Ismael and the minister of the Interior Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hussein.
The Sudanese government announced it is ready to receive the committee and to give it all necessary facilitation and aid to carry out its mission in Darfu
The Sudanese government has said the U.N.'s death toll is hugely exaggerated, putting the toll at about 7,000.
Justice Minister Ali Osman Yassin told Al Rai Al Aam newspaper that he was officially notified by the UN on Thursday that the commission would arrive on November 6.
A five-member UN panel has been created by Secretary General Kofi Annan to look into allegations of genocide and investigate reports of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in Darfur.
The Sudanese minister of justice and attorney general Ali Muhammad Othman Yassin said that the UN committee will start its mission by convening a meeting with the Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, the minister of foreign affairs Mustafa Othman Ismael and the minister of the Interior Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hussein.
The Sudanese government announced it is ready to receive the committee and to give it all necessary facilitation and aid to carry out its mission in Darfu
The Sudanese government has said the U.N.'s death toll is hugely exaggerated, putting the toll at about 7,000.
Darfuris recall ending disputes at Ramadan banquets - Saudi Arabia launches iftar program for Darfur
Wouldn't it be great if all the warring parties in Sudan could settle down to their disputes peacefully at collective itfar banquets?
Many Darfuris have marked Ramadan this year recalling how the holy month acted as a chance for warring parties to settle down their disputes peacefully at collective iftar banquets.
Local inhabitants have waited for collective iftar banquets to break their daylong fast also creating a conductive atmosphere for ending hostilities in the turbulent western Sudanese region.
“Collective Iftar banquets make up the old tradition of defusing tribal tension at table, especially between shepherds and farmers (clashing over green pastures),” said Issa Jales, leader of the African Bergid tribes - the largest in Darfur.
Jales told IslamOnline.net how the 30 days of the holy month were exploited to bury the hatchet whatever complex it was, not to mention paying blood money for killing crimes to end a tribal feud that could have taken a long time to end.
“These iftar meeting had been always capped with sealing reconciliation deals, after which the two sides put their disputes behind their backs and went to Tarawih prayers altogether,” he added.
Jales said the house of the tribe chief has witnessed a buzz of activity by these meetings. He said ending disputes at Ramadan has become part of what he calls happy old days.
The tribe chief said the foreign interference into the situation in Darfur turned things more complex that tribal disputes could not be longer settled on an iftar meal.
He accused the Darfur rebels, emboldened by the foreign intervention into the crisis, of having a far-fetched complex agenda.
“Ramadan has given the hope for convincing rebels in Darfur to lay down weapons and sit for talks with the Khartoum government. Now things slipped out of control following the foreign intervention,” said Jales, a former security official for 35 years.
[Note, the report states "Darfur is known for having large potential reserves of oil and other natural resources."]
- - -
Saudi Arabia launches iftar program for Darfur

Saudi Arabia has launched a project to provide iftar [breakfast] for the displaced population in camps in Darfur. A cargo plane left Riyadh on October 14 carrying 60,000 food baskets for this purpose.
Nice idea but what about the 200,000 Sudanese refugees sitting helplessly in camps in Chad? 10,000 a month are dying in camps. 1.5 million are reported as being displaced. Why is Saudi Arabia not more generous, does anybody know?
Many Darfuris have marked Ramadan this year recalling how the holy month acted as a chance for warring parties to settle down their disputes peacefully at collective iftar banquets.
Local inhabitants have waited for collective iftar banquets to break their daylong fast also creating a conductive atmosphere for ending hostilities in the turbulent western Sudanese region.
“Collective Iftar banquets make up the old tradition of defusing tribal tension at table, especially between shepherds and farmers (clashing over green pastures),” said Issa Jales, leader of the African Bergid tribes - the largest in Darfur.
Jales told IslamOnline.net how the 30 days of the holy month were exploited to bury the hatchet whatever complex it was, not to mention paying blood money for killing crimes to end a tribal feud that could have taken a long time to end.
“These iftar meeting had been always capped with sealing reconciliation deals, after which the two sides put their disputes behind their backs and went to Tarawih prayers altogether,” he added.
Jales said the house of the tribe chief has witnessed a buzz of activity by these meetings. He said ending disputes at Ramadan has become part of what he calls happy old days.
The tribe chief said the foreign interference into the situation in Darfur turned things more complex that tribal disputes could not be longer settled on an iftar meal.
He accused the Darfur rebels, emboldened by the foreign intervention into the crisis, of having a far-fetched complex agenda.
“Ramadan has given the hope for convincing rebels in Darfur to lay down weapons and sit for talks with the Khartoum government. Now things slipped out of control following the foreign intervention,” said Jales, a former security official for 35 years.
[Note, the report states "Darfur is known for having large potential reserves of oil and other natural resources."]
- - -
Saudi Arabia launches iftar program for Darfur

Saudi Arabia has launched a project to provide iftar [breakfast] for the displaced population in camps in Darfur. A cargo plane left Riyadh on October 14 carrying 60,000 food baskets for this purpose.
Nice idea but what about the 200,000 Sudanese refugees sitting helplessly in camps in Chad? 10,000 a month are dying in camps. 1.5 million are reported as being displaced. Why is Saudi Arabia not more generous, does anybody know?
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