Array of amoral governments and rebel groups: Beijing is a key villain in Darfur's tragedy - Russia is also to blame

Land at any airport in Darfur and you see rows of Russian helicopter gunships, bristling with rockets and cannon, ready to raid villages in coordination with the Janjaweed, writes David Blair in the Daily Telegraph 8 February 2006.

David Blair recently visited Darfur where he witnessed the aftermath of a Janjaweed raid that displaced 55,000 people a fortnight ago. In today's article he says Darfur bleeds in the great scramble for Sudan's oil:

"Every village has been wrecked, burned or abandoned and every inch of the vast African plain is devoid of life. For mile after mile, there are no people. The huts they once inhabited are blackened shells. The fields they once worked are empty. There will be no harvest this year, just as there has been no harvest since the outbreak of war. Then, amid desolation and solitude, it becomes brutally obvious where the people are. Kalma refugee camp, with 96,000 inhabitants, teems with life. These are the survivors of the carnage, now reduced to living in shacks made of plastic sheets with "UNHCR" stamped on them.

There are 1.8 million refugees in Darfur and another 200,000 in neighbouring Chad. The unpalatable truth is that they have fallen victim to unscrupulous regimes around the world. During the Cold War, they would have been caught between the two superpowers. Today, China, Russia and a host of African countries are the authors of this tragedy - though primary responsibility must rest with Sudan's regime. ...

Beijing is a key villain in Darfur's tragedy. Russia is also to blame."

Set an example by facing moral responsibility

David Blair thinks what can be done about it is this:

"First, we must give more aid. Aid agencies are scaling down operations because donations are drying up. Secondly, we must send a fully fledged UN peacekeeping force, with a robust mandate and proper logistical support.

But these are only palliatives. We must also face our own moral responsibility. Every time the Janjaweed destroy a village, they shame Britain, America and every country that sat in the council chamber and voted for all those UN resolutions without any apparent intention of enforcing their grand phrases."

Cynical games keep the insurgency alive and fuels the war

Also note he says the Darfur rebels are just as bad as the Janjaweed:

"Amid all the justified outrage over the Janjaweed, Darfur's rebels have escaped much of the blame they deserve. They are just as brutal as the Arab militias. Wrecked villages, all destroyed by the rebels, litter parts of Darfur. The insurgents get their guns from Chad, Libya and Eritrea, which have long-standing grievances against Khartoum. They arm Darfur's rebels as a convenient means of retaliation. This cynical game keeps the insurgency alive and fuels the war.

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Anyone who helps China with energy is a friend

Note, I found this excerpt while looking for factoids showing how much China depends on Sudan for its oil requirements. David Blair quotes the dependency as being 7%. He may be right, I thought it had increased to 20%.

From the Washington Post July 13, 2005 Big Shift in China's Oil Policy by Peter S Goodman:

"No matter if it's rogue's oil or a friend's oil, we don't care," said an energy adviser to the central government who spoke on the condition he not be identified, citing the threat of government disciplinary action. "Human rights? We don't care. We care about oil. Whether Iran would have nuclear weapons or not is not our business. America cares, but Iran is not our neighbor. Anyone who helps China with energy is a friend."

The reason I have posted the excerpt is to say I believe Western companies should be doing business with countries like the Sudan as it may enable them to help locals and give them more leverage with the UN Security Council.

UN says Eritrea, Libya, Chad supply arms to Sudan's Darfur rebels and SPLM/A provided training and arms to SLM/A

Sudan Tribune article links to the full text of a UN report out today that says Eritrea, Libya, Chad supply arms and ammunition to rebel groups in Darfur and southern Sudan's SPLM/A rebel group provided training and supplied arms and ammunition to Darfur rebel group SLM/A.

The article says the report, authored by a UN Panel of experts monitoring arms embargo imposed by resolutions 1556 (2004) and 1591 (2005), points out that the SPLM/A seem to have stopped its official support when it appeared a peace agreement for southern Sudan would be finalised.

Also, regarding the Janjaweed militias the report says it is not possible to deny arms to these militias:

"Because the militias are already formally part of the Government security organs or incorporated into those organs, especially the Popular Defence Force (PDF), the border intelligence guard, the central reserve police, the popular police and the nomadic police."

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Eritrea denies UN charges over Darfur rebel support

AFP report via Sudan Tribune says Eritrean government on Wednesday February 8, 2006 angrily denied charges by a UN panel that it is providing weapons and military support to rebel groups in Darfur in violation of an arms embargo.

Information Minister Ali Abdu said the panel’s conclusion that Eritrea is helping the two Darfur rebel groups was false, accusing the UN of inept ineffectiveness and UN chief Kofi Annan of being corrupt.

"The report is totally groundless," he told AFP. "Instead of pointing futile fingers at others, the UN should question itself, its role in keeping peace and stability in different regions.

[Heh. "Pointing futile fingers". Interesting turn of phrase.]
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Joint border patrols? Sudan and Chad to discuss tension

This should be interesting, especially considering the timing of the above UN report. Today, the BBC says leaders of Chad and Sudan are due to meet in Libya at a regional mini-summit to try to defuse rising tensions between them

"The presidents of the two countries will meet to try to find a way to end the escalating crisis, under the brotherly gaze of Colonel Gaddafi, says the BBC's Jonah Fisher in Khartoum.

"We are meeting... to go beyond the tension between Chad and Sudan and reach practical solutions to overcome the negative issues between the two countries," Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdel-Rahman Shalgam said.

One proposal on the table is thought to be joint border patrols, including forces from the Central African Republic."

[Heh. "Brotherly gaze". Jonah Fisher has a dry sense of humour]

UK White Nile to prospect oil in South Sudan's Block B

Questions over the ownership of oil-rich Ba area of Southern Sudan was put to rest last week when Paul Mayom Akech, legal adviser of the government of Southern Sudan, officially launched oil explorations jointly with British oil and gas exploration company White Nile Ltd in Padak in Jonglei State.

Full report by Philip Ngunjiri, The East African February 7, 2006 via AllAfrica.

Note, Sudan Watch entry April 3, 2005 "Oil found in South Darfur" contains copy of report "Oil issues threaten to derail Sudan hopes for peace." [See below news reports of violence in South Darfur]
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Fighting in Jonglei, South Sudan

Sudanese presidency asks SPLA to explain Jonglei fighting - Khartoum has demanded an explanation from the SPLM re incidents it said occurred in the Jonglei area in South Sudan at the end of last week. - Sudan Tribune Feb 7.
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Further reading on South Darfur, Western Sudan:

Feb 7, 2006 Controlled anarchy at Kalma camp in South Darfur

Feb 4, 2006 South Darfur: Mershing's entire population of 55,000 fled to Menawashi after raids by Janjaweed

Feb 3, 2006 AU says SLA attacks in Shearia and Golo provoked Sudanese forces and prompted reprisal attacks by Janjaweed

Feb 1, 2006 South Darfur: Janjaweed attack IDP camps Kele, Silo, Tege, Um Gozein, Ton Kittir - Mass exodus from Mershing - Joint Sudan/AU forces to patrol?

Jan 29, 2006 Major escalation of violence in Jebel Marra Darfur forces aid agencies to evacuate - UN condemns attack by SLA on Golo

Jan 19. 2006 Firewood patrols for IDPs at Kalma Camp, South Darfur

May 15, 2004 Khartoum wants control over Darfur. The reason is simple: a possible oil pipeline through Darfur. See essay by Dr R.S. O'Fahey, professor of African history at University of Bergen, Norway, and African studies program at Northwestern University" W. Sudan: a complex ethnic reality with a long history

Controlled anarchy at Kalma camp in South Darfur, Sudan

35 year old Andrew Heavens (pictured below) is a journalist based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Meskel Square is his weblog about Ethiopia.

Here are some photos Andrew took during a three-day press trip to El-Fashir in Northern Darfur and Nyala in Southern Darfur with the African Union.

Text is from report by Refugees International Feb 6, 2006 about women in Kalma camp, Darfur by Advocates Sally Chin and Sarah Martin who visited Darfur in December.



Photo: Andrew Heavens (right) with media on African Union helicopter from El-Fashir to Nyala in Darfur, Sudan (Courtesy Andrew Heavens)

"Controlled anarchy" is how one humanitarian worker described Kalma camp, in South Darfur. Located 17 kilometers outside of Nyala, Kalma camp is also one of Darfur's largest, with nearly 90,000 inhabitants.

Most have lived there for nearly two years, fleeing the fighting between rebel groups and government-sponsored Janjaweed militias.



Photo: African Union soldier at Kalma camp for internally displaced people near Nyala, southern Darfur, Sudan (Courtesy Andrew Heavens)

There is no Sudanese government presence or police in Kalma camp. After the government police attempted to arrest of one of the sheikhs, the angry population chased the police and the government camp managers out, burning down their offices. So the police are now stationed a few kilometers outside the entrance to the camp.



Photo: African Union soldier from Nigeria at Kalma camp for internally displaced people near Nyala, southern Darfur, Sudan (Courtesy Andrew Heavens)



In retaliation for being thrown out of the camp, the Sudanese government has cracked down hard on Kalma, blocking all commercial trade to the camp for months.

Recently, the African Union set up a police station inside the camp, bringing some modicum of security. AU civilian police, however, have only a couple of vehicles and one translator at each camp, making routine patrolling difficult.



Photo: African Union soldier controlling crowd at Kalma camp for internally displaced people near Nyala, southern Darfur, Sudan (Courtesy Andrew Heavens)

In addition to the commercial blockade which has depleted the market in the camp, the World Food Program didn't distribute food for months due to an internal dispute over registration. The displaced at Kalma camp depend almost exclusively on international assistance for their subsistence. They are far from their planting fields, their main source of livelihood before the conflict.



Photo: African Union soldiers at Kalma camp for internally displaced people near Nyala, southern Darfur, Sudan (Courtesy Andrew Heavens)

The women from Kalma venture out of the camps to gather firewood, both for their own use and to sell. They also collect the long grass that grows in the desert to feed their donkeys and to braid mats and rugs. Outside the camps they are at risk of attack from bandits and other armed groups. Rape is common. They also come into conflict with nomads who also depend on the same grass for their cattle and other animals.



Photo: Crowd at Kalma camp for internally displaced people near Nyala, southern Darfur, Sudan (Courtesy Andrew Heavens)

At other camps around Nyala, the African Union had set up a regular system of firewood patrols. They hadn't done so yet at Kalma, because of the lack of presence of government of Sudan police. "Since Ramadan," Khadija told RI, "I have only seen the African Union once. He spoke to us and told us to finish up our gathering and go back."



Photo: African Union soldier at Kalma camp for internally displaced people near Nyala, southern Darfur, Sudan (Courtesy Andrew Heavens)



Photo: African Union soldier at Kalma camp for internally displaced people near Nyala, southern Darfur, Sudan. The placard reads: "We need international forces to protect us." (Courtesy Andrew Heavens)



Photo: View of desert outside El-Fashir, northern Darfur, Sudan from African Union helicopter (Courtesy Andrew Heavens)

Sudan reiterates opposition to UN peacekeepers for Darfur

Sudanese officials have portrayed plans for UN involvement as part of a Western plot to weaken Sudan, reports Associated Press Feb 7, 2006:

"There are some invisible hands that continue to manipulate the question of Darfur for tearing up the unity of Sudan in preparation for controlling and looting its resources," President Omar al-Bashir was quoted by the Sudan Media Center as saying on Tuesday. The agency said the president made the remarks at the opening of a regional medical meeting in his capital.

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US Will Move "Fast" And "Far" On Darfur

See US Department of State report February 6, 2006 entitled Sudan: U.S. envoy Bolton says US will move "fast" and "far" on Darfur - via ReliefWeb.
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Two UNHCR officials briefly abducted in Chad

Reuters Feb 7 says two UNHCR officials were briefly abducted in Chad by gunmen and driven towards Darfur, but were freed when their vehicle got a puncture, U.N. officials said on Tuesday.

One of the world's most wanted men: Ugandan LRA terrorist group chief Joseph Kony flees Southern Sudan into DR Congo - UN calls NGOs into Kony hunt

On October 3, 2005 the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrrest warrant for Joseph Kony, leader of the LRA. Ugandan LRA leaders have been named by the ICC as the world's most wanted men.

Today, UN Mission in DR Congo (MONUC) reports that Kony has fled his hideout in southern Sudan and crossed the White Nile heading to the DR Congo.

Associated Press report says Kony crossed into lawless northeastern Congo on Sunday afternoon - and may be heading to Central Africa - and that he passed through Congo's Garamba National Park.

Also today 6 Febuary 2006, All Africa says the UN Security Council is soliciting NGOs working in northern Uganda to help in the hunt for Kony.



Photo: Joseph Kony, leader of LRA. The US government sees LRA a terrorist group. Click on image for report on LRA attack on a civilian truck at Teretenye village near Ikotos in southern Sudan, an indication that the rebels want to destabilise the peace in southern Sudan. The LRA use child soldiers and have caused unbelievable misery for millions of people in Northern Uganda, DR Congo and Southern Sudan. Read 6 Feb 2006 Shocking Ordeal of Child Soldiers.

Note, the US government views the LRA as a terrorist organisation.

For information on the LRA glance through archived posts at Uganda Watch and Congo Watch, some listed here below.



Photo: Gulu victim. The LRA use torture to instil fear. Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has become synonymous with torture, abductions and killings. Click into image for further details. (BBC Sudan Watch archive)

Further reading:

July 31, 2005 Garang warns Kony

Sep 24, 2005 Ugandan LRA rebel chief 'in DR Congo'

Sep 24, 2005 Who are the LRA? Q&A: Uganda's northern rebellion

Oct 2, 2005 Uganda's LRA attempting to close road between Juba and Yei?

Oct 3, 2005 ICC Issues Arrest Warrant for Joseph Kony

Oct 4, 2005 UN mission in DR Congo has said it intends to use all means necessary to drive out the LRA

Oct 4, 2005 UN airlifts Congo troops to deal with Uganda's LRA rebels

Oct 8, 2005 Uganda rebel leaders named by ICC as world's most wanted men

Jan 16, 2006 by David Blair: Joseph Kony: A monster at large

Jan 29, 2006 UN urged by Uganda to rout out LRA from Sudan, DRC

More on Joseph Kony's LRA in archives at Uganda Watch and Congo Watch (see sidebar here).

LRA murdered UN peacekeepers in E Congo



Photo: Workers in Uganda offload caskets holding bodies of eight Guatemalan UN peacekeepers murdered in East Congo by Vincent Otti's group on January 23, 2006. Otti is Kony's deputy.

Daily Telegraph's Africa Correspondent David Blair witnesses and blogs the silent terror of Darfur's refugees

David Blair, Africa Correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, has just returned from his third trip to Darfur. He is based in Johannesburg and first visited Darfur in August 2004. In his blog entry February 3, 2006 he says of Darfur:

"In practice, of course, the war will not end. In fact, it has recently intensified with the rebels fracturing along tribal lines and the pro-regime Janjaweed militia going on the march again. This bears all the hallmarks of a mess that will take decades to solve.

Remember that round one of the civil war in Southern Sudan lasted for 17 years and round two lasted 21 years. I hope to be proven wrong, but unless things change drastically, my hunch is that Darfur's agony will be just as protracted."

Sudan Watch has same hunch, the war could go on for years. Too many bandits benefiting from fighting, none are gainfully employed. More will join in the fray, like bees to a honeypot while millions of defenceless Sudanese women and children continue to suffer.



David Blair (pictured above) in his report on Darfur in the Telegraph 6 February 2006, notes Darfur's nomadic Arab tribes are fighting over scarce water and pasture because the war restricts the area over which they can roam with their flocks.



Photo: Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur, leader of a rival faction of Darfur rebel group SLA at Darfur peace talks in Abuja 4 February 2006. (Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde/Yahoo)

What is more important to the Darfur rebels, oil or water? Fighting for a share in Sudan's wealth gets them uniforms, guns, satellite phones, jet setting lifestyles and shiny new Western style ties and suits.

Surely there is more to this war than meets the eye. Who is funding them? Why are rebel bases in Europe? After nearly two years of blogging Darfur, I still say we do not know half of what is really going on.
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Repeated violences cast doubts on Darfur peace talks - AU mediator

At the Darfur peace currently going on in Abuja, the AU and UN urged warring parties from Darfur to stop the conflict spreading into neighbouring Chad, which has 200,000 Darfur refugees on its territory.



Photo: Jan Pronk, top UN envoy in Sudan at Darfur peace talks in Abuja 4 February 2006. (Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde/Yahoo)

Feb 6, 2006 Darfur rebels accuse Sudan of destabilising Chad with incursions - "Destabilization of Darfur means destabilization of Chad," said Izzedin Abdul, co-founder of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) office in Khartoum. "The next step is for the UN to send troops to Darfur. Otherwise people will die," he added. [Dafur rebels have always insisted on UN troops in Darfur]

US urges NATO to help in Darfur - Russia offers 200 peacekeepers and helicopter strike force as part of UN's Darfur mission

The Scotsman 6 February 2006 says the US yesterday urged NATO to play a bigger role in helping peacekeeping efforts in Darfur amid reports of daily cross-border raids by Janjaweed into neighbouring Chad. Excerpt:

Robert Zoellick, US deputy secretary of state, said NATO could offer more logistics, intelligence and planning assistance to the 7,000-strong African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission in Darfur, including the deployment of a small number of experts on the ground.

Sergei Ivanov, Russia's defence minister, said his country was willing to send 200 peacekeepers and a helicopter strike force to Darfur as part of a UN mission, which could take a year to deploy.

AU troops rely on donor nations - UN troops with guaranteed budget would support AU troops already in Darfur

Reuters says Sudan softens resistance to UN peacekeepers in Darfur.

The report says Sudanese minister al-Samani al-Wasiylah voiced suspicions a UN force would do more than just monitor a ceasefire agreement and said a UN force would cost four to five times as much as the AU needed to continue its work. "If they can make this (cash) available why can they not make this available now for the African Union to continue?" he told reporters in Khartoum.

He said the fact the international community was willing to fund a UN rather than AU force raised questions of whether there were "other intentions" behind it. Sending a new mission to Darfur to try and understand the complex tribal divisions and factionalism among the rebel groups would also worsen the security situation, he added.

Note, the report explains that U.N. peacekeeping missions are paid for from the guaranteed budget of the world body whereas the AU relies on donor nations; UN sources have said any takeover would take the form of an integrated force with additional UN troops being sent to support those AU troops already on the ground.

Sudan has probably "softened" its resistance to these extra troops because it will probably take until next year to become a reality. Meanwhile, life goes on as usual. Tribes fighting and killing and getting away with murder. Savagery continues. Anarchy reins.

AU envoy warns of global scepticism over Darfur peace talks

German news report quotes the African Union's special envoy to the peace talks in Darfur on Sunday as saying the international community was growing increasingly sceptical about the peace process:

"The international community is drawing the conclusion that Darfur is lawless and the parties are not serious about making peace.

Even worse, there is an imagined perception in the world that neither the government nor the rebel groups sufficiently care for their people.

We must have an immediate cessation of hostilities".

Photo: Salim Ahmed Salim
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Darfur: It's not about religion or race. It's about greed

Op-ed on Darfur by Jane Stillwater. Excerpt:

Why is one faction butchering the other?

Greed. Resources. Land. To create chaos. Wherever there is chaos and lawlessness, those with the most guns win. So, race and religion have nothing to do with it apparently. It's all about who has the most weapons. And who can get into the country to acquire the resources of the ignorant, underdeveloped and poor.

It's the same old story -- governments that prey on their people. The powerful few get it all. ... It's a time-tested formula -- create chaos and then take over. Seize the resources. Buy off the army.

Libya to host mini-sumit on Sudan-Chad crisis

Libya to host mini-summit. This time it is about the on Sudan-Chad crisis. One day, Colonel Gaddafi's efforts might lead to a break through. Diplomats are sceptical but he has worked hard to help broker peace for Darfur and has been helpful in opening up new routes into Darfur for aid trucks and air routes for UN WFP to increase food flow to Darfur.

Further reading:

Oct 29, 2004 Summit in Tripoli closed with emphasis on getting aid to the refugees - Sudan hints at Darfur power share - JEM says Libya can play a very vital role

April 3, 2005 Libyan leader Gadhafi receives John Garang's delegation

May 11, 2005 Janjaweed still attacking inside Chad - Libya opens route for UN aid to Darfur

Sep 27, 2005 Darfur Sudan: Mini Mubarak and Gadhafi summit in Cairo

Sep 29, 2005 Chadian president in Libya to meet Gaddafi

Dec 30, 2005 African leaders to meet in Libya Jan 4 on Darfur

Jan 19, 2006 Libya proposes to deploy AU soldiers on Chad-Sudan border.

Jonglei, S Sudan: 7 killed in conflict over water and cattle

Today, Reuters says the UN claims there have been clashes between SSDF and SPLM but the SSDF denies involvement, claiming it was just tribal conflict over water and cattle. Full report.

TEXT- Rebecca De Mabior Briefing in Washington on peace implementation

The late John Garang's wife, Madam Rebecca accompanied by Cdr. Pagan Amum and some delegation from GoSS government arrived to Washington DC on Tuesday 31 January, 2006.

Note TEXT of Rebecca De Mabior Briefing in Washington on peace implementation.

Peacekeeping waterpumps - East Africa a front in war on terrorism

Here's an idea: everyone in the Sudan should hand in their guns in exchange for waterpumps. In return, everyone in the West, who wants to see peace in the Sudan, would happily donate to pay for the pumps, installation and upkeep. Think about it: waterpumps could be the peacekeepers that are needed to stop tribes fighting over water holes, grazing rights, livestock and the farming of arable land.

East Africa a front in war on terrorism

Today, 5 February 2006, the Seattle Times publishes a report authored by Shashank Bengali of Knight Ridder Newspapers.

The report, first published by the Philadelphia Inquirer, was featured here at Sudan Watch on 30 January 2006, thanks to Captain Marlow.

It is about waterpumps and the war on terrorism that most Americans (and the rest of us) haven't heard of. It is a must-read.



Photo: Sgt. 1st Class Adam Reed, from Sidon, Miss., Jan. 17 with Somali farmers in Sankabar, Ethiopia, to check on the water pumps the U.S. military helped install in their fields. (Photo by EVELYN HOCKSTEIN courtesy Knight Ridder Newspapers) via Seattle Times, where you can click into a larger image.

Further reading

Jan 26, 2006 In Darfur, handpumps are on the frontline of peacebuilding

Jan 26, 2006 The children of Sudan are its future - Save the Children

Jan 30. 2006: The war on terrorism that most Americans don't know about

Janjaweed from Darfur 'targeting Chad' almost daily - HRW

Pro-government Janjaweed militiamen based in Darfur are carrying out almost daily cross-border raids on villages in neighbouring Chad, says Human Rights Watch.

HRW researchers said they had documented numerous attacks on villages just inside Chad by militias who had crossed over the border from Sudan. They said the militias killed civilians, burned villages and stole cattle.

Further excerpts from BBC report 5 February 2006:

The human rights agency's report found nearly half of the 85 villages in the Barotta region just inside Chad had been attacked and subsequently abandoned, with 16 villagers killed in a single month.

HRW said they were told by witnesses that those responsible were ethnic Arabs who wore Sudanese army clothing and spoke Sudanese Arabic.

Some attacks have also been carried out by Chadian rebels who operate from bases inside Darfur.

The report said most of the victims in Chad, as in Darfur, came from African ethnic groups and that the Arab civilians living in the same area were not harmed.

Human Rights Watch said tens of thousands of people in Chad had been internally displaced by the violence.

"Sudan's policy of arming militias and letting them loose is spilling over the border and civilians have no protection from their attacks, in Darfur or in Chad," said HRW's Africa director, Peter Takirambudde.

UK offers Sudan gov't 7-Point "Plan for Peace" in Sudan

Today, Asharq Alawsat.com reports one of the points in the British proposal 'Seven Steps for Peace in Sudan' is the Sudanese Government's compliance with the clauses of the peace agreement - and others are: disarmament of the Janjaweed forces, building of personal relations with the rebels' leaders, and the willingness to deploy UN forces in the country without the Sudanese Government imposing any conditions on them.

See Sudan Watch Feb 3: UK sets list of priority actions on Darfur for new Sudanese Government of National Unity.

UN urges Darfur enemies not to export conflict - Khartoum's exporting Janjaweed?

Many of the Sudanese rebels are convinced that Khartoum is backing Chadian rebels to oust Deby, despite the government's repeated denials.

Some delegates in Abuja accuse Khartoum of exporting the Janjaweed militias that have fought in Darfur into Chadian territory.

Senegalese peacekeeper shot in east Chad -minister

A Senegalese soldier from the African Union peacekeeping mission for Darfur has been seriously injured in eastern Chad after being shot by a Chadian soldier, Chad's foreign minister said on Saturday.

South Darfur: Mershing's entire population of 55,000 fled to Menawashi after raids by Janjaweed

On Aug 31, 2004 Sudan Watch noted the UN's quiet diplomacy not working on Sudan - not one Janjaweed camp has been closed.

Here we are in February 2006, still filing reports of Janjaweed attacks affecting tens of thousands of Darfuris, mostly defenceless women and children.

Yesterday, exhausted internally displaced Darfuris were building ramshackle shelters in a dry river bed after 55,000 fled a raid mounted by Janjaweed gunmen reports David Blair, Telegraph correspondent in Menawashi, South Darfur 4 Feb 2006. Excerpts:

The flight took place as President Omar al-Bashir was assuring 53 African leaders gathered for a summit in Khartoum of his desire for peace in Darfur.

Evidence suggests that Sudan's security forces colluded with the Arab raiders.

The first assault took place around noon. Abdul Majid Hassan, 28, was herding cattle with his brother, Tibin, 30, when five Arab gunmen approached on horseback.



Photo: The Janjaweed

"They said, 'Give us your cattle,' " Mr Hassan said. "I told Tibin, 'Give them our cattle to save our lives.' But my brother refused. The Janjaweed raised their guns and I ran."

As he fled, Mr Hassan heard a burst of automatic gunfire. He turned to see that his brother had been shot.

"I went back and found him lying on the ground. There was a bullet in his back. He said, 'I know I am dying. I ask one thing, please take care of my family.' "



Photo: Arab militiamen, known as Janjaweed, said to be responsible for much of the ethnic cleansing and herd raiding in Darfur, check on their cattle. (Photo by Ron Haviv/Courtesy UNICEF. Sudan Watch archive 3 Oct 2005)

About 400 Janjaweed gunmen raided a refugee camp in Mershing, riding among the shelters, beating up or firing on anyone who crossed their path. They returned about eight hours later, attacking the town and looting the market.

Mershing's entire population of 55,000 fled the next morning to Menawashi, 10 miles away. Panic-stricken refugees stampeded, trampling to death about 13 infants. Another 220 children disappeared during the flight.

The surviving members of Tibin Hassan's family had been forced to flee once before when the Janjaweed destroyed their home village in 2004.

Keltoum Adam Ibrahim, 25, was also fleeing with her five terrified children for the second time. "I went to Mershing because I thought the government is there, the police are there, they will protect us," she said. "Now I don't trust them. I saw the police sitting and eating with the Janjaweed before they attacked us."

All the refugees in Menawashi are black Africans, and the Arab-dominated regime views them with deep suspicion.

Evidence suggests that the Janjaweed were unleashed to clear the black Africans from a strategically vital road. Paramilitary police were seen talking to Arab gunmen.



Further reading:

Jan 26, 2005 Terrible things are happening today in Darfur - renewed fighting last week uprooted more than 9,000. 8,000 fled to nearby Menawashi and 1,250 to Mershing, both in South Darfur state.

May 3, 2005 ABC's Interview with Janjaweed leader Musa Hilal in Sudan

May 8, 2005 Janjaweed leader preaches peace in Darfur - Some Darfur tribes agree local settlement



Photo: Musa Hilal - Arab tribal leader and 'leader' of the Janjaweed

Jan 24, 2006 Sudan's SLA rebels launch attack in Golo, West Darfur

Jan 25, 2006 Splintering of rebel groups? Nur's forces captured aid workers? UN helicopter crashes near Golo, West Darfur

Feb 1, 2006: South Darfur: Janjaweed attack IDP camps Kele, Silo, Tege, Um Gozein, Ton Kittir - Mass exodus from Mershing - Joint Sudan/AU forces to patrol?

Feb 1, 2006 Southern Sudan's SPLM/A and SSDF provoke attacks on Yuai, Central Upper Nile

Feb 1, 2006 6,100,000 IDPs in the Sudan - 770,000 fled elsewhere

Feb 2, 2006 AU says no evidence Sudan backing Chadian rebels

Feb 3, 2006 New Janjaweed attacks force more Darfuris into Chad camps

Feb 3, 2006: AU says SLA attacks in Shearia and Golo provoked Sudanese forces and prompted reprisal attacks by Janjaweed



Photo: Chad's camel guards patrol on the Sudan-Chad border in Abulu Kore (Darfur), Eastern Chad, in 2004. (AFP/Thomas Coex/Yahoo - Sudan Watch archive 28 Sep 2005)

Muslim anger spreads round the world - and it is not about Muslims and children perishing in Darfur, Sudan

The Financial Times today says Muslim anger is spreading round the world.

Hey, guess what, they are not outraged at fellow Muslims and children perishing and suffering atrocities in Darfur - they are angry over some cartoons!

As Margaret Thatcher once said, "It's a funny old world".

Today, the BBC says Annan urges calm in cartoon row - the Danish paper's editor told the BBC his intention was to show Muslims they were not exempt from satire.

More on this Muslim outrage at Captain Marlow's in Europe where Marlow links to a post encouraging us to buy Danish as "Muslim countries have chosen to pressure liberal little Denmark in order to teach the media and governments, which stand by them, a lesson which does not bode well for free speech or satire."

UK journalist Melanie Phillips, in Cartoon jihad, says "It is worth reminding ourselves at this juncture what the issue was about from the start of the affair. Gratuitous offensiveness towards Islam or any other religion is not to be approved of. But not only is censorship of such offensiveness another matter, and violence and intimidation arising from it another matter still, this was not in any event gratuitous offence."

Feb 3 ComingAnarchy post authored by Chirol, an American studying in Germany, says We Are All Danes Now and notes that, "The Tension has some rather disturbing images of Muslim protesters with signs reading "Europe learn from 9/11," "Massacre those who insult Islam" and more. You have to see it to believe it. The longer this goes on, the more pessimistic I become about the Middle East's ability to fix its failing culture."

Thomas at Contango in Norway writes An elaboration and some questions saying it is likely the row will continue to escalate, possibly with violent acts to follow and, "Let there be no doubt that the paper obviously is in its right to publish these drawings. There cannot be limits to freedom of speech."

Marcus at UK blog Harry's Place writes Two Minute Hate saying "this Danish cartoon business is rapidly turning into mainland Europe's version of the Satanic Verses affair - the wave of protest was triggered by Sheikh Yussef al-Qaradawi, head of the International Association of Muslim Scholars, who last night called on Muslims all over the world to observe "an international day of anger for God and his prophet"."

UK journalist Stephen Pollard says Danish humour may be no laughing matter, but it must be defended - "They [the cartoons] are certainly offensive to a large number of Muslims, as this week's turmoil shows. But so what? Rather more offensive, one might think, than some mocking cartoons is some Muslims' desire to murder me as a Jew."

And, he goes on to say, "Europe is not part of the Caliphate, whatever some Muslims wish. One of the defining qualities of Western civilisation is that, while religions of all kinds are tolerated, their beliefs and practices must be subject to secular laws. The idea that any religion should be above those laws is anathema to Western civilisation."

This blog author agrees with Stephen when he says Denmark's reputation has not been tarnished but enhanced and that all the Danes can and should do now is carry on standing up for the basic Western value of free speech, and hope that other nations do the same.

Helmut, a professor of philosophy, public policy, and international affairs, who blogs out of Washington DC at Phronesisaical, says it's a cartoon world and he is letting the irony of the photos do the talking for him. Heh.

Through The Looking Glass: The Danish Cartoons - Does one have the right to make fun of religion? Where is the line between freedom of speech and censorship? And what are the appropriate responses? asks Sheila Musaji, February 4, 2006 at almuslim.com.



Photo: A child joins demonstrators in Belgrave Square, London. via Telegraph UK 5 Feb 2006: Muslim protests are incitement to murder, say Tories [via Captain Marlow]

Feb 4, 2006: English Lord of the blog says Cartoons should not have been published because present situation is too volatile - it is time for us here in Britain to say we are proud of our multi cultural society and our history of a free and fair society and we are going to keep it that way.

Feb 4, 2006 Normblog Prophet and loss: "The front page of the Guardian today reports a remark from the foreign secretary that would be worrying if he'd said it: "Jack Straw... denounced the decision to republish the cartoons, saying press freedom carried an obligation not "to be gratuitously inflammatory"." But this seems to be the result of sloppy editing. What Straw acually said, according to the report here, was: "There is freedom of speech, we all respect that, but there is not any obligation to insult or to be gratuitously inflammatory."

Feb 6, 2006 American Atheists at NoGodBlog received 70 comments at Apology withdrawn: "I earlier said "sorry for the cartoon", referring to the Moslem ordeal (there are sooo many), but I then read this article, and I'm retracting that sentiment. Nobody who demands the death of a human just because of what he writes, says, or believes is deserving of any respect at all.

See "Freedom go to hell" and "Europe take some lessons from 9/11" photos at The Artyom Reader.

See more photos just in from London at Michelle Malkin's: "Be prepared for the REAL holocaust!" "Europe you will pay. Your 9/11 is on its way!!" "Behead those who insult Islam" "Slay those who insult Islam" "Butcher those who mock Islam" "Exterminate those who slander Islam" "Massacre those who insult Islam" "Annihilate those who insult Islam" (Hat tip: UK blogger John Holroyd of Towards a Free World Cartoon Debate - The case for mocking religion "We cannot possibly adjust enough to please the fanatics, and it is degrading to make the attempt.")

The Common Room blog has a round up news and views of Islam in the Cartoons.