British Prime Minister Tony Blair writes "Towards real action in Africa" - AU Standby Force of 20,000 personnel

Read Towards real action in Africa by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Excerpt:

"The UK has set out a series of milestones for this year which, if met, will see comprehensive plans across Africa for achieving free healthcare and schooling, and an African Union (AU) Standby Force ready to deploy 20000 personnel to conflict zones on the continent."

Feb 22 Update: See Feb 10 2006 Reuters report NATO commander fears rapid-reaction force delay.

BBC Arabic road show at Khartoum University, 6 March 2006

Today, Trade Arabia.com reports that BBC Arabic radio and online have launched an interactive road show of events in five locations across the Arabic-speaking world designed to involve young people and encourage them to debate the key issues which affect their daily lives and their long-term future: 'Your future, who decides it?' launches in Cairo February 20 with interactive booths and conversation-promoting materials at places young people meet and mingle, such as universities, shopping malls, gyms and coffee shops.

'Your future, who decides it?' debates are broadcast live on BBC Arabic and webcast live on bbcarabic.com at 15.00 GMT. Note:

Khartoum University, March 6: Sudanese youth and the search for identity. Guest speakers include Sudan media specialists, Ali Shamou and Ammar Ahmed Adam. BBC presenter Safaa Faisal.

Congo leader's GBP 169,000 hotel bill

Yesterday's Sunday Times article by Tony Allen-Mills says the leader of one of Africa's poorest countries paid more than GBP 100,000 in cash towards a GBP 169,000 hotel bill run up by his entourage during last year's UN summit in New York, according to court documents obtained by The Sunday Times:

"Aides to President Denis Sassou-Nguesso of the Republic of Congo startled staff at the Palace hotel on Madison Avenue by pulling out wads of $100 notes to settle a bill for 26 rooms.

Sassou-Nguesso, who is chairman of the African Union, representing all the continent's governments, is negotiating with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to cancel many of his country's debts on the grounds that it cannot afford to repay them. Yet the president spent a week last September in the Palace hotel, one of Manhattan's most prestigious addresses."

Full story.



Photo (Wikepedia): Jacques Chirac (R) and Denis Sassou-Nguesso president (1979-92, 1997-) of Congo (Brazzaville)

Jan 25, 2006 New AU chairman would welcome UN support for AU troops in Darfur: International force in Darfur must be African-led.

Jan 23, 2006 President of Congo (Brazzaville) to succeed Obasanjo as AU chair

Darfur peace talks in Slovenia postponed indefinitely

Feb 12, 2006 SudanTribune article confirms peace talks between the warring sides in Darfur, scheduled to take place on Monday and Tuesday in Slovenia, have been postponed indefinitely, the office of President Janez Drnovsek told the Slovene state-run STA on Sunday:

"Officials in the president's office explained that it was obvious the participants were pressured not to take part in the meeting. There was obvious pressure from a number of international organizations, the office explained, adding that UN reps also failed to show much enthusiasm for helping to bring about the meeting. The pressure on the warring sides included threats that their participation in negotiations in Slovenia could endanger the Abuja peace process, the office added.

The article says according to Drnovsek's aides, additional diplomatic efforts are needed to ensure that a meeting takes place in Slovenia in the near future.



Photo: Slovenia's President Janez Drnovsek - The Slovene president's duties are largely ceremonial, as the Cabinet and parliament hold most powers.

Note, Sudan Watch Jan 31, 2006 Sudan's expecting two new presidential boats - the first one was made in Slovenia.

Further reading

Feb 9, 2006 Slovene president calls for peace talks on Darfur - Drnovsek said he has expanded his proposed peace agreement for Darfur from 10 to 16 points. This is no longer just a draft version of a peace agreement but a proposal that has been sent to the Sudanese government and rebels for consideration, Drnovsek said.

Feb 8, 2006 Darfur rebel groups support Slovene initiative - SLA and the JEM said that Drnovsek's plan presents a good basis for concluding a peace deal. Earlier in the day Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir also expressed his support for Drnovsek's peace plan, labelling the initiative a friendly gesture stemming from a sincere and heartfelt desire to help in finding a lasting solution for the region.

Feb 8, 2006 Darfur rebel groups support Slovene initiative - The plan includes a political solution that is similar to the one used to resolve the crisis in southern Sudan several years ago; also includes provisions for ensuring security and special provisions that deal with the involvement of the international community in the peace process.

Jan 30, 2006 Slovene president leaves Liberal Democrats for civic movement - Slovenia's President Janez Drnovsek said Monday he has left the Liberal Democrat party and has formed a civic movement to fight for global justice and development. The Slovene president's duties are largely ceremonial, as the Cabinet and parliament hold most powers.

Jan 19, 2006 Slovene's "The World for Darfur" initiative welcomed in France - "China maintains a strong economic presence in Sudan and could strengthen the African Union-led peacekeeping mission, which is understaffed and ill-equipped for the task, Drnovsek was quoted as saying."

Reuters exclusive interview: Mahamat Nour the Chad rebel leader demands change, by force if needed

[Sudan Watch Editor's Note: This entry has been updated on 05 Dec 2010 as the original hyperlinks, published here in 2006, have become broken due to Reuters archiving of the report on another page]

HERE below is a copy of an exclusive interview (by Opheera McDoom for Reuters, reporting from the Sudan-Chad border Feb 12) with 35 year old Mahamat Nour, the leader of the insurgents trying to topple the Chadian president.

In this, his first interview with a Western journalist, he said well-armed defectors are flocking to his remote camps on the Sudanese border and are eager to take power and his forces are now "eight times stronger" than when they attacked the Chad border town Adre in December, a raid he describes as a test run. Copy in full:

EXCLUSIVE-Chad rebel leader demands change, by force if needed
12 Feb 2006 11:55:47 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Opheera McDoom

SUDAN-CHAD BORDER, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Confident and relaxed, the leader of the insurgents trying to topple the Chadian president says well-armed defectors are flocking to his remote camps on the Sudanese border and are eager to take power.

In his first interview with a Western journalist, Mahamat Nour said his forces are now "eight times stronger" than when they attacked the Chad border town of Adre in December, a raid he describes as a test run.

A stocky man with a commanding presence and an organised mind, Nour, 35, comes from a family that has played a key role in making and breaking Chad's leaders over the past two decades.

His father, the head of a powerful east Chadian tribe, helped launch both the coup that brought President Idriss Deby to power in 1990 and that of his predecessor Hissene Habre.

Many of the area's tribes span the long and porous border, making it almost impossible to differentiate nationalities.

Nour himself is fluent in Arabic, French and his native tribal language Tama, speaking each with a slight stutter.

His desert bases are well defended. A jolting three-hour drive on dirt tracks through Sudan's Darfur region brings the visitor to a narrow opening between two hills, where vehicles full of armed men appear from nowhere and surround the car.

From the French spoken by the men in new green uniforms, it is clear this is one of the insurgents' camps.

Both Deby and Nour know this rocky terrain well from the days when coups were planned here. Sudan's western Darfur region is now in the throes of its own civil war.

Nour left Deby's government in 1994, disillusioned with what he calls Deby's "autocratic and corrupt ways." Since then he has remained in opposition, spending time in Khartoum and other African capitals.

FINAL CHANCE

Nour has said he has offered Deby a final chance to accept a national forum to discuss democratic change or face removal by force.

"No one wants a war, but if that's the only way, we will go to Chad," he said.

His ambitions have fuelled tension between Sudan and Chad and prompted Deby to declare a "state of belligerence" with Sudan, which he has accused of supporting Nour.

Last week the two states' presidents agreed at a mini-summit in Tripoli to ban insurgents from setting up bases in each country, but the border is remote and largely unsupervised.

Nour said December's failed attack on Adre was a test run and, with deserters arriving every day including high-level government officials, he now had thousands of troops.

Truckloads of young men and supplies, including brand new weapons, were arriving every day at the well-secured camp. Heavy weapons including rocket and mortar launchers were out of sight just beyond the deceptively simple entry checkpoint of a branch and two stones. There appeared to be no shortage of funds.

Chadian Colonel Ahmed Youssef Bishara, one of a group of senior officers who deserted recently and came to the rebel camp, said he was surprised at the strength of Nour's forces.

"There's not been anything as big as this in all my experience," he said. "Here we have many heavy weapons and many troops -- much more than Deby had."

JOIN NOUR'S RANKS

Bishara said he had some 1,800 troops in southern Chad near the border and was ready to join Nour's ranks to oust Deby.
"Deby has taken the money from the Chadian people -- now we want freedom," said Bishara, a tall, sinewy figure wearing dark glasses and green army uniform.

"We have people in the high ranks with us. When Deby is sleeping we know what he just ate for dinner," he said with a grin.
Colonel Bishara Moussa Farid, who took part in peacekeeping operations in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has also turned on Deby.

"He accused me of attempting a coup and imprisoned me for six months," said Farid, 52, a vetern who took part in the coups which installed both Deby and his predecessor Hissene Habre in power in N'Djamena.

"These troops here are much better off than the previous resistances," he said. "We didn't have equipment and heavy weapons as we do now," he added.

Some members of the opposition groups that signed an agreement in December to form the United Front for Democratic Change said there were doubts over whether Nour was strong enough to unite them.

"Everywhere in the world there are problems like this," was Nour's reply. "But I can say that as of today, it's all going well."
Nour and his troops were confident of success. "We will invite you to N'Djamena when we arrive," he said, laughing with his officers.

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Further reading

Feb 10, 2006 report at Sudan Tribune says the chairman of one of the SLM two factions, Abdelwahid Mohamed al-Nour his faction would sign a peace agreement on its own without involving the JEM and "Menni Minawi's group".

Jan 28, 2006 Sudan accuses Chad of shelling Arm Yakui, West Darfur - NMRD Darfur rebels attack Sudan army base in Arm Yakui.

Jan 13, 2006 Sudan says UN peace force in Darfur unwelcome - See comment from Sudan Watch reader: "The commander in charge of the massacres in Darfur is called MAHAMAT NOUR ABDELKRIM: http://genocidedarfour.blogspot.com/
The "captain" Mahamat Nour, ex-officer of the chadian army, has commanded the Jandjawids with the sudanese logistic. He has been the principal planner of the genocide in Darfur. Thanks to his chadian nationality, he was used as an alibi by the Sudanese government."

Dec 21, 2005 Chad and its links to crisis in Sudan's Darfur.

Leaders of Sudan, Chad ok peace agreement

Photo: The leaders of Sudan and Chad have signed a peace agreement to end increasing tension over Sudan's Darfur region, pledging to normalise diplomatic relations and deny refuge to each other's rebel groups. By Khaled El-Deeb (Associated) Press February 10, 2006 Tripoli, Libya - see full report.

Map of Islamic Training Camp located near Khartoum, Sudan

Zone Interdite publishes above [not dated] map pinpointing the location of an Islamic Training Camp near Khartoum. According to the website:

Sudan set up training camps for African militants on the Ethiopian border and cooperated in overthrowing the Marxist regime in Addis Ababa in May 1991. Camps for training Arabs were located outside Port Sudan and Khartoum. In early May 1990, some 60 Arabs from North Africa, France, and Belgium began to train in the Shambat district of Khartoum.

Islamic veterans, many Pakistani and Saudi from the war in Afghanistan immigrated into the Sudan. In 1991 Osama Bin Ladin settled in the Riyadh distric in Khartoum acting as a businessman and investor conducting many camps which trained Islamic fighters.

Also, Zone Interdite points to a CNN report dated August 22, 1998 in which Sudanese president al-Bashir is quoted as saying:

"America is attacking us because we are guardians of Islam," el-Bashir said. "We have tasted the sweet flavor of jihad (holy war) and martyrdom, and what we seek now is to die for the sake of God."

Photo: "A herd of camels blocking the road on my bus ride from Khartoum to Port Sudan. Note the road was built by Osama Bin Laden." (Photo and caption by Douglas Long)

See Sudan Watch Jan 29, 2006 Islamic jihad groups creating camps in Chad.
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1996-1999: Uganda backed Sudan's SPLM/A so Khartoum retaliated by arming Uganda's LRA

See Uganda Watch 12 February 2006.

Note May 21, 2006 Sudanese govt still supporting Ugandan rebel group LRA.

South Sudan's SSDF: Jonglei State Governor must resign for instigating instability

It is interesting to note a confusion of news reports over fighting that broke out last week in Jonglei State, southern Sudan, especially considering Sudanese IDPs are starting to arrive in Jonglei.

Who is trying to disrupt peace in South Sudan and why? Where are the UN peacekeepers? 10,000 were agreed well over one year ago but barely more than half that figure have materialised. Few countries are keen to lend troops for such missions.



Photo: A recently returned family living temporarily in Bor, South Sudan. Their home village, 75 km to the north, has no services whatsoever. Full report by Helene Caux in Bor, South Sudan, November 29, 2005.
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Sudanese presidency asks SPLM/A to explain Jonglei State fighting

Earlier this month, seven people were killed in Jonglei State in clashes between SSDF armed militias and the SPLM/A.

This appears to have occurred around the time when Uganda's LRA terrorist group chief Joseph Kony fled his hideout in Southern Sudan into DR Congo. [Note between 1996-1999 Uganda backed Sudan's SPLM/A so Khartoum armed Uganda's LRA]

Feb 5, 2006 Sudan Tribune report says the Sudanese presidency demanded an explanation from South Sudan's rebel group SPLM/A re fighting in Jonglei area at end of last week.

SSDF claims Jonglei State fighting was tribal conflict over water and cattle

Feb 6, 2006 Reuters report 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.

SSDF says Jonglei State Governor must resign for instigating instability

Feb 11, 2006 SSDF Press Release says a delegation of SSDF went to Waat to investigate recent fighting between the White Army of Uror County and the SPLM/A and claims the fighting was instigated by the governor of Jonglei State and Major Gen. George Athor.

UNHCR uses White Nile ferry to start major return of Sudanese IDPs

Good news. The long awaited return to South Sudan has started. The UNHCR-assisted return operation to South Sudan has begun.

The first large group of internally displaced Sudanese that UNHCR has helped home stepped ashore in the riverside town of Bor last Sunday ending sixteen years in exile.

Full report February 6, 2006.



Photo: UNHCR starts the large-scale return of internally displaced Sudanese, using a ferry on the White Nile. (UNHCR/T.Pike)

Dinkas sang joyfully when they stepped ashore in Jonglei State

Darfur must not be allowed to go on for twenty years.

UNHCR report from Bor 7 Feb, 2006 excerpt:

After a journey along the White Nile, a double-decker ferry docked in the South Sudan town of Bor with 376 returnees, part of efforts by humanitarian agencies to help internally displaced South Sudanese return home after many years of displacement.

The group on the ferry was mainly composed of women, children and the aged, while returning men went by foot, escorting their half a million cattle from Western Equatoria back to Bor.

The passengers, all from the Dinka ethnic group, were singing joyfully when they stepped ashore in the riverside town in Jonglei State on Sunday and were met by jubilant relatives and friends. They had left Juba 14 hours earlier as 375 internally displaced persons (IDPs) but a baby girl was born during the trip.

"The moment you stepped off the ferry, you became citizens of Bor, you are IDPs no longer," said the acting governor of Jonglei State. "There is plenty of land waiting for you and you will be able to rebuild your communities and educate your children."

Photo: Hundreds of south Sudanese refugees were recently helped by UNHCR to go back to their country. Tens of thousands are due to follow. Many of them have lived outside their country for decades. For them 2006 will surely be a year of change.

Return to South Sudan

More than 21 years of civil war displaced four million people within the country and forced another 500,000 into neighbouring countries.

Millions will soon return home. UNHCR will help them return to their villages. Find out more on UNHCR special sub-site "South Sudan Operation" and don't miss their uplifting eyewitness account on short video clip entitled South Sudan: New Year, New Life.

To make sure refugee and returnee children get an education, UNHCR is building Yari Secondary school 10km South of Yei in southern Sudan.



Photo: "The South Sudanese really prize education," says Timothy Brown, a UNHCR education expert in Yei, with decades of experience in the field. "Their thought is always to go further, to get more education." (UNHCR/M.Pearson Sep 2005)



Photo: Sudanese women learn tailoring. Refugees and returnees need to find work once they return home. Training people and helping them start a small business is a step in the right direction. (UNHCR/M.Pearson Sep 2005)



Photo: In Yei, South Suden returnees take UNHCR-sponsored carpentry classes at the Vocational Training Centre. Courses at the centre include building, information technology, carpentry and tailoring.



Photo: Thousands of bullet holes riddle the facade of this school and remind returnees in Yei of their painful past. In South Sudan, UNHCR is funding projects that benefit entire communities, not just returning refugees. (UNHCR/M.Pearson Sep 2005)



Photo: Clearing landmines to make way for trucks bringing refugees home is a top priority in South Sudan. (UNHCR/M.Pearson Sep 2005)



Photo: Young Sudanese relax outside of their school before class starts. (UNHCR/M.Pearson Sep 2005)



Photo: School children study English at school in Yei. (UNHCR/M.Pearson Sep 2005)



Photo: Lucy Agnes (22) learns how to make bricks at a UNHCR-sponsored building course at the Vocational Training Centre, in Yei, South Sudan (UNHCR/M.Pearson (September 2005)



Photo: Sudanese teenagers play basketball during a break from their studies. (UNHCR/M.Pearson Sep 2005)

The Dinka's epic trek across South Sudan continues - 250,000 cattle have arrived so far in 34 cattle camps around Bor

You've got to love this story. It's about the fabulous Dinka heading home with up to 1.5 million cattle in an epic trek across South Sudan.

Authored by Helene Caux in Juba and Yei, South Sudan, it was first published on 8 December 2005.



Imagine the skill of the herdsmen and logistics involved in feeding, watering 1.5 million cattle.
- - -

Dinka IDPs arrive at a transit facility in Juba earlier

Feb 7, 2006 IRIN report says some 376 IDPs from Sudan's Dinka ethnic group have returned to the southern town of Bor from the regional capital, Juba, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has said. Excerpt:

The returnees, who arrived in Bor by ferry on Sunday, were part of about 4,800 IDPs who had been staying at UNHCR's Lologo way station near Juba, UNHCR spokesman Mans Nyberg said.

"Sixteen years ago, as the ravages of the civil war reached their home region, these Dinkas fled Bor and settled around Maridi in Western Equatoria State," he added.

12 ferry trips planned for the next two months

Nyberg said Sunday's movement was the first of 12 ferry trips planned for the next two months.

Southern Sudan was until recently engulfed in 21-year a war between the former rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army and the Khartoum-based government.

The war displaced about four million people and forced another 550,000 to flee to neighbouring countries.

"The signing of the peace agreement in January 2005 finally created the possibility for them to return to Bor," Nyberg said. "After the end of the rainy season in November last year, they started to return on foot."



The dinka's incredible journey is still going on

"With their half a million head of cattle they crossed the White Nile at Juba, and continued north along the east bank of the river," he added. "That trek is still going on; 250,000 cattle have arrived so far and are now in 34 cattle camps around Bor."

He said a second group of 4,600 Dinkas from Bor, displaced in December to Yei, would be assisted to return once all the IDPs from Juba were back. The Yei group fled inter-ethnic conflict in Western Equatoria, where they had been displaced until then.

UNHCR has established a way station at Bor where the UN World Food Programme, the UN Children's Fund and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency International are providing returnees with food, medicine and medical care.

"The general situation in Bor remains difficult, with very little infrastructure and few services," Nyberg said. "Many villages in the surrounding countryside are hard to reach because of landmines in roads and fields."

"Despite these challenges, the only wish of the IDPs in Juba and Yei is to return home," he added. - via UNICEF

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.

- - -

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."

- - -

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.]
- - -

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.
- - -

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.