The African Union Peace and Security Council decided Friday 10 March to extend its peacekeeping mission in Darfur for six months to give itself time to negotiate a peace agreement.
Also, it promised to transfer control to the UN once that is accomplished.
Click here to read full text of the AU PSC decision March 10, 2006.
See March 11, 2006 news round up: Annan says AU agrees to hand over Darfur force to UN.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
East Sudan opposition members detained over travelling to rebel-held area of Hamesh Koreb on Eritrea border
Under a 2005 southern Sudan peace deal, SPLA forces will withdraw from the east and Sudan's northern army should take control of the areas, a move the Beja Congress Party in Port Sudan oppose.
Mediators had hoped eastern peace talks would have started and been close to resolving the conflict before the SPLA were due to withdraw on January 9 2006, but rebel divisions and a government incursion into the area have delayed the talks, reports Reuters 11 March 2006.
Note the report states the three in Kassala had been questioned on Friday and again on Saturday over travelling to the rebel-held area of Hamesh Koreb on the border with Eritrea.
Mediators had hoped eastern peace talks would have started and been close to resolving the conflict before the SPLA were due to withdraw on January 9 2006, but rebel divisions and a government incursion into the area have delayed the talks, reports Reuters 11 March 2006.
Note the report states the three in Kassala had been questioned on Friday and again on Saturday over travelling to the rebel-held area of Hamesh Koreb on the border with Eritrea.
Malloch Brown appointed Deputy UN Secretary-General
America and Europe should provide troops and money for a major international peacekeeping force for Darfur, the new deputy UN secretary-general, Mark Malloch Brown, said yesterday. Guardian report excerpt:
Mr Malloch Brown, who was appointed last Friday, told the Guardian that only modern mobile forces, trained in helicopter operations, could be effective in Darfur. Peacekeeping operations by poorly equipped African and Asian countries were no longer sufficient.
"We want the rest of the world to make a higher level of contributions to peacekeeping, involving more mainstream militaries around the world. It's going to need a whole new level of investment and logistical support," he said.
British-born Mr Malloch Brown, 52, said he had been involved in discussions at the White House when Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general, met George Bush last month. Contrary to subsequent reports, Mr Malloch Brown said the Americans were not to blame for a lack of involvement. "The president is the hawk on this and the whole of the Washington system is running to make sure they live up to his demands," he said.
"The president is driven by this belief, as many have said, that there will be no Rwanda on his watch and perhaps by the Christian evangelicals as well - but also by a common humanity. I think [Mr] Bush really wants to do something there but with the caution that he does not want it to be heavily American or to provoke the Sudanese or deter others from joining in."
Mr Malloch Brown said the developed world could not continue to rely on African and Asian countries to supply troops that were already overstretched and undersubscribed for peacekeeping missions.
"I think if the P5 [the permanent five members of the security council: Britain, the US, France, Russia and China] and the rest of the security council endorses this mission, they're going to find that their own public opinion, newspapers, media and advocacy groups are going to be asking them, 'OK, are you going to put your money and troops and logistics where you mouth is?'
"That is not going to be a no-cost decision for the P5. I'm not predicting that it is going to be ground troops but somehow or other there is going to have to be major support from a significant number of European governments." He added: "You can't do this [peacekeeping in Darfur] through just troops on the ground with Landcruisers or lightly armoured vehicles because this place is the size of France. However many troops you have, the only way they are going to be effective in preventing attacks on civilians is if they are highly mobile.
"That means militarised helicopters that can protect themselves against ground fire and troops trained in helicopter-based operations. This is a very different model of peacekeeping."
The US has said it wants to provide only logistical support in Darfur, but Mr Malloch Brown believes even this level of involvement would be complicated. "Logistical support is helicopters and those helicopters are going to have to fly troops into action.
"You may not be providing the troops but you are potentially putting your people in harm's way. I think the US hasn't made up its mind."
Full Guardian report by Ewen MacAskill and Simon Tisdall, 11 March 2006.
Mr Malloch Brown, who was appointed last Friday, told the Guardian that only modern mobile forces, trained in helicopter operations, could be effective in Darfur. Peacekeeping operations by poorly equipped African and Asian countries were no longer sufficient.
"We want the rest of the world to make a higher level of contributions to peacekeeping, involving more mainstream militaries around the world. It's going to need a whole new level of investment and logistical support," he said.
British-born Mr Malloch Brown, 52, said he had been involved in discussions at the White House when Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general, met George Bush last month. Contrary to subsequent reports, Mr Malloch Brown said the Americans were not to blame for a lack of involvement. "The president is the hawk on this and the whole of the Washington system is running to make sure they live up to his demands," he said.
"The president is driven by this belief, as many have said, that there will be no Rwanda on his watch and perhaps by the Christian evangelicals as well - but also by a common humanity. I think [Mr] Bush really wants to do something there but with the caution that he does not want it to be heavily American or to provoke the Sudanese or deter others from joining in."
Mr Malloch Brown said the developed world could not continue to rely on African and Asian countries to supply troops that were already overstretched and undersubscribed for peacekeeping missions.
"I think if the P5 [the permanent five members of the security council: Britain, the US, France, Russia and China] and the rest of the security council endorses this mission, they're going to find that their own public opinion, newspapers, media and advocacy groups are going to be asking them, 'OK, are you going to put your money and troops and logistics where you mouth is?'
"That is not going to be a no-cost decision for the P5. I'm not predicting that it is going to be ground troops but somehow or other there is going to have to be major support from a significant number of European governments." He added: "You can't do this [peacekeeping in Darfur] through just troops on the ground with Landcruisers or lightly armoured vehicles because this place is the size of France. However many troops you have, the only way they are going to be effective in preventing attacks on civilians is if they are highly mobile.
"That means militarised helicopters that can protect themselves against ground fire and troops trained in helicopter-based operations. This is a very different model of peacekeeping."
The US has said it wants to provide only logistical support in Darfur, but Mr Malloch Brown believes even this level of involvement would be complicated. "Logistical support is helicopters and those helicopters are going to have to fly troops into action.
"You may not be providing the troops but you are potentially putting your people in harm's way. I think the US hasn't made up its mind."
Full Guardian report by Ewen MacAskill and Simon Tisdall, 11 March 2006.
Annan says AU agrees to hand over Darfur force to UN
China's newswire Xinhuanet is usually reserved in its reporting but today it has added the word "urgent" to the heading of a news report on Darfur, as if it were broadcasting alarming news. Copy:
Urgent: Annan says AU agrees to hand over Darfur force to UN
UNITED NATIONS, March 10 (Xinhuanet) -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Friday that the African Union (AU) has agreed to hand over its peacekeeping mission in Sudan to the United Nations.
Annan made the remarks at the UN headquarters in New York, adding the AU also agreed to extended its forces in Sudan for six more months.
"From what we know now, they have at least agreed to a six-month extension of the AU force and to work with the United Nations on transition," he said.
Further reading:
Mar 10 2006 AU proposes 9 month Darfur mission - Sudan ready to reinforce it with 10,000 troops - half SPLA - within 3 wks
Mar 10 2006 UN to take Darfur peacekeeping role after peace deal
Mar 11 2006 Sudan's VP Kiir: Darfur crisis solution possible by year's end
Mar 11 2006 Libya's Angola Press report says Annan pleased with AU decision to hand over force in Sudan to UN - Annan noted that he is still waiting for the full details of the decision, adding "from what we know now, they have at least agreed to a six-month extension of the AU force, and to work with the UN on transition."
Mar 11 2006 Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reports Annan cautiously welcomes AU decision to let UN take over mission on Darfur.
Mar 11 2006 Ireland's RTE reports AU extends Darfur mission mandate for another six months and to hand over the mission to the UN later; AU FMs made clear they accepted the Sudanese government's key condition for a UN deployment, that the rebel factions in Darfur should first agree a peace deal.
Mar 11 2006 AP/Washington Post reports African Troops Extend Darfur Mission - Jamal Mohamed Ibrahim, a spokesman for the Sudanese Foreign Ministry, said on state television that the agreement to extend the A.U. force's mandate was a success for Sudan's position. "We have achieved a great success by preserving the status of the African role in Darfur, and that the solution to the question will come within the African context," he said.
Mar 11 2006 China's People's Daily Online report credits Xinhua as source saying Sudan welcomes AU's decision on Darfur to extend the AU peacekeeping mission in Darfur for six months until Sept. 30 this year. The council also agreed in principle to hand over its cash-strapped peacekeeping mission in Darfur to the UN according to a joint communique issued at the end of the AU-PSC meeting in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Friday. Abu Zaid al-Hassan, Sudan's Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative in the AU, described the decision as "balanced", adding "it met most demands of Sudan." The decision underlined the UN would not send any peacekeeping forces to Darfur without an agreement of the Sudanese government, he said in a telephone interview with Xinhua from Addis Ababa. He added that the AU-PSC decision talked on a transition of the AU peacekeeping mission towards a UN mission in terms of principle rather than a final decision.
Mar 11 2006 Islam Online reports Buying Time, AU extends Darfur Mandate for 6 months - AU Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare said extending the mandate of the 7,800-strong AU force to Sept 30 would give the organization time to persuade Sudan to accept a UN presence. The PSC statement said that during this period the "international community has the obligation to finance this peacekeeping mission." Before September 30, "everything should be made to ensure a conclusion of the Abuja peace talks" between the Darfur rebels and the Khartoum government and both sides should work to "improve the humanitarian and security situation on the ground," the statement added. "The PSC stressed the need to conclude a peace agreement by end of April 2006," but called for the formation of a committee of heads of state to engage the Sudanese parties on how to "expedite the conclusion" of the deal.
Urgent: Annan says AU agrees to hand over Darfur force to UN
UNITED NATIONS, March 10 (Xinhuanet) -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Friday that the African Union (AU) has agreed to hand over its peacekeeping mission in Sudan to the United Nations.
Annan made the remarks at the UN headquarters in New York, adding the AU also agreed to extended its forces in Sudan for six more months.
"From what we know now, they have at least agreed to a six-month extension of the AU force and to work with the United Nations on transition," he said.
Further reading:
Mar 10 2006 AU proposes 9 month Darfur mission - Sudan ready to reinforce it with 10,000 troops - half SPLA - within 3 wks
Mar 10 2006 UN to take Darfur peacekeeping role after peace deal
Mar 11 2006 Sudan's VP Kiir: Darfur crisis solution possible by year's end
Mar 11 2006 Libya's Angola Press report says Annan pleased with AU decision to hand over force in Sudan to UN - Annan noted that he is still waiting for the full details of the decision, adding "from what we know now, they have at least agreed to a six-month extension of the AU force, and to work with the UN on transition."
Mar 11 2006 Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reports Annan cautiously welcomes AU decision to let UN take over mission on Darfur.
Mar 11 2006 Ireland's RTE reports AU extends Darfur mission mandate for another six months and to hand over the mission to the UN later; AU FMs made clear they accepted the Sudanese government's key condition for a UN deployment, that the rebel factions in Darfur should first agree a peace deal.
Mar 11 2006 AP/Washington Post reports African Troops Extend Darfur Mission - Jamal Mohamed Ibrahim, a spokesman for the Sudanese Foreign Ministry, said on state television that the agreement to extend the A.U. force's mandate was a success for Sudan's position. "We have achieved a great success by preserving the status of the African role in Darfur, and that the solution to the question will come within the African context," he said.
Mar 11 2006 China's People's Daily Online report credits Xinhua as source saying Sudan welcomes AU's decision on Darfur to extend the AU peacekeeping mission in Darfur for six months until Sept. 30 this year. The council also agreed in principle to hand over its cash-strapped peacekeeping mission in Darfur to the UN according to a joint communique issued at the end of the AU-PSC meeting in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Friday. Abu Zaid al-Hassan, Sudan's Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative in the AU, described the decision as "balanced", adding "it met most demands of Sudan." The decision underlined the UN would not send any peacekeeping forces to Darfur without an agreement of the Sudanese government, he said in a telephone interview with Xinhua from Addis Ababa. He added that the AU-PSC decision talked on a transition of the AU peacekeeping mission towards a UN mission in terms of principle rather than a final decision.
Mar 11 2006 Islam Online reports Buying Time, AU extends Darfur Mandate for 6 months - AU Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare said extending the mandate of the 7,800-strong AU force to Sept 30 would give the organization time to persuade Sudan to accept a UN presence. The PSC statement said that during this period the "international community has the obligation to finance this peacekeeping mission." Before September 30, "everything should be made to ensure a conclusion of the Abuja peace talks" between the Darfur rebels and the Khartoum government and both sides should work to "improve the humanitarian and security situation on the ground," the statement added. "The PSC stressed the need to conclude a peace agreement by end of April 2006," but called for the formation of a committee of heads of state to engage the Sudanese parties on how to "expedite the conclusion" of the deal.
Norway's NRC concerned about UN aid cut in Darfur
Norewegian Refugee Council report today says UNHCR's announced cut in activities in Darfur is another clear testimony that the international community and Sudanese authorities lack the ability to create the necessary humanitarian space for humanitarian actors to assist the Sudanese civilian population.
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." (Andrew Heavens)
90,000 people in Kalma Camp, Nyala, S Darfur, W Sudan
Norway's NRC has many large humanitarian programs in Sudan.
In Nyala South Darfur NRC coordinates humanitarian work in Sudan's largest camp for internally displaced persons, Kalma, where more than 90.000 people live in temporary shelters.
NRC distributes food to 50.000 internally displaced persons in South Darfur, and it depends on a continuous monitoring of the security situation, which enables staff to implement field operations without in the process risking their own lives.
Further reading:
Feb 7 2006 Controlled anarchy at Kalma camp in South Darfur
Feb 14 2006 SLA shot down gov't helicopter in Shearia, South Darfur
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." (Andrew Heavens)
90,000 people in Kalma Camp, Nyala, S Darfur, W Sudan
Norway's NRC has many large humanitarian programs in Sudan.
In Nyala South Darfur NRC coordinates humanitarian work in Sudan's largest camp for internally displaced persons, Kalma, where more than 90.000 people live in temporary shelters.
NRC distributes food to 50.000 internally displaced persons in South Darfur, and it depends on a continuous monitoring of the security situation, which enables staff to implement field operations without in the process risking their own lives.
Further reading:
Feb 7 2006 Controlled anarchy at Kalma camp in South Darfur
Feb 14 2006 SLA shot down gov't helicopter in Shearia, South Darfur
Sudan's VP Kiir in Paris asks donors for more aid
Yesterday, the World Bank said it puts aid needs at $2.5 billion just in southern Sudan where more than 2 million people have died, mostly through famine and disease, during two decades of war formally ended by a peace deal last year.
"It's not enough because if it's $4.5 billion for all of Sudan for three years, and southern Sudan needs $2.5 billion, there is a gap there," said Gobind Nakani, World Bank Vice President for Africa.
See full article (Reuters/ST) 10 March 2006.
Photo: Salva Kiir Mayardit, first vice president of the Republic of Sudan (Reuters/ST)
"It's not enough because if it's $4.5 billion for all of Sudan for three years, and southern Sudan needs $2.5 billion, there is a gap there," said Gobind Nakani, World Bank Vice President for Africa.
See full article (Reuters/ST) 10 March 2006.
Photo: Salva Kiir Mayardit, first vice president of the Republic of Sudan (Reuters/ST)
Sudan's VP Kiir: Darfur crisis solution possible by year's end
Sudanese vice president Salva Kiir Mayardit, himself a former rebel, said Friday that he believes a solution to the Darfur conflict can be found by the end of the year, maybe sooner, reports AP 10 March 2006.
Note the report makes no mention of Sudanese rebels in eastern Sudan fighting for a share of power and wealth for their region. Darfur is in western Sudan.
Note the report makes no mention of Sudanese rebels in eastern Sudan fighting for a share of power and wealth for their region. Darfur is in western Sudan.
Sudan's pyramids of Kush on US bills - Oriental Institute brings ancient Nubia to Chicago
The pyramids represented on the US bills are the pyramids of Kush, in Northen Sudan. These were built around 500BC, by the Nubians who eventually became Pharos of Upper and Lower Egypt.
Image courtesy Sudan Embassy at The Hague, Netherlands plus:
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement - now in sidebar here at Sudan Watch.
- - -
Oriental Institute brings ancient Nubia to Chicago, USA
Some of the world's most significant artifacts from Nubia, an ancient African civilization that had important connections to Egypt, will go on display Saturday, 25 Feb 2006 at the Museum of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. Click here for more details.
Photo: Excavated at Qustul, the incense burner found in a ruler's tomb is distinctively Nubian, though its design is similar to objects associated with early Egyptian rulers. (University of Chicago Chronicle)
Image courtesy Sudan Embassy at The Hague, Netherlands plus:
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement - now in sidebar here at Sudan Watch.
- - -
Oriental Institute brings ancient Nubia to Chicago, USA
Some of the world's most significant artifacts from Nubia, an ancient African civilization that had important connections to Egypt, will go on display Saturday, 25 Feb 2006 at the Museum of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. Click here for more details.
Photo: Excavated at Qustul, the incense burner found in a ruler's tomb is distinctively Nubian, though its design is similar to objects associated with early Egyptian rulers. (University of Chicago Chronicle)
Ex-Milosevic ally kills himself - Milosevic found dead in cell
March 6, 2006 BBC report Ex-Milosevic ally kills himself says the former Croatian Serb leader Milan Babic committed suicide in his prison cell in The Hague Sunday March 5, 2006. Excerpt:
Babic, 50, was serving a 13-year prison term for crimes against humanity, after admitting persecuting the non-Serb population in Croatia's Krajina region.Today, March 11, BBC reports Milosevic found dead in his cell. Excerpt:
He was a key ally of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic but later testified against him at the tribunal. He was found dead on Sunday evening, the UN war crimes tribunal said in a statement.
Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has died in the detention centre at The Hague tribunal.Note, Babic had expressed shame and remorse but Milosevic never did.
The tribunal said he was found dead in his cell on Saturday morning and that although the cause was not yet clear, there was no indication of suicide.
Mr Milosevic, 64, had been on trial at the UN war crimes tribunal for genocide and other war crimes since 2001.
Mr Milosevic faced charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his alleged central role in the wars in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo during the 1990s.
He also faced genocide charges over the 1992-95 Bosnia war, in which 200,000 people died. Mr Milosevic was in office for 13 years until 2000.
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he hoped his death would help Serbia to come to terms with its past and allow it to look to the future.
Both the former Serbian leader's parents committed suicide.
Friday, March 10, 2006
World donors pledge 4.5-billion-dollar aid for Sudan
Representatives of Sudan's donors meeting in Paris on Friday confirmed a 4.5-billion-dollar aid package to Sudan over the next three years, which they had promised in April, 2005 in Oslo.
This two-day meeting, which highlighted the Darfur issue, brought together Sudan's first deputy president, Salva Kiir, and representatives from European states, the United States, the African Union, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. - via Xinhua 10 Mar 2006.
This two-day meeting, which highlighted the Darfur issue, brought together Sudan's first deputy president, Salva Kiir, and representatives from European states, the United States, the African Union, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. - via Xinhua 10 Mar 2006.
AU mediation maintains SLM's Nour in spite of rebels split
Following the latest split within the Darfur rebel group SLM, the African Union mediation team said it will not "interfere in the internal problems" of the rebels groups and maintain al-Nour and Minawi as representative of the SLM in the peace talks.
Full report (Sudan Tribune) Mar 10, 2006.
Photo: AU negotiator Sam Ibok, and AU chief mediator Salim Ahmed Salim
Full report (Sudan Tribune) Mar 10, 2006.
Photo: AU negotiator Sam Ibok, and AU chief mediator Salim Ahmed Salim
UN to take Darfur peacekeeping role after peace deal
Emerging from an AU meeting today, Taye Zerihon, deputy UN representative to the AU, stood alongside Sudanese FM Liam Akol at a briefing for reporters and said of the transfer from AU to UN troops in Darfur:
"It looks like a transfer will happen at the appropriate time."He said the UN may need up to nine months to prepare a mission to Darfur and added he will advise UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to begin contingency planning. Full article (AP/ST) 10 Mar 2006.
AU proposes 9 month Darfur mission - Sudan ready to reinforce it with 10,000 troops - half SPLA - within 3 wks
An unsourced news article from Khartoum 14 January 2006, claims Sudan proposed in meetings of the AU's Peace and Security Council the formation of an army representing Sudan government, the AU and the armed groups in Darfur.
Next day, AFP reported Sudan proposed a tripartite force for Darfur. An IOL report on the same day said such a proposal was likely to be fiercely opposed by rebel movements who want Western troops to take over from the AU peacekeepers.
[Links to the reports can be found in Sudan Watch blog entry: Sudan proposes formation of joint army force of GOS/Rebel/AU troops for Darfur and offers to partly finance AU troops in Darfur]
Note, Reuters report today by C. Bryson Hull and T. Tadesse - excerpt:
AU Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare recommended extending the AU mission in Sudan (AMIS), suggesting that the AU may try to push for more time to persuade Sudan to accept a U.N. presence in its vast western region.
"In the meantime, the AMIS operation should continue and be enhanced. I recommend that the (AU's) Peace and Security Council renew the mandate of the mission for a period of nine months, until December 31," Konare said in a report released before a meeting of the council.
That would be predicated on firm funding commitments from AU partners, intensified efforts to push the Darfur parties to agreement at peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria, and on finding a diplomatic solution to the crisis between Chad and Sudan, the report said.
The cost of extending the mission from April through December would be $218 million (125 million pounds) the report said. AMIS still needs an additional $4.6 million just to reach the end of March, it said.
Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol said an AU decision to turn over its Darfur peacekeeping mission to the United Nations would spell the end of peace talks in Nigeria and any AU role in security in Darfur.
"It is imperative to underline the fact that the AU has absolutely no legal authority to transfer its mission to the U.N. or any other body," Akol said in a statement to the AU.
"As much as the government of Sudan would want AMIS to continue, should the AU choose to terminate its mandate in Darfur it is free to do so, and this will include all aspects of its involvement in security and the peace processes."
Friday's ministerial level AU meeting follows two days of intensive negotiations between the European Union, which has provided the bulk of the funding for the mission, the United States and Sudan's government.
Washington and the EU tried unsuccessfully to persuade Sudan to accept a U.N. force, the possibility of which prompted government-led protests in Khartoum this week and promises of jihad against any U.N. troops.
SUDAN READY TO REINFORCE
Sudan said however, that it would accept an extension of the AU mission and would reinforce the AU in Darfur with 10,000 troops -- half of them Sudanese armed forces and half former southern Sudanese rebel SPLA soldiers who have been integrated into the Sudanese army.
"This force can be deployed in Darfur within three weeks," Sudan said in a presentation to the council.
- - -
Sudan says sending foreign forces to Darfur would encourage rebels
Mar 10, 2006 AP report via Sudan Tribune: As AU debates UN takeover in Darfur, Sudan FM calls to maintain African force - "The transition of the mission to the UN will represent a serious setback for the AU," Lam Akol told African foreign ministers gathered at AU HQ in Ethiopia to discuss the proposed hand-over. "Sending any foreign and non-African forces to Darfur would encourage the rebel movements to adopt more intransigent positions in the Abuja peace talks," he added.
Next day, AFP reported Sudan proposed a tripartite force for Darfur. An IOL report on the same day said such a proposal was likely to be fiercely opposed by rebel movements who want Western troops to take over from the AU peacekeepers.
[Links to the reports can be found in Sudan Watch blog entry: Sudan proposes formation of joint army force of GOS/Rebel/AU troops for Darfur and offers to partly finance AU troops in Darfur]
Note, Reuters report today by C. Bryson Hull and T. Tadesse - excerpt:
AU Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare recommended extending the AU mission in Sudan (AMIS), suggesting that the AU may try to push for more time to persuade Sudan to accept a U.N. presence in its vast western region.
"In the meantime, the AMIS operation should continue and be enhanced. I recommend that the (AU's) Peace and Security Council renew the mandate of the mission for a period of nine months, until December 31," Konare said in a report released before a meeting of the council.
That would be predicated on firm funding commitments from AU partners, intensified efforts to push the Darfur parties to agreement at peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria, and on finding a diplomatic solution to the crisis between Chad and Sudan, the report said.
The cost of extending the mission from April through December would be $218 million (125 million pounds) the report said. AMIS still needs an additional $4.6 million just to reach the end of March, it said.
Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol said an AU decision to turn over its Darfur peacekeeping mission to the United Nations would spell the end of peace talks in Nigeria and any AU role in security in Darfur.
"It is imperative to underline the fact that the AU has absolutely no legal authority to transfer its mission to the U.N. or any other body," Akol said in a statement to the AU.
"As much as the government of Sudan would want AMIS to continue, should the AU choose to terminate its mandate in Darfur it is free to do so, and this will include all aspects of its involvement in security and the peace processes."
Friday's ministerial level AU meeting follows two days of intensive negotiations between the European Union, which has provided the bulk of the funding for the mission, the United States and Sudan's government.
Washington and the EU tried unsuccessfully to persuade Sudan to accept a U.N. force, the possibility of which prompted government-led protests in Khartoum this week and promises of jihad against any U.N. troops.
SUDAN READY TO REINFORCE
Sudan said however, that it would accept an extension of the AU mission and would reinforce the AU in Darfur with 10,000 troops -- half of them Sudanese armed forces and half former southern Sudanese rebel SPLA soldiers who have been integrated into the Sudanese army.
"This force can be deployed in Darfur within three weeks," Sudan said in a presentation to the council.
- - -
Sudan says sending foreign forces to Darfur would encourage rebels
Mar 10, 2006 AP report via Sudan Tribune: As AU debates UN takeover in Darfur, Sudan FM calls to maintain African force - "The transition of the mission to the UN will represent a serious setback for the AU," Lam Akol told African foreign ministers gathered at AU HQ in Ethiopia to discuss the proposed hand-over. "Sending any foreign and non-African forces to Darfur would encourage the rebel movements to adopt more intransigent positions in the Abuja peace talks," he added.
Sudan's head of intelligence Sala Gosh given entry to UK
On March 1, 2006 the Guardian reported the UN was to impose sanctions on 10 members of Sudanese government and a UN Security Council resolution, sponsored by Britain, will recommend a travel ban, a freeze on overseas accounts and other assets, and, possibly, the issuing of warrants by the International Criminal Court, which deals with crimes against humanity.
Note, the report revealed Sudan's interior minister, defence minister and the director of its national intelligence service are named in a confidential list of individuals who could be considered for sanctions by the UN Security Council over their alleged role in the conflict in Darfur.
Also, it stated "a British official said the resolution naming individuals in "close to double figures" would be put in the next fortnight; the names would not be revealed beforehand, for fear they would move their assets or go into hiding, but at least one was a senior member of Sudan's armed forces."
Today (March 10) a BBC report tells us one of those officials suspected of involvement in mass killings in Darfur has been on a secret visit to London. Excerpt:
Photo: Maj. Gen. Salah Abdallah Gosh, Sudan's intelligence chief
Further reading:
Apr 29 2005 Reuters excerpt: The chief of Sudan's Mukhabarat intelligence agency, Maj. Gen. Salah Abdallah Gosh, told the [LA] Times: "We have a strong partnership with the CIA. The information we have provided has been very useful to the United States." Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail acknowledged in an interview that the Mukhabarat already had served as the eyes and ears of the CIA in neighboring countries, including Somalia, a sanctuary for Islamic militants
Jun 17, 2005 Sudan Tribune Sudanese intelligence visitor split US officials - LAT
Jun 17 2005 Washington Times report by Bill Gertz: US probes reported Sudan link to terror - U.S. intelligence and security agencies are investigating reports that Sudan's government has renewed its covert support for al Qaeda and other Islamic terrorists
Jun 20 2005 Sudan Watch (Further reading) Al-Qaeda said angry at Sudan for passing data to US
Nov 20 2005 CIA met Gaddafi - Sudan rounded up extremist suspects for questioning by CIA
Dec 25 2005 Sudanese official nominated as Arab League envoy in Iraq - ICC has list of 51 names of suspected Darfur war criminals
Feb 21 2006 List of top wanted Janjaweed leaders - Who's who on Darfur (African Confidential)
Feb 22 2006 Financial Times Sudan ministers named in leaked UN Darfur list
Photo: Sudanese security chief Salah Abdullah Gosh (SMC/ST)
Note, the report revealed Sudan's interior minister, defence minister and the director of its national intelligence service are named in a confidential list of individuals who could be considered for sanctions by the UN Security Council over their alleged role in the conflict in Darfur.
Also, it stated "a British official said the resolution naming individuals in "close to double figures" would be put in the next fortnight; the names would not be revealed beforehand, for fear they would move their assets or go into hiding, but at least one was a senior member of Sudan's armed forces."
Today (March 10) a BBC report tells us one of those officials suspected of involvement in mass killings in Darfur has been on a secret visit to London. Excerpt:
Officials revealed Salah Abdallah Gosh, head of Sudan's national security and intelligence service, was given a visa. He came to get medical treatment and has now left, they said.
Mr Gosh is said to be the third in command in the Sudanese hierarchy dealing with Darfur. He is one of a number of officials reported to have been named in a confidential report from a United Nations panel of experts as people who should be prosecuted at the International Criminal Court.
An annex to the report says he should be charged with failure to "neutralise and disarm non-state armed militia groups in Darfur; and command responsibility for acts of arbitrary detention, harassment [and] torture".
BBC world affairs correspondent Chris Morris says he also had close links with Western intelligence agencies, particularly with the US Central Intelligence Agency.
The US embassy in London declined to comment last night on whether any US officials had met Mr Gosh during his stay in London.
Photo: Maj. Gen. Salah Abdallah Gosh, Sudan's intelligence chief
Further reading:
Apr 29 2005 Reuters excerpt: The chief of Sudan's Mukhabarat intelligence agency, Maj. Gen. Salah Abdallah Gosh, told the [LA] Times: "We have a strong partnership with the CIA. The information we have provided has been very useful to the United States." Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail acknowledged in an interview that the Mukhabarat already had served as the eyes and ears of the CIA in neighboring countries, including Somalia, a sanctuary for Islamic militants
Jun 17, 2005 Sudan Tribune Sudanese intelligence visitor split US officials - LAT
Jun 17 2005 Washington Times report by Bill Gertz: US probes reported Sudan link to terror - U.S. intelligence and security agencies are investigating reports that Sudan's government has renewed its covert support for al Qaeda and other Islamic terrorists
Jun 20 2005 Sudan Watch (Further reading) Al-Qaeda said angry at Sudan for passing data to US
Nov 20 2005 CIA met Gaddafi - Sudan rounded up extremist suspects for questioning by CIA
Dec 25 2005 Sudanese official nominated as Arab League envoy in Iraq - ICC has list of 51 names of suspected Darfur war criminals
Feb 21 2006 List of top wanted Janjaweed leaders - Who's who on Darfur (African Confidential)
Feb 22 2006 Financial Times Sudan ministers named in leaked UN Darfur list
Photo: Sudanese security chief Salah Abdullah Gosh (SMC/ST)
Thursday, March 09, 2006
UN to halve Darfur refugee aid
"In view of the limited access to some areas and a reduced number of field staff, UNHCR has been compelled to downsize its operation in Darfur by almost half, while attempting to keep a certain level of flexibility," the Geneva-based agency said. Full story CNN 9 March 2006.
Khartoum and AU will have little choice but to accept a bigger and more robust UN mission in Darfur
According to a report by the BBC's Jonah Fisher in Khartoum March 9, 2006, Western diplomats are convinced that in the long-term, Khartoum and the AU will have little choice but to accept a bigger and more robust UN mission in Darfur. Also, any UN takeover is likely to take between six and nine months - and the transfer would initially involve little more than a change of hat colour for the soldiers, from green to blue.
The report notes that "having regularly criticised the AU mission throughout its one-and-a-half years in Darfur the Khartoum government has suddenly become its biggest supporter."
Maybe this is all part of the international community's strategy to get Khartoum to agree an expanded mandate for AU troops in Darfur to act as peacekeepers not just truce monitors - while at the same time putting pressure on the Darfur rebels to reach agreement at the peace talks. Khartoum has agreed to consider UN forces when a peace agreement is reached. All along, the Darfur rebels pushed for UN troops in Darfur - another reason why Khartoum is so against a UN force in Darfur. Whatever, a peace agreement will be reached eventually, after which UN peacekeepers will be in Darfur as part of the deal.
Next thing that will happen is trouble flaring up by Sudanese rebels in eastern Sudan who feel as marginalised as those in Darfur, western Sudan. Eastern Sudan is not yet part of any wealth and power sharing deal. And so it is likely to go on, for years.
The report notes that "having regularly criticised the AU mission throughout its one-and-a-half years in Darfur the Khartoum government has suddenly become its biggest supporter."
Maybe this is all part of the international community's strategy to get Khartoum to agree an expanded mandate for AU troops in Darfur to act as peacekeepers not just truce monitors - while at the same time putting pressure on the Darfur rebels to reach agreement at the peace talks. Khartoum has agreed to consider UN forces when a peace agreement is reached. All along, the Darfur rebels pushed for UN troops in Darfur - another reason why Khartoum is so against a UN force in Darfur. Whatever, a peace agreement will be reached eventually, after which UN peacekeepers will be in Darfur as part of the deal.
Next thing that will happen is trouble flaring up by Sudanese rebels in eastern Sudan who feel as marginalised as those in Darfur, western Sudan. Eastern Sudan is not yet part of any wealth and power sharing deal. And so it is likely to go on, for years.
Hundreds of millions of dollars in the government's accounts but few new buildings in southern Sudan's capital, Juba
March 9, 2006 BBC report says little of the 4.5bn US dollars pledged a year ago for reconstruction by donors has so far reached the southern Sudanese people:
UN envoy in Sudan, Jan Pronk, has told donors in Paris that setting up systems to oversee spending in an area devastated by war took time.
The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Sudan says frustration is growing that Sudan's peace deal has yet to deliver badly needed improvements in basic services.
He says oil revenues are available, but the capacity to deliver remains low.
There are hundreds of millions of dollars in the government's accounts but few new buildings in southern Sudan's capital, Juba.
Major projects to create schools, hospitals and roads have yet to begin and teachers, soldiers and civil servants have not been paid.
The delays are blamed on the slow implementation of the peace deal that ended 21 years of war in the south; the teething problems of the new southern administration and conditions attached to aid to prevent corruption.
At the Paris meeting, the vice-president of Sudan, Salva Kiir, who comes from the south, made a point of asking the donors not to make funding for redevelopment contingent on progress to resolve the three-year conflict in the western region of Darfur.
UN envoy in Sudan, Jan Pronk, has told donors in Paris that setting up systems to oversee spending in an area devastated by war took time.
The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Sudan says frustration is growing that Sudan's peace deal has yet to deliver badly needed improvements in basic services.
He says oil revenues are available, but the capacity to deliver remains low.
There are hundreds of millions of dollars in the government's accounts but few new buildings in southern Sudan's capital, Juba.
Major projects to create schools, hospitals and roads have yet to begin and teachers, soldiers and civil servants have not been paid.
The delays are blamed on the slow implementation of the peace deal that ended 21 years of war in the south; the teething problems of the new southern administration and conditions attached to aid to prevent corruption.
At the Paris meeting, the vice-president of Sudan, Salva Kiir, who comes from the south, made a point of asking the donors not to make funding for redevelopment contingent on progress to resolve the three-year conflict in the western region of Darfur.
World Bank hosts meeting on Sudan aid
Pravda March 9, 2006 reports the World Bank met Thursday with Sudanese leaders and international donors to review development aid amid continuing conflict between the government and rebels in Darfur. Excerpt:
The north-south conflict was separate from the continuing violence in Darfur in the west. Pronk insisted that aid to southern Sudan should not depend on progress on talks over Darfur.
US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, however, said before the World Bank donor talks: "We cannot consider the (funding plan) without addressing the ongoing conflict in Darfur."
In meetings Thursday and Friday, officials from the World Bank, the United Nations, the United States and other donor countries were meeting with representatives of Sudan's north and south to discuss that aid and reconstruction and development efforts, reports the AP.
- - -
Mar 9 2006 (UK DIFD) Benn calls for immediate aid for Africa food crisis from new Humanitarian Fund
The north-south conflict was separate from the continuing violence in Darfur in the west. Pronk insisted that aid to southern Sudan should not depend on progress on talks over Darfur.
US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, however, said before the World Bank donor talks: "We cannot consider the (funding plan) without addressing the ongoing conflict in Darfur."
In meetings Thursday and Friday, officials from the World Bank, the United Nations, the United States and other donor countries were meeting with representatives of Sudan's north and south to discuss that aid and reconstruction and development efforts, reports the AP.
- - -
Mar 9 2006 (UK DIFD) Benn calls for immediate aid for Africa food crisis from new Humanitarian Fund
South Sudan land mine blast prompts threat of UN team expulsion by Sudanese authorities
Reuters March 9, 2006 reports a land mine has killed one child and injured four in the town of Malakal, south Sudan, the latest in a string of blasts prompting Sudanese authorities to threaten UN mine clearers with expulsion from the area, officials said.
"We have ordered them (deminers) to either start their work and finish it as soon as possible, or they leave the town immediately," deputy governor of the large town of Malakal, Dok Jok Dok, said late on Wednesday.
The mine explosion on Saturday was the 11th incident in Malakal town in the past eight months, where most of the victims have been children. Fifteen have been killed and more than 20 have had limbs amputated.
"We have ordered them (deminers) to either start their work and finish it as soon as possible, or they leave the town immediately," deputy governor of the large town of Malakal, Dok Jok Dok, said late on Wednesday.
The mine explosion on Saturday was the 11th incident in Malakal town in the past eight months, where most of the victims have been children. Fifteen have been killed and more than 20 have had limbs amputated.
PHR: email or fax AU Chair Konare to help civilians in Darfur - International Women's Day not observed by Sudan's New Government of Unity
On International Women's Day [read Janjaweed rape babies] 8 March 2006, Irish aid agency GOAL Sudan team helped some rural Sudanese women to gain more respect and autonomy from the men in the community.
GOAL's schooling for girls and adult education for women has proved a winning combination in improving the position of women in a rural village in north Sudan.
In Rumbek, the South Sudan government together with NGOs, UN agencies and other institutions took the opportunity of International Women's Day to press for the observance of women's rights in Sudanese liberated areas of SPLM/A, reports Sudan Tribune but, sadly, the article makes no mention of the rest of Sudan.
Contact the AU chairman, Mr Alpha Oumar Konare, and urge him to support an expanded peacekeeping force in Darfur
Here is a message to us all from Physicians for Human Rights March 8, 2006:
On International Women's Day: Take action to help civilians in Darfur
As we celebrate International Women's Day, tens of thousands of Sudanese women are at risk of being raped, both in Darfurand in refugee camps in Chad. Government-sponsored militias continue to kill civilians in the Darfur region, and now the violence is spilling over into neighboring Chad. Yet there are only 7,000 African Union soldiers patrolling this region, which is the size of France.
At the United Nations there is growing momentum to transition the under-resourced African Union force into a United Nations peacekeeping force. On March 10, leaders of the African Union will meet to decide whether to invite a United Nations peacekeeping mission to join or supplant the current AU mission. This is a critical opportunity to call for a UN force large enough to protect civilians under threat in Darfur.
On International Women's Day, please join PHR in taking action to help civilians in Darfur!
What you can do:
Please contact the AU chairman, Mr. Alpha Oumar Konare, and urge him to support an expanded peacekeeping force in Darfur.
See our website to learn more:
http://www.phrusa.org/research/sudan/
[Note link leads to a sample letter urging Mr Konare to exercise his leadership by formally requesting from the UN Security Council an effective transition of the AU forces to a Chapter 7 UN peacekeeping operation. I have now emailed Mr Konare and signed it with my full name and link to this blog entry]
What You Can Do Now
E-Mail or Fax Mr Alpha Oumar Konare, Chairman of the African Union Commission
Declare your support for this vital intervention as the only way to adequately protect the lives and safety of civilians in Darfur.
Contact information for Chairman Konare:
E-mail: KonareAO@africa-union.org
Fax: (251) 11 5513036
Tel: (251) 11 5514554 / (251) 11 551 77 00 ext. 120
- - -
Mar 8 2006 Press Release by Darfur-Canadian Women Association
E-mail: darfurwomen@yahoo.ca
Telephone: (403) 217-9121
- - -
Statement by the Women Delegates to the Darfur Peace Talks, in Abuja, Nigeria, on the Occasion Of the International Women’s Day March 8, 2006.
- - -
Mar 8 2006 From the UN website, this early history of International Women's Day - with thanks to DSTPFW.
GOAL's schooling for girls and adult education for women has proved a winning combination in improving the position of women in a rural village in north Sudan.
In Rumbek, the South Sudan government together with NGOs, UN agencies and other institutions took the opportunity of International Women's Day to press for the observance of women's rights in Sudanese liberated areas of SPLM/A, reports Sudan Tribune but, sadly, the article makes no mention of the rest of Sudan.
Contact the AU chairman, Mr Alpha Oumar Konare, and urge him to support an expanded peacekeeping force in Darfur
Here is a message to us all from Physicians for Human Rights March 8, 2006:
On International Women's Day: Take action to help civilians in Darfur
As we celebrate International Women's Day, tens of thousands of Sudanese women are at risk of being raped, both in Darfurand in refugee camps in Chad. Government-sponsored militias continue to kill civilians in the Darfur region, and now the violence is spilling over into neighboring Chad. Yet there are only 7,000 African Union soldiers patrolling this region, which is the size of France.
At the United Nations there is growing momentum to transition the under-resourced African Union force into a United Nations peacekeeping force. On March 10, leaders of the African Union will meet to decide whether to invite a United Nations peacekeeping mission to join or supplant the current AU mission. This is a critical opportunity to call for a UN force large enough to protect civilians under threat in Darfur.
On International Women's Day, please join PHR in taking action to help civilians in Darfur!
What you can do:
Please contact the AU chairman, Mr. Alpha Oumar Konare, and urge him to support an expanded peacekeeping force in Darfur.
See our website to learn more:
http://www.phrusa.org/research/sudan/
[Note link leads to a sample letter urging Mr Konare to exercise his leadership by formally requesting from the UN Security Council an effective transition of the AU forces to a Chapter 7 UN peacekeeping operation. I have now emailed Mr Konare and signed it with my full name and link to this blog entry]
What You Can Do Now
E-Mail or Fax Mr Alpha Oumar Konare, Chairman of the African Union Commission
Declare your support for this vital intervention as the only way to adequately protect the lives and safety of civilians in Darfur.
Contact information for Chairman Konare:
E-mail: KonareAO@africa-union.org
Fax: (251) 11 5513036
Tel: (251) 11 5514554 / (251) 11 551 77 00 ext. 120
- - -
Mar 8 2006 Press Release by Darfur-Canadian Women Association
E-mail: darfurwomen@yahoo.ca
Telephone: (403) 217-9121
- - -
Statement by the Women Delegates to the Darfur Peace Talks, in Abuja, Nigeria, on the Occasion Of the International Women’s Day March 8, 2006.
- - -
Mar 8 2006 From the UN website, this early history of International Women's Day - with thanks to DSTPFW.
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