What's going on in Janana, S Darfur? 60 villages attacked by Janjaweed while Khartoum "safeguards" Norwegians from being in Sudan for next 2 weeks?

What is going on in South Darfur between the SLA and Janjaweed in Janana? Whenever a strange story hits the news on Darfur, like today when the headlines are filled with reports of UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland being refused access to Darfur, even though he has the necessary visa says the UN, I start looking for clues of a major Janjaweed attack in Darfur. Usually, a few days or even weeks later, news emerges of a huge attack that took place around the time of a strange story hitting the headlines.

Today's strange story is that Sudanese authorities have refused to extend the mandate of the Norwegian NGO Norwegian Refugee Council which heads the main refugee camp in Darfur, sheltering some 100,000 people, the organisation announced on Monday. NRC is one of Norway's largest NGOs, with 1,300 people working for refugees and displaced persons.

Also, Jan Egeland has been asked by the Sudanese government to delay his visit to Darfur because it coincided with a Muslim holiday says the BBC. Sudanese foreign ministry spokesman Jamal Ibrahim said that in the light of the Danish cartoons row, it would not be sensitive or safe for a Norwegian such as Mr Egeland to visit.

AFP report says the Sudanese government denied barring Jan Egeland from Darfur, but instead asked his visit be delayed because of "popular sentiment". "Egeland was not barred from visiting Darfur but was only asked to postpone the visit due to the growing popular sentiment against the UN for its plans of deploying foreign forces in Darfur," information ministry official Bekri Mulah told AFP by telephone.

Mr Egeland's Darfur trip was in doubt on Monday as government officials refused to allow him to visit the rebel-held town of Gereida reported Reuters today. AFP says Egeland was scheduled to travel to either Nyala or El Geneina in Darfur on Monday before proceeding to the capital for talks with officials there.

AP report explains a statement from the UNMIS said Egeland's flight into Sudan was not given authorization to land Sunday and that Sudanese officials had expressed opposition to his visit. It quoted Sudan's representative to the UN in New York as saying Egeland would not be welcome in Darfur or the capital, Khartoum. Egeland's spokeswoman, Stephanie Bunker, said Sudan told him it could not guarantee his security and said he should delay his visit for up to two weeks.

Here's the clue I was looking for: Jan Egeland told the BBC today the SLA helped provoke latest Janjaweed attacks in Janana. He said the Sudanese government, guerrilla forces and ethnic militia groups were all responsible for the current instability in Darfur. Angola Press picks up on the BBC report quoting Mr Egeland as saying thousands of people had fled after 60 villages were attacked by pro-government Janjaweed militias. Egeland told the BBC he thought the Sudanese government did not want him to see the latest wave of "ethnic cleansing" against black Africans in South Darfur.

The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Sudan says Mr Egeland is known for his willingness to speak his mind and has been a strong critic of the government's role in Darfur's violence.

Chad's ACTUS on French intervention to rescue Deby regime

The Action of the Chad for the Unity and Socialism (ACTUS) says it condemns the intervention of the French Army beside governmental forces to fight the forces of the opposition armed with the SCUD and with the RPJ. See Press Release March 31, 2006.

Report: The strategic behaviour of multinational oil corporations and the new wars in Sudan

See pdf file at Sudan Tribune on Oil in the Sudan - A complex reality by Luke A Patey, Danish Institute for International Studies, March 2006.

Mark Fiore's new animated cartoon: Preemptive Apology

Turn up your sound and click here to view Mark Fiore's latest animated cartoon "Preemptive Apology" - ending with a link to Save Darfur.

[via Philadelphia Freedom Watch blog, with thanks]

Mohamat Nour's Chadian rebel United Front for Change (FUC) aims to depose Chadian president Deby

Who are these people? Sudanese Janjaweed, organised criminals, mercenaries? Whatever, they claim to be soldiers under the name of United Front for Change (FUC), bringing together several "dissident" Chadian armed gangs, and deny being backed by Sudan as the Chadian government alleged, says an unsourced article from Paris at France based Sudan Tribune 2 April 2006.

According to the article, the leader of the FUC, Mohamat Nour, rejected repeated Chadian accusations of being in the pay of Sudan and told Radio France Internationale:

"If we had received Sudanese assistance since 1994, [President] Idriss [Deby] would not be in power now".

"I am a soldier. We are currently being forced to do it by the arms and we will then hold a national forum which will bring together all Chadians who will then decide on Chad's political future and we, soldiers, will return to our barracks", said Nour.

Photo: Mohamat Nour (ST)

Who is currently "forcing" them to do it by arms? Where do such thugs and criminals get their guns, equipment and sharp new uniforms? Who is funding them - Sudan? France? Surely there is much more to this than meets the eye and that Chad's oil has something to do with it.

Note, a reader left the following comment at SW post Jan 13, 2006:

"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."

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SUDAN DENIES SUPPORTING CHADIAN REBELS



Photo: Chadian rebels stand by their vehicle in a small camp along the Sudan-Chad border Feb 10, 2006. The Sudanese army on that date denied reports which said Sudan's military lent support to rebels who recently carried out a series of attacks in the eastern Chad, slamming the reports as "baseless and lack of evidences and witnesses," reported Xinhua 1 Apr 2006 - excerpt:

In a press statement to the official SUNA, Spokesperson of the Sudanese Armed Forces Osman Mohammed al-Aghbash said that the army was completely committed to all international agreements and treaties, especially the Tripoli agreement signed by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and Chadian President Idris Deby during a mini African summit in the capital of Libya on Feb. 8. The agreement calls for a good neighborhood between the two countries.

Note, Chad and Sudan promised in the agreement that they would not harbor rebels on their territories or conduct mutually hostile activities.
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CHAD ARMY CHIEF KILLED IN BATTLE WITH REBELS



Photo: A soldier of the Chad National Army patrols the wadi Tine, the empty bed of a seasonal river that marks the border between Tine Chad and Tine Sudan, in 2004. See Sudan Tribune 31 Mar 2006: Chad army chief killed in battle with rebels.

Further reading:

Feb 12 2006 Interview: Mahamat Nour the Chad rebel leader demands change, by force if needed

Feb 20 2006 Two Chadian army generals desert, join rebels

Mar 1 2006 Al Qaeda is entrenched in Sudan, UN envoy warns

Mar 15 2006 Chad's President Deby was sponsored by Khartoum and helped into power by the French secret services

Sudanese rebel group JEM dismisses peace talks and calls for Darfur's sovereignty

War in Sudan has gone on almost non-stop for the past 50 years. Who can tell if it will go on for another 50 years or longer ...

The chair of Darfur rebels group JEM, Khalil Mohammed, on Wednesday dismissed Darfur peace talks as "a waste of time, energy and resources of stakeholders." He said the peace talks would not achieve any meaningful result as they were "merely going in circles."

Mohammed said that if the African Union's April deadline for peace in the region lapsed without success, "the people of Darfur will be left with no choice other than to ask for self-determination".

"If we do not get our own sovereignty, the only alternative is a forceful change of the government in Khartoum," Chairman of Darfur rebel group JEM threatened.

Full report (Sapa-dpa) 30 Mar 2006.

Further reading:

Mar 24 2006 Sharia row hits South Sudan peace deal - Sudan's SPLM pull out of team drafting Khartoum constitution

Mar 30 2006 Eric Reeves Darfur, President Bush, and the Triumph of Expediency

Apr 1 2006 Al-Bashir Interview - US makes Sudan problems part of US politics

Sudanese government not pursuing policy of genocide in Darfur

Many quarters, including UN special envoy Jan Pronk, refer to what is happening in Darfur as ethnic cleansing. People who refer to Darfur as genocide ought to take note of the following excerpt from International Justice Tribune on Darfur, Sudan:

The Security Council referred the Darfur situation to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on 31 March 2005 in Resolution 1593 (2005), after almost two months of negotiations over how to prosecute the crimes occurring in Darfur.

The Resolution was voted in by 11-0 with four members abstaining: the United States, Algeria, Brazil and China. The International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur, chaired by the Italian judge Antonio Cassese, concluded in its report published on 31 January 2005 that crimes against humanity and war crimes such as killings, rape, pillaging and forced displacement have been committed since 1 July 2002 by the government-backed forces and the Janjaweed militia.

It declared, however, that the government of Sudan was not pursuing a policy of genocide in Darfur.

US makes Sudan problems part of US politics - Al-Bashir

Click here for text of President Bashir's interview with Qatari Al-Jazeera satellite TV on 29 March 2006. Excerpt:

Mr President, you are now the president of the current Arab summit session. Some say you have solved the problem of Sudan in an African manner and there is now an effort to approach the Arabs to help solve the problem of Darfur. Where is Sudan heading? Is it heading toward Africa or the Arab world?

Al-Bashir: Sudan is an Arab-African country. We reject dividing Africa into Arab and black Africa or north and south of the desert. We are now talking about a united Africa and an African Union representing all African countries. According to this concept, we find that most of the Arabs are inside Africa.

Therefore, there can be no talk about Africa without the Arabs. Consequently, one cannot talk about an African unity without having ties with the Arabs. The Arabs outside Africa are linked to the Arabs in Africa. Therefore, all Arabs in and outside Africa are strongly linked to Africa. Our role is strengthening Arab-African cooperation in the interest of Africa and the Arabs. (Jazeera TV/BBCMS/ST)

Janjaweed slay Chad Army General Abakar Youssouf Mahamat

According to Prensa Latina Mar 31, Chad Army commander General Abakar Youssouf Mahamat died from wounds caused during clashes with Sudanese rebels and militia in the country's eastern zone, government military sources reported Friday. Excerpt:

The news of his death came as a blow to President Idriss Deby and his attempt to boost an offensive against rebels' positions in the east.

According to sources, Janjaweed Arab militias, responsible for the general's death, are fighting in Darfur, backed by the Sudanese government and Chad rebels group.

Deby, a candidate to be re-elected in the May 3 elections, accuses Sudan of supporting those rebels who want to remove him, an accusation Khartoum denies. (mh/iff/mf)

Mercenaries from Sudan attacked Chadian town of Modeina - dozens killed, 4,000 civilians displaced

On Friday, the UN refugee agency said that in the past month several unspecified armed groups seized Sudan refugees in Chad camps, recruiting as many as several hundred men from refugee camps in eastern Chad, reports AP Mar 31, 2006:

"Refugees said recruiters mainly targeted boys and men ranging in age from 15 to 35. Some of them were even younger," said Ron Redmond, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Also, the report explains an armed group crossed the border from Sudan and attacked a town in eastern Chad, leaving dozens dead on both sides of the conflict and forcing 4,000 civilians from their homes, a government official said Friday:

Twelve government soldiers and dozens of fighters from the armed group died in Thursday's violence in Modeina, Gen. Mahamat Ali Abdallah, Chad's territorial administration minister, said in a statement.

"Forces coming from Sudan and under the control of the regime of Khartoum have attacked the town of Modeina," Abdallah said, adding that government forces "kicked out the assailants, who returned deep into Sudanese territory."

He described the armed group as "mercenaries" but did not elaborate. The fighting displaced 4,000 civilians, Abdallah said. Sudanese officials were not immediately available for comment.

Further reading:

Feb 9 2006 Sudan: Child soldiers in Janjaweed and breakaway Darfur rebel group NMRD

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

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

Jan 14 2005 Chad-Sudan: A third rebel movement the NMRD has appeared in Darfur

No-flight zone over Darfur would be impossible to implement

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan Monday phoned NATO's chief to develop a range of possible options for supporting the AMIS and its possible takeover by the UN. But officials said there was unlikely to be a step-change in NATO's military commitment.

"There will be a beefed up NATO role, but there will be no NATO lead in Darfur. People here are talking about more of the same, maybe with more planners and logistical help," said one. Appathurai said the 57-year old bloc would look at Annan's request "in the context of what NATO is already providing."

One NATO diplomat told the International Herald Tribune that neither the Sudanese government nor the African Union "want to see white, European troops coming into Sudan," adding that the idea of a no-flight zone over Darfur would be impossible to implement. "Which NATO country would be willing to shoot down a Sudanese plane?"

Full report by Gareth Harding (UPI/ST) 30 Mar 2006.

NATO ruled out sending troops to Sudan's Darfur

"No one is discussing, planning or considering a NATO force on the ground in Darfur. That is not one of the options," spokesman James Appathurai told reporters Wednesday after a meeting of NATO ambassadors.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a NATO official told United Press International that the idea of the alliance dispatching ground troops to Darfur was a "non-starter with the Africans, a non-starter with the UN and a non-starter with NATO."

Officials in Brussels also criticized the US president for sending out confused messages about what he expects from the alliance. "Bush has been a little bit unclear in his language," said one, referring to the president's call for 20,000 peacekeepers to be sent to Darfur under NATO's command.

Full report (UPI/ST) 30 Mar 2006.

UN invites Sudanese FM for talks on Darfur takeover

Top UN political official has invited Sudan's FM Lam Akol to UN HQ in NY to hold discussions on transitioning from an AU force in Darfur to a UN peacekeeping operation there.

Ibrahim Gambari, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, told reporters of the initiative today in Khartoum where he is meeting with officials who attended the Arab summit yesterday.

In discussions with Sudanese President Bashir and Lam Akol, Gambari "stressed that the UN, if it were to deploy forces, would build on and complement the good work of the AU to achieve peace, security and stability all over the Sudan."

Gambari also met with the Special Representative of the AU in Sudan to discuss the AU's continuing role in Darfur.

Full report (UN News/ST) 31 March 2006.

Private army is ready for hire, company says

Blackwater USA is offering itself as an army for hire to police the world's trouble spots, the Seattle Times reported today:

Peter Singer, a scholar at the Brookings Institution who has written a book on private military companies, said the concept of private armies engaging in counterinsurgency missions raises myriad questions about staffing standards, rules of engagement and accountability.

"No matter how you slice it, it's a private entity making decisions of a political nature," he said.

"It gets dicey."

Arab leaders fail to fix amount for Darfur aid

AFP says NATO already provides logistical support and training for the AU peacekeepers in Darfur and on Wednesday NATO said it has accepted a UN request to consider extending support for the AU mission and the possible follow-on UN mission. Excerpt:

Arab leaders meeting in Khartoum pledged to help finance an African peacekeeping force in Darfur but dropped an initial plan to provide 150 million dollars in aid.

Also on Wednesday, the Arab summit resolution had initially offered 150 million dollars to an African Union mission but the figure was removed in the final text adopted Wednesday, leaving the amount to the discretion of Arab League member states.

"This ambiguity says a lot about the Arabs' inability to contradict the Americans and about their respect to promises they make to other Arabs," a Palestinian delegate said, adding that Somalia was still waiting to receive a 26-million-dollar aid package promised in 2005.

An Arab diplomat who has attended several Arab summits in the past told AFP that "all Arab summits show political and financial support, but experience has proven that words are rarely followed by acts."

New York Times probed on Sudan ad insert

The US State Department is investigating to see whether The New York Times violated American sanctions against Sudan by publishing an advertising supplement touting investment in the country, Forward.com reported today.

Note the issue was not the ad's content, but the financial transaction. America has maintained a complex set of sanctions against the North African nation since 1997. The sanctions initially were aimed at punishing Sudan's support for international terrorism, efforts to destabilize neighboring governments and violations of human rights.

See March 22, 2006 links to New York Times supplement on Sudan.

Mesirya tribe leader urges resolution of Abyei dispute

The leader of the Arab Mesirya tribe has called upon Sudan's Government of National Unity to resolve the Abyei border dispute between the Dinka Ngok and the Mesirya communities. Full story (SRS/ST) Mar 29 2006.

Click here for further reading and links to:

Feb 28 2006 Abyei Boundaries Commission: Who bears the responsibility?

Aug 16 2005 Sudan: Abyei Boundary Commission report

Sep 26 2005 Text of the Draft of Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan

Oct 10 2005 Fighting feared in South Sudan's oil-rich Abyei region

Jan Pronk to visit South Sudan after attacks

Special Representative Jan Pronk will visit Juba from 30-31 March to meet various officials, including those from the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), and he will also go to Yei, the site of a deadly attack on UN refugee agency compound in which a staff member died.

After visiting southern Sudan, Mr Pronk will then travel to Abuja in Nigeria from 1-2 April, to meet the parties involved in the Darfur peace talks.
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South Sudan: Jan Pronk says there is a breakthrough...

UN special envoy Jan Pronk, in his Weblog 23 March 2006, writes:

In Sudan many mistakes have been made concerning reconstruction and development. It all started too late. The approaches chosen were often counterproductive. This has resulted in a stalemate. People in Southern Sudan are getting disappointed. What benefits has peace brought for them in their daily lives? However, there is a breakthrough. Read more.

Darfur-Darfur dialogue (DDDC) to be organised after signing of Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA)

The African Union chief mediator for the Darfur peace talks, Salim Ahmed Salim, on 28 March 2006, chaired a meeting with the warring parties to initiate preliminary consultations in preparation for the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation (DDDC), Sudan Tribune reported today:

Salim urged the parties to regard the DDDC as an integral part of the peace process, to be organized only after the signing of Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA).

Arab summit closes with adoption of "Khartoum declaration"

The Arab summit closed today with the adoption of the "Khartoum Declaration" which states the Arab position mainly on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the situation in Iraq and Darfur, Morocco Times reported today:

The final declaration backed Sudan's position against the deployment of UN-led peacekeeping forces in Darfur.

"We will never accept the deployment of international troops in Darfur without our permission," said Sudanese president Omar Hassan El Bachir.

"When we have reached a peace agreement, we will be able to examine the role UN force can play at our request," he added.

Key points re Darfur from the Arab summit's "Khartoum Declaration":

- affirm their support for the African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur and underline their rejection of deploying other troops here without permission of the Sudanese government, a reference to UN peacekeepers.

- call for parties at the Darfur peace talks to step up efforts to reach a settlement and express their intention "to increase joint Arab forces within the African Union and offer the necessary funding for them to continue their mission."

UNHCR staff member dies of wounds sustained in Yei attack

A staff member of the UN refugee agency who was shot and wounded during an attack by raiders on a UN compound in south Sudan has died, the UNHCR said on Wednesday. Full report (IRIN) 29 March 2006.