AU reacts to ICG report on Darfur peace deal

Bravo to the African Union for its speedy response to serious misinformation published by International Crisis Group. See report at Sudan Tribune June 25, 2006 AU reacts to ICG report on Darfur peace deal - excerpt:

The African Union reacted to a report issued last week by the International Crisis Group "Darfur's Fragile Peace Agreement" on the signed peace deal between the Sudanese government and the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Minni Minawi.

The African Union in the following press statement tries to respond to the issues raised in the ICG report:

"The Darfur Peace Agreement, signed on 5 May, faces many difficulties of implementation. Efforts by the Parties, the African Union and international partners are not assisted by serious misrepresentation of the contents, process and context of the DPA. Unfortunately, the International Crisis Group "Policy Briefing" on Darfur contains some serious errors of fact and interpretation, which are extremely unhelpful to the process of implementation.

This press release seeks to correct the errors of fact and interpretation in the ICG Report. [edit]

The AU expresses its regret at the misrepresentations of the DPA in the ICG Report of 20 June and its hope that the ICG will correct those factual errors without delay.

Note, when ICG's report appeared a few days ago, I decided against publishing it until something else emerged that refuted the erroneous misleading statements made by ICG, enabling me to blog more balanced information. I am more than irked at ICG. As far as I am concerned, ICG's name is mud. Last year, when I vented about them here at Sudan Watch, I decided to take what they say with a pinch of salt. In my eyes they have no credibility. If ever I feel up to it, I shall get on their case here and look into what's behind ICG's perspective and why in an effort to try and understand who, as an unelected body, they think they are.

MORE MEDDLESOME ARMCHAIR CRITICS

Excerpt from June 23, 2006 Sapa report via Africast US presses for international force in Darfur::

In a report released on Tuesday, the International Crisis Group (ICG) recommended that the UN adopt a binding resolution on the matter.

"The Security Council should authorise deployment of a robust UN force, starting with a rapid reaction component, ... by 1 October 2006," with a clear mandate to "use all necessary means to protect civilians, ... including to act militarily as necessary," the group said.

Other analysts prescribed sanctions for Khartoum.

"It is time to put serious sanctions on the Sudanese government," said Princeton Lyman of the Council on Foreign Relations. "There will be resistance from China and Russia, but one has to confront them on this issue, because if the Security Council vote a peacekeeping operation and the Sudanese resist, there has to be some reaction from the council."

IRIN report Concerns Over Implementation of Peace Deal - via Coalition for Darfur:

"There is nothing, there is no progress on the implementation of the DPA," Hafiz Mohamed, Sudan programme director for the London-based advocacy group Justice Africa, said. "That is a great worry - a lot needs to be done." [edit]

"For there to be peace, the deadlines set by the Darfur Peace Agreement must be followed," said Maureen Byrnes, Executive Director of Human Rights First. "In the month since the peace agreement was signed, the people of Darfur have not seen a cessation of violence. Instead, in some parts of Darfur there's actually been a major escalation of the violence," Byrnes noted.

"You can blame the government for it, but Minni Minnawi’s group also deserves some of the blame, due to its lack of cohesion - the movement continues to splinter," Mohamed said.

[Note, no criticism of SLM-Nur or JEM]

"The right question should be: Why should international forces come into Darfur; what are the reasons for such an intervention?" - Bashir

Note these two quotes from June 23 Sapa report via Africast - US presses for international force in Darfur:

"The right question should be: Why should international forces come into Darfur; what are the reasons for such an intervention?" Beshir told reporters.

"You either get the approval of the government, as the government did for the African Union force and the Nato support, or you invade, and that's a very big, serious challenge," Zoellick said.

Save Darfur Coalition (Washington, DC) responds to Sudanese President

Save Darfur Coalition (Washington, DC) Press Release June 22, 2006 - via AllAfrica - excerpt:

"President Bashir's comments are as predictable as they are preposterous," said Save Darfur Coalition spokesperson Alex Meixner. "Earlier this year, Bashir said that he would not allow a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur because there was no peace agreement to keep. Now that an agreement has been signed, he's creating new excuses to keep the international community from ending the crisis he created."

[What a load of twaddle. As if the so-called "international community" can end the Darfur crisis! Only the Sudanese rebels and tribal leaders can do that. You can draw a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. You can't force peace on people who don't want peace. When was there ever peace in Sudan?]

SLM-Nur statement on suspension of UN mission in Darfur

Sudan Liberation Movement/Army Press Statement by Jaffer Monro, Spokesperson and Press Secretary, June 25, 2006.
For more info on this statement, please contact
Nouri Abdalla, SLM
Satellite phone: +8821643333465
Email: nouriabdalla@yahoo.com

[These guys, using words like "breathtaking" and "genocidal" sound like Eric Reeves! See his June 24, 2006 opinion piece entitled Khartoum Adamantly Refuses Urgently Required UN Forces in Darfur]

Sudan suspends UN work in Darfur over UN airlift of SLA-Minnawi's Suleiman to S Kordofan

BBC report today Sunday, 25 June 2006, 08:14 GMT 09:14 UK:

Sudan has ordered the United Nations to partially suspend its operations in the conflict-hit Darfur region.

Khartoum accuses the UN of giving a helicopter lift to a rebel leader who opposes a recent peace deal.

The ban does not affect the work of the UN children's agency, Unicef, or of the World Food Programme, another UN body.

The UN is conducting the world's largest humanitarian operation in Darfur, where up to 300,000 people have died in three years of civil war.

[I've just awoken to this news. Not yet had a chance to check out other reports. More later]

By Reuters' Opheera McDoom... [link via POTP with thanks]

Sudan has suspended the work of a U.N. mission in its violent Darfur region after accusing the world body of transporting a rebel leader who opposes a recent peace deal, a Sudanese official said on Sunday.

"The suspension applies for all of Darfur and this will continue until we get an explanation," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Jamal Ibrahim.

He said the ban was imposed because a U.N. helicopter had moved rebel leader Suleiman Adam Jamous, who rejects a peace deal signed on May 5.

It excludes two bodies affiliated to the U.N. mission, the World Food Programme and the U.N. children's agency (UNICEF), Ibrahim said.

U.N. spokeswoman Radhia Achouri said the mission had not received any formal communication from the government.

"We have also seen the media reports but we have not received any formal and official confirmation of this from the government of Sudan," she said.

She declined to comment on whether the United Nations had moved rebel leader Jamous in a helicopter.

After three years of revolt in Sudan's remote west, tens of thousands have been killed and 2.5 million forced into miserable camps, creating one of the worst humanitarian crises and sparking the world's largest aid operation.

Only one of three rebel factions negotiating in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, signed the African Union-mediated deal and tens of thousands in Darfur have demonstrated, at times violently, against it.

They say it does not meet their basic demands of proper compensation for war victims or enough political posts and the rebels want to monitor the disarmament of pro-government militias, known locally as Janjaweed.

Elderly Jamous was the respected humanitarian coordinator for the main rebel Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) before it split in November last year. He was the main contact for the more than 14,000 aid workers in the region.

"He was picked up by the U.N. helicopter between el-Fasher and Musbat," Ibrahim said, referring to areas in North Darfur.

"The authorities were not consulted, no permission was asked for and it was clear negligence," he said, adding it was a 'flagrant violation' of the sovereignty of Sudan.

The leader of the SLA faction who signed the deal, Minni Arcua Minnawi, had imprisoned Jamous for his opposition to the deal, rights groups and other rebel leaders said.

U.N. officials and other rights groups had been involved in securing his release.

Darfur ceasefire Joint Commission holds first meeting

The Darfur Joint Commission today at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa held its first meeting since the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) on the 5 May 2006. The meeting is to be reconvened soon after the AU Summit in Banjul. - Full report Sudan Tribune 25 June 2006.

Sudan disarms Janjaweed militia - Annan and Bashir at AU summit July 1-2

More than 750 militiamen handed over their arms in a ceremony attended by representatives of the UN, AU and the American and British embassies, IslamOnline reported June 24, 2006.

The government vowed to help improve the living conditions of those who have handed over their arms, said Al-Jazeera correspondent.

This is the first disarming bid since the signing of a peace agreement, brokered by the Africa Union, in the Nigerian capital on May 5.

Note, in a related development, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he would try again to persuade Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir to accept a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur when they meet at an African Union summit in Gambia next week:

Annan said he had spoken to Bashir by telephone and received the same negative response given to Jean-Marie Guehenno, the head of UN peacekeeping, on the need for a force in Darfur.

"I got the same message, but we have agreed to continue the dialogue, and also to meet in Banjul," he said, referring to the capital of Gambia where the AU is holding a July 1-2 summit.

The AU's chief executive, Alpha Oumar Konare, said Thursday after meeting Bashir that Sudan "is not rejecting the role of the U.N., but they want to clarify what will be the nature of this force."

Many in Darfur's SLA rebel group are as young as 16

David Blair's Darfur diary (4) UK Telegraph June 23, 2006 - excerpt:

We drive across the desert to Galap, an area of Northern Darfur province controlled by rebels from the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA). Another checkpoint manned by government soldiers marks the front line between opposing forces. Here, the soldiers wave us through. They wear t-shirts, dark glasses, camouflage trousers and flip-flops. This crazy dress code is adopted by the fighting men on both sides of this war.

After this checkpoint, we cross about five miles of "no-man's land", empty of people and all signs of habitation save for one ruined and abandoned village. Then an SLA checkpoint marks our entry into rebel-held territory.

Once again, we are welcomed by a rag-tag bunch of SLA fighters, many of them child soldiers. I ask one 16-year-old how long he has spent with the rebels. "Three years," he says. "Have you ever been to school?" I ask. He gives me a blank look. "No, there was no chance for that," he replies.

"The idea of UN peacekeepers supporting an African Union mission would be something that has never been done before" says UN's Head of Peacekeeping

June 23, 2006 Sudan Tribune unsourced article - excerpt:

"There is a risk of major violence," the UN head of peacekeeping, Jean-Marie Gehenno, told reporters at the end of a two-week assessment mission to Darfur. "The risk of fragmentation, of a new cycle of violence, after the rainy season, is quite real, very real." [Sudan Watch Ed: Makes one wonder if the rebels will create even more violence just to get UN troops onside]

Gehenno, the AU's peace commissioner Said Djinnit, and about 40 officials from both organizations were mandated by the UN Security Council to study the prospects for replacing the AU peacekeeping mission in Darfur by a larger, better equipped UN force. They held hundreds of meetings in the western Sudan region.

The AU force needs "a more robust mandate, but also more robust support from the United Nations," the AU's Djinnit said at the press conference with Gehenno.

"The UN is not in the business of colonizing any country," Gehenno said Thursday, a day after he met al-Bashir.

"As long as the government of Sudan does not accept a (UN) mission, there will not be one. It's as simple as that," he said.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Thursday that he hoped al-Bashir would change his mind. "The talks continue, and I hope ultimately we will be able to convince them to accept a UN force," Annan told reporters in Geneva.

Gehenno said the immediate priority was to support the AU troops in Darfur, and hinted this could be the door to the UN's entry. "The idea of UN peacekeepers supporting an African Union mission would be something that has never been done before," he said.

UN may assist in a way that is acceptable to the Sudanese government - Mbeki

June 23, 2006 Mail & Guardian report by Jean-Jacques Cornish - excerpt:

Al Bashir took full advantage of the spotlight, and the presence of AU and UN fact-finding teams in Sudan, to vent his spleen on the issue of peacekeepers.

He said they would be neo--colonialists and accused Jewish organisations of pushing for their deployment. "The UN Security Council decided on deployment of international forces in Darfur under Chapter Seven after we have reached a peace agreement that has ended a crisis the West has branded as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world," said Al Bashir.

"We know everything. We know their agenda. We have our own bugging and monitoring systems through which we ascertained that those forces are coming with a colonial agenda, they are coming not for keeping peace but to remain in Darfur as forces of occupation."

He rejected the argument that the AU cannot finance a large enough peacekeeping force in Sudan. "They kept silent when the Arab League offered to finance the AU operations and they have not asked themselves how those operations are financed at present.

"We know that the UN has no money. Recently UN humanitarian envoy Jan Egeland said his organisation could not find funds for financing humanitarian operations. How is it going to finance those forces of occupation?" asked Al Bashir.

Mbeki insisted that the purpose of his visit to Khartoum was not to reinforce the need for blue helmets in Darfur.

"The AU should continue discharging its mandate in Darfur while the UN may assist in a way that is acceptable to the Sudanese government," said Mbeki. "The Sudan is an important country in the continent and anything that happens in it will have an impact in Africa."

He commended both Al Bashir and the former rebel Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement for the progress made in implementing the comprehensive peace agreement, but pointedly added that there are outstanding issues that need to be tackled.

The South African leader was in Khartoum to get the latest information to report to the African Union summit in Banjul next week.

South Africa heads the AU committee for the reconstruction of Sudan and is the current chair of the AU Peace and Security Council.

Democracy and security in Africa - Lord Triesman

Source: Government of the United Kingdom [via ReliefWeb]
Date: 22 Jun 2006
Democracy and security in Africa - Triesman
Event: Chatham House Africa Programme
Location: London
Speech Date: 21 Jun 2006
Speaker: Lord Triesman

Human Rights Watch incorrectly says Khartoum is backtracking

In an interview June 22, 2006, Human Rights Watch (HRW) Deputy Director for Africa, Georgette Gagnon tells Voice of America English to Africa reporter Howard Lesser:

"There seems to be some disconnect. Obviously, we must remember that when the Darfur peace agreement was being negotiated, the Khartoum government said that it would accept UN troops to come in and monitor a peace agreement. Now, it's backtracking."

This is not true. From what I have gathered here at Sudan Watch (see a small sample of reports listed here below - many more in Sudan Watch archives) Khartoum never once said that it would accept UN troops in Darfur. Khartoum is not backtracking. It said it would consider and discuss when the UN-AU assessment team completed its findings and, clearly, the final decision rested with Sudan's President al-Bashir. I challenge Human Rights Watch to point out when and where the Sudanese Government agreed to accept UN troops in Darfur and monitor a peace agreement. [VOA report via POTP, with thanks]

Further reading

Apr 15 2006 Sudanese president meets with UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations - Sudanese President al-Bashir reiterated refusal on Saturday of deploying international forces in Darfur to take over the peacekeeping mission of the African Union. "Sudan is persistent in its position refusing the handover of the AU mission in Darfur to the United Nations," the president told the UN official, according to the sources. Meanwhile, the sources said that al-Bashir and Annabi reached an agreement during the meeting that a technical team would be sent by the UN to Khartoum to conduct consultations with the government on a possible "smooth and natural transfer of the African mission" after the mandate of the AU peacekeeping forces expires on Sept. 30.

Apr 26 2006 Sudan: Government opposes UN force in Darfur at this time, UN Security Council is told

May 7 2006 Protests greet UN's Egeland in Darfur, before Gereida visit - a spokesman for the Sudanese government suggested that Sudan would welcome U.N. peacekeepers, but a foreign ministry spokesman told Reuters on Sunday that the government had not yet decided whether to allow the so-called "blue helmets" into the region.

May 7 2006: Sudan says undecided about UN peacekeepers in Darfur - Jamal Muhammad Ibrahim told Reuters media reports saying Sudan would welcome  UN peacekeepers were untrue. "This is not accurate. I don't know who made this  statement. ... It has to come after an assessment by the Sudan government.

Apr 29 2006 TEXT- Draft of Darfur Peace Agreement

May 16 2006 UN Security Council unanimously adopts Resolution 1679 (2006) paving way for UN force in Darfur - a resolution calling for the deployment on the ground of a joint UN/AU Technical Assessment Team to Darfur ... in continuous consultation with the Government of National Unity of Sudan

May 19 2006 Annan dispatches Brahimi and Annabi to Khartoum to press Sudan's government to allow UN military planners into Darfur

May 22 2006 Fears Janjaweed will turn on Sudanese government if they try to take their arms by force - There is a very real fear that the Janjaweed, whose tribes were equally marginalised by Khartoum in the past, will turn on the government if they try to take their arms by force

May 23 2006 UN chief talks with Sudan's president on UN peacekeeping operation - Troops, by themselves, cannot be the full answer - Asked whether States were prepared to contribute personnel to a UN mission in Darfur, the peacekeeping chief said a number "have expressed a measure of interest" but noted that none would make a commitment in the absence of a Security Council mandate and clear information about the situation on the ground. "No country is going to start spending money preparing its troops for a possible deployment until it knows that this deployment is going to happen for real," he said

May 24 2006 Khartoum talks fail to meet UN Security Council deadline: Sudan is now in violation of international law - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's veteran troubleshooter Lakhdar Brahimi and UN peacekeeping chief Hedi Annabi began talks in Khartoum on Tuesday to break the deadlock but, as the UN Security Council deadline expired on Wednesday, no agreement was reached, Reuters reported today:"The assessment mission is still not decided upon by the government of Sudan," said presidential advisor Majzoub al-Khalifa after his meeting with Brahimi and Annabi. The UN resolution was passed under chapter seven meaning Sudan was now in violation of international law

May 25 2006 Sudan agrees on UN/AU Darfur assessment mission - Mr Brahimi said a joint UN and AU team would arrive in the next few days. Sudan still does not accept that a UN force in Darfur is inevitable. At a press briefing in Khartoum, FM Lam Akol said that further political discussion was needed, and that only after those meetings could technical preparations be made

May 25 2006 Sudan rejects UN military role in Darfur - Sudanese FM Lam Akol said on Wednesday that his country would not allow the UN to play a military role in Darfur. Lam Akol made the remarks during a meeting with Lakhdar Brahimi. "The foreign minister explained Sudan's view on the recent UN Security Council resolution, affirming that the Darfur peace agreement does not provide in its security arrangements any role for the UN or any other party except the African Union," the spokesman told reporters. Presidential advisor Majzoub al-Khalifa told reporters following his meeting with the UN envoy that the Sudanese government did not accept the deployment of international forces in Darfur under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter, which authorizes the use of force if the Security Council resolution is not complied with

Jun 6 2006 UN Security Council delegation in Khartoum meets Sudanese President al-Bashir - The delegation will also seek the support of the Sudanese government to allow a UN force to take over the peacekeeping mission from 7,000 underfunded African Union (AU) troops

Jun 6 2006 Sudan will consult with respective political parties to discuss findings of UN military assessment mission next week

Jun 9 2006 Joint UN-AU team of 40 arrive in Khartoum today to begin planning for strengthening AU Mission in Darfur - The team of 40 people from the UN and the African Union is being led by Undersecretary General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno and will visit Darfur and hold talks with senior government officials over a period of 18 days, said Jim Landale, a spokesman for the UN mission. "The goal of the mission is to look at what can be done to strengthen the African Union force mission now and plan for a possible takeover by a United Nations peacekeeping mission," Landale said today in an interview in Khartoum

Jun 10 2006 What Sudan really fears is UN troops may be used to arrest officials and militia likely to be indicted by the ICC investigating war crimes in Darfur - Akol said military and other technical experts from the team would be leaving for Darfur on Tuesday. Asked if the Sudanese government's position had changed, he said: "Any decisions of any sort will be taken after that," referring to the team's trip to Darfur. The joint mission will return to Khartoum for further talks after visiting Darfur. The mission, which arrived on Friday, is expected to last around 18 days. Akol said the joint team could not tell Khartoum what the mandate and aim of a possible U.N. mission in Darfur would be until after they had visited the region and assessed what was required

Jun 15 2006 International Criminal Court Prosecutor briefs UN Security Council on Darfur, says will not draw conclusions on genocide until investigation complete - June 14, 2006 UN report: International Criminal Court Prosecutor briefs Security Council on Darfur, says will not draw conclusions on genocide until investigation complete - Luis Moreno-Ocampo tells Council, given scale, complexity of crimes, anticipates prosecuting 'sequence of cases, rather than a single case'

Jun 20 2006 Sudanese President Bashir rejects international military intervention in Darfur - "I swear that there will not be any international military intervention in Darfur as long as I am in power," Mr Bashir was quoted as telling a meeting of his ruling National Congress late on Monday

Jun 21 2006 Sudan opposes UN in Darfur because it fears too many of its allies will end up in an international criminal court - Turabi

Jun 22 2006 VOA ICC probe finds evidence of atrocities committed by both the Sudanese government-backed Janjaweed militia and rebel forces

Khartoum's discussing sending joint GOS/SPLA force of 10,000 troops to back up AU and help disarm Arab militias

Excerpt from Reuters report by Emma Thomasson 22 June 2006:

Junior Minister Deng said instead of UN forces Khartoum was discussing sending about 10,000 troops to back up the AU and help disarm the Arab militias.

He said the soldiers could come from the joint force that includes former rebel fighters from southern Sudan. Former rebels from the south joined a national unity government after a deal in 2005 ended a protracted north-south civil war.

Related reports

Jan 15 2006 Sudan proposes formation of joint army force of GOS/Rebel/AU troops for Darfur and offers to partly finance AU troops in Darfur - includes links following reports:

Apr 21 2005 South Sudan: SPLM/A willing and ready to deploy 10,000 of its troops to Darfur

Apr 22 2005 Bloggers unite to support Darfur peacekeeping mission - a troika of 30,000 forces from Sudan, New Sudan and UN/AU

Oct 07 2005 John Garang proposed joint force of 30,000 AU/GOS/SPLMA troops for Darfur

Jun 02 2006 Khartoum Monitor/Embassy of Sudan: Sudan to Establish Joint Integrated Forces With Ex-Rebels - Spokesperson for the JDB, Maj-Gen Majdhub Rahama, in a statement to Khartoum Monitor disclosed arrangements for preparing a 15,000 joint integrated forces shared equally by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the SPLA in order to function as an international force if required.

Jun 22 2006 AP report via Sudan Tribune: Joint army-rebel force could bolster AU troops in Darfur - Sudan - Speaking to reporters, Deng reiterated the Sudanese government's objection to allowing U.N. peacekeepers into Darfur. "People jump to UN troops as if they are the answer to everything," he said. Deng said a unit comprised of 5,000 members of the Sudan Armed Forces and 5,000 fighters from the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army could beef up the African Union mission, which has failed to rein in more than three years of violence. "These troops can be used to ... maintain law and order in Darfur," Deng said, adding that such units already exist elsewhere in Sudan.

UN food agency $3.5 million construction project to build 25 schools in southern Sudan

As noted here previously, the African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur reportedly costs $1 billion per year. Look what can be achieved with a fraction of that sum. UN World Food Programme has launched a $3.5 million construction project to build 25 schools in southern Sudan, where primary school attendance rates are the lowest in the world, UN News Centre reported today:

The project will employ 100 teachers and cater to over 10,000 students and complements WFP's School Feeding Programme, which aims to increase school enrolment and attendance by giving children a free meal when they go to class.

WFP has partnered up with the Norwegian Refugee Council and German Development Corporation to build four schools following donations from the US, UK and the Netherlands.

I doubt the Darfur insurgents ever wonder how many schools could be built for the $1 billion their violence costs. Moronic guerrillas. Who do they think they are holding a country and millions of defenceless women and children to ransom? None of them are fit to represent their people or even govern. Bah. Puke. They make me sick.



Photo: ZamZam camp, a Sudanese boy kicks a football as World Cup fever grips the continent, with Angola, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo and Tunisia in Germany. (BBC Africa in pictures 10-16 June 2006)

Only 20 per cent of children in southern Sudan attend primary school. Of those who do, just one third are girls.

Japan pledged $100m to help Sudan

Emergency grant aid for humanitarian assistance to the Darfur region, Sudan - ReliefWeb 22 June 2006.

Nigeria continues to persuade Darfur rebel groups to endorse peace

Nigeria will continue to work for the acceptance of the recent peace agreement on Darfur by all stakeholders in the region, the state-owned News Agency of Nigeria reported on Thursday. - People's Daily Online 22 June 2006.

Annan says more pressure needed to be placed on rebel holdouts who have rejected peace moves

"I still think a United Nations peacekeeping force will be needed to help the parties implement the peace agreement and help provide security for the internally displaced," Annan told journalists in Geneva today.

He also said more pressure needed to be placed on rebel holdouts who have rejected peace moves.

Full report Sudan Tribune 22 June 2006.

ICC probe finds evidence of atrocities committed by both the Sudanese government-backed Janjaweed militia and rebel forces

The following editorial at VOA News - War Crimes In Darfur reflects the views of the United States Government.

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court says that he anticipates bringing war crimes charges against those who have committed atrocities in the Darfur region of Sudan. Luis Moreno Ocampo says his office is able to document thousands of killings of civilians, including "a significant number of large-scale massacres, with hundreds of victims in each incident."

According to Mr. Ocampo's report, a large number of victims and witnesses "reported that men perceived to be from the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa groups were deliberately targeted." The report says "there are eye-witness accounts that the perpetrators made statements reinforcing the targeted nature of the attacks, such as 'we will kill all blacks' and 'we will drive you out of this land'." Mr. Ocampo's probe finds evidence of atrocities committed by both the Sudanese government-backed Janjaweed militia and rebel forces.

Fighting broke out in Darfur in 2003, after rebels complained that the region had been marginalized by the central government. Rebels affiliated with the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement attacked Sudanese government facilities. The government-backed Janjaweed militia responded by attacking civilians in Darfur. Homes and farms were burned, wells poisoned, and women raped.

President George W. Bush says the situation in Darfur "remains dire":

"About two-hundred-thousand people have died from conflict, famine, and disease. And more than two-million were forced into camps inside and outside their country, unable to plant crops, or rebuild their villages. I've called this massive violence an act of genocide, because no other word captures the extent of this tragedy."

"The U.S. "will not turn away from this tragedy," says President Bush. He says the U.S. "will call genocide by its rightful name, and we will stand up for the innocent until the peace of Darfur is secured."

[I find the timing of such reports rather curious when they appear in tandem with news of US calls for UN troops in Darfur, knowing that Sudan opposes a UN force in Darfur because it fears too many of its allies will end up in an international criminal court]

June 21 2006 US presses Sudan to accept UN force

June 22 2006 Annan says more pressure needed to be placed on rebel holdouts who have rejected peace moves - "I still think a United Nations peacekeeping force will be needed to help the parties implement the peace agreement and help provide security for the internally displaced," Annan told journalists in Geneva today.

Pakistani terrorist groups in Darfur vow to fight UN force

Two terrorist groups, styling themselves the "Jihad Brigade" and the "Darfur Blood Organisation", have already emerged in Darfur, vowing to fight any UN deployment.

UN officials say that Pakistanis have recently arrived in Darfur and are believed to lead the two new groups. But their strength is probably no more than a few score.

Full report Telegraph by David Blair in Khartoum 22 June 2006.

Historic photo of Sudanese opposition leaders, including Al-Turabi and Al-Mahdi, brought together by the UN

Here is 'Picture Of The Week' from Jan Pronk's Weblog June 10, 2006 showing Sudanese opposition leaders, including Al-Turabi and Al-Mahdi, brought together by the UN. Following caption authored by Mr Pronk of The Netherlands who is Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations in Sudan, leading the UN peace keeping operation (UNMIS - www.unmis.org).



Photo: Sudanese opposition leaders, including Al-Turabi and Al-Mahdi, brought together by the UN.

The United Nations Security Council, visiting Sudan early June, invited Sudanese opposition leaders to discuss the prospects of peace.

See from left to right Ali Mahmoud Hassanien, Deputy Chairman of the Democratic Unionis Party (DUP), Mohammed Ibrahim Nugud, Chairman of the Sudan Communist Party, Hassan Abdallah Al-Turabi, Chairman of the Popular National Congress Party (PNCP) and AL-Sadiq Al-Mahdi, Chairman of the Umma Party. The Chairman of the DUP, Al- Mergani, still keeps his residence in Egypt.

Al-Turabi sitting next to Al-Mahdi is rather unique. The Islamist Al-Turabi was the auctor intellectualis behind the military coup at the end of the ninety eighties which brought an end to the regime of Al-Mahdi. The latter had been Prime Minister after the democratic elections of 1986.

The Islamist Al-Turabi supported the regime of President Bashir many years. He was arrested and jailed when the Bashir regime changed its ideological orientation. Mid last year, after the formation of the Government of National Unity, which brought together Bashir's National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement of John Garang and Salve Kiir, Al-Turabi was set free. He directly started to severely provoke the government and surprised many people by taking rather liberal positions in matters concerning Islam. Elections are foreseen for 2008. It is uncertain how much support the various opposition parties will get, in particular because of the emergence of the SPLM, the Darfurian SLM and of course the NCP itself. [For greatly magnified view, click on original image at Jan Pronk's Weblog]

Jun 1 2005 Sudanese opposition leader [Sadiq al-Mahdi] to boycott interim government

May 14 2006 Sudan's Turabi condemns Darfur Peace Agreement - Al Turabi Is a Chameleon

Jun 3 2006 Al-Mahdi calls on Darfur rebels to adopt "civil jihad" to press Khartoum into convening all-inclusive conference - Unused water and Roseires Dam