JEM rebels phone AFP from London - willing to open peace talks with Khartoum

AFP report via CFD 2 Sept 2006 - excerpt:

"We welcome this resolution which is a victory for the people of Darfur as it will put a stop to the genocide under way," the movement's spokesperson Ahmed Hussein Adam told AFP by telephone from London.

"The Movement will co-operate fully in the implementation of the resolution and calls on the international community, and particularly the United States, to continue efforts for a comprehensive political settlement."

"The Movement is ready to resume negotiations to iron out the failings which were not addressed in the Abuja process," he said referring to the talks in the Nigerian capital that led to the May deal between Khartoum and the mainstream faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement.

They want peace with Khartoum? Yeah sure, whatever.

Sudan asks AMIS to leave Darfur by Sep 30

"We are asking them to leave since they indicated that they will not be able to continue their mission," said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Jamal Ibrahim. "This is a final decision."

Full story Reuters' Opheera McDoom 3 Sept 2006 [hat tip POTP]

African Union confirms renewed fighting in Sudan's Darfur

VOA News - AU: Fighting Renewed in Sudan's Darfur Region - excerpt:

An official with the African Union peacekeeping force, reached in the the Darfuri capital of El Fasher, said six villages have been attacked.

A rebel commander in the Darfur region says several civilians have been killed and thousands more displaced.

Commander Jar El Neby is a member of the National Redemption Front, an alliance of Darfur rebels that did not sign the May 5 Darfur Peace Agreement. He told VOA that he believes the Sudanese government is trying to expand its territory in the region.

"Since three days ago, they are in the area of Um Sidir," he said. "They have burned the village of Um Sidir, and kidnapped all the villages around Um Sifir area, and killed about five civilians yesterday in Um Sidir area. Until now, I hear the sound of Antonovs in this area. "

El Neby's group and another rebel faction have refused to sign on to the accord, saying it does not grant enough political power to Darfuris, nor enough compensation to victims of the three-year war.

African Union peacekeepers in Darfur unpaid since May

Darfur villages burn as army tramples on UN peace plan - Sunday Times excerpt:

Last Friday their new uniforms filled the streets of El Fasher and foreigners were warned to stay indoors.

General Collins Ihekire, the Nigerian head of the African Union's (AU) 7,000-strong peacekeeping force, believes the perception that it is implementing an unfair peace agreement is hampering its efforts even more than a lack of resources.

"They (the rebels) are not seeing us as partners in the peace process but as legitimate targets," he said by telephone from Darfur. Two AU soldiers were killed last month in an ambush, and more attacks were expected, he added. Most of the peacekeepers had not been paid since May.

African Union received no official notice from Khartoum to leave Darfur Sep 30

Sep 2 2006 Aegis Trust media release [via ST] - excerpt:

Disturbing reports in the past 48 hours indicate that the Sudanese Government is on the point of expelling the African Union Mission from Darfur.

According to a report yesterday in London-based Arabic daily Asharq Al-Awsat, Sudan's Vice-President, Ali Osman Mohammed Taha, on a visit to Kordofan, stated that Khartoum had asked the AU to withdraw its troops immediately, and told them that their withdrawal should be finished by 30 September.

"Their troops are no longer required"

"We will write to all African countries with troops in Darfur," he is quoted as saying. "We thank them for their previous work, but at the same time we say that their troops are no longer required in Sudan. This is because they are trying to change into being a UN force. This clearly contradicts their original mandate. Omar Bashir himself has told the AU before that if it agreed to a UN takeover, he would ask its countries to remove their troops immediately. However, we leave the door open for the rebuilding of confidence between Khartoum and the AU if it withdraws its support for UN Resolution 1706."

Resolution 1706, passed Thursday 31 August, authorised a transferral from the AU mission in Darfur to a UN peacekeeping mission comprising 17,000 troops, on condition of Khartoum's acceptance. Khartoum immediately rejected the resolution.

Late Saturday, senior AU representatives stated that though they had seen media reports indicating Khartoum was ordering the AU mission to leave Darfur, they had received no official notification from the Government of Sudan.

Christian Science Monitor: "Quite simply, Reeves is a gadfly - a blogger with a high wattage audience"

The Christian Science Monitor's Clara Germani has a nice profile of gadfly Eric Reeves "A Wired Prospero" . [hat tip VOGP]

Juba Blog: Fictional assassination films

See Juba Blog: President Bush Assassinated!

Pajamas Media in Sydney & Counterterrorism Blog - Darfur Peacekeeping mission OK'd

Via Pajamas Media in Sydney Aug 31, 2006.

Darfur Peacekeeping mission okayed

"The UN Security Council approved a plan to reinforce the African Union 7,000-strong force, unable to quell the violence there. The Sudan has objected. (CNN) Counterterrorism Blog has comments and Sudan Watch has background.

Sudan to expel AU force from Darfur

Sudan has decided to expel African Union force from Darfur.

The decision is taken by Khartoum 24 hours after the adoption of a UN resolution on Darfur peacekeeping mission.

According to London based Asharq Al-Awsat, the Sudanese government has decided to end the AU mission in Darfur after the AU approval for UN takeover in Darfur.

Sudanese president had warned the AU against any support to the UN takeover.

Full story Sudan Tribune 1 Sep 2006

Taha vows resistance - Who would donate peacekeepers in face of opposition from Khartoum?

Sep 1 2006 AFP report via CFD - excerpt:

Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha has vowed the regime would maintain its opposition to a UN peacekeeping force for Darfur and hailed Hezbollah as a model of resistance, official media said.

Diplomats in New York said it was highly unlikely that countries would contribute troops to a mission in the face of opposition from the Khartoum government, which has vowed to attack any forces sent uninvited to the area.

Darfur's peacekeepers 'not paid' - BBC

Reportedly, the African Mission in Darfur (AMIS) costs $1 billion pa. Where are the millions of dollars in donations for Darfur while much needed peacekeepers in Darfur are not even getting paid? If peackeepers are not paid or fed decently while on active duty, what is all the money for?

BBC report today, excerpt:

Rwanda's army spokesman says there have been delays in paying peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region because the African Union is short of cash.

Some of the Rwandan troops who make up over 2,000 of the 7,000-strong AU force in Darfur have complained they have not received their $25 daily allowance.

Maj Jules Rutaremara told the BBC the AU mission is reliant on international funding which has not been forthcoming.

"The AU has financial problems emanating from the fact that it is heavily dependent on partners outside Africa - mainly the European Union, the US and Canada, whose contributions have not been forthcoming," Maj Rutaremara told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.

But he said that he was confident the entitlements due to the Rwandan soldiers would be settled.

"The AU has registered delays in payments of allowances and salaries, sometimes going up to two months, but that does not mean that they will not be paid," he said.

The decision about whether to withdraw the AU mission was a political decision, not a military one, he said, although the Rwandan army was concerned about logistical problems in Darfur.

Two Rwandan soldiers in Darfur died in an ambush earlier this month.

[hat tip CFD via POTP]

Ireland welcomes Darfur peackeeping deployment

Irish Independent, Ireland - 10 hours ago
The Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern is welcoming the deployment of a peacekeeping force to Darfur. - DARFUR - Google News

Somalia peace talks kicks off in Khartoum

The Secretary-General's top envoy to Somalia is taking part in peace talks starting today in Khartoum between the troubled Horn of Africa's disputing parties, the Transitional Government and the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts. Full story UN News Centre 1 Sep 2006.

Sweden welcomes UN Resolution 1706 on Darfur

Government of Sweden statement via ReliefWeb today - excerpt:

"I welcome this Resolution. It will lay the basis for a vigorous international commitment to bring an end to the conflict in Darfur. The government in Khartoum has not been able to shoulder its responsibility to protect its people. I would therefore urge the government in Sudan to accept the UN initiative," says Minister for Foreign Affairs Jan Eliasson.

"We cannot tacitly accept a situation in which Darfur collapses into an even deeper spiral of violence and suffering. It is important that the Resolution can be fully implemented," says Mr Eliasson.

SLM-Bassey urges UN to get Sudan consent for peacekeepers deployment

Note, this report points out that Bassey replaced Nur. SLM-Nur is the rival group to SLA-Minnawi. SudanTribune Aug 31 , 2006 (PARIS):

The rebel Sudan Liberation Movement welcomed the UN Security Council resolution No 1706 for the deployment of an international force in Darfur region, the SLM urged the international community to put pressure on Khartoum to accept its implementation.

In a letter addressed to the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the chairman of the SLM, Ahmed Abdelshafi Bassey, It described the resolution as "workable plan to protect innocent civilians in Darfur".

The UN Security Council on Thursday authorized the creation of a United Nations peacekeeping mission to halt the bloodshed in Darfur. The resolution No 1706 called for as many as 17,300 troops and 3,300 civilian police but invited the government's consent before deployment.

"Resolution 1706 has undoubtedly rekindled fresh hopes for the destitute in the IDPs camps, the majority of whom are women, children, orphans and the elderly;" Bassey said.

The mission would aim to bolster the Darfur peace process, secure the camps and demilitarized zones, and ease regional tensions amid the security vacuum.

Baasey was designated as chairperson of a faction of the SLM dominantly represents Fur ethnic group, the biggest Darfur tribes, last July to replace Abdelwahid al-Nur .

Below, the letter sent by Mr. Ahmed Abdulshafi Bassey, Chairman Designate, to Mr. Koffi Annan, UN Secretary General regarding Resolution No. 1706.
Date: August 31, 2006
To The Right Honorable: Mr. Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General
Subject: United Nations Security Council Resolution No. 1706

Dear: Mr. Secretary General

The SLM/A has received the adoption of Resolution No. 1706 with jubilation but not without skepticism. Our call for an expeditious deployment of the UN peacekeeping forces into Darfur goes back to the adoption of the N'Djamena Ceasefire Agreement in April, 2004. We believe that, the UN Security Council has finally put together a workable plan to protect innocent civilians in Darfur.

Resolution 1706 has undoubtedly rekindled fresh hopes for the destitute in the IDPs camps, the majority of whom are women, children, orphans and the elderly. The new Resolution also gives more hope to provide protection against the brutal attacks of GoS forces and its militias. We would like, however, to bring to the attention of the President and the honorable members of the SC, as well as the entire international community that, the latest round of deployment of more arms and forces to Darfur by GoS will cause more suffering of innocent civilians in the region. The SLM/A would like to take this opportunity to assure you our full commitment to abiding by all previously signed ceasefire agreements and protocols.

While we strongly commend and support the firm stance and commitments made by the honorable members of the UNSC, we look upon the entire international community to join hands to pressurize the GoS to favorably respond to the implementation of the SC Resolution 1706. We should all focus on the urgency to stop more losses of human lives, the need for providing humanitarian assistance and to stop further human rights violations. Please help restore the dignity of the people of Darfur.

Sincerely,
Ahmed Abdulshafi Bassey Chairman Designate Sudan Liberation Movemet/Army

HRW & AU: Sudan gov't launches new anti-rebel offensive in Kulkul, North Darfur

Aug 31 2006 Reuters report via ST Darfur rebels say govt attacks as UN vote nears:

The rebels said the new offensive began two days ago as government forces attacked and occupied Kulkul about 35 km (22 miles) north of Darfur's main town el-Fasher.

"Government forces have moved north of Kulkul with about 90 vehicles and are attacking the area of Um Sifir, bombing with Antonov planes," said Jar el-Neby, a rebel leader from a faction which did not sign a May peace deal.

A Sudanese armed forces spokesman said the army did have forces in Kulkul but that the area had always belonged to them.

"There are no new operations. Only before many days to confront an attack by the (rebel) National Redemption Front (NRF)," he added.

- - -

Sep 1 2006 AP report via Easy bourse:

The Sudanese government has launched a major offensive against rebels in war-torn Darfur in recent days, human rights activists and African Union officials said Friday.

The fighting, which according to Human Rights Watch has involved government aircraft bombing villages, began as a senior US envoy was in Khartoum to press the government to accept the deployment of UN peacekeepers in the western region.

Sudan on Thursday rejected as "illegal" a UN Security Council resolution paving the way for the replacement of an ill-equipped 7,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur with more than 20,000 UN troops and police.

Government troops Monday attacked and later occupied Kulkul, a rebel-held village north of Darfur's provincial capital el Fasher, David Buchbinder of Human Rights Watch said by telephone from New York, citing local reports. Two other rebel-controlled villages have since reportedly fallen under government control.

An African Union official in Khartoum, Sam Ibok, said that more than 20 civilians have been killed and more than 1,000 have been displaced since major clashes started early this week according to reports from the affected areas.

He said that these northern areas were a "no-go" zone for AU forces and therefore he had no precise information.

International observers in north Darfur reported that civilians attempting to flee the attacks in Kulkul were turned back by Sudanese government troops, according to Human Rights Watch.

Sudanese officials could not be reached on Friday, a weekend day, to comment on the reports. Rebel commanders didn't answer calls. [edit]

Eric Reeves, a professor from Smith College in the U.S. who is a prominent campaigner for an end to the Darfur conflict, said he had information that Minni Minnawi, leader of the only rebel faction to sign the peace deal, was collaborating with the government offensive.

He said his contacts told him that thousands of troops and janjaweed militias backed by Antonov planes that have been carrying out bombing missions have taken control of three villages north of el Nasher, Kulkul, Bir Maza and Sayeh.

"They are bombing villages without any regard for civilians, it is more genocidal violence. The end game is to take full control of northern Darfur and isolate the rebels," he said.

John Prendergast, an expert from the International Crisis Group, a global think-tank, who was in Darfur until the end of last week, said the government offensive was provoking spiraling violence and reduced humanitarian access to the region.

Earlier this week the U.N.'s top humanitarian official, Jan Egeland, warned that "a man-made catastrophe of an unprecedented scale" loomed within weeks in Darfur unless the Security Council acted immediately.

Egeland said there could be hundreds of thousands of deaths if aid operations - already at grave risk because of rising numbers of attacks against aid workers, dramatically reduced access to those in need, and massive funding shortfalls - collapsed.

- - -

Sep 1 2006 IRIN report: Army unleashes military offensive in Darfur - Sudanese government forces have recaptured the rebel-held town of Um Sidir near El Fasher, capital of North Darfur State, raising fears that a major new offensive has started in the region, observers said on Friday.

Darfur conflict could spread in days - EU

Darfur conflict could escalate into widespread fighting within days or weeks, the European Union's special envoy said on Friday, Reuters reported today:

Another 100,000 or 200,000 people could be forced to flee their homes in the northern part of the remote province, envoy Pekka Haavisto said.

"It could be a matter of days or weeks for the conflict to escalate into a widespread military operation," Haavisto told journalists on his return from a visit to Darfur.

He said EU officials working in the area had told him the situation was getting worse.

He also said it was worrying the Sudanese government was planning to send 10,000 troops to Darfur.

"We think this does not comply with the May peace agreement and appears as a vast military operation ... Some representatives say the intention is to wipe the non-signatories (of the peace agreement) off the map."

The United Nations Security Council voted on Thursday to create a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur to avert a new humanitarian disaster, which was welcomed by Haavisto. But the Sudanese government rejected the resolution as "illegal".

Haavisto said the government's objections sprang from its attitude towards the West, as it mistakenly feared Darfur would become another Iraq or Afghanistan.

As the rebel groups' main goals appear to include overthrowing the government, there are also fears that the conflict and current humanitarian crisis would spread out of Darfur, he said.

Haavisto said he had met the Sudanese government and Darfur rebel movements during his visit to Khartoum and Darfur.

"Through the EU we have worked hard all summer to bring alive the Darfur peace agreement signed in early May. We believe we will have to persuade the non-signatory parties to agree with the peace process," he said.

UK's Lord Triesman says Darfur's headed for humanitarian disaster

Reuters via The Star 31 Aug 2006. Excerpt:

Darfur is headed for a humanitarian calamity unless Sudan's Khartoum-based government ends renewed fighting in the western region and allows a UN peacekeeping force in, Britain said today.

Hours ahead of a UN Security Council vote on a US-British resolution proposing up to 22,500 U.N. troops for Darfur, British Foreign Office Minister David Triesman said the humanitarian crisis there had reached a decisive moment.

Rebels have reported renewed fighting in the north of the region in the last two days between the government and rebel groups who refused to sign a May peace accord.

"The chances of the humanitarian and food distribution operations working in an environment where war has broken out again are very, very poor indeed," Triesman said.

"We were in a bad situation two days ago. We are rapidly going towards a calamity."

"The vital thing to say is that this resolution does address the international humanitarian catastrophe and it does address the security issues which would make it possible to do something about that catastrophe," Triesman said.

Triesman was adamant that the resolution was no threat to Sudan's government.

"This is very strongly about the UN providing the security in which the humanitarian effort can succeed.

Darfur rebels say govt attacks as UN vote nears

"It is now clear that the wrangling over the deployment of international forces has turned into a confrontation between the Sudanese people and foreign parties," said the state-owned Sudan Vision paper in an editorial on Thursday. - Reuters via Sudan Tribune 31 Aug 2006.

Sudan rejects UN Darfur resolution as illegal

Aug 31 2006 Reuters:

Sudan rejected a Security Council resolution passed on Thursday to deploy more than 20,000 U.N. troops and police to its violent Darfur region as illegal and contravening a May peace accord, officials said.

"Our stand is very clear, that the Sudanese government has not been consulted and it is not appropriate to pass a resolution before they seek the permission of Sudan," said Presidential Advisor Ali Tamim Fartak.

The presidential advisor responsible for Darfur, Majzoub al-Khalifa, told Al Jazeera television that the resolution was completely rejected by Sudan.

"We completely reject this resolution ... which is illegal," he said. "This resolution is opposing the Darfur peace agreement."

The Security Council vote on Thursday was 12 in favour, with abstentions from Russia, China and Qatar, the only Arab council member, despite Sudanese and Arab requests the vote be postponed.

But the troops cannot be deployed until Sudan agrees. The United Nations wants to replace or absorb an African Union force in Darfur, which has funds until mid-October and whose mandate expires on Sept. 30.