Chinese official calls for joint US-China oil fields

Sept 11, 2006 (HANGZHOU, China) - Dow Jones report via ST. Excerpt:

A senior Chinese official for energy policy said China and the U.S. should jointly develop oil fields to protect against the risks of supply disruptions and the rising costs of production both countries face.

U.S. and other foreign oil companies are already working alongside Chinese counterparts in developing some Chinese oil fields.

Sudan's land issues: Many nomadic groups occupy pastures belonging to displaced communities - Concerns of Arab nomads remain largely unaddressed

IRIN report 11 Sep 2006 - Rebel divisions hamper Darfur peace - via ST. Excerpt:

"...Even if the remaining rebel groups signed the DPA, the concerns of Arab nomads remain largely unaddressed. Mohammed El Sayed Hassan, director of El Massar, an NGO that supports nomadic groups, said their main concern was land - acquiring a homeland where they could settle and opening up migration routes for their animals.

"If the issue of the return [of IDPs] comes up, there are bound to be many problems - many nomadic groups are occupying pastures that belong to displaced communities. Unless these issues are tackled comprehensively there won't be stability in Darfur," he said.

"Ultimately, the DPA itself is not at the heart of the matter," an analyst observed. "It's about the way it was negotiated and the lack of consultation of rebel leaders - who were rarely in Darfur to meet their supporters on the ground - with their field commanders."

Through a process that involves all genuine stakeholders and has solid international support, peace is attainable in Darfur, a local observer stressed. "Organising that is difficult enough in itself, however, and unfortunately there are always spoilers," she added.

Military analyst in Pretoria: "When a situation reaches an end-state, as it has in Darfur, the UN can take over"

Sep 11 2006 Africa's Mail & Guardian (hat tip POTP). Excerpt:

"The major contributors - South Africa, Nigeria and Rwanda - have had enough," said Henri Boshoff, military analyst at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria.

"They've been saying for some time that they do not have the funds to sustain their operation, and that their troops are stretched too thinly to do the job.

"In the past two months we have seen two cases of South African troops being disarmed by rebels. It just cannot go on like this. So, failing some last minute injection of funds, it looks like the African Mission in Sudan is over." [edit]

Sudanese Deputy Foreign Minister Mutris SaddigAli, who was in South Africa last week, told the Mail & Guardian that his government has alternative plans for keeping order in Darfur.

"There are practical and legal reasons for not accepting UN peacekeepers," he said.

"The peace treaty between the north and the south of Sudan called for the UN to police the process. However, the Darfur peace treaty specifically calls for the AU to do the job. The AU does not have the right to hand its mandate in Darfur to the UN."

Boshoff says this assertion is inaccurate: "The AU can do this. We have seen this before in Burundi. The AU has been acting as an interim measure in the case of no ceasefire. When a situation reaches an end-state, as it has in Darfur, the UN can take over."

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Sudanese leader visits Gambia and Senegal

On Wednesday, Sudanese President Bashir is due in Gambia for two days, possibly stopping over in Dakar, Senegal. Full report Sapa-AFP 12 Sep 2006 - IOL: Sudanese leader talks business with Jammeh.

Fighting and banditry cuts off 355,000 people in North Darfur from food aid

Quoting figures released 11 Sept 2006, WFP's Oshidari said that insecurity has cut off 355,000 people from food aid in August - all of them in North Darfur. - Reuters.

Annan demands Sudanese govt to halt offensive, warning it would suffer "opprobrium and disgrace" if it does not

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said plenty of blame for Darfur's current plight rested with the Sudanese government, demanding that it halt an offensive launched Aug 28 to flush out rebel strongholds in Darfur and warning it would suffer "opprobrium and disgrace" if it does not. - AFP report by Nick Wadhams (via Guardian) 12 Sep 2006.

Note this excerpt from the report:

Rice said Akol carried a letter to President Bush and "brought hope for better relations between the United States and Sudan, and I told him in no uncertain terms that wasn't on the agenda unless Sudan acted responsibly."

One can only guess they might be talking about the lifting of sanctions on Sudan, something Sudan desperately needs. It is up to its eyeballs in debt and needs to get trade flowing. I don't understand why sanctions are imposed on poverty stricken nations.

Sudan's Darfur military action illegal -Annan

Sep 11 2006 Reuters report by Evelyn Leopold tells us Russia and China, which abstained on the UN resolution, said they favoured a UN force but stressed the need for Khartoum's consent.

Plan B would be to do everything possible to get the AU to stay and strengthen it

From today's Sunday Times - Plea for help as Darfur peers into abyss:

"Everyone is doing what they can to put in place Plan A -- a strengthening of the African Union force as a way to transition to a UN force," a Western diplomat said yesterday. "If we are not able to do that, Plan B would be to do everything possible to get the African Union force to stay and strengthen it."

For now, the cash-strapped AU force is all that stands in the way of outright war. But it has struggled to stamp any authority on a region the size of France. A senior commander said by telephone from El Fasher that last week's diplomatic uncertainty was playing havoc with peacekeeping operations.

One wonders why Plan B wasn't Plan A 2-3 years ago.

Chad govt forces, FUC rebels clash in the east

"There were clashes today," FUC rebel spokesman, Abdoulaye Abdelkarim, told Reuters by telephone:

He said a force of more than 2,000 fighters led by his brother, Mahamat Nour, who heads a military faction of the rebel United Front for Democratic Change (FUC), was on the move in the Guereda region in eastern Chad, which borders with Sudan.

"The objective is to head towards N'Djamena," he added, referring to the Chadian capital which lies some 700 km (440 miles) to the west of the latest reported fighting.

Government military officers in N'Djamena, who asked not to be named, said clashes between government forces and rebels had taken place at Aram Kolle, 65 km (40 miles) east of the town of Biltine.

"Government forces are in control of the situation," one officer said. Neither side gave details of casualties.

Sudan's VP Taha says an interference of international forces is not justified - Consultations underway on possible extension of AU mission in Darfur

Sep 10 2006 (China) Xinhua news report excerpt:

The Sudanese government and the African Union (AU) were holding intensive consultations on a possible extension of the pan-African body's peacekeeping mission in Darfur, local media reported on Saturday.

A delegation from the AU Peace and Security Council would arrive in Khartoum in the next few days to continue the consultations, the reports said.

Sudan said on Monday it would allow African troops to remain in Darfur only under AU control and gave the AU a week to decide whether to extend its mandate beyond Sept. 30, or leave Darfur.

In an interview with Qatar's al-Jazeera television on Friday, Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Mohammed Taha reiterated Sudan's refusal of transferring the AU mission in Darfur to the United Nations.

He said that the Darfur Peace Agreement, brokered by the AU between Khartoum and Darfur rebel groups in May, did not permit any party to hand over its mission or tasks to world organizations.

"An interference of international forces is not justified," the Sudanese vice president stressed.

Denying Khartoum's intention to expel the African troops, Taha said the Sudanese government was making efforts to consolidate the AU existence in Darfur and help the AU mission fulfill its security and political role completely.

Libya's Gaddafi says Sudan's Darfur is a "conflict for oil control" among major Western oil companies

Libyan leader Col Gaddafi said Africa stood ready to increase the number of AU peacekeepers in Darfur, adding that countries such as Egypt, Algeria, Libya, South Africa and Nigeria could contribute troops along with Sudan, to support the AU mission and shut the door to any foreign interference, AngolaPress reported today. Excerpt:

Libyan leader Colonel Moammar Kadhafi Saturday described the raging crisis in Sudan's western region of Darfur as a "conflict for oil control" among major Western oil companies.

Speaking in the central city of Sirte at celebrations marking the 7th anniversary of the African Union (AU) proclamation, the Libyan leader questioned the UN plan to send international troops to Darfur.

"Why not send international troops to European or Asian regions in conflict, such as the Basque in Spain or Kashmir (in dispute between Indian and Pakistan)?" he asked.

Sudanese President Omar Hassan El-Bashir, who is also at Sirte for the AU anniversary celebrations, had in his own speech reaffirmed his opposition to the deployment of UN troops to replace an AU mission, expected to wind down operations at the end of this month over poor funding and logistics.

Kadhafi criticised Africans, who resort to arms or violence, thereby opening their countries and the continent to foreign intervention, noting that foreign missions were known for their "very bad reputation."

He also accused major companies involved in post-conflict reconstruction programmes of often fuelling the conflicts for their own interest.

"Lebanon, Iraq, Darfur and C'te d`Ivoire are living examples," said the Libyan leader, who called on Africans to get rid of such "a destructive culture."

He described the adoption of resolutions under Article Seven of the UN Charter, applicable to Darfur as "a prelude to a re-colonisation process."

Libya's Gaddafi calls for dialogue and negotiation for power-sharing in Africa, instead of the use of arms

Some new gems from Libyan leader Col Gaddafi. I look forward to reading what he says on Africa and Sudan, along with any news from Jan Pronk (where's he gone? when is the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue to begin?)

Today, AngolaPress reported Gaddafi slams warmongers in Africa as "neo-colonialist agents" -

Africans who wage wars and exploit their people are "neo-colonialist agents," that will one day be "confronted by the commitment" of a United States of African people, Libyan leader Moammar Kadhafi warned here Saturday.

Speaking at celebrations marking the 7th anniversary of the African Union (AU) proclamation, he described leaders of armed groups on the continent as "botchers," who "spread terror and disorder" in African regions such as in Darfur, western Sudan, Chad, Cte d'Ivoire, DR Congo and the Horn of Africa.

He said the sole objective of the "neo-colonialist agents" was to see Africa mired in conflicts, so they could continue to buy weapons, instead of working for the reconstruction and development of the continent.

"We cannot solve the problem of Africa's backwardness by using rifles," Kadhafi warned, noting however, that a lot had been done in Africa in spite of the existence of marginal groups and persistent underdevelopment.

He called for dialogue and negotiation for power-sharing in Africa, instead of the use of arms.

Blogging Drima The Sudanese Thinker at Mideast Youth.com

One of Drima's new projects: The Makeover of Mideast Youth.

See Mission Statement. Good luck to everyone involved.

Sudan Watch blog and The Oslo Blog are at odds re military intervention in Darfur

Here's saying a warm hello to Andreas of The Oslo Blog, thanks for your reply to Reader's comment: "How can a nation-state be at war with a peacekeeping force? It's impossible".

Andreas is 24, studying Human Rights at Oslo University and Norwegian Center for Human Rights. His reply is highlighted here incase other readers feel up to sharing some thoughts and contributing to the discussion. It's emotionally draining and lonesome blogging Darfur. So many depressing news reports and sites to read up on when posting here. I sure could do with hearing from others who are concerned about Sudan, even if they don't agree with me. I rarely find any bloggers who share the same views on Sudan as I do. Drima of The Sudanese Thinker blog seems to be the only one. See Drima's thoughts on Darfur & the Continuing Dilemma. (Hi Drima, hope you are reading this). Comments would be welcomed at The Oslo Blog or in the Reader's comment post here below, or by email. Thanks.

PS I agree with Alex de Waal when he says, quote:

"I think the key thing to bear in mind is that the solution to Darfur is a political solution. No solution can be imposed by any amount of arm twisting, any amount of bluster, any amount of military force. Even if we sent 100,000 NATO troops, we would not be able to impose a solution. The solution has to come through political negotiation. And that, unfortunately, is a very slow process."

African leaders reiterate rejection of internationalising Darfur issue

Sep 10 2006 (China) PDO/Xinhua report excerpt:

African leaders on Saturday reiterated their rejection of internationalizing Darfur issue, and voiced support for Sudan's refusal to unauthorized deployment of UN peacekeepers in the war-devastated region.

In a statement issued at the end of an African Union (AU) gathering in the Libyan port city of Sirte, the leaders stressed that Africans were capable of solving their own problems, according to reports reaching here from Libya's capital Tripoli.

The participants to the meeting, aimed at marking the seventh anniversary of the organization's creation, urged the Sudanese government and the People's Liberation Army of Sudan, a main rebel group in Darfur, to implement the peace deal signed in Nairobi, Kenya, in January 2005, saying the AU would make continuous efforts to achieve a peaceful, lasting solution to the issue.

The statement also said African leaders had decided to solve the ongoing conflicts and to jointly cope with challenges facing the socio-economic development of Africa, so as to realize a comprehensive, lasting peace on the continent.

Reader's comment: "How can a nation-state be at war with a peacekeeping force? It's impossible"

This morning, I awoke to a nice and gentle sounding comment from a Sudan Watch reader called Rebecca, in response to my vent yesterday entitled Eric "non-consensual intervention" Reeves is off his rocker. Here's a copy of the comment, followed by my reply.

How can a nation-state be at war with a peacekeeping force? It's impossible.

We have a nation trying to eliminate three ethnic populations- Fur, Zaghawa, and Massaleit, and refusing to allow the UN Peacekeeping troops in. I was in the Security Council as an NGO observer when the African Union was virtually pleading with the United Nations to come to Western Sudan- the incredible challenges from the Khartoum government and many others is too great for any one continental force. If a country violently disobeys international law at the death of hundreds of thousands of people, it itself paves the way for the presence of a UN peacekeeping force.

I want nothing but peace, reconcilation, and justice for the largest country on the second largest continent,and the United Nations needs to be there, regardless of whether the radical Northern Sudanese regime wants to cooperate or not. The vast majority of Darfuris- "the people" themselves- want the U.N. on the ground. It's the regime that wages war, not the U.N, not Eric Reeves and other analysts.

Peace and solidarity,
Rebecca

Hello Rebecca, thanks. Here's my reply. Off the top of my head, my understanding is - and please correct me if I have the wording wrong - that until the reforms taking place at the UN are finalised, any UN/foreign force intervening militarily in a country against its will is an act of war that can be rightfully defended.

The self-proclaimed analysts and experts on Sudan (who mostly aren't remotely Sudanese - from what I've seen, they're mainly Blair and Bush haters living in the US and UK on a Darfur bandwagon driven by self interest, with pockets to fill, careers to boost, books to sell, movies to make, clubs to join - not to mention little empires to run that feed off donations from ordinary hard working folk) make me mad with their anti-peace actions.

They're bamboozling people through slick marketing and Machiavellian tricks and words that are way above the heads of most of us, including the poorly educated locals in Sudan and warm hearted folk in the West who don't like to think hard or see a need to do their homework before having a view on making war on Sudan.

Surely "non-consensual intervention" risks defeating the objective, creating a greater bloodbath and setting the tinder box of Africa alight? Read the placards in this photo and think about Sudan as a whole. Put yourself in their shoes. Would you want foreign troops that you did not trust invading your neighbourhood against your will?



Photo: Pro-Sudanese government demonstrators chant anti-U.N. slogans in the capital Khartoum August 30, 2006, during a protest march organised against the deployment of U.N. forces in war-torn Darfur. (Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdalah/ Sudan Watch archive 7 Sep 2006)
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UPDATE: See Sep 10 2006 Sudan Watch blog and The Oslo Blog are at odds re military intervention in Darfur - please help.

Nigeria's peacekeepers return from Darfur to a warm welcome: another battalion from Shaki will soon be deployed to Sudan to replace them

Sep 10, 2006 news report from Lagos by Mutsa Machakaire via AND - excerpt:

The last group of the 680 troops who were sent to Sudan on a peacekeeping mission, arrived in Jos Airport, Nigeria on Saturday, regrettably one soldier passed away because of natural causes.

The Guardian said the officer who led the mission to Sudan, Lt. Col. Yusuf Abubakar Armak, told the general officer commanding the division, major general Julius Oshanupin that the contingent suffered nothing else apart from natural causes.

The seven officers and 54 soldiers arrived at 12:55 on a space world plane after spending their mandatory seven months in the Darfur region of Sudan.

The soldiers were told by Oshanupin that the nation was proud of them. He said their movement to the country for the mission was a great challenge, said the Guardian.

"But I am happy today that you have all gone there, you have seen it and are back home very safely to the warm arms of your colleagues and your dear families."

"I want to congratulate you for doing well and also that you as individuals have benefited from this operation," The Guardian quoted Oshanupin as having said.

He disclosed that another battalion from Shaki will soon be deployed to Sudan to replace the returning troops.

Going by what I've read, they've done their country proud, proving great peacekeeping skills, patience, professionalism, fortitude and diplomacy throughout tough rules of engagement and working conditions. They all deserve medals.



Photo and caption from Soldier of Africa in Darfur. "Aug 15, 2006: Yesterday afternoon we had the inaugural meeting of the new Sector 3 Cease Fire Commission (CFC). Hopefully we will have success as they monitor the implementation of the DPA (Darfur Peace Agreement)."

Darfur Chairman Minnawi forms peace committees

This sounds promising. Today, the Sudan Tribune publishes the following news article that hints at the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and what might become of the Darfur rebels who broke away from JEM-Ibrahim and SLM-Nur to sign a Declaration of Commitment to the Darfur Peace Agreement.

Senior Assistant of the President of the Republic and Chairman of the Regional Interim Authority for Darfur Minni Menawi announced on Saturday formation of the committees concerned with implementing the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) as follows:

1- The Higher Committee for the Implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA), chaired by Engineer Abdul-Jabar Daousa.
2- The Wealth Committee, chaired by Dr. Al-Tigani Abdalla Badr.
3- The Power Committee, chaired by Abdalla Al-Tahir Abdalla.
4- The Legal Committee, chaired by Lawyer Abdul-Aziz Osman Sam.
5- The Information Committee, chaired by Mahjoub Hussein Mohamed.
6- The Security Arrangements Committee, chaired by Fadl-Essied Abdalla Fadl.
7- The Darfur-Darfur Dialogue Committee, chaired by Ali Hussein Daousa.

In the meantime, the Senior Assistant of the President of the Republic and Chairman of the Regional Interim Authority for Darfur said that formation of these committees constitutes the first step toward the implementation of the DPA prior to formation of the Interim Authority for Darfur.

He further said that the structures of the interim authority and nomination and appointment of the persons would be announced during the coming two days.

He added that the structures of the authority would include the two parties to the agreement and those who signed the Declaration of the Commitment to the agreement.

Wouldn't it be great if Ibrahim and Nur would get on board the Regional Interim Authority for Darfur and fight for what they want using non-violent means so that everyone can go home and grow their own food? Dream on.

Sudan ready for talks on Darfur - VP Taha says extended AU mandate would be welcomed

Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Mohammed Taha said on Friday that if the AU decided to extend its forces' peacekeeping mandate in Darfur, then they would be welcomed by the Sudanese government. - Xinhua 9 Sep 2006.

Stop bombing North Darfur villages- SLA-Minnawi

Former rebels who signed a peace agreement with the government in May have denounced the new Sudanese military offensive to flush out rebel groups in North Darfur State, IRIN reported 7 Sep 2006 [via ST Sep 10]. Excerpt:

"The government's own security plan for the north is motivated by hidden agendas," Col. Ali Muktar, representative of Minni Minnawi's faction of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) on the African Union (AU) ceasefire commission, told IRIN on Thursday. "We do not support this plan and we do not participate in this plan."

"We urge the AU and the United Nations to urge the government to stop these military operations," he added.

Large swathes of territory in North Darfur are under the control of the National Redemption Front (NRF), a new alliance of rebels who did not sign the 5 May Darfur Peace Agreement between the government and Minnawi faction.

Local observers confirmed that the offensive started on 28 August when the villages of Abu Sakin, Kulkul, Sayah and Turra, approximately 35 km northwest of the capital El Fasher were attacked from the air by Antonov planes. Subsequently, Sudanese armed forces took over the area and pushed further northwards, recapturing Um Sidir on 31 August.

Although NRF rebels initially avoided a direct confrontation with the advancing government forces, they started to counter-attack after the loss of Um Sidir. Insecurity has been rampant since.

On Friday, Sam Ibok, the director of the AU Peace and Security Council, said 20 civilians had been killed and more than 1,000 displaced as a result of the offensive. International observers in North Darfur reported that civilians attempting to flee the Kulkul area in the direction of El Fasher were turned back by government troops.

Eric "non-consensual intervention" Reeves is off his rocker

GIF's News from Darfur [hat tip CFD] points to opinion pieces by American academic and activist Eric Reeves, a rebel loving American propagandist, and Daniel Davies, a British economist who is much more intelligent than Reeves. Excerpt from the piece authored by Reeves:

"It is deeply disingenuous to suggest that even an aggressively augmented AU could protect civilians in camps and rural areas, protect humanitarian workers and transport corridors, establish the security that will allow people to return to their lands - or to have any impact whatsoever on the accelerating military violence."

Vent. In another opinion piece Reeves doesn't seem able to bring himself to use the word "war" while pushing for it. He bamboozles his readers with words such as "non-consensual intervention" to con them into believing that war can sound humanitarian, less bloody, more palatable and the right thing to do. Eric Reeves is off his rocker. Makes one wonder what's in the water over there in leafy Boston. Hey Reeves, bug off out of the UK's Guardian and keep your warmongering nonsense your side of the pond. You are giving Americans a bad name. I hope your computer dies.