Read more by SPA May 07, 2023: https://www.spa.gov.sa/en/4471f1ea37jCustodian of the Two Holy Mosques, HRH Crown Prince Direct KSrelief to Provide Various Humanitarian Aid Worth USD 100 Million and to Organize National Campaign through "Sahem" for Interest of Sudanese People.https://t.co/hesNPAOAR3#SPAGOV pic.twitter.com/YfcLlgNgmI
— SPAENG (@Spa_Eng) May 7, 2023
Report from Daily Excelsior
Saturday 06 May 2023 - excerpt:
UAE, WHO send plane with medical supplies to Sudan
“The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the World Health Organization have delivered 30 tons of urgent medical supplies to Sudan today. A plane carrying supplies for injury treatment, emergency surgeries, and essential drugs arrived in Port Sudan Airport early this morning,” the WHO said in a Friday statement.
According to the release, the shipment is valued at $444,000 and includes enough medical supplies and essential medicines to reach 165,000 people,
“The shipment” is the first that WHO has been able to deliver by air to Sudan since the outbreak of the conflict,” the WHO said.
View original: https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/uae-who-send-plane-with-medical-supplies-to-sudan/
[Ends]
"Our planet is in such pain and anguish and too many of us move as if it is of little consequence... We need more than words and laws - we need justice." - @IntlCrimCourt Chief Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC during the 2023 Elie Wiesel Distinguished Lectureship in Human Rights pic.twitter.com/nUinHBKHCo
— Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights (@TheRWCHR) May 5, 2023
[Ends]
It is hard to recall a time when so much of the world was off-limits due to war, terrorism and unrest.
The addition of Sudan to the UK FCDO travel black list means there are now 65 nations that are partially or entirely off-limits.
Report from The Telegraph
DEPUTY HEAD OF TRAVEL
Thursday 04 May 2023; 10:00am
Is the world becoming more dangerous? The Foreign Office thinks so
The addition of Sudan to the FCDO travel black list means there are now 65 nations that are partially or entirely off-limits
Meroe, Sudan, off-limits as of April CREDIT: Getty
Four years ago, a British globetrotter’s travel wishlist might have included the cultural wonders of St Petersburg and the cosy cafes of Lviv. The enthralling architecture of Isfahan and the tranquil gardens of Shiraz were on the radars of more ambitious holidaymakers, along with the lesser-known pyramids of Meroe. This reporter, in late 2018, spent a weekend in Chernobyl.
Trips to all of these places are now either impossible or extremely ill-advised. Russia, Ukraine, Iran and Sudan, along with Belarus, represent the newest additions to the Foreign Office (FCDO)’s travel black list, where trips to the entire country are deemed perilous and which now numbers a depressing 21 nations. A further 44 countries are partially out of bounds. It is hard to recall a time when so much of the world was off-limits due to war, terrorism and unrest.
Full story: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/advice/where-is-safe-foreign-office-map/
[Ends]
Report from The Washington Times
By Edith M. Lederer - Associated Press
Friday 05 May 2023
U.N.: South Sudan struggling to implement power-sharing deal
Photo by: Peter Louis. People who crossed from Sudan are seen at a refugee camp in Renk County, South Sudan, Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Sudan has plunged into chaos since fighting erupted in mid-April between the country's two rival top generals and there is increasing concern for those trapped and displaced by the fighting. (Peter Louis/WFP via AP)
UNITED NATIONS — South Sudan is facing violent clashes and increasing disillusionment and frustration as it struggles to implement the most challenging provisions of a fragile 2018 power-sharing agreement, U.N. experts say in a new report.
The world’s newest nation is struggling to integrate rival military forces, draft a new constitution and prepare for its first election as an independent country in December 2024, the experts monitoring sanctions against the world’s newest nation said in a report to the U.N. Security Council obtained Friday by The Associated Press.
The country’s stability “will likely turn on the government’s ability to reward the patience of those who remain committed to peace, rather than those who have sought to reshape it through violence,” the report says.
There were high hopes when oil-rich South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 after a long conflict. But the country slid into a civil war in December 2013 largely based on ethnic divisions when forces loyal to the current president, Salva Kiir, battled those loyal to the current vice president, Riek Machar.
Tens of thousands of people were killed in the war, which ended with the 2018 peace agreement, bringing Kiir and Machar together in a government of national unity. Under the agreement, elections were supposed to be held in February 2023, but last August they were postponed until December 2024.
View original: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/may/5/un-south-sudan-struggling-to-implement-power-shari/
[Ends]
Sudan Crisis: Multiple truces have been agreed since the fighting between the rival security forces erupted on April 15, but none has been respected.
Report from NDTV
By AFP (Agence France-Presse)
Dated Saturday 06 May 2023 12:43 am IST
Sudan Army Says Sent Envoys To Saudi For Ceasefire Talks
Khartoum: The Sudanese army said late Friday that it had sent envoys to Saudi Arabia to discuss "details of the truce in the process of being extended" with its paramilitary foes.
Regular army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had given his backing to a seven-day ceasefire announced by South Sudan on Wednesday, but early on Friday the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said they were extending by three days a previous truce brokered under US-Saudi mediation.
Multiple truces have been agreed since the fighting between the rival security forces erupted on April 15, but none has been respected.
View original: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/sudan-army-says-sent-envoys-to-saudi-for-ceasefire-talks-4009931
[Ends]
Report from Reuters
By Reuters Staff
Friday 05 May 2023 2:23 PM
MTN Sudan's network down as fighting hits power supplies
JOHANNESBURG, May 5 (Reuters) - The Sudanese arm of Africa’s biggest mobile operator MTN Group said on Friday its network was down after fighting in the country led to fuel shortages and power cuts.
Heavy gunfire echoed around the capital Khartoum again on Friday, after more than two weeks of conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Both appeared to be battling for control of territory ahead of proposed talks.
Across swathes of Khartoum, power and water supplies have been failing.
MTN said in a statement it was working to resolve the network outage as soon as possible.
“The company fully understands the impact this may have on communication needs and extends its apologies for any inconvenience experienced during this challenging time,” it said.
(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla Editing by Mark Potter)
View original: https://www.reuters.com/article/sudan-politics-internet-idUSL1N3721JO
[Ends]
[Ends]MTN is completely out.
— dalliasd (@dalliasd) May 5, 2023
Zain net & calls mostly out
Sudani calls are out but net working for now.
Servers are down cause no electricity in most, if not all, of Khartoum & generators running v short on diesel.
If this continues the whole country will be in blackout.
Report from the i
By Molly Blackall, Richard Holmes
Friday 05 May 2023 1:59 pm (Updated 2:01 pm) - full copy:
Self-styled ‘ethical’ private equity firm in Dubai helped notorious Sudan militia to lobby UK MPs
EXCLUSIVE
Revealed: The Rapid Support Forces have sent a string of “special bulletins” to UK politicians in recent days – but meta data exposing its Dubai links disappeared after i inquiries
A ‘special bulletin’ sent by the RSF to UK MPs this week. (Photo: i)
A self-styled ‘ethical’ investment firm based in the UAE supported the notorious paramilitary group the RSF in its bid to influence UK politicians about the conflict in Sudan, i can reveal.
The Rapid Support Forces group (RSF), which has previously been accused of human rights atrocities in Sudan including rape and murder, has sent a string of “special bulletins” to UK politicians that it said was to combat “the disproportionate amount of disinformation” surrounding the conflict.
The memos contained allegations about barbarity by its opponents, the Sudanese Armed Forces, and claimed that the RSF was making dramatic progress in the fighting.
i has analysed metadata from a briefing email that was sent from the RSF’s official media account to Westminster MPs on Tuesday, which shows it was put together by a designer at Dubai-based investment firm called Capital Tap Holdings.
When approached by i, the RSF initially confirmed that Capital Tap Holdings had produced parts of the briefing for them including the logo.
Capital Tap Holdings, which describes itself as “ethical” and a “responsible investor” has significant mining interests in Sudan and the wider continent. The RSF is reported to have control of some of Sudan’s gold mines.
Foreign Affairs Select Committee chair Alicia Kearns, who received the briefing, raised questions about the international support being given to the warring parties in Sudan. She told the House of Commons that it was “not some shoddily pulled together briefing” but a “clearly well-financed operation”.
Ms Kearns told i that any organisation providing PR to the RSF was stoking the current conflict and hinted that sanctions could be necessary to deter international support for the warring groups.
“Any organisation providing PR support to the RSF is seeking to legitimise them and reject peaceful transition away from military rule in Sudan,” she told i. “I urge them to stop, before international sanctions are required.”
A spokesperson for the RSF – which has been accused of group atrocities including rape and murder in Sudan in 2014 and 2015 – confirmed it had emailed MPs, journalists and “experts focused on the Middle East Africa” in order to “take measures to better inform the international community about what is happening on the ground in Sudan”. It said it had specifically targeted MPs who are sitting on committees related to security and Africa.
Metadata shows that the author of the briefing was a designer at Capital Tap. However, the RSF insisted there was “no working relationship” between the two and claimed the firm helped with the briefing free of charge.
“A relative of the RSF management reached out to a close friend, who [works] at Capital Tap, asking for design support to create a new letterhead and logo. The services were rendered at no cost. There is no working relationship between Capital Tap and the RSF,” an RSF spokesperson initially told i.
After further briefings in the same format were sent out to MPs on Thursday and Friday, the RSF then claimed Capital Tap “played no role in the creation of any of the press briefings, including the first press briefing, or any other press releases” and said they had “no relation” with them. Capital Tap Holdings did not respond to repeated requests for comment. The subsequent briefings had been stripped of metadata.
The discoveries raise further questions about foreign influence in the conflict in Sudan, after an i investigation revealed that Russian private mercenary group Wagner are on the ground and actively involved in the clashes.
Investment firm ‘one of Sudan’s leading mining players’
Capital Tap Holdings claims on its website to have a focus on “integrity” and green credentials, saying that “environmental responsibility is high on the agenda” and that it aims “to build a better and sustainable way of life for the weaker sections of society.”
The firm also describes itself as one of Sudan’s “leading metals and mining players” but the specific role it plays in the mining industry is unclear. Sudan is Africa’s third largest producer of gold, with an industry worth billions of pounds each year, and the RSF have long been reported to be involved in Sudan’s lucrative gold industry.
On its website, Capital Tap Holdings claims to “oversee operations” for more than 50 companies in 10 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Asia, providing “strategic direction and corporate support”. Their subsidiary company, Terra Metallis, claims to manage five mines in Africa. However, Capital Tap Holdings has little online footprint and is only mentioned in one 2021 news report online.
The RSF bulletin which received assistance from Capital Tap, issued on 1 May 2023, promised to provide “a breakdown of the most significant daily events from the field of battle in Sudan” and said it was founded by the RSF “due to the disproportionate amount of disinformation shared in the media about the conflict.”
It included criticism of its opponents, the Sudanese armed forces, saying that they have violated the ceasefire with “indiscriminate bombing campaigns” on civilians and claims that the RSF now controls 90 per cent of the Sudanese capital. It also provided a list of 20 “achievements” made since the start of the conflict, including claiming control of the airport, radio and TV service, Republican Palace and Defence Ministry.
Another 12-page briefing sent from the RSF to MPs two days later, after the RSF had been approached by i, had been stripped of metadata to indicate its origins.
It contained a series of pictures and videos depicting alleged atrocities against civilians made by the Sudanese Armed Forces, and also contained analysis of “popular memes circulating today on social media in Sudan” regarding the conflict. It included QR codes which could be scanned to take the reader to the RSF website.
Human Rights Watch has claimed that both sides of the current conflict – the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces – have killed civilians in bombing attacks on urban areas and left millions without access to basic necessities.
One page of a briefing sent out to UK Parliamentarians. (Photo: i)
A further briefing was sent out on 4 May, also with no metadata, containing more allegations against the Sudanese army, meme analysis and QR codes.
Sources working in research on Sudan noted that the RSF has previously worked with several high-end PR firms to improve the image of their leader Hemedti and said the press briefings “sound like a similar trend.”
“A significant portion of the RSF’s media arm appears to be based in the UAE, which is unsurprising given their extensive commercial networks across the Emirates,” they added.
Steve Double, a partner at crisis communications specialists Alder, said the briefings were a “remarkably slick communications programme, clearly designed at winning the propaganda war.”
UAE’s long alleged link to the RSF
While there is no evidence to suggest Capital Tap is linked to the UAE state, the state has long been reported to have links to the RSF.
Last month, a video appeared to show the RSF with bombs linked to the UAE. The thermobaric shells contained markings suggesting they were manufactured in Serbia in 2020 and later supplied to the UAE, according to The Telegraph.
Local reports citing RSF sources said that the UAE was considering transporting RSF fighters currently in Yemen back to Sudan to join the conflict. The reports said that the RSF’s leader Hemedti has appealed for help from the UAE, which has agreed to “support us in this war of liberation” and provide logistic and financial assistance to transport the RSF fighters to Sudan.
The paramilitary group are also reported to have sent fighters to support the UAE in Libya in recent years. The UAE Government did not respond to a request for comment.
One source assisting civilians in Sudan said that the UAE was presumed to have involvement in the current conflict, saying: “They support RSF and RSF have provided forces to the Yemen crisis. It is presumed that the RSF will be able to provide forces in future if need be in places like Bahrain should there be conflict there.”
The RSF’s social media accounts also appear to be based overseas, providing further indication that the group’s public relations are being outsourced to Gulf states.
The RSF’s Facebook page is being run jointly from the UAE and Sudan, according to information on the account, while its Instagram account appears to be based in Saudi Arabia. Both accounts are being shared by the RSF’s media operation as its legitimate online presence.
But the paramilitary group told i its media team was based in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum.
Conflict information ‘increasingly hard to trust’
The findings also raise questions about the impact of internet warfare, and the growing importance of technology in conflict zones.
Kyle Walter, Head of Research and Insights at Logically, an AI analysis firm, said: “What’s most concerning from this latest example of potential foreign interference is that it provides a look into how the nature of these threats are evolving, particularly in the context of the rapid onset of generative AI being used to create fake images and text.
“Although we don’t know if this so-called sophisticated ‘special bulletin’ was created by this technology, it is symbolic of the wider issue at hand: an inability to trust what you’re seeing, reading, and the undermining of the entire information landscape. If foreign influence campaigns continue to evolve and harness new technologies to produce mis- and disinformation at scale, we can expect to see more fabricated statements, or images of potential humanitarian crises to alter the wider discourse.”
Mr Walter said that the “attempt to manipulate the information environment is not surprising” and “nothing new in the context of foreign influence operations in Africa.”
“Recent years have witnessed foreign actors continuing to ramp up the use of different tactics to manipulate public discourse, whether it’s through propaganda, deception, and other non-military means. What we are seeing now in Sudan is another example of how the Wagner Group and other actors tied to foreign states seek to use the manipulation of information to have more control over public discourse and unsettle Western interests in the region,” he said.
View original: https://inews.co.uk/news/ethical-private-equity-firm-dubai-sudan-militia-lobby-uk-mps-2319805?ico=most_popular
🚩WFP is on the ground and supporting new arrivals in #SouthSudan.
— World Food Programme (@WFP) May 4, 2023
This additional response is putting pressure on an already severely underfunded operation. More than 30,000 people have so far crossed the border from #Sudan into South Sudan. pic.twitter.com/x9QS1Q3fxM
🧵#SudanUpdate: Sudanese Mineral Resources Co. chief Mubarek Ardol, flanked by bodyguards, flew in a white UN plane from Kadugli, capital of Sudan's South Kordofan State to Wau, South Sudan at approximately 1:00pm on May 2, at the invitation of Juba and with the agreement of SAF. pic.twitter.com/YLLHCAirNy
— Jon Hutson (@JonHutson) May 3, 2023
NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: A day after I mentioned Abdul Wahid Nur's name here, I go to sleep and wake up to find him in this news report by AFP.
He’s 55. 20 years ago he and his gormless gang along with a more intelligent and ruthless JEM gang started the Darfur war. Tintin springs to mind here.
AFP's report says he is now based in Juba, South Sudan but doesn't say how he funds his work-free life, travel, hotel rooms, fancy clothes, family if any.
France & Germany host Darfur rebels. Maybe supporters pay for him to laze around Paris, save his skin, drink beer, visit Israel. He makes my foot itch.
The report is copied here in full to show the standard of his chat. Note that he states the obvious saying Sudanese people want a civilian government.
He rarely visits Darfur as support for him has dwindled. He has delusions of becoming president of Sudan or Darfur or anywhere that'll have him.
________________________________________________________________________________
Report from Yahoo News
By Agence France-Presse (AFP)
Dated Thursday 4 May 2023, 11:24 am BST - full copy:
'No winner' in Sudan war: exiled Darfur rebel leader
Sudanese exiled rebel leader Abdel Wahid Nur -- a veteran of decades of fighting in the troubled Darfur region -- says there can be "no winner" in the war now raging between two rival generals.
"The Sudanese people want neither of them," Nur, now based in neighbouring South Sudan, told AFP. "They want a civilian government."
Battles have flared for weeks between Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
"What's happening in Sudan is a disaster," Nur, 55, said in an interview in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, where he lives after spending years in Paris.
"There is no winner in this war," said the leader of a faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) whose members, he said, have not joined the fighting.
The battles have turned Khartoum into a war zone and also killed scores in Darfur, which Nur said once more suffers "war crimes and crimes against humanity".
Nur was a leader of the Darfur rebellion from 2003 when African minority groups rose up against Arab elites they accused of monopolising Sudan's political power and wealth.
The Islamist-backed strongman then in power, Omar al-Bashir, unleashed the notorious Janjaweed militias, the forerunners of the RSF, whose atrocities shocked the world.
The unrest killed at least 300,000 people and displaced 2.5 million, according to the UN. The bloodshed led to international charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes against Bashir and others.
Although Darfur's conflict subsided over the years, the region remains awash with weapons and sporadic violence erupts, often over access to water, land and resources.
- 'Hands of oppression' -
Sudan's military ousted Bashir in April 2019 following mass pro-democracy protests, and Burhan has been the de facto leader since then.
Daglo, from Darfur's pastoralist camel-herding Arab Rizeigat people, rose to prominence with the Janjaweed, which made up the bulk of the RSF formed in 2013.
In October 2021, Burhan and his then number-two Daglo jointly staged another coup that upended the country's fragile transition to civilian rule.
The two generals then engaged in a power struggle, most recently over the RSF's integration into the regular army, which has now flared into bloody violence.
"The two bodies fighting now once acted as Bashir's hands of oppression," said Nur.
"The army and Burhan personally supervised the making of the Janjaweed," he said, adding that his own movement opposes both and only fights "oppression".
Nur described the conflict as the expected outcome of a "political struggle that became militarised".
The current fighting has killed more than 550 people, wounded thousands and sent more than 100,000 fleeing abroad.
In West Darfur state, the UN says, the hostilities "have triggered intercommunal violence", which have seen many deaths and accounts of rampant looting and burning of property.
- Ambition to rule -
Nur's SLM faction refused to sign a 2020 peace deal with Sudan's short-lived transitional government installed following Bashir's ouster.
It charged that the accord, signed by other rebel groups, failed to address the root causes of Sudan's conflicts.
Nur said his movement had however observed "a unilateral ceasefire since Bashir's ouster and have since committed to it" to give a chance to the planned transition to civilian rule.
Nur belongs to the ethnic Fur tribe in Darfur, and analysts believe his faction still maintains considerable support.
A report last year by UN experts said Nur's faction was among Darfuri armed groups "receiving payments and logistical support" in exchange for sending mercenaries to strife-torn Libya.
The UN experts, in 2020, also said Nur's group had strengthened its miliary capability following the discovery of gold in its area.
Nur rejects the allegations and says he does not support either side in the current war, stressing that his fighters play no role in it.
Nur said the conflict reflects the two generals' ambitions to rule Sudan but is only "increasing the suffering" of the people, especially in Darfur.
In a country with a history of military coups, Burhan and Daglo have each touted themselves as champions of democracy seeking to restore the transition to civilian rule.
Nur, recalling the mass youth-led protests that led to Bashir's overthrow, said the Sudanese people reject both of them.
"I don't think they will ever accept military rule," he said.
bur/it/fz
View original: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/no-winner-sudan-war-exiled-102413405.html?guccounter=1
NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: In April 2022, the first trial into atrocities committed in Sudan’s Darfur region began at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Several sessions of the trial at the ICC are scheduled to continue this month. I made the transcript of a powerful video here below.
Video by Human Rights Watch
Posted at YouTube on 29 March 2022
Title: ICC trial of Ali Kosheib: Landmark Case of ‘Janjaweed’ Militia Leader
Description:
Ali Kosheib, or Kushayb, is the nom de guerre of Ali Mohammed Ali, identified by the International Criminal Court (ICC) as Ali Mohammed Ali Abd–Al-Rahman. Kosheib is believed to have been the principal leader of the Janjaweed militias in the Wadi Saleh area of West Darfur. He also held commanding positions in Sudanese government auxiliary forces, the Popular Defense Forces and Central Reserve Police.
In early 2003, the Janjaweed worked alongside the Sudanese government forces during its armed conflict with rebel groups to carry out a systematic campaign of “ethnic cleansing.” The campaign targeted civilians from African Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa ethnic groups, from which the members of the rebel groups were drawn. Attacking from the air and land, Sudanese government forces and allied militias killed, raped, and forcibly displaced more than 2 million people from their homes and land. The Sudanese government recruited, armed, and trained the Janjaweed forces. -Human Rights Watch
Transcript:
MURDER, PILLAGE, RAPE, TORTURE, FORCIBLE TRANSFER, PERSECUTION, INHUMANE ACTS
Just some of the charges Ali Mohammed
Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, known as Ali Kosheib,
will face before the International Criminal Court in his trial starting Tuesday, April 5, 2022.
This trial is the first time a leader will have to answer for serious crimes allegedly committed in Darfur by government forces and allied militias.
Kosheib, a commander of the Janjaweed militias, is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur between 2003 and 2004.
Voice: Darfur community leader
“We appreciate the role of the ICC, not in a vindictive way, but for justice. People all over the world should know that no one is above justice, and every dictator who wishes to exterminate and kill his people or his neighbors has to know he will face the law.”
Serious crimes in Darfur have continued over the years, where perpetrators are emboldened by impunity.
Victims and communities in Sudan have been waiting for over fifteen years to finally see an accused perpetrator stand trial.
Voice: Darfur Activist
“The Kosheib trial is a good step towards justice. But achieving full justice in Darfur relies on the surrender of Omar al-Bashir, Ahmed Haroun, Abdulraheem Mohammed Hussein and others.”
For justice to be done, Sudanese authorities should help transfer the other ICC fugitives to the ICC without further delay.
hashtag justice matters
[Ends]
View the above video at YouTube here: https://youtu.be/nn5V6H4XOow
Related reports
Sudan Watch
Thursday, May 04, 2023
Darfur Sudan: ICC warrants of arrest still pending against MM Harun, Al Bashir, Banda, and Hussein
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2023/05/darfur-sudan-icc-warrants-of-arrest.html
Sudan Watch
Thursday, May 04, 2023
ICC trial of Janjaweed Leader helps justice for Darfur
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2023/05/icc-trial-of-janjaweed-leader-helps.html
[Ends]
NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: In April 2022, the first trial into atrocities committed in Sudan’s Darfur region began at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Several sessions of the trial at the ICC are scheduled to continue this month. I made the transcript of a powerful video here below.
Video by The New Humanitarian
Posted at YouTube on 08 February 2023
Title: ICC trial brings mixed feelings for Darfur Janjaweed victims
Description:
Survivors of Darfur’s conflict say they have experienced a mixture of painful memories and feelings of relief as the first trial into atrocities committed in the western region of Sudan continues proceedings at the Hague-based International Criminal Court. - The New Humanitarian.
Transcript:
PEACE MEANS JUSTICE FOR DARFUR
Voices: ICC trial brings mixed feelings for Darfur’s war survivors
In April 2022, the first trial into atrocities committed in Sudan’s Darfur region began at the International Criminal Court.
Witnesses have been testifying against Ali Kushayb. He is accused of atrocities committed while commanding the Janjaweed armed group in 2003 and 2004.
The Janjaweed was an Arab militia created by the government of Omar al-Bashir to crush a revolt by Darfur’s mostly non-Arab rebel groups.
Janjaweed victims are still living in displacement camps dotted across Darfur.
Darfuri journalist and rights monitor, Ahmed Gouja, spoke to some of them last year.
Amina Abdelrahman, Resident Kalma displacement camp:
“For me, as a woman, this is a triumph. Darfuri women are the major victims of the war. We lost parents, dearest children, and mothers. The mass rape was expected. People witnessed the Janjaweed raping their daughters and wives. The Ali Kushayb trial is a tremendous gain for all Darfuri women.”
Yaqoub Mohamed Abdalla, Leader of Kalma displacement camp:
“We are delighted for this progress toward justice. it feels good to find a court that rules on behalf of the vulnerable. It is a lesson for all those afraid of the law, but not afraid of God. That is why the ICC is a necessity”.
Hanan Hassan Khatir Abdelbakhit, Community leader displaced from Wadi Salih:
“We have mixed feelings. We are rejoicing in the news of Ali Kushaybs; trial. But we feel deep sorry recalling all the crimes that he committed against us. Genocide, mass rape, ethnic cleansing, looting of our possessions, destroying out villages, and all the offensive acts that I cannot describe”.
Prosecutors have accused Kushayb of being “a willing and knowing participant in crimes”. He claims he is the victim of mistaken identity.
Community leaders described to Gouja some of Kyshaby’s alleged crimes.
Ada Husseein Sharif, Community leader and displaced person:
“Janjaweed embarked on arresting the displaced people. They took them to the Deleig police station and forced them all to the ground. Ali Kushayb was stepping on the bodies of detainees. He killed one of our sons, Adam Abdelrahman. He was an agricultural worker”.
Though many Darfuris are relieved to see Kushayb on trial, they have called for al-Bashir to be handed over to the ICC too. They also called for an end to recent violence that has displaced hundreds of thousands of Darfuris.
Darfuri voice:
“The situation is not safe yet in Darfur. We still need the support of the international community. Darfur needs to be safeguarded immediately and before anything else. We demand food, education for children, and better health services”.
Darfuri voice:
“To achieve justice for Darfur, Omar al-Bashir must be turned over to the the ICC. So should all the names in the arrest warrants issued by the ICC.”
[Ends]
View the video at YouTube here: https://youtu.be/ZED3BVQBILU
Further reading
Sudan Watch
Thursday, May 04, 2023
Darfur Sudan: ICC warrants of arrest still pending against MM Harun, Al Bashir, Banda, and Hussein
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2023/05/darfur-sudan-icc-warrants-of-arrest.html
Sudan Watch
Thursday, May 04, 2023
Darfur Sudan: ICC trial Ali Kushayb Janjaweed Leader
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2023/05/darfur-sudan-icc-trial-ali-kushayb.html
[Ends]
