Darfur - European Parliament urges UN Security Council to draft clear mandate under Chapter VII of UN Charter, on or before 1 Oct 2006

European Parliament says Darfur is "tantamount to genocide" AP reported earlier today. More on this from Noticias Info 7 Apr 2006 - excerpt:

In a resolution on Darfur, adopted by 76 votes in favour, none against and no abstentions, Parliament deplores the continuation of violence and rape by all sides, and condemns the Government of Sudan's continued support for the Janjaweed militia. It urges the United Nations Security Council to meet to address the violence in Darfur, which is tantamount to genocide, and to act on its responsibility to protect civilians by drafting a clear mandate under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, on or before 1 October 2006 (following the expiry of the mandate of the African Union mission in Darfur on 30 September 2006). It calls on the UN Security Council to extend the arms embargo in Darfur throughout Sudan and support the African Union's efforts in Darfur to reach full operational capacity and to robustly interpret its mandate to protect civilians until the transition to a UN mission.

MEPs underline that the mandate of the AMIS force has primarily been to observe violations of the humanitarian ceasefire agreement. They criticise the international community for not having acted to protect civilians sooner and call upon EU Member States to honour the commitments they have already made to provide military observers, staff officers and civilian police to increase security in Darfur and to ensure that the current AMIS mission is adequately funded and equipped to enable it to interpret its limited mandate as broadly as possible.

Parliament welcomes the decisions taken by the UN Security Council in March on a ban on offensive flights in Darfur. It calls for an effectively enforced no-fly zone across Darfur. It further calls on the EU, the US and other international actors to take all necessary action to help end impunity by enforcing the Security Council sanctions regime and seeking for this regime to include targeted sanctions against individuals who obstruct the deployment of the UN force and otherwise contribute to abuses of civilians.

MEPs call for the international community to support the International Criminal Court's investigation into violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in Darfur. They join the UNHCR in calling for an end to forced conscription of Sudanese refugees in Chad and also call for the implementation of a Chad-Sudan border monitoring force, as foreseen in the accord signed by the Presidents of the two countries on 10 February 2006. They strongly criticise the Government of Sudan for preventing Jan Egeland, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, from visiting Darfur.

Parliament asks the African Union to continue to play a leading role in the Abuja peace talks, and for all those involved in the talks to work to achieve these ends. It calls on the Government of Sudan to work alongside the NGO community for the benefit of its people and urges the Government to revise the Organisation of Voluntary and Humanitarian Work Act 2006 to bring it into line with international human rights standards. MEPs insist that Sudan's Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) facilitate the issuing of visas and travel permits to humanitarian workers and stop the harassment of international NGOs; they criticise the lack of independence of the HAC from the Government of Sudan;

Parliament calls on the Government of Sudan to release Ms Amouna Mohamed Ahmed, Ms Fayza Ismail Abaker, Ms Houda Ismail Abdel Rahman and Ms Zahra Adam Abdela while their case is investigated and considers that these girls should be given appropriate care as victims of attempted rape.

Finally, MEPs criticise Russian and Chinese efforts to block UN Security Council actions over Darfur. They urge the international community to exert more pressure on these countries in order to prevent their economic interests in oil and arms sales from undermining efforts to bring peace to Darfur.

[Note, Austrian Presidency of the EU 1 January - 30 June 2006. See A Guide to the European Parliament]

UN passes Resolution 1591 on Sudan - Sudan vows to put 164 on trial for Darfur atrocities

Yesterday, the UN Security Council decided to freeze assets and impose a travel ban on those believed to have committed human-rights abuses, or violated the ceasefire agreement in Darfur.

Excerpt from UN News via IRIN March 30, 2005:

Tuesday's resolution also extended the current ban on the sale or supply of military equipment to non-governmental entities or individuals involved in the Darfur conflict to include the Sudanese government. It further demanded that the government immediately cease conducting offensive military flights in the region.

Security Council had adopted an "unwise resolution" says Khartoum

The Sudan's UN Ambassador, Elfatih Mohamed Ahmed Erwa, said the Council had adopted an "unwise resolution" that might aggravate the situation in Darfur.

A UN committee, consisting of all Council members, was established to specify which individuals would be subject to the restrictive measures, and to monitor their implementation.

In addition, the resolution requested UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to appoint a four-member panel of experts based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to assist the committee for six months.

Once again, the Council condemned the failure of the Sudanese government to disarm Janjaweed militias and bring to justice their leaders and associates who had carried out human-rights violations and other atrocities.

Unless the Council determines that the parties in the conflict have complied with certain demands and commitments, the measures set out in the text will be enforced 30 days from the adoption date.

These commitments were set out in previous Council resolutions in 2004: the April N'djamena Ceasefire Agreement and the November Abuja Humanitarian and Security Protocols, signed by the Sudanese government and the two main rebel groups - the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), and the Justice and Equality Movement.

The Council emphasised that there could be no military solution to the conflict in Darfur, and urged the government and the rebels to resume the Abuja talks without preconditions, and to negotiate in good faith to reach an agreement quickly.
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US agrees to use UN Court for Darfur Cases

Today, in New York, the UN Security Council is expected to vote on a resolution put forward by France that would authorise the prosecution of Sudanese war crimes suspects by the international criminal court (ICC). But there may be further delay.

This morning, Fox 23 News was the first to break with the news - followed by Associated Press via LA Times - that Washington approves Sudan trials by International Criminal Court, and in return, Americans are exempt from any prosecution.

But the latest this evening from Reuters says France is still engaged in last minute talks with the United States to avoid a US veto. "We are trying to find language that we would find acceptable. We're trying to make the resolution work so that we can avoid a train wreck," said one US official.

See here below an East African news report that explains Kenya signed US immunity yesterday. Perhaps other signatures have been garnered to provide the US with more assurances that its citizens won't get hauled up in front of the ICC on frivolus charges.
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UN Security Council passes Resolution 1591 on Sudan

On Tuesday, the UN Security Council approved what The Economist terms as "mild sanctions" against those carrying out "ethnic cleansing" in Darfur.

The council voted to impose a no fly zone over Darfur; a travel ban and an asset freeze on those responsible for atrocities in Darfur and on individuals who impede the peace process or commit human rights violations in Darfur. The council also voted to strengthen an arms embargo in Darfur that encompasses the Sudanese government.

Last week, the Security Council passed another resolution to deploy nearly 11,000 UN peacekeepers to South Sudan to monitor a peace deal between the Government of Sudan and southern rebels that ended a 21-year civil war.

Sudan Tribune has published the full text of UN Security Council resolution 1591 on Sudan, along with a copy of "Explanations after Vote".
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Kenya to sign US immunity agreement

Copy of an East African news report by Evelyn Kwamboka re the UN's ICC and Kenya's signing of a US immunity agreement:

The Government is today expected to sign an agreement offering the US bilateral immunity in the International Criminal Court (ICC).

But 12 human rights groups yesterday opposed the move, saying it would make Kenya to not only violate international law but also facilitate the protection of foreign criminals.

If it signs the agreement, Kenya will not surrender any US citizen to the ICC, however serious the crime committed.

The move comes barely a month after Kenya joined ICC, which aims at ending war crimes.

On March 9, Attorney-General Amos Wako gave UN officials in New York a document containing the statutes signed by the Foreign Affairs minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere.

Yesterday, the International Commission for Jurists (ICJ) Kenya Executive Director Philip Kichana urged Parliament's Legal Affairs and Administration of Justice Committee to discuss the issue before the agreement is signed.

"They should bear in mind the national interest despite the huge sums of money that may be offered by US in terms of aid," he said.

The ICJ, the Law Society of Kenya, the Kenya Human Rights Commission, the East African Human Rights Institute, Release Political Prisoners and the Legal Resources Foundation signed yesterday's statement.

The US refused to sign the ICC treaty in 2002, saying it feared its soldiers and officials could be targeted by "frivolous" lawsuits.

A UN-appointed commission has recommended that ICC tries those accused of abuses in Sudan's Darfur region but Washington opposes the move, fearing it would legitimise the court.
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Khartoum slams UN sanctions - rebels demand more

The regime in Khartoum says the new UN resolution unfairly puts the government's rights and duties on an equal footing with the rebellion.

Copy of report from Aljazeera March 30, 2005:

The Sudanese government reacted with anger to the UN's Security Council sanctions over violations in Darfur. But in direct contrast the rebels argued the move was too timid to yield a breakthrough in the conflict.

The Sudanese foreign ministry issued a statement which called the U.S. sponsored resolution as "unbalanced and inappropriate" and "ignored the government's efforts in addressing the political, security and humanitarian aspects of the Darfur conflict."

The Sudanese government hinted in its statement that it would not consider itself bound by the resolution.

"The government will also seek to lift any sanctions that the UN will impose based on false information," it said. "The resolution unfairly puts the government's rights and duties on an equal footing with the rebellion."

The main rebel group in Darfur, the Sudan Liberation Movement, said it was disappointed by the scope of the sanctions, arguing they would do little to encourage resolve.

"We support the resolution, although we do not feel that it is strong enough," SLM spokesman Mahjub Hussein said.

The group said it would have preferred a resolution strengthening an arms embargo against Sudan, imposing restrictions on the movement of government officials and the freezing of their assets.

Furthermore, the SLM believes the resolution would have carried more weight if it had obliged the pulling out of armed forces from Darfur and the handing of security responsibilities in the region to an international force.

Under the resolution, backed 12-0 with abstentions from Algeria, China and Russia, any movement of military equipment and supplies into the Darfur region will require the prior approval of the Security Council.
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Sudan says UN sanctions bad for Darfur security

Sudan said on Wednesday a U.N. resolution imposing sanctions on those responsible for violence in Darfur would make it harder to disarm combatants and would endanger lives in the remote region.

Excerpt from Reuters report March 30, 2005:

"We think the resolution is unbalanced and unfortunate," Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail told reporters in Khartoum in reference to a Security Council resolution passed on Tuesday that imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on some involved in the Darfur conflict.

"It will reflect negatively on the security in Darfur because it will jeopardise and limit the capability of the government to fight outlaws."

He said the resolution, which also strengthens an arms embargo on the government and prevents hostile flights over Darfur, would put the lives of the Darfuri people at risk as well as the thousands of foreigners working in the region.

"It will also reflect negatively on the security of non-Sudanese who are supposed to move freely and to feel in full security," he said.

There are around 1,000 foreign aid workers in Darfur and more than 2,000 African Union (AU) troops in Darfur.

Three members of an AU team were injured in an attack on Tuesday, and last week a U.S. aid worker was shot in the face when gunmen ambushed an aid convoy in Darfur.

The United Nations says the government has done little to try to disarm Arab militias, but Ismail said the rebels had caused delay through intransigence and said the government needed more time.

"We are doing our best but this is an area larger than France. Weapons are everywhere. Rebels are not cooperating," he said. "We need time in order to deal with this."



Picture: A Darfur rebel. The main Darfur rebel group, SLM, believes the new UN resolution would have carried more weight if it had obliged the pulling out of armed forces from Darfur and the handing of security responsibilities in the region to an international force. [Perhaps that's on the table for when UN peacekeepers start assisting the African Union troops in Darfur]

The Sudanese government hinted in its statement that it would not consider itself bound by the resolution and said "the resolution unfairly puts the government's rights and duties on an equal footing with the rebellion."

Further reading:

Mar 30 Xinhua China news: UN official denies Resolution 1591 against Khartoum. A UN official said in Khartoum Wednesday that a recent UN Security Council resolution is aimed to press the conflicting sides.

Mar 31 The Daily Star Lebanon: Khartoum rejects 'unbalanced' UN resolution.
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Sudan vows to put 164 on trial for Darfur atrocities

Sudan has for the first time arrested military and security officials accused of raping and killing civilians and burning villages in Darfur.

Excerpt from the Scotsman March 30, 2005:

Khartoum repeated its insistence yesterday that none of its citizens would be tried outside its borders, in direct defiance of a call by the UN earlier this year for 51 Sudanese - including some high-ranking government officials - to be tried by the international community.

The foreign minister, Mustafa Osman Ismail, reiterated on state television yesterday: "We will never hand over any Sudanese national - whether he is an outlaw, an army officer, or a government official - for trial outside Sudan."

Here is a report by Ophera McDoom in Khartoum via the Scotsman Mar 29:

Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin said a government committee had arrested 15 members of the police, military and security forces in Darfur for human rights abuses and they would immediately be sent to court.

"They are military people ... from army, military and security," Mr Yassin said, adding all the accused were from these "disciplinary forces".

"[They are accused of] different crimes. It includes rape, killing, burning and other things - different kinds of atrocities," he said.

The UN Security Council is expected to vote tomorrow on a French-drafted resolution which would send those responsible for war crimes in Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Sudan rejects referring any of its nationals to a court outside its borders, saying its judicial system is able to prosecute those guilty of crimes.

"Now it is high time for us to prove ourselves and to prove how genuine we are and how seriously the Sudanese judiciary can do the job," Mr Yassin said.

"This is a start; it is not the end of it - they are progressing and doing a good job."

Mr Yassin said 14 members of the police, the army and security forces were under arrest in West Darfur state and one in North Darfur state.

Photo: "Darfur on Fire" - A Sudanese rebel watches as a village attacked by the Janjaweed militia burns. [Scott Nelson/Getty Images Tue 29 Mar 2005 courtesy Scotsman.com]

Another report in the Scotsman March 28, says with only hours to the UN Security Council vote on where to try Darfur's war criminals, the Khartoum regime says it has arrested 15 men who are accused of murder and burning villages in Darfur. The report says if past examples of Khartoum’s "justice" are anything to go by, these men - guilty or not - will be tried and executed very quickly, thus evading UN involvement.

But few news reports educate readers as to the predicament Khartoum is in over the Janjaweed. And why the UN's demands to reign in the Janjaweed were always an impossibility. Sometime last year, even Khartoum revealed in the press it fears retribution once the West got bored and turned its back, so we can't be surprised at their efforts to avoid arresting the people who are protecting them. Without the Janjaweed and Arab tribal leaders, the Khartoum regime would fall. Who else do they have on their side to squash the rebellions in the south, west and east of Sudan?

Even the rebels themselves have said their objective is to overthrow the government. Unless all sides cease fighting [which they have proved they are capable of] and work out a political situation, the conflict seems likely to go on for years. Even if the regime in Khartoum fled tomorrow, who would lead the people of northern Sudan - the one's that fought against southern Sudan's rebels for 21 terrifying years? John Garang, the leader of the southern rebels, couldn't unite them, there is too much mistrust.

Surely Khartoum can see the writing on the wall. Charismatic leadership is needed to unite the whole of Sudan. The world saw how the people in South Sudan rejoiced in the streets at the prospect of peace. If only someone within the African Union or Arab League could get all of the gangs and tribal leaders together. Maybe the Libyan leader has been trying to do something along these lines. Where are the Islamic clerics in all of this? What do ordinary Sudanese folk say? Who would the Sudanese support as a leader for a united Sudan? The media and politicians never properly explain what is really going on.

US Ambassador Danforth says sanctions are still on the table

Going by what US Ambassador John Danforth and others say in a Washington File report Jan 12 there is no mention of a no-fly zone for Darfur.

The following is an excerpt from the report that gives an insight into what is being put forward to the UN Security Council. Who knows how much will change around Jan 25 when the UN makes public the findings of its investigation into genocide in Darfur:

Mr Danforth says that "sanctions are still on the table." Sanctions were discussed during the session, Danforth noted. Even though some council members are opposed to sanctions as a general principle, "it may be possible to fashion" sanctions in a way that would be agreeable to a majority of council members, he said.

The peace agreement, he pointed out, "has ended a war that has lasted more than two decades and that has claimed more than 2 million lives, and people are pushing that off the front page as though nothing had happened last Sunday [January 9]. Something big happened last Sunday and it was due in large part to the engagement of the United States in this process."

Pronk said that the North-South peace process can be applied to Darfur and "it must."

"We can make it work," he said. "It is hard to imagine that the peace dividend promised by the Nairobi agreement will be reaped without an end to the suffering in Darfur," Pronk said. "International aid will not flow and, more important, in Sudan itself, the achievement will turn out to be vulnerable." As long as there is war in some part of Sudan, resources will be spent on weapons, not welfare, he said, and "investors will be reluctant, entrepreneurs will hesitate, young people with brains and initiative will want to leave the country, displaced people will wander around."

Offering several suggestions that could encourage a peace agreement, Pronk said that the government and rebels in Darfur must be pressured, reasoned with, and offered alternatives to the status quo.

Suggestions included: As a show of good will, the government and rebel movements should all withdraw behind reasonable and well-defined lines with African Union troops moving in to protect the areas; the government should make a new start in disarming the Jingaweit; the rebel movement should agree not to block or disrupt peaceful seasonal movements of nomadic tribes and their cattle; and the parties must identify practical means to provide basic needs such as food to their forces in order to lessen the urge to steal, loot and kill.

He urged the international community to "do whatever is required to accelerate the rate of deployment of AU troops."

Danforth also mentioned the possibility of adding international police protection in the camps, and Pronk suggested that the number of human rights monitors in the region be increased from 20 to 150.

The security situation in Darfur is bad and the humanitarian situation poor, Pronk told the council. Violence has spread into the camps for displaced persons and is directly affecting humanitarian workers as well; refugees are not returning in sufficient numbers to plant sustainable crops; and livestock is being lost on a huge scale, he said.

Sudan opposition party to boycott Government

An AFP report carried by South African news online yesterday Jan 8 confirms Sudan's second largest opposition party has said it will not participate in a transitional government due to be formed after the peace deal is signed.

The report says the decision by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to stay out of the power-sharing administration could deal a blow to efforts by Sudan's President to garner support among northerners, which he needs to balance southern influence. "We will not participate in a transitional government," party leader Mirghani said.

Note, the leader's statement was released as his party reopened its offices in Khartoum for the first time in 15 years.
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REMEMBERING GENOCIDE, IGNORING GENOCIDE

Kai Stinchcombe is a graduate student in political science and president of the Stanford Democrats. Here is an excerpt from his article "Remembering genocide, ignoring genocide" published by the Sudan Tribune on January 5, 2005:

Sudan is not going to stop the genocide on its own. Flush with oil revenues and eagerly armed by greedy weapons dealers and see-no-evil politicians, the government is intent on driving its black minority off their land. The only hope for Darfur is a U.N. Security Council resolution establishing a no-fly zone over Southern and Western Sudan, beefing up the African Union force already there with more international troops, and establishing a mandatory and enforceable arms embargo on Sudan.

Mr Stinchcombe concludes the article by saying: "It's time to take action in Darfur". Read full story.
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GENOCIDE IN DARFUR INQUIRY REPORT

The UN intends to issue the results of a human rights inquiry around January 25, as requested by the council, that will also rule on whether or not genocide has taken place.

State of emergency declared in Sudan’s North Darfur

According to a report out of Khartoum today, Governor Osman Yusuf Kibir declared a state of emergency across north Darfur and a curfew in the wake of “a grave military escalation by the rebels.”

Lord Alton, the founder of the human rights campaign Jubilee, believes the international community has been "duped". He explained that the Sudanese government had been required by a United Nations mandatory resolution to disarm militia, and this had not been done. "There is a whiff of Munich about this," said Lord Alton, who last visited Sudan in September.

He said he backed a letter to a national newspaper from shadow foreign secretary Michael Ancram, Labour MEP Glenys Kinnock, and Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell.

The trio is calling for better resources to provide for those affected by the war, a no-fly zone to be imposed over west Darfur, and targeted sanctions, including oil sanctions.
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Oxfam UK says EU must take action

European Union foreign ministers faced a call yesterday to take tougher action in western Darfur as new violence has cut off aid supplies to over 150,000 people.

"The EU must immediately take robust action to force the warring parties in Darfur to comply with their commitments to protect civilians in Darfur," U.K.-based Oxfam International said in a statement.

The charity denounced deteriorating security on roads caused by bandits and warring factions, which were forcing it to use helicopters to fly aid to four towns in the western region of Sudan.

The EU is supporting an African Union plan to send more than 3,000 peacekeepers to Darfur, offering advisors and $100 million to cover almost half the costs of the operations.

The bloc has also considered sanctions such as a travel ban or asset freeze against Sudanese leaders. - Agencies
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Save the Children UK aid workers flee violence

Yesterday, Save The Children, UK, said at least 30 of their workers and some other people were airlifted from the Tawilla area, in North Darfur state, where fighting between rebels and Arab militia has raged since Sunday.

UN spokesman George Somerwill, said 45 people were airlifted to safety by an AU helicopter after fleeing into bush areas.

He said a tribal dispute over livestock sparked the clashes and resulted in rebel SLA forces attacking the Janjaweed.

AU monitors said six civilians were killed during the clashes, which followed a ceasefire deal signed between rebels and the Sudanese government on November 9.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has said that reports of violence against women and children in and around IDP camps in Darfur appeared to be on the increase. A UNICEF statement said armed militias were raping girls and women in Darfur as a tactic to terrorise and humiliate individuals as well as families and communities.

Half of Darfur is short of food - Darfur rebels are blocking aid to 1.5 million refugees


Today (Wednesday) Aljazeera reports nearly half the population of Darfur is short of food and that Darfur rebels are stalling aid deal.

DARFUR FAMILIES FACE FOOD MISERY
WFP survey confirms Darfur facing serious food shortage

BBC confirms Darfur families face food misery. A World Food Programme survey on nutrition and food security in Darfur has found that almost half of all families are not getting enough to eat. The survey confirms aid agencies' fears that the western Sudanese region is facing a serious food shortage.

The survey is the first comprehensive assessment of food availability since the crisis began some 20 months ago. The agency found that:

• Almost 22% of children in camps for internally displaced people are malnourished
• Almost half of all families are not getting enough to eat
• Ninety-four percent of the displaced in Darfur are completely reliant on food aid for every mouthful they consume.

WFP says it is aiming to provide food and vitamins for children under five - "but food alone is not enough - the response also has to be significantly stronger on water, sanitation and health."
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REBELS ARE BLOCKING AID TO 1.5 MILLION REFUGEES

Once again, the Darfur rebels have refused to agree to a deal that would give aid workers unrestricted access, commit both sides to preventing attacks on civilians and allow for refugees to return home.

Talks broke off early Tuesday when rebels refused face-to-face talks with the government, demanding instead that the African Union meets separately with both sides to draft an agenda.

An earlier round of peace talks in Nigeria ended without agreement in September, after rebels refused to sign a humanitarian accord giving aid organisations wider access to refugees. Rebels insist they will not sign the already-drafted accord without an accompanying security agreement.

A key sticking point in reaching a security deal is a government demand that insurgents disarm. The Sudan Liberation Army and a second rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement, insist the Janjaweed must first be disarmed.

Here's what's happened so far:

On Monday, the all important peace talks opened in Abuja, Nigeria. The rebels adjourned meetings on security and political issues Monday and Tuesday almost as soon as they started, saying they needed more time to fix a position.

They are insisting that Khartoum disarm its militias in Darfur before they would sign a deal to bring aid to 1.5 million civilians displaced by violence.

Analysts at the talks said the rebels had stalled on the humanitarian deal believing deteriorating conditions in refugee camps in the vast region would pile pressure on the government to concede ground over issues such as disarmament.

"We've told the rebels that for them to be seen as blocking the signature of the humanitarian protocol is not very good," said a European Union diplomat attending the talks.

The rebels' reluctance to sign the humanitarian protocol in the second day of peace talks in the Nigerian capital brought the two sides back to the sticking point that caused a round of talks last month to collapse.

If signed, the aid deal would be the first meaningful agreement in three rounds of talks that began in July.

"The rebels should not take the international community for granted. They think they have all the international sympathies, but if they are seen as the ones who are stalling they will have to pay a price," the European diplomat said.



Photo of Darfur rebels: serious internal splits have shown up in their ranks

Today, The Star in Malaysia reports Darfur talks break as rebels demand clear agenda.

A key sticking point in reaching a security deal is a government demand that insurgents disarm.

The Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement insist the Janjaweed must first be disarmed.

The Justice and Equality Movement said the two rebel groups would also push for a no-fly zone over Darfur.

Nigerian army spokesman Col. Mohammed Yusuf, said 196 Nigerian peacekeeping troops were ready to leave for Darfur from their southeastern base of Abak, and were just waiting for the African Union to arrange their transport.

Further reading: BBC report August, 2004 Analysis: Reining in the militia - "Disarmament of the Janjaweed may lead to fighting among Arab militia groups and with the government - a development from which the rebel movements would reap profit."
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REBELS ACCUSE SUDAN OF FRESH BOMBING RAIDS
Dealing blow to peace talks

Darfur rebels accused Sudan's government of launching fresh bombing raids that killed 10 people in Darfur, dealing another blow to peace talks in that have so far failed to even set an agenda.

Lt. Gen. Mohammed Ismail, the deputy chief of staff of the Sudanese army, denied the rebels' accusations, saying there had been no fresh violence in the eastern Darfur town of Allaiat, a key base of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army.

SLA spokesman Mahgoub Hussain said government forces began bombing the town early Tuesday and air-raids continued Wednesday.

"Until now they are bombing," Hussain said, just before talks resumed Wednesday in Nigeria's capital, Abuja. He said the dead included "about 10 civilians, including one lady who was pregnant."

Both sides reported fighting for several days last week in Allaiat, and rebels said at least 7,000 people had been displaced. Sudan's army said then they were only defending their positions.

The fresh violence was sure to cast a shadow over the third day of talks in Abuja, where about 100 delegates gathered around a large oval table at an international conference center.

LATEST: reports the third day of peace talks adjourned Wednesday morning hardly an hour into the discussions, after the African Union (AU) mediators asked for more time to prepare a document on security.
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U.S. BANKS RELUCTANT TO HANDLE MONEY FOR KHARTOUM
Khartoum extend deadline for Washington to open U.S. bank account or close U.S. Embassy in Sudan

Yesterday (Tuesday) Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail told reporters that banking arrangements for foreign missions was the direct responsibility of the host country and the United States had failed to solve the problem for three months.

"We are waiting for more than three months and they are giving us excuses or (only) solving the problem partially," he said.

Speaking after a meeting with the head of the U.S. embassy in Khartoum, he said Sudan's deadline for the United States to sort out the problem expired on Tuesday, but the United States had asked for more time.

"We will postpone the decision until the end of this month. If it is settled that's ok. If it is not settled, there is no way that the Sudanese embassy will continue and on a reciprocal basis there is no way for the U.S. embassy to continue here also," he added, without elaborating.

U.S. banks have been reluctant to work with embassies in Washington after U.S. regulators fined Riggs National Corp's. Riggs Bank, which long specialized in serving the diplomatic community, $25 million for suspected violations of the Bank Secrecy Act that aims to prevent money laundering.

"We're hopeful that a resolution to this issue (of finding a bank for the Sudanese embassy) will be arrived at shortly," State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said in Washington. "I think we're close to a deal (with a private U.S. bank)," added a U.S. official who asked not to be named.
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U.S. LISTS SUDAN AS A "STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM"

The United States lists Sudan as a "state sponsor of terrorism," but the U.S. special envoy for Sudan, Charles Snyder, said last month that Sudan was still cooperating on issues relating to international terrorism.

The report mentions the fact that Sudan's Washington embassy has been the scene of many demonstrations against the Sudanese government's handling of the Darfur violence.

A recent news report quoted the UN's special envoy Jan Pronk telling the Darfur rebels: "Don't lay mines."
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DON'T GIVE UP ON PEOPLE OF DARFUR
Says British aid worker just back from Darfur

Jane Salmonson, director of Mercy Corps Scotland, is now back in the UK after visiting Darfur. Jane's message is: don't give up on the people of Darfur. Here is an excerpt:

I spoke to scores of people in the camps, asking why they had come, what had made them leave their homes.

Each individual had a horror story to tell, of being burnt out of their villages, of watching the men being rounded up and shot, of a "scorched earth" policy destroying wells and burning crops.

In each case I asked: "So will you go home now?" The reaction each time was clear. No. With all the privations of the camp, they felt safe there. The armed militias roamed round the edges of the camps but did not enter. Everyone I spoke to expected to be killed if they went home.
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UN ENVOY HEADED TO DARFUR TOMORROW
Angelina Jolie currently on visit to Darfur and Khartoum

A UN envoy to Sudan will visit Darfur tomorrow to check on the government's claim that some 70,000 people displaced by conflict there have voluntarily returned to their homes

Manuel Aranda Da Silva, an envoy of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan for humanitarian affairs and development, will visit El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, spokesman Fred Eckhard said.
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HOLLYWOOD ACTRESS ANGELINA JOLIE
Currently visiting West Darfur and Khartoum

U.S. film star and UN goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie is due to hold a press conference in the Sudanese capital Khartoum tomorrow after a three-day visit with displaced persons in West Darfur.



Angelina Jolie has just adopted a Russian baby named Gleb. Gleb is Jolie’s second adopted son; the first boy Maddox (pictured above) is from Cambodia and is now 3-years-old. / Photo from volny.cz
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U.S. Air Force to fly Nigerian troops to Darfur on Thursday

Reuters say 390 Nigerian soliders to leave on U.S. plane for Darfur on Thursday.

400 Nigerian troops are due to leave for Darfur on Thursday as a part of an African Union (AU) force to monitor renewed fighting in the area, an army spokesman said on Wednesday.

"All things being equal, they will leave tomorrow morning. A little more than two companies are on standby and ready to leave anytime the AU gives the go-ahead," Colonel Mohammed Yusuf said.

The 390 soldiers, who are expected to travel aboard a U.S. transport plane from the capital Abuja, will join 150 Nigerian troops already in Darfur to make up a battalion, Yusuf said.

The French news agency, Agence France Presse, quoted Mr. Ismail Monday as saying that Sudan would never accept any U.S. planes on Sudanese territory other than under an A.U. agreement that does not violate Sudanese national security.

But the spokesman for Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohamed Ahmed Abdel Ghassar, told VOA the delay in the airlift, which was to begin Monday, was because the U.S. embassy in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, approached the government directly for flight clearance without going through the African Union first.

"The ministry re-directed them [the Americans] to pass it through the African Union," he said. "And it was done. There is nothing like refusal or something like that."

The foreign minister had said Monday the Sudanese government would cooperate closely with the African Union to facilitate the arrival of the more than 3,000-strong force from seven African countries.



Nigerian officer AG Mahmuda shouts to his soldiers upon their arrival at Al-Fasher airport in North Darfur 30 Aug 2004 - the batch of troops already in Darfur that are supported by the U.K.
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U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL TO MEET IN NAIROBI
For two days of Sudan talks next month

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to conduct its business in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi for two days next month in an effort to end Africa's longest civil war in southern Sudan.

What, China and Russian didn't object? Another exotic sunny location all expenses paid meeting for all concerned.

Wonder how much such a meeting costs the UN in travel, accommodation, expenses, security. And how many bags of flour can be bought with the total bill? Probably enough to feed nearly half of Darfur - the half that are suffering shortage of food.

Ruthless dictators, rebels and Kofi Annan et al are certainly on a high flying gravy train jet setting around the world to exotic locations every few weeks. They'd better make it worthwhile this time or taxpayers might start asking to see the bill.

UK's Beckett: Future of Africa linked to climate change

Interesting comments, especially by UN Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown (note he reminds us that in Darfur there is no peace for peackeepers to keep), in this article atBlack information Link 28 Sep 2006:

The problems of international development and climate change were interlinked, Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett stated yesterday.

Speaking at a Fringe event organised by IPPR, Channel Four, Amnesty, Oxfam and Safer World, a number of issues, including Darfur, climate change, Uganda and Zimbabwe were raised.

Ms Beckett was joined on the panel by International Development Secretary Hilary Benn MP, Tidjane Thiam, Commission for Africa, Monica Naggaga, Oxfam, Mark Malloch Brown, United Nations and David Mepham, IPPR who chaired the event.

Mr Mepham began the session by raising the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan.Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett highlighted that the United Nations extended the mandate of the Africa Union last week, ensuring that a security vacuum was not allowed to develop.

However, this move was stepping away from the brink and was not a positive move forward, she asserted. The Africa Union should work with all sides in the conflict and receive back-up and support from all other nations.

International Development Secretary Hilary Benn added that the Africa Union was dealing with the symptoms of the problem and a political solution was needed. Moreover, a way of bringing groups together to begin a move to some form of regional Government was needed.

Indeed, UN troops were already in Sudan following the civil war there, making it unusual that the country now opposed a UN force in Darfur, he argued. Monica Naggaga stressed that the Africa Union needed support to provide protection to people in Darfur, in particular the 200 women raped every month.

Elsewhere, Mark Malloch Brown asserted that Darfur was by far the biggest problem in the world today. The UK, United States and many in Europe wanted to do more, he added, applauding the UK's efforts in this since 2003.

Tidjane Thiam reiterated calls for a political solution, highlighting that minority rights had to be protected in the country.Mr Mepham asked whether the imposition of a no-fly zone across the north of the country was an option.

In response, Mark Malloch Brown argued that countries were reluctant to deploy troops to Darfur, partly because of the size of the country and scale of the task at hand, and peacekeeping was about having a peace to keep, a situation missing in Sudan.

A representative of Crisis Action asked whether the ministers could confirm the carrots and sticks deployed to enforce peace in Darfur. In the same round of questions, the subject of trade embargos against Sudan was raised.

Hilary Benn asserted that it was best not to discuss the carrot and sticks to be offered as negotiations were still on-going.However, the people of Sudan had an incentive to aim for a peaceful solution as the country had generous oil reserves, he stressed.

Furthermore, the Sudanese claim that they were not consulted over the role of the Africa Union was untrue, the Minister proclaimed. The Africa Union, the Arab League, China and many others had an important role to play, Mr Benn maintained. Margaret Beckett added that the Sudanese had appealed to the Arab League and fellow African nations for support on the premise that the measures to secure peace in Darfur were merely imperialist mechanisms being deployed by the UK and others.

Mr Malloch Brown stated that the Sudan conflict was not on the BBC every night, ensuring that its profile was not constant. Therefore it was crucial for people to keep up the pressure on Governments, he argued.

Indeed, many multi-national corporations could be pressured into ceasing oil extraction from the country, he asserted. On questions on climate change from the audience, a representative of Christian Aid raised the suggestion that African nations could be compensated for the detrimental effects they faced from climate change.

Elsewhere, a representative from Manchester Friends of the Earth asked how useful it was to Africa, if the UK cut carbon emissions year on year. Additionally, a question on the exportation of flowers from Africa was raised. In response, Mark Malloch Brown stated that a real investment strategy for Africa was needed.

On the export of flowers, he asserted that the initial positive benefits had now led to unintended consequences that had to be addressed. Margaret Beckett argued that climate change and development were intrinsically linked issues.

Indeed, an increase in global temperatures was estimated to result in a four per cent decline in the GDP of African nations. A partnership between developed and undeveloped countries, including technology transfer, would highlight how climate change and development were not mutually exclusive, she maintained.

Moreover, the UK was responsible for only two per cent of world carbon emissions, she claimed, making a global, and not just individual, agreement on climate change imperative. Mr Benn added that the issue of climate change also involved individual choices, raising the problem of how such environmental measures are enforced.

Moreover, if people believed that the scale of the problem was impossible to remedy, support for measures would be lost. The Government had pressed the World Bank for an energy investment framework to address the issue of developing countries creating larger capacities for electricity generation, Mr Benn went on to say.

It was essential to help countries like China invest in electricity generation without the consequences of global warming, he argued. Labour MP Kerry McCarthy asked a question on aiding people of Uganda to return to their homes after fighting. A further question on the country related to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The issue of Western Sahara and the Morocco backed block on the UN resolution on the conflict was also raised. Monica Naggaga stressed that the UK should support the resettlement of Ugandan refugees. Mark Malloch Brown stated that ICC rulings could not be taken away but could be suspended, a useful bargaining tool in negotiations with the LRA in Uganda, he maintained.

On Western Sahara, he highlighted that UN resolution after UN resolution had been passed but to no avail.Tidjane Thiam asserted that minority rights had to be protected, highlighting South Africa as a good example of a constitution that ensured this.

Hilary Benn asserted that the UK Government had helped to fund Mega FM in Uganda, a project that was proving an important tool in getting people to feel safer and move back home following positive news reports.In the final round of questions, Tidjane Thiam asserted that China had an increasingly important role to play in international development.

Moreover, a new scramble for African resources may be about to begin, Mark Malloch Brown asserted. He argued that the problem of Zimbabwe, including the illegal immigration into South Africa, had tried to be addressed by the UN and South Africa but to no avail. This had to be addressed, he concluded.

Muhajaria, S. Darfur: JEM have deliberately placed themselves in areas of heavily populated by civilians (Update 1)

UN rights chief alarmed by Darfur fighting
February 3, 2009 AFP report (Geneva):

The UN's top human rights official Navi Pillay said she was "alarmed" Tuesday by reports of deteriorating conditions faced by civilians amid an upsurge in violence in south Darfur.

Fighting between the Sudanese army and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebels is jeopardizing the safety of civilians, she said, calling for all sides to respect the obligation of protecting civilians.

At least 30 people, including women and children, have been reportedly killed and 30,000 people displaced in violence which broke out in the Muhajaria area of south Darfur on January 15, she said.

"I'm extremely concerned at the impact the fighting is having on the already dire humanitarian situation in Muhajaria," Pillay said, adding that aid agencies have had to evacuate their staff over safety fears.

"The fighting is reported to have involved ground offensives and indiscriminate aerial bombardment by government forces that failed to distinguish between civilian communities and military targets," she said.

"JEM forces are also reported to have deliberately placed themselves in areas heavily populated by civilians, thereby jeopardizing their safety," she added.

Air raids also struck near Muhajaria Monday, following a warning to UNAMID from the Sudanese government on Sunday to withdraw its 190 peacekeepers from the area ahead of an offensive to recapture it from JEM rebels.

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Sudan rejects Darfur rebel offer
February 3, 2009 Reuters report by Andrew Heavens in Khartoum:

Sudan's government said on Tuesday the army would take a battle-scarred Darfur town by force, rejecting a rebel offer to withdraw if peacekeepers assumed control there.

JEM rebels offered to pull out of Muhajiriya as long as peacekeepers ran it as a military-free zone, but the Sudanese government rejected this.

JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim told Reuters Tuesday he was prepared to pull his forces out of Muhajiriya following an appeal for a JEM withdrawal by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

"That is with one condition: that the army and the government and Minni Minnawi should not come there ... It should be a non-military zone for civilians and IDPs (internally displaced people) and UNAMID," he said.

"If they come back, we will come back."

ASSAULT PLANNED

Sudan foreign ministry spokesman Ali al-Sadig rejected JEM's proposal.

"This will not be acceptable to the government. There is no room for conditions from JEM. The army is determined to re-take it (Muhajiriya) by force," he told Reuters.

UNAMID spokesman Noureddine Mezni said the UN/AU representative in Darfur, Rodolphe Adada, was planning to fly to neighbouring Chad Wednesday to meet JEM commanders.

UNAMID has promised to stay in the settlement to protect 30,000 civilians, half of whom are residents, half Darfuris displaced from earlier clashes in the near six-year conflict.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said on Tuesday she was worried about the fate of civilians, adding that at least 30 people had died since January 15.

"The fighting is reported to have involved ground offensives and indiscriminate aerial bombardment by government forces that failed to distinguish between civilian communities and military targets," Pillay said.

"JEM forces are also reported to have deliberately placed themselves in areas heavily populated by civilians, therefore jeopardising their safety." (Additional reporting by Daniel Wallis in Addis Ababa and Laura MacInnis in Geneva; Editing by Charles Dick)

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Darfur rebels offer to leave battle-scarred town
February 3, 2009 Reuters report by Andrew Heavens in Khartoum:

Darfur rebels said on Tuesday they were ready to withdraw from a battle-scarred town as long as peacekeepers took control and ran it as a military-free zone.

JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim on Tuesday told Reuters he was prepared to pull his forces out of the area following an appeal for a JEM withdrawal by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

"That is with one condition: that the army and the government and Minni Minnawi should not come there ... It should be a non-military zone for civilians and IDPs (internally displaced people) and UNAMID," he said.

"If they come back, we will come back."

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UNAMID statement on the situation in Muhajeriya
February 2, 2009 UNAMID El Fasher:

The African Union – United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) received yesterday a request from the Government of Sudan to withdraw its forces from Muhajeriya, approximately 80 kilometers east of Nyala, South Darfur, due to the recent deterioration of the security situation in the area.

Highly conscious of its responsibilities in Darfur, UNAMID has initiated diplomatic and political consultations, at the highest levels, with the Government of Sudan. These discussions, which are still ongoing, aim at ensuring that the Mission’s presence in Muhajeriya is maintained, so that it can continue to carry out its mandated tasks of providing protection to the civilian population and secure the provision of humanitarian assistance to those who need it.

This is particularly crucial in view of the 30,000 civilians living in the area, including more than 1,500 persons displaced by the latest fighting and who have recently clustered around Muhajeriya UNAMID base.

UNAMID diplomatic efforts and consultations also include engaging non-governmental belligerent parties. To this effect, Mr. Rodolphe Adada, UNAMID Joint Special Representative, will travel to neighboring Chad to meet and discuss with representatives of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), which was involved in the recent fighting in the Muhajeriya area.

While UNAMID expects the Government of Sudan to fulfill its obligations to provide security for all of its citizens, it urges all parties to refrain from further fighting and acts of violence that could only jeopardize the safety and welfare of the people of Darfur and the ongoing peace efforts.

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UN Secretary-General gravely concerned by situation around Muhajeria
February 1, 2009 (UNAMID) Statement from Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on Darfur:

The Secretary-General is gravely concerned by reports of a build-up of Government and rebel forces in the area around Muhajeria in South Darfur, and by the possibility of renewed fighting between the Government and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

The Secretary-General calls on the Government of Sudan and the JEM to cease all military activities in South Darfur. The Secretary-General reminds all parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law and expresses his deep concern over the suffering which these military confrontations would bring to the civilian population, including the thousands of internally displaced persons who have sought refuge in camps and villages surrounding Muhajeria.

The Secretary-General reiterates that the African Union/United Nations Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) will continue to do its utmost to protect civilians in these difficult circumstances and reminds the parties of their fundamental responsibility to work with UNAMID to ensure that civilians are protected from harm.

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Security zone in Darfur town seized by Sudanese rebels
February 4, 2009 report from Xinhua (Khartoum) dated Feb. 3 (Editor: Mu Xuequan):

A security zone that was established in a town in the war-torn western Sudanese region of Darfur in order to protect UN and African Union peacekeepers as well as civilians, has fallen into the hands of rebels, a Sudanese army spokesman announced on Tuesday.

The one-square-km security zone was established around a camp of the UN-AU hybrid peacekeeping force (UNAMID) in the town of Muhajiriya, 80 km east of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur State.

Muhajiriya, which had been controlled by the Sudan Liberation Movement-Miniwi faction led by Mini Arkou Miniwi who signed a peace agreement with the Sudanese government in May, 2006, was seized by militants of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in mid-January.

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) of the government asked the UNAMID to evacuate its staff from the town on Monday because the SAF was planning to launch an attack to re-take the disputed town, the SAF spokesman said in a statement.

However, the UNAMID turned down the demand, noting that a large number of civilians were taking shelter in the UNAMID camp since the rebel militants occupied the town and the evacuation of the UNAMID staff would leave these civilians in danger.

The UNAMID proposed the security zone which the peacekeeping force promised to prevent the JEM militants from approaching, the spokesman said, noting that the SAF agreed to the proposal.

He reiterated that the SAF would do its best to help the UNAMID to perform its tasks in Darfur.

Meanwhile, the JEM has offered to pull out its troops from Muhajiriya "taking in consideration the safety of the civilians in the town", the Paris-based Sudan Tribune reported in its website on Tuesday.

Ahmed Hussein Adam, the official spokesperson of the rebel movement said they were ready to withdraw their troops from Muhajiriya provided the town was declared a demilitarized zone under the control of the hybrid peacekeeping force.

He added that Sudanese army or former rebels led by Mini Miniwi should remain away from the town.

But the Sudanese government has immediately rejected the offer saying there is "no room for conditions from the JEM", according to the report.

On Monday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and the U.S. administration urged the JEM rebels to give up Muhajiriya.

"I have urged the JEM to withdraw from Muhajiriya in order to avoid an escalation of violence, and the Sudanese authorities to use maximum restraint," said the UN secretary-general in an address to an AU summit meeting in Addis Ababa.

The U.S. State Department joined in condemning the rebel capture of Muhajiriya and demanded the JEM withdraw from the town.

See Sudan Watch 1 Feb 09 for compilation of previous news reports on Muhajaria, South Darfur: Sudan asks UNAMID to leave Muhajeria, South Darfur - Sudan preparing counter-attack on Muhajiriya, after losing it to rival JEM (Update 10)

AU confirms Sudan gov't bombing of Joghana, S Darfur - In 3 months, 200,000 people forced to flee, says UNICEF

Last year, on February 5, 2005 the Sudanese government said it would remove all its Antonov planes and would not use them at all in Darfur, where it had been accused of using the aircraft to bomb villages.



On Monday April 24, 2006, according to reports confirmed by African Union monitors in Darfur, Sudanese government helicopter gunships and Antonov aircraft attacked the village of Joghana in southern Darfur displacing thousands of people seeking shelter from the conflict, the Scotsman's Rob Crilly in Nairobi reported Apr 28. Two other villages have been attacked in the past ten days. Snippets from Crilly's report:

"This latest violence seems part of a strategy to clear the main road south from Nyala, the state capital, to Buram," said a UN source in Khartoum.

Aid workers in the neighbouring rebel-held town of Gereida report a daily influx of people fleeing government attacks and tribal leaders say that 320 villages have been attacked this year.

Paul Smith-Lomas, Oxfam regional director, said the situation all across Darfur had deteriorated. "In the last four months approximately forty thousand people have fled their villages seeking refuge in Gereida," he said. "Thousands more continue to arrive, scared and in desperate need of help."

Looting and attacks along the Nyala-Gereida road have limited the delivery of essential equipment and materials for assisting the estimated 90,000 people in the town, which had a population of 10,000 people when the conflict began.

Three years of fighting between rebels and Khartoum-backed militias in Sudan have left up to 300,000 people dead and 2.4 million displaced, according to international estimates.

Last week the International Committee of the Red Cross warned that much of the region had become inaccessible to aid workers. The result has been a 20 per cent increase in malnutrition rates among children, according to UNICEF officials, as 200,000 people were forced to flee their homes in the past three months.

Seasoned Darfur watchers say it is no surprise that the talks have coincided with fresh violence. "This happens every time a peace deal is on the table," said a Sudan expert based in Nairobi.

"Both sides step up their offensives in an attempt to grab a bit more land before they have to put down the guns."

Photo: Dec 19 2004 Darfur truce not being observed, AU chopper fired on: African Union - "One of our helicopters has been shot. They are firing on our helicopters. This shows that the ceasefire is not being observed. They did not comply. They have not stopped fighting," AU spokesman Assane Ba told reporters in Abuja. (Marco Longari/AFP)



Photo: Terbeba village in Darfur after being burnt last year. An Associated Press report Jan 26 2005 says the African Union confirms Sudan's air force used an Antonov to drop bombs outside the southern Darfur town of Shangil Tobaya, 65 kilometers south of El Fasher Jan 26 2005. "It is a major ceasefire violation," said a senior AU political officer for Sudan.

Related reports

Oct 3 2005 Sudan admits using helicopter gunships in attack on Shearia South Darfur

Feb 3 2006 AU says SLA attacks in Shearia and Golo provoked Sudanese forces and prompted reprisal attacks by Janjaweed

Feb 5 2005 Sudanese government said it would remove all its Antonov planes and would not use them at all in Darfur

Feb 14 2006 SLA shot down gov't helicopter in Shearia, South Darfur

Feb 21 2006 UK urges lifting of Sudan curfew - AU says curfew hinders Darfur peacekeepers

Mar 2 2006 Gereida, South Darfur - "I know how many women and children have been killed. That is ethnic cleansing, and it should stop," UN envoy Pronk declared

Mar 11 2006 AU calls for SLA to withdraw from Gereida, South Darfur - JEM rebels say 27 killed by gov't, Janjaweed in Gereida area

Mar 15 2006 Warlordism on the increase - More troops in Darfur not much of a solution - Sudan's tribal: Janjaweed and major tribes have to be part of peace talks

Mar 16 2006 Sudanese air force bombed villages of Donkey Dreisa and Omgonya in South Darfur last month?

Apr 3 2006 What's going on in Janana, S Darfur? 60 villages attacked by Janjaweed while Khartoum "safeguards" Norwegians from being in Sudan for next 2 weeks?

Apr 25 2006 Oil in South Darfur - Uranium in Darfur? - Iran 'could share nuclear skills'

Apr 26 2006 Sudanese gov't bombing of Joghana village may be part of broader offensive in South Darfur - HRW

Apr 27 2006 UN experts propose possible no-fly zone in Darfur

Note Coalition for International Justice DARFUR CHRONOLOGY: Glossary of Places in Darfur which were sites of reported attacks.

France extremely worried about Darfur - Sudan delegation meets French officials in Paris - Khartoum in all-out diplomatic offensive for close ties

'France extremely worried about Darfur situation' is the title of an Associated Press report from Paris today, published online at International Herald Tribune, France. Unfortunately, my laptop screen crashes each time I attempt to view the report. I never seem able to access and view AP's online reports. Right now, all I can find is this - from Google's newsreel:

France extremely worried about Darfur situation
International Herald Tribune, France - 17 hours ago
AP PARIS: France is extremely worried about the situation in Darfur and has urged Sudanese officials to freeze a government offensive in the province, ...

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Where's chubby cheeks fat-cat leader of SLM, Abdelwhaid al-Nur? Khartoum in all-out diplomatic offensive in visit seeking close Paris ties

The following report from Paris by SUNA dated Monday, October 6 2008 (via Daily Nation, Kenya Wednesday 08 October 2008) mentions "Khartoum in all-out diplomatic offensive in visit that seeks close Paris ties" and "support expressed by France to the Qatari initiative on arranging negotiations between the government and the armed movements". I wonder where chubby cheeks fat-cat leader of the SLM, Abdelwhaid al-Nur, is amongst all of this? He leads and directs the Darfur war by phone from Paris where he lives safely (and gets fat) in self imposed exile (coward).

Here is a copy of the report, entitled Sudan delegation meets French officials:

A high-level delegation, led by an adviser to Sudan’s President, Dr Nafie Ali Nafie, started talks on Monday in Paris with senior French officials on a number of issues of mutual concern.

Sudan’s Ambassador to France Dr Suleiman Mohamed Mustafa said in a statement to SUNA that the Sudanese-French talks will tackle issues related to the bilateral relations and the regional and international situations and Darfur file and the support expressed by France to the Qatari initiative on arranging negotiations between the government and the armed movements.

The ambassador added that the delegation despatched to Paris by President Omar al-Bashir would meet with a number of senior aides and advisers of the French President, Mr Nicolas Sarkozy.

He pointed out that the visit comes in the context of contacts and meetings between officials in the two countries and in reply to the visit by the French Presidential Adviser for African Affairs to the country as well as a continuation to the talks held by Minister of Foreign Affairs Deng Alor and Presidential Adviser Dr Mustafa Osman Ismail in France.

Meanwhile, the Representative of Sudan to the European Union has pointed out in an interview with the Sudan News Agency that the issue of the Sudan with the International Criminal Court (ICC) had been at the top of the Agenda of the summit deliberations at a recent meeting in Accra.

Ambassador Nageeb Al Khair pointed out that the meetings of the Permanent Representatives had considered the allegations levelled by the Hague Court as a threat to peace realisation in the Sudan and the region and called for cancellation of the indictment against President al-Bashir so as to give room for the political and diplomatic efforts to achieve just peace in Darfur.

He went on to add that the ACP Council of Ministers had endorsed the recommendation of the Permanent Representatives of the grouping and tabled it before the meeting of the joint meeting of the Foreign Ministers and the Council of Ministers, which amended the recommendation from cancellation of the indictment to freezing it without setting a time limit for this freezing.

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Related reports

October 08, 2008 - Sudan Watch: Does anybody know what's happened to Sudan Tribune? Sudan says US-led no-fly zone would ‘impede’ aid to Darfur

September 19, 2008 - Sudan Watch: France says will block any UN resolution seeking to suspend ICC indictment of Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir



Photo: The leader of the SLM, Abdelwhaid al-Nur, welcomed by the former French minister Bernard Kouchner, March 20, 2007. (AP via Sudan Tribune) Ref Sudan Watch archives June 21, 2007- French air bridge in Chad
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Snapshot of Google's newsreeel
Wednesday 08 October 2008 11:11 UK GMT

Ukraine may offer helicopters for Darfur - UN's Ban
Reuters UK, UK - 13 hours ago
By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Ukraine might offer badly needed helicopters to an international peacekeeping mission in Sudan's ...

Sudan reports surrender of rebel unit
The Associated Press - Oct 6, 2008
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — The Sudanese military says 116 Darfur rebels have surrendered, and the UN-African Union mission is trying to confirm the report. ...

Sudan military says 116 Darfur rebels have surrendered, handed ...
CanadaEast.com, Canada - Oct 6, 2008
AP KHARTOUM, Sudan - Reports from Sudan say a group of more than 100 Darfurian rebels has surrendered to government forces. The UN-African Union mission in ...

UNAMID vehicle carjacked within half kilometer of base
Sudan Tribune, Sudan - Oct 6, 2008
October 6, 2008 (NYALA) – An international police officer driving a vehicle for the UN-African Union hybrid peacekeeping operation in Darfur (UNAMID) was ...

Darfur: UN peacekeepers ambushed during patrol
UN News Centre - Oct 6, 2008
6 October 2008 – A group of peacekeepers serving with the joint United Nations-African Union operation in Darfur were ambushed this afternoon while on ...

Ahmadinejad calls ICC a tool of the superpowers
Tehran Times, Iran - Oct 5, 2008
TEHRAN (IRNA) -- President Mahmud Ahmadinejad here on Sunday denounced the unjust and heinous action of the International Criminal Court at The Hague in ...

Sudan Ready to Cooperate Without Preconditions Over ICC Warrant
Voice of America - Oct 5, 2008
By Peter Clottey Sudan's government says it is ready to work with the international community in a compromise to improve the security situation in the ...

Struggling Darfur troops need helicopters now
Independent Online, South Africa - Oct 3, 2008
Without helicopters from the international community, the joint African Union/United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur was "doomed to failure",

Russia: Statement by MFA Spokesman Andrei Nesterenko Regarding the ...
ISRIA (subscription), DC - Oct 3, 2008
The MI-8 helicopter (as reported earlier) crashed on September 29 in the south of Sudan's rebellious province of Darfur. It was carrying food supplies to ...

Prendergast's Enough Project discussing U.S. relations with Sudan

From Enough Project.org
Sudan in the Senate
Posted by Enough Team on Feb 13, 2009:

Enough co-Chair John Prendergast spent yesterday afternoon on Capitol Hill discussing U.S. relations with Sudan during a roundtable discussion with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Prendergast was joined by Sudan experts Roger Winter, Jerry Fowler, Michael Gerson, and Timothy Carney, as well as by U.S. Senators on the foreign relations committee. Below are a few highlights:

The back and forth between senators and regional experts quickly moved to address the increasingly likely issuance of an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. In particular, the discussion focused on the internal politics of Bashir’s National Congress Party, or NCP, and the stalled progress in the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, or CPA.

John Prendergast noted that regional politics in the Arab world—particularly Sudan’s relationship with Egypt, which has been on ice for a while now— as well as tensions within the NCP itself could push Bashir out of power in the wake of an indictment.

All of the experts further underscored the necessity of looking at Sudan holistically and emphasized the fact that the recurrent tensions between the North and South and the crisis in Darfur are symptoms of the same problem: the hoarding of wealth and power by ruling elites in the capital, Khartoum, to the exclusion of everyone else.

Roger Winter stressed that the next six months will be crucial for the implementation of the CPA, which he feels is in dangerous risk of collapse.

Senator Feingold wisely connected the dots, not only between peace in Darfur and throughout Sudan, but between the region’s numerous and interconnected conflicts.

Jerry Fowler of the Save Darfur Coalition noted that UNAMID cannot do what it needs to do unless it is accompanied by a comprehensive peace process to end the Darfur conflict.

Senator Kerry ended the hearing by asking each expert to pull together a summary of what they think the key U.S. policy priorities should be for Sudan.

Carney and Winter discussed the importance of American security interests and the regional dimensions of the crisis respectively.

Prendergast asserted that the bottom line for U.S. policy should be a peaceful and democratic Sudan. Fowler told the group that the United States has a practical interest in “addressing the fundamental disparity between the center and periphery,” in Sudan.

Gerson agreed with Fowler, and noted that whenever there are attempts to change the rules of the game, there are complaints that these steps will destabilize the situation, but such changes to the status quo are necessary when the current situation is “deeply unjust.”

Kerry himself mentioned previous American leadership failures in relation to Sudan policy as well as his and Secretary Clinton’s interests in the no-fly zone and American engagement with Africa generally. He told the assembled group that this is, “a moment for serious people to buckle down and find serious responses,” to Sudan’s crises.

Rebecca Brocato and Maggie Fick contributed to this post.

AU calls on UN to sanction Eritrea over support of Somali Islamists - Sudan Air resumes flights to Eritrea after 13 years

The return of Sudan Air to Asmara, Eritrea is the latest step in the process of normalization between the two countries who had tense relations in the past.

In 2002, Eritrea and Sudan withdrew their ambassadors and closed the border, after trading accusations of supporting respective opposition groups.

Source: Sudan Tribune report from Khartoum dated Sunday, 24 May 2009 - Sudan Air resumes flights to Eritrea after 13 years

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African Union calls on UN to sanction Eritrea over support of Somali Islamists
From Sudan Tribune Sunday, 24 May 2009:

May 23, 2009 (ADDIS ABABA) — The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AUPSC) called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to sanction Eritrea for supporting Somali Islamist insurgents.

In a statement released after the end of its 190th meeting in the Ethiopian capital on Friday the AUPSC urged the UNSC to impose sanctions on "all those foreign actors, both within and outside the region, especially Eritrea, which are providing support to the armed groups engaged in destabilizing activities in Somalia."

The Council appealed to establish a no fly zone and blockade of sea ports, to prevent the entry of foreign elements into Somalia, as well as weapons and ammunitions to the Islamist insurgency.

The AU peace and security council appeal comes in line with the IGAD request to the UN against Eritrea. In an extraordinary meeting dedicated to the security and political situation in Somalia on Thursday May 20 held in the Ethiopian capital the regional body appealed to impose sanction without delay on Eritrea saying Asmara called for the overthrow of the Somali government and attacks on African peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

Eritrea recalled its ambassador to the African Union following the statement. Asmara however denied reports that it had suspended its membership at the African Union.

Somali government accused Eritrea of supporting Al Shebab insurgents with planeloads of AK-47 assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons.

The Security Council also in a statement on May 15 expressed its concern about reports that Eritrea has supplied arms to those opposing the government of Somalia.

The Eritrean ambassador at the UN rejected these accusations saying his country has been falsely accused of supplying arms to the Somali militants.

"I wish to put on record my government’s strong opposition to, and categorical rejection of, the unsubstantiated accusations leveled against my country," Eritrean Ambassador Araya Desta wrote in a letter to the U.N. Security Council, on Wednesday May 20.

However, an insurgent leader who returned to Mogadishu recently from Asmara where he was established, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, admitted in an interview with Reuters yesterday that Eritrea supported them in their fight to topple the Somali government.

"Eritrea supports us and Ethiopia is our enemy — we once helped both countries but Ethiopia did not reward us," Aweys, said.

Some 45 people were killed in Mogadishu as result of the heavy fighting between the government troops and the insurgents who control important parts of the capital.

Today the Islamists militant also renewed attacks on the position of the African peacekeepers in Mogadishu. There are 4300 peacekeepers from Burundi and Uganda in the capital to protect key government sites.  (ST)

US Senator John Kerry to visit Darfur and Khartoum, Sudan

Senator to make rare Darfur visit
April 06, 2009 Reuters report by Andrew Heavens - excerpt:

Khartoum - The chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, John Kerry, will lead a delegation to Sudan's Darfur region, U.S. officials said on Monday, in a possible sign of a growing willingness to engage with Khartoum.

"This is significant," a U.S. diplomatic source told Reuters. "It is the first Congressional delegation to Sudan we have had since 2007. Like the U.S. envoy's current visit, it is a new tack."

The U.S. diplomatic source said Kerry, a Democrat, would lead a Congressional delegation to Darfur, and would meet senior Sudanese officials in Khartoum in the middle of next week.

The state-run Sudanese Media Center said the U.S. Congressional delegation would visit Sudan for three days next week. (Editing by Giles Elgood)

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Photo: US Democratic Senator John Kerry, seen here in March 2009, participates in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Kerry, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will visit Darfur next week, a US official said on Monday, amid signs of thawing US-Sudan relations. (AFP/Getty Images/File/Mark Wilson)

Kerry to highlight peace deal
April 06, 2009 AFP (SA) report - excerpt:

Washington - Democratic US Senator John Kerry will discuss US-Sudan relations and snarled efforts to implement a 2005 north-south peace deal when he visits the country next week, an aide said on Monday.

But the top lawmaker will not meet with President Omar al-Bashir, who is under an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the six-year conflict in Darfur, the aide told AFP.

Kerry, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, "will discuss US-Sudan relations and the implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement" reached in 2005, the aide said.

"John Kerry will arrive in the middle of next week, he will visit Darfur and meet with officials in the country. His visit will last a few days," said that official, who asked not to be named.

Implementation of the 2005 agreement, which ended Sudan's two-decade north-south civil conflict, has hit many snags, but some leaders in the region have suggested that the ICC warrant should be deferred if Bashir implements existing peace accords. [...]

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Photo: Flowers in El-Fashir, northern Darfur, Sudan (Andrew Heavens)

Note to self for future reference.

PoliticsOnline: The Second Superpower campaigns for Kerry
For the first time in history, the rise of global citizen activism through the Internet is impacting the U.S. presidential elections.
- Jim Moore - October 16, 2004.

Prendergast's Enough Project discussing U.S. relations with Sudan: Kerry himself mentioned previous American leadership failures in relation to Sudan policy as well as his and Secretary Clinton’s interests in the no-fly zone and American engagement with Africa generally. He told the assembled group that this is, “a moment for serious people to buckle down and find serious responses,” to Sudan’s crises. Senator Kerry ended the hearing by asking each expert to pull together a summary of what they think the key U.S. policy priorities should be for Sudan.
- Sudan Watch - February 14, 2009.



Cartoon by Mike Luckovich circa Apr 2006

UN chief voices deep concern at aerial bombing raids in Darfur, W Sudan

How can a no fly zone over Darfur not now be imposed? See Xinhua report (via PeaceJournalism 24 Jan 2007) - excerpt:

The secretary-general is deeply disturbed by the trend in aerial bombardments that the government of Sudan has conducted in several areas of North Darfur and alarmed by the reports of many civilian casualties, the spokesman said.

Haq added that the secretary-general is also extremely concerned about the arrest of 20 staff members of the United Nations, nongovernmental organizations and the African Union Mission in Sudan in Nyala, South Darfur, on Friday and expects a swift investigation of this incident, particularly as several of the staffers were assaulted.

It will be interesting to see how the UN responds to the Sudanese govt's recent bombing raid over Darfur.

EU calls for troops in Darfur

EU officials say a sanction such as a no-fly zone would first need a UN Security Council resolution.

Full story by ITN (via Channel4.com) 15 Dec 2006 EU calls for troops in Darfur .

Sudan dismisses Blair threats, welcomes UN mission

Note a 'UN sanctioned' Plan B. SudanTribune article : Sudan dismisses Blair threats, welcomes UN mission - excerpt:

A spokesman for the British prime minister, citing comments made by Blair last week, said on Wednesday Britain would agree to a no-fly zone over the war-ravaged region as part of a United Nations-sanctioned "Plan B" to halt the violence there.

"Statements like this ... do not enhance peace," said Al-Samani al-Wasiyla, the Sudanese state minister for foreign relations. "They prolong the crisis," he told Reuters.

"We do not deal with media statements ... and we do not need threats to deal with the international community," he said.

ICG's Prendergast shows frustration with slow UN action

Oct 25 2006 AFP report "US Shows Frustration with Slow UN Action" (via CFD). Excerpt:

John Prendergast, an expert at the non-governmental International Crisis Group, recently suggested that France and the United States impose a no-fly zone over Darfur and that the UN prepare "non consensual deployment" in case Khartoum persists in its refusal to accept UN peacekeepers.

Prendergast's suggestions irritated the anonymous senior US official.

"Now, I don't know who you are going to find around the world to shoot the way into Sudan. I don't know, maybe the International Crisis group or John Prendergast has an idea," the official said.

"That is the great thing about being in a think tank: You can suggest these ideas and criticize without actually having to implement the solution," he said.

Ha! Couldn't have said it better myself. Pity the US official was not named. Nicely line that - I'ved modified it for future use:

"That is the great thing about being [a non-Sudanese/non-African/non-Arab/activist/pundit/analyst/armchair critic/blogger/not on ground in Sudan] in a think tank: You can suggest these ideas and criticize without actually having to implement the solution."

Note, Mr Prendergast is featured in the video report "Searching For Jacob." See the clip online at CBS News.

BBC evidence of Sudanese government's recent bombing of Joghana, South Darfur

The BBC has evidence of a recent attack by Sudanese government forces on Jogana [Joghana], a remote village (12 miles East of Kano) in southern Darfur, western Sudan.

As noted here at Sudan Watch yesterday [see Darfuris flee bombing of Joghana village by Sudan gov't aircraft and attacks by Janjaweed fighting SLA] BBC correspondent Orla Guerin in Darfur witnessed many people fleeing and could hear the sound of bombing from 40km (25 miles) away. The number of casualties is unknown. Click here to view video of Orla Guerin's report aired here in England on BBC1 TV 10pm Monday April 24, 2006.

Note, Orla Guerin says the attack took place at 7am (presumably on the day it was aired by the BBC) and African Union soldiers in the area drove away before dark, implying they did not care to protect the frightened villagers. Pity she did not explain that due to a curfew imposed by Sudanese authorities, AU soldiers are not permitted to travel after dark.

Why hasn't the media picked up on this story, particularly the bombing and curfew? Last year, when faced with the threat of a no-fly zone, the Sudanese government promised not to use aircraft for bombing raids on Darfur villages and civilians. But so far, it appears only Garowe Online, Somalia has publicised the BBC report.

On the issue of sanctions imposed yesterday by the UN Security Council, the BBC's correspondent at the UN headquarters in New York, Laura Trevelyan, said the sanctions could be difficult to enforce. BBC's Jonah Fisher in Khartoum, says the effect of the sanctions will be more psychological than physical.

One wonders why sanctions were imposed now, at such a crucial stage in the peace talks, on the same day a draft peace agreement was presented by the AU to the warring parties. Pity there is so little investigative reporting. If the Sudanese government feels misjudged, they ought to open up to responsible broadcasters like the BBC and provide timely, factual interviews and press releases. We don't know half of what really goes on. Greedy, ruthless, ambitious, self serving men using defenceless women and children as pawns in a power game are getting away with murder and there is not much we can do about it except watch it happening in real time, like ghouls.

[Thanks to Eric at TPoTP for pointing out the link to a video of Orla Guerin's report]

Sudanese air force bombed villages of Donkey Dreisa and Omgonya in South Darfur last month?

Sudan's air force has resumed bombing Darfur villages, claims More4News - an offshoot of Channel 4 TV here in the UK. More4News is available only via a digital box. I do not subscribe to digital TV and was unable to view the broadcast. Many thanks to Eugene at Coalition for Darfur in the US for alerting me to the news and the following report at More4News website, copied here in full:

Evidence of Sudan's bombing

More4 News has obtained evidence the Sudanese air force has resumed aerial bombardment of villages in Darfur.

It comes in breach of a ceasefire and no-fly zone agreed more than a year ago.

Last week we filmed charred and blackened huts in several villages which had been recently set on fire by Janjaweed militiamen confirming reports of an increase in attacks since the beginning of the year.

But in the village of Donkey Dreisa, south of Nyala, the damage was clearly different buildings had been reduced to rubble by bombardment which villagers told us came from Sudanese air force Antonov jets.

More 4 News was told that the attack on Donkey Dreisa on February 17th followed earlier aerial bombardment of villages near the town of Omgonya, also in South Darfur.

Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for International Development told More 4 News he was very concerned to hear the news.

"We were aware there had been attacks in Gereida in February but these are the first reports that I have heard that there may have been attacks from the air."

Watch the report on More 4 News at 8pm.

Click here to watch the report and the Tony Benn interview [it is probably a typo and should read "Hilary" Benn, I use Apple Mac and am unable to access the reports]
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WFP Monthly Situation Report Feb 2006

Highlights of report by UN World Food Programme, 16 March 2006 courtesy ReliefWeb.