Coaliton of SLM, G19, NRF planning to attack El Fashier, North Darfur - AMIS camp HQ could be target

Dec 5 2006 Soldier of Africa: Ops Room Discussion:

On Monday at about 17:00 five unarmed SLA soldiers apparently intervened when Arab Militia harrassed a man in the El Fashier market. All five the soldiers were wounded. Later there was sporadic gunfire on the outskirts of El Fashier, most notably close to Zamzam base as the GoS fought what is believed to be Arab Militia. The GoS adopted a state of higher readiness and we went to the HQ (photo) to speak to the ops officer on duty with regards to the situation. He gave us a briefing and we were also informed that the UN has warned that the NRF planned or threatened to attack El Fashier within 24 hours. That has however not taken place within that time frame. Those of us in the South African house are keeping our ears on the ground.

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Dec 5 2006 Reuters report - Militias clash with ex-rebels in Darfur town



Photo: An African Union soldier inspects a truck damaged in a battle with rebels in Bassao, Darfur. Picture/Reuters
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Dec 6 2006 Reuters report - AU concerned by rebel threat to Darfur troops:

"Reports received earlier today from the field indicate that the city of El Fasher is under threat of attack within 24 hours by a coalition comprising the SLA (M), the G19 and the National Redemption Front (NRF)," the AU, which has a 7,000-strong force in Darfur, said in a [AU] statement.

"The AMIS (African Mission in Sudan) Camp at Force Headquarters could be a target," the statement added.

Bente's Blog from Sudan: Back in Juba

Bente's Blog: Back in Juba 30 Nov 2006 - excerpt:

"...the situation in and around Juba is calm. Yesterday about 100 members from different international organisations were evacuated from Malakal to Juba because of the ongoing fighting. Malakal is located in the middle of Juba to Khartoum on the White Nile; it takes about 1 hour to fly there."

[hat tip sidebar of Black Kush in Darfur]

Photos blogged by African peacekeeper in Darfur: Spreading Love and Show of Force

Here is a sample of some photos and captions blogged by Werner (a South African soldier and talented writer currently serving in Darfur) at Soldier of Africa blogspot. Note last photo of camel. Heh. Thanks for the laugh Werner!

Short break to catch up on reading and emails. Back soon.

God bless all the peacekeepers.

On Guard



In silence after a long day as the cool wind wafts in from the desert at Mahla two soldiers stand-to in a sandbag bunker. So far away, in Sudan, far from loved ones, but closer than ever to their comrades. It makes me think of the following quote: "From this day until the ending of the world those of us in it will be remembered, we lucky few, we band of brothers; for he who sheds his blood with me, shall be my brother." (Werner K, Darfur Nov 2006)

Spreading Love



Lt Col Jan Barendse of South Africa spreading some love with the simple act of handing this young lady a piece of candy. Some rewards are priceless. Please think of the people of Darfur in their continuing crises and remember who the victims are. (Werner K, Darfur Nov 2006)

Show of Force



Platoons 2 and 3 of Bravo Company preparing to move out from Mahla base on a show of force patrol. The aim of this type of patrol is mainly to show what you have to keep belligerents out of the area. If they stay away the people of Darfur benefit. (Werner K, Darfur Nov 2006)

Protecting the Eyes



These troops from 8 SA Infantry Battalion in Upington deployed on the ground near Mugran village in Northern Darfur to protect the observers as they interact with the locals out of shot. (Werner K, Darfur Nov 2006)

MGL



One of the section (squad) leaders in Platoon 1 busy loading an MGL (Multiple Grenade Launcher) during our patrol during my visit to Mahla. These 40mm 6-shot weapons have the firepower to blast any patrol out of trouble. Recently the effectiveness of the MGL was demonstrated when a patrol of 6 SA Infantry Battalion got involved in a firefight and used this weapon effectively. (Werner K, Darfur Nov 2006)

Company Sergeant-Major



At the back Maj Wolmarans waits as Sergeant-Major Kennedy prepares her company for her during roll call parade. Mahla also happens to be the neatest base I have seen in Darfur after my eight months here so far. (Werner K, Darfur Nov 2006)

Meat Market



This is the way meat is displayed in the El Fashier market. I may add that the sun is very very hot. (Werner K, Darfur Nov 2006)

Welcoming at Mahla



I recently spent three days at Mahla, a South African base in the North of Sector 6 and the Northernmost base of ours in Darfur. The woman at the vehicle is Maj L. Wolmarans, the commanding officer at the base. (Werner K, Darfur Nov 2006)

Mahla Crater



During my short three-day visit to the South Africans at Mahla for Tamam Magazine I got to see the famous Mahla Crater. Unfortunately the photo does not do it justice since it's size is really magnificent. (Werner K, Darfur Nov 2006)

Arrival at Mahla



These are South African soldiers in all-round defence at the airstrip at Mahla. (Werner K, Darfur Nov 2006)

Important



I took this photo in the bottom of the crater at Mahla when I was there. In this photo you see three of the important things for the people of Darfur: Their children, water and their animals. (Werner K, Darfur Nov 2006)

The Mahla Weather Rock



(Werner K, Darfur Nov 2006)

Camels Drinking



I took this photo inside Mahla Crater. There were at least four large herds of camels and they made a lot of noise. The water in the crater is pitch black, salty and does not smell good. The camels though seem to have no problem. One of the locals proudly told us his camels can go without water for a month in the cooler season. (Werner K, Darfur Nov 2006)

Camel Trail



Coming out of Mahla Crater we followed the centuries old camel trail. The going was slow as the camels in this photo brought up the rear to a herd of about fifty camels. Not the nicest view to have a camel butt in your face all the time. (Werner K, Darfur Nov 2006)
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Working in my "Office"



This is me working in my "office", which is a tent with air conditioning. At least the heat in El Fashier is not as bad anymore as a month or two ago. The nights are actually getting cold now. (Werner K, Darfur Nov 2006)

Questions for Werner

Some questions I'd like to ask Werner:

Has the food (especially from Khartoum) for AMIS personnel improved?

Are AMIS personnel now paid correctly and on time?

Has night time curfew on patrols been lifted? Is AMIS still doing firewood patrols?

How can you tell if the Sudanese forces and civilians you meet are Arab or non-Arab?

How can you understand what they are saying?

Are they friendly when they greet you?

How can you tell who is a rebel and who is a civilian?

How can you tell who is a bandit and who is a janjaweed?

How can you tell who is a janjaweed and who is a government soldier?

Have you seen a lot of dead bodies and graves in Darfur?

Darfur peace talks 2 to involve all holdout groups - AU

The African Union's top mediator for Darfur peace talks said it was agreed in Khartoum with the stakeholders to negotiate with all holdout groups in order to consolidate the current peace agreement.

Salim Ahmed Salim, Special Envoy of the AU Chairperson and chief mediator for Darfur peace talks said in a press conference held in Khartoum Saturday that it was agreed with all the signatories of the DPA to address the concern of non-signatories and to involve them all in the negotiations.

Full story ST 2 Dec 2006.

UPDATE: Dec 3 2006 (Paris) Sudan Tribune article Darfur SLM leader: Khartoum must stop civilians killing before talks: Abdelwahid Mohamed al-Nur, the leader of the SLM, told Sudan Tribune on Sunday that to resume talks with Khartoum in order to find out a lasting peace in Darfur, Sudanese government should stop the daily killing of civilians practiced by the Sudanese army and its militias in the region.

BLACK KUSH (blogger in Darfur): Malakal on fire!

Nov 30 2006 BLACK KUSH - excerpt:

Malakal on fire!
Not again!

The militias in South Sudan are at it again. What is the Sudan Armed forces doing supporting the militais? This is yet again the eveident support of SAF and Khartoum to continuous distabilize South Sudan and abandon the CPA.

The fighting in Malakal should be condemned by all peace loving people. We had enough enough of these militias and they must be disarmed as soon as possible.

[hat tip sidebar of Soldier of Africa]

UPDATE: Dec 3 2006 ST report - Security situation in Malakal returns to normalcy - UN: full text of the UNMIS news bulletin issued by the offices of the spokesperson on Sunday 3 December 3, 2006.

Sudan: Difficult And Complex Work

allAfrica.com: Sudan: Difficult And Complex Work
Institute for War & Peace Reporting (London)
ANALYSIS
December 1, 2006
Posted to the web December 1, 2006
Katy Glassborow

Review of 'All About Darfur' Is Sudan in a culture of war?

Virginie Wembey is a pre-medical student from Cameroon currently studying in the United States. A self-described humanist, her interest in human rights led her to join UCDF, an opposition party with activities in both the U.S. and Cameroon. As a pre-medical student, she hopes to join poverty-alleviation efforts by providing quality health care services in her native country upon graduation from medical school.

See Ms Wembey's commentary at Allafrica.com 1 Dec 2006 - All About Darfur: Is Sudan in a culture of war?

Egypt welcomes extension of African troops' mandate in Darfur

Dec 2 2006 People's Daily Online -- Egypt welcomes extension of African troops' mandate in Darfur - excerpt:

Egypt welcomed on Friday the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council's Thursday decision to extend the mandate of its troops deployed in Darfur for another six months.

The AU council made the decision in a meeting in the Nigerian capital of Abuja Thursday as the already-extended mission is to end on Dec. 31, which also agreed that the AU force commander would be jointly appointed by the head of the AU Commission and the UN secretary general.

Sudan welcomes AU decision to extend peacekeeping mission in Darfur

Dec 2 2006 People's Daily Online -- Sudan welcomes AU decision to extend peacekeeping mission in Darfur - excerpt:

The Sudanese government on Friday welcomed a decision by the Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU) to extend the mandate of AU troops in Darfur for another six months until June 31 next year.

"The decision supports the government's firm position calling for a continuous stay of the African troops in Darfur rather than transferring their peacekeeping mission to an international force subordinate to the United Nations," Presidential Adviser Majzoub al-Khalifa told reporters.

UN's World Food Programme signs pact with Islamic Relief

More than half of the 90 million people who benefit from WFP programs every year are in Muslim countries. Morris said a close relationship with Islamic Relief is vital to determining quickly how to deliver aid when there is a crisis. The WFP has about 2,000 cooperation agreements with a wide range of organizations of different sizes. - UPI�-�Washington Times 2 Dec 2006.

Gates Foundation grants UN refugee agency $10m for relief work in south Sudan

Dec 1 2006 UN News Centre - Gates Foundation grants UN refugee agency $10 million for relief work in south Sudan - the new grant will cover immediate needs over a 28-month period in three main sectors - basic health care, education, and water and sanitation - in Western, Central and Eastern Equatoria states as well as the Upper Nile, UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond told a news briefing in Geneva.

UPDATE: Dec 3 2006. Smile. The Sudanese Thinker � Prince Charles & Bill Gates: What Are Their Intentions?

The Lancet: Libya must free the 6 health workers wrongly accused of infecting children with HIV

Another sad story. Dreadful for those involved. Verdict is expected Dec 19. Medical News Today 1 Dec 2006 report - Libya Must Free The 6 Health Workers Wrongly Accused Of Infecting Children With HIV - excerpt:

Libya must acknowledge that the case involving six health workers accused of deliberately infecting over 400 children with HIV has no legal foundation, states an Editorial in The Lancet. The Lancet calls for these health workers to be freed immediately.

"The Lancet unreservedly denounces this miscarriage of justice. A great deal is at stake here, including Libya's political and diplomatic future. Libya must acknowledge that this case has no legal foundation, and then move to correct the conditions that created the whole sorry situation in the first place. Reforming its broken healthcare system and ultimately improving the health of its children and indeed all of its citizens, must begin with saving these six lives," concludes the Editorial.

Prince Charles opens centre for peacekeepers in Nigeria

Britain's Prince Charles visited a military college in the northern Nigerian town of Jaji where he opened a training centre for Nigerian soldiers heading for peacekeeping operations in Darfur. Full story by AFP (via Yahoo) 30 Nov 2006.



Photo: Prince Charles visits a military cantonment in Jaji, Nigeria, where he inaugurated a center for training soldiers for peacekeeping operations in Darfur. The heir to the British throne unveiled the plaque of the training center built with 500,000 pounds (985,000 dollars) in funding from the British government. (AFP/Issouf Sanogo)

Oxford's MSc course in African Studies - We blog for Darfur: Can bloggers save Darfur?

Congratulations to Julianne Rose for being accepted onto Oxford's MSc course in African Studies. Good luck Julianne! Be sure to read The Sudanese Thinker and Mideast Youth and the links here below.



We blog for Darfur - Can bloggers save Darfur?

The Sudanese Thinker - About Darfur & About Me

Mideast Youth in collaboration with Good Neighbours

Nov 24 2006 Sudan Watch - Sudanese people blogging for Darfur

The Sudanese Thinker - New Sudanese Blogger Joins Us

path2hope's Nomadic Thoughts in Dar Es Salaam, TZ



Note, excerpt from Julianne's Nov 29 2006 blog entry - Both Sides Now: an update:

The 2 days before Thanksgiving break we also had another booth on campus to get people aware about Darfur. It was super successful - we had a sign-up sheet where people could write their email address if they were interested in further action - we got over 120 addresses! woo-woo! I'm at home at the moment, preparing for tonight - I'm speaking at the Students for International Development meeting about "African issues." I'm not sure which war they'd like me to talk about - I'll give them the option of Darfur, DR Congo, Uganda, or Somalia/Ethiopia. It should be great - this is one of the best and biggest clubs on campus, so I'm excited to get some good African-awareness out there. Plus this weekend is a benefit concert for Care for Life, and I'm doing publicity like crazy. And of course Friday is World AIDS Day - so yet another benefit concert that Students for Africa is putting on, plus a full day of lectures etc. More publicity, flyer-tagging apartment complexes etc. Every 15 seconds someone dies of AIDS-related causes. tragic.

Sudan accepts non-military UN support in Darfur

Dec 1 2006 AFP report via Turkish Press - Sudan accepts non-military UN support in Darfur:

Sudan has agreed to accept non-military support from the United Nations for the African Union peacekeeping force in its war-torn Darfur region, a top AU official said after talks in Nigeria.

"The PSC welcomed Sudan?s acceptance of the use of UN systems and command and control structures," AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) head Said Djinnit told reporters late Thursday after a meeting on Darfur on the sidelines of an African-South American summit.

A source close to the talks told AFP that "systems and command and control structures" referred essentially to UN logistical support and to the question of who gets the final say over the appointment of the force commander.

Djinnit said the meeting, which was attended by Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir, agreed to extend the mandate of the currently under-resourced AU force in Darfur for a further six months.

But although Sudan reportedly accepted UN "command and control structures" for that force, it stopped short of agreeing to let the UN contribute troops, let alone take over command.

Speaking before the meeting, Beshir reaffirmed his long-standing refusal to let UN troops into his country.

"Any decision to deploy international forces in Darfur ... will add to the complexity of the situation and will have a negative impact which will certainly lead to more deterioration of the situation," he said in a statement.

This "would negatively affect all the countries of the region", he added.

He called instead for the meeting to boost the AU mission with the "logistical, technical, human and financial support of the UN".

Djinnit said Thursday's meeting had nevertheless agreed the AU and UN would, henceforth, both be involved in key decisions on the force.

The force commander would be jointly appointed by the head of the AU Commission and the UN secretary general, he said. The AU and UN would also be jointly responsible for appointing a "special representative" for Darfur.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said after talks on Darfur on November 16 that Sudan had agreed "in principle" to the deployment of a "hybrid" UN-AU peacekeeping force in Darfur.

Thursday's decision was the first indication of what Khartoum might be prepared to accept in practical terms.

Sudan continues vehemently to refuse any military role for the UN in Darfur, arguing it would be a violation of its sovereignty and could worsen the situation there.

Khartoum is especially opposed to a UN Security Council resolution that authorised, with out its approval, a 20,000-strong peacekeeping force for Darfur.

Djinnit said the AU-led force would continue to be made up "essentially of African troops".

He said the meeting had also recognised there "might be a need for UN support troops" in the region but did not indicate whether Beshir had accepted this point.

Also, see AFP report 30 Nov 2006 (via ST 1 Dec 2006) AU's Djinnit says Sudan agrees to UN command of AU force in Darfur

AU's Djinnit says Sudan agrees to UN command of AU force in Darfur

Not yet found another report verifying this unbelievable news. Blogging it here now because AFP is usually pretty accurate. More later.

AFP report 30 Nov 2006 (via ST 1 Dec 2006) Sudan agrees to UN command of AU force in Darfur. Excerpt:

Sudan has agreed to allow the United Nations to take over command of the African Union peacekeeping force in the war-torn region of Darfur, a top AU official said.

He said the mandate of the force in Darfur had also been extended for a further six months.

"We have welcomed Sudan's acceptance of the use of systems and command and control structures of the UN," AU Peace and Security Council head Said Djinnit told reporters in Abuja at the end of the inaugural African-South American summit.

The decision was taken at a meeting on Darfur - attended by Sudanese president Omad al Bashir - that had been held on the margins of the summit in Abuja, Djinnit said.

Angola, Sudan, Ecuador hint at joining Opec

Dec 1 2006 Reuters report via Peninsula, Qatar:

Analysts say joining Opec would give Sudan leverage in its confrontation with the United Nations over atrocities and its refusal to allow UN peacekeepers into Darfur.

Nov 30 2006 Dow Jones report via ST - Sudan to announce results of 3 oil tenders in 2007: One of the blocks is both onshore and in shallow waters. The other two blocks are onshore.

French jets fire on Central African Republic rebels

Dec 1 2006 Reuters report - French jets fire on Central African Republic rebels.

Note, the report tells us neighbouring Chad and the regional central African group CEMAC have also sent military reinforcement.

AU says Sudan agrees to extend Darfur peacekeeping mission, but no UN force

Jordan Davis reports from VOA's regional bureau in Dakar 30 Nov 2006:

The African Union says Sudan will allow the group to extend its peacekeeping mission in the country's Darfur region but will not allow U.N. forces to join them.

Neighboring Chad, meanwhile, says it will welcome U.N. peacekeepers on its territory to stop the violence in Darfur from spreading.

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Cartoon by Jonathan Shapiro 30 Nov 2006 M&G (hat tip POTP)

French PM meets Chad's Deby: Chad accepts UN border force

Idriss Deby, the Chadian president, said that his country will accept the deployment of an international peace force on its eastern border to counter violence from Sudan's Darfur region.

The announcement came after Deby met Dominique de Villepin, the French prime minister. Agencies/Al Jazeera report 1 Dec 2006 - Chad accepts UN border force - excerpt:

France has a military contingent stationed in Chad, its former colony, including fighter jets which give logistical and intelligence support to Chadian government forces.

Deby said: "Chad accepts the United Nations proposal to place forces on its frontier to protect the population and stabilise the sub-region."

He did not specify when the force might be deployed.



The two leaders said the force would be deployed on the Chadian side of the border with Sudan, where three years of conflict have caused tens of thousands of deaths.