Sudan security chief warns Westerners of attacks - Nafie Ali Nafie says ICC move "aims at toppling the Sudanese Government"

Sudan's security chief has warned foreigners that "outlaws" might target them if President Omar Hassan al-Bashir was indicted for war crimes, state media reported on Sunday.



Photo: Salah Gosh (center) during the meeting with media figures January 10, 2009 (Sudanese Media Center)

Sudan's National Security director Salah Gosh was quoted on Saturday as saying his agents had been in touch with militant organisations in Sudan but he stopped short of accusing Islamic extremists of planning the attacks.

"He highlights he could not predict what kind of reaction outlaws could undertake if ICC issues a resolution. He suspects they may possibly target some aliens," the Sudanese Media Centre quoted Gosh as telling a meeting of senior newspaper editors.

His words were the most specific warning yet that foreigners and foreign organisations could bare the brunt of public anger after the ICC ruling, which is expected this month.

Source: Reuters report by Andrew Heavens in Khartoum Sunday 11 January 2009 - further excerpt:

Sudan security chief warns foreigners of attacks

National Security director Salah Gosh's statement is the latest of a series of warnings from government figures, who have also accused the United States, Britain and France of using the court to force concessions out of Khartoum.

"He highlights he could not predict what kind of reaction outlaws could undertake if ICC issues a resolution. He suspects they may possibly target some aliens," the Sudanese Media Centre quoted Gosh as telling a meeting of senior newspaper editors.

Western embassies and U.N. bases in Khartoum have increased security in recent months. The United States has urged its citizens in Sudan to keep a low profile.

Sudan's state Suna news agency reported that Gosh accused the ICC's chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo of being a "political activist" against Sudan and said the court's decision would be "political and not legal".

Sudan's state newspaper, Sudan Vision, quoted presidential assistant Nafie Ali Nafie as saying the ICC move "aims at toppling the Sudanese Government".

And presidential adviser Ghazi Salaheddin was quoted as saying the government had worked out "a plan ... to confront the ICC", without giving further details.

Last week, a senior official at Sudan's foreign ministry said an arrest warrant against Bashir would encourage rebels in Darfur to launch new attacks on cities and oil fields. (Editing by Elizabeth Piper)

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From Sudan Tribune Saturday 10 January 2009 (Khartoum) - Westerners could be targets post ICC warrant: Sudan - excerpt:

The top security official in Sudan warned that an arrest warrant for president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir may make western nations targeted by radical groups in the country.

Salah Gosh, the head of Sudan’s National Security and Intelligence Service told a group of reporters that he expects security breaches by government and non-government parties if Al-Bashir is indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“All options are open. We cannot predict what will happen but we will work on securing the country” Gosh said however he rejected reports that Al-Qaeda group has a presence in Sudan.

“Al-Qaeda is not an organization but an ideology. The ideology cannot be beaten by a gun and measures” he added.

On relationship with other Security bureaus Gosh said that their cooperation with the CIA is “technical” and not political.

“They [CIA] cannot impose anything on us” he stressed.

In 2007 the Los Angeles Times revealed that Sudan has secretly worked with the CIA to spy on the insurgency in Iraq, an example of how the U.S. has continued to cooperate with the Sudanese regime even while condemning its suspected role in the killing of tens of thousands of civilians in Darfur.

The U.S.-Sudan relationship goes beyond Iraq. Sudan has helped the United States track the turmoil in Somalia. Sudanese intelligence service has helped the US to attack the Islamic Courts positions in Somalia and to locate Al Qaeda suspects hiding there.

Sudan acknowledges cooperation with CIA in the Horn of Africa but denied any work in Iraq.

JEM planning to attack Sudanese cities and oil fields on "ICC day" - Sudan sees JEM forces moving across North Darfur & bombs area

JEM commander Suleiman Sandal confirmed JEM was planning to mark the ICC's ruling with some form of action. "It is true we are preparing for the ICC day. But we are not sure what day it will be," he told Reuters, speaking by satellite phone from Darfur. "We are preparing militarily and with the IDP (internally displaced people) camps. There will be demonstrations. We are trying to make it an important day for justice."

"There is bombing going on right now," said JEM commander Suleiman Sandal at 2pm local time (1100 GMT) on Thursday. "They have seen JEM forces moving across the area. They think JEM is going to attack them ...

From Associated Press Cairo Friday, January 09, 2009 (via Toronto Sun):

Sudan bombs Darfur border

Rebels and aid workers say Sudan's government airplanes have dropped bombs along a northern strip in Darfur. It's the first such report of violence in weeks.

A spokesman for the rebel Justice and Equality Movement says his group was the target.

He claims the government bombed villages and water wells overnight and this morning along a strip stretching some 200 km.

The government didn't immediately respond. It wasn't known if there were casualties in the remote area.

Aid workers in the region said they heard bombings but had no details.

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From Reuters by Andrew Heavens in Khartoum Thursday, January 08, 2009:

Darfur rebels accuse Sudan of fresh bombings

Darfur rebels accused Sudan's army of bombing their positions on Thursday, breaking a period of relative calm in the country's violent west.

No one was immediately available to comment from Sudan's armed forces.

The insurgent Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) told Reuters government helicopters and Antonov planes attacked their fighters across a wide area of north Darfur from around midday on Wednesday until late Thursday afternoon.

"There is bombing going on right now," said JEM commander Suleiman Sandal at 2pm local time (1100 GMT) on Thursday.

"They have seen JEM forces moving across the area. They think JEM is going to attack them ... This is the first for some time."

The reports were confirmed by Ibrahim al-Helwu from the branch of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) controlled by Abdel Wahed Mohamed Ahmed al-Nur.

International sources, who asked not to be named, said they had heard similar reports.

"They are bombing randomly in a very large area. Large areas of grassland are on fire," said al-Helwu. He added a number of civilians had been injured, but had no figures.

ARREST WARRANT

The attacks were on territory around at least nine settlements including the towns of Kutum, Birdik, Mallit and Um Sidir, the rebels said. Sudan's president announced an "unconditional" ceasefire in the region less than two months ago.

The joint United Nations/African Union UNAMID peacekeeping force said it was looking into reports of clashes between government and rebel forces in the days after the November ceasefire announcement. But the fighting appeared to die down in December.

JEM's accusation will add to tension mounting ahead of a ruling from the International Criminal Court on whether to issue an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on charges of orchestrating genocide in Darfur.

A senior foreign office official on Monday told Reuters the government had intelligence JEM was planning to attack Sudanese cities and oil fields as soon as the court's decision was announced.

Sandal confirmed JEM was planning to mark the ruling with some form of action, but declined to go into details.

"It is true we are preparing for the ICC day. But we are not sure what day it will be," he told Reuters, speaking by satellite phone from Darfur.

"We are preparing militarily and with the IDP (internally displaced people) camps. There will be demonstrations. We are trying to make it an important day for justice."

Meanwhile, next day it's reported that JEM denies trying to kill its leader in Chad while JEM's in Washington talks with US special envoy to Sudan Richard Williamson

JEM denies trying to kill its leader in Chad - JEM in Washington talks with US special envoy to Sudan Richard Williamson

Today, reportedly, the Sudanese media center is saying that disputes inside JEM led to injury of its leader in Chad. Meanwhile, a JEM delegation has arrived in Washington, USA to discuss peace with US officials. How these lowlife criminals are free to come and go as they please whilst satisfying African and US immigration laws is beyond my comprehension.

JEM denies killing Dr Khalil Ibrahim
From Miraya FM Saturday, 10 January 2009:

The justice and equality movement denied the press statements claiming a murder attempt and allegations of injury of the chairman of JEM Dr. Khalil Ibrahim after disputes in his faction.

A JEM leader Jibril Ibrahim said that these are false allegations and that the movement is united, he accused the NCP of broadcasting such news. Pointing to, Dr. Khalil heads the JEM delegation currently in Washington, to discuss issues concerning the Darfur crisis with the American administration.

The Sudanese media center had recently published that there are ongoing conflicts between members of the movement, which it described as disputes inside the JEM led to an unspecified injury of Dr.Khalil, at Chadian area of UMjaras.

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Darfur JEM delegation in Washington discuss peace with US officials
From Sudan Tribune Thursday, 08 January 2009 Washington:

The Darfur Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in Washington met today with the US special envoy to Sudan and discussed with him efforts to resume stalled peace process.

Ahmed Hussein spokesperson for JEM told Sudan Tribune that the talks with Richard Williamson focused mainly on the peace process and humanitarian situation.

“We informed the US envoy that our strategic goal is achieving peace and stability in the region. We have no other interests as far as we are concerned” Hussein said.

“At the same time we told him that Khartoum must show seriousness in peace and cease all military activities and harassment of humanitarian work and displaced civilians alike” he added.

JEM started a week long visit to the US despite media reports in Khartoum that Washington postponed it.

The US embassy in Khartoum said that the visit “will take place within the context of U.S. government efforts to encourage all parties to participate in the Darfur peace process”.

Hussein said that Williamson encouraged them “to seize the window of opportunity for peace” including a Qatari initiative underway. Furthermore the US envoy told JEM that even though the venue of future talks would be Qatar, the Joint African Union- United Nations mediator Dijibril Bassole will play the leading role.

JEM also warned that some parties in Sudan may attempt to destabilize the situation further in Sudan following a possible arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir.

The delegation also met with Timothy Shortley head of Sudan program group at the US state department where “constructive dialogue” was held. Hussein said.

Further meeting are scheduled on Friday with US assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer.

Former Wall Street banker Philippe Heilberg gambles on a warlord's continuing control of 400,000 hectares of land in South Sudan (Update 1)

Laws on land ownership in south Sudan remain vague and have yet to be clarified in a planned land act.

[UPDATE: Tuesday 13 January 2009: I have added four new reports here below and highlighted some text in red for future reference]

Financial Times report by Javier Blas and William Wallis in London January 10 2009:

BUYER SEES PROFIT IN WARLORD'S LAND

A US businessman backed by former CIA and state department officials says he has secured a vast tract of fertile land in south Sudan from the family of a notorious warlord, in post-colonial Africa's biggest private land deal.

Philippe Heilberg, a former Wall Street banker and chairman of New York-based Jarch Capital, told the Financial Times he had gained leasehold rights to 400,000 hectares of land - an area the size of the emirate of Dubai - by taking a majority stake in a company controlled by the son of Paulino Matip.

Mr Matip fought on both sides in Sudan's lengthy civil war but became deputy commander of the army in the autonomous southern region following a 2005 peace agreement.

The deal, between Mr Heilberg's affiliate company in the Virgin Islands and Gabriel Matip, is a striking example of how the recent spike in global commodity food prices has encouraged foreign investors and governments to scramble for control of arable land in Africa.

In contrast to land deals between foreign investors and governments, Mr Heilberg is gambling on a warlord's continuing control of a region where his militia operated in the civil war.

"You have to go to the guns: this is Africa," Mr Heilberg said by phone from New York. He refused to disclose how much he had paid for the lease.

Jarch Management Group is linked to Jarch Capital, a US investment company that counts on its board former state department and intelligence officials, including Joseph Wilson, a former ambassador and expert on Africa, who acts as vice-chairman; and Gwyneth Todd, who was an adviser on the Middle East and north Africa at the Pentagon and under Bill Clinton at the White House.

Laws on land ownership in south Sudan remain vague and have yet to be clarified in a planned land act. Some foreign experts on Sudan as well as officials in the regional government, speaking on condition of anonymity, doubted Mr Heilberg could assert legal rights over such a vast tract of land. The deal is second only in size to the recent lease of 1.3m hectares by South Korea's Daewoo from the government of Madagascar.

Mr Heilberg is unconcerned. He believes that several African states, Sudan included, but possibly also Nigeria, Ethiopia and Somalia, are likely to break apart in the next few years and that the political and legal risks he is taking will be amply rewarded.

"If you bet right on the shifting of sovereignty then you are on the ground floor. I am constantly looking at the map and looking if there is any value," he said.

He was also in contact with rebels in Sudan's western region of Darfur, dissidents in Ethiopia and the government of the breakaway state of Somaliland, among others.

Mr Heilberg said Jarch had no agricultural expertise but would seek joint-venture partners to cultivate the land, which is in one of the remotest parts of Sudan, in a region bordering the White Nile and with no tarred roads.

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FRONTIER SPIRIT EMBRACES RISKS OF SOUTH SUDAN
From the Financial Times by Javier Blas and William Wallis 10 January 2009:

There are few regions in Africa as remote and undeveloped as southern Sudan. Unity state, where Philippe Heilberg says he has secured a huge tract of arable land, is inaccessible even by south Sudan's standards.

Aside from AK-47s, it is deprived of most of the trappings of the modern world. Even a road network that has been under construction since 2005, when a peace agreement ended the long civil war between the predominately Muslim north and the Christian and animist south of the country, has yet to reach it. But Unity state does border the White Nile and its flat, arable land could, with billions of dollars of investment in irrigation and roads, be transformed into a world-class breadbasket.

As commodity prices spiked last year, Gulf countries poured hundreds of millions of dollars into securing land in the fertile Nile valley farther north to grow food crops for exporting home.

Mr Heilberg is convinced that demand for land is now gravitating south. Other experts say investors are scouting out opportunities in the south, albeit on a far less ambitious scale. That is despite imprecise land laws and the risk of a new civil war should the oil-rich south vote for independence in a planned referendum in 2011.

Mr Heilberg has experience in commodities markets on Wall Street and in Asia. To help him as he looks for opportunities in Africa, he has pulled together a board at his US-based investment vehicle, Jarch Capital, that includes Middle East, Africa and security experts with years of experience at the Pentagon, CIA, White House and state department.

He is of a resurgent class of western businessman drawn to the potential of Africa's remaining frontiers, who have been energised by Asia's appetite for the continent's natural resources.

Sudan experts familiar with his business strategy liken him to buccaneering capitalists such as Sweden's late Adolph Lundin, who acquired mining and oil concessions in Congo and Sudan while civil wars were still raging and turned huge profits when he sold them on.

In both countries, however, legal wrangling has often prevented mineral concessions from becoming productive. Mr Heilberg has experience of this problem after being embroiled in a dispute with the south Sudan government over oil exploration rights also claimed by other companies.

Some experts on Sudan believe his 400,000 hectares will face a similar fate and that his ultimate strategy is to trade whatever claim he can sustain over the land to investors with a greater capacity to develop it. He says the land has great potential for biofuels and food crops and is looking for joint-venture partners.

He insists the law is less important to his deal than the clout he has bought into by associating with a former warlord, Paulino Matip, whose family says it owns some of the land in Mayom county, in Unity state.

"I never understood why the oil industry could spend $1bn drilling dry holes but they do not want to take a single dollar in legal risks," Mr Heilberg told the FT.

Mr Matip fought with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement against the northern army before gaining notoriety during a bloody civil war episode when he switched sides to form his own militia, with backing from parts of his Nuer tribe and the Khartoum regime. "I am sure Paulino has killed many, but I am sure he done it in protection of his people," Mr Heilberg says.

Following the 2005 peace agreement his forces were appeased when he was brought in as deputy commander in the army of the autonomous south.

Mr Matip's son Gabriel, who controls the company in which Jarch has bought a majority stake, said he had negotiated with tribal leaders to secure access to more land. He said the company also had the agreement of the ministry of agriculture in south Sudan for the development of the land.

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U.S. INVESTOR LEADS SOUTHERN SUDAN LAND LEASE DEAL
From Reuters (New York) by Megan Davies 12 January 2009:

A U.S. investor who previously worked for insurance firm American International Group Inc (AIG.N) has led a deal to lease a substantial amount of farm land in Southern Sudan, where he sees ripe opportunity for investment and development.

Philippe Heilberg, chairman and CEO of New York-based investment firm Jarch Capital, told Reuters on Monday he expected high returns from the approximately 400,000 hectares of land in Mayom county and anticipated Jarch being involved with the land for "decades".

He declined to say how much had been paid for the lease.

Jarch said in an emailed statement that agriculture in Southern Sudan is exempted from U.S. sanctions provided that the Government of Sudan in Khartoum does not have any interest and no imports or exports pass through nonexempt areas. Jarch said it will only deal in Southern Sudan.

Heilberg said Jarch felt comfortable investing in Mayon and that the local politicians and population would be accepting of the investment.

"With risk, you have to look at risk and reward together -- this is why we pick our areas very carefully," he said.

Africa's biggest country has suffered decades of strife. Its north-south war -- separate from the conflict in its Darfur region -- was Africa's longest civil war and claimed the lives of some two million people.

A north-south peace deal was struck in 2005 and a semi- autonomous south Sudan government was then formed with the right to vote on secession by 2011.

The United States has imposed sanctions on Sudan since 1997. In October 2006, U.S. President Bush signed an act that lessened restrictions on the government of Southern Sudan. The United Nations Security Council imposed an arms embargo on rebels and militia in March 2004 but not on Sudan's government.

"There's always an issue of instability," Heilberg said. "There's no perfect scenario. We're not investing in the U.S. This is more frontier land. Its also extremely fertile land."

LEASE DEAL

Under the deal, Jarch Capital's related company Jarch Management has agreed to lease about 400,000 hectares of prime farm land and buy a 70 percent interest in South Sudanese company LEAC for Agriculture and Investment Co Ltd.

Jarch Management, based in Hong Kong and registered in the British Virgin Islands, said it was buying the stake from Gabriel Matip, the eldest son of General Paulino Matip Nhial, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). The SPLA is the the armed wing of the southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM).

Under the deal, it is leasing the land from Paulino Matip. In addition, Jarch expects to acquire more farm land within Southern Sudan.

LEAC has the right to grow cereals, oil seeds, vegetables, fruits and flowers and can process these products for both local and export use, Jarch said in the statement.

Heilberg, who studied at Wharton, worked for the foreign exchange trading department of Salmon Brothers Inc -- now part of Citigroup Inc (C.N) -- before working for AIG during the 1990s as a partner in its commodity division, according to Jarch's website.

Heilberg said the deals had actually been agreed in summer of 2008, but that Jarch had waited until now to make them public. (Editing by Andre Grenon)

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RHODES REDUX
From the Financial Times 13 January 2009:

Land is not in short supply in south Sudan, where Philippe Heilberg, a US businessman, has laid claim to 4,000 sq km of fertile territory in a deal with the family of a notorious warlord. But then neither was it when Cecil Rhodes extracted mineral rights from King Lobengula of the Ndebele and used these to push the frontiers of the British empire beyond the Limpopo river. Some 120 years later, Zimbabwe is still struggling to overcome a legacy of unequal land distribution.

Mr Heilberg is a former Wall Street banker whose private investment company, Jarch Capital, counts former CIA, State department and Pentagon officials on its board. He may be no Rhodes - his recent forays into Africa have yet to bear much fruit and include an acrimonious dispute over claims to an oil concession in south Sudan. His latest venture does, though, have a decidedly 19th-century flavour to it.

It is the largest private land deal in Africa yet - involving the lease of a huge tract of remote territory bordering the Nile. Because ownership laws remain vague in south Sudan, Mr Heilberg concedes that the deal depends as much on control exerted by Paulino Matip, the warlord whose son's company claims rights to some of the land, as it does on legal title.

As such it could set a dangerous precedent. A certain class of businessman has thrived on a high-risk, high-reward formula in African conflict zones. Where state authority has crumbled, rights of ownership are murky at best but staking claims can prove lucrative.

Since the days of Rhodes, speculators have often been drawn to the minerals in which so much of Africa is rich. The scramble for their control has fuelled recent conflicts, while legal wrangling has often rendered valuable assets unproductive for years after conflicts end. It would be a tragedy for Africa if land, perhaps the greatest of all its resources, became a victim of the same dynamic.

Foreign investor interest has been sparked by the spike in commodity prices last year and the global concern about future food supplies that has followed. There are vast expanses of arable land in Africa lying fallow. Gulf and Asian countries as well as western businesses are taking note.

There is a need for investment if the continent's full agricultural potential is to be achieved. At a time of growing shortages, there is also an obvious need for African governments to prioritise domestic supplies. If the continent is to avoid repeating history, the big deals and speculation should come later.

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SELLING AFRICA BY THE POUND
From Reuters blogs by Matthew Tostevin 13 January 2009:

The announcement by a U.S. investor that he has a deal to lease a swathe of South Sudan for farmland has again focused attention on foreigners trying to snap up African agricultural land.

A few months ago, South Korea’s Daweoo Logistics said it had secured rights to plant corn and palm oil in an even bigger patch of Madagascar - although local authorities said the deal was not done yet. Investors from Asia and the Gulf are looking elsewhere in Africa too.

Investor interest in farmland – not only in Africa – grew sharply after food prices shot to record highs last year. Although commodity prices have fallen since, there is still anticipation of long term demand growth once the world emerges from its current economic troubles.

Philippe Heilberg, chairman and CEO of New York-based investment firm Jarch Capital, told Reuters he saw ripe opportunity for decades in south Sudan’s Mayom county. The deal covers land nearly twice the size of the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.

Land is being leased from General Paulino Matip Nhial, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) - the armed wing of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in semi-autonomous South Sudan. Jarch Management is also buying an interest in a local company from Matip’s son.

But should Africa be handing out its land to foreign investors and will the local people and countries involved be the ones to benefit?

This commentary in the Financial Times made comparisons with the colonial grab for Africa’s resources and points out the damaging legacy that remains.

“There is a need for investment if the continent’s full agricultural potential is to be achieved. At a time of growing shortages, there is also an obvious need for African governments to prioritise domestic supplies. If the continent is to avoid repeating history, the big deals and speculation should come later,” it said.

Is it wise to discourage such investment, though, if investors are willing to bring big money to put the land to more efficient use than is currently the case? While some areas of Africa are densely populated and every scrap of ground is farmed, other hugely fertile areas are barely used.

Investors argue that they can bring jobs long term and will improve local infrastructure - perhaps more so than if they were taking land for less emotive mining or oil concessions - as well as increasing food supplies and foreign exchange earnings. Elsewhere in the world, mechanised agriculture and bigger farms have led to major productivity increases - although environmentalists argue they can cause damage too. Despite their best efforts, African governments have not always proven themselves the best at managing agricultural resources. Might Africa miss out on development that has helped fuel broader economic growth in countries such as Brazil?

Land ownership could also prove contentious. In the distant past, it was often held by communities as a whole or vested in traditional authorities. State officials now often have the greatest say. That opens the potential for official abuse of yet another valuable resource. Since governments can come and go unpredictably that also means an increase in risk for investors and can only be a further encouragement to cut costs for a quick return.

Heilberg said Jarch felt comfortable investing in Mayom and that the local politicians and population would be accepting of the investment.

“With risk, you have to look at risk and reward together - this is why we pick our areas very carefully,” he said.

So is major foreign investment in land a danger to Africa or is it an opportunity that the continent cannot afford to miss? Is there a way of making it work for everyone’s benefit? What do you think?

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Note from Sudan Watch Ed.
I find these reports deeply disturbing and depressing. More on this matter later.
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UPDATE
See Sudan Watch 14 January 2009: South Sudan's proposed Land Bill will deny Sudanese ownership of their own land by granting foreigners 99 year leases

Japan donates $17m for Sudan Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration programme

From Miraya FM via ReliefWeb January 08, 2009:

Japan donate 17 million dollars to support DDDR in Sudan-

The Japanese Government and the goverment of Sudan and the United Nations will sign today a Japanese donation amounting to seventeen (17) million dollars.

This grant is dedicated to support Disarmament, Disintegration, Rehabilitation and Reintegration process in Sudan. It will also contribute to the reintegration of former combatants in the community.

This donation comes in the frame work of the DDR process which requires a budget of around 385 million dollars in the period between 2009 and 2011.

More at Sudan Tribune: Japan grants $17 million for disarmament programme.

Ten water wells drilled in South Darfur by Chinese companies

Chinese companies have completed the exploration, drilling, and assembling pumps and water tanks for ten water wells in South Darfur.

Chinese company drills ten wells in Sudan's Darfur

January 08, 2009 KHARTOUM (Xinhua) -- China and Sudan signed here on Thursday a certificate of handing over ten wells drilled by Chinese companies in the arid western Sudanese region of Darfur.

Chinese Ambassador to Sudan Li Chengwen and Sudanese Commissioner for the Humanitarian Assistance Affairs Hasbu Mohammed Abdullah signed the document at a ceremony attended by Liu Guijin, the special representative of the Chinese government for Darfur, who is currently visiting Sudan.

Expressing his government's thanks for the assistance provided by the Chinese government to Darfur, Hasbu noted that China had become the country providing the most assistance of development to the western Sudanese region, which had been ravaged by armed conflicts.

He told reporters that schools, wells, power stations and other projects built with the Chinese assistance were being put into operation, and have played an important role in helping the displaced people return to their homes and resume their life and production.

Liu Guijin promised that the Chinese government would provide more concrete assistance to Darfur, highly praising the efforts exerted by the Sudanese government to realize peace, stability and development in Darfur.

The ten wells, all located in the South Darfur state, constituted one part of projects of development assistance provided by the Chinese government to Darfur.

Chinese companies completed the exploration, drilling, and assembling pumps and water tanks in a short period, meeting the urgent demand of the local residents. Editor: Yang Lina

Peter Eichstaedt's book on Joseph Kony: First Kill Your Family: Child Soldiers of Uganda and the LRA

Peter Eichstaedt's book on Joseph Kony, now out, titled First Kill Your Family: Child Soldiers of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army.



See further details in my post at Congo Watch today, Friday, January 09, 2009 - Peter Eichstaedt's book on the LRA, First Kill Your Family: Child Soldiers of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army - and note this line of text that I've highlighted in red:

Many refugees believe that the southern-dominated regime welcomes the excuse to debilitate traditionally hostile northern tribes

What does it mean?

Note to self to find out more.

(Cross posted today at Uganda Watch)

The White House denounces Nicholas Kristof

The White House has issued a Statement by National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley confirming that Nicholas Kristof's portrayal last week of the Bush Administration's response to the genocide in Darfur (A New Chance for Darfur, December 28, 2008) was inaccurate.

Quite right too. Good for them. Kristof makes my blood boil. Why the New York Times continues to facilitate such a self serving political activist with dangerous views masquarading as hard news is beyond my understanding.

True to form, Kristof could not resist responding stupidly on his blog [Ref. Jan. 05, 2009 The White House denounces me] bragging:

"Wow. I’m so flattered [...] my hunch is that President Bush finally weighed in after my column in question or that Hadley became concerned about his own reputation on this matter."

Well, my hunch is that Kristof's hunch is wrong on both counts and that he is a deluded idiot driven by self interest. The high regard I had for the New York Times five years ago steadily evaporated over the years that it published Kristof's naive rants on Sudan. Surely if the New York Times continues to publish Kristof's dangerous political activism, it risks bringing itself into further disrepute.

For the record, here below is a copy of The White House's Statement. I have highlighted in red the part that puts into a nutshell how well the Bush Administration has handled the Sudan crisis. America deserves great plaudits for its massively generous donations and aid to Sudan and to Africa as a whole, and for peacefully helping to bring under control the horrific civil war in Southern Sudan and Darfur, Western Sudan. Thank goodness that President Bush and his Administration never heeded advice from Nicholas Kristof and Eric Reeves [whose latest rant appears at Sudan Tribune Dec. 19, 2008: Genocide in Darfur: International focus on Al-Bashir is too narrow]. God help US President-elect Obama if he listens to either of those two. They'd set the tinder box of Africa alight at the blink of an eyelid. Kristof and Reeves ought to take a leaf out of Alex de Waal's book. Dr de Waal is one of the Brits recognised for exceptional achievement and service to the UK in the New Years Honours List (December 31, 2008). The honour of an OBE has been bestowed on Dr de Waal for his services to development and conflict resolution in Africa. Congratulations to Alex (my favourite reporter on Sudan). See? Love and peace are always better (and more rewarding!) than violence and war.

From The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
January 5, 2009

Statement by National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley

Today, President Bush announced his approval of the airlift of equipment for the United Nations/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). The President also authorized the waiver of the 15-day congressional notification requirements to allow the airlift assistance to proceed immediately, because failing to do so would pose a substantial risk to human health and welfare.

The U.S. provision of airlift will deliver equipment and vehicles that are critical to the UNAMID deployment, and will thus help UNAMID directly protect civilian lives and improve the safe and effective delivery of lifesaving humanitarian aid to areas of west Darfur currently inaccessible due to security concerns.

Today's announcement is further evidence that Nicholas Kristof's portrayal last week of this Administration's response to the genocide in Darfur (A New Chance for Darfur, December 28, 2008) was inaccurate. President Bush has been committed to resolving the crisis there since the United States first labeled it genocide in 2004. Even prior to the Darfur crisis, the President showed his commitment to the cause of peace in Sudan by pressing for a historic peace agreement between the North and South that ended the country's 22-year civil war which took more than two million lives.

The President has named three special envoys to advance peace in Sudan: Senator John Danforth, who helped achieved the North-South peace and initiated our efforts on Darfur; followed by the appointment of Andrew Natsios, and finally the appointment of Rich Williamson in January 2008. Prior to Williamson's appointment, more robust military options were considered by the President for Darfur. The decision not to pursue those options was driven by the pleas of the leading church, advocacy, and humanitarian organizations dedicated to Darfur, who argued that United States military action would imperil their ability to deliver the kinds of life saving assistance that continues to keep more than 3.5 million Darfuris alive each year. Experts within the U.S. Agency for International Development were making similar arguments, as was the African Union, which at the time had more than 7,000 peacekeepers deployed across Darfur. And in a meeting just this month with a leading Darfuri human rights activist, the message was once again reiterated that U.S. military action would only worsen the situation for the very people we are trying to save.

This is not to say that increasing pressure on the Government of Sudan to relent in its campaign of violence is not a crucial element of U.S. policy toward Sudan. It is. U.S. financial sanctions against Sudan are among the toughest we have. Over the last five years, hundreds of millions of dollars in Sudanese transactions have been blocked or disrupted. Last year, the President further tightened these measures, announcing sanctions against dozens of companies tied to the Bashir regime or linked to violence in Darfur. Sudanese companies lost access to international markets and financing, including one of the regime's primary bankers in Europe. Within months of this action, the Sudanese government relented in its opposition to allowing United Nations peacekeepers to deploy to Darfur.

Unilateral pressure alone cannot be our policy. And it is not. That is why we are working closely with the United Nations to ensure that the peacekeepers are actually deployed and that they are trained and equipped effectively to carry out their mandate. It is also why we are supporting the work of the U.N./AU Mediator, Djibril Bassole, who has slowly gained the trust and confidence of government officials and rebel leaders alike. Bassole knows that, regrettably there are no silver bullets or quick fixes to this great human tragedy. The United States will continue to lead the international community to stand by the people of Darfur and to deploy and support the U.N. peacekeeping operation.

- - -

Here is a copy of Nicholas Kristof's blog post (followed by readers' comments that I agree with) published at nytimes.com

January 05, 2009
The White House denounces me
By Nicholas Kristof

Wow. I’m so flattered. Here’s a statement the White House just put out, in the name of National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley:

Today, President Bush announced his approval of the airlift of equipment for the United Nations/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). The President also authorized the waiver of the 15-day congressional notification requirements to allow the airlift assistance to proceed immediately, because failing to do so would pose a substantial risk to human health and welfare.

The U.S. provision of airlift will deliver equipment and vehicles that are critical to the UNAMID deployment, and will thus help UNAMID directly protect civilian lives and improve the safe and effective delivery of lifesaving humanitarian aid to areas of west Darfur currently inaccessible due to security concerns.

Today’s announcement is further evidence that Nicholas Kristof’s portrayal last week of this Administration’s response to the genocide in Darfur (A New Chance for Darfur, December 28, 2008) was inaccurate. President Bush has been committed to resolving the crisis there since the United States first labeled it genocide in 2004.

Look, I’m delighted that the White House is, belatedly, organizing this airlift. It sure smells of a desperate effort to burnish the administration’s legacy on Darfur, but better late than never. This particular step is one that the White House and Pentagon have resisted for months, so my hunch is that President Bush finally weighed in after my column in question or that Hadley became concerned about his own reputation on this matter.

The fact is that President Bush has seemed genuinely interested in Sudan and Darfur. He used the word genocide to refer to Darfur, which some officials were afraid of doing for fear that then they would have to do something about it. (They needn’t have worried: events showed that the president can use the g-word as a substitute for action rather than a spur to action.) Bush has also been good about sending relief supplies, and just last month he met in the White House with an extraordinary Darfur survivor, Halima Bashir, whom I’ve written about. But when you go to Darfur and see children with bullets and shrapnel, it seems incredibly inadequate to be always sending bandages and nothing more. What Bush hasn’t done is actually take steps to stop the killing. (In fairness, European countries haven’t shown much interest in this, either, and the Bush administration has done better than many governments.) President Clinton has said that his biggest regret in foreign policy was his paralysis during the 100-day Rwandan genocide; President Bush has been similarly paralyzed for five full years of Darfur’s slow-motion genocide.

What I hear is that Bush has repeatedly raised Darfur in White House meetings and asked about taking tougher steps. And each time, Condi Rice and Steve Hadley have discouraged him. The State Department’s Office of Policy Planning suggested some serious diplomatic moves, but they were ignored by the White House. Likewise, Michael Gerson when he was in the White House suggested a prime time speech on Darfur, which at least would have spotlighted the issue, but that was rejected. And this year, as I wrote in last week’s column, Ambassador Richard Williamson has listed a series of tough steps to put pressure on Sudan. They haven’t even had a serious hearing because of Hadley and Rice.

So I applaud today’s announcement about the airlift, and I hope that the Obama administration takes up where Bush leaves off — and doesn’t just stand at the sidelines, expressing regret. We have a chance now to work with Europe and Arab states such as Qatar to enforce the upcoming International Criminal Court arrest warrant for President Bashir — and end this genocide in 2009.

Readers' comments at nytimes.com

Here is a copy of the comments that I agree with, especially the last one No. 22 (except the part about Iraq: I supported intervention in Iraq and still do)

5. January 5, 2009

Mr Kristof,

While I consistently enjoy reading your column, this one irked me a bit, particularly this sentence:

(In fairness, European countries haven’t shown much interest in this, either, and the Bush administration has done better than many governments.)

This point seems quite important to your claim that the Bush administration has not done enough in Darfur, yet you only include it as a parenthetical side note.

You also write that “President Bush has been similarly paralyzed for five full years of Darfur’s slow-motion genocide.” But what about our other commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past five years? Despite the colossal mistake that is the Iraq war and despite how you may feel about our commitments there, given that we have soldiers on the ground, should Iraq not receive more of our administration’s attention than Darfur?

This may seem cold-hearted, but realistically, we cannot save every war-torn country from itself, can we? It seems as if you’ve been blinded by your idealism. I am 27 years old, voted for Obama, have peace corps aspirations, and have followed your column with great respect. But this time, I’m not so sure what to think.
— sella

15. January 6, 2009

Wow. You actually think a contract for airlift of hundreds of containers under UN control can be negotiated in one week? Your lack of knowledge is only out done by your self importance. The combination of ignorance and arrogance is truly amazing. Congratulations indeed.
— Reality

16. January 6, 2009

“Wow. I’m so flattered.”
Sorry, but this sounds extremely juvenile.

Whatever you think of Bush, he has done more for Africa than any other US president.
— Sam

22. January 6, 2009

Mr. Kristof,

Your reactions to the White House announcement for airlift support are truly shocking. Your claim of credit smacks of smug self importance and is a disservice to the countless U.S. public servants at the State Department, National Security Council, and USAID that have been laboring long and hard to resolve the Darfur crisis. The previous comment about taking one week to negotiate a complex airlift agreement is spot on. This commitment must have taken months to get through the burdensome UN bureaucracy. Given that you have spent many years covering international issues across 120 countries, one would think that you would have acquired a better sense of how international processes work.

From what I’ve seen, the Bush Administration has fought hard to secure strong UN action in Darfur (most of your readers are multilateralists are they not). They are providing hundreds of millions of dollars to support the UN and African Union peacekeeping missions and have applied significant diplomatic pressure to secure additional troop contributions from countries across the globe. Moreover, they’ve applied strong economic sanctions against the rogue Sudanese regime. Instead of blaming President Bush, you should take a close look at how the UN system should be revamped to improve responsiveness and prevent bad actors (Russia and China) from blocking more aggressive action.
— George

See Sudan Watch Jan. 07, 2009: Warmongering New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof is gunning for Khartoum
- - -

FAREWELL AND THANKS TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH

As a tribute to the George W Bush era, here are some of my favourite photos from Sudan Watch archives.



Photo: US President George Bush speaks to Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo, regarding the recent progress towards peace in Darfur, while on board an Air Force One May 6, 2006. (Reuters) Ref Sudan Watch archives: Bush thanks African leaders for Sudan work - in a call from Air Force One - May 06, 2006



Photo: Senior Airman Mike Meares, of the 86th Air Expeditionary Group public affairs office, shows a local child his photo on the back of his digital camera July 28, 2005. The group donated soccer balls, soccer nets, candy and toys to the children attending the Nonko Primary School of Kigali-Kanombe, Rwanda. The United States provided transportation for 1,200 Rwandan forces to and back from Sudan in support of AMIS 2, the African Union Mission in Sudan. Full Story at Hilltop Times "Airmen donate soccer balls, supplies to African children" Thursday August 4, 2005. (Photo by by SSgt Bradley C. Church) Ref Sudan Watch archives: Alex de Waal on John Garang: Death of an Enigma - August 04, 2005.



Photo: Bono rubs shoulders with Bush at G8. Don't miss Brendan O'Neill's article Welcome to the People's Republic of Bono posted at Spiked and copied at Ethiopia Watch, a sister blog of Sudan Watch - June 14, 2007



Photo: Prime Minister Tony Blair in Khartoum, Sudan October 2004, the first visit to Sudan by a British leader since Sudan gained its independence from Britain in 1956. Mr Blair said the fact he had travelled to Khartoum showed "the seriousness with which this is taken".



Photo: Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir shakes hands with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the presidential palace in Khartoum in Sudan October 06, 2004. (AFP). 



Photo: Tony Blair must tell George Bush to repay British support over the war on terror by backing moves to end African poverty, campaigners have demanded. The Prime Minister flies to Washington today for White House talks with the president of the United States tomorrow. Picture: Mark Wilson/ Getty Images: Blair to visit Bush for talks at White House tomorrow. "Tony Blair has got to go there [the White House] and make George Bush sit up and notice public opinion here" - Sir Bob Geldof, Live 8 organiser. Story in full at The Scotsman June 06, 2005.



Photo: British Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown worked tirelessly together for over a decade to help improve the lives of people living in poverty both at home and abroad, especially in Africa in tandem with Sir Bono and Sir Bob Geldof, pictured here below as part of the Live8 concerts.





Photo: Make Poverty History march Scotland. UK 2 July 2005.



Photo: Sgt. 1st Class Adam Reed, from Sidon, Miss., Jan. 17 with Somali farmers in Sankabar, Ethiopia, to check on the water pumps the U.S. military helped install in their fields. (Photo by EVELYN HOCKSTEIN courtesy KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS/Seattle Times)  Feb 5, 2006 the Seattle Times publishes East Africa a front in war on terrorism authored by Shashank Bengali, Knight Ridder Newspapers. This story was featured here at Sudan Watch a few days ago. It is about the war on terrorism that most Americans (or the rest of us) haven't heard of. It's a must-read.



Photo: Ramstein Airmen assist Ugandan civil police with their baggage while transfering at Kigali International Airport, Rwanda. The Ugandan civil police are returning home after a one-year deployment to the Darfur region. Airmen from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, are deployed to Kigali, Rwanda, to provide airlift support for the African Union peacekeeping mission. (U.S. Air Force photo/Capt. Erin Dorrance)



Photo: Ugandan civil police prepare to board a Botswana C-130 at the airport in Kigali, Rwanda. They were returning home after a one-year deployment to the Darfur region where they were part of the African Union peacekeeping mission. (U.S. Air Force photo/Capt. Erin Dorrance)



Photo: Rwandan soldiers from the last of the three battalions in Kigali deploying in Darfur western Sudan as part of an African Union mission, 30 September 2005, board a US Air Force C-130 heading for El Fasher, Sudan. When the airlift is completed Rwanda will have deployed more than 1800 men in Darfur. (AFP/Helen Vesperini/Yahoo) 30 Sep 2005



Photo: 2000 AU troops airlifted to Darfur. First NATO airlift of civilian police into Darfur. Photo courtesy NATO. Sudan Watch August 11, 2005



Photo: Archive photo of Nigerian troops preparing to board a U.S. military plane in the Nigerian capital Abuja, October 28, 2004.



Photo: Kigali International Airport, Rwanda -- Rwandan forces stand by to board a C-130 Hercules from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, here July 19. The Ramstein Airmen were here to provide transportation for 1,200 Rwandan forces to Sudan in support of NATO's response for the African Union's expanded peacekeeping mission in Darfur with logistics and training. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Bradley C. Church)

The troops were sent off with the music of a Rwandan military band, and marched to the C-17 through a Rwandan military honor guard hailing them with fixed bayonets. The aircraft was from McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., and was flown by a crew from McChord AFB, Wash.

"All of our efforts in support of (the mission in the Darfur region of Sudan) underscore our commitment to an important team effort," said Capt. Joel Harper, the group's public affairs chief. "We are working with the international community, specifically the African Union and NATO, to help achieve peace in a unified Sudan."



Photo: Kigali International Airport, Rwanda -- Tech. Sgt. Phillip Derenski talks with Rwandan Lt. Kadhafi Ntayomba on a C-17 Globemaster III from McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., after arriving at the airport July 17. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Bradley C. Church) During the operation, about 150 Airmen from Ramstein Air Base, Germany; Royal Mildenhall, England; and strategic support from U.S. Transportation Command will move about 1,200 Rwandan troops from Kigali to Al-Fashir, Sudan.
"We're not alone in this mission," Colonel Schafer said. "We're working with our allies in NATO and the AU to ensure Darfur gets help."



Photo: Kigali International Airport, Rwanda -- Rwandan forces prepare to board a C-17 Globemaster III from McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., on July 17. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Bradley C. Church) The U.S. airlift is part of the larger multinational effort to improve security and create conditions in which humanitarian assistance can be more effectively provided to the people of Darfur. NATO Secretary Gen. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer announced June 9 that the alliance would help the AU expand its peacekeeping force in Darfur from 3,300 to about 7,700 in the coming months.



Photo July 17, 2005 AFP - Rwandan troops of the African Union force wait to board a plane at Kigali International Airport in Rwanda to be dispatched to Darfur. US President George W. Bush directed the Pentagon to spend six million dollars in 'commodities and services' to help transport African Union troops to Darfur. (AFP/File/Jose Cendon)



Photo: In a picture provided by the U.S. Air Force U.S. Airmen process through a deployment line at U.S. airbase in Ramstein, southern Germany, Friday July 15, 2005 in preparation for a month-long airlift mission to Darfur. Three C-130 Hercules aircraft and approximately 40 airmen departed from Ramstein, southern Germany, for Kigali, Rwanda, July 16, 2005, as part of NATO's response to support the African Union's expanded peacekeeping mission in Darfur with logistics and training. (AP Photo/U.S. Air Force, Master Sgt. David D. Underwood, Jr.)



Photo: JIn a picture provided by the U.S. Air Force a soldier signals to a plane as three C-130 Hercules aircraft and approximately 40 airmen depart from U.S. airbase in Ramstein, southern Germany, for Kigali, Rwanda, July 16, 2005, as part of NATO's response to support the African Union's expanded peacekeeping mission in Darfur, Sudan, with logistics and training. (AP Photo/U.S. Air Force, Master Sgt. David D. Underwood, Jr.)



Photo: US President George W. Bush welcomes Sudanese Liberation Movement leader Minni Minnawi to the Oval Office Tuesday, July 25, 2006, in Washington, D.C., meeting to discuss the Darfur region of western Sudan. White House photo by Kimberlee Hewitt. Ref Sudan Watch archive December 03, 2008: France based Darfur war leader Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur dismisses all peace initiatives and proposes none

WATER WILL BECOME SUDAN'S MOST PRECIOUS RESOURCE



Photo from U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum mixed-media event featured as part of virtual reality program (via FUTURE-MAKING SERIOUS GAMES: Serious Games Event At The Infinite Mind Virtual Broadcast Center blog entry 01 Jan, 2007) 

UPDATE JANUARY 08 2009

BUSH PROMISES TO STAY ENGAGED ON SUDAN

Jan 05, 2009 Reuters report by Caren Bohan in Washington - excerpt:

U.S. President George W. Bush promised on Monday not to forget after he leaves office about violence in the Darfur region of western Sudan, which the United States has described as genocide.

Two weeks before stepping down, Bush met Salva Kiir, president of semi-autonomous south Sudan who led rebels fighting for autonomy for Sudan's mostly animist or Christian south from the Muslim north in a civil war that claimed 2 million lives.

Kiir, now first vice president in the Khartoum government, asked Bush whether he was "still going to care about Sudan" after he leaves office.

"And the answer is absolutely," Bush said.

Bush claimed some personal credit for helping to broker the north-south peace agreement, saying it was "negotiated under my watch" and said the United States must pay close attention to its implementation.

Barack Obama takes over from Bush as President on January 20.

On Darfur, Bush thanked Kiir for efforts to bring rebel groups together to negotiate with the Islamist government of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and said he supported a long-delayed airlift of equipment to help peace keepers there. (Editing by Alan Elsner)

On Monday January 05 2009 in Washington, President Bush met with Salva Kiir, who is both the Vice-President of Sudan and President of Southern Sudan. (Source: FP.com) See Salva Kiir Profile (BBC)

Also, see Voice of America report by Paula Wolfson, White House 05 January 2009:  Bush Orders Airlift of Supplies for Darfur Mission.

Warmongering New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof is gunning for Khartoum

The following copy of an article published at Sudan Tribune appears to be based on an opinion piece by The New York Times' columnist, Nicholas Kristof. The BBC interview cited in the article took place in February of last year [George W Bush's BBC interview 14 February 2008]. Note the paragraph that I have highlighted in red for future reference.

From Sudan Tribune - US special envoy to Sudan asked Bush to use military force: report

December 28, 2008 (WASHINGTON) – The US special envoy to Sudan Richard Williamson has reportedly asked President Bush to take coercive measures against Khartoum to halt killings in the western region of Darfur.



Photo: US special envoy for Sudan, Richard Williamson, leaves after meeting with Sudanese Foreign Minister Deng Alor (unseen) in Khartoum on June 2, 2008 (AFP)

The New York Times (NYT) newspaper reported that Williamson sent a “tough” memo to Bush recommending a series of steps to pressure the Sudanese government.

Among the steps is to temporarily jam all communications in the Sudanese capital which would severe telephone communications, cell phones as well as internet access.

Furthermore the US navy would hinder access to Port Sudan by searching or turning away some ships. At a later stage a full blown embargo could be enforced to prevent Sudan from selling its oil.

The last stage would be to shoot down all Sudanese fighters that violate ban over Darfur and to use the threat of destroying air force if Khartoum does not comply with other demands such as handing over two suspects to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The US has been the only country to label the Darfur conflict genocide and the Bush administration has been under intense domestic pressure to intervene.

The US has been the most outspoken country on bringing the issue of the Darfur. In September 2004 Washington officially labeled the conflict as ‘genocide’.

Last February US President George W Bush has defended his decision not to send troops to the region despite strong domestic pressure.

“I had to make a seminal decision. And that is whether or not I would commit US troops into Darfur” Bush told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in an interview.

But many Darfur activists accused the Bush administration of refusing to take more forceful steps against Khartoum to avoid jeopardizing their intelligence cooperation.

US officials denied the allegations saying that the counterterrorism cooperation has not prevented Washington from taking the lead on the Darfur crisis.

The NYT said that the plans put forth by Williamson were blocked by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security adviser Stephen Hadley.

The report is likely to worry Khartoum which has last week praised Williamson for his knowledge of Sudan after the diplomat made a speech suggesting that the incoming Obama administration should test diplomatic options with Sudan before moving to “more robust steps.”

I say, if this report is true, thank goodness for Dr Rice and Mr Hadley.
- - -

A New Chance for Darfur
Opinion editiorial by NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published at nytimes.com December 27, 2008



Photo: Nicholas D. Kristof (Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times)

If Barack Obama wants to help end the genocide in Darfur, he doesn’t have to look far for ideas of how to accomplish that. President Bush and his top aides have been given, and ignored, a menu of options for tough steps to squeeze Sudan — even destroy its air force — and those will soon be on the new president’s desk.

The State Department’s policy planning staff prepared the first set of possible responses back in 2004 (never pursued), and this year Ambassador Richard Williamson has privately pushed the White House to squeeze Sudan until it stops the killing.

Mr. Williamson, who is President Bush’s special envoy to Sudan, wrote a tough memo to Mr. Bush this fall outlining three particular steps the United States could take to press Sudan’s leader, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir:

• The United States could jam all communications in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital. This would include all telephone calls, all cellular service, all Internet access. After two days, having demonstrated Sudan’s vulnerability, the United States could halt the jamming.

• The United States could apply progressive pressure to Port Sudan, from which Sudan exports oil and thus earns revenue. The first step would be to send naval vessels near the port. The next step would be to search or turn back some ships, and the final step would be to impose a quarantine and halt Sudan’s oil exports.

• The United States could target Sudanese military aircraft that defy a United Nations ban on offensive military flights in Darfur. The first step would be to destroy a helicopter gunship on the ground at night. A tougher approach would be to warn Sudan that unless it complies with international demands (by handing over suspects indicted by the International Criminal Court, for example), it will lose its air force — and then if it does not comply, to destroy all its military aircraft on the ground.

Officials frustrated by the administration’s passivity shared these possible steps with me, partly to make clear that Mr. Obama can do more if he has the political will.

Mr. Williamson has been one of the unsung heroes of the Bush administration, fighting tenaciously and secretly — even twice threatening to resign — to redeem American honor by confronting genocide. President Bush himself seemed open to tougher action, officials say, but Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Stephen Hadley, the national security adviser, always resisted, backed by the Pentagon. Ms. Rice and Mr. Hadley tarnished their own honor and America’s by advocating, in effect, acquiescence in genocide.

The naysayers’ objection was simple: Those are incredibly serious steps, with grave repercussions.

They’re right. But then again, genocide is pretty serious, too.

That’s something that Mr. Obama and his aides understand. Partly for that reason, Sudan fears the Obama administration, and now for the first time in years, there’s a real chance of ousting President Bashir and ending his murderous regime.

Several factors are coming together. The leaders in Khartoum feel their government wobbling, particularly after rebels clashed with government soldiers on the outskirts of Khartoum earlier this year. They know that the International Criminal Court is expected to issue an arrest warrant for President Bashir, probably in February, but that no other top leader will be indicted after Mr. Bashir.

China, which for years has been President Bashir’s most important international supporter, now seems to be backing away — just as it eventually abandoned genocidal friends like Slobodan Milosevic and the Khmer Rouge. And an Arab state, Qatar, is now leading a serious diplomatic initiative to try to end the slaughter.

Thus there are growing whispers that key figures in the Sudanese regime may throw Mr. Bashir overboard in the coming months. The other leaders are ruthless and have blood on their hands as well, but some of them have in the past proved more willing to negotiate deals than Mr. Bashir has.

Hovering in the background is the risk that the north-south war in Sudan will resume, leading to a slaughter even worse than Darfur. One ominous sign is that Sudan is now stockpiling cash and weapons, apparently so that it can wage war on the south even if Port Sudan is blocked.

Mr. Williamson has suggested providing surface-to-air missiles to the separate government of South Sudan. Such weaponry would reduce the chance that Sudan would attack the south.

If Mr. Obama and his aides can work with Europe, China and Qatar to keep the heat on — and to make clear that Sudan has no choice but to hand over President Bashir once the court issues the arrest warrant — then we just might avert a new war and end the first genocide of the 21st century in the new year.

More on this later.

UPDATE THURSDAY JANUARY 08 2009
See next Sudan Watch post Thursday, January 08, 2009: The White House denounces Nicholas Kristof

LRA's Kony is in the fringes of Garamba, North of Maridi but in the Sudan territory

According to some of the latest news reports posted today at Congo Watch:

Currently, LRA commanders Okot Odhiambo and Bok Abudema are heading to CAR; Okeny Opwa is in Maridi, South Sudan. Kony is shuttling between these places. Killing LRA’s notorious commanders could leave Kony bare. It is already reported that Odhiambo and Abudema are in a critical condition, both suffering from gout and probably injured during the December 14 air raids.

Kony is in the fringes of Garamba, North of Maridi but in the Sudan territory.

On Friday morning, LRA fighters attacked an SPLA truck at Tori and a commercial truck in Yei, Sudan. In the overnight raid, dozens of the fighters attacked the headquarters of the Garamba National Park in Magero town, a few kilometres from the Sudan border. Local authorities said the rebels had retreated to the north of the Garamba jungles on the Sudan border. Twenty people were killed local officials said today (Monday January 05, 2009).

U.N., Congolese and Ugandan officials have said the rebels, estimated to number between 800 and 1,000, have splintered into smaller groups. Only some are believed to be headed for CAR. LRA forces have been seen in the Ango region on the border with CAR. There was no sign the rebels had crossed into CAR.

During three days of raids beginning on December 25, fleeing LRA fighters attacked several Congolese towns, slaughtering civilians and looted and burned hundreds of homes.

The deputy governor of Orientale province, where the attacks happened, told Reuters on Saturday that the bodies of 271 victims had so far been buried, but the death toll was rising.

"The number is going up every day," Joseph Bangakya said. "Most were killed with machetes. (The LRA) are trying to save their ammunition."

Catholic humanitarian charity Caritas said it believed more than 400 people had died in the attacks.

Uganda has sent more troops to the area to prevent more LRA raids. Congo's 17,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission, MONUC, has said it is assisting the deployment of additional Congolese forces but is not participating directly in the joint offensive.

The UN has expressed support for the assault on the LRA. “We cannot condemn this military action because we can see the merit of it,” the UN envoy to northern Uganda, Joaquim Chissano, said last month.

“The aim of the attacks now is to force Kony out because he should not be given opportunity to entertain other options than are open to him through the peace process. The negotiations are over... what is remaining is the signing of the final peace agreement.”

Under the current agreement, if Kony signed, the government of Uganda would go to the Security Council or the International Criminal Court and request for the suspension of the arrest warrants. Then Kony could move freely into Uganda where justice would be applied according to what is foreseen in the agreement. In May, a special war crimes court was established in Uganda to deal with cases of human rights violations committed during the two-decade insurgency.

Note, Operation Lightning Thunder did not begin on time as instructed. President Museveni ordered attack for 7:30 am, but was it carried out at 11:30 am. And ground troops were also not deployed in time to start the cordon-and search operation. This, they said gave the rebels ample time to carry the dead and move out of the danger zone.

Ugandan rebels blame the Christmas massacres on the joint force currently in eastern Congo.

Map showing Maridi, Southern Sudan



Credit: www.joshuaproject.net
- - -

Ri-Kwangba

Sorry, unable to find a good map.

Ri-Kwangba is a site in West Equatoria, Sudan, near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It, along with Owiny Ki-Bul, is one of two assembly points for the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) under the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement agreed to by the LRA and government of Uganda on 26 August 2006.

In September 2006, the only structures at the location, which was essentially a 200-by-300 meter clearing in the jungle, were five huts.

June 2007 peace talks held in Ri-Kwangba resulted in an improvement of facilities, in order to handle the gathering of delegates. (Source: Wikipedia)

UNAMID peacekeeper killed in North Darfur - Angry children injure UNAMID peacekeeper

From UN News Centre 29 December 2008:

Military officer with UN-African Union force in Darfur dies after car-jacking

A military officer serving with the United Nations-African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) died today, after being shot in the leg two days ago during a car-jacking in the strife-torn Sudanese region.

The incident happened Saturday night at a market in the capital of North Darfur, El Fasher – which is also the headquarters of the UN-AU force, deployed earlier this year to try to end the violence and suffering in Darfur.

The man was one of three UNAMID military officers who were car-jacked by three unknown armed men. The officers were forced to leave their vehicle and, in the process, one was shot. The car-jackers then drove off to the north with the vehicle.

The incident is the latest in a series of attacks against aid workers and the joint peacekeeping force, which lost more than 20 personnel in its first year of operation.

Violence has also continued against displaced persons sheltering in makeshift camps, with inter-tribal clashes and fighting between the Government and armed militia adding to the turmoil.

An estimated 300,000 people have been killed since fighting erupted in 2003 between Government forces, allied militiamen – known as the Janjaweed – and rebels, and 2.7 million others have been forced from their homes and now live as refugees or as internally displaced persons (IDPs).

The Security Council has authorized 26,000 uniformed personnel, including military and police, for UNAMID. So far some 12,369 military personnel have been deployed out of the authorized 19,555. Senior UN officials have repeatedly called on countries to supply the remaining troops and equipment needed.

- - -

ANGRY CHILDREN INJURE UNAMID PEACEKEEPER IN DARFUR

From Sudan Tribune December 26, 2008 (EL FASHER):

Children from Hamadiya internally displaced persons’ (IDP) camp threw rocks at a peacekeeper on security duty at the Zalingei airstrip in West Darfur on Monday.

The peacekeeper, who was serving with the UN-African Union hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID), sustained a critical injury to his head, said a spokesperson for the mission.

Hamadiya is one of five refugee camps surrounding Zalingei housing 120,000 people. The incident follows efforts by Sudanese authorities and the hybrid mission to negotiate between government-backed militias in the area and sheikhs of the nearby Hassa Hissa IDP camp, one of whom was murdered earlier this month.

The UN Department of Safety and Security and UNAMID military and police personnel held a meeting with the National Intelligence Security Services (NISS) and leaders of the camp to discuss the incident. The traditional leader of the camp offered his apology, adding that measures would be taken to prevent a repeat of the incident.

According to Ted Chaiban, the outgoing head of UNICEF in Sudan, 2.3 million children have been affected by the conflict in Darfur, which amounts to roughly half of those bearing the humanitarian consequences of the conflict.

Generally these children have spent up to almost six years in urbanised camps where Darfuris concentrated for protection from a massive counter-insurgency campaign that began in 2003.

Zalingei is the hometown of the main Sudan Liberation Army rebel leader, Abdelwahid al-Nur, who lives in exile in France. The IDP camps around Zalingei are among the most politicised in Darfur.

A year ago when the UN special envoy to Darfur Jan Eliasson visited Hassa Hissa camp, camp leaders read out a long list of steps that they require be taken before engaging in political process with the government, and Al-Nur’s father, Mohamed Ahmed al-Nur, stayed in his shop in Zalingei and did not meet with the UN envoy.

Earlier this month a member of the Khartoum-backed janjaweed was killed following a dispute with IDPs in Hassa Hissa Camp. The next day some 30 militiamen, seeking revenge, marched towards the camp shooting in the air sporadically. They destroyed five water pumps supplying the camp of Hassa Hissa.

The Sudanese police and the former African Union peacekeeping troops (AMIS) had been forced to pull out of the camp when Abdelwahid rejected the Darfur Peace Agreement in May 2006.

Eleven UNAMID soldiers have died this year. Thus far there are 9,078 soldiers and 2,282 police deployed as UNAMID peacekeepers in Darfur, an area roughly the size of France.

Note, the report tells us that Al-Nur’s father, Mohamed Ahmed al-Nur, stayed in his shop in Zalingei and did not meet with the UN envoy. Like father, like son...

South Sudan confirms attacks on LRA rebels - Riek Machar calls on LRA to assemble at Rikwangba in Southern Sudan

Rikwangba in Southern Sudan remains open as assembly area for LRA rebels.

Article from Sudan Tribune December 15, 2008 (JUBA) by James Gatdet Dak:

SOUTH SUDAN VP CONFIRMS ATTACKS ON LRA REBELS

The Government of Southern Sudan’s Vice President and Chief Mediator of the Uganda peace process, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, confirmed on Monday that military offensive against the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) was under way inside DR Congo.



Photo: LRA Joseph Kony is shaking hand with southern Sudan’s vice president Riek Machar. (Reuters).

A regional joint force carried out a surprise attack on LRA positions in eastern DR Congo on Sunday.

Machar said as mediators they were aware of the offensive shortly before it was announced in Kampala by the Ugandan government.

He blamed the LRA leader Joseph Kony for not signing the peace deal.

“We understand the frustration involved because Kony has failed to sign [the final peace agreement] five times,” he explained.

He further explained that Kony failed his arrangement to sign twice, former Mozambican President Joachim Chissano’s once, northern Ugandan leaders’ once and lastly failed to talk to President Museveni on the phone despite Museveni’s offer to dialogue with him directly.

Machar added that his government has closed its borders and would not allow the renewed fighting with the rebels to over spill into Southern Sudan again.

He however said the Government of Southern Sudan has made an important decision that incase Joseph Kony reconsiders to sign, Rikwangba in Southern Sudan remains open as assembly area for the rebels.

He said he considered the military offensive as a pressure on Kony to sign.

- - -

Article from Sudan Tribune by James Gatdet Dak December 20, 2008 (JUBA)

CHIEF MEDIATOR CALLS ON UGANDAN REBELS TO ASSEMBLE TO DE-ESCALATE HOSTILITIES

The Chief Mediator of the Uganda peace process, Government of Southern Sudan’s Vice President, Riek Machar Teny has called on the rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) to assemble in Ri-Kwangba to “de-escalate” the ongoing hostilities with regional forces.



Photo: Riek Machar

A joint regional force launched offensive against the LRA bases inside north-eastern DR Congo last week and still escalating.

In his 2nd report on the status of the Juba peace process, dated 15th December and of which copy the Sudan Tribune received today, the Chief Mediator stated that it was the Ugandan army that carried out the attacks on LRA on 14th December in Garamba forests, but was to be joined by Congolese forces while the SPLA would deploy along Southern Sudan borders to prevent the LRA from infiltrating into the semi-autonomous region.

He urged the LRA rebels to assemble in Ri-Kwangba area, respect the terms for assembling, sign and implement the peace deal.

The Government of Southern Sudan’s Vice President further stated that the military action was neither intended to destroy the Juba peace agreements nor abrogate the Ugandan government’s commitments towards the peace process.

Machar blamed the LRA leadership for not signing the Final Peace Agreement (KPA), which prompted regional military offensive against the rebels and called on them to assemble.

"I would therefore invite the LRA to signal its readiness to return and assemble in Ri-Kwangba in order to expeditiously conclude the Juba process,” he stated.

Some of the rebels were already reported to have infiltrated into Southern Sudan following the fighting and were accused by government officials of killing two civilians yesterday in Western Equatoria state.

He said the LRA should contact the Mediator who would, through the Cessation of Hostilities Monitoring Team, work with the relevant forces, to arrange for safe passage to Ri-Kwangba at Sudan/DR Congo border.

Machar said the mediators were aware of the concerns raised by the LRA on the ICC which they said were impeding the signature of the FPA, but he stated that these would be addressed within the framework of the peace agreement and "should therefore not delay this process any longer."

"The LRA must act swiftly and in good faith to conclude this chapter of violence so that peace can return to this region," he concluded.

Cross posted today at Congo Watch and Uganda Watch.

Govts of Uganda, Sudan and DR Congo today launch joint offensive against Uganda LRA rebels in DRC, Uganda says

Today, the governments of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan launched a joint military offensive against the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) bases in Garamba, eastern Congo, an army spokesman said.

Let's hope this news is of a genuine effort to eradicate the LRA who have been on the rampage for more than 20 years, committing unspeakable crimes and atrocities that are far worse than anything that has happened in Darfur.

Further details are here below in a report just in from the BBC and in a Factbox from Reuters giving some details about leader Joseph Kony and his LRA rebels, along with a profile by the Telegraph's David Blair and a recent photo of Kony who is estimated to have abducted more than 20,000 children to fight as footsoldiers in the LRA.

Also, here below is a blog post and extract from an article on the LRA by freelance journalist Rob Crilly. The whole 2000 word article is up for sale. Rob does not mention a price but in the comments at his post at From The Frontline blog he says that he is open to offers. If anyone reading this is able to sponsor Rob's article for publication here at Sudan Watch (and its sister sites Congo Watch and Uganda Watch) please email me. I have spent over four years raising awareness of the LRA and would appreciate Rob's article being published asap in the hope of it being helpful to the poor forgotten people of Northern Uganda. No doubt Rob's article is very good. It needs to be shared as widely as possible. Here are just a few of the reasons why, in pictures:

See Sudan Watch, February 06, 2006: One of the world's most wanted men: Ugandan LRA terrorist group chief Joseph Kony flees Southern Sudan into DR Congo - UN calls NGOs into Kony hunt



Photo: Gulu victim. The LRA use torture to instil fear. Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has become synonymous with torture, abductions and killings. (BBC photo) from Sudan Watch archives.



Photo: Two young boy's get treated for severe burn wounds in the Lira hospital in northern Uganda, Feb 23, 2004, after a massacre believed to be committed by the Lord's Resistance Army rebel group in the Barlonyo camp 26 kilometers north of the town that killed at least 200 people. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo) from Sudan Watch archives.



Photo: Ochola John was deformed by rebels from Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army (BBC) Read the victim's heartbreaking testimony: June 30 2006 Sudan Watch and Uganda Watch - LRA victim: 'I cannot forget and forgive'

ARMIES 'ATTACK UGANDA REBELS'
From the BBC Sunday, 14 December 2008 7:36 PM GMT:

Three African armies have launched a joint offensive against Ugandan rebels based in eastern DR Congo, military officials say in Uganda.

Uganda, DR Congo and the government of South Sudan reportedly moved against the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in the Garamba region of DR Congo.

LRA leader Joseph Kony, wanted by the International Criminal Court, has recently stalled on a peace deal.

The LRA has led a rebellion for more than 20 years in northern Uganda.

The fighting has displaced some two million people.

Uganda's government has been involved in lengthy peace negotiations with the LRA, but the rebels' leader has demanded that arrest warrants for him and his associates are dropped before any agreement can be struck.

A statement announcing the operation was released in the Ugandan capiital Kampala by the intelligence chiefs of all three armed forces.

The statement said the attack targeted the "terrorists" at their bases in the forested area of Garamba, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, AFP news agency said.

"The three armed forces successfully attacked the main body and destroyed the main camp of Kony, code-named camp Swahili, setting it on fire," the statement said.

- - -

FOR SALE: LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY FEATURE
December 10, 2008 blog post by Rob Crilly:

Earlier this year photographer Kate Holt and I chartered a plane to fly from Dungu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to the tiny village of Doruma which was recovering from repeated attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army. We found people living in fear of the next assault, as LRA raiding parties roamed the jungle looking for sex slaves, porters and fighters.

We uncovered evidence that Joseph Kony was cynically using a halt in hostilities - called to allow peace talks - in order to rearm, recruit and reorganise. With food distributed by aid agencies and satphones delivered by the Ugandan diaspora, his fighting force was more efficient that ever. And one his key aides, a recent defector, told us that Kony would never sign up to peace.

FOR eight days Raymond Kpiolebeyo was marched at gunpoint through the steaming Congolese jungle, not knowing whether he would live or die. For six nights he slept with eight other prisoners pinned under a plastic sheet weighted down with bags and stones to prevent escape. Their sweat condensed on the sheeting inches above their faces before dripping back and turning their plastic prison into a stinking, choking sauna.

He was a prisoner of the Lord’s Resistance Army, a cult-like band of brutal commanders and their brutalised child soldiers.

“They told us that if one of use tried to escape we would all be shot,” said Raymond, a 28-year-old teacher from the town of Doruma, close to the border with South Sudan.

In the end the story was commissioned but never ran. So, I am offering a 2000wd feature, an unparalleled insight into the bizarre world of Joseph Kony, for sale. Please contact me by the using the comments section below…



Photo: Two young children stand outside their hut in the moonlight in Dungu, in North Eastern DR Congo, on 19 June, 2008. (Photo by Kate Holt kateholt.com)

Note, although Rob does not mention a price, in the comments at his blog post, he says he is open to offers. I would be most grateful for any ideas or suggestions that would help the article get published. If anyone reading this is able to sponsor the article (or knows someone who can) for publication here at Sudan Watch, Uganda Watch and Congo Watch, please email me. The plight of the poor people of Northern Uganda and LRA victims must not be forgotten. Please help in any way possible. Thank you.
- - -

WHO ARE UGANDA'S LRA REBELS?
December 14, 2008 factbox from Reuters:

WHAT HAS HAPPENED:

Thousands of people have been killed and 2 million displaced during the 22 years of fighting between Kony's rebels and the Ugandan government. The conflict has destabilised parts of oil-producing south Sudan and mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Last October LRA fighters carried out a series of raids near Congo's porous northern border with Sudan, looting homes and burning buildings in a pattern similar to months of violence. LRA fighters killed at least 52 people, and abducted another 159 children and 10 adults during attacks in northern Congo in September, that country's U.N. peacekeeping mission, MONUC, said.

A landmark truce was signed in August 2006 and was later renewed. But talks brokered by south Sudan collapsed last April after Kony failed to sign the pact as planned.

Mediators gave Kony until the end of November to give his final approval to the peace deal. However, he again failed to appear to sign a final peace deal and told traditional elders at the end of last month he would still not sign a final peace deal until an international arrest warrant for him is scrapped.

Kony is wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for his role in a conflict that has destabilised a swathe of central Africa.

THE LRA AND A HUMANITARIAN CRISIS:

Self-proclaimed mystic Kony began one of a series of initially popular uprisings in northern Uganda after President Yoweri Museveni seized power in 1986. But his tactics of kidnapping recruits and killing civilians alienated supporters.

The LRA was infamous for abducting children for use as soldiers, porters and "wives". Although there are no universally accepted figures, the children are believed to number many thousands. Some are freed after days, others never escape.

Kony's force was once backed by Khartoum as a proxy militia, although Sudan said it cut all ties with it. Kony quit his hideouts in south Sudan in 2005 for the Democratic Republic of Congo's remote Garamba forest.

Many northerners reviled the LRA for its atrocities, but also blamed Museveni for setting up camps for at least 2 million people as part of his counter-insurgency strategy, fuelling one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

WHAT DOES KONY WANT?

Kony has said he wants to rule Uganda by the Biblical Ten Commandments, but at peace talks his group also articulated a range of northern grievances, including the theft of cattle by Museveni's troops and demands for more political power.

- - -

PROFILE: Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army

By David Blair
The Daily Telegraph
November 29, 2008

When Joseph Kony's minions began peace talks with Uganda's government in 2005, their first task was to think of some coherent aims on behalf of their psychotic leader.



Photo: Joseph Kony is estimated to have abducted more than 20,000 children to fight as footsoldiers in the Lord's Resistance Army (Reuters photo)

Kony, who is about 47 and holds the distinction of being the first man ever to be indicted by the International Criminal Court, has waged war with no purpose since 1988.

He began his campaign in Northern Uganda, posing as a messianic figure who communed with holy spirits. The nearest Kony ever came to a political goal was a pledge to rule Uganda according to the Ten Commandments.

At the beginning, he won some followers largely because President Yoweri Museveni had ignored Northern Uganda and excluded Kony's Acholi people from power.

By 1992, Kony had staked his claim to be fighting in the name of the Lord by naming his movement the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). But his rebellion amounted to a vicious cult, not a classic insurgency, and had no purpose save rebellion itself.

Consequently, no-one would volunteer to fight for Kony's non-existent cause, leaving him with little choice but to abduct children and force them to become his footsoldiers. How many innocents have suffered this fate is unknown – but the official estimate of 20,000 is almost a decade out of date. The real total may be two or three times higher.

The peace talks with Uganda's government have yielded a draft agreement, which Kony's representatives insist he will sign.

But a paper deal may not abate his murderous campaign.

Kony has been driven from Uganda, where no LRA attacks have occurred for almost three years. Instead, Congo's defenceless people are now his chosen victims.

Even if Kony makes peace with Uganda, his onslaught in Congo may continue.

Africa's children will only be safe when this mystical psychopath meets his well-deserved end.

- - -

MAP OF SUDAN SHOWING JANUARY 1, 1956 LINE OF DEMARCATION

This is an interesting map. Click here for a larger view.



Source: US Government
U.S. Policy Toward Sudan
Robert B. Zoellick, Deputy Secretary of State
Testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Washington, DC
September 28, 2005

[Cross posted today at Sudan Watch's sister sites Congo Watch and Uganda Watch]
- - -

UPDATE SUNDAY 14 DECEMBER 2008

December 14, 2008 Voice of America News report - excerpt:

A joint statement, signed by the three governments' chiefs of military intelligence, say the forces destroyed the main camp of LRA leader Joseph Kony and set it on fire. There was no immediate word on Kony's fate but the statement said the operation was still in progress.

Full story: AFRICAN NEIGHBORS ATTACK UGANDAN REBELS.

SNAPSHOT - GOOGLE'S NEWSREEL SUNDAY EVENING GMT 14 DECEMBER 2008

Regional forces launch offensive against Uganda's rebel group
Xinhua, China - 28 minutes ago
KAMPALA, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Military forces from Uganda, southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) launched an attack on Sunday morning on ...

UPDF attacks Kony
Daily Monitor, Uganda - 1 hour ago
The UPDF yesterday attacked the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels, ending a 29-month ceasefire and signalling the complete failure of peace talks meant to end ...

UPDF planes attack Kony's Congo base
New Vision, Uganda - 1 hour ago
By Henry Mukasa UGANDA, South Sudan and DR Congo yesterday morning jointly attacked Joseph Kony’s rebels hiding in Garamaba forest. ...

Congo war hurts cross-border trade
New Vision, Uganda - 1 hour ago
By Samuel Balagadde THE political turmoil in DR Congo is frustrating cross-boarder trade between the with Uganda, a top businessman complained over the ...

Ministers want sanctions on LRA leader
New Vision, Uganda - 1 hour ago
By George Kalisa THE Foreign ministers of the member states of the Tripartite Plus Joint Commission have called on the UN Security council to impose travel ...

LRA base 'attacked' in Uganda
Aljazeera.net, Qatar - 3 hours ago
Troops from Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and southern Sudan have attacked the bases of Uganda's Lord's
Resistance Army (LRA) in eastern Congo, ...

Joint operation against Ugandan rebels begins
Radio Netherlands, Netherlands - 3 hours ago
Military forces from Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and southern Sudan have begun a joint operation against Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), ...

Ugandan rebels face joint offensive in DRCongo
ABC Online, Australia - 3 hours ago
By Africa correspondent Andrew Geoghegan Three central African countries have launched a joint offensive against Ugandan rebels in the Democratic Republic ...

African neighbours in joint raid on Ugandan rebels
AFP - 4 hours ago
KAMPALA (AFP) — Forces from Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and southern Sudan launched a joint military operation Sunday against Uganda's rebel ...

Governments launch military offensive on Uganda rebels
Reuters UK, UK - 4 hours ago
By Jack Kimball KAMPALA, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and south Sudan launched a joint military offensive on Sunday against ...

Armies 'attack Uganda rebels'
BBC News, UK - 5 hours ago
Three African armies have launched a joint offensive against Ugandan rebels based in eastern DR Congo, military officials say in Uganda. ...

FACTBOX-Who are Uganda's LRA rebels?
Reuters AlertNet, UK - 5 hours ago
Dec 14 (Reuters) - The governments of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan on Sunday launched a joint military offensive against the ...

African Neighbors Attack Ugandan Rebels
Voice of America - 1 hour ago
By VOA News Three central African governments say their armies have launched a joint offensive against Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army. ...

Nations launch offensive against Uganda LRA rebels
Reuters South Africa, South Africa - 2 hours ago
By Jack Kimball KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and southern Sudan launched a joint military offensive on Sunday against Ugandan ...

African Armies Conduct Joint Offensive Against Ugandan
TransWorldNews (press release), GA - 2 hours ago
Armies from Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan have reportedly engaged in a joint offensive against Ugandan rebels based in the eastern DR ...