UNAMID says SLA-Minnawi accused Sudan of recent attacks on Um Martei in N. Darfur and Abu Dangal in S. Darfur

UNAMID says former Darfur rebel group SLA-Minnawi accused the Government of Sudan (GOS) of attacking Um Martei, an area under SLA-Minnawi control in North Darfur on 23 November 2008.

The attack happened a day after SLA-Minnawi accused GOS of attacking the village of Abu Dangal in South Darfur last week, stealing 52 camels, abducting two children and dropping four bombs.

GOS has said its only military operations in Darfur are in self-defense or against bandits, not rebels.

Here is the full story by Heba Aly in Khartoum, Sudan.

SUDAN ACCUSED OF SECOND ATTACK IN A WEEK ON FORMER REBEL GROUPS

November 26, 2008 (Bloomberg) - A faction of the Sudan Liberation Army led by Mini Arkou accused Sudan of attacking an area in Darfur under its control for the second time in less than a week, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the area said.

The faction, the only major rebel group to have made peace with the Sudanese government, told peacekeepers three people were killed and several others injured when government forces attacked Um Martei village, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) southeast of Dar el Salam in northern Darfur on Nov. 23, the UN mission, known as Unamid, said late yesterday in an e-mailed statement.   The attack comes a day after the same group accused the army and government-allied militia of attacking the Abu Dangal area in South Darfur last week, stealing 52 camels, abducting two children and dropping four bombs.

Minawi was the only major rebel leader to sign the 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement, which put in place a cease-fire between the two sides and gave Minawi a post as presidential adviser in the government.   No one answered the phone when Bloomberg News called the Interior Ministry today seeking comment. The government has said its only military operations in Darfur are in self-defense or against bandits, not rebels.

On Nov. 12, Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir announced an “immediate” and “unconditional” cease fire in Darfur and a campaign to disarm militias as part of a series of measures aimed at solving the six-year Darfur crisis in which some 300,000 people have been killed and 3 million others have fled their homes.

To contact the reporter on this story: Heba Aly in Khartoum via Johannesburg at abolleurs@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: November 26, 2008 03:00 EST

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Reinforcement of UNAMID Force at Kalma Camp

October 05, 2008 - UNAMID report:

A UNAMID Military Force from Nyala, Sector South, was dispatched to Kalma camp to reinforce the UNAMID Police at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp, as a result of recent alleged threats of attack on the camp by the Government of Sudan (GoS) Forces. The team provided overnight protection at the camp and also provided security at the site of the helicopter crash of 29 September 2008.

The team is composed of 1 platoon with one Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) present around the clock on a rotational basis of 12 hours for each Platoon. The team also reinforced the patrol from the Community Policing Centre (CPC).

U.N.: Aid to Darfur refugees not limitless - UNAMID police are now patrolling Kalma camp on a round the clock basis

U.N.: AID TO DARFUR REFUGEES NOT LIMITLESS
November 28, 2008 (AP) report from Kalma Camp, Sudan:

The United Nations'' humanitarian chief says a solution must be reached quickly for Darfur''s refugees, warning that international aid for their camps is not unlimited.

John Holmes has made the comments during a tour Tuesday of Kalma camp, home to around 100,000 of the 2.5 million people displaced by fighting in Darfur since 2003.

Earlier this month, he launched an appeal for 2.2 billion U.S. dollars in donations to fund U.N. aid to Darfur.

Holmes says refugees and displaced people are "reasonably well settled in these camps" but questions "how long we can go on like this."

He says solutions must be found quickly "so we don''t have to go on doing this indefinitely." He warns that the "generosity" of international donors "has its limits."

Source: alwatandaily.alwatan.com
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Photo: U.N. Humanitarian Chief John Holmes, 2nd left, listens to an aid worker, far left, in Kalma refugee camp in southern Darfur, Sudan Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008. Holmes warned Tuesday that international aid for millions of Darfur residents cannot go on indefinitely and said the Sudanese government and rebels must negotiate a solution that would allow the displaced to return home. (AP Photo/Sarah El Deeb)
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UN HUMANITARIAN CHIEF CONCERNED ABOUT LONG-TERM DARFUR AID
November 25, 2008 (AFP) report from Kalma Camp, Sudan:

The top U.N. humanitarian official Tuesday asked how long the world could fund relief efforts in Sudan's Darfur, where aid workers are attacked almost daily after nearly six years of war.

John Holmes, the U.N. emergency relief coordinator, made the remarks on his third visit to Darfur while visiting Kalma Camp, which houses around 100,000 of the 2.7 million people displaced by the fighting in western Sudan.

The consequences of an uprising by ethnic rebels against the Sudanese government in February 2003 and the ensuing repression from the standing army and Arab militias sparked the world's biggest humanitarian relief effort.

"I think in some ways it has continued to deteriorate in the sense that there's still displacement going on, there's still violence. I think it's not, in many cases, an emergency," Holmes told reporters.

"People are reasonably well settled in these camps. Unfortunately that's a problem in itself but people are not dying of starvation.

"The problem is that people have been in camps four or five years now, how do you tackle that problem...how long can we go on like this?" asked the U.N. supremo on humanitarian aid.

On Thursday, the U.N. launched a formal appeal for $1.56 billion from donors to bankroll aid work in Sudan that is expected to cost a total of $2.2 billion in 2009.

"This is a billion-dollar operation to help two-thirds of the population of Darfur. We need to find some solutions quickly so that we don't have to go on doing this indefinitely," said Holmes.

Asked how long he felt the international community could continue to fund the operation, Holmes said: "You can't put a timescale on it. It depends on the generosity of the donors, which has been there so far. But that generosity has its limits."

Source: Morning Star/Dow Jones
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UNITED NATIONS URGES MORE SECURITY FOR DISPLACED AT SUDAN CAMP
November 26, 2008 (Bloomberg) report by Heba Aly in Khartoum, Sudan:

A camp for Sudanese people displaced by fighting in the western Darfur region needs more protection, the United Nations’ humanitarian chief said.

At least 33 civilians died and 108 were wounded at the Kalma camp in August when government security forces opened fire on its occupants. Sudan’s government claimed police were responding to fire from inside the camp, which houses more than 80,000 people. The UN-led peacekeeping mission in Darfur, known as Unamid, has since increased its presence in the area.

“Unamid police are now patrolling the camp on a round the clock basis, which has helped people to feel safer,” John Holmes, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said in a statement e-mailed after he visited the camp. “But we still need to do more, not least to ensure women can feel safe as they move in and out of the camp.”

Holmes is on a six-day tour of Sudan that began yesterday in Darfur. At least 300,000 people are estimated to have died and about 3 million forced to flee their homes in the region since 2003, when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated government complaining of marginalization.

Unamid has long complained that it is short of the troops and equipment -- especially military helicopters -- required to carry out its duties. Almost a year after it began deploying, less than half the mandated 26,000 soldiers, police and staff are on the ground.

To contact the reporter on this story: Heba Aly in Khartoum via Johannesburg at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.

Photo: Hamudi Abdullah Mohammed witnessed the death of his parents during an early morning militia attack on his village in Darfur. This photo was taken at the Kalma camp for displaced people, near Nyala, capital of South Darfur. (UNICEF/Shehzad Noorani)

We do not know who killed Garang – Pagan

Al-Intibaha reports [South Sudan's] SPLM Secretary General Pagan Amum’s statements in Cairo on the [John] Garang death have caused confusion among SPLM leaders because of the mystery that surrounded the death. “We do not know who killed Garang. We are still looking for the truth,” he said. Amum has questioned the findings of the committee set up to investigate the death. “The report presents questions rather than answers,” he added.

Source: UNMIS Media Monitoring 20 November 2008.

Chadian army ordered JEM forces to move within Sudanese territories - They moved to Tarborra Mountains, JEM’s only stronghold

Chadian president orders confiscation of JEM vehicles

Al-Wifaq reports sources said Chadian President Idriss Deby ordered confiscation of 16 JEM vehicles and sophisticated weapons.

Angered by the measure, JEM leader Khalil left N’djamena for a village near Abeche.

According to the sources, the Chadian army ordered JEM forces to move within Sudanese territories.

They moved to Tarborra Mountains, JEM’s only stronghold.

Source: UNMIS Media Monitoring 20 November 2008.



Map: Sudan, UNMIS Briefing Map. Click here for larger view.

Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir signs decree appointing the National Electoral Commission - Lack of funding impedes Abyei Area Administration’s work

Lack of funding impedes Abyei Area Administration’s work

Al-Khartoum reports SPLM Secretary in Abyei Chol Changat said new Abyei Area Administration is facing difficulties in the form of lack of funding and infrastructure.

He said Abyei Roadmap Agreement continues to be just ink on paper due to lack of funds to meet reconstruction, development and voluntary returns needs.

He said the new Administration is occupying a UN Agency premises because of not being provided with a building.

He said JIU deployment had not been completed in the eastern and central migration routes due to lack of funding and delay of meeting with Abyei Area Chief Administrator.

Source: UNMIS Media Monitoring 20 November 2008.
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Ban hails Sudan’s election body as major progress in north-south peace accord



Photo: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) with President Omar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir of Sudan in 30 January 2008 (UN)

November 26, 2008 (UN) report - Ban hails Sudan’s election body as major progress in north-south peace accord:

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the decree signed yesterday by Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir appointing the National Electoral Commission, calling it a major step towards implementing the accords that ended a two-decade-long civil war in the south of Africa’s largest country.

Organizing free and fair elections next year is a key element of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement concluding the north-south civil war, which killed at least 2 million people and displaced 4.5 million others.

The UN stands ready to support the electoral process. Mr. Ban’s spokesperson Michele Montas told a news briefing in New York today.

On Sudan’s second war front, in the western region of Darfur, Mr. Ban voiced disappointment that military activity by the Government continues, particularly in light of its announcement of an immediate ceasefire on 12 November. “The Secretary-General reiterates his call for all parties to use restraint and renew their commitment to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire,” his spokesperson said in a statement.

The statement said the African Union-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) investigated reports of aerial attacks by the Government from 21 to 22 November in South Darfur and confirmed visible effects of air strikes, including four craters created by bombing and the presence of unexploded ordnance on the ground.

Meanwhile in Darfur, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes today visited Hamadiya camp, home for up to 40,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) uprooted by the five-year war there between Government forces and rebels. Overall, the conflict has killed an estimated 300,000 people and driven another 2.7 million from their homes.

Mr. Holmes, on the second day of a visit to the strife-torn region, also visited the town Zalingei in West Darfur, meeting with Government and civic leaders and calling attention to the devastating effect that the conflict is having on the environment.

In Taiba, the only Arab IDP camp in Darfur, he met with families and the elderly who told him about the daily challenges they face, including the need for food and secondary school education for their children.

Yesterday he visited the Kalma camp in Nyala, one of the largest sites for IDPs in South Darfur, where he saw first-hand the work of aid organizations, met with schoolchildren and saw a women’s handicraft project.

Tomorrow Mr. Holmes – who is also the UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator – is set to leave Darfur for a two-day visit to southern Sudan.

UNAMID investigated GOS air strikes Nov 21-22 Abu Dangal - SLA attacked army base El-Hilif, N.Darfur - SLA-Unity attacked aid convoy S.Darfur Nov 13?

Sudan government breaks Darfur ceasefire: UN's Ban
November 27, 2008 (Reuters) report via All Africa:

UNITED NATIONS - U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday he was disappointed that Sudan's government was still conducting military activity in Darfur in violation of a cease-fire and urged restraint from all sides.

Ban's office said in a statement Darfur's joint U.N./African Union UNAMID peacekeeping force had investigated reports of air strikes by the Sudanese government from November 21 to November 22 in Abu Dangal in South Darfur.

"(They) confirmed visible effects of air strikes, including four craters created by bombing and the presence of unexploded ordnance on the ground," the statement said.

"The Secretary-General reiterates his call for all parties to use restraint and renew their commitment to an immediate and unconditional cease-fire," the statement said.

"The Secretary-General further expresses his disappointment that military activity by the government continues in Darfur, particularly in light of the 12 November announcement of an immediate cease-fire by the government."

UNAMID peacekeepers said on Sunday a delegation from an arm of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) had reported that government forces and state-backed militias attacked its post in Abu Dangal on Friday, and bombed the area the next day.

The five-year-old Darfur conflict, international experts say, has killed 200,000 people and driven 2.5 million from their homes. Khartoum says only 10,000 have died.

The latest reported violence came just over a week after Sudan's president announced an "immediate and unconditional" cease-fire in the western region.

Sudan is stepping up diplomatic efforts to block a move by the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to indict President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on charges of orchestrating war crimes in Darfur.

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Sudan, Darfur rebels fight deadly clashes

November 20, 2008 (AFP) report via UNMIS Media Monitoring:

Sudanese troops and regional rebels fought deadly clashes in northern Darfur on Thursday, accusing each other of mounting bloody attacks to torpedo a unilateral government ceasefire.

The violence came as the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court sought arrest warrants for three unnamed rebel commanders and eight days after President Omar al-Beshir declared a ceasefire in the war-torn western region.

The army and a witness said fighting erupted when rebels from the nebulous Sudan Liberation Army attacked an army base at El-Hilif in North Darfur state.

Journalist Kurt Pelda, Africa correspondent for Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung who is travelling with Darfur rebels, said the rebels tried but failed to capture a relatively new, well fortified military camp.

"Soon after, two Antonovs came and also helicopters. What I could see is that the Antonovs dropped the bombs just randomly. Later I heard the sound of the rockets that they used (from helicopters)," he told AFP by telephone.

Suleiman Marajan, an SLA commander in the area, said five rebels were killed in fighting with the government forces and charged that government bombing burnt one village "completely." "He (Beshir) broke his ceasefire himself," he said.

Pelda said he saw one dead rebel and several wounded after the rebel attack, which he said came two days after an Antonov struck a suspected rebel area that turned out to be nomadic settlement, dropping 20 bombs.

Army spokesman Brigadier General Mohamed Osman al-Aghbash accused rebels of attacking troops four times since the ceasefire, killing at least four soldiers and leaving another eight missing. He said one soldier was killed in the fighting at El-Hilif on Thursday, but Marajan flatly denied army claims that 30 rebels died.

According to the army, SLA-Unity "attacked" a humanitarian convoy in south Darfur on November 13.

Two days later, they lured army brass to an undisclosed location on the pretence of wanting talks, then killed an officer in an ambush.

On November 16, rebels attacked police in south Darfur, killing an officer and a policeman, and leaving eight policemen missing, Aghbash said. He said the army would continue to hunt down criminals, thieves and kidnappers and accused rebels of staging the attacks in order to provoke the army into a reaction. On Sunday, the army and a senior policy official in the main ruling National Congress Party in Khartoum drew a sharp distinction between a truce in attacks on rebels and an ongoing campaign to flush out "bandits". The government insists that acts of self-defence do not compromise the eight-day ceasefire.

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Department of Public Information, News and Media Division, New York
http://www0.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/sgsm11955.doc.htm

REPORTING CONFIRMATION OF AIR STRIKES LAST WEEK BY SUDANESE GOVERNMENT IN SOUTH

DARFUR, SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR RENEWED COMMITMENT TO IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) investigated reports of aerial attacks by the Government of the Sudan from 21 to 22 November in Abu Dangal, South Darfur, and confirmed visible effects of air strikes, including four craters created by bombing and the presence of unexploded ordnance on the ground.

The Secretary-General reiterates his call for all parties to use restraint and renew their commitment to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.  The Secretary-General further expresses his disappointment that military activity by the Government continues in Darfur, particularly in light of the 12 November announcement of an immediate ceasefire by the Government.  

26/11: The sheer brutality of Mumbai (Jon Snow, Channel 4 News UK & Gavin Esler, BBC2)

Shocking Snowmail just in from Jon Snow at Channel 4 News. Excerpt:

The sheer brutality of Mumbai

What has happened in Mumbai remains tonight almost impossible to encapsulate. The sheer wanton brutality appears to be a step change beyond anything we have seen before.

What happened in Mumbai involved around some 20 men going into the station, a restaurant, several hotels, a Jewish centre, and spraying machine gun fire at women, children and random people, some Muslim, some Hindu, some Jewish, some Christian, some nothing.

They saw the whites of the eyes of the people they killed. They had time to reload the magazines of their guns, time even to think.

I suppose the nearest parallel would be the school killing at Colombine, in Colorado. It’s hard to determine who they are because the group they claim to be has never been heard of. And in India extremism has often been interwoven with sheer criminal gang activity.

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ONLINE: MORE MUMBAI COVERAGE
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Timeline: Major attacks in India
http://tinyurl.com/6d3oj6

Mumbai attacks: in pictures
http://tinyurl.com/5jy5ct

Mumbai terror attacks: interactive map
http://tinyurl.com/5nfyqy

Blog frenzy on Mumbai attacks
http://tinyurl.com/6b433c
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So tonight, as we go to air, it is still unclear how near the end the incident is. It is unclear who is perpetrating it. And it is unclear what the consequence of it all will be. We have a huge team working on it, both here and in the region.

But without doubt 26/11 will go down as another ratchet up in litany of international criminality, in which both politics and religion appear to play a part.

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Newsnight email just in from Gavin Esler, BBC2, 27 November 2008. Excerpt:

"This is a horrific incident which has shocked and outraged people around the world" - Prime Minister Gordon Brown on the Mumbai terror attacks.

India

Who did it and why? We'll have the latest on the terrorist attacks and the hostage situation, plus analysis of the kind of groups who may have carried out these attacks. And the big question: was this internal terrorism or an attack given support from outside India's borders as the Prime Minister of India claims? We will also discuss the future of India after this major terror attack.

Sudan

Gulf rich nations are ploughing money into Sudan - using their fertile land to grow food for their people. This at a time when the people of Darfur are starving and relying on handouts from the international
community.

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UPDATE ON FRIDAY 28 NOVEMBER 2008

Excerpt from Nov 28 Snowmail authored by Jon Snow:

More than 48 hours after the initial assault on key parts of Mumbai by some 20-25 assailants the picture is still very far from clear.

The Taj Hotel - which was declared yesterday to be down to one gunman - has today seen sporadic shooting and evidence of more than one, some say five or six gunmen.

The Indian security Forces are clearly having considerable difficulty in flushing them out.

The death toll stands at 143 according to some sources, with eight foreigners among them.

WERE ANY BRITS INVOLVED?

We're trying to harden up reports on several news agencies that seven of the gunmen may have been British. Other reports suggest they came from Leeds, but there is absolutely no official verification.

Krishnan is anchoring the programme tonight out of Mumbai and will have all the latest. He'll be on the ground with our diplomatic editor Lindsey Hilsum and our Asia correspondent Nick Paton Walsh.

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ONLINE: MORE MUMBAI COVERAGE
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Latest from Mumbai
http://tinyurl.com/5vpwwa

Mumbai attacks: in pictures
http://tinyurl.com/5jy5ct

Mumbai terror attacks: interactive map
http://tinyurl.com/5nfyqy

24 bodies found at Oberoi hotel
http://tinyurl.com/5t6t8q
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ON MORE 4 NEW TONIGHT

We'll have the very latest in our time from Mumbai, with updates from Lindsey and Nick, as well as analysis here.

How justified are suggestions of an intelligence failure on the part of India's counter terror network? And why is it that India's best and brightest commandoes are still engaged in what feels like a small war, rather than a terrorist encounter, 48 hours after the first shots were fired?

And in the studio we'll be speaking with one British citizen, newly returned from his own private terror in Mumbai.

CHANNEL 4 NEWS SERVICES

Online: Watch our video reports at:
http://www.channel4.com/news/watchlisten/video/

Subscribe to RSS feeds, podcasts and mobile phone bulletins.
http://www.channel4.com/news/subscribe/

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EXCERPT FROM NEWSNIGHT BBC2
FRIDAY 28TH NOVEMBER BY GAVIN ESLER

Quote for today

"I hope, and I'm sure, like Londoners, Bombayites are resilient, brave and will withstand this onslaught on the city" - British businessman Sir Gulam Noon, who was forced to barricade himself and several colleagues into a room at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel during the terror attacks in India. Watch the interview here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7754145.stm

Mumbai

More chaos and confusion in Mumbai. Fresh explosions and gunfire at the Taj Palace Hotel and loud blasts at the Jewish centre where commandos have attempted to free several hostages. We - along with the rest of the British media - are investigating comments from the Indian Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh that British nationals are among the captured terrorists. Among our guests tonight, a former CIA operative who has worked in India.

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UPDATE ON SATURDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2008

Breaking news from BBC 07:26 GMT:

Head of Indian commandos says siege at Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai is now over, after three days of violence which left at least 144 dead.

For more details: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news

Bravo Indian commandos. They deserve medals.

Sudanese police demolish Mandela slum, home to around 50,000 people, south of Khartoum

Sudanese Police Demolish 10,000 Shanty Homes

November 27, 2008 (AFP) report from Khartoum, Sudan - via Dow Jones:

Sudanese police have demolished about 10,000 homes in a shanty town south of Khartoum, using tear gas to disperse protesting residents, a security source and witnesses told AFP Thursday.

Police demolished the buildings, home to around 50,000 people, in the Mandela slum which is inhabited mostly by migrants from war-ravaged Darfur and south Sudan, late Wednesday, the official said.

"The demolitions were done for the purposes of urban planning," he said.

Police have cordoned off the remains of the shanty town, 10 kilometers south of Khartoum, and were turning journalists away from the area.

"The police came yesterday with orders for us to evacuate the homes," said Dominique Matthew, a resident, adding that police used tear gas to enforce the evacuations.

The residents remained in the shanty town amid the rubble of their former homes, he said.

LRA's Kony to sign peace deal in Ri-Kwangba, South Sudan Nov. 29 says chief mediator Riek Machar

Kony signs peace on Saturday
November 26, 2008 (New Vision) report by Henry Mukasa:

Photo: LRA leader Joseph Kony

LRA leader Joseph Kony is expected to sign the final peace deal on Saturday to end his two-decade long rebellion which ravaged the north, said the chief mediator, Dr. Riek Machar.

Addressing journalists in Juba yesterday, Machar said: “(Kony) said he will sign. Indications are that he will.”

Machar is also the vice president of South Sudan. “There will be signing on 29th [November],” the United Nations special envoy to LRA affected areas, Joachim Chissano, told the BBC.

Chissano, however, left room for disappointment considering that Kony has failed the peace talks many times in the past.

“I don’t have reasons to doubt that he will show up. I’m more confident than a few weeks ago,” the former Mozambique president said.

Chief Government negotiator Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda yesterday chaired an impromptu meeting with his team over the development.

Spokesperson Capt. Chris Magezi said after the meeting that the mediators had been informed of the “consistent signals” Kony has been sending.

“We are willing to go and participate in that function in Ri-Kwangba (South Sudan),” Magezi said. “We hope Kony is not fooling again as he has done in the past.”

He also hoped that Kony would also meet his obligations after the signing. The Rugunda team, he said, would fly to the signing venue on Friday only if Machar and Chissano, who travelled to Ri-Kwangba today, confirmed the elusive rebel leader had arrived.

If he signs, it will mark a climax of the long-drawn negotiations. Kony disappointed mediators and diplomats when he failed to show up for the signing ceremony on April 14 at Nabanga.

He said he would only sign if the world court withdrew charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against him.

He also wanted to understand how the traditional justice system and the special court which is to try war criminals would work.

However, foreign minister Sam Kutesa said Kony must first sign the peace before his indictment by The Hague is addressed.

Kutesa said Kony was the only serious obstacle to a final peace agreement.

“Our people are ready to sign any time, but Kony is the one who has been eluding us,” he told the BBC.

After a flurry of diplomatic missions to his hideout by Chissano, and a consultative meeting in Munyonyo last week, Kony seems to have been persuade to ink the deal.

Kony and his fighters had moved deep into the DR Congo, where they loot and abduct youth in “preparation for war.”

However, mediators gave Kony up to the end of November to sign the pact. The LRA leader had often called meetings with negotiators and elders from the north but failed to show up.

Abyei: Drawing a firm North-South border is one of the biggest challenges facing Sudan

Question: What happens if the North-South Sudan border issue isn't resolved? Answer: A very ugly, protracted and expensive border war.

Drawing a firm North-South border is one of the biggest challenges facing Sudan.

From Strategy Page, November 24, 2008 - Border Wars:

Drawing a firm North-South border is one of the biggest challenges facing Sudan. The Government of South Sudan knows that this is a divisive issue (literally and figuratively) in the south as well as the north. Several tribes have let it be known they are suspicious of the process, believing that "the line has already been drawn" (by someone in a back room). The border issue, however, has not been settled.

The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) called for a fair and open border demarcation process that would take into account "verbal information" from tribal leaders as well as "physical features of the landscape" (like, don't arbitrarily divide a range of hills).

One of the biggest factors in drawing a North-South border is traditional tribal settlement patterns, which the war wrecked when so many people became refugees.

The boundary is also supposed to take into account "historical materials" like old Sudanese maps and colonial era maps. But there are a lot of problems with the old maps.

Border demarcation is way behind schedule. It was supposed to be done before the 2009 elections.

In 2011 South Sudan is supposed to hold a referendum on independence. Abyei is also supposed to vote that year on whether or not that region will be part of North Sudan or become part of South Sudan if South Sudan opts for independence.

What happens if the border issue isn't resolved?

Diplomats will advocate arbitration, but if that doesn't work the conditions are set for a very ugly, protracted and expensive border war.

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Fighting between northern and southern troops over the contested oil-rich town of Abyei in May raised fears that Sudan could be heading back to civil war, and there have been numerous reports that both sides are re-arming

Former southern Sudan rebels threaten budget block

November 18, 2008 (Reuters) report by Andrew Heavens, a British journalist based in Khartoum, Sudan:

Sudan's former southern rebels threatened on Monday to withhold support from the budget unless President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's party agreed to enact a list of measures promised in the 2005 north-south peace deal.

Relations between the coalition partners have frequently come under strain over accusations by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) that its former foe is dragging its feet on parts of the peace deal. Now the approach of elections scheduled for next year is adding to tensions.



Senior SPLM member Yasir Arman told Reuters the SPLM wanted Bashir's National Congress Party to pass a list of key laws in the current parliamentary session, which ends next month.

"If these laws are not included (in this session), the leadership of the SPLM is thinking of boycotting the endorsement of the budget for 2009," he said.

The measures cover national security, the media, criminal law, and a referendum on secession for South Sudan promised for 2012 under the peace deal.

The National Congress Party controls parliament, but any attempt to force through a budget without SPLM support would lack legitimacy under the peace agreement, and analysts say it is almost inconceivable.

Arman said a high-level SPLM committee was hoping to meet National Congress officials later on Monday to discuss the impasse.

He said all the pending legislation was essential to the democratic transformation of Sudan outlined in the peace deal.

No one was immediately available for comment from the National Congress Party.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION

However, parliament did pass one other key part of the peace agreement on Monday by approving an electoral commission, a key step in organising Sudan's first free national election in 23 years.

"This is a relief," said Riek Machar, vice president of south Sudan's semi-autonomous government in Juba.

He said the make-up of the commission had been agreed between the National Congress Party and the SPLM for about two months but administrative issues had held up the process.

The commission will decide the election date and arrange how voting will work, but other obstacles to the poll remain.

"We still need the census results, demarcation of constituencies and the demarcation of the north-south border," said Wol Atak, a member of the southern parliament.

"Of course it's a step in the right direction, but there are other issues to be solved."

The SPLM fought Khartoum for more than two decades until the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement set up a national coalition government.

The SPLM temporarily pulled its ministers out of the coalition in October 2007, saying the north was blocking parts of the peace deal.

Fighting between northern and southern troops over the contested oil-rich town of Abyei in May raised fears that Sudan could be heading back to civil war, and there have been numerous reports that both sides are re-arming.

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Formulation of an Independent National Electoral Commission (NEC) to oversee Sudan's first major elections in several decades due in 2009

AU chief lauds Sudan's preparations for post-war polls

November 20, 2008 (PANA) report from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia:

The African Union (AU) said Thursday it was delighted at the formulation of an independent National Electoral Commission (NEC) to oversee Sudan's first major elections in several decades due in 2009.

AU Commission Chairperson Jean Ping said the Sudanese parliament's approval of the members of the electoral team was a major milestone in efforts to turn Sudan into a "truly democratic country" in line with the requirements of the comprehensive peace accord.

Sudan has not held elections in decades, as the country has been under military rule.

However, elections are anticipated in 2009, signaling the end of the war in the Southern Sudan region, which lasted for more than 21 years.

Southern Sudanese adults, especially those in the 50-plus age bracket, do not remember participating in any form of elections in their lifetime.

However, CPA signed in Nairobi on 9 January, 2005, set a time-frame for election s in the Sudan.

The elections might also be a referendum on the touchy issues that have consiste ntly divided the North and the South and would mark the official end of the war b etween the Northern and the Southern Sudan, which have been jostling for full co n trol.

Under the 2005 peace accord that ended the war, Southern Sudan has a semi-autono mous government with limited powers to engage directly with other foreign governments.

The Southern Sudan also has its own legislative body and a cabinet, with more th an 10 state governments, including the one in the disputed territory of Abyei, which had its own government formed just months ago after nearly three years of po l itical wrangling.

Ping said in a statement that he was pleased the Sudanese politicians agreed on the setting up and the appointment of the members of the electoral body.

He pledged the commission's support to the peace efforts in the Sudan and also u rged the new electoral team to ensure the polls due in 2009 are conducted in a more transparent, free and fair manner.

"The African Union stands ready to provide assistance to the NEC to ensure that the newly established commission carries out its mandate successfully," he assured.

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Fighting talk from a South Sudan citizen

Here is an excerpt from an opinion piece authored by a Sudanese citizen, published at AnyuakMedia.com

Freedom Is Coming Soon

Written and Witnessed by: Ojwok Yorwin, South Sudan Citizen
Typed by: Stephanie J. Steward, Canadian Citizen
Sent by: Yuanes Kur Payit
November 21, 2008
Posted to the web on November 21, 2008

"My dear fellows, people of Darfur and as wide as South Sudan, "Freedom" remind you that if you do not fight, but stand weak still, your enemy will never give you the freedom you are yearning.  Because "Freedom" is on his way coming soon to you, you must come together and fight for your new and unborn children's futures.  For your land, you must fight; for your futures, you must fight.  Your leaders, government, economy, resources, lands, parents, brothers and sisters, and for love ones who have been used by your enemy, you must fight for. 

Fight!  Fight!  Fight!  For if you do not fight now, you shall have no freedom of any, and you are showing signs of ruined nations and weakness, lost of economy, lack of willing to have opportunities of good change.  If you do not fight, you shall always be slaved and slaves.  Second citizen classes you shall become in your own land, South Sudan or Darfur if you do not fight for your freedom."  Fight for your rights and Freedom.   "Freedom is coming soon."

Freedom will not come if you do not fight or if you show omens of limitations.  Therefore, fight; use any tool that you have in your hand now.  Unite and stand strong as one nation, South Sudan.  Darfur must do the same.  One dialogue, one heart, and one hand you must become to gain freedom.  Held "Freedom" the responsibilities of why you are fighting because He is coming soon, "Freedom" is coming soon."

For any comment, please feel free to contact Yuanes Kur at ykur29face@gmail.com

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SUNA's investigating Sudan Tribune's accusation of a hoax and fabricated interview with UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband re ICC

The fishy Sudan Tribune story claiming that Sudan's news agency (SUNA) interview with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband was fabricated and a hoax [see Sudan Watch November 21, 2008] gets more interesting and gives a good insight into the veracity of Sudan Tribune and quality of its reports. According to the following report published by Sudan Tribune today, SUNA's source says its reporter in Damascus assured them that he has Mr Miliband’s interview recorded on tape:

Sudan news agency investigating alleged interview with British FM

November 23, 2008 (KHARTOUM) - The head of Sudan official news agency (SUNA) announced that an investigation is underway into an interview with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband published last Wednesday.

SUNA’s managing director Awad Jadain told the independent Al-Ahdath daily in Khartoum that a “full blown” inquiry into the interview will be conducted.

Jadain declined to go into any details on whether they have a permanent office in the Syrian capital or if they have a reporter in the region, the newspaper said.

The British embassy in Khartoum had issued a statement saying that the SUNA interview conducted by its reporter Syria is fabricated.

“The statements that SUNA news agency attributed to the Foreign Secretary David Miliband on November 19 are completely inaccurate” the embassy spokesperson said in a statement.

“The Foreign Secretary did not give any interview to SUNA. Nor did he speak about Sudan in the terms described during his recent visit to Damascus” the spokesperson added.

An unidentified source in SUNA told Al-Ahdath that its reporter in Damascus assured them that he has Miliband’s interview recorded on tape.

SUNA’s reporter in Damascus quoted Miliband as saying in an interview that London and Paris are working together to introduce a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution deferring International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment of Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir.

“The UK supports the international efforts undertaken in the UNSC aiming to suspend a decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir for another year” Sudan’s state agency quoted Miliband.

“We realize that these international measures will not solve the crisis but will complicate it even further and may be put the future of peace in Sudan on the brink of collapse” he added.

But the British embassy stressed that UK policy regarding on the ICC is “unchanged”.

“The UK continues to urge the Government of Sudan to co-operate with the ICC and to take bold, ambitious and concrete action to bring peace in Darfur” the embassy spokesperson said.

In mid-July the ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo announced that he is seeking an arrest warrant for Al-Bashir.

Ocampo filed 10 charges: three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder. In early October ICC judges have officially started reviewing the case in a process that could possibly drag on to next year.

The African Union, Arab League, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) called for invoking Article 16 which allows the UNSC to suspend the ICC prosecutions in any case for a period of 12 months that can be renewed indefinitely.

But Western members of the UNSC such as US and France made it clear that they would veto such a resolution was introduced at this point in time.

Sudanese officials have expressed increasing optimism that they can secure a suspension before the end of the year.

SUNA published a report this week saying that France and Britain have agreed to boost efforts to push for a deferral following efforts exerted by Syria, the current president of the Arab League, to persuade the two permanent members of the Security Council.

But asked about the news, French diplomatic sources speaking with Sudan Tribune from Paris expressed surprise and reiterated that France had not changed its initial stance on the necessary cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

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NOTE FROM SUDAN WATCH

My guess is that Mr Miliband was interviewed on his visit to Syria, and the quote, taken out of context, was off the record. Sudan Tribune reported the words "fabricated" and "hoax". In actual fact, according to the following excerpt from Sudan Tribune's report, this is what was stated:

"....according to a statement by the British embassy in Khartoum.

“The statements that SUNA news agency attributed to the Foreign Secretary David Miliband on November 19 are completely inaccurate” the embassy spokesperson said in a statement.

“The Foreign Secretary did not give any interview to SUNA. Nor did he speak about Sudan in the terms described during his recent visit to Damascus” the spokesperson added.

SUNA’s reporter in Damascus quoted Miliband as saying in an interview that London and Paris are working together to introduce a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution deferring International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment of Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir.

“The UK supports the international efforts undertaken in the UNSC aiming to suspend a decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir for another year” Sudan’s state agency quoted Miliband.

“We realize that these international measures will not solve the crisis but will complicate it even further and may be put the future of peace in Sudan on the brink of collapse” he added.

But the British embassy stressed that UK policy regarding on the ICC is “unchanged”.

“The UK continues to urge the Government of Sudan to co-operate with the ICC and to take bold, ambitious and concrete action to bring peace in Darfur” the embassy spokesperson said.

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MESSAGE TO SUDAN TRIBUNE

Please publish a copy of the statement issued by the British Embassy saying that the SUNA interview was "fabricated". My understanding of your report is that the Embassy used the word "inaccurate" not the word "fabricated".

The British are masters of the English language. Going by Sudan Tribune's reports, the way I see it, the British Embassy in Khartoum confirmed that Mr Miliband did not actually give an interview to SUNA itself regarding Sudan and that what he was quoted as saying isn't a change to the UK's policy regarding the ICC, namely: “the UK continues to urge the Government of Sudan to co-operate with the ICC and to take bold, ambitious and concrete action to bring peace in Darfur”.

See? Diplomatic speak in action. Whatever Mr Miliband might have said, he knew he could claim it as being off the cuff. Probably, the quote was taken out of context and no interview was actually granted to SUNA enabling the British Embassy in Khartoum to deem the so-called interview as "inaccurate" because the UK's policy of supporting the ICC has not changed, ie “the UK continues to urge the Government of Sudan to co-operate with the ICC and to take bold, ambitious and concrete action to bring peace in Darfur”.

On reading the Sudan Tribune's report, the British Embassy in Khartoum did not actually state that the interview was "fabricated" or a "hoax". The Sudan Tribune's reporters took it upon themselves to report the words "fabricated" and "hoax".

Thanks for the entertainment chaps. Be very careful of what you report. I'm watching you!

Leader of Sudan's Umma party, killed in a car crash

Sudanese opposition leader killed in car crash
November 22, 2008 Associated Press report:

KHARTOUM, Sudan - The secretary general of a Sudanese opposition party was killed in a car crash Saturday on a highway outside the capital, dealing a blow to the party as it prepares for elections expected next year.

Abdel Nabi Ahmed, of the Umma party, was driving with his two sons south of Khartoum when the accident occurred. His sons survived.

Party officials said his death comes at a critical time for the party, with national and presidential elections expected in 2009.

Originally from Darfur, Ahmed, 58, was seen as a figure capable of rallying the people of the vast western region of Sudan, where rebels have been at war with government forces and allied militiamen since 2003.

The party has captured Darfur votes in past national elections. The party's leader, al-Sadek al-Mahdi, was the last democratically elected prime minister. He was unseated in 1989 by current President Omar al-Bashir in a military coup.

The Umma party has since splintered into a number of factions.

Party leader al-Mahdi was not in Sudan Saturday, but was expected to return for Ahmed's funeral Sunday, said Sara Nugdallah, a senior party member.

Mourners began to gather Saturday outside the party's headquarters in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum, Sudan's capital.

+ + + Rest In Peace + + +

UN launches $2.2 billion 2009 Sudan Work Plan, part of the largest predominately humanitarian appeal in the world - $1.05 billion is for Darfur

This news report makes one think about the number of lives and taxpayers' dollars, and unimagineable grief and suffering, that a handful of so-called "rebels" have cost Sudan, Chad and the rest of the world over the past 25 years.

The UN's fifth annual Work Plan for Sudan, valued this year at $2.2 billion, is part of a $7 billion appeal - the largest predominately humanitarian appeal in the world - $1.05 billion is for Darfur alone.

One wonders how many taxpayers' dollars are needed for the UN's 2009 Chad Work Plan, not to mention Northern Uganda and DR of Congo where, compared to Darfur, worse things are happening to a lot more people, especially women and children.

WORK PLAN FOR SUDAN IS LAUNCHED IN GENEVA 

Excerpt from (UN/MaximsNews) Press Briefing by Michele Montas, Spokesperson for Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, UN Headquarters, New York, Thursday, November 20, 2008:

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and the UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes in Geneva today participated in the launch of the 2009 Sudan Work Plan, which is part of this year’s seven billion dollar Consolidated Appeal launched yesterday.
 
The largest component of the 2009 Appeal, the Work Plan for Sudan is valued at $2.2 billion.

This fifth annual work plan remains the largest predominately humanitarian appeal in the world. 

Almost half of the funding, or $1.05 billion, is for Darfur, where approximately 4.5 million people continue to be in need of aid after six years of conflict. 
 
In Darfur, out of a population of more than six million, some 2.7 million people have been displaced, mostly into camps, and millions more require life-saving assistance in some form.
 
Elsewhere in the country also there is an urgent need for humanitarian support, not just to save lives but to shore up a peace process that remains fragile.
 
In some regions, more than half the people do not have access to clean water, and many less have proper sanitation.
 
In the east, malnutrition rates are over the emergency threshold, and in parts of Blue Nile diarrhea is still a leading cause of death.
 
In 2008, the United Nations and its partners managed to build and repair roads and schools; clear mines; vaccinate children; provide food, water and shelter to millions; and help thousands of Sudanese uprooted by conflict to return home  Continuing violence, however, did hamper programmes, and resources were stretching by rising international commodity prices.

Meanwhile, I'm hard pressed to find news of anyone expressing outrage that Sudanese rebels still roam around Sudan and Chad with truck-mounted rocket launchers, grenade launchers and machine guns while their leaders freely travel and direct their Darfur war from bases in Europe where they enjoy freedom, Western hospitality and luxurious lifestyles. See photos here below.
- - -

Darfur SLM rebel group leader Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur



Photo: Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur, Chairman of Darfur rebel group Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) in self imposed exile in Paris, France.



Photo: Fat cat SLM chief Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur is too much of a scaredy cat to live with his followers in Sudan. Coward.

See report from Paris, France Oct. 20 2008: SLM chief dismisses reports about meeting with Sudan’s First Vice-President in Chad.
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Darfur JEM rebel group leader Khalil Ibrahim



Photo: From the left Pagan Amum, Khalil Ibrahim, Yasir Arman and Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth are posing for a photo, somewhere in Darfur not far from Chad border Oct 30, 2008 (Photo E.L. Gatkuoth/ST)

See Sudan Tribune article from Washington Oct. 30 2008: SPLM and JEM agree to strengthen relations - SPLM’s Salva Kiir and JEM’s Khalil Ibrahim to meet very soon -official
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Rebel bases make the Sudan-Chad border a powder keg



The following series of photos and captions are from The New York Times report by Lydia Polgreen April 13, 2008 - Rebels’ Border War Prolongs Darfur’s Misery. Photos are by Lynsey Addario for The New York Times.



The rebels call it a base, but it is nothing more than a dry riverbed. At the border with Sudan, Chadian rebels are fighting a proxy war involving two of Africa's most divided nations. Habib Adam, 15, rode around with other rebels near their base camp on the border with Chad in West Darfur, Sudan.



The rebels paused and looked back as a trail of Arab militiamen, known as the janjaweed, passed by their camp last month, mounted on camels. The crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan has raged for the past five years and has also engulfed Chad. About 200,000 refugees have fled into the borderlands, chased by Arab militiamen and government attacks, setting off ethnic battles in Chad that echo those in Darfur.



Chadian rebels drove through West Darfur, Sudan, early last month. The rebels say they receive logistical support from Sudan because they share the same goal of removing Chad's president, Idriss Déby. In early February, this loose rebel coalition very nearly managed to dislodge Mr. Déby in an offensive that almost reached the palace gates.



The rebels' base boasts an impressive array of hardware, including truck-mounted rocket launchers, grenade launchers and machine guns.



A young rebel showed off for a photographer with a weapon. "In Darfur, arms are like sticks," said Ibrahim Hassan, one of the rebels. "They are everywhere. You just need to bend down and pick one up." Political analysts, diplomats and even the combatants acknowledge that both Sudan and Chad are supporting and arming rebellions on each other's soil, and the accusations issued by each capital have grown increasingly bellicose.



The Chadian rebels' camp in West Darfur. Close to a dozen Chadian rebel groups operate in this arid no man's land and each says it will use its rifles and rockets to bring freedom and development to Chad, an oil-rich nation that is nonetheless one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world.



Two rebels stood by a multiple rocket launcher and rocket-propelled grenades at their camp. The rebel groups strung out along the border have been portrayed as pawns of Sudan. And fears that a pro-Sudanese government could seize power in the Chadian capital, Ndjamena, have led much of the world to stick by Mr. Déby, despite the increasing repressiveness of his rule.
- - -

UPDATE - posted 24 November 2008

Source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Date: 20 Nov 2008 - via ReliefWeb
Statement by John Holmes, Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, on the occasion of the Sudan Work Plan launch

Source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Date: 20 Nov 2008 - via ReliefWeb
2009 UN and Partners Work Plan for Sudan
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Dozens of Sudanese soldiers, some high-ranking officers, are in The Hague to testify before the ICC

Photo: The International Criminal Court in The Hague

November 21, 2008 Radio Netherlands report by Mohammed Abdulrahman - Sudanese officers to testify at ICC. Excerpt:

Dozens of Sudanese soldiers, some of them high-ranking officers, are in The Hague to testify before the International Criminal Court. Radio Netherlands Worldwide learned of the soldiers' role in the trial from a well-informed source today.

The court is trying Sudan's government and rebel leaders on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, including the bombing of civilians.

Relatives of the witnesses have also been taken to The Hague to protect them against possible retaliation by the Sudanese government. ICC officials declined to comment on the matter, saying this would violate the court's commitment to protect witnesses and victims.

Rebels

Three rebel leaders were also declared wanted by the ICC on Thursday. They are accused of war crimes in relation to an attack on an African Union peacekeeping base in Haskanita, Darfur, which killed 12 peacekeepers. The prosecutor claims he has information on the identity of the rebel commanders who were allegedly responsible. He is soon to present the evidence in court.

- - -

November 20, 2008 (AFP) report via France 24.com - ICC prosecutor seeks warrants for Darfur rebel leaders , Excerpt:

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court asked judges Thursday to issue arrest warrants for three rebel commanders over a deadly attack on African peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region in 2007.

"I will not let such attacks go unpunished," said Luis Moreno-Ocampo of the incident, in which 12 African peacekeepers were killed and eight wounded.

Moreno-Ocampo made the comments in a statement issued after he presented his case to judges of the ICC in The Hague.

"There are reasonable grounds to believe that these rebel commanders bear criminal responsibility ... for murder, intentionally directing attacks against personnel and objects involved in a peacekeeping mission and pillaging."

Moreno-Ocampo is seeking warrants for an attack, blamed on rebel groups, on African Union (AMIS) peacekeepers in Haskanita, southern Darfur, on September 29, 2007.

It claimed the lives of seven peacekeepers from Nigeria, and one each from Senegal, Mali and Botswana. The identities of two others were never released.

"The individuals against whom the arrest warrants are sought were commanders of rebel groups in Darfur that carried out the attack," said Moreno-Ocampo.

"As commanders, they planned and directed the attack. They commanded forces of around 1,000 men in a convoy of approximately 30 vehicles mounted with heavy weapons to attack AMIS peacekeepers."

The prosecutor would not divulge the names of the rebel leaders or that of their militia groups.

"This is confidential information, because we assess that the best way to ensure they appear before the court is to keep their names confidential for a while," he told AFP.

"Many rebel leaders have said that if the court calls them they will appear. While the judges decide on the warrants, they now have the chance to appear on their own accord. They know who they are."

Photo: Nigerian soldiers bury their colleagues who were killed whilst serving on an African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission to Darfur in 2007. The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court's prosecutor has asked judges to issue arrest warrants for three rebel commanders blamed for killing 12 AU peacekeepers in 2007. (AFP Pius Utomi Ekpei)

More cat & mouse games: Britain says Sudan news agency interview with FM a hoax

Here's a fishy story from Sudan Tribune today. See related stories here below.

Britain says Sudan news agency interview with FM a hoax:

November 20, 2008 (KHARTOUM) - An interview with published by Sudan official news agency (SUNA) with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband yesterday is fabricated, according to a statement by the British embassy in Khartoum.



“The statements that SUNA news agency attributed to the Foreign Secretary David Miliband on November 19 are completely inaccurate” the embassy spokesperson said in a statement.

“The Foreign Secretary did not give any interview to SUNA. Nor did he speak about Sudan in the terms described during his recent visit to Damascus” the spokesperson added.

SUNA’s reporter in Damascus quoted Miliband as saying in an interview that London and Paris are working together to introduce a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution deferring International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment of Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir.

“The UK supports the international efforts undertaken in the UNSC aiming to suspend a decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir for another year” Sudan’s state agency quoted Miliband.

“We realize that these international measures will not solve the crisis but will complicate it even further and may be put the future of peace in Sudan on the brink of collapse” he added.

But the British embassy stressed that UK policy regarding on the ICC is “unchanged”.

“The UK continues to urge the Government of Sudan to co-operate with the ICC and to take bold, ambitious and concrete action to bring peace in Darfur” the embassy spokesperson said.

In mid-July the ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo announced that he is seeking an arrest warrant for Al-Bashir.

Ocampo filed 10 charges: three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder. In early October ICC judges have officially started reviewing the case in a process that could possibly drag on to next year.

The African Union, Arab League, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) called for invoking Article 16 which allows the UNSC to suspend the ICC prosecutions in any case for a period of 12 months that can be renewed indefinitely.

But Western members of the UNSC such as US and France made it clear that they would veto such a resolution was introduced at this point in time.

Sudanese officials have expressed increasing optimism that they can secure a suspension before the end of the year.

SUNA published a report this week saying that France and Britain have agreed to boost efforts to push for a deferral following efforts exerted by Syria, the current president of the Arab League, to persuade the two permanent members of the Security Council.

But asked about the news, French diplomatic sources speaking with Sudan Tribune from Paris expressed surprise and reiterated that France had not changed its initial stance on the necessary cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Sudan has not ratified the Rome Statute, but the UN Security Council (UNSC) triggered the provisions under the Statute that enables it to refer situations in non-State parties to the world court if it deems that it is a threat to international peace and security. (ST)

Note, SUNA's article made Lord Mark Malloch-Brown look bad. It would make him look good if the article was rubbished and/or retracted. I believed SUNA's article (and still do) which is why I published it here at Sudan Watch. More later, if I can find more. Meanwhile, here is some background to the cat and mouse games being played between UK, France and Sudan. The media is being used to fight a war. Clever stuff. Much better than using violence. More entertaining too.

September 14, 2008 Sudan Watch:
UK works with France to block ICC's prosecution of Sudan's President Al-Bashir



Photo: Lord Malloch-Brown UK Foreign Office Minister for Africa (AFP)

September 18, 2008 - Sudan Watch: Hey Africa correspondent Alex Duval Smith: Is your report in the Guardian's Observer true or what? - British official denies plans to freeze ICC indictment of Sudan’s Bashir

September 20, 2008 - Sudan Watch: TRANSCRIPT & VIDEO: Lord Malloch-Brown in Darfur discussion at the Frontline Club



Photo: French Ambassador to the United Nations, Jean-Maurice Ripert (AP/ST) September 19, 2008 - Sudan Watch: France says will block any UN resolution seeking to suspend ICC indictment of Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir - UK denies plans to block ICC indictment of Sudan’s Bashir



Photo: British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, speaks during an interview with the Associated Press, in Damascus, Syria, on Tuesday Nov. 18, 2008 (AP)

November 20, 2008 - Sudan Watch:
UK supports international efforts undertaken in the UNSC aiming to suspend decision by the ICC to indict Sudan's president Al-Bashir says UK's FM

November 20, 2008 via Sudan Tribune:
France surprised by reports on efforts to suspend ICC move

November 19, 2008 (PARIS) - France expressed surprise over reports disseminated by the Sudanese official media about French and British efforts to suspend the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction on Darfur crimes.

The official news agency SUNA published two days ago reports saying that France and Britain have agreed to boost efforts to vote for a Security Council resolution invoking article 16 of Rome Statue to suspend any indictment of Sudanese president.

SUNA said this move comes after efforts exerted by Syria, the current president of the Arab League, to persuade the two permanent members of the Security Council.

Asked about the news, French diplomatic sources speaking with Sudan Tribune from Paris expressed surprise and reiterated that France had not changed its initial stance on the necessary cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Last October Paris informed a Sudanese delegation led by senior presidential adviser Nafi Ali Nafi that there is no alternative to cooperating directly with the ICC to achieve justice in Darfur.

ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked pre-trial judges last July to issue arrest warrants for Sudanese president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir.

Ocampo filed 10 charges: three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder. Judges are expected to take months to study the evidence before deciding whether to order Al-Bashir’s arrest.

A number of regional organizations including the African Union (AU), Arab League, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) condemned Ocampo’s request and called for a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution deferring Al-Bashir’s indictment.

Speaking at the Assembly of ICC states parties on November 14, the French Ambassador to Netherlands Jean-François Blarel repeated the official position of his country, which leads the European Union, on the necessary cooperation with the ICC.

The European Union "intends to take this opportunity to reiterate the obligation to cooperate with the Court required from the Government of Sudan under resolution 1593 of the Security Council of the United Nations. That obligation to cooperate is not negotiable."

Sudan has not ratified the Rome Statue, but the UNSC invoked the provisions under the Rome Statute that enable it to refer situations in non-state parties to the world court if it deems that it is a threat to international peace and security.

Related stories at Sudan Tribune:
France says ceasefire is not enough to suspend ICC indictment
France denies agreeing to Chinese proposal on Darfur war crimes
France turns down request by Sudan for mediation with ICC

Thanks to The New York Times for linking to Sudan Watch and Congo Watch

Thanks to the Editors at The New York Times for bringing traffic to Sudan Watch and Congo Watch. Here is a copy of today's (Nov. 20) "Headlines Around the Web" at NYT page on Sudan:

Sudan Watch
November 20, 2008
UK supports international efforts undertaken in the UNSC aiming to suspend decision by the ICC to indict Sudan's president Al-Bashir says UK's FM

The Associated Press
November 20, 2008
ICC prosecutor seeks warrants in third Darfur probe

Mick Hartley
November 20, 2008
Ban Speaks Out

BBC NEWS
November 19, 2008
UN reports on fighting in Darfur

CNN
November 18, 2008
U.N.: Reports of fighting, bombing in Darfur

More at Blogrunner »

Note, they've selected Mick Hartley's blog post Ban Speaks Out which says a lot about their discerning taste. Someone has left a comment at Mick's post, saying:

Mick, your irreverence shocks me.

I feel like leaving this comment (but I won't because he enjoys being unkind and having a go):

Hey, pack it in Mick, you don't know what you're talking about when it comes to Ban Ki Moon and Sudan.

Ordinarily, I wouldn't bother ponting out his blog because he twists news too much for my taste but this time he went a step too far. I couldn't let him get away with insulting the great hardworking Ban Ki Moon for no good reason.

Here is a copy of my blog post at North Korea Watch, September 22, 2008.

Ban visits Republic of Korea for first time since taking helm at UN

This must be the trip of a lifetime for UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. My heart goes fuzzy warm whenever I see news or photos of him because he seems such a thoroughly decent and kind human being, the sort anyone would love to have as a relative. Even his name, Ban Ki Moon, sounds friendly and cheery.



Visiting his native Republic of Korea for the first time since assuming his post at the United Nations, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was given a red carpet welcome as he arrived in Seoul, where he and his wife Madam Ban (Yoo) Soon-taek were greeted by Prime Minister Han Seung-Soo (right). The ceremony included a 21-gun salute and a marching band. (3 July 2008)



Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Madam Ban (Yoo) Soon-taek take part in a welcoming ceremony at his birthplace, the village of Haengchi in the Republic of Korea. “This is the trip for which both my wife and I have been counting the days -- the trip back home,” Mr. Ban said. (5 July 2008).



Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pays respect to his ancestors at the village temple in his birthplace, Haengchi village, in the Republic of Korea. (5 July 2008)



Secretary-General Ban-Ki-moon meets with Prime Minister Han Seung-soo of the Republic of Korea, who previously served as President of the United Nations General Assembly. (5 July 2008)



Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon receives a United Nations flag from Yi So-yeon, the Korean astronaut who recently carried the banner into outer space. The Secretary-General took the opportunity to praise the role of women in all fields of work, in the Republic of Korea and throughout the world. (3 July 2008)



Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon receives an honorary doctorate degree from his alma mater, Seoul National University. “As leaders of tomorrow, you should embrace change, not fear it. By changing ourselves, we change the world. By changing the world, we change our destiny,” he told students. (3 July 2008)

Source: UN.org photo stories Homecoming for UN leader
- - -
UPDATE

The New York Times editors have updated their selection of Headlines Around the Web. Today, Nov. 21, it looks like this, with a new post from Sudan Watch:

Opinio Juris
November 21, 2008
How Not to Wage a PR Offensive

Sudan Watch
November 20, 2008
Joint chief mediator Djibril Bassol meets Bahar Idriss Abu Garda, leader of JEM SLM splinter group URF, in El Fasher N. Darfur, W. Sudan

BBC NEWS
November 20, 2008
ICC fending off Darfur challenge

The Associated Press
November 20, 2008
ICC prosecutor seeks warrants in third Darfur probe

JURIST's Paper Chase
November 20, 2008
ICC chief prosecutor seeks arrest warrants for Darfur rebel leaders

More at Blogrunner »

2,000 Sudan-Chad border troops to be deployed in January

November 17, 2008 report from Sudan Tribune - Sudan-Chad border troops to be deployed in January:

November 16, 2008 (NDJAMENA) - The deployment of 2000 troops from Sudan and Chad along the joint border could intervene next January, said the Congo Republic Foreign Minister Basile Ikouebe Sunday.



Photo: Chad’s President Idriss Deby Shakes hand with Sudan’s FM Deng Alor, in Ndjamena Nov 16, 2008

Foreign ministers of Dakar contact group charged with improving relations between Sudan and Chad wrapped a two-day meeting in the Chadian capital, N’djamena today. The member of ce group are: Chad, Sudan, Libya, Gabon, Congo Republic, Senegal and Eritrea.

Congolese foreign minister told reporters on Sunday that the deployment of 1,000 Chadian soldiers and 1,000 Sudanese soldiers is expected to take place during the first month of 2009. He further said that the joint force would monitor the border to observe there are no movements to destabilise the stability in one of the two countries.

The meeting which was chaired by the Chadian foreign minister Moussa Faki Mahamat, adopted the border force budget. It amounts to twenty-one million U.S. dollars.

The 7th meeting which would be held in Khartoum next January would finalize the establishment of the Observation Mission and the mechanism of troops’ deployment. Also, the meeting will define the duties of the general coordinator of the joint force.

Signed in March, the Dakar agreement, which is far from being the first peace agreement between Chad and Sudan, aimed for both countries to stop supporting proxy rebel fighters.

The agreement pledged to "prohibit any activity by armed groups and prevent the use of their respective territories for the destabilization of one or the other" in both countries.

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Note, Sudan Watch 20 November 2008: UN Panel of experts report to UN Security Council depicts an “undeniable” ongoing proxy war between Chad and Sudan

UN Panel of experts report to UN Security Council depicts an “undeniable” ongoing proxy war between Chad and Sudan

November 20, 2008 report by Daniel Van Oudenaren, Sudan Tribune - Sudanese intelligence service implicated in war against Chad, aid groups – UN experts:

November 19, 2008 (WASHINGTON) – Half of all humanitarian vehicles stolen or hijacked in eastern Chad whose whereabouts could thereafter be determined were found across the border in the Sudan in use by individuals associated with armed groups or Sudanese government officials, according to an investigation conducted by United Nations security.

This revelation was made in a report by a UN panel of experts published on Tuesday, in which the experts depict an “undeniable” ongoing proxy war between Chad and Sudan, decreased humanitarian access, increased displacement of civilian populations and severe violations of the arms embargo imposed by the UN Security Council.

The report includes more UN allegations against Sudanese security forces following the UN Secretary-General’s recent claim that Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) had detained and beaten two pilots operating World Food Programme helicopters, while holding the passengers on the aircraft at gunpoint in Golo, Northern Darfur on August 27.

“During the first six months of a wave of carjackings, United Nations security determined during its investigations the whereabouts of a number of vehicles. It established that 50 per cent of the stolen cars were to be found across the border in the Sudan in use with individuals associated with armed groups or Sudanese government officials,” said the panel of experts.

Over a roughly three year period up until the end of July, 129 UN or non-governmental vehicles were hijacked or stolen in eastern Chad, resulting in the death or injury of drivers or passengers in several cases. Fifty-seven of these vehicles have not been recovered to date, said the report.

Sudan and Chad normalized diplomatic relations in November, but Tuesday’s report to the Security Council revealed recent military activity aimed against Chad, coordinated by Sudan’s NISS intelligence branch.

The allegations implicate NISS, directly or indirectly, in some carjackings in Chad. The UN report gave the example of a Toyota Land Cruiser leased from a local merchant in Abeche in Chad by an international organization in May 2008. The vehicle was accosted by four men with automatic rifles, who stole the laptop computers and passports of four passengers. The Chadian owner later tracked the vehicle to El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, where it was being held by Gibril Abdullah, a militia leader and brother of the local police chief.

The merchant was extorted for $3,000 but still did not recover the vehicle, which was last seen in El Geneina freshly painted and inscribed in Arabic with the words “Border Guard,” which the UN panel called a proxy force supplied through military and security channels.

The UN experts presented evidence on coordination between Sudanese security forces and Chadian rebel groups: “Leaders of the Chadian armed opposition groups liaise directly with their NISS counterparts on attack strategy, and ground troops receive their allotted military supplies directly from NISS storehouses along with training in and around El Geneina. During its multiple visits to Western Darfur in 2008 the Panel has watched numerous technical vehicles and trucks clearly marked with the initials of different Chadian armed opposition groups circulating freely.

“In El Geneina itself, UFDD, UFDD-F, RFC and National Alliance vehicles and personnel openly move around town and interact closely with SAF. Resupply columns frequently visit El Geneina market and Sudan Armed Forces (SAF)-military warehouses in order to buy goods and receive supplies from the Government,” the experts told the UN Security Council, referring to the acronyms of Chadian opposition groups.

The panel, which arrived in the SAF-controlled area of Western Darfur in August, claimed to have frequently observed “clearly marked UFDD trucks moving in and out of Government compounds in El Geneina. The Panel has received reports of Chadian armed opposition groups receiving extensive military training on Darfur territory throughout this mandate period. Weapons training of all types has been reported across Western Darfur on different occasions.”

Reportedly, Sudan sends up to three daily flights of arms and other equipment to El Geneina.

The UN panel of experts noted that Chad is likewise engaged in supplying arms, ammunition, vehicles and training to groups opposed to the government of Sudan.

The UN panel of experts claimed that the government of Sudan had attempted to obstruct its investigations. The panel was established in 2005 pursuant to Security Council resolution 1591.

Sudanese-backed rebels and militias have launched attacks on Chad in each of the last three dry seasons, including two attempts that reached the Chadian capital.

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The Head of Sudan’s National Security and Intelligence Service Salah Gosh says press censorship is necessary to protect the interest of the country

Thursday 20 November 2008 report from Sudan Tribune - Sudan spy chief defends press censorship rules :

November 17, 2008 (KHARTOUM) — The head of Sudan’s National Security and Intelligence Service Salah Gosh defended the enforcement of press censorship rules in saying it is necessary to protect the interest of the country.



Photo: Salah Gosh (right) during the meeting with media figures November 19, 2008 (Sudanese Media Center/ST)

“The exceptional measures imposed on newspapers are a result of harmful and irresponsible practices that affected and still affect the nation’s higher and strategic interests” Gosh told a group of media figures today.

Gosh described the press censorship as “legal and constitutional” before adding that it is also “approved by the presidency”.

The statements by Gosh a day after Sudanese authorities arrested over 70 journalists who demonstrated outside the national parliament to protest against press censorship.

The journalists gathered to present a memorandum to the lawmakers asking them to revise Press and Media Law and to make it conform to the interim constitution.

Moreover ten Sudanese newspapers suspended publication on Tuesday as part of the growing protest against state censorship.

But Gosh dismissed the protests stressing that “censorship will not be lifted under pressure from anybody”.

“Censorship was lifted more than once and again imposed because of repeated violations by newspapers to journalism code of ethics and not considering the political interests, foreign and economic interests of the country” he said.

The Sudanese official left the door open for lifting censorship provided “freedom is expressed responsibly”.

The meeting between Gosh and the media figures established a six-man committee to come up with proposals to reach a compromise on the issue of censorship.

Freedom of the press was guaranteed in Sudan in a 2005 peace deal that ended more than two decades of civil war between the north and south, but journalists have repeatedly complained about print-run seizures and other harassment.

Sudanese authorities have stepped up their censorship of Sudanese newspapers after the Chadian rebels backed by Khartoum launched an attack on Ndjamena.

Many Sudanese journalists at the time pointed fingers to their government of masterminding the attack on Ndjamena last February.

Gosh lashed out at journalists who made such allegations during a press conference at the time.

The spy chief, who appeared shaken at the press conference, said that some journalists want to be “fake heroes” by accusing the government of supporting Chadian rebels describing that as “cheap”.

“We know that there are some journalists who are in contact with some embassies and receiving money from them” he added.

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Note this comment by Mr Point, at the article:

Sudan gets a bad report all around the world because of the harmful and irresponsible press censorship. No other country carries out such regular purge of the media. Salah Gosh should stop the irresponsible censorship. It is against national interests.

Joint chief mediator Djibril Bassolé meets Bahar Idriss Abu Garda, leader of JEM & SLM splinter group URF, in El Fasher N. Darfur, W. Sudan

Thursday 20 November 2008 report from Sudan Tribune - Joint mediator meets rebel URF in the capital of North Darfur:

November 19, 2008 (ELFASHER) — Joint Chief Mediator for peace in Darfur met today in the capital of North Darfur, El Fasher, with the leadership of the rebel United Resistance Front (URF), the UNAMID reported today.



Photo: Bahar Idriss Abu Garda, leader of JEM & SLM splinter group URF (ST)

As part of his efforts to reenergize the peace process, Djibril Bassolé, held a meeting with the leadership of the URF. The UNAMID briefing didn’t provide further details about the members of this rebel delegation but the group is led by Bahar Idriss Abu Garda.

Abu Garda, who was formerly a prominent member of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), created last April the URF with other small factions of Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) which splinted from his front last July.

According to the statement, the rebel URF "expressed readiness to comply with the ceasefire agreements, provided that it is not a one-sided declaration and that an appropriate framework is put in place."

The former rebel chief turned Senior Presidential Assistant, Minni Minawi last week told the official SUNA that he had contacts with rebel groups and he said they could join Abuja peace agreement.

ICC's evidence against rebel commanders - 1,000 rebels attacked AMIS' Haskanita camp in N. Darfur on 29 Sep '07 murdering 12 peacekeepers, injuring 8

November 20, 2008 Press Release from the International Criminal Court:

“Attacks on peacekeepers will not be tolerated”. ICC Prosecutor presents evidence in third case in Darfur

Today ICC Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, presents evidence to International Criminal Court (ICC) judges against rebel commanders for their alleged responsibility for crimes committed against African Union peacekeepers in Darfur on 29 September 2007.

This was the largest in a series of attacks against peacekeepers. A thousand of rebel-led soldiers surrounded and attacked the Haskanita camp in North Darfur, 12 peacekeepers were murdered and eight injured.

Such acts constitute war crimes under the Rome Statute of the ICC. “I will not let such attacks go unpunished”, the Prosecutor said.

Based on evidence collected during the third investigation in Darfur, the Prosecution has concluded there are reasonable grounds to believe that these rebel commanders bear criminal responsibility in relation to three counts of alleged war crimes for murder, intentionally directing attacks against personnel and objects involved in a peacekeeping mission and pillaging.

“They planned, led their troops and directed the attack which killed 12 peacekeepers, severely wounded 8 others, and completely destroyed AMIS facilities and property, directly affecting aid and security for millions of people of Darfur who are in need of protection”, the Prosecutor said.

“No one is above the law“, noted Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo.

The Darfur situation was referred to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court by Resolution 1593 adopted on 31 March 2005 by the United Nations Security Council. Investigations commenced in June 2005 and the Prosecution has focused on some of the most serious incidents and the individuals who, according to the evidence, bear the greatest responsibility for crimes in Darfur.

The International Criminal Court is an independent, permanent court that investigates and prosecutes persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes if national authorities with jurisdiction are unwilling or unable to do so genuinely.

The Office of the Prosecutor is currently investigating in four situations: The Democratic Republic of Congo, Northern Uganda, the Darfur region of Sudan, and the Central African Republic, all still engulfed in various degrees of conflict with victims in urgent need of protection.

For more information, please contact:
OTP Public Information Co-ordinator Florence Olara
Florence.olara@icc-cpi.int
+31 (0) 70 515 8723 (office)
+31 (0) 6 5029 4476 (mobile)

OTP Media Liaison Officer Nicola Fletcher
Nicola.fletcher@icc-cpi.int
+31 70 515 8071 (office)
+31 6 5089 0473 (mobile)

[Hat tip to AllAfrica.com ]
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See photos from Haskanita at Sudan Watch, Friday, November 14, 2008: ICC Prosecutor Ocampo seeks arrest warrants next week for rebels' attack on AU peacekeepers in Haskanita, S. Darfur, Sudan 29 Sep 2007 (Part 2)