This curiously worded report by CNN says "Darfur government" has waged "counter-insurgency war against militias" for six years and that the Darfur violence erupted in 2003 after "rebel uprising" against Sudanese government. It's a strange choice of words at this late stage but at least the report refers to the Darfur crisis as a counter-insurgency war and not "genocide".
Fighting has prompted thousands of people in the southern part of Sudan's Darfur region to seek security and shelter at a refugee camp in the northern part of the war-torn area, according to the United Nations.
Photo: A member of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) stands guard near the Sudan-Chad border in 2007.
The U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that fighting in Muhajeria and Shearia between Sudanese government forces, and the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), drove over 15,000 people north to the Zam Zam camp.
The water supply to the camp is becoming strained with displaced people arriving there every day, OCHA said Wednesday.
The government of Darfur has waged a brutal counter-insurgency against militias for the past six years, a war that some international critics have characterized as genocide.
An estimated 300,000 people in the western Sudanese region have been killed through combat, disease or malnutrition, according to the United Nations. An additional 2.7 million people have been forced to flee their homes because of fighting among rebels, government forces and the violent Janjaweed militias.
Fighting continues in the region despite the JEM and local government signing a "goodwill and confidence-building" agreement earlier in February, according to the U.N.
The U.N.-African Union allied peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) will begin building a new community police center near Zam Zam in the next two weeks, the U.N. announced Saturday.
The violence in Darfur erupted in 2003 after rebels began an uprising against the Sudanese government. To counter the rebels, Sudanese authorities armed and cooperated with Arab militias that went from village to village in Darfur, killing, torturing and raping residents there, according to the United Nations, Western governments and human rights organizations. The militias targeted civilian members of tribes from which the rebels drew strength.
Last year, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was charged with genocide by the International Criminal Court for the government's campaign of violence in Darfur.
Under pressure to end the fighting, Al-Bashir in November agreed to an immediate and unconditional cease-fire in Darfur. But the rebel Justice and Equality Movement was not included in the cease-fire talks.
A group of fighters known as arrow boys that are spread in various parts of Western Equatoria State expressed readiness to fight the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) that has engaged in attacks against civilians lately in the State.
The Arrow boys are group of boys who use traditional weapons such as bows, arrows, spears and clubs, treated with poisonous to fight the Lord Resistance Army LRA.
The arrow boys are all over the Western Equatoria State but particularly from Maridi, Mundri, Ezo and Ibba counties.
Raphael Monuku the head of the Arrow boys in Manikakara Payam in Ibba county, said that, "LRA movement appears to be a defeated movement, it has no access to ammunitions and any warfare machinery after joint military attacks launched by the Ugandan, and Congolese troops in mid December 2008.
Reports said that the LRA are using axes, knifes, and woods, to kill the innocent civilians.
The recent attacks on Manikakara in Western Equatoria State caused a lot of destructions and deaths both in Ibba and Maridi Counties.
As a result the citizens especially in the LRA spotted areas don't sleep anymore in their houses, in fear for a surprise attack by the rebels.
But the question remains, can the arrow boys with their manner of fighting be able to defeat the LRA after the Government of South Sudan refused to arm the citizens of Western Equatoria to defend themselves for security considerations.
After terrorising Uganda for 20 years, the LRA has met its match. By Peter Eichstaedt in Soroti, Uganda (No. 51, 19-Jan-2006)
At the Thursday market in Arapai, about ten kilometres outside of Soroti on Uganda’s dry eastern plains, you can get just about anything.
You can buy a cow, a goat, a bicycle, fat stalks of fresh sugar cane, dried peanuts, handmade rope, or even have your machete sharpened.
Fifty kilos of dried kasava root can be ground by hand on a flat stone into flour for bread that will feed you for a month.
The most popular item in the market is malwa, the locally made brew. It’s a lightly fermented grain served in clay pots with hot water and sipped through a long reed.
You can sit in the shade of the thatched roofs for several hours and drink all you want for about 25 US cents. It’s the way locals spend the day, meet friends and catch up on the latest news.
That locals safely walk miles to crowd this market is due to a feared homegrown militia called the Arrow Boys formed less than three years ago.
These local fighters have quickly become the only organised force to defeat the infamous Lords Resistance Army, which for the past 20 years has terrorised northern Uganda, southern Sudan and eastern Congo.
The LRA has kidnapped thousands of boys and girls, converting them into vicious child soldiers and sex slaves. Those who resist are brutally killed or maimed and left to die.
But the Arrow Boys are inflicting serious losses on the LRA.
When the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued indictments this past fall against LRA leader Joseph Kony and four of his top commanders, one was already dead.
“We put him out of action,” said Robert Adiama, one of the militia founders who served as its top intelligence officer. He is now the district’s top government official.
“The LRA faced their first blow in Teso,” he said of the region around Soroti, adding that the Arrow Boys killed or captured more than 40 LRA commanders in the past couple of years.
The key to the Arrow Boys’ success against the LRA has been strong community support and an efficient intelligence network.
“When the LRA is going to move south from Pader,” said Adiama, “we know about it three days ahead of time.” Pader is one of Uganda’s northern districts where the LRA continues to cause havoc despite the presence of the Uganda military.
“We help the people,” he said. “We prepare the community to respond and ask the government for help in doing it.”
The government support comes in weapons distributed throughout villages. And, when an LRA attack occurs, the militia is quickly formed and pursues the rebels.
“The only way to control the situation is rapid response,” explained Adiama.
Because the Arrow Boys have been so successful, they have been incorporated into the ranks of the Ugandan military and have received training, weapons and pay.
The Arrow Boys also protect the region against raids by the Karamajong, the notorious neighbouring ethnic group that has a reputation as cattle rustlers.
“They kill our people when they come,” said Adiama. “They steal our cattle.”
One Arrow Boys commander recently ordered Karamojong cattle rustlers to be shot on sight. The order has resulted in three deaths, one by hanging and decapitation.
“We are not an aggressive people,” insisted Adiama. “If they (Karamajong) want our cows, they can buy them. If they think we have their cows, take us to court.” Otherwise, he says, “armed men stealing cows should be shot”.
Because of years of attacks by the LRA and the Karamajong, thousands of Teso people live in the protected refugee camps serviced by the World Food Programme.
But this, he says, has created social problems, “The people of Teso are not used to camp life. It is like being in prison.”
Although some in the Arrow Boys recently have been accused of selling weapons for cash, skimming money from payrolls and random violence, it has not dampened local enthusiasm for them.
“They rescued me from the LRA,” said Daniel Emoru, a 40-year-old who rides a bicycle and sells pottery.
His father-in-law was killed by rebels and children from his village were taken. But with the Arrow Boys, he says, “We feel safe because the rebels no longer roam the area.”
In the village of the Arasai, where just two years ago the LRA killed 20 villagers and kidnapped four children, one of whom is still missing, the Arrow Boys are admired.
“If possible, they should increase their numbers,” said one villager as he and others played the traditional African game of komweso.
“They have worked hard,” said Jackie Okurut, 45, who weaves rope in the shade of his tiny stall at the Arapai market. “We are now in peace because they did good. Let them continue their work because the Karamajong are still bothering us.”
Under the shady pavilions where they serve malwa, the sentiment is the same. “We are now safe,” said Celestion Elibu, one of the patrons, “but we are still haunted by the memory of our dead relatives.”
Most still turn a wary eye to the north where the LRA remains active. Because of them and the Karamajong, the Arrow Boys remains a vital regional defense force.
“I have a lot of hope the security will improve as long as the government remains stable,” said Adiama, but quickly added, “while the LRA is active, the region is vulnerable.”
Villagers near the eastern Ugandan town of Soroti enjoy a game of omweso in a region cleared of LRA rebels the local militia called the Arrow Boys. Peter Eichstaedt photo.
Peter Eichstaedt is a senior editor with the Uganda Radio Network. URN correspondent Joseph Elunya contributed to this report.
With rebels from several rival factions congregating on the Sudan side of the border, there are worries that if Bashir is indicted, the bandits could form a united front and cross over into Chad.
Irish army chiefs in Chad fear the impending indictment of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for genocide could spark fresh violence in the troubled African country.
Sudan has long been trying to stop a possible International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Bashir on charges of genocide in Darfur, which borders Chad’s eastern flank.
Some 400 Irish troops are based around 40 kilometres from the Sudanese border, with a mandate to protect fleeing refugees.
Commandant Dan Harvey with the Eufor mission said military chiefs are concerned that if Bashir is arrested, a fresh wave of violence could be unleashed, spilling over into Chad.
“This is becoming a cornerstone issue,” Commandant Harvey said.
“It’s the aftermath, or the reaction to that, is what’s of concern. That could affect the regional situation.
“Who knows what the reaction is, it could create a spillover from the Darfur region into Chad, and that might affect Eufor.”
Up to 5,000 rebels are congregating on the Sudan side of the border, being closely monitored by Eufor.
With rebels from several rival factions congregating on the Sudan side of the border, there are worries that if Bashir is indicted, the bandits could form a united front and cross over into Chad.
“We are aware of groups of rebel factions inside the border in Sudan, with some of them up to 1,500-strong,” Commandant Harvey said.
But even if the groups fail to unite, there may still be an increase in skirmishes along the border if moves are made to indict Bashir.
The decision from the ICC is expected to happen in early March, potentially before Eufor hands over control of the mission to the United Nations on the 15th.
Sudan’s security chief has already warned foreigners that outlaws will target them if the President is indicted on war crimes.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Willie O’Dea will visit Cam Ciara tomorrow as part of a whirlwind visit to the area.
Photo of US soldier carrying an Iraqi girl wounded in an SVBIED (Suicide Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device) attack. (Source: Soldier of Africa blog post Power of compassion)
Some Sudanese tribes are calling for a jihad against SLM-Nur because they believe that they are a front for Israel in Darfur.
Darfur is the most 'Islamic' province in Sudan: for SLM-Nur to contact Israel shows that they don’t care for Darfur.
The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has received considerably heavy military logistical support from Israel, Sudan's state media reported.
The shipment has been sent through France, which is in charge of training military personal inside neighboring Chad, the Sudanese Media Center, a news outlet with links to Sudan's security service said.
Sudan accuses Chad of providing military and logistical support for the rebel group's attacks on Southern Darfur.
Chad, however, blames Sudan for the creation of the Union of Resistance Forces, an umbrella group for the main Chadian rebel factions created in late January 2008.
Source: [two reports, copied here below]
Darfur in Israel By Ismail Kamal Kushkush, IOL Correspondent, March 6, 2008.
Photo: "This shows that the movement has no popular base," Shaarani told IOL.
KHARTOUM — The decision by the rebel Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM) faction of Abd al-Wahid Nur to open a liaison office in Israel has infuriated most Sudanese, including Darfurians.
"This will create more divisions in Darfur," Salah al-Fadul Rijal, the current sultan-general of the Fur tribes, told IslamOnline.net over the phone from Nyala, Darfur.
"Some tribes are now calling for a jihad against the SLM because they believe that they are a front for Israel in Darfur. Even some associated with the SLM are denouncing this act."
Nur, himself a member of the Fur ethnic group, has announced opening a liaison office in Tel Aviv to help Darfurians who have sought refuge in Israel.
He praised Israel for "for protecting Darfur youth from genocide" and insisted that his rebellion will change norms and break taboos in Sudan, especially about Israel.
"Our vision of Sudan as we see it would allow for the opening of an Israeli embassy in Khartoum as long as it is in line with the interests of the Sudanese people," Nur told Sudan Tribune from his Paris residence.
Sudan, which does not have diplomatic relations with Israel over its occupation of Arab lands, described Nur's decision as evidence that the Darfur crisis has been manipulated by foreign hands.
Nur's SLM is one a few rebel groups that has refused to subscribe to the 2006 Abuja peace agreement. It has refused to date to participate in peace negotiations.
The Darfur conflict erupted in February 2003 after rebel groups attacked government targets, accusing Khartoum of neglect and discrimination.
Thousands have died because of fighting, drought and desperate humanitarian conditions but there are no accurate account with figure ranging from the government's 9,000 to the UN's 200,000.
Infuriated
Several Darfurian and Sudanese political parties, civil society and student groups have condemned Nur’s decision.
Mahmud Shaarani, a human rights lawyer and head of the Sudanese Center for Comparative Human Rights Studies, one of the first groups to bring the Darfur conflict to attention, has described Nur’s move as "non-sensical."
"This shows that the movement [the SLM-Nur faction] has no popular base," he told IOL.
"Darfur is the most 'Islamic' province in Sudan: to contact Israel shows that they don’t care for Darfur."
Sayed El-Khatib, the director of the Center for Strategic Studies in Khartoum, was shock by the SLM move.
"Even if people are divided on other issues, this is one issue where people have utterly rejected Israel because of its occupation of Arab lands."
The Darfur Organizations Network, a local network of humanitarian NGOs, has condemned Nur's decision "especially when Israel is currently involved in crimes against the Palestinian people."
A week-long Israeli onslaught has claimed the lives of more than 129 people, including more than 40 children, toddlers and newborn babies, as well as 13 women.
More than 400 Palestinians have also been injured in the Israeli air and ground blitz.
Affecting Talks
Photo: "The international community needs to bring people who really represent Darfur," El-Khatib told IOL.
Some predict that Nur’s decision may affect attempts by the international community to unite the negotiating platform of the nineteen Darfurian rebel groups on the one hand and peace talks with the Sudanese government on the other.
"This will delay the attempts to unite these groups and open the door for foreign intervention," says Shaarani, the human rights lawyer.
Abdalla Adam Khatir, a Darfurian writer, disagrees.
He believes that this was an act out of "despair" on behalf of Nur who has not carefully calculated the political ramifications of his decision.
Khatir rules out any impact on the Darfur negotiations.
"This is a side effect of the crisis. The international community is working together to put a road map for peace in Darfur."
El-Khatib, the director of the Center for Strategic Studies in Khartoum, believes that Nur’s action, on the contrary, will help speed up negotiations.
"People are going to see the real face of some the rebel leaders; that they have personal agendas. The international community needs to bring people who really represent Darfur."
* Isma’il Kamal Kushkush is a Sudanese-American freelance writer currently based in Khartoum, Sudan.
Israel has supplied a rebel group involved in the Darfur conflict in Sudan with a considerable amount of weaponry, a new report says.
The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has received considerably heavy military logistical support from Israel, Sudan's state media reported on Sunday.
The shipment has been sent through France, which is in charge of training military personal inside neighboring Chad, the Sudanese Media Center, a news outlet with links to Sudan's security service said.
France maintains a 1,650 soldier mission to Chad as part of the EUFOR mission to protect refugees who have fled the conflict in Darfur in neighboring Sudan.
The JEM which seized the city of Muhageriya about two weeks ago is considered Darfur's most powerful rebel group.
The group managed to capture the city form forces loyal to the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) faction of Minni Minawi, which is the only rebel group to have signed a peace deal with Khartoum.
Sudan accuses Chad of providing military and logistical support for the rebel group's attacks on Southern Darfur.
Chad, however, blames Sudan for the creation of the Union of Resistance Forces, an umbrella group for the main Chadian rebel factions created in late January 2008.
The two neighbors broke off diplomatic relations last year, with each accusing the other of supporting rebel assaults on their capitals.
Although relations were re-established in November, ties still remain tense between the two central African nations.
Photo: An Israeli soldier covers his ears as a mobile artillery unit fires a shell towards Gaza in mid-January. Israel receives at least $2 billion a year in US weapons. (Photo and caption from Press TV Iran report: Sudan: Israel arming Darfur rebels - - -
February 18, 2009 (PARIS) — Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur, the founder of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement, said today he visited Israel recently in a move to boost social normalization between the Sudanese and Israeli peoples, pledging for strategic relations between the two countries.
Photo: Abdel-Wahid al-Nur
The rebel leader confirmed reports published by Israeli press this week about his visit to Tel Aviv. The daily Haaretz had said he paid the visit at his own initiative with some French Jewish, to attend a security conference there. The report also said he met with a senior Israeli security official.
However Al-Nur, who opened an office in Israel since February last year, said that his visit to Israel is like any visit he pays to any country in the world and he wondered why people are focusing on it.
The rebel leader added they reject the hatred that the Sudanese government is teaching to the Sudanese about the Jewish people. He also hailed the positive attitude of the Israeli authorities for providing refuge to the Darfuri who fled the war in Darfur.
"I went there to meet my fellows from Sudan and Darfur particularly. Since the opening of our office there last year, I was thinking about this trip to meet the members of the movement there."
Al Nur also said he held a public meeting attended by more than one thousand of the Sudanese refugees from different parts of the country. He urged them to keep their ties with their families and follow closely the political situation there despite the difficulties of contact.
Sudan, which considers Israel as an enemy state, has no diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv and remains hostile to the Jewish state on the grounds that it is occupying Arab lands. Sudan also is seen by the Israeli government as one of the main supporters of the Islamist Hamas movement after Iran.
The Sudanese government informed Khartoum papers lately that several Darfur rebel movements are armed and supplied by Israel through France. The rebels dismiss this.
Al-Nur said his relation with Israel is founded on the principles of the SLM, which appeals for pacific coexistence between people and the mutual respect of religions and traditions.
"We did not go there to ask for mercy or support but because we deeply feel we have nothing that is preventing us in the SLM from that. Particularly we call for strategic relations between the two peoples in harmony with the interests of the two peoples."
The rebel leader praised the authorities there for giving Sudanese the opportunity to study in the Israeli universities and work there, describing these steps as social normalizations between the two peoples. He also pledged to work for the political normalization between the two countries in the future.
"We got rid of hatred and liberated ourselves from such negative slogans about the existence of Israel, and we want to live in peace with all the people. This would not affect our support for the creation of a Palestinian state besides Israel," he added.
In March 2008 a spokesperson of the SLA military reaffirmed to Sudan Tribune their support for the opening of an office in Israel. Commander Abdel-Rahman Adam Nimer slammed what he described as a "campaign of stigmatization led by the Sudanese government in the name of Islam." He added they "are in no need for religious lessons and are very well aware of the Islamic precepts and have no complex in this regard."
This week the Associated Press distributed pictures of a joint wedding ceremony in Tel Aviv where three couples from Darfur married there. They are part of hundreds of Darfuri who have sought refuge in recent years in the Jewish state, arriving across the border illegally from Egypt.
According to the UNHCR figures, there are some 600 Darfuri in Israel whom local authorities have granted all asylum and work permits. (ST)
February 19, 2009 (PARIS) — Responding to statements made Tuesday by Sudan’s representative to the UN, who criticized France for safeguarding Darfur rebel leader Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur, the spokesperson of the French Foreign Ministry voiced support for the Doha peace process and denied providing financial support to the rebel holdout.
Al-Nur, the chairman of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), has resided in France since 2007. He refuses to participate in the latest round of peace talks in Doha requesting that Khartoum should disarm militias, implement ceasefire before to take part in any peace process.
"We are continuing our efforts to ensure that all the major stakeholders, including the movement led by Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur, are involved in the search for peace," said Eric Chevallier, the French spokesperson.
"As regards the statements of the Ambassador of Sudan to the UN … we wish to clarify that Abdel Wahid Al Nur does not receive any financial support from France for his stay in our country," he said.
Sudan’s Ambassador to the UN, Abdel-Mahmood Abdel-Haleem, had criticized France for sheltering Al-Nur amid ongoing talks with the JEM rebel movement in Doha, Qatar. Al-Nur refuses to participate in the talks until Sudan observes a ceasefire signed in April 2004, takes steps to disarm militias and allows IDPs to return safely to their homeland.
"We note that the French government is still holding a rebel leader from joining the peace process…. He is well protected by the French. We hold them also responsible for any sabotage to the peace process in the Sudan," said Abdel-Haleem.
According to Abdel-Haleem, French president Nicolas Sarkozy promised Sudanese president Omer Al-Bashir on two occasions to expel the SLA leader if he continues to refuse to go to the negotiation table.
Two Sudanese members of a French aid group were killed at the weekend during an attack. Men on horses and camels attacked the people on a road between Kurunji and Khor Abeshe in south Darfur.
“There was a truck carrying a lot of people and they were stopped by 24 armed men that came on camel and horseback, they were suspected to be militia men, but nobody could tell really what militia,” says Kamel Saiki, a spokesperson for the Unamid joint forces.
The French organisation, which is funded by the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office and the Aid Delegation of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has 200 local staff members and is working to provide emergency support and access to healthcare for displaced people.
“Unfortunately, it is a typical case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, they wandered into an ongoing act of banditry,” Saiki told RFI.
Highway robbery is a problem on the roads of Darfur and the UN says more than 200 vehicles were attacked last year.
Earlier in February, the government and rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement signed an agreement in Qatar, which intends to act as the basis of a peace talks.
“I don’t think there was a deliberate targeting of these people […] this illustrates the conditions we have in this part of Sudan,” Saiki added.
President of the Republic Field Marshal Omer Al-Bashir affirmed that Sudan will stand by the people of Palestine as well as rejecting any attempt to sow divisions among the Palestinian people.
This came when the President received at the Guest House Monday Azam Al-Ahmad, the Envoy of the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbass Abu Mazin. During the meeting, President Al-Bashir received a written message from the Palestinian President dealing with the general situations in the Arab world in the light of the relentless efforts to bring to an end the Arab differences and to unify the Arab ranks before holding the meeting of the Arab summit conference in Doha, the State of Qatar.
In this connection, President Al-Bashir stressed the necessity of bringing together the Palestinian factions and ending the differences as soon as possible.
The Palestinian Envoy, on his part, affirmed that the Palestinian people and President support the Sudan in the face of the attempts to intervene in its domestic affairs or targeting its unity and stability, especially from the International Criminal Court. He further lauded the efforts being exerted by President Al-Bashir with regard to unification of all the Sudanese people.
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, the current African Union president, on Tuesday accused "foreign forces" including Israel of being behind the Darfur conflict.
Judges from the International Criminal Court are due to announce on March 4 whether they will issue a warrant for the arrest of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir over allegations that he masterminded genocide in Sudan's Darfur region. U.N. diplomats have told Reuters the warrant will be issued.
But Gaddafi, addressing a meeting on ways to expand cooperation between the United Nations and African Union, urged the Court to stop its proceedings against Bashir:
"Why do we have to hold President Bashir or the Sudanese government responsible when the Darfur problem was caused by outside parties, and Tel Aviv (Israel), for example, is behind the Darfur crisis?"
Gaddafi suggested, without presenting any evidence, that the Israeli military was among those stoking the conflict:
"It is not a secret. We have found evidence proving clearly that foreign forces are behind the Darfur problem and are fanning its fire," Gaddafi said, according to the Libyan state news agency Jana.
"We discovered that some of the main leaders of the Darfur rebels have opened offices in Tel Aviv and hold meetings with the military there to add fuel to the conflict fire." [...] (Writing by Lamine Ghanmi; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
MINURCAT, the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad, numbers 300 police and 50 communications officers.
A Russian helicopter unit is already involved in a UN mission in Sudan, and Russia is also deploying another aviation group to participate in MINURCAT, Churkin said.
Russia is to send a military hospital to Chad and engineers to the Central African Republic in support of UN missions, Russia's envoy has told a UN Assembly General peacekeeping committee.
Vitaly Churkin also said Russia was working to "expand its participation in operations to support peace." He noted that Russian peacekeepers were stationed in the Middle East, Africa, Haiti, and Kosovo.
The UN Security Council has repeatedly voiced its concerns over the activity of armed groups in Chad and the Central African Republic, as well as in the neighboring Sudanese region of Darfur.
The Council approved on 25 September, 2007 the establishment in Chad and the Central African Republic "of a multidimensional presence intended to help create the security conditions conducive to a voluntary, secure and sustainable return of refugees and displaced persons".
MINURCAT, the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad, numbers 300 police and 50 communications officers.
A Russian helicopter unit is already involved in a UN mission in Sudan, and Russia is also deploying another aviation group to participate in MINURCAT, Churkin said.
As of November 30, 2008, 276 Russians were involved in UN peacekeeping missions around the world.
South Sudan's army and militiamen traded heavy gunfire on Tuesday in the south Sudan town of Malakal, eyewitnesses and southern army officials said.
The fighting was between the southern army and members of a southern militia headed by Gabriel Tang, who was backed by Khartoum during Sudan's long civil war between the north and south, a senior commander from the south's army said.
"This (fighting) is because Tang arrived yesterday in Malakal. The U.N. tried to persuade him to leave but he refused," James Hoth told Reuters.
Hoth said the fighting had been heavy, but it was not yet known whether anyone had been killed or wounded.
Fighting between south Sudan's army and elements in Tang's militia killed 150 people in Malakal in 2006 and was a major threat to a fragile north-south peace deal signed in 2005.
A witness sheltering from gunfire said there had been two separate outbreaks of gunfire and explosions.
"There's been heavy shooting this morning from about 8 a.m. There have also been big explosions ... there are tanks on the streets," said the witness, who declined to be named.
After the 2006 fighting the south's President Salva Kiir issued an arrest warrant for Tang and he was barred from Malakal, Hoth said.
The southern army soldiers involved in the fighting are from a special joint unit of both northern and southern forces that control the south's towns and oil fields under the peace accord, Hoth said.
The northern army contingent contains former members of Tang's militia, Hoth said, but it is unclear whether they are involved in Tuesday's fighting.
Some 2 million people were killed in Sudan's north-south war and another 4 million displaced from their homes
(Malakal) - Fighting broke out between SPLA and SAF members of a Joint Integrated Unit (JIU) in Malakal on Tuesday morning.
An eye-witness, speaking to Sudan Radio Service by phone from Malakal, said the tension started on Monday afternoon, when a SAF commander, Gabriel Gatwiech Chan, popularly known as “Tanginye” arrived at the airport.
The fighting started after SAF members of the Malakal JIU refused to return Tanginye to Khartoum.
The SPLA contingent in the Malakal JIU is alleged to have insisted that Tanginye should not be allowed to stay in Malakal. They accused him of being behind 2006 clashes in which over 300 people were killed.
Sudan Radio Service producer Koang Pal Chang spoke to an eye-witness who declined to be identified.
[Interview]
Koang: When did the shooting start?
Eye-witness: the shooting started in the morning yesterday at 8 and the tension began yesterday in the afternoon hours when general Tanginye.... (gunfire) You may be hearing the sounds of the guns?
Koang: Yeah
Eye-witness: He came (Tanginye) yesterday to visit his family but he was told to go back to Khartoum but he refused to go back to Khartoum saying that he should not be forced to go back to Khartoum. He said he was coming to visit his family and his seven days are not over. According to information I got last night, he was taken to UNMIS where he spend the night. But there was information that he refused to go to UNMIS and the shooting began at 8 this morning. It is between SPLA and another group; I do not know which group is that. At 10:30 they have managed to push one group to the other side of the town. You can hear the shooting. There is fighting now in the heart of Malakal Town.
Koang: Do you know who are the groups that are fighting?
Eye-witness: I do not know but what I know is that it is the group of Tanginye and the SPLA fighting.
Koang: where are you now exactly in Malakal?
Eye-witness: I am now in Hai-Jalaba. I am in Malakal center now. These people are fighting next to the hospital, just here. I am even seeing them now.
Koang: Do you see which type of uniforms they are wearing?
Eye-witness: They are wearing khaki, some of them are wearing Hafiya, but I do not know. Maybe if I go closer, I can see the logo and know which group is that. But I can not see the logo now because they are a bit far.
Koang: what about the civilians, are they running away or hiding in their houses?
Eye-witness: Some of them have already hidden themselves, some of them ran away. The fighting began at the airport. So people thought the fighting was going to be handled at the airport but now it has reached the town and there is no room for evacuation now.
Koang: Was there a group which went and attacked the other group in the airport and then they were pushed back on this side or what is really happening?
Eye-witness: I can not tell whether this was the group which attacked or the attackers, but one group has been pushed to the heart of Malakal and that is why the fighting now advanced to the main town.
Koang: can you see UN peacekeepers there trying to protect civilian or you can not see them?
Eye-witness: I can not see them because this is actually a frontline they can not actually intervene.
(Line goes dead).
Unconfirmed reports suggest that 6 people have been killed, including a 14 year old boy. 16 others have been injured.
February 24, 2009 (MALAKAL) — Heavy fighting broke up in Malakal, the capital of Upper Nile State, since today morning between the southern Sudan army and a Khartoum backed militia led by Gen. Gabriel Tang Ginya.
No causalities yet reported from the troubled town. However, three people are said to be wounded with no death as the fighting continues.
Following November 2006 clashes, the President of Southern Sudan government described Tang as criminal and asked Khartoum to hand him over to justice. But he had been transported to Khartoum by the Sudan Armed Forces.
The fighting started when the General Tang arrived yesterday to Malakal and refused to leave the town. Eyewitnesses told Sudan Tribune that some SPLA troops wanted to capture the Gen. Tang alive or else shot him. But, UNMIS tried to intervene to convince him to move out with no results.
"Gen. Tang was flown into Malakal yesterday from Khartoum by Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and rushed to the SAF barracks and this morning attacked SPLA. This is part of the conspiracy by the National Congress Party to destabilize the South and in particular Upper Nile State," said Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth in Washington, the Government of Southern Sudan Head of Mission to the United States.
Tang’s militia " pushed the SPLA a bit from Malakal town of Malaki but as of now they are pushed back the SAF forces to the Airport and the fighting is continuing. The situation is very bad and casualties are high from the SAF forces," he further said.
The situation is tense while most business houses remain closed and Malakal people are indoors.
Similar incidents occurred on November 27, 2006 when General Gabriel Tang and John Maluit the commissioner of Fangak had a fierce dispute over the commissionership of Malakal. 150 people were killed.
A UN employee was wounded on Tuesday as clashes erupted in south Sudan around the former government garrison town of Malakal, puncturing a 2005 peace deal, the UN and former rebels said.
The fighting pitted former rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, which now runs an autonomous regional administration in south Sudan, against a southern former militia that fought alongside central government forces during the two-decade-long civil war, the ex-rebels said.
"There were clashes this morning, and the fighting has been on and off since then," said Changson Chang, now information minister in the south Sudan regional government.
He said the violence had been sparked by the return to Malakal of former militia leader, Gabriel Tang. "His militia triggered the fighting," Chang said.
A so-called Joint Integrated Unit (JIU) composed of both former rebels and forces loyal to the central government in Khartoum patrols Malakal alongside the main ex-rebel army which has been reconstituted as the security forces of the southern regional government.
Former militiamen loyal to Tang form part of the pro-Khartoum elements of the JIU, leading to the clashes between some fighters of the combined unit and the former rebels, sources on both sides said.
"Fighting broke out between the SPLA and JIU in the vicinity of the airport and Upper Nile University in Malakal," a UN statement said.
"One UN bus travelling from the logistics base was reported to have been fired upon, resulting in the injury to the foot of one UN national staff member," it said, adding that the staffer was in a stable condition in hospital.
The UN said that the clashes had now reportedly moved from the airport area to the town centre and peacekeepers were moving foreign aid workers away from compounds close to the fighting.
It added that reinforcements had been sent to the concentration points where aid workers and UN civilian staff were being given refuge.
The south Sudan information minister said he had no immediate word on any non-UN casualties from the fighting. "We do not have figures until now but, of course, when shots are fired, then there will be expected to be casualties," Chang said.
The UN special envoy to Sudan Ashraf Jehangir Qazi expressed "deep concern about the security situation in Malakal".
He "called on all parties to cease the fighting immediately, to act responsibly to resolve their differences, and to take full account of their duty to protect and ensure the safety and security of the civilian population," a statement said.
"In particular, he said it was essential for the military leadership of the Sudan Armed Forces and the SPLA to ensure that the JIUs fulfilled their function as integrated units working together to protect civilians."
Malakal lies close to the border between north and south, and has had one of the more fragile security situations since the 2005 peace deal brought an end to the civil war between the Arab- and Muslim-dominated north and the mainly Christian or animist, non-Arab south.
Nine people were killed around the town in inter-ethnic clashes on January 9.
The Foreign Ministry has posted a more severe travel warning to Sudan now that the International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued an arrest warrant against the country's president. The ministry is advising Dutch citizens not to travel to the province of Darfur or the town of Malakal unless it is absolutely necessary.
There are currently around 250 Dutch citizens in Sudan, most of whom work for aid organisations or are connected to the United Nations or one of its missions. All 250 have been asked to report to the Dutch Embassy in Khartoum. The Dutch ambassador, Norbert Braakhuis, says that if the embassy knows where everyone is, it will be easier to provide help should it be needed.
He added that there are no indications that Dutch citizens run a particular risk because the International Criminal Court is located in The Hague. However, although he believes Sudan does not equate the court with the Netherlands and its citizens, he says he would like to be prepared for any eventuality.
Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) leader Khalil Ibrahim (pictured below) said that "when this warrant comes it is, for us, the end of Bashir's legitimacy to be President of Sudan ... we will work hard to bring him down ... If he doesn't co-operate with the ICC [International Criminal Court] the war will intensify.”
The leader of the most powerful rebel group in Darfur said that his forces will redouble their efforts to topple the Sudanese Government the moment an international arrest warrant is issued against President al-Bashir.
“When this warrant comes it is, for us, the end of Bashir's legitimacy to be President of Sudan,” Khalil Ibrahim, chairman of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), told The Times. “We will work hard to bring him down ... If he doesn't co-operate with the ICC [International Criminal Court] the war will intensify.” [...]
Dr Ibrahim, who spoke to The Times in Chad, had just returned from a round of exploratory peace talks with a Sudanese delegation in Qatar last week, where officials from both warring parties signed a memorandum of goodwill and understanding.
“The [Sudanese] Government is unpredictable,” he said, seated in an orchard on the banks of the Chari River outside N'Djamena, the capital of Chad. “They never honour any agreement they sign.” [...]
A JEM delegation was invited to Washington for bilateral talks with US officials last month, and it was the only rebel group invited to the negotiations in Qatar — to the anger of rival rebel factions from the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA).
This, Dr Ibrahim maintained, was because since 2006 the SLA had fractured into 27 groups and that, like it or not, the JEM was the only cohesive presence on the battlefield posing a credible threat to Mr al-Bashir.
“JEM is fighting alone on the ground,” he said, “shouldering the whole issue because there are no other real movements on the ground.”
Western diplomats believe that the Qatari talks have little chance of success given the gap between the ambitions of the JEM - which include control of Khartoum and the transformation of Sudan into a federation of autonomous regions — and Mr al-Bashir's desire to cling to power.
Few major concessions were extracted from either side in Qatar. The rebel delegation turned down a request to sign a cessation of hostilities until their own list of preliminary demands had been accepted, which the Sudanese refused.
The only tangible concession was a commitment from each side to release prisoners of war. At the weekend Sudan released 24 rebels in response to the release of 21 government prisoners last week. The rebels said however that they will not return to Qatar for a second round of talks until all their men are free.
The fear among the international community is that the conflict will become a war of secession and will spread to neighbouring countries.
While the stated aim of JEM is to preserve the territorial integrity of Sudan it is equally clear that the rebels are ready to divide the country. “JEM is a national movement and we regard autonomy for the regions as a key to peace,” Dr Ibrahim said. “But if peace does not come quickly Kordofan [a province in central Sudan] and Darfur would have to form their own entity — Western Sudan — with the White Nile as its border. If there was no peace then this part would have to become its own country.
“We are not going to ask to control Darfur and Kordofan through peace talks if they [the Government] are not going to give it — we'll take it.”
Photo; JEM fighters in Darfur, Western Sudan (The Times)
Emmanuel Jal has intimated that an arrest warrant issued against President Omar al-Bashir could even cause further division in Sudan.
Jal is seeking a mediated settlement between the warring parties and offers a solution in which students can choose to engage on the ground by rebuilding schools, hospitals, and other infrastructure in the Darfur region of the Sudan. Spring break service trips can be organized and students could join these trips. This would be a direct and effective way for students to serve to resolve the crisis in Darfur.
More than any indirect social, economic or political action in reference to Sudan, the friendships and goodwill developed on these trips will go all that much further to repair the breeches of human discord in Sudan.
From International Criminal Court (ICC) Press Release: 23.02.2009:
Decision of Pre-Trial Chamber concerning President Al Bashir of Sudan to be issued on Wednesday 4 March 2009 ICC-CPI-20090223-PR393 Situation: Darfur, Sudan
Today Pre-Trial Chamber I announced that it would issue on Wednesday 4 March 2009 its decision concerning the Prosecution application of 14 July 2008 for the issuance of a warrant of arrest against President Omar Al Bashir of Sudan.
The decision will be made public by the normal way of a press release and publication on the Court’s website.
23-02-2009 – Public notice of the Decision on the Prosecution’s Application under Article 58 of the Statute [Excerpt: CONSIDERING that there have been numerous rumors over the past weeks on a possible date and outcome of the decision that this Chamber shall issue on the Prosecution Application; that the Chamber is deeply concerned about such rumors; and that it will publicly issue the said decision on the date set out in the present decision.]
For further information please contact Ms Laurence Blairon, Spokesperson, at +31 (0)70 515 87 14 or +31 (0) 6 46 44 88 89 or at laurence.blairon@icc-cpi.int.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Judges at the International Criminal Court said Monday they will announce next week whether they will order the arrest of Sudan's president on charges including genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
Prosecutors at the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal asked last July for a warrant, accusing Omar al-Bashir of masterminding a campaign of murder, torture and rape by government troops and Arab militias in the Darfur region.
The president would be the first sitting head of state ordered arrested by the court.
But even if the judges issue a warrant on any or all of the 10 charges in their ruling March 4, it remains unlikely al-Bashir will be sent to the court's headquarters in The Hague any time soon. Sudan does not recognize the court's jurisdiction and refuses to hand over suspects.
It is unusual for judges to announce when they plan to publicize such a decision — but they have never previously tackled such a high-profile case since the court started work in 2002.
In a written statement, the three judges on the panel said they announced the date because they were "deeply concerned" at rumors about their decision.
Meanwhile Mr Bashir on Monday returned from a visit to Cairo, where he held talks with his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak.
Egypt warned that an ICC arrest warrant would lead to dangerous repercussions in Darfur and the rest of the country.
It called for a decision to be deferred for at least a year.
- - -
GIVE PEACE A CHANCE
In order to give peace a chance, here's hoping that the UN Security Council will use its power to suspend any arrest warrant that may be issued by the ICC. Note that there has been no news of any arrest warrants being issued for Darfur rebels responsible for the slaying of Darfur peacekeepers at Haskanita.
Pope Benedict XVI urged the British government to play a positive role for the benefit of peace in Sudan through all regional and international axes.
Pope Benedict hailed the goodwill declaration signed between the Sudanese government and JEM, affirming that the deal found international support and the concerned parties should push the agreement forward to achieve political settlement for Darfur issue.
He said that the international community should concentrate on the peace in Sudan instead of the ICC decisions.
"We should give priority to peace efforts first, then we look for judicature", he stated.
The Pope called for concentration of cementing the pillars and basis of peace in Sudan through the peace agreements signed in the South, Darfur, Southern Blue Nile, Nuba Mountains, Abyei and Eastern Sudan.
Note, so far I have not been able to find another report to verify Sudan Vision Daily's report. I hope that the report is true. Give peace a chance. - - -
The director of national security, lieutenant-general Sallah Abdalla Gosh, has warned that anybody who promotes the International Criminal Court’s agenda in Sudan will have his head and hands cut off.
Speaking to a group of politicians and intellectuals from southern Sudan to celebrate his promotion as first lieutenant-general in Khartoum on Friday, Sallah Gosh said the security service is ready to decapitate anybody who wants to promote the ICC’s political agenda in Sudan. He described the ICC issue as a very serious one where there can be no compromise.
He went on to say that the Government of National Unity will continue to protect members of diplomatic missions and other foreigners in Khartoum who respect diplomatic terms and the different peace agreements signed by the government of Sudan.
He warned that whoever violates these agreements will “only have themselves to blame”.
Gosh said his party came to power as "fanatical Muslims but they have changed and became liberal peace-lovers and they believe in peaceful co-existence".
Gosh urged the people of southern Sudan to work for the unity of the country, saying that the majority of southern Sudanese are for unity.
This was the first time that the chief of security and national intelligence has addressed southern Sudanese in a public gathering in Khartoum.
United States, France say Darfur deal should have no bearing on war crimes case against Sudan's president.
'A step in the right direction' Photo: Sudanese rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) representative Jibril Ibrahim (R) shakes hands with Amin Hassan Omar, a member of the Sudanese government delegation, after the signing of an agreement of good intentions at the latest meeting between representatives of the Sudanese government and the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in an attempt to broker an end to the six-year war in Darfur, in Doha, February 17, 2009. (Reuters text)
From Middle East Online February 18, 2009:
UN hails Doha deal on Sudan's Darfur UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations on Tuesday hailed a deal on confidence-building measures reached by Sudan and a key Darfur rebel group, as the United States and France said it should have no bearing on the war crimes case against Sudan's president.
Sudan and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Darfur's most active rebel group, signed an accord in Doha earlier Tuesday paving the way for broader peace talks to end the six-year-old Darfur conflict.
The Doha talks were the first contacts since 2007 between Khartoum and representatives of the JEM, which boycotted another largely abortive Darfur peace deal in 2006.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon said in a statement the Doha "agreement of goodwill and confidence-building ... represents a constructive step in the ongoing efforts to negotiate a peaceful conclusion to this long-running conflict."
He urged both Khartoum and JEM "to move expeditiously to a cessation of hostilities and to a detailed and explicit agreement on the scope of comprehensive and inclusive talks."
Japan's UN Ambassador Yukio Takasu, who chairs the 15-member Security Council this month, said that at a meeting on Darfur Tuesday all members welcomed the Doha accord as "a step in the right direction."
But while she described the Doha accord as "potentially a modest first step" toward peace, US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice cautioned that it "is not itself a cessation of hostilities or ceasefire agreement."
She stressed that all Darfur rebel groups would need to be engaged "if there is to be a sustained process that can lead to an outcome of lasting peace."
Her French counterpart Jean-Maurice Ripert concurred.
He described the Qatari-brokered accord as "a starting point in the right direction" and welcomed signs of greater cooperation from Khartoum both with respect to the deployment of the UN-African Union mission in Darfur and in its ties with neighboring Chad.
Both the US and French ambassadors however noted the accord should have no bearing on the war crimes case by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir.
"I see no linkage," Rice told reporters.
"The Court must work independently. No one must interfere," Ripert chimed in.
The ICC is expected to make a decision soon on whether to issue an arrest warrant for Beshir after its chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo in July accused Beshir of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.
Rice told the press that "the US position has been and remains that we see no circumstances or other actions to date that would change our judgment at this point that an Article 16 deferral is unwarranted."
Sudanese officials, including Beshir, have always insisted they will not cooperate with the ICC, saying that any allegations of crimes in Darfur would be dealt with in Sudanese courts.
In Doha earlier Tuesday, Sudan and JEM signed an accord paving the way for broader peace talks to end the six-year Darfur conflict.
"The accord stipulates that negotiations continue toward a final peace agreement, in a period no longer than three months," Sudan's ambassador to Qatar, Abdullah al-Faqiri said.
"We will reach a final and just solution with God's will, to end this war, which with God's will be the last war in Sudan," JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim, told a press conference.
Meanwhile Sudan's UN Ambassador Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad said Western members of the Security Council "are frightened by this (Doha) agreement. They are not happy."
And he accused France of "impeding the peace process" by failing to honor a pledge allegedly made by President Nicolas Sarkozy last December to expel exiled Darfur rebel leader Abdel Wahid Mohammed Nur, who lives in Paris, if he did not join the peace process.
The commander of the UN-led peacekeeping force in Darfur, General Martin Agwai, said in October that mistakes by the international community have prolonged the conflict and that there is no immediate prospect for peace.
The Darfur conflict broke out in 2003 when rebels took up arms against the government in Khartoum. Since then, the conflict has disintegrated into a maze of fraying rebel groups, banditry, tribal conflict and flip-flopping militias.
The United Nations has said 300,000 people have died and more than 2.2 million have been displaced. Khartoum puts the number of dead at 10,000.
Many of the rebels enjoy direct and indirect foreign support that helped fuel the conflict, with some critics pointing the finger at France, which has a military presence in neighbouring Chad – also accused of arming the Sudanese rebels. France had been accused of involvement in the genocide in Rwanda, but Paris denied responsibility, conceding only that ‘political’ errors were made.
- - -
From Reuters Tue Feb 17, 2009 by Andrew Heavens, KHARTOUM:
The Sudanese government and a Darfur rebel faction have agreed on confidence-building measures at talks in Qatar, Qatari media said on Monday -- a step that may eventually lead to negotiations on a peace deal.
Sudan started talks with the Justice and Equality Movement, one of Darfur's main insurgent groups, last week, almost six years into a conflict that international experts say has killed 200,000 people and uprooted 2.7 million.
However, other influential rebel factions are refusing to talk to Khartoum and say the peace drive will fail without them.
Qatar's official QNA news agency quoted Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani as saying Sudanese government and JEM officials were expected to sign an initial agreement on confidence-building measures on Tuesday, which could open the way for talks on a framework peace agreement.
"We hope to start framework talks in about two weeks about a ceasefire and details of the issue of prisoners," Sheikh Hamad said in remarks aired on Al Jazeera television.
Speaking by phone from the Qatari capital Doha, JEM spokesman Ahmed Hussein Adam said the two sides had reached a basic agreement on the key issue of the release of prisoners.
"An agreement in principle has been reached on those held or convicted in connection with the Darfur conflict ... but details remain to be worked out," he told Reuters.
Ahmad bin Abdullah al-Mahmoud, a Qatari minister of state and one of the mediators, said the agreement included measures to aid and protect refugees in Darfur and a commitment by the two sides to continue negotiations in Doha.
The JEM wants the government to agree to a prisoner swap and an end to the bombardment of what it says are civilian areas. It has also demanded that Khartoum pledge not to impede humanitarian aid and refrain from harassing displaced people.
Sudanese government negotiators were not immediately available for comment.
ARREST WARRANT?
But a senior Sudanese official earlier warned that, in the long term, talks to end the rebellion could be undermined by moves to indict Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes in Darfur.
International Criminal Court judges are expected to rule within weeks on whether to issue a warrant for Bashir's arrest over allegations that he masterminded genocide in Darfur, where JEM and other rebels took up arms in 2003, demanding more representation for the region and improved infrastructure.
Khartoum mobilized mostly Arab militias to crush the revolt but denies U.S. accusations that this amounted to genocide.
Mohammed el-Mahadi Mandour el-Mahadi, head of the political affairs secretariat for Bashir's dominant National Congress Party, told Reuters the government would struggle in Qatar to find a resolution if an arrest warrant was issued.
He said JEM had felt emboldened to make increasingly unrealistic demands during the talks, and its leader had also promised to hunt down Bashir if an arrest warrant was issued.
"They have raised their ceilings of their demands. They are asking to be the governors of Darfur, to be the governors of Kordofan (a neighboring region), to share power with the National Congress," he told Reuters in an interview.
"(An arrest warrant) will ruin the negotiations. They will call for other demands. It would be very difficult to continue with the negotiations."
(Additional reporting by Firouz Sedarat in Dubai; Editing by Katie Nguyen and Kevin Liffey)
Photo: Sudanese rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) representative Jibril Ibrahim (R) shakes hands with Amin Hassan Omar, a member of the Sudanese government delegation, after the signing of an agreement of good intentions at the latest meeting between representatives of the Sudanese government and the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in an attempt to broker an end to the six-year war in Darfur, in Doha, February 17, 2009. (REUTERS/Osama Faisal)
Photo: (L-R) Qatar's Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Mahmud, Representative of the Sudanese government Amin Hassan Omar, Sudanese rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) representative Jibril Ibrahim and UN African Union mediator Djibril Bassole sign agreements of good intentions at the latest meeting between representatives of the Sudanese government and the rebel JEM in an attempt to broker an end to the six-year war in Darfur, in Doha, February 17, 2009. (REUTERS/Osama Faisal)
Photo: Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) leader Khalil Ibrahim (R) attends a news conference following peace talks in Doha February 17, 2009. (REUTERS/Osama Faisal)
Photo: (L-R) Sudanese presidential adviser Nafie Ali Nafie, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) leader Khalil Ibrahim and UN African Union mediator Djibril Bassole talk during a news conference after the signing of an agreement of good intentions at the latest meeting between representatives of the Sudanese government and the rebel JEM in an attempt to broker an end to the six-year war in Darfur, in Doha, February 17, 2009. (REUTERS/Osama Faisal)
From Reuters Tue Feb 17, 2009 by Andrew Heavens KHARTOUM -
Sudan's government signed a tentative accord with one of Darfur's main rebel groups on Tuesday that could pave the way to full peace talks, almost six years into the festering conflict.
The agreement between Khartoum and the insurgent Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) will be seen as a step forward in efforts to resolve the conflict that, international experts say, has killed 200,000 since 2003.
But serious doubts remain over whether the deal will hold or build into a lasting agreement that will satisfy even the majority of the remote region's warring rebels.
* Other agreements have failed before. The conflict's six-year history is littered with failed ceasefires, tentative agreements and one full peace deal -- the 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement that was only signed by one group.
* There are many steps to go before even Tuesday's accord with JEM can be called a full peace deal. The sides still need to negotiate a cessation of hostilities and the terms of future negotiations over a string of difficult political issues. Any ceasefire would need to be accompanied by a monitoring body that could take time to set up.
* It is unclear what commitment JEM and Khartoum have made binding them to the measures agreed Tuesday.
* JEM is not the only rebel group in Darfur. Other movements have already written off the Doha talks, saying they are doomed to fail without their involvement.
* JEM has already hinted it will push for democratic reforms beyond the borders of Darfur to neighboring South Kordofan and other regions that it sees as marginalized. Khartoum may balk at such a thorough overhaul of the country's political structures.
* Both JEM and Sudan's government clearly have short-term objectives in signing Tuesday's accord. JEM wants its prisoners released. Khartoum wants to show it is doing something positive in Darfur to see off a looming war crimes case against its president from the International Criminal Court. If they succeed in satisfying those aims, their will to follow through on the deal may falter.
* On the positive side, the Qataris have already proved themselves to be skilled mediators with the time, patience and resources to bring previously irreconcilable foes together.
* Another optimistic note is that many of JEM's thornier political demands have already been agreed to in principle in a Khartoum-sponsored conference on the Darfur conflict. Last year's Sudan People's Initiative conference, which involved some opposition groups, has already suggested better representation for Darfur and the possibility of merging the region's three states.
- - -
Mixed hopes for the peace deal - see comments at BBC
Sudanese government officials and the Movement for Justice and Equality (JEM), the most active rebel group in the troubled Darfur region, said in Doha on Monday they have agreed on a prisoner exchange.
"The two sides have committed themselves in principle to an exchange of prisoners, to be freed in successive groups between now and the launch of talks on a framework agreement on peace in Darfur," JEM delegation member Tahar el-Fakih said, according to Qatar's QNA news agency.
Amin Hassan Omar, a member of the Sudanese government delegation, was quoted by QNA as confirming that "on the principle... there is a commitment to release prisoners and detainees for events linked to the Darfur conflict."
The two delegations have been meeting in the Qatari capital since last Tuesday with a view to paving the way for substantive peace negotiations between Khartoum and the rebel group.
"The two sides have been asked to supply mediators" with proposals for a common approach on the question of prisoners and " to expect in return a definitive formula from the negotiators," Omar said.
The development followed a long meeting on Monday between the heads of the two delegations, Khalil Ibrahim, leader of JEM, and Nafie Ali Nafie, an aide to Sudanese President Omar el-Beshir.
The meeting was attended by Ahmed Ben Abdallah al-Mahmud, Qatari minister of state for foreign affairs, and Djibril Bassole, mediator for the United Nations and African Union taskforce in Darfur.
The most heavily armed of the Darfur rebel groups, JEM boycotted a largely abortive peace deal signed by one other faction in 2006. Last May, it launched an unprecedented assault on the Sudanese capital.
Mediators have stressed that the Doha talks are preliminary and intended to pave the way for a broader peace conference on Darfur. [...]
From Sudan Vision Daily, Khartoum by Al Sammani Awadallah, Monday, February 16, 2009:
Machar Welcomes Government-JEM 'Good Intentions' Deal Announcing SPLM support of Doha Talks, South Sudan (GoSS) Deputy President, Dr. Riak Machar, appreciated the "trust building and good intentions" pact reached by Sudan Government and JEM through Doha talks.
In a statement to Sudan Vision, Machar urged JEM Chief, Khalil Ibrahim to step up the deal to a comprehensive peace agreement in Darfur while getting the other movements on board for the sake of Sudan unity, affirming SPLM readiness to co-work with Khalil for realization of unity on the ground.
He further revealed that five SPLM delegates led by Abdalaziz Alhilo have joined the Sudan official delegation to Doha negotiations.
The leader of one of the rebel groups in Sudan's Darfur region recently visited Israel to discuss with a senior Israeli official the situation in Sudan.
Abdel Wahid al-Nur is the head of the Sudan Liberation Movement. While in Israel, he met with the senior official and discussed with him the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
Al-Nur came to Israel earlier this month at his own initiative, to attend the annual Herzliya Conference. He came with a group of European Jews, most of them French, who have been active on behalf of the Darfur refugees. He did not speak at any of the sessions, but did observe several.
At the conference, he was introduced to the senior official, and the two arranged a meeting, which took place a few days later.
The Defense Ministry responded, "In the interests of national security, various and sundry meetings are held. We are not in the habit of giving responses after each of these meetings."
The Sudan Liberation Movement was founded in 1992. It is a secular group that opposes the Islamist regime of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, and its official stated goal is to turn Sudan into a democracy that grants equal rights to all its citizens. However, it also has a military wing that has been fighting government forces in Darfur since 2001.
Close ties
Al-Nur fled to France in 2007 and has not been back to Sudan since then. He has won support from international human rights organizations and is considered very close to French Jewish philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy.
In the past, he has spoken in favor of establishing diplomatic ties between Sudan and Israel, and a year ago, he even announced that his movement was opening an office in Tel Aviv, staffed by Sudanese refugees who found asylum in Israel after fleeing the massacres committed by Bashir's forces in Darfur.
However, this was his first visit here.
Israel currently has more than 600 Darfur refugees, and Ehud Olmert's government decided to grant them all asylum and work permits. This decision was made in part because Bashir's government announced that any Sudanese refugee who set foot in Israel would be considered a "Mossad agent" and would therefore be sentenced to death should he or she ever return to Sudan.
JERUSALEM: A powerful Sudanese rebel leader met secretly with top Israeli espionage officials in Israel earlier this month, Israeli defense officials said Monday.
The officials would not disclose the substance of the talks between Abdulwahid Elnur of the Sudan Liberation Movement and officials from Israel's Mossad spy agency. Israel claims weapons have reached Gaza Strip militants via Sudan and that Palestinian militants operate there.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of a security conference Elnur attended, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was confidential. The Defense Ministry had no immediate comment.
Last year, Elnur's group opened an office in Israel, which granted temporary residency status to 600 Sudanese who fled the massacres in their country's vast western Darfur region.
"We must forge new alliances, no longer based upon race or religion, but upon shared values of freedom and democracy. This is why we opened a representative office in Israel," he said at the time.
Elnur has said in the past that he favors establishing ties with Israel and opening an Israeli Embassy in Khartoum. Sudan considers Israel an enemy state and has no diplomatic relations with it. Elnur could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.
Elnur fled to France in 2007 and has lived in exile since.
The SLM was founded in 1992, three years after President Omar al-Bashir took power in a military coup, and took up arms in 2003, the year the war in Darfur began. Today it is the largest rebel group, though it has fractured into splinter movements. [...].
Before Darfur, civil war raged in Southern Sudan leaving two million people dead. Ten thousand children were forced to fight.
Emmanuel Jal was one of them.
Here is his incredible story.
Photo: Emmanuel Jal (by Christian Karim Chrobog)
Emmanuel is a spokesman for the Make Poverty History campaign, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers and the Control Arms campaign.
He has set up the Gua Africa charity and is planning to build a school in Leer, his village in southern Sudan.
Through his music, Emmanuel Jal counts on the unity of the citizens to overcome ethnic and religious division and motivate the youth in Sudan.
His single “War Child,” mixes rap with soul to produce a world music vibe. He begins with telling his story through powerful lyrics; “I’m a war child / I believe I’ve survive for a reason / To tell my story, to touch lives.”
Central to the themes of his songs is the campaign for peace of opposing sides in Sudan and the clear message that children have no place in wars.
YouTube: Emmanuel Jal WARCHILD - official video - taken from the album WARCHILD (Courtesy of www.emmanueljalonline.net)
SUMMARY
Emmanuel Jal was born in war-torn Sudan, and while he doesn’t know exactly when, he believes it was in the early 1980s. He was taken from his family home in 1987 when he was six or seven years old, and sent to fight with the rebel army in Sudan’s bloody civil war. For nearly five years, he was a “child warrior,” put into battle carrying an AK-47 that was taller than he was.
By the time he was 13, he was a veteran of two civil wars and had seen hundreds of his fellow child soldiers reduced to taking unspeakable measures as they struggled to survive on the killing fields of Southern Sudan.
After a series of harrowing events, he was rescued by a British aid worker (Emma McCune) who smuggled him into Nairobi to raise him as her own.
To help ease the pain of what he had experienced, Emmanuel started singing. In 2005, he released his first album, Gua (”peace” in his native Nuer tongue), with the title track broadcast across Africa over the BBC and becoming a number one hit in Kenya. Gua also earned him a spot on Bob Geldof’s “Live 8″ concert in the UK.
Photo: Emmanuel Jal with Nelson Mandela
Jal performed at Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday celebrations in Hyde Park, London, June 08, he shared a stage with Alicia Keys, Annie Lennox, Damien Marley and Stephen Marley at the Black Ball in London in July 08 and also addressed delegates at the UN in New York in the same month. Jal has also performed with Razorlight, Supergrass, and Faithless in Europe.
Photo: Emmanuel Jal at the UN
In October 2008 Emmanuel toured the United States as part of the National Geographic All Roads Film Festival, in which he performed in New York, Washington D.C., Los Angeles and New Orleans. Jal also performed with Moby and Five for Fighting in the 2007 live concert film, The Concert To End Slavery (www.concerttoendslavery.com/trailer).
Photo: Emmanuel Jal outside the UN
Photo: Emmanual Jal at Harvard
Photo: Emmanuel Jal in Sudan
EMMANUEL JAL BIOGRAPHY
Emmanuel Jal (born c. 1980) is a Sudanese musician and former child soldier.
Childhood
Born in the village of Tonj in Southern Sudan, he was a little boy when the civil war broke out. Emmanuel’s father joined the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and when he was about seven years old his mother was killed by soldiers loyal to the government. Emmanuel then decided to join the thousands of children traveling to Ethiopia who had been told that they could be educated there.
However, many of the children, Emmanuel included, were recruited by the SPLA and taken to military training camps in the bush in Ethiopia. The camp was disguised as a school in front of international aid agencies and UN representatives, but behind closed doors the children were training to fight. “I didn’t have a life as a child. In five years as a fighting boy, what was in my heart was to kill as many Muslims as possible.”
Emmanuel spent several years fighting with the SPLA in Ethiopia, until war broke out there too and the child soldiers were forced back into Sudan by the fighting and joined the SPLA's efforts to fight the government in the town of Juba. "Many kids there were so bitter, they wanted to know what happened to them. And we all wanted revenge."
When the fighting became unbearable Emmanuel and some other children decided to run away. They were on the move for three months, with many dying on the way, until they reached the town of Waat, which was the headquarter on a small group that had separated themselves from the main SPLA.
In Waat Emmanuel met Emma McCune, a British aid worker married to senior SPLA commandant Riek Machar. Emmanuel was only 11 years old then and McCune insisted he should not be a soldier. She adopted him and smuggled him to Kenya. There Emmanuel attended school in Nairobi. McCune died in a road accident a few months later, but her friends helped Emmanuel to continue his studies.
Music
While studying in Kenya, Emmanuel started singing to ease the pain of what he has experienced. He also became very active in the community, raising money for local street children and refugees. With the encouragement of those around him, Emmanuel became increasingly involved in music and formed several groups. His first single, "All We Need Is Jesus," was a hit in Kenya and received airplay in the UK.
Through his music, Emmanuel Jal counts on the unity of the citizens to overcome ethnic and religious division and motivate the youth in Sudan. After escaping to Kenya, he fell in love with hip hop in the way that it identified issues being faced by the neighborhood, which he was able to identify with in a unique manner. Although he lacked any music background or knowledge of its history, he felt that hip-hop could provide the easiest and most effective path to publicize across his story and lobby for political change.
He went on to produce his first album, Gua, a mix of rap in Arabic, English, Kiswahili, Dinka and Nuer. The symbolism of unity is expressed in the title, meaning both "good" in Nuer and "power" in (Sudanese) Arabic. His lyrics illustrate the desires of the Sudanese people to return to a peaceful, independent homeland. Although the only hip hop Jal had ever listened to was American, while he was in Kenya, the beat to “Gua” is not the usual American hip hop, but rather is strongly African. The title track, also called "Gua", was a number one hit in Kenya and featured on The Rough Guide To The Music Of Sudan and Help: A Day In The Life, bringing together some of Britain’s best known on a CD in aid of children in conflict zones (produced by War Child).
His next single, “War Child,” mixes rap with soul to produce a world music vibe. He begins with telling his story through powerful lyrics; “I’m a war child / I believe I’ve survive for a reason / To tell my story, to touch lives.” He continues the song with the narrative of his life and the pain inflicted upon him. “Written in English, Jal's second language, the new album [War-Child] may lack the poetic gymnastics of hip-hop's more fluent stars, but the plainness of the words - half-spoken, half-chanted over a mix of hip-hop and African-flavored choruses - keeps the focus on the story.” His powerful words spread the message of what he has been through, and what many are still living with now.
His unique brand of hip hop, layered with African beats, has led him to be considered one of the rising stars in the world music scene. Prior to Jal, rapping in Southern Sudan was primarily in the local language of Nuer and artists used sticks and clapping hands in place of instruments.
His second album, Ceasefire, was released in September 2005 and includes a re-recording of "Gua". This album is a collaboration with the well known Sudanese Muslim musician Abdel Gadir Salim and brings together opposing sides of the conflict, and different music traditions, to a common ground of the wish for peace in Sudan. The collaboration represents a vision for the future, as two Sudanese men, a Christian and a Muslim, unify and pave the way to overcome differences peacefully. Both musicians endured unimaginable adversity to become important figures, not only in music, but in the future of a country. They accentuate the differences between them and their musical styles, as a symbol of co-existence. The album preaches in four languages, encompasses every type of music in one, in an effort to transform the sound of hope into musical form. “Ceasefire” is not only the sound of two men collaborating on a musical project, but more symbolically, two halves of a divided nation learning to trust each other. This album's version of Gua was played on the American television series ER at the very end of the Season 12 episode "There Are No Angels Here" (aired on May 4, 2006).
Among other places he performed at the Live 8 Concert in Cornwall this summer. He was awarded a 2005 American Gospel Music Award for best international artist.
Emmanuel's third album, "Warchild", is released by Sonic360 Records in the UK on May 12th, 2008. Emmanuel, along with an all-star line-up, will perform songs at Nelson Mandela's 90th Birthday concert at London's Hyde Park on June 27th, 2008.
Activism
Jal, whose own childhood was robbed from him, aims to protect the childhood of others through music. "Music is powerful. It is the only thing that can speak into your mind, your heart and your soul without your permission." According to Jal, in times of war, starvation, hunger and injustice, the only way to survive the daily tragedy in Sudan is to allow the inner-soul to be uplifted through music, which is like soul food to heal pain. Through his heartfelt lyrics, he opens the world up to the corruption and greed of the Sudanese government; central to the themes of his songs is the campaign for peace of opposing sides in Sudan and the clear message that children have no place in wars.
He has also passionately criticized the current state of hip hop culture in the United States. He sees hip hop as a vehicle to communicate an authentic message, rather than a space to pursue street credibility. “As well as simply being great songs, people are really getting into the lyrics, really understanding his message, and he is a great role model.”
He has expressed concern about the message being sent by American hip-hop artists, saying “American hip hop is still entwined with gang culture, drugs, sexual violence, and greed. It’s a battleground.”
His song, “50 Cent,” speaks to the successful American rapper to change his violent messages, which have a destructive influence on children, as exemplified through his “Bulletproof” videogame. "You have done enough damage selling crack cocaine/now you got a kill a black man video game/We have lost a whole generation through this lifestyle/now you want to put it in the game for a little child to play..."
Emmanuel is a spokesman for the Make Poverty History campaign, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers and the Control Arms campaign. He has set up the Gua Africa charity and is planning to build a school in Leer, his village in southern Sudan.
A documentary about Emmanuel Jal called War Child was made in 2008 by C. Karim Chrobog. It made its international debut at the Berlin Film Festival and its North American debut at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the Cadillac Audience Award.
Emmanuel Jal's story ought to be compulsory reading for all school children. If anyone reading this article is able to translate it into French, Arabic and/or Swahili, I would be most grateful to receive a copy for publishing at Sudan Watch, Uganda Watch, Congo Watch, along with several other sites that are part of this network of blogs.
