Bashir to attend Cen-Sad summit in Libya

May 28, 2009 by AFP (Tripoli) - excerpt:
Beshir to attend regional African summit in Libya

Sudan's President President Omar al-Beshir, who is facing an international arrest warrant, is to attend a summit of African leaders at the weekend in Libya, a Libyan official said on Thursday.

The two-day summit of the 28-member Community of Sahel-Saharan States (Cen-Sad) opens on Friday in the Libyan city of Sabratha, a UNESCO World Heritage Site west of Tripoli.

"President Beshir will attend the summit. He is always welcome," the official said on condition of anonymity.

"Libya does not recognise the decision taken by the International Criminal Court (ICC)," which issued the arrest warrant for Beshir in March on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, he said.

Beshir's visit will be the second to Libya and the seventh one outside Sudan since the court called for his arrest.

The 11th Cen-Sad summit is due to discuss several issues, namely the conflict between Sudan and neighbouring Chad, according to a copy of a draft agenda obtained by AFP.

Peace between Chad and Sudan is regarded as essential to any lasting settlement to the six-year-old conflict in Darfur. [...]

Libyan Foreign Minister Mussa Kussa has said that the leaders of all the 28 Cen-Sad member countries will be present for the summit which will also discuss the African Union and the situation in several African countries.

Censad, whose headquarters are in Tripoli, describes itself as the biggest economic grouping in Africa.

The organisation groups Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, the Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo and Tunisia.

AU summit to discuss continued membership of the ICC is scheduled for next month in Addis Ababa

AU puts ICC in the dock
From Mail & Guardian by Karabo Keepile, 28 May 2009 - excerpt:

(Johannesburg, SA) - African civil society is mobilising to counter threats by some African countries to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) next month.

The African Union is now criticising the ICC "openly and loudly", said Max du Plessis, senior research associate at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and associate professor of international law at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Du Plessis was speaking at a workshop convened by the ISS last week in Stellenbosch to consider the work of the ICC in Africa, attended by about 40 representatives of African civil society organisations.

An AU summit to discuss continued membership of the ICC is scheduled for next month in Addis Ababa. Some AU states accuse the court of unfairly targeting African countries, the most recent flashpoint being the issuing of an arrest warrant in March for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sudan Delegation Leaves for Doha Talks

Sudan delegation leaves for Doha talks to conduct a new round of talks with the Darfuri armed rebel faction.

From Sudan Vision (Khartoum) by Staff Writer Thursday, 28 May 2009:
Sudan Delegation Leaves for Doha Talks

Sudanese government delegation to Darfur peace talks in Doha chaired by State Minister for Culture, Youth and Sports, Dr. Amin Hassan Omar departed for Doha to conduct a new round of talks with the Darfuri armed rebel faction.

On his part, Acting Foreign Ministry Undersecretary, Dr. Ali Al-Sadiq stated that the importance of the upcoming talks emerges from the preceding moves represented by the US Special Envoy to Sudan, Scott Gration's tours to several countries including China, France, and Britain in the framework of coordinating the stances of the donor countries for the peace process.

He added that this comes also within the framework of the Qatari moves and the visit of its envoy to Sudan and Chad being that to prepare for the negotiations between the Sudanese government and the armed factions and for the normalization of the Sudanese-Chadian relations.

Suspected Israeli airstrike on a convoy in Sudan January 2009 killed 119 people

From Australia.TO News [The Somali government has announced an immediate blockade on airstrips and seaports] Tuesday, 26 May 2009:

An airstrike on a convoy in Sudan this January, which Israel is suspected of having carried out, killed 119 people taking part in a people smuggling operation, Sudan's defence minister has told parliament.

Sudan's state news agency SUNA Tuesday quoted Abdul-Rahim Hussein as telling lawmakers that 56 smugglers, as well as 63 people fleeing Ethiopia and Somalia died in the attack near Sudan's border with Egypt.

Unofficial casualty estimates released in March had put the number of dead at 39 people, riding in 17 trucks.

In his report, Gen Hussein said there were up to 1,000 people in the convoy involved in "a smuggling process at the border with Egypt", Suna reported.

Israel refused to confirm or deny reports it was involved in the airstrike, but shortly after the allegations surfaced in March, Premier Ehud Olmert said that "we hit terrorist infrastructures every place we can, near or far".

While not confirming Israel's role, BBC correspondents said the remark was seen as a heavy hint that Sudan's suspicions were accurate. Hussein said that the incident was still under investigation.

According to reports, Israeli intelligence had discovered that weapons were being trucked through Sudan, heading north towards Egypt, where they were to cross the Sinai Desert and be smuggled into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

The airstrike came as Israel was engaged in a ferocious Gaza offensive.

Sudan forms part of a route along which weapons were smuggled into Gaza via a vast network of tunnels under the strip's border with Egypt. The route begins in Iran, which supports the radical Islamist Hamas in Gaza. It is said to pass through Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Egypt - going from the Persian Gulf around the Arabian Peninsula to the city of Port Sudan on the Red Sea, some 400 kilometres south of Egypt, dpa reports.

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Just in, Snowmail from Channel 4 News UK: The Taliban turn on their Pakistani paymasters - detonating a huge suicide car bomb outside a key Pakistani Intelligence Service building. Dozens are dead, hundreds injured. [I'm watching Channel 4 news now, a Pakistani official appears to be implying that the US is among the Taliban's paymasters]

Canadian company donates funds for railway line linking S. Sudan and Uganda

From Sudan Radio Service, 27 May 2009 (Khartoum):

The Minister of Transport in GONU says that his ministry has formed a joint committee with the Ugandan government to open and renovate roads and a railway line linking the two countries.

Minister Philip Thon Leek spoke to Sudan Radio Service in Khartoum on Wednesday.

[Philip Thon Leek]: “As the minister of roads in GONU, I went to Kampala to attend a joint meeting between the Sudan government and the Ugandan government. We have formed a technical ministerial committee, which is composed of 8 members, 2 members from the Ministry of Roads, 2 from Ministry of Transport in GONU and 4 members from the Ugandan government. Now we are renovating the railway line between Babanosa-Wau, the work on the railway line from Wau-Rumbek and Juba-Gulu will start after we get the funding from the donors. I have just come from a meeting with a Canadian company who will donate funds for the construction of this railway line.”

The railway line which linked towns in southern Sudan and Uganda was closed for more than two decades during the civil war in the region.

AU's Head of Culture and Sports, Daraïtivo Ralaïbo, says African museum for peace to be built in Chad

An AU delegation is working with Chadian authorities to organize the African Youth Day and to create a centre to build capacity among young people, a sports centre and a journalism training centre.

From PANA, N'Djaména, Chad, 27 May 2009 - via Afrique en ligne:
Chad: African museum for peace to be built in Chad

The African Union (AU) and the Chadian government will create the first African museum for peace, human rights and non-violence here, Head of the Culture and Sports Section of the AU, Daraïtivo Ralaïbo, said at a press conference held in the Chadian capital city.

"We have worked technically with the ministry for the promotion of Human rights and freedom to create the first African museum ever for peace, non-violence and human rights in Chad," said Mr. Ralaïbo, who is at the head of an AU delegation in a bid to prepare a conference meant for the cultural renaissance of Africa.

"We wish that the museum were created in N'djamena with the support of the AU Commission and all international partners. We want to achieve something concrete here," he added.

The AU delegation is working with Chadian authorities to organize the African Youth Day and to create a centre to build capacity among young people, a sports centre and a journalism training centre.

Six Darfurians arrested and illegally detained for 10 months without charge?

Terrible news if true. Report from Radio Dabanga, a radio station run by Darfurians in The Netherlands, which broadcasts into Darfur in Fur, Zaghawa, Masalit and Arabic:

Detained Darfurians on honger strike

KHARTOUM (22 May 2009) - Six of Darfur sons are more than a week on a hunger strike. They are detained by the security organ in Khartoum for more than 10 months. They protest against their arrests without any charge. Those who went on strike are: Abedel Ilah Ibrahim Wadia, Hamadi Gibril, Hanazalah Adam, Nogadalla Khalil and Naygey Abdalla.

Lawyer Kamal Omer Abedel Salaam, described to Radio Dabanga that this detention and arrest is illegal, This is against the interim constitution. He said that the security organ arrested these people 10 months ago without any justification. He further explained they were set free on the 12th of May. The security forces rearrested them again. After their re-arrest, they entered the hunger strike until now.

Update - From Radio Dabanga, 25 May 2009:

Habbanya in hunger strike refuse treatment

NYALA (25 May 2009) - The 7 Habbanya detainees have entered a second week of their hunger strike in Nyala prison. The health of 3 detainees was deteriorating. They have been taken to the Nyala hospital for further treatment, but they refused to take medication.They are calling for their immediate release. Their lawyer told Radio Dabanga that the defense-team has decided to appeal against the governor of South Darfur for the arrest without any charges. He told radio Dabanga that such behavior is against the interim constitution. The names of those who went on hunger strike are:

Salah Mohamed Goof Al Shenahy, Al Bushara Abbas Al Bushara, Dr. Mohamed Alamin Ahmed Eishag, Musa Izzedin Ahmed, Mahmoud Mohamed Mahmoud, Mahmoud Mursoud Mahmoud and Ahmed Hamid Mahmoud. This was disclosed to Radio Dabanga by the lawyer from Nyala. The detention of the Habbanya leaders was ordered by the South-Darfur governor, Ali Mahmoud, accusing the men to support attacks on the Fallata. In the same Kober prison in Nyala a prisoner was prevented by his colleagues to hang himself. According to eyewitnesses that spoke to Radio Dabanga in side the prison, said the reasons for his attempt is the severe torture by prison guards. One of the prisoners told Radio Dabanga that he was tortured on daily bases. He said that he is in prison for years and not even his mother was allowed to visit him. Last week radio Dabanga already reported about the widespread torture in the Nyala jail that was confirmed by lawyers in Nyala.

U.S. Senators Isakson and Corker arrive in Khartoum, Sudan

The following commentary by U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia tells us that Sudan is an entirely dry country. Even at a dinner with dignitaries, there is no cocktail reception or even a glass of wine with the meal. I wonder if the same applies at wedding receptions and other celebrations in Sudan. Among the thousands of photos that I've seen of Sudanese insurgents, quite a few have been photographed smoking or looking dopey. Maybe the Sudanese use herbs as an alternative to alcohol. Note to self to find out more from Drima at The Sudanese Thinker.

AFRICA DIARY SEN. JOHNNY ISAKSON
Security, peace issues for Sudan
By Johhny Isakson
For the Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, May 27, 2009:

U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia is traveling in Africa with fellow Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee. As members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on Africa, they are monitoring the progress of a 2005 agreement that helped end years of civil war between northern and southern Sudan. Isakson filed this installment late Monday.

Our trip began Saturday in Washington, D.C., when Sen. Corker and I, along with my brave wife, Dianne, two members of our staffs and a military escort from the Navy, boarded a commercial flight to Rome. A U.S. military plane flew us into Africa.

Some 14 hours after leaving Washington, we landed Sunday afternoon in Khartoum, Sudan, where we were greeted by a sandstorm and a temperature of 110 degrees.

Despite these conditions, a delegation of dignitaries waited outside our plane to greet us. Since arriving, we have been taken everywhere in armored vehicles with a police escort because security problems in Sudan are so bad.

Our meals have been very good so far, but even at a dinner with dignitaries there is no cocktail reception or even a glass of wine with the meal. Sudan is an entirely dry country. Instead, they are constantly serving us juice, soda, coffee and tea in our meetings and with our meals.

Monday night, the head of the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Services hosted an outdoor dinner for us, complete with local music and dancing.

Tuesday, we will leave our hotel at 6:40 a.m. for a charter flight into Darfur and a five-hour tour and briefing. We will meet with U.S. humanitarian workers and some of the more than 2.6 million Sudanese in the refugee camps.

In early 2011, southern Sudan will hold a referendum to determine whether it secedes from the north. Whatever happens will have great effect on Sudan, the Horn of Africa and the rest of the world. It is our intent to discover firsthand the attitude of the government and the conditions of the people.

The Sudanese government wants improved relations with the United States and demonstrated where it has been helpful to the United States —- most importantly, in counter-terrorism.

We emphasized that improved relations will be built on progress toward the comprehensive peace agreement, which requires legislation pending in the parliament on freedom of the press; reconciliation with the south; future agreements between the north and the south on sharing oil revenues; and full cooperation with aid workers delivering humanitarian assistance to the people of Darfur.

Progress toward the implementation of the peace agreement is essential before the referendum. A vote to secede by the south leaves open the opportunity for a renewal of hostility and even the potential of regional conflict, given that the Horn of Africa has been a target for al-Qaida to establish training camps.

Update: Many thanks to Digital for the following comment:

Although the “herb” is quite popular in Sudan with all social classes, alcohol use is rampant, reminds me of the good old days of prohibition in the states.

The lower and middle classes enjoy an alcoholic beverage made of fermented dates and flavored with assorted fruit essences called arragi, and its might powerful stuff I might add. Less popular is a beer made out of sorghum called “marissa”.

The higher classes enjoy black market booze including the ever popular Johnnie walker, international wines, and all your favorite brands of vodkas/rums/gins/beers.

You have to remember that only 25 years ago Khartoum was full of bars, liquor stores and night clubs. Although it is a social taboo to drink, a significant percentage of the populace does indulge, oxymoronic don’t ya think!!

More on this subject later, if I receive more comments or hear from Drima, The Sudanese Thinker.

More than 210 civilians still seeking shelter near UNAMID camp near Umm Barru, N. Darfur

Peacekeepers at Umm Barru say Sudanese soldiers and allied SLA/MM elements remain in control of their military position near the town following fighting on 25 May 2009 between Sudanese government forces backed by the Sudan Liberation Army/Minni Minnawi (SLA/MM), a pro-Government faction, and JEM elements. About 350 civilians fled the fighting and gathered around a UNAMID camp in the area.

More than 210 civilians are still seeking shelter near the UNAMID camp and humanitarian assistance, including food, water and tents, is needed to help the displaced. Peacekeepers are also continuing to monitor the situation and provide medical assistance where required.

Source: UN-AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) May 27, 2009 - via APO:
UNAMID Daily Media Brief, 26 May 2009

Relative calm in Umm Barru

UNAMID peacekeepers report that the security situation in the North Darfur town of Umm Barru is relatively calm today, two days after deadly clashes there between Sudanese Government forces and armed elements from the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

An unknown number of people were killed and dozens of others seriously injured as a result of the fighting on 25 May between Government forces backed by the Sudan Liberation Army/Minni Minnawi (SLA/MM), a pro-Government faction, and JEM elements. About 350 civilians fled the fighting and gathered around a UNAMID camp in the area.

UNAMID peacekeepers based near Umm Barru, which is about 100 kilometres from the Chadian border, report that at least seven people – including three civilians – still need to be evacuated for further medical treatment.

More than 210 civilians are still seeking shelter near the UNAMID camp and humanitarian assistance, including food, water and tents, is needed to help the displaced. Peacekeepers are also continuing to monitor the situation and provide medical assistance where required.

UNAMID reports that while the security situation in the affected area is relatively calm today, it is also unpredictable. Peacekeepers at Umm Barru say Sudanese soldiers and allied SLA/MM elements remain in control of their military position near the town following the fighting.

Sunday’s clashes represent the second time in eight days that JEM elements have attacked a Sudanese military position in North Darfur. On 16 May, they attacked Government forces based near the town of Kornoi.

UNAMID leadership meets United States Senators

The leadership of UNAMID today met a visiting United States Senate delegation, including Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia) and Senator Bob Corker (R-Tennessee), to discuss the situation in Darfur.

Led by the Joint Special Representative, Mr. Rodolphe Adada, the Mission’s senior civilian, military and police officials briefed the Senate delegation on the ongoing work and deployment of UNAMID, recent security and humanitarian developments on the ground in Darfur and UNAMID’s efforts to reduce sexual- and gender-based violence.

South Sudan's President Kiir says peace deal in peril

“The CPA [Comprehensive Peace Agreement], that we concluded as a result of our enormous sacrifices, is seriously threatened by enemies of peace from within our realm and without,” Kiir told a rally in the capital of the semi-autonomous south.

Kiir, who said the violence was an “abnormal pattern of insecurity,” suggested that the fighting was being caused deliberately to destabilise the south. He blamed unnamed outside and internal forces.

Source: Wed 27 May 2009 report by AFP/Juba, Sudan via Gulf Times:
South Sudan says peace deal in peril

Southern Sudanese President Salva Kiir warned yesterday that the 2005 peace deal that ended Sudan’s 22-year civil war was “seriously threatened” by growing levels of violence.

Kiir, who is also first vice president of Sudan, said the north-south Comprehensive Peace Agreement was being put at risk by recent conflict.

“The CPA, that we concluded as a result of our enormous sacrifices, is seriously threatened by enemies of peace from within our realm and without,” Kiir told a rally in the capital of the semi-autonomous south.

Several rival ethnic groups have clashed in the south in recent months, leaving more than 1,000 dead and many thousands more displaced.

Cattle rustling and tribal clashes occur regularly in the south, but the ferocity of recent attacks has shocked many.

Kiir, who said the violence was an “abnormal pattern of insecurity,” suggested that the fighting was being caused deliberately to destabilise the south. He blamed unnamed outside and internal forces.

It is a tense time for Sudan, with national elections due in February and a referendum on independence for the south scheduled for 2011.

“This is a well designed strategy to discredit you as people who cannot govern themselves, particularly as we approach general elections and referendum,” he told crowds.

Kiir was speaking at a rally in the southern capital Juba to mark the 26th anniversary of a revolt by southern troops in the Sudanese army, who formed the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).

He made his speech to large crowds gathered at the mausoleum of the first southern president John Garang, who signed the peace deal in 2005.

Soldiers from the SPLA, now the official army of the south, marched past Kiir and other top southern officials, in a parade that included three tanks and heavy artillery pieces.

The parade was seen by some as a show of force to the south’s former northern enemies, now partners in a unity government.

Sudan security forces attacked by 3,000 tribesmen near Meiram, S. Kordofan

Tuesday, 26 May 2009 report from Reuters by Andrew Heavens in Khartoum:
Sudan tribesmen attack security force, scores killed

Scores of people were killed when 3,000 armed Arab tribesmen on horseback attacked security forces in Sudan's oil-producing Southern Kordofan region on Tuesday, tribal sources and officials said.

Sudan's Interior Ministry said the security forces were attacked close to the town of Meiram soon after arriving to try to prevent a fresh outbreak of fighting between warring Misseriya and Rizeigat nomads.

"While our forces were making administrative and security arrangements (on Tuesday morning) to prevent the parties from fighting, the Rizeigat started heavy firing and attacked," said the ministry's statement.

"It is estimated the attackers were made up of 3,000 fighters on horseback and 35 vehicles."

One tribal source, who asked not to be named, said more than 100 tribesmen, security officers and civilians may have been killed in Tuesday's clashes and other skirmishes between the tribes in recent days.

It was impossible to verify the figures. The ministry statement said there had been deaths and injuries among the security forces and civilians, but gave no figures and no reason for the attack.

The clashes were a reminder of the tense political situation in Southern Kordofan, which borders both the strife-torn Darfur region and southern Sudan, where tensions are still simmering four years after the end of a civil war with the north.

The Rizeigat and Misseriya have clashed in the past, in fighting often rooted in disputes over grazing land and access to water.

Clashes in recent years have been particularly fierce, fueled by bad blood over past killings and a ready supply of arms from other conflicts. A series of reconciliation conferences have failed to achieve lasting settlements.

"They were armed to the teeth, both the Misseriya and the Rizeigat. There were heavy losses on both sides over the past few days," said one senior member of the Misseriya tribe who asked not to be named.

"There were also deaths among the police who were also caught up in it all."

The government raised the political temperature in Southern Kordofan earlier this month by naming a new governor -- Ahmed Haroun, a divisive figure distrusted by local residents and wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Darfur.

On taking up his new post, Haroun said one of his first priorities would be to arrange a reconciliation drive to end conflicts between all the region's warring communities. (editing by Tim Pearce)

International troops attack Yemeni boat near Sudan; 2 Killed

From Yemen Post by Yemen Post Staff, Tuesday, 25 May 2009:
International Troops Attack Yemeni Boat near Sudan; 2 Killed

Two Yemeni fishermen were killed and one was injured while the fate of a fourth one is still unknown after their boat came under an aggressive assault by one of the international naval ships patrolling the Red Sea near Sudan on Tuesday.

A source at the Coast Guard said Abdu Marwani and Muhammad Naj'e were killed immediately after their boat was totally destroyed by a missile which some suspect was an air strike.

Sources at Yemen's navy said it probably came from sea.

While the third fisherman made it to Sudanese coast and is now in critical condition.

The fishermen came from the Midy area, Hajjah before their boat was hit near Sudan's waters.

A coordinated investigation by Yemen and Sudan is underway to explore reasons for the attack.

Meanwhile, director of the Midy district Abdul Majeed Al-Himyari dismissed reports a Yemeni boat was attacked in Yemen's territorial waters, saying the incident took place while the boat was in Sudan's territorial waters.

He told the media the survivor is being investigated by Sudan.

Tuesday's attack comes in a series of attacks against Yemeni fishing boats by international forces patrolling the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Early this year, two Yemeni sailors were killed as their boats came under separate attacks by international troops in the Indian Ocean. Few others were hurt, with troops saying they suspected the boats were for pirates and then hit them.

And this month, the Interior Ministry said a Yemeni boat was provoked, with NATO's mission in the region intimidating its crew.

The area where the boat was hit on Tuesday is witnessing large fuel smuggling, with eyewitnesses affirming boats smuggle diesel to African Horn States daily.

Source: Yemen Post Newspaper.

Hat tip: Armies of Liberation - Yemeni Fishing Ship Blows Up in Sudanese Waters

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UPDATE 28 May 2009:

From Sahwa Net, Hodeida, 28 May 2009:
Maritime kills tow Yemeni fishermen

Two Yemeni fishermen were killed and another was seriously injured on Wednesday off Hodeida coasts as an explosion targeted their boat.

"The incident was occurred as a result of a maritime mine, according to early estimates" official sources told Sahwa Net.

"Abdu Ibrahim and Ahmed Ibrahim were killed, while Saeed Yousuf was seriously injured".

Military sources referred to the prospect of mine remains planted in the area by Eritrea as it attempted to occupy Honaish Island in the late 1990s.

ICC's chief prosecutor says Britain failing to make Bashir's arrest a priority

On reading the following report from The Guardian, I was struck by the thought that ICC Prosectuor Luis Moreno-Ocampo sounds like he is part of Save Darfur Coalition, onside with the rebels:

"Bashir must be stopped," he said. "The destiny of Bashir is to face justice – it's a matter of time. If China, the US, the UK and Europe acted together, we would stop him".

Why not be even handed and say the same of the insurgents? Surely Mr Moreno-Ocampo is aware of the encouragement that his statement gives them. His bias is so blatant one wonders if he has a vested interest in seeing Sudan's president being removed. How do we know that he and the insurgents are not in the pay of a giant oil company such as France's Total or US's ExxonMobil?

Here's hoping that the British government steers well clear of what the ICC, US and France are up to in Africa and stops African insurgents from entering and residing in the UK.

From The Guardian
By Afua Hirsch, legal affairs correspondent
Sunday 24 May 2009:
Britain failing to make Bashir's arrest a priority, says ICC's chief prosecutor

• Moreno-Ocampo singles out UK for criticism
• Sudan president 'commits crimes every day'



Photo: Chief prosecutor of the international criminal court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, speaking at the Guardian Hay Festival (Martin Argles)

The UK's "complex agenda" is preventing it from doing more to ensure the arrest of the Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, for war crimes and crimes against humanity, the world's most powerful prosecutor said yesterday, claiming that Bashir "continues to commit crimes every day".

Speaking at the Hay literary festival, the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, below, singled out the UK as one of a number of permanent members of the UN security council that should show "unity and leadership" in taking a tough line on Sudan.

"Bashir must be stopped," he said. "The destiny of Bashir is to face justice – it's a matter of time. If China, the US, the UK and Europe acted together, we would stop him". But he added: "What's the advantage for UK to be tough with Sudan when they have so much else on the agenda?"

Moreno-Ocampo's comments come as opinion on the Sudanese president's indictment continues to be divided. The prosecutor called for his arrest in July last year, accusing Bashir of orchestrating a campaign of killings, rape and deportation in the western region of Darfur.

A number of African and Arab countries, as well as NGOs working in Darfur, have criticised the decision to indict Bashir, claiming it has jeopardised the Darfur peace process in Doha, Qatar.

The peace talks have seen a flurry of diplomatic activity in recent days. US officials have travelled to China and plan to meet British, French and Russian diplomats to try to end the six-year war between the Arab government in Khartoum and ethnic minority rebels in Darfur.

A hybrid peacekeeping force was established in Darfur in July 2007 under a coalition between the UN and the African Union. With an estimated strength of 26,000 troops, it is expected to become the largest peacekeeping force in the world.

But critics, who say the peace process has been hampered by a lack of co-operation from the Sudanese government, claim that Moreno-Ocampo's decision to call for Bashir's arrest will further compromise the chances of peace in the region.

The comments are the latest development in a long-running series of controversies involving Moreno-Ocampo since he was appointed as the ICC chief prosecutor in 2003. Although respected by many for his record in prosecuting military generals in his native Argentina, he drew widespread criticism for his initial decision to request Bashir's arrest for the crime of genocide.

The charge was later dropped, leaving Bashir charged with counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. [...]

Moreno-Ocampo's talk at the Guardian-sponsored festival in Hay-on-Wye was the first time he had spoken in the UK in such open terms about his role as the world's first criminal prosecutor.

His interview, with international law expert Phillipe Sands, was one of a number of high profile political and legal discussions raising issues on civil liberties and freedom of speech.

Sources in the Foreign Office said they were surprised by Moreno-Ocampo's apparent criticism of UK foreign policy. The UK has supported the independence of the ICC and so far resisted calls by some African and Arab leaders for the warrant for Bashir's arrest to be deferred.

However Britain, along with other permanent UN security council members the US and France, has supported the current Doha peace process and is currently attempting to broker a deal between rebel leaders and the Sudanese government, with the possibility of deferring the indictment against Bashir. [...]

UNAMID say JEM repulsed at base

Peacekeepers say Darfur rebels repulsed at base
Mon May 25, 2009 KHARTOUM (Reuters) - excerpt:

Rebel fighters failed to capture a Sudanese army base in Darfur, International peacekeepers said Monday, contradicting earlier reports of an insurgent victory.

The joint U.N./African Union UNAMID peacekeeping force originally said raiders had overrun the army base in the settlement of Umm Baru, close to the Chadian border in north Darfur Sunday night.

But UNAMID Information Director Kemal Saiki said Monday the reports from peacekeepers there had been confused.

"They did make a push for it, but they did not overrun the post. Put it down to the fog of war," Saiki said.

Sudan's army spokesman Brigadier Uthman al-Agbash told state media that government soldiers had routed the rebel forces and 43 fighters from the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) had been killed and 54 injured.

JEM said it attacked the base Sunday night and gave varying accounts of the fighting. Senior commander Suleiman Sandal insisted JEM was still largely in control of the town on Monday morning and had sent out units to confront an expected government counter-attack from the south and east.

JEM humanitarian chief Suleiman Jamous told Reuters the rebel forces had pulled out of the town after government planes started bombing the area.

"We wanted to save the people of Umm Baru from the bombing. We pulled out after we achieved what we set out to achieve, which was to attack the base and limit the soldiers' ability to harass civilians," Jamous said. [...]

KHARTOUM BOMB

A bomb was left outside a Khartoum office of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) Monday but failed to explode, the former rebel group said.

The SPLM, which fought for two decades in southern Sudan against Khartoum's rule but is now a junior partner in the government, said the bomb was at an office where senior SPLM official Yasir Arman is based.

A pro-government paper recently called for the killing of Arman over comments he had made objecting to the application of Islamic sharia law to non-Muslims. The paper was briefly suspended from publication. [...]

(Reporting by Andrew Heavens; writing by Aziz El-Kaissouni and Alastair Sharp; editing by Robert Woodward)

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Update from Reuters 25 May 2009:

Sudan's army spokesman Brigadier Uthman al-Agbash told state media that government soldiers had routed the rebel forces and 43 JEM fighters had been killed and 54 injured. He told the Sudanese Media Centre 20 of his soldiers had also been killed and 31 injured.

"The remnants of JEM's armed forces have fled to the Sudan- Chad border," he said. Khartoum accuses its neighbour Chad of backing JEM.

North Korea has carried out a nuclear test

North Korea has carried out a nuclear test. Barack Obama is threatening unspecified 'action'. The UN Security Council will meet later tonight.

Source: Channel 4 News Service Snowmail, UK, Monday, 25 May 2009.
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See 25 May 2009 BBC News report Outrage over N Korea nuclear test and comments at Have Your Say
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Photo: 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) From archives of North Korea Watch: Ban visits Republic of Korea for first time since taking helm at UN.

OIC ministers show solidarity with Khartoum

The weekend-long Foreign Ministers of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Damascus, which ended Monday, also offered recommendations Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Yemen and Somalia, the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA reported.

Source: UPI (DAMASCUS, Syria) 25 May 2009 - OIC ministers develop final statement - excerpt re Sudan:

The ministers, in the draft, showed solidarity with Khartoum against "aggressive plots targeting the sovereignty of Sudan" and criticized foreign interference in Sudan's affairs, including the International Criminal Court's indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for crimes arising from fighting in Darfur, KUNA said.

Sudan Tribune up to no good ... again

After spending fifteen minutes looking for the source of the below copied report by Sudan Tribune I have given up. I cannot find a trace of Russian special envoy to Sudan Mikhail Margelov telling Novosti news agency that: “If the international community does not undertake firm and needed steps to prevent conflict, the already tense situation in the region threatens to create a disaster".

I challenge Sudan Tribune to clarify the source of the following report from London. If they don't, I am leaving the title of this post for all to see.

From Sudan Tribune, Saturday 23 May 2009:
Russia calls for international intervention in Sudan-Chad conflict

May 22, 2009 (LONDON) – The international community must intervene to defuse tensions between Sudan and Chad, a senior Russian official said.



Photo: Russian envoy Mikhail Margelov (AFP)

The Russian special envoy to Sudan Mikhail Margelov told Novosti news agency that the conflict between the two countries keeps escalating.

“If the international community does not undertake firm and needed steps to prevent conflict, the already tense situation in the region threatens to create a disaster” Margelov said.

He called on the international community to press both sides and hinted that the UN must also consider sending peacekeepers but did not elaborate.

Both oil producing nations have for years traded accusations of supporting rebel groups and providing them with bases to launch attacks.

Several regional efforts have helped broker reconciliation agreements as recent as this month in the Arab Gulf state of Qatar that have collapsed following rebel attacks from each side.

This month Chad said rebels coming from bases in Sudan launched attack inside its territory. Chad vowed to pursue the rebels inside Sudan.

Margelov said that Darfur region bordering Chad is under rebel control “without effective monitoring” from UN or international organizations. Furthermore he noted the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir.

He said that all these factors combined contributed to the deterioration of the situation in the region.

The dispute between both countries is largely seen as a spillover from the six year conflict in Sudan’s western region of Darfur that displaced millions across the borders. (ST)

China agreed to give Russia, Kazakhstan, Brazil and Venezuela $49 billion in loans this year in exchange for oil supplies

China's PetroChina Co. briefly overtook Exxon Mobil Corp. as the world’s most valuable company after China’s stimulus plan caused a surge in the nation’s stocks this year.

China’s fuel demand is growing, while in Northern America and Europe demand is actually falling.

China agreed to give Russia, Kazakhstan, Brazil and Venezuela $49 billion in loans this year in exchange for oil supplies.

PetroChina last month agreed to buy a 50 percent share in AO Mangistaumunaigas for as much as $1.4 billion after China agreed to lend $10 billion to Kazakhstan, the largest energy producer in the former Soviet Union after Russia.

China National Petroleum Corp., PetroChina’s parent, is the largest foreign developer of oil fields in Sudan.

The U.S. company Exxon Mobil Corp raked in $425 billion in sales last year, or $60.45 for every man, woman and child on the planet. Exxon’s 2008 profit of $45.22 billion was the most ever for a U.S. corporation, marking the fourth consecutive year of record- setting results.

Source: Bloomberg News report dated 25 May 2009:
PetroChina Matches Exxon as Most Valuable Company (Update1). To contact the reporters on this story: John Liu in Shanghai at jliu42@bloomberg.net; Joe Carroll in Chicago at Jliu42@bloomberg.net
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See Sudan Watch, March 23, 2006: Harvard divests from stock held by HMC in China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec Corporation)

JEM takes Sudan army base in Umm Baru nr Chadian border in North Darfur

According to the following report from Reuters, it would appear that JEM, using mortars and heavy guns, have seized a Sudan army base in Umm Baru near the Chadian border in North Darfur. It is the second army base JEM has taken in the area in just over a week. The governor of North Darfur has accused Chad of sending troops to fight alongside JEM during the battle, which he said the Sudanese government forces won.

Note, the report highlights the fact that JEM seeks to control all of Darfur and neighboring Kordofan.



A BBC report yesterday [Raiders 'seize Sudan army base'] says the reported fall of the Umm Baru base comes as a fresh round of peace talks between Sudan and Jem is due to begin on Wednesday in Doha, Qatar.

Reuters report, 24 May 2009, by Andrew Heavens in Khartoum - excerpt:
Darfur fighters take Sudan army base: peacekeepers

Armed raiders using mortars and heavy guns seized a Sudanese army base near the Chad border in Darfur on Sunday, the second to have fallen in just over a week, international peacekeepers said.

The joint U.N./African Union UNAMID peacekeeping force said it could not confirm the identity of those who attacked the base at Umm Baru but suspected the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) that has been active in the area in recent months.

"Umm Baru was overrun. It has fallen," said UNAMID information director Kemal Saiki. "Our own base just a few kilometers away heard the heavy gunfire." Saiki said the attack started at around 4pm (1300 GMT) and ended around 8.30pm.

Any JEM involvement would heighten already deeply troubled relations between Sudan and Chad, as Khartoum accuses the N'Djamena government of backing the insurgent force.

It would also be the second army base JEM has taken in the area in just over a week, marking an escalation in the recent conflict.

There was no one immediately available to comment on the fighting from JEM or Sudan's armed forces.

Tensions have been building along Sudan's remote border with Chad for weeks.

The two oil producers have long accused one another of supporting each other's rebels. Chad earlier this month admitted bombing rebels inside Sudanese territory, while Khartoum says N'Djamena backs JEM, whose leaders have ethnic links with Chadian President Idriss Deby.

JEM said it seized a Sudanese army base at Kornoi, a settlement just 50 km (31 miles) west of Umm Baru, on May 16, along a road that runs toward a crossing point into Chad.

The governor of North Darfur later accused Chad of sending troops to fight alongside JEM during the battle, which he said the Sudanese government forces won.

There have been signs of JEM re-arming and re-grouping in North Darfur in recent weeks -- it fought former rebels aligned with Sudan's government around Umm Baru earlier this month.

JEM, which seeks to control all of Darfur and neighboring Kordofan, shocked many by attacking Khartoum in May 2008 before being stopped a few kilometers short of the presidential palace.

JEM commander Suleiman Sandal told Reuters earlier on Sunday that Sudanese government planes had been bombing around Kornoi and Umm Baru every day since his force's attack on Kornoi. [...]

In many places, fighting has descended into a free-for-all of tribal clashes and banditry.

Armed men stopped a vehicle carrying Nigerian peacekeepers near El Geneina, capital of west Darfur, on Saturday night, and stole their weapons, phones, radio and transport, the joint U.N./African Union force said. No one was injured in the attack.

The U.N.'s World Food Program said a contract driver was shot dead by suspected robbers in Al Deain in South Darfur on Tuesday. [...] (Editing by Philippa Fletcher)

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Report from China View, 25 May 2009:
Sudanese army defeats attack of rebel militants in Darfur

KHARTOUM, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) announced that they had managed to defeat an attack launched by militants of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) at the restive western Sudanese region of Darfur on Sunday.

SAF spokesman Osman Mohammed al-Aghbash told the Sudanese Media Center that the army troops routed the attack at the Umm Baru areain North Darfur by a large military force of the rebel JEM backed by the Chadian army.

The spokesman added that the army troops caused the rebel group a heavy toll in lives and property, which were being accounted.

Meanwhile, the hybrid peacekeeping force of the United Nations and the African Union in Darfur said armed raiders using mortars and heavy guns seized a Sudanese army base at Umm Baru near the Chad border in Darfur on Sunday, the second to have fallen in just over a week.

Tensions have been building along Sudan's remote border with Chad for weeks, causing concerns of neighboring countries and other countries in the region.

JEM said it seized a Sudanese army base at Kornoi, a settlement just 50 km west of Umm Baru, on May 16, along a road that runs towards a crossing point into Chad. Editor: Mu Xuequan

Maps from Sudan Watch archives. Also, see:

Dec. 7, 2008: Sudan’s South Kordofan the next Darfur?

Nov. 21, 2006: PINR - Intelligence Brief: Rebels Advance on the Central African Republic. Copy:

Just in from Adam Wolf, editor for PINR's Africa region: PINR - Intelligence Brief: Rebels Advance on the Central African Republic. Excerpt:
"As long as the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region continues unresolved, Khartoum's lack of oversight in the area provides a rear base for both Chadian and C.A.R. insurgents that are seeking to gain control of their respective countries. More concerning, however, is the risk of a regional war should troops from either Chad or C.A.R. support attacks on Sudanese territory."

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UPDATE Monday 25 May 2009:
Peacekeepers say Darfur rebels repulsed at base
Mon May 25, 2009 KHARTOUM (Reuters) - excerpt: Rebel fighters failed to capture a Sudanese army base in Darfur, International peacekeepers said Monday, contradicting earlier reports of an insurgent victory.