Sudan: Salah Gosh in Egypt, his ex-agents attempt Sudan coup - Army retakes intelligence buildings

NOTE from Sudan Watch editor: The following news from Reuters dated 14 January 2020 says Sudan's former head of intelligence Mr Salah Gosh is believed to be in Egypt. Also, the Sudanese army quelled an armed revolt in Sudan by Gosh's former security agents on 14 January 2020. Wondering whether Alex de Waal would class the 'revolt' as an attempted coup and add it, plus the one last July (see below), to his list of others in Sudan (see History of coups in Khartoum Sudan by Alex de Waal - Sudan Watch, 21 April 2019 https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2019/04/history-of-coups-in-khartoum-sudan-alex.html)

Copy of news report from Reuters.com

Publication date: Tuesday 14 January 2020, 11:27 AM 

By: Khaled Abelaziz, El Tayeb Siddig

Title: UPDATE 6-Sudan quells revolt of former spy service men after clashes

* Gunfire heard in capital, two oilfields shut down

* Sudan in middle of transition after ousting of Bashir

* Paramilitary head says will not accept any coup (Adds army retakes intelligence buildings, details)

KHARTOUM, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Armed ex-security agents linked to Sudan’s toppled ruler Omar al-Bashir fought soldiers in the capital Khartoum for hours until government forces quelled the revolt late on Tuesday, residents and a military source said.

The violence was the biggest confrontation so far between the old guard and supporters of the new administration, which helped topple Bashir in April after 30 years in power.

The former employees of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) also shut two small oilfields in Darfur in protest about their severance packages, a government source told Reuters. They had an output of around 5,000 barrels per day.

Late Tuesday, soldiers seized back control of all buildings where ex-NISS agents had hours earlier opened fire on government forces, a military source told Reuters.

The former NISS staff surrendered after negotiations, the source said.

Restructuring the once feared security apparatus blamed for suppressing dissent under Bashir was among the key demands of the uprising that forced his removal.

However, once dismissed by the new transitional government, many of the security agents returned to their barracks without being disarmed after leaving the ministries and streets they once controlled.

Residents said the clashes broke out at noon between the former security staff and forces loyal to the transitional government in a northern district of Khartoum where gunfire could be heard for hours.

In a second location next to the airport, ex-NISS staff seized a security building, which was then surrounded by government forces and where gunfire could also be heard, witnesses said.

Four people suffered gunshot wounds but were in stable condition, a doctors’ committee linked to the civilian government said in a statement.

Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudan’s most powerful paramilitary group, which supports the new government, said while he would not consider Tuesday’s incident a coup attempt, any such action would not be tolerated.

“We will not accept any coup, we will not accept any illegal change. The only change will come from the Sudanese people,” he said before his troops helped end the revolt.

AIRSPACE CLOSED

Information Minister Faisal Mohamed Saleh said the gunmen were former employees angry at the terms they had been offered upon their dismissal.

Authorities closed Sudan’s airspace for five hours as a precautionary measure after the start of the shooting, a Civil Aviation Ministry spokesman said.

Dagalo said that former Sudan intelligence chief Salah Gosh and a member of Bashir’s old ruling party was behind the NISS unrest.

“This is a coordinated plan by Salah Gosh and another member of the National Congress party including some generals from intelligence service,” he told a news conference during a visit to South Sudan’s capital Juba on Tuesday.

“The person behind this shooting today is Salah Gosh. He has many generals active within the security sector with an aim to create confusion and fighting.”

Gosh, believed to be in Egypt, could not be immediately reached for comment. 

(Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz, Eltayeb Siddig and Nayera Abdallah with additional reporting by Denis Dumo in Juba; Writing by Amina Ismail and Ulf Laessing; Editing by William Maclean, Alison Williams, and Marguerita Choy)

View original:  https://af.reuters.com/article/sudanNews/idAFL8N29J2TF

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Copy of news report by Reuters

Publication date: Tuesday 14 January 2020, 9:54 PM 

Title: Sudanese government forces retake all intelligence buildings in capital - military source

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese government forces managed late on Tuesday to retake all intelligence buildings in capital held by security agents in revolt, a military source said.

The security agents surrendered after negotiations with their leaders, the source said. They had opened fire to protest against their severance packages.

(Reporting by Khaled Abdelaziz; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

View original:  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sudan-security-revolt/sudanese-government-forces-retake-all-intelligence-buildings-in-capital-military-source-idUSKBN1ZD2QY

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Report from The Guardian UK 

By AFP in Khartoum, Sudan

Publication date: Thu 11 July 2019 23.04 BST

Last modified on Thu 11 July 2019 23.27 BST

Title: Sudan's ruling militia says it's survived coup attempt

Photo: Gen Jamal Omar of Sudan’s ruling military council says 16 soldiers have been arrested. Photograph: Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty

Excerpts: Sudan’s ruling military council has foiled a coup attempt, a top general has announced on state television, saying that 12 officers and four soldiers have been arrested.

“Officers and soldiers from the army and national intelligence and security service, some of them retired, were trying to carry out a coup,” Gen Jamal Omar of the ruling military council said in a statement broadcast live on state television. “The regular forces were able to foil the attempt.” He did not say when the attempt was made.

Full story:  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/11/sudans-ruling-military-council-reports-it-has-survived-coup-attempt

Sudan: Hemeti signs peace agreement on behalf of govt and says "Time of war is over for ever"

NOTE from Sudan Watch editor: Hemedti signed the initial agreement on behalf of the government. He is the leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) which grew out of the notorious Janjaweed militias. It makes one wonder if it is worth the paper it is written on. This feels like dejavu from 15 yrs ago.

Sad to say I agree with a comment posted at the following AP report dated 11 Sep 2019. The comment puts, what I am thinkings, in a nutshell: "Hudna. Arabic for calm, but also means ceasefire. Given the amount of competing forces involved and the web of committees in this government, it won't last long".

News report by The Associated Press (AP)

Dated 11 September 2019

Sudan's government, rebels agree on roadmap for peace

CAIRO (AP) — Sudan's newly appointed government and rebel leaders agreed Wednesday on a roadmap aimed at ending war in the country by year end, following the military's ouster of autocratic President Omar al-Bashir in April.

The two sides signed an initial deal after three days of negotiations in Juba, capital of neighboring South Sudan.

Sudan has been convulsed by rebellions in its far-flung provinces for decades, resulting in tens of thousands of people being killed.

Fighting in the western Darfur province has largely died down in recent years, but rebels and bandits are still active there as well as in the southern provinces of Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

The country's main rebel groups have observed a cease-fire since al-Bashir's overthrow in solidarity with the protest movement that mounted weeks of mass demonstrations before his ouster.

The power-sharing agreement between the military and the pro-democracy movement calls for the new government to make peace with rebel groups within six months.

Talks are supposed to begin Oct. 14, with the goal of reaching a final peace deal within two months, according to the initial agreement, a copy of which obtained by The Associated Press.

"Time of war is over for ever," Gen. Mohammed Hamadan Dagalo, a member of the joint military-civilian sovereign council, said Wednesday.

Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, signed the initial agreement on behalf of the government. He is the leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which grew out of the notorious Janjaweed militias.

The two sides agreed on trust building measures, including the release of all war prisoners. The military council that assumed power after al-Bashir's ouster has released dozens of war prisoners in the past weeks.

The makeup of a new legislative body and the appointment of regional governors would also be delayed until a deal is reached, the initial agreement said.

The rebels include the Sudan Revolutionary Front, which is an alliance of Darfur rebel groups. It is part of the pro-democracy movement.

Another rebel group is the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, which is active in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

The government says achieving peace with the armed groups is key to its program to overhaul the Sudan's battered economy, contending that would allow a reduction in military spending, which takes up to 80% of the budget.

View original: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/sudans-government-rebels-agree-roadmap-194632813.html

Sudan: ICC will ask new govt to extradite Bashir

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor:  According to an article by Ayin re-printed in full here below, the International Criminal Court (ICC) charges against Sudan’s former president Omar al-Bashir cannot be cancelled out by local trials since the ICC charges involve a threat to international security and cannot be waived.  Also:

• "The two arrest warrants issued against Bashir are not subject to any statute of limitations, and the court will ask the coming government to extradite him," ICC spokesman Fadi el-Abdallah told Ayin.
• Regarding the possibility of accepting Bashir's trial in Sudan, Abdallah stipulated that the government should make such a request with guarantees that ensure an impartial investigation following the same charges initially filed by the international court.
• Bashir’s defence team told Ayin the ICC charges against the former president do not concern them as the decision in this matter belongs to the state and its officials.
• Defence lawyer Mohammed el Hassan el Ameen said they are focusing on Bashir’s charges of possession of foreign money in his office at the general command exclusively. “We, as a defence team, have not addressed the issue of the ICC, and there is a near agreement within the defence team, which is composed of more than 100 lawyers, not to go into the ICC issue and the charges against Bashir,” he said. 

Article from and by Ayin Network.com

Dated Tuesday 17 September 2019 

Bashir national trial continues, but ICC trial remains blocked

As the trial of deposed former president Omar Al-Bashir is set to continue this week, several sources claim former members of the ruling party, the National Congress Party, had prepared a plan to ensure the former president does not appear before the International Criminal Court and remain tried within the country.

Last week a packed courtroom heard the testimony of the former president’s office manager, Yaseer Basheer, claiming that the president gave him US$ 11 million, of which US$ 5 million was given to the notorious militia, the Rapid Support Forces. Bashir also gave US$ 4 million to the director and deputy director of the International University of Africa, a private institution with links to Islamists, according to the university’s accountant. Speaking for the first time in court, Bashir claimed he had received US$25 million from the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, among other sources. The former 30-year long authoritarian ruler is facing charges of possessing illicit foreign currency.

Speaking for the first time in court, Bashir claimed he had received US$ 25 million from the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, among other sources.

While Bashir’s gross fiscal mismanagement is gradually revealed in a national court, charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide in Darfur by the International Criminal Court (ICC) may never see the light of day.

Fearing their own implication through an ICC trial, several former ruling party cadres have lobbied members of the Sovereign Council to prevent Bashir’s trial to leave the national stage, according to sources close to the former ruling party that cannot be named for security reasons. The decision to ensure Bashir did not face the two ICC arrest warrants against him took place directly after the former president’s overthrow on 11 April, according to near-identical statements from the sources.

The plan to spare Bashir international legal scrutiny was adopted by the then Chairman of the Political Committee in the Military Council, General Omar Zain al Abideen, and announced during a press conference following Bashir’s ouster. Several National Congress Party (NCP) lawmakers and Gen. Abideen decided to file a police report against Bashir to bring him before an internal court, effectively blocking the ICC whose laws do not allow it to intervene in the event of legitimate national judicial proceedings.

“The two arrest warrants issued against Bashir are not subject to any statute of limitations, and the court will ask the coming government to extradite him,” ICC spokesman Fadi al-Abdullah told Ayin.

ICC

But the ICC has confirmed its determination to pursue Bashir at all costs, outlining the cases in which Bashir’s arrest warrants have been issued are not subject to the statute of limitations. “The two arrest warrants issued against Bashir are not subject to any statute of limitations, and the court will ask the coming government to extradite him,” ICC spokesman Fadi al-Abdullah told Ayin. Regarding the possibility of accepting Al-Bashir’s trial in Sudan, Abdullah stipulated that the government should make such a request with guarantees that ensure an impartial investigation following the same charges initially filed by the international court.

Advocate and international law expert Salih Mahmood said the ICC charges against Bashir cannot be canceled out by local trials since the ICC charges involve a threat to international security and cannot be waived. Mahmood supported the jurisprudence behind the ICC charges against Bashir, stressing that the national courts lacked independence and obstructed legal procedures by the existing authority at the time. 

The advocate claims these circumstances are still the same. “International law gives priority to national courts, but this priority is given in a climate of freedom, independence of the judiciary, and a favourable political situation consistent with international standards of justice,” Mahmood said. “The jurisdiction of the Sudanese courts to try Bashir does not apply –we have not yet seen the independence of the judiciary or even a favourable atmosphere for the trial of Bashir at home.”

Calls for judicial reform are growing. Mass protests organised by the Sudan Professionals Association took place on Thursday in Khartoum and several other towns calling for the replacement of senior judiciary officials and justice for those killed during the protests earlier this year. Sovereign Council member Siddiq Tawer tried to placate the crowd in Khartoum. “The appointment of an independent judiciary chief and a general attorney is one of the government’s priorities considering that justice is one of the demands of the revolution.  All those who have committed a crime against the people and country during the previous regime’s rule will be held accountable,” said Tawer.

“We, as a defense team, have not addressed the issue of the ICC, and there is a near agreement within the defense

Defence team not addressing ICC

Bashir’s defense team told Ayin the ICC charges against the former president do not concern them as the decision in this matter belongs to the state and its officials.

Defense lawyer Mohammed el Hassan el Ameen said they are focusing on Bashir’s charges of possession of foreign money in his office at the general command exclusively. “We, as a defense team, have not addressed the issue of the ICC, and there is a near agreement within the defense team, which is composed of more than 100 lawyers, not to go into the ICC issue and the charges against Bashir,” he said. “There are many statements made in the media by the leaders of the transitional government that affirm they are the decision-makers in trying the president internally or handing him over to the International Criminal Court,” he adds. “It’s not time yet.”

Countless conflict-displaced people in the western Darfur region may not agree with Bashir’s defense team. Mowada Yacoub is an internally displaced person [IDP] still eking out a living in Zam Zam camp in North Darfur and told Ayin justice for Bashir and his associates past war crimes should be a priority for the new transitional government. “The Bashir government is the reason why we are in the IDP camps and lost our families,” Yacoub told Ayin. “I lost my father, I lost my brother, grandfather, uncle –all of this happened during this war. We don’t feel happy after that – even our house was set on fire and our land taken by militias. I lost all of that because of the Bashir government.”

View original article: https://3ayin.com/bashir-national-trial-continues-but-icc-trial-remains-blocked/

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FURTHER READING

From the website of the International Criminal Court (ICC):

Pre-trial

Once the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) has sufficient evidence against an individual, it submits a request to the Pre-Trial judges to issue a warrant of arrest or summons to appear.  

Read more:  https://www.icc-cpi.int/Pages/Pre-Trial.aspx

Al Bashir Case

The Prosecutor v. Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir

The first warrant for arrest for Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir was issued on 4 March 2009, the second on 12 July 2010.  The suspect is still at large.  

Next steps:  Until Omar Al Bashir is arrested and transferred to the seat of the Court in The Hague, the case will remain in the Pre-Trial stage. The ICC does not try individuals unless they are present in the courtroom.

Charges: five counts of crimes against humanity: murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture, and rape; two counts of war crimes: intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking part in hostilities, and pillaging; three counts of genocide: by killing, by causing serious bodily or mental harm, and by deliberately inflicting on each target group conditions of life calculated to bring about the group's physical destruction, allegedly committed at least between 2003 and 2008 in Darfur, Sudan.  

Read more:  https://www.icc-cpi.int/darfur/albashir

Alleged crimes (non-exhaustive list)

Read more:  https://www.icc-cpi.int/darfur/albashir/pages/alleged-crimes.aspx

Pre-trial Chamber II 

Situation in Darfur, Sudan in the case of The Prosecutor v. Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir.  Decision on the non-compliance by the Republic of Djibouti with the request to arrest and surrender Omar Al-Bashir to the Court and referring the matter to the United Nations Security Council and the Assembly of the State Parties to the Rome Statute.  

Read more:  https://asp.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/asp_docs/Non-coop/ICC-02-05-01-09-266-ENG.pdf

Sudan: The last days of Bashir in the palace

• On 30 August 2019 during the third trial session of Sudan's former president Omar al-Bashir, the court in Khartoum indicted Bashir on charges of suspicious enrichment and illegal dealing with foreign exchange.  This follows charges in May with incitement and involvement in the killing of protestors during the demonstrations that led to his overthrow in April. 
• According to the spokesperson of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Bashir’s 2009 arrest warrant for crimes against humanity under the ICC remains valid.  
• “The court has and will continue seeking the compliance of Sudan with its obligation under international law and in relation to the resolution 1539 of the United Nations Security Council,” ICC Spokesperson Fadi el Abdallah told Ayin.
• Bashir’s trial will resume tomorrow [07 Sep 2019] while a future trial at the Hague may become a reality if Sudan’s justice system cannot demonstrate a genuine national investigation and prosecution will take place, Abdallah added.  Full story:

Article from and by Ayin Network.com

Dated 06 September 2019 

The last days of Bashir in the palace, new days in court

The moment millions of Sudanese entered into the vicinity of the General Command of the Army Headquarters on 6 April [2019], the deposed former President al-Bashir was sitting on a chair with another set of empty chairs around him in the courtyard of his residence. Outside his presidential palace overlooking the Nile, protests against his rule intensified, eventually ousting him five days later.

Ayin conducted an exclusive interview with close confidants of the former president that worked within the presidential palace. The sources described to Ayin the scene they saw of the former president just days prior to his arrest. The names of these sources remain confidential for their security.

To curb stress, former president Bashir pulled tattered strings off his Muslim skull cap while three of his presidential aides entered the room. The conversation was stilted and everyone sat in awkward silence. To cut the tension, according to a witness, one of the two aides attempted to make small talk about Bashir’s cap, noting the colour and how it was the first time to see the former president wearing such a hat. Bashir responded by noting the skull cap was the “fashion of the day” and were worn among young people. Gaining access to the presidential palace and then Al-Bashir’s residence was challenging for the three presidential aides –loud protests calling for Bashir to step down could be heard all around them.

They were convinced that they must meet and console the former president in the palace at this difficult time, according to one of the aides. While driving tinted-window cars through the alleyways of central Khartoum to reach al-Bashir’s residence, the three aides could see the multitude of protestors and realised their days of employment were numbered. None of them could have predicted the turnout against the former president. The short distance from the presidential palace to the guest house where Bashir resided seemed longer than ever, the aide told Ayin. The short road appeared to represent the end of Bashir’s 30-year regime. 

The aides entered the former president’s residence at around 5 pm on 6 April where Bashir and his guards sat on full alert, covering the entrances, fearing an attack. A tear gas grenade could be heard outside from security forces in a futile attempt to disperse a crowd of millions in front of the army command post. Bashir could clearly hear the crowds chanting outside, calling for his ouster, according to the inside sources. 

Abdallah al-Bashir, the President’s brother, appeared with a number of Bashir’s bodyguards, and after the salute, he whispered in the president’s ear and called on the guards accompanying him to return to the palace. It turned out that he was accompanying them to the roof of the new palace building inside the general command of the army, where he was monitoring the masses outside and relaying what he saw to his brother. According to one of the former president’s aides, he had never seen Bashir appear so weak and distraught.

Another witness Ayin spoke to claims he saw the former head of security, Salah Gosh, speak to Bashir, allegedly promising to clear the area of the protestors outside his residence. But this never took place.

The break up that did not break

On 7 April, the security committee told President Bashir of their decision to break up the sit-in in front of the army headquarters. Bashir gathered his family and informed them of the decision and asked his relatives who were with him in the guest house to leave the palace and ordered his younger brother, Musaab, to stay with him, according to the two confidential sources that spoke to Ayin.

While waiting for the commencement of the security operation to break up the sit-in, Musaab and others went up to the roof of the palace to see the operation and how it was being carried out. Musab was accompanied by a number of the former president’s guards and security officers. Bullets could be heard. The source of bullets was not known to them before they learned moments later that an army force sided with the revolutionaries and exchanged fire with the security forces and even repulsed them to keep the sit-in going.

This was a difficult reality for those who planned to break up the sit-in and waited for the hour of victory to return directly from the top of their building to inform the former president that the operation had been successful. Instead, no genuine counter-attack against the protestors took place and Bashir would eventually find himself re-accommodated from a palace to a prison where he is currently facing trial. 

Sudan's Bashir 'took $90m from Saudi crown prince', corruption trial hears

Sudan's Bashir 'took $90m from Saudi crown prince', corruption trial hears https://t.co/VNwCiMsltY pic.twitter.com/tYjMZyEFUB

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) 19 August 2019

[See tweet by Middle East Eye here:

https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye/status/1163410563797520384]

On trial at home, possibly abroad

On 30 August during Bashir’s third trial session, the court indicted Bashir on charges of suspicious enrichment and illegal dealing with foreign exchange. This follows charges in May with incitement and involvement in the killing [https://3ayin.com/june-3-massacre/] of protestors during the demonstrations that led to his overthrow in April. 

Far from the glittery walls of the palace, the former president now sits in a cage in front of Justice Al Sadiq Abdul Rahman who refused a bail request, citing the law preventing such a measure for crimes that involve prison sentences that potentially exceed 10 years. 

But Bashir may face further trials in a different setting. According to the spokesperson of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Bashir’s 2009 arrest [https://www.icc-cpi.int/darfur/albashir] warrant for crimes against humanity under the ICC remains valid. “The court has and will continue seeking the compliance of Sudan with its obligation under international law and in relation to the resolution 1539 of the United Nations Security Council,” ICC Spokesperson Fadi el Abdallah told Ayin. Bashir’s trial will resume tomorrow [07 Sep 2019] while a future trial at the Hague may become a reality if Sudan’s justice system cannot demonstrate a genuine national investigation and prosecution will take place, Abdallah added.

View original article: https://3ayin.com/last-days-of-bashir/

Sudan: Darfur lawyers say Musa Hilal's trial is invalid (Part 18)

‘All activities concerning the resisting and opposing the former regime are legitimate and do not constitute crimes’ –Darfur Bar Association

Article from and by Radio Dabanga.org

Dated Thursday 19 September 2019 - KHARTOUM / DARFUR

Darfur lawyers: ‘Hilal Court Martial invalid - resisting Al Bashkir regime is no crime'

Photo: Former Janjaweed leader Musa Hilal (File photo)

The Darfur Bar Association has described the trial by Court Martial of former Janjaweed leader Musa Hilal and his affiliates as invalid and has no legal ground because the alleged crimes relate to the resisting and opposing the former regime, which are legitimate activities that cannot constitute crimes.

Yesterday, a statement issued by the Darfur Bar Association stated that the trial of Musa Hilal and his affiliates for crimes related to the opposing or resisting the former regime confirms the continuation of the policies of the former regime and its organs, which contradicts the goals of the revolution. Thus it is an insult to the role of the Forces for Freedom and Change and the newly formed government. Further, the Bar Association stressed in its statement that all activities concerning the resisting and opposing the former regime are legitimate and do not constitute crimes.

The military court on Monday [16 Sep] prevented four lawyers assigned by Hilal’s family to defend him, from attending the session held at the general army command in Khartoum.

The trial of Musa Hilal, the leader of Mahamid and the head of the Revolutionary Awakening Council, which was postponed twice in this month, is due to resume on Monday [23 Sep].

The adjourned court sessions were accompanied by demonstrations demanding his release in front of the Military Headquarter in Khartoum and other cities in Darfur, including Mystria, Ed Daein, Zalinge,i and El Geneina.

Crowds gathered on Sunday in front of the army command, as well as in El Geneina, capital of West Darfur.

2017 arrest

Hilal was arrested in a raid on his stronghold in Misteriya, North Darfur, in November 2017. His sons, brothers, and entourage were detained as well, in addition to some 2,000 members of his clan.

Hilal, who refused to operate with the government’s disarmament campaign, was transferred to Khartoum. His trial secretly began on April 30, 2018.

In July last year, the NISS arrested Hilal’s hearing-impaired son, Ahmed Musa. The next month, several ‘associates of Hilal’ were arrested from a house at Gurrat El Zawiya area in North Darfur.

Atrocities in Darfur

Hilal is held responsible for the atrocities committed in Darfur against civilians after the conflict erupted in 2003. In that year, he was released from prison by the Sudanese government with the purpose to mobilise Darfuri Arab herders to fight the insurgency in the region.

With full government backing, Hilal’s militiamen (janjaweed) targeted villages of African Darfuris. They rarely came near forces of the armed rebel movements.

View original: https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/darfur-lawyers-hilal-court-martial-invalid-resisting-al-bashir-regime-is-no-crime

Sudan: Darfur Border Guards will not merge with RSF (Part 16)

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor:  The following article was published one month before Musa Hilal was arrested.  Hilal was arrested on 17 November 2017 by Hemeti's Rapid Support Forces and flown to Khartoum. 

To this day Hilal has not been permitted visits from his relatives. I cannot find any news regarding his wellbeing or how he is being treated. One report says he has been kept in solitary confinement.  

Medics from a body such as the AU, UN or Red Cross should urgently push for a visit to check on his welfare and that of the others who were arrested with him.

One report claims ten of them went on hunger strike and there is mention of ill-treatment. I fear they are being badly treated and their human rights ignored.

Article from and by Radio Dabanga.org

Dated 17 August 2017 - DARFUR

Musa Hilal: ‘Darfur Border Guards will not integrate with RSF’

Musa Hilal (File photo: Hamid Abdulsalam / Unamid)

Musa Hilal, head of the Revolutionary Awakening Council, and chief of the Mahameed clan, has strongly defended the Darfuri Border Guards militia and renewed his refusal to integrate it to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan (Hemeti).

In an interview with Radio Dabanga, former Janjaweed* leader Hilal said the he was the one who established and presented the Border Guards initiative to the army in Darfur to defeat the rebellion.

Hilal said that he recruited the Border Guards in Darfur “which the army provided with military equipment, weapons and ammunition, led the wars against the rebellion in Darfur, and secured the country from the armed movements…  and defeated the rebellion in its large camps of Berdi to Ein Siro and others in Darfur”.

In a clear reference to Hemeti, Hilal said he has been “taken advantage of, pushed apart, and replaced by someone”.

He launched a fierce attack on the RSF, which he described as mercenaries.

He said that “these militiamen have nothing to do with the Rizeigat and Darfur people who have experienced natural challenges from neighbouring countries, famines and wars in their countries. He stressed that “these militiamen do not belong to the armed forces and their affiliates have no military files nor paid monthly salaries of the armed forces.

“They are paid bonuses from foreign countries every six months,” he alleges.

“They are real mercenaries being used for begging from Qatar and Saudi Arabia."

Hilal mocked the members of the RSF and their recruiting methods saying: “they take rank badges in sacks and distribute them to people in the open.”

‘Group seized’

Sudan’s Vice-President Hasabo Abdelrahman confirmed seizing a group of close followers of Musa Hilal on the Darfur-Libya border. Abdelrahman alleges that the planning to recruit 1,000 people from Darfur in favour of the Libyan army commander Khalifa Haftar.

On Tuesday night, Sudan’s Vice-President Hasabo Abdelrahman told media “If we have to confront Musa Hilal we will do, we will not allow whoever would conspire with Hafter and would not allow anyone to get out of the control of the state and we have only a great God”.

Abdelrahman pointed out that the issue of collecting weapons is a matter of “life or death” and that they would not back down from its implementation

Tribal leaders

Abdelrahman said that the arrest of leaders of native administration of Maaliya and Rizeigat took place because of their negative role in the conflict and failure to control it, despite allowing them time to play a positive role in the prevention of sedition.

He announced seizure of 1,765 Land Cruisers in the past period.

He explained that 65,000 vehicles have been smuggled from the neighbouring countries, especially Libya, South Sudan and Egypt.

Prosecution

South Darfur state authorities announced the establishment of a specialised prosecution to prosecute critics of a government campaign in the province to collect weapons from and regulate the vehicles coming from neighbouring countries.

The state Governor, Adam El Faki, said the local authorities decided to allow 700 vehicles along with 460 trucks 10-days to adjust their status by completing their customs duties

On Wednesday he told a news conference in Nyala that the native administrations have agreed to the government's plan to collect weapons

He announced the establishment of a prosecutor to prosecute critics of the campaign to collect weapons and legalise vehicles on social networking and electronic sites.

He called on people to hand over weapons at the nearest police station or military unit.

*Janjaweed

Hilal, the most notorious janjaweed leader, belongs to the Arab Mahameed clan in North Darfur. In early 2003, when Darfuri rebels took up arms against the government, he was serving a jail sentence for stirring up ethnic conflicts and mass killings of innocent civilians in the region.

The then Vice-President Ali Osman Taha released Hilal and assigned him as main recruiter of Arab youth in Darfur. Thus he became the head of new groups of loosely organised militiamen, called janjaweed, by their victims, the African population in the marginalised region that mainly consist of farmers. With the full backing of the government, Hilal’s militias targeted unarmed civilians in the region, attacking African Darfuri villages, but they rarely came near forces of the rebel movements.

In 2006, the UN Security Council imposed financial and travel sanctions on the militia leader, who was offered lucrative administrative positions by the government in Khartoum at the time. Mid 2013, however, Hilal returned to North Darfur, where his fighters, including the militiamen of the Border Guards, launched widespread attacks on government forces and allied militias.

Hilal established the RAC in Saraf Omra locality in North Darfur in March 2014. The council was compiled from native administration leaders and militants from various tribes in the area.

In December that year, when he announced his own administration of the Jebel Amer gold mining area in North Darfur, he strongly denounced Khartoum’s policies in Darfur. “In particular, the Arab youth should be aware of this. In reality, they are not waging a jihad and defending the nation as the NCP leaders say. The Sudanese rulers only want to defend their interests, their personal agendas, and their positions,” he said.

According to a UN Security Council report in April this year, Hilal is profiting from vast gold sales in Darfur.

View original:  https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/musa-hilal-darfur-border-guards-will-not-integrate-with-rsf