Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Day 244 - December 9th
Monday, December 7, 2009
Day 242 - December 7th
From Sudan Tribune:
Rebels kill 17 Sudanese troops during fresh attack in Darfur
Monday 7 December 2009.
December 6, 2009 (LONDON) — Rebels in Darfur said today they killed 17 government troops when they repelled an attack by the Sudanese army against one of their bases in the western part of mountainous area of Jebel Marrah.
The Sudan Liberation Army led by Abdel Wahid Al-Nur (SLA-AW) said they repulsed an attack by the government troops and militias against their position in Tourain Tawrah in West Darfur.
"Some 500 soldiers and Janjaweed militia attacked early this morning our position in Trourain Tawrah. The assailants arrived in vehicles, camels and horses," Nimer Abdelrahman, the SLA-Aw military spokesperson told Sudan Tribune by telephone on Sunday.
The rebel official said they killed 17 army troops and militiamen, adding they destroyed three vehicles and captured two others; besides killing five camels and 15 horses.
The attacker who arrived from Kass meant to "take the control of our base there. It is part of their efforts to put pressure on our movement to join the peace process," added the rebel official.
The SLM/A-AW refuses to join the peace process in the Qatari capital Doha. However, the Paris based leader of the rebel group, Al-Nur engaged discussions with the Chief Mediator Djibril Bassole to find ways to reconcile their demand for security and the peace process.
Nimer said the assailants burnt the location of Tourain Tawrah and the civilians evacuated their homes and fled to the mountains. He called on aid groups in the restive region to provide humanitarian assistance to the affected population.
The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said in a report o the UN Security Council at mid November that the Sudanese government restricts the movement of the hybrid peacekeeping mission preventing it from going to a number of areas there.
Since this summer Sudanese forces carry out regular attack on the SLA-AW positions in central Darfur area. On November 30, the rebels said they killed five troops in an attack against their position near Jiba, in Jebel Marrah.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Day 241 - December 6th
Rwanda: Govt Blames Sudan for Darfur Attacks
Frank Kagabo
6 December 2009
Kigali — Rwanda has accused the Khartoum government of being behind the ambush in which three RDF peacekeepers were killed and two injured at Saraf Umra in Darfur on Friday.
Hours later, two more peacekeepers were killed in a separate attack yesterday; the RDF spokesman Maj. Jill Rutaremara told The Sunday Times that there is no known presence of rebel activity in the area where the ambush took place.
He pointed out that the ambush took place 300 metres from the Government Forces' check point.
"The proximity of the ambush to the checkpoint manned by the government forces raises some questions. The only logical conclusion the RDF can make is that the RDF Peacekeepers were killed and injured by the government forces," said Rutaremara.
He revealed that the second attack in which two soldiers died yesterday were carried out by gunmen dressed in civilian clothes in Shagilitobay where they were supplying water to Internally Displaced Persons, the army spokesman said,
"There is nothing that immediately points an accusing finger to the Government forces in the Shangilitobay case apart from the coincidence of timing."
"More investigations are needed in this second case to establish the identity of the perpetrators," he added.
Rutaremara, however, said that the RDF is hopeful that a diplomatic solution will be found.
"Meanwhile the RDF peacekeepers are observing maximum vigilance ready to defend themselves and where necessary pursue the attackers as they did. There are always some lessons learnt in any operation. The RDF will constantly review the way they conduct their operations in light of these developments."
Rwanda has over 3,500 troops serving under the UN-AU hybrid force, UNAMID as well as UNMIS.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Day 240 - December 5th
From Reuters:
Two Darfur peacekeepers killed in second attack
1:33pm EST
By Andrew Heavens
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Two Rwandan peacekeepers were shot dead and one was wounded in Sudan's Darfur region on Saturday, the second attack on their contingent in 24 hours, the force said.
Gunmen in traditional robes opened fire on the soldiers as they distributed water in a refugee camp, the joint U.N./African Union force said, a day after three Rwandan soldiers were killed in an ambush as they escorted a water tanker.
UNAMID communications chief Kemal Saiki said it was too early to say whether the attacks were linked. The shooting brought to 22 the number of peacekeepers killed since the undermanned force were deployed in January 2008.
UNAMID, which is supposed to keep the peace in a territory about the size of Spain, has faced threats and harassment from Sudanese government troops, the United Nations reported last month, and has also been targeted by bandits active in the remote western region. Khartoum dismissed the U.N. report.
Saiki said the Rwandans were handing out water at a refugee camp in the settlement of Shangil Tobay, about 65 km (40 miles) south of the capital of north Darfur El Fasher.
"Some men in the crowd were hiding guns in their robes ... They opened fire without warning. Two of the peacekeepers were killed on the spot," Saiki said.
A third Rwandan soldier was wounded, he said, adding the attackers drove off in a UNAMID pick-up, later found abandoned by pursuing peacekeepers.
Three Rwandan soldiers were killed and two wounded in an ambush near the north Darfur settlement of Saraf Omra, about 200 km west of El Fasher, Friday.
UNAMID said it was investigating the motives of the attackers, but suspected they were trying to steal a vehicle.
Law and order has collapsed more than six years after mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against Sudan's government, accusing it of neglecting the region.
Sudan's government mobilized mostly Arab militias to crush the uprising. Violence has diminished in recent years, replaced in many areas by a free-for-all involving rival tribes, rebel splinter groups and bandits.
Estimates of the death toll range from 300,000 according to the United Nations, to 10,000 according to Khartoum.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Day 239 - December 4th
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNAzWm6ViP4&feature=channel
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Day 236 - December 1st
‘Keep Silent’ on Darfur, Sudan tells US
November 30, 2009 (WASHINGTON) - The US administration should stay away from the crisis in the Darfur region if it is to be resolved, the Sudanese UN ambassador said today.
“It is better if the US want to assist the peace process is to keep silent because they don’t have the information and the UN itself confirmed in no uncertain terms through the visit of Mrs. Malcorra [UN Under Secretary-General for Field Support, Susana Malcorra] last week in Sudan through the tripartite arrangement and mechanism that access is provided, that cooperation of Sudan with UNAMID is on course,” the Sudanese envoy Abdel-Mahmood Abdel-Haleem told reporters today at the UN headquarters.
His statements came few minutes after his US counterpart Susan Rice criticized at the stakeout what she described as impediments made by Khartoum to UNAMID that was mentioned in the periodic report by the UN Secretary General.
“The United States is particularly concerned about the reports that we heard referenced in the Secretary-General’s report of some 42 instances in which UNAMID personnel and patrols have been denied freedom of movement and access” Rice said.
“These quite directly and seriously contravene the terms in the status of forces agreement that the government of Sudan has committed to. It impedes UNAMID’s ability to protect civilians and do its vital work and it is utterly unacceptable, as are the threats by the government of Sudan against UNAMID and its personnel, threats that are amply documented in the Secretary-General’s report. But we expect that the UN will continue the important and vital efforts of UNAMID occurring in the most difficult of circumstances and we expect that the UN will report fully, accurately and on a timely basis, not only about incidents that occur, but who is responsible for incidents when they occur” she added.
The UN ambassador also took a hit at Abdel-Haleem accusing him of “bullying”.
“The sort of efforts that we saw today by the Permanent Representative of Sudan in the Chamber to try to bully and intimidate the United Nations into not reporting fully and accurately, will not be tolerated. And we will insist on and continue to expect timely and full reporting on these incidents and clear accounting for who is responsible so that we and other members of the Security Council can employ this vital information in the implementation of our national and our collective policies” she said.
The Sudanese official objected to the “bleak” pictures presented in the report and claimed that his views were shared by half of the UN Security Council (UNSC) members.
The Deputy UN peacekeeping chief Edmond Mulet who briefed the UNSC today said that Darfur rebel forces also have made it difficult for UNAMID to carry out its mission.
“Similar commitments to UNAMID’s freedom of movement are required from the armed [rebel] movements with respect to their areas of control if UNAMID is to succeed in its mission of assisting the parties in re-establishing comprehensive peace and stability," Mulet said.
The UN official noted that the opening of a new round of UN-backed talks on Darfur this month in the Arab Gulf state of Qatar coincided with an escalation of armed clashes between the rebels.
He gave examples in southern Darfur, where Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) from the Minni Minnawi faction (SLA/MM) attacked two villages, killing 11 people, and a few days later on 19 November 29 Sudanese soldiers were ambushed and killed, with both SLA/Abdul Shafie and SLA/Abdul Wahid fighters claiming responsibility.
“These attacks are unacceptable and illustrate the extent to which the fragmentation of the Darfurian rebel movements continues to be a reality ¬– with obvious implications for the mediation and peace process,” Mr. Mulet said in the briefing on UNAMID.
The Assistant-Secretary-General told the Council that a number of groups in Darfur, including the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and SLA/AW continue to express concern over the holding of national elections, slated for April 2010, before a peace agreement is reached.
In this connection, Mr. Mulet said that the “start of elections registration on 1 November led to heightened tensions in some areas of Darfur,” which he characterized as an unacceptable threat to the electoral process in Sudan.
This month Hussein Abu Sharati the spokesperson of Darfur IDP’s and refugees told Sudan Tribune that seven IDP’s were killed in West Darfur in a clash between the residents and government troops which attempted to force them to take part in voter registration process.
- From Reuters:
Millions could miss Sudan elections - observers
* Lack of publicity hits voter registration across Sudan
* Fears of intimidation at Darfur registration stations
* Peaceful registration process praised
KHARTOUM, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Millions of voters could be left out of Sudan's first elections in 24 years because of a failure of authorities to persuade more people to register for the poll, international observers said on Tuesday.
The elections, scheduled for April next year, have already been marred by accusations of fraud and opposition parties have threatened to boycott them if democratic reforms are not passed before they take place.
International observers from The Carter Center said they were concerned poor publicity over the process had already hit the number of people registering to vote, warning some states might sign up fewer than half of eligible voters.
"Without civic education millions may effectively be disenfranchised by a combination of ignorance of the electoral process, mistrust of central authorities, and poor publicity of registration activities," a Carter Center statement said.
"Without specific attention to reaching those most distant from the process, the registration exercise will be undermined."
The ballot was set up under a 2005 peace agreement that ended more than two decades of north-south civil war in the oil-producing nation. But leaders from both sides remain at loggerheads over preparations.
The Carter Center urged Sudan's National Elections Commission (NEC) to increase publicity and funding for teams signing up voters across Africa's largest country, saying current figures showed most states might miss registration targets.
It said there were concerns over the turnout for registration in western Darfur territory as well as the east, south and the central Kordofan regions.
Registration was due to end after a 30-day period on Nov. 30 but was extended for one week following concerns about low turnout and public awareness.
The presence of government intelligence agents at registration centres in Darfur might intimidate voters there, it said.
It also said agents from some political parties were gathering outside centres to take down voters' personal details and persuade them to hand over their registration receipts.
The Carter Center also said it was concerned that military and security personnel had been allowed to register where they work, rather than where they live, which might allow for double registration.
http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSHEA134129._CH_.2400
- From Reuters:
Report urges sanctions against Sudan ruling party
* Sudan's UN envoy says Darfur activists are "war mongers"* U.S. urged to push China to pressure Khartoum
By Louis Charbonneau
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The United States and other world powers should impose sanctions on key members of the Sudanese government for refusing to end violence in Darfur and south Sudan, a report by an anti-genocide group said on Monday.
Sudan's U.N. Ambassador Abdalmahmoud Abdalhaleem reacted angrily to the report, calling the Enough Project, a Washington-based anti-genocide group, "war mongers."
The Enough Project's report said there was a risk of a new civil war and warned that nationwide elections next year and a 2011 referendum on whether the oil-rich and semi-autonomous south should secede from the Khartoum-led north would not be free and fair.
The report placed the bulk of the blame on the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who was indicted in March by the International Criminal Court for suspected war crimes in Sudan's remote western region of Darfur. The report called for sanctions.
"Without a firm response from the international community, led by the United States, full-scale nationwide war is inevitable," said the report, written by Enough Project co-founder and former U.S. State Department and National Security Council official John Prendergast.
"This should involve a special outreach effort to China because of the vulnerability of its oil investments should war resume in the South," the report said. "The United States must, then, organize and lead a multilateral diplomatic surge in Sudan aimed at negotiating and consolidating national peace."
It recommended "multilateral asset freezes aimed at key members of the NCP who have enriched themselves as a result of the oil boom of the last decade in Sudan." The report also supported travel bans and denying Khartoum access to the debt relief it has been lobbying for.
Sudan's U.N. envoy Abdalhaleem rejected the report.
"Those war mongers and war traders are in a race with time to stop the peace train which is already moving to its destination," he told Reuters. "Their report exposes their bankruptcy and the fact that realities on the ground .... defeated their sick mentality."
DISAPPOINTMENT
The head of Save Darfur, a separate coalition of more than 180 religious, political, and human rights organizations, backed the main conclusions of the Enough Project report.
"Coordinated multilateral action is crucial to promoting peace in Sudan, and that action has to deal with the reality that the core of the problem is the ruling National Congress Party's seeking to maintain its domination of power and wealth," Save Darfur president Jerry Fowler told Reuters.
"It is difficult for me to see how a strategy that doesn't include pressure could succeed," he said.
Behind the complaints of Darfur activists is disappointment with U.S. President Barack Obama's administration, which took nearly 10 months to formulate and announce a new Sudan policy that they worry is not being implemented aggressively enough.
That strategy calls for renewed U.S. economic sanctions on Sudan, but also offers Khartoum new incentives to end violence in Darfur and the South ahead of polls next year.
The former head of the U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur said earlier this year that the six-year conflict in Darfur was essentially over.
But that assessment was contradicted by a recent report of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who said that fighting between the Sudanese army and rebels continued, civilians remained at risk, and peacekeepers were routinely harassed by government forces.
U.N. diplomats and analysts say China's opposition to U.N. sanctions on Khartoum remains steadfast. Beijing holds a veto on the U.N. Security Council, which means it has the power to block any resolution imposing U.N. sanctions on Khartoum.
They also warn that a 2005 peace deal between the North and South that ended a two-decade civil war is unraveling.
The United Nations says more than 2 million people were driven from their homes and some 300,000 people died in the Darfur crisis, although levels of conflict have fallen since the mass killings of 2003 and 2004. Khartoum puts the death toll at 10,000.
http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSN30423373._CH_.2400
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Day 234 - November 29th
More details as reported by Sudan Tribune:
Sudan kills seven IDPs in Darfur camp
November 28, 2009 (PARIS) — Seven Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were killed Friday in West Darfur following a wrangle between the residents and government troops which attempted to force them to take part in voter registration.
- Burial ceremony at Kalma IDP camp (UNAMID/file)
The IDPs ask the government to disarm militia and to bring to justice responsible of atrocities committed in the restive region as well as to conclude a peace deal with the rebel groups before organize elections in the country.
However, the local authorities in Darfur launched a voter registration process in the three states of the province in a bid to count IDPs that the UN estimates their number to be 2.7 million.
Many of them resisted the Sudan fifth population and housing census conducted in April year. The total number of Darfur three states is estimated at 7 501 012 according to the figures published by the Sudanese authorities.
The Sudanese regular forces and militia in West Darfur state on Friday evening — at 05:00pm – killed seven people in Deleij IDPs camp, some 280 klm from El Geneina the capital of West Darfur state. The incident took place after attempts by local officials to persuade the residents of the camp to register in electoral lists.
In a discussion with the officials who were accompanied by regular forces from the army and police besides Janjaweed militiamen the residents reiterated their rejection to the electoral operation.
"They had a hot discussion with the officials after declaring their support to (the rebel leader) Abdel Wahid Al-Nur, then the regular forces and the militia started shooting on the innocent civilians," said Hussein Abu Sharati the spokesperson of Darfur IDPs and refugees.
He further said the peacekeepers in the area were present but did not intervene to prevent the killing.
Speaking on Saturday afternoon, the IDPs spokesperson added the regular forces had been withdrawn after the killing.
Abu Sharati also stressed that what was happened in Deleij could be repeated in two other camps in North Darfur.
According the spokesperson, the Sudanese authorities already visited Al-Maliha and Kassap camps today and threatened to arrest tomorrow those who refuse the voter registration operation.
"Today they already arrested seven local leaders (Mashaikh) from Kassap camp," he further said.
Sudan launched a one month voter registration operation inside and outside the country, ahead of general election scheduled to be held next April. The process is extended for one week during the next month.
- Also from Sudan Tribune on Elections that the ruling party NCP is clearly planning to rig:
Sudan slams US skepticism over conducting credible elections in 2010
November 28, 2009 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese government responded angrily to a statement by the US administration which expressed doubts that the April 2010 elections could be held in a credible manner hinting that it should be delayed.
Yesterday the US State department released a statement saying that Washington is “concerned about the chances for conducting credible elections and referenda”.
“In Khartoum, the two parties to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)—the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM)—continue their discussions to resolve key outstanding issues relating to the 2010 national elections and the 2011 referenda in Southern Sudan and Abyei. Unfortunately, the parties have not yet demonstrated the political will necessary to achieve resolution on these difficult and sensitive issues”.
In the past the US has been adamant about conducting elections on time despite signs that this may not be possible in light of political disagreement and long standing objections by opposition parties that the NCP is restricting free press and political campaigning with wide powers granted to the security bureau including those relating to arresting individuals.
The Sudanese foreign ministry spokesperson Muawiya Osman Khalid described the US position as “sabotage with a goal of achieving special agenda” adding that the number of registered voters surpassed 10 million which he described as a “good figure”.
Khalid noted that the border demarcation between North and South “is a long technical process” stressing that the committees are carrying out their duties in “coordinated and coherent steps”.
The Sudanese official called on the international community “to ignore the voices which seeks to doubt the elections” and the support the democratic transformation process and encourage the political parties “to carry out their role towards its members”.
This week in Khartoum the US special envoy to Sudan Scott Gration said that he is “pleased to see that Sudan is entering into the registration period that things are proceeding, and we look forward to a good election in April”.
The change in US position could indicate failure by Gration to make the NCP or SPLM reach a middle ground on last year’s census results used to determine geographical constituencies which the ex-southern rebel group views as objectionable because it claims to understate the population of Southerners. There is also a dispute of the draft national security bill as well as the referendum law.
The negotiations between the NCP and SPLM on elections and referendum have been dragging on for months which could jeopardize the timing of holding both processes. The elections have so far been moved up 3 times.
The SPLM categorically rejects any delay in rescheduling the 2011 referendum amid regional concern that the South may resort to unilateral declaration of referendum.
The Sudanese political parties including the SPLM are scheduled to meet in the coming weeks to determine whether they will take part in the elections which they alleged to be marred with widespread fraud.
The Islamist opposition leader Hassan Al-Turabi said any boycott decision has to be made by a coalition of parties and that it is useless for one single party to make such a move unilaterally.
