Saturday, October 31, 2009
Day 205 - October 31
- Lawyers and human right workers who monitor and defend victims in Darfur, are subjected to harassment, humiliation, detention, and other forms of persecutions by the Security Agents and other branches of the Government of Sudan. In an interviews, many of these human rights workers complained to Radio Dabanga that the GoS conducts a systematic campaign of harassment against them while they do their work in the camps, villages, cities, and towns across Darfur. Some of these human right activists are threatened by phone calls from the Security agents telling them to stop aiding the victims in the camps or the detained ones in the prisons because they are "enemies of the State". A lawyer complained that a colleague was detained but they pressed for his release. But even after he was released he was followed continuously by Security Agents with frequently being stopped and searched publicly in a humiliating manner.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Day 204 - October 30th
- Armed men in Gama area between Kerenik and Hakrane killed 3 men on Wednesday. The assailants were seen on camels and fled the scene. The names of the three men are Salah Idris (32), Mohamed Adam (30) and Hassan Theiya (35). An eyewitness told Radio Dabanga from Kerenik in West Darfur that the armed men disappeared very quickly after the killing.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Day 203 - October 29th
- The insecurity, instability, and war environment in Darfur are leading to more violence among tribal groups in Darfur. Radio Dabanga reported that about 150 families fled to the camps of Shaddad and Shangel Tobai after clashes between the tribes of Zaghawa and Birgid (both are African tribes) in the villages around Shangil Tobai (Central Darfur). The clashes broke on Monday 10/26 with ten people dead.
- On a report from Radio Dabanga, a man was killed by government troops near Internally-Displaced-Persons (IDP) camp of Abu Shouk (near ElFasher). A leader in the camp said that the heavy presence of the troops around the camp is causing nervousness and terror in the camps that affected the life of the refugees in the camp.
- Kidnapping is becoming a profitable business in Darfur for pro-government militias.
From Irish Times:
Kidnappers of Red Cross worker demand €1m ransom
MARY FITZGERALD, Foreign Affairs Correspondent
Wed, Oct 28, 2009
THE KIDNAPPERS of a Red Cross employee abducted in Darfur in the same week two Goal aid workers were freed following 107 days in captivity have demanded a ransom of at least $1 million in exchange for his release.
Gauthier Lefevre, a dual French-British national who had traveled to Sudan on his French passport, was seized by an armed gang in western Darfur last week. The kidnapping took place just days after Goal workers Sharon Commins (32) and her Ugandan colleague Hilda Kawuki (42) were freed on October 18th.
Mr Lefevre’s abduction marks the fifth kidnapping of foreign aid personnel since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir in March for alleged war crimes committed during the six-year conflict in Darfur.
“The kidnappers called government authorities . . . and demanded a ransom,” a senior source in Sudan’s intelligence services told Reuters yesterday, adding that the sum demanded was the equivalent of about $1 million.
“This is now a red line. The government will not be paying any ransom,” the source added.
In a later report by Agence France Presse, Sudan’s humanitarian affairs minister Abdul Bagi al-Jailani was quoted as saying the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of $4.5 million dollars. “But we will not pay a ransom, and the same goes for the Red Cross,” he added.
International Committee of the Red Cross spokeswoman Tamara al-Rifai confirmed a ransom had been demanded. “As a policy we don’t pay ransom. We go through our normal channels of dialogue, persuasion and the peaceful resolution of such a crisis,” she said.
Ms Commins and Ms Kawuki were freed after enduring more than three months at the hands of their captors. The two women had been abducted at gunpoint from their compound in the north Darfur town of Kutum on July 3rd.
During their ordeal the women were held in the open air in a mountainous region of Darfur and subjected to mock executions. Their kidnappers made frequent demands for a ransom, but the Sudanese, Irish and Ugandan governments have insisted no money was paid in exchange for the women’s release.
Last week Musa Hilal, a former militia leader who is now an adviser to the Sudanese government, told The Irish Times the kidnappers had received the equivalent of €150,000. Claims to the contrary were “just politicians’ talk”, he said.
Mr Hilal, an influential tribal chief in Darfur, played a key role in securing the women’s release after President al-Bashir asked him to assist in the case.
Mr Jailani, who oversaw negotiations for the release of Ms Commins and Ms Kawuki, insisted no ransom was paid in their case but he acknowledged that funds totalling the equivalent of about €44,000 had been provided to local chiefs during efforts to free the women. The money was supplied to “help and facilitate” the work of mediators, Mr Jailani said. The Irish and Ugandan ambassadors were aware of the payments and offered to contribute, he added.
“It was not a ransom given to the wrongdoers, it was money given for facilitation to chiefs and stakeholders in the area,” Mr Jailani told The Irish Times earlier this week.
He insisted the Sudanese authorities would bring criminal charges against the kidnappers of the Goal workers. Sudan has yet to apprehend any of those responsible.
Mr Lefevre’s kidnapping brings to three the number of foreign personnel being held hostage in Darfur. Two civilians working for the joint UN-African Union mission in the region who were abducted in August remain in captivity.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2009/1028/1224257556577.html
- On a report from Radio Dabanga, a man was killed by government troops near Internally-Displaced-Persons (IDP) camp of Abu Shouk (near ElFasher). A leader in the camp said that the heavy presence of the troops around the camp is causing nervousness and terror in the camps that affected the life of the refugees in the camp.
- Kidnapping is becoming a profitable business in Darfur for pro-government militias.
From Irish Times:
Kidnappers of Red Cross worker demand €1m ransom
MARY FITZGERALD, Foreign Affairs Correspondent
Wed, Oct 28, 2009
THE KIDNAPPERS of a Red Cross employee abducted in Darfur in the same week two Goal aid workers were freed following 107 days in captivity have demanded a ransom of at least $1 million in exchange for his release.
Gauthier Lefevre, a dual French-British national who had traveled to Sudan on his French passport, was seized by an armed gang in western Darfur last week. The kidnapping took place just days after Goal workers Sharon Commins (32) and her Ugandan colleague Hilda Kawuki (42) were freed on October 18th.
Mr Lefevre’s abduction marks the fifth kidnapping of foreign aid personnel since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir in March for alleged war crimes committed during the six-year conflict in Darfur.
“The kidnappers called government authorities . . . and demanded a ransom,” a senior source in Sudan’s intelligence services told Reuters yesterday, adding that the sum demanded was the equivalent of about $1 million.
“This is now a red line. The government will not be paying any ransom,” the source added.
In a later report by Agence France Presse, Sudan’s humanitarian affairs minister Abdul Bagi al-Jailani was quoted as saying the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of $4.5 million dollars. “But we will not pay a ransom, and the same goes for the Red Cross,” he added.
International Committee of the Red Cross spokeswoman Tamara al-Rifai confirmed a ransom had been demanded. “As a policy we don’t pay ransom. We go through our normal channels of dialogue, persuasion and the peaceful resolution of such a crisis,” she said.
Ms Commins and Ms Kawuki were freed after enduring more than three months at the hands of their captors. The two women had been abducted at gunpoint from their compound in the north Darfur town of Kutum on July 3rd.
During their ordeal the women were held in the open air in a mountainous region of Darfur and subjected to mock executions. Their kidnappers made frequent demands for a ransom, but the Sudanese, Irish and Ugandan governments have insisted no money was paid in exchange for the women’s release.
Last week Musa Hilal, a former militia leader who is now an adviser to the Sudanese government, told The Irish Times the kidnappers had received the equivalent of €150,000. Claims to the contrary were “just politicians’ talk”, he said.
Mr Hilal, an influential tribal chief in Darfur, played a key role in securing the women’s release after President al-Bashir asked him to assist in the case.
Mr Jailani, who oversaw negotiations for the release of Ms Commins and Ms Kawuki, insisted no ransom was paid in their case but he acknowledged that funds totalling the equivalent of about €44,000 had been provided to local chiefs during efforts to free the women. The money was supplied to “help and facilitate” the work of mediators, Mr Jailani said. The Irish and Ugandan ambassadors were aware of the payments and offered to contribute, he added.
“It was not a ransom given to the wrongdoers, it was money given for facilitation to chiefs and stakeholders in the area,” Mr Jailani told The Irish Times earlier this week.
He insisted the Sudanese authorities would bring criminal charges against the kidnappers of the Goal workers. Sudan has yet to apprehend any of those responsible.
Mr Lefevre’s kidnapping brings to three the number of foreign personnel being held hostage in Darfur. Two civilians working for the joint UN-African Union mission in the region who were abducted in August remain in captivity.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2009/1028/1224257556577.html
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Day 201 - October 27th
- Today marks 201 days since The U.S. Special Envoy was promised by the Government of Sudan that security and living conditions in Darfur will improve. Two days ago a worker with Red Cross was kidnapped, to add to a pattern of suspicious kidnappings. Few days ago Darfuris in their refugees' camps in South Darfur were attacked by Lord Resistance Army (LRA), Ugandan rebel group and an old ally of Government of Sudan.
- President of the Darfuri Students Union in the University of Khartoum was abducted by security agents in Khartoum few days ago. There was outcry and loud protest from several human rights organizations and prominent Sudanese in Khartoum. Yesterday early morning the President of the Darfuri Students' Union was found in a park, in North Khartoum, beaten and with severe injuries to the head and other body parts. He was taken to the hospital in North Khartoum.
- Why kidnapping incidents are flourishing in Darfur?
Kidnappings are carried out by groups allied to the Government of Sudan. There are political and financial gains in these kidnapping operations. The GoS stands to gain politically from these operations, and the pro-government groups stand to gain financially from these operations. The following is from the Irish Times:
Sudanese minister says cash provided during hostage talks
MARY FITZGERALD Foreign Affairs Correspondent
Mon, Oct 26, 2009
THE SUDANESE government provided money to local tribal chiefs during efforts to secure the release of the two Goal aid workers held for 107 days in Darfur, the country’s humanitarian affairs minister has said.
Abdul Bagi al-Jailani, who oversaw negotiations for the release of Sharon Commins and Hilda Kawuki, told The Irish Times that the funds were supplied to “help and facilitate” the work of mediators. The Irish and Ugandan ambassadors were aware of the payments and offered to contribute, he added.
“It was not a ransom given to the wrongdoers, it was money given for facilitation to chiefs and stakeholders in the area.
“This is normal – they rent cars; they need petrol for those cars; and they need to have some things for their families,” he said.
“This was on the table and it was known by the ambassadors . . . They wanted to help but I refused. I said this is the responsibility of the Sudanese government – nobody has to intervene.”
Mr Jailani said he told reporters at the weekend that the payments added up to around 150,000 Sudanese pounds (€44,000).
“I just gave a rough figure. It is not the exact figure because nobody has the right to question me on how much I spent on that action . . . except the government of Sudan,” he said.
“Nobody has provided any money to release the ladies. This is why they were detained for such a long time. We will not provide any ransom because we have 90 NGOs working in this region, and by doing so we would encourage malpractice,” Mr Jailani added.
Last week Musa Hilal, a former militia leader who is now special adviser to Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, told The Irish Times that the kidnappers had received the equivalent of €150,000. Claims to the contrary were “just politicians’ talk”, he said.
Mr Hilal, an influential tribal leader in Darfur, played a key role in securing the women’s release after President al-Bashir asked him to assist in the case.
Asked why Mr Hilal would make such claims regarding a ransom, Mr Jailani replied: “He is the one who should answer that question.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs said the Government did not pay any money to secure the release of the two aid workers, and assurances had been received from the Sudanese government that it had paid no ransom either.
Goal chief executive John O’Shea said his organisation did not pay any money to any individual or groups in exchange for the women’s release.
A French employee of the International Committee for the Red Cross was kidnapped in west Darfur just days after the Goal workers were freed.
Ms Commins and Ms Kawuki were freed on October 18th last.
Two civilians working for the joint UN-African Union mission in the region who were abducted in August remain in captivity.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2009/1026/1224257458208_pf.html
- President of the Darfuri Students Union in the University of Khartoum was abducted by security agents in Khartoum few days ago. There was outcry and loud protest from several human rights organizations and prominent Sudanese in Khartoum. Yesterday early morning the President of the Darfuri Students' Union was found in a park, in North Khartoum, beaten and with severe injuries to the head and other body parts. He was taken to the hospital in North Khartoum.
- Why kidnapping incidents are flourishing in Darfur?
Kidnappings are carried out by groups allied to the Government of Sudan. There are political and financial gains in these kidnapping operations. The GoS stands to gain politically from these operations, and the pro-government groups stand to gain financially from these operations. The following is from the Irish Times:
Sudanese minister says cash provided during hostage talks
MARY FITZGERALD Foreign Affairs Correspondent
Mon, Oct 26, 2009
THE SUDANESE government provided money to local tribal chiefs during efforts to secure the release of the two Goal aid workers held for 107 days in Darfur, the country’s humanitarian affairs minister has said.
Abdul Bagi al-Jailani, who oversaw negotiations for the release of Sharon Commins and Hilda Kawuki, told The Irish Times that the funds were supplied to “help and facilitate” the work of mediators. The Irish and Ugandan ambassadors were aware of the payments and offered to contribute, he added.
“It was not a ransom given to the wrongdoers, it was money given for facilitation to chiefs and stakeholders in the area.
“This is normal – they rent cars; they need petrol for those cars; and they need to have some things for their families,” he said.
“This was on the table and it was known by the ambassadors . . . They wanted to help but I refused. I said this is the responsibility of the Sudanese government – nobody has to intervene.”
Mr Jailani said he told reporters at the weekend that the payments added up to around 150,000 Sudanese pounds (€44,000).
“I just gave a rough figure. It is not the exact figure because nobody has the right to question me on how much I spent on that action . . . except the government of Sudan,” he said.
“Nobody has provided any money to release the ladies. This is why they were detained for such a long time. We will not provide any ransom because we have 90 NGOs working in this region, and by doing so we would encourage malpractice,” Mr Jailani added.
Last week Musa Hilal, a former militia leader who is now special adviser to Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, told The Irish Times that the kidnappers had received the equivalent of €150,000. Claims to the contrary were “just politicians’ talk”, he said.
Mr Hilal, an influential tribal leader in Darfur, played a key role in securing the women’s release after President al-Bashir asked him to assist in the case.
Asked why Mr Hilal would make such claims regarding a ransom, Mr Jailani replied: “He is the one who should answer that question.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs said the Government did not pay any money to secure the release of the two aid workers, and assurances had been received from the Sudanese government that it had paid no ransom either.
Goal chief executive John O’Shea said his organisation did not pay any money to any individual or groups in exchange for the women’s release.
A French employee of the International Committee for the Red Cross was kidnapped in west Darfur just days after the Goal workers were freed.
Ms Commins and Ms Kawuki were freed on October 18th last.
Two civilians working for the joint UN-African Union mission in the region who were abducted in August remain in captivity.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2009/1026/1224257458208_pf.html
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Day 199 - October 25th
-
Engaging with hostages’ taker!!
Obama’s Administration finally, on Monday 10/20, had unveiled its New Sudan Policy.
As a policy, on paper, it sounded like there is something for every body.
On the night of Monday October 20th, many Dictators in Africa had a good asleep that night. They never had such relaxing asleep since they saw on television some years back, one of their own fellows handcuffed and shipped to The Hague to stand trial on war crimes and crimes against humanity. Yes, every one of them saw his nightmare come true in seeing Charles Taylor, the ex-Dictator of Liberia, hunted down, handcuffed, and taken to the International Criminal Court prison in the Netherlands awaiting to be tried on crimes he had committed against his own people. A Dictator in handcuffs was strong message to the rest of the Dictators that, finally, accountability is on the way.
Omer Hassan Al Bashir, the Dictator of Sudan, is a fugitive and wanted by the international justice. The International Criminal Court has indicted him for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
What did Al Bashir do to force the international community (mainly the U.S.A.) to bargain with him? He took more than 3 million people of his own people in Darfur as hostages and confined them to miserable camps across Darfur in deplorable living conditions. Experience through years and around the world shows that it is a bad idea to give in to the hostage takers’ conditions and demands, let alone offering them incentives, cookies, or carrots. That is a wrong message from Obama’s Administration to both the people and Dictators of Africa.
The greatest incentive is already enjoyed by the regime in Khartoum: to be allowed to stay in power.
The favorite strategy (or game) of Al Bashir’s regime is that of a thug who steals your wallet or purse from you, and at the peak of your panic, he appears as your savior and returns your wallet and purse to you. Of course you would feel relieved when you account for your credit cards, driver’s license, and other important stuff. You feel so relieved that you find yourself reaching in your wallet or purse and handing him some cash as a reward. The thug is the one who has created the problem, but in the final analysis he is the one who is rewarded for the problem.
The Government of Sudan is the root cause of all the problems of Sudan, including the genocide in Darfur. Yet now, instead of being held accountable for the crimes and problems of its own creation, the regime in Khartoum is grinning in hearing words like carrots, cookies, and incentives.
The weakest link in this New Sudan Policy is the Special Envoy to Sudan Major General Gration.
After the expulsion of 13 humanitarian aids on March 4th following the indictment of AlBashir by the International Criminal Court, the regime agreed after talks with the Special Envoy General Gration to allow 4 humanitarian aid groups in Darfur. This is a set back rather than a progress. Humanity lost 7 humanitarian aid’s organizations. Yet Khartoum played successfully the thug’s game with the Special Envoy to Sudan.
I find it disingenuous for the Administration to say that it will not engage with Al Bashir himself but is ready to engage with the individuals around Al Bashir. The individuals around Al Bashir are not less ruthless than AlBashir if not worse. Each and every one around Al Bashir has bloods of innocents on his hands. These are the Architects of the civil war in the South and the ongoing genocide in Darfur. That is how and why they are close to him. The irony is that the Administration knows very well that these assistants of Al Bashir are middlemen between the Administration and Al Bashir. Every move or action has to be approved by and cleared with Al Bashir himself.
The three top foreign policy officials of the Administration in their announcement of the New Sudan Policy uttered as a mantra: Verify then trust.
The regime in Khartoum is not executing the atrocities in Darfur as a concealed uranium enrichment operation. Rather, it carries out its military and security operations in Darfur openly. At one time during the recent attacks on Korma and villages around Jebel Marra, http://whilewewaitsudan.blogspot.com/2009/09/day-168-sept-22nd.html a Darfuri on the roadside leading out from El Fasher to Korma, did count 263 vehicles in a military convoy heading towards Korma and Jebel Marra. Residents on the hilly side facing the airport in El Fasher can see clearly military airplanes (Antonoves and Helicopter gunship) take off and land repeatedly day and night during the same period of military operations. Needless to say that UNAMID airplanes and helicopters share this airport. UNAMID is headquartered in ElFasher. It is impossible for the UNAMID officials and pilots not to notice the ordinance loading and take-off of the Sudan Government Antonoves and Helicopters.
Engaging with Al Bashir is immoral, wrong, counterproductive, and dangerous.
It is immoral to negotiate with a government that United States has labeled the crimes committed in Darfur by the regime in Khartoum as genocide.
It is wrong because negotiating or engaging with a government that still involved in an on-going genocide and oppressing its own people will send the wrong message both to the rulers of Africa and the people of Africa. That accountability may be pushed aside to give room for deals similar to those took place with many Dictators around the world during the cold war in the decades of 1960s and 1970s.
It is counterproductive, given the track record of the regime in Khartoum of evasion and stonewalling. Al Bashir and the individuals around him are masters of deceit and professionals in brinkmanship policy.
It is dangerous because time and lives in Darfur and the South will be wasted before any fruits may be realized.
I find myself asking this question: Is it lack of commitment or creativity that the officials in Obama’s Administration are trying to convince us that there is no way for a solution to the problems of Sudan without appeasing (engaging) the same government that is the source of the very problems in Sudan?
Mohamed Suleiman
Engaging with hostages’ taker!!
Obama’s Administration finally, on Monday 10/20, had unveiled its New Sudan Policy.
As a policy, on paper, it sounded like there is something for every body.
On the night of Monday October 20th, many Dictators in Africa had a good asleep that night. They never had such relaxing asleep since they saw on television some years back, one of their own fellows handcuffed and shipped to The Hague to stand trial on war crimes and crimes against humanity. Yes, every one of them saw his nightmare come true in seeing Charles Taylor, the ex-Dictator of Liberia, hunted down, handcuffed, and taken to the International Criminal Court prison in the Netherlands awaiting to be tried on crimes he had committed against his own people. A Dictator in handcuffs was strong message to the rest of the Dictators that, finally, accountability is on the way.
Omer Hassan Al Bashir, the Dictator of Sudan, is a fugitive and wanted by the international justice. The International Criminal Court has indicted him for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
What did Al Bashir do to force the international community (mainly the U.S.A.) to bargain with him? He took more than 3 million people of his own people in Darfur as hostages and confined them to miserable camps across Darfur in deplorable living conditions. Experience through years and around the world shows that it is a bad idea to give in to the hostage takers’ conditions and demands, let alone offering them incentives, cookies, or carrots. That is a wrong message from Obama’s Administration to both the people and Dictators of Africa.
The greatest incentive is already enjoyed by the regime in Khartoum: to be allowed to stay in power.
The favorite strategy (or game) of Al Bashir’s regime is that of a thug who steals your wallet or purse from you, and at the peak of your panic, he appears as your savior and returns your wallet and purse to you. Of course you would feel relieved when you account for your credit cards, driver’s license, and other important stuff. You feel so relieved that you find yourself reaching in your wallet or purse and handing him some cash as a reward. The thug is the one who has created the problem, but in the final analysis he is the one who is rewarded for the problem.
The Government of Sudan is the root cause of all the problems of Sudan, including the genocide in Darfur. Yet now, instead of being held accountable for the crimes and problems of its own creation, the regime in Khartoum is grinning in hearing words like carrots, cookies, and incentives.
The weakest link in this New Sudan Policy is the Special Envoy to Sudan Major General Gration.
After the expulsion of 13 humanitarian aids on March 4th following the indictment of AlBashir by the International Criminal Court, the regime agreed after talks with the Special Envoy General Gration to allow 4 humanitarian aid groups in Darfur. This is a set back rather than a progress. Humanity lost 7 humanitarian aid’s organizations. Yet Khartoum played successfully the thug’s game with the Special Envoy to Sudan.
I find it disingenuous for the Administration to say that it will not engage with Al Bashir himself but is ready to engage with the individuals around Al Bashir. The individuals around Al Bashir are not less ruthless than AlBashir if not worse. Each and every one around Al Bashir has bloods of innocents on his hands. These are the Architects of the civil war in the South and the ongoing genocide in Darfur. That is how and why they are close to him. The irony is that the Administration knows very well that these assistants of Al Bashir are middlemen between the Administration and Al Bashir. Every move or action has to be approved by and cleared with Al Bashir himself.
The three top foreign policy officials of the Administration in their announcement of the New Sudan Policy uttered as a mantra: Verify then trust.
The regime in Khartoum is not executing the atrocities in Darfur as a concealed uranium enrichment operation. Rather, it carries out its military and security operations in Darfur openly. At one time during the recent attacks on Korma and villages around Jebel Marra, http://whilewewaitsudan.blogspot.com/2009/09/day-168-sept-22nd.html a Darfuri on the roadside leading out from El Fasher to Korma, did count 263 vehicles in a military convoy heading towards Korma and Jebel Marra. Residents on the hilly side facing the airport in El Fasher can see clearly military airplanes (Antonoves and Helicopter gunship) take off and land repeatedly day and night during the same period of military operations. Needless to say that UNAMID airplanes and helicopters share this airport. UNAMID is headquartered in ElFasher. It is impossible for the UNAMID officials and pilots not to notice the ordinance loading and take-off of the Sudan Government Antonoves and Helicopters.
Engaging with Al Bashir is immoral, wrong, counterproductive, and dangerous.
It is immoral to negotiate with a government that United States has labeled the crimes committed in Darfur by the regime in Khartoum as genocide.
It is wrong because negotiating or engaging with a government that still involved in an on-going genocide and oppressing its own people will send the wrong message both to the rulers of Africa and the people of Africa. That accountability may be pushed aside to give room for deals similar to those took place with many Dictators around the world during the cold war in the decades of 1960s and 1970s.
It is counterproductive, given the track record of the regime in Khartoum of evasion and stonewalling. Al Bashir and the individuals around him are masters of deceit and professionals in brinkmanship policy.
It is dangerous because time and lives in Darfur and the South will be wasted before any fruits may be realized.
I find myself asking this question: Is it lack of commitment or creativity that the officials in Obama’s Administration are trying to convince us that there is no way for a solution to the problems of Sudan without appeasing (engaging) the same government that is the source of the very problems in Sudan?
Mohamed Suleiman
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Day 198 - October 24th
- KHARTOUM (24 Oct) – A Darfuri man called Adam Suleiman has been tortured to death on Wednesday in Kober prison in Khartoum North (Bahri), according to detailed witness reports. Radio Dabanga received reliable information on the case and was able to cross check the facts. Witnesses reported about the man who was on the death row after being accused for involvement in the JEM attack on Omdurman last year. Inmates gave a graphic and detailed description of the repeated cruelties against the man who was considered mentally ill. Radio Dabanga was provided with letters and evidence. An independent and trusted source entitled to enter the prison confirmed the death of the man. He also explained that after the man died of severe injuries, he was brought to the nearby Police Hospital. There the officials informed the relatives of the man to collect his body, but the family did not trust the information from the hospital concerning the cause of the man’s death. The refused to collect the body. After threats and pressure of the authorities they wee forced to carry the man away for burial. The man was convicted by a Special Anti Terror Court.
- EL GENEINA (24 Oct) – Some eyewitnesses of the kidnapping of the Red Cross worker in West Darfur suggest that the kidnapping was arranged by security officers of the government. The Frenchman who also has the British nationality according to Britisch diplomats, returned from a water project in the Jebel Moon-area controlled by the rebel group of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), as the JEM has confirmed. He stayed with them on Thursday from 10.00 to 15.00. Upon return crossing back into government controlled area an armed group with vehicles stopped the ICRC car at Bir Dageig. The village is between 30 and 40 kilometres from El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur. The government is discouraging international aid organizations to work in rebel held areas. In 2008 Jebel Moon was a target for heavy government bombing in Jebel Moon. The UN reported a wave of rape and sexual violence in the area and called on the government to protect the people. The UN reported that time that “It is said to be men coming from or on behalf of this neighboring Arab community. They are said to be in uniforms and armed and to be coming on camels or horseback.” Besides signals that the security was involved, it is also possible that the Border Intelligent Guards (BIG) were involved. The eyewitnesses saw the kidnappers disappearing with the Frenchman in the direction of the Chadian border. ICRC continues their program in West Darfur.
- From Reuters:
Ugandan rebels attack Darfuris, kill five - army
By Skye Wheeler
JUBA, Sudan, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Ugandan rebels desperate for supplies attacked a camp for Darfuri displaced persons in south Sudan, killing five people, the region's army said on Saturday.
The attack raised fears that the brutal Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), infamous for abducting children and brutally maiming its victims, is moving towards troubled Darfur.
Any LRA presence in Darfur would add to the chaotic mix of armed groups roaming the region, terrorising aid and commercial convoys and hundreds of thousands of Darfuris who fled to makeshift camps.
"The attack happened on the 21st (Oct)... targeting the displaced people from Darfur in a camp," south Sudan's army spokesman Kuol Diem Kuol said, adding the attack was in Western Bahr al-Ghazal state which has a long border with Darfur.
Kuol said three police guarding the camp and two Darfuris were killed. "A number of people were abducted," he added.
A troop of about 100 southern army soldiers chased the attackers, who they believed to be LRA, but had not yet returned.
Kuol said local residents identified the attackers from their language, hair style and dress. The army also is familiar with their battle tactics, having fought them for two decades.
The incident followed a report that suspected LRA rebels clashed with Sudan's northern army on the South Darfur-CAR border earlier this month.
South Darfur Governor Ali Mahmoud said the insurgents suffered casualties and fled back across the border.
After failed peace talks, the LRA sought refuge in Congo (DRC) and the remote Central African Republic (CAR), far from the reach of any central government. In need of supplies and abductees, the LRA raids southern Sudanese border villages.
Historically south Sudan blamed Khartoum for arming the LRA to destabilise the region. But a 2005 north-south peace deal cut off supply routes for the Ugandan rebels forcing them to leave their south Sudan refuge.
Heavy fighting has largely subsided in Darfur but the spread of arms has led to a collapse in law and order.
- EL GENEINA (24 Oct) – Some eyewitnesses of the kidnapping of the Red Cross worker in West Darfur suggest that the kidnapping was arranged by security officers of the government. The Frenchman who also has the British nationality according to Britisch diplomats, returned from a water project in the Jebel Moon-area controlled by the rebel group of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), as the JEM has confirmed. He stayed with them on Thursday from 10.00 to 15.00. Upon return crossing back into government controlled area an armed group with vehicles stopped the ICRC car at Bir Dageig. The village is between 30 and 40 kilometres from El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur. The government is discouraging international aid organizations to work in rebel held areas. In 2008 Jebel Moon was a target for heavy government bombing in Jebel Moon. The UN reported a wave of rape and sexual violence in the area and called on the government to protect the people. The UN reported that time that “It is said to be men coming from or on behalf of this neighboring Arab community. They are said to be in uniforms and armed and to be coming on camels or horseback.” Besides signals that the security was involved, it is also possible that the Border Intelligent Guards (BIG) were involved. The eyewitnesses saw the kidnappers disappearing with the Frenchman in the direction of the Chadian border. ICRC continues their program in West Darfur.
- From Reuters:
Ugandan rebels attack Darfuris, kill five - army
By Skye Wheeler
JUBA, Sudan, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Ugandan rebels desperate for supplies attacked a camp for Darfuri displaced persons in south Sudan, killing five people, the region's army said on Saturday.
The attack raised fears that the brutal Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), infamous for abducting children and brutally maiming its victims, is moving towards troubled Darfur.
Any LRA presence in Darfur would add to the chaotic mix of armed groups roaming the region, terrorising aid and commercial convoys and hundreds of thousands of Darfuris who fled to makeshift camps.
"The attack happened on the 21st (Oct)... targeting the displaced people from Darfur in a camp," south Sudan's army spokesman Kuol Diem Kuol said, adding the attack was in Western Bahr al-Ghazal state which has a long border with Darfur.
Kuol said three police guarding the camp and two Darfuris were killed. "A number of people were abducted," he added.
A troop of about 100 southern army soldiers chased the attackers, who they believed to be LRA, but had not yet returned.
Kuol said local residents identified the attackers from their language, hair style and dress. The army also is familiar with their battle tactics, having fought them for two decades.
The incident followed a report that suspected LRA rebels clashed with Sudan's northern army on the South Darfur-CAR border earlier this month.
South Darfur Governor Ali Mahmoud said the insurgents suffered casualties and fled back across the border.
After failed peace talks, the LRA sought refuge in Congo (DRC) and the remote Central African Republic (CAR), far from the reach of any central government. In need of supplies and abductees, the LRA raids southern Sudanese border villages.
Historically south Sudan blamed Khartoum for arming the LRA to destabilise the region. But a 2005 north-south peace deal cut off supply routes for the Ugandan rebels forcing them to leave their south Sudan refuge.
Heavy fighting has largely subsided in Darfur but the spread of arms has led to a collapse in law and order.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Day 197 - October 23rd
- A French staff worker of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in El Geneina in West Darfur was kidnapped from his car this afternoon. He was returning to his compound after a field trip to supervise water projects. Radio Dabanga learned that he was seized 40 kilometers from Geneina town in his ICRC marked car by around ten gun men. The men took the Red Cross worker out of the Red Cross car, leaving other ICRC staff behind allowing them to continue their way, Tamara Al-Rifai, spokesperson of the ICRC in Khartoum told Radio Dabanga. A local reporter of Radio Dabanga noticed that the kidnappers were heading for the nearby border with Chad. This was confirmed by a government official in El Geneina. The new kidnap case happened few days after the release of two aid workers of GOAL after 106 of captivity. The kidnapping of two UNAMID-staff workers in Zalingei is still continuing. It is the sixth kidnapping of international aid-workers in Sudan. Most of the hostages were freed after some weeks. All identified groups were allied with the government, some of them became angry for being abandoned of government support. The kidnappings started after president Omar Al Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes. The government started expelling international NGOs and simultaneously, a series of kidnappings happened. The ICRC has released the name of the staff worker, Gauthier Lefevre. he was head of the ICRC office in El Geneina. The ICRC says it has no indication of who the abductors might be or of their motives. It is in contact with the authorities and other parties with the aim of resolving the situation as swiftly as possible. The family of the French worker was informed of the incident immediately. The ICRC is calling for the rapid and unconditional release of its kidnapped staff member.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Day 196 - October 22nd
- Many Darfuris in the refugees' camps inside Darfur and Eastern Chad expressed to Radio Dabanga their welcome to the New Sudan Policy unveiled by Washington. The long awaited Sudan Policy Review was announced Monday 20th of October by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Ambassador to U.N. Susan Rice, and U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan Major General Scott Gration. Some refugees voiced in the radio their skepticism in seeing the policy executed on the ground in Darfur and asked: who is going to implement it?
Others expressed their lack of confidence in the U.S. Special Envoy General Gration.
Others expressed their lack of confidence in the U.S. Special Envoy General Gration.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Day 194 - October 20th
- Security forces attack Darfur students in the University of Khartoum. Radio Dabanga reported that about 23 students were injured and 2 were missing. A student told Radio Dabanga that the assault occurred when Darfur students were protesting peacefully the University Administration's decision to deprive students from education due to not paying the new high fees for registration. According to the peace agreement signed on 2006, the Darfuri students are exempt from fees payment due to the on going war in Darfur.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Day 193 - October 19th
- Tens of families fleeing North Darfur
TAWILA – Around 35 families have arrived in Tawila in North Darfur escaping the fighting around Korma. Among them are four severe wounded people in a critical condition. An eyewitness gave Radio Dabanga a detailed description of the dire humanitarian situation of the group. He said that there is still unknown number of families moving from Korma to Tawila since the last fighting started. They have not arrived in Tawila and the people are deeply worried about their fate. He appealed through Radio Dabanga to the authorities and the UN-organizations to search for those people and to provide them with assistance as soon as possible.
TAWILA – Around 35 families have arrived in Tawila in North Darfur escaping the fighting around Korma. Among them are four severe wounded people in a critical condition. An eyewitness gave Radio Dabanga a detailed description of the dire humanitarian situation of the group. He said that there is still unknown number of families moving from Korma to Tawila since the last fighting started. They have not arrived in Tawila and the people are deeply worried about their fate. He appealed through Radio Dabanga to the authorities and the UN-organizations to search for those people and to provide them with assistance as soon as possible.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Day 192 - October 17th
- The long awaited Sudan Policy Review from Obama's Administration seems it will be shockingly disappointing. Here what New York Times published today:
October 17, 2009
U.S. to Engage Sudan Leaders to Uphold Pact With Rebels
By GINGER THOMPSON
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has formulated a new policy for Sudan that proposes working with that country’s government, rather than isolating it as President Obama had pledged to do during his campaign.
In an interview on Friday, President Obama’s special envoy to Sudan, Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration, retired, said the policy, to be announced Monday by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, would make use of a mix of “incentives and pressure” to seek an end to the human rights abuses that have left millions of people dead or displaced while burning Darfur into the American conscience.
General Gration said the administration would set strict time lines for President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan to fulfill the conditions of a 2005 peace agreement that his government signed with rebels in southern Sudan.
Under that agreement, independence for southern Sudan is to be put to a vote in 2011.
“To advance peace and security in Sudan, we must engage with allies and with those with whom we disagree,” said a statement of the policy that was obtained by The New York Times.
General Gration said the administration’s new approach was also intended to prevent Sudan, which once provided refuge to Osama bin Laden, from again serving as a terrorist haven.
During his campaign, Mr. Obama criticized the Bush administration for doing too little to stop the killing.
His new policy, the result of months of vigorous and heated debate within the administration, signals a significant shift in the president’s thinking, which his aides say is a reflection of changing facts on the ground.
In recent months, analysts from both inside and outside the United States government have reported that “low-intensity” skirmishes replaced systematic slaughter by government-supported militants on one side and rebel groups on the other. Villages are no longer being burned down at the same rate, although some say that is because there are few villages left to burn.
Crime has replaced warfare as the biggest threat to civilians. And intelligence officials say Sudan has provided important cooperation in the United States’ fight against terrorists.
The Obama administration continues to use the word genocide to characterize the killings in Sudan, and aides acknowledged that the word loomed large in their months of deliberations.
But Michael Abramowitz, director of the Committee on Conscience at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, wrote on the committee’s Web site, “Now conditions in Sudan have changed. We believe it is most accurate to place Darfur and the rest of Sudan in our ‘genocide warning’ category.”
A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “People were wrestling with the question of how to deal with the fact that to get to the best-case scenario — which is to change the behavior of the Khartoum government — we are going to have to work with a government responsible for so many atrocities.”
But the new administration policy is likely to inflame an already vociferous chorus of criticism.
In advertisements and letters to the White House, legislators, activist groups and Sudanese rebel leaders have accused Mr. Obama of abandoning his promises to make Sudan a priority from his first day in office and to stand tough against President Bashir, whom the International Criminal Court indicted this year for crimes against humanity.
Some critics have expressed outrage over earlier statements by General Gration in which he raised questions about the effectiveness of imposing sanctions and suggested that a series of rewards might work better at getting Mr. Bashir’s government in Khartoum to cooperate.
In the interview, General Gration disagreed with the critics.
Summing up the administration’s approach, he cited what he described as an old African proverb. “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, you have to go with someone,” he said.
“We want to go far,” General Gration said, “and to do that we are going to have to go with Khartoum.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/world/africa/17sudan.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=darfur&st=cse
- From Washington Post on the same issue:
In Shift for Obama, U.S. Settles On Modulated Policy for Sudan
By Colum Lynch and Mary Beth Sheridan
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, October 17, 2009
After lengthy debate, the Obama administration has settled on a policy toward Sudan that offers a dramatically softer approach than the president had advocated on the campaign trail -- but steers clear of the conciliatory tone advocated by his special envoy to the country.
The new U.S. policy, which will be formally unveiled Monday, calls for a campaign of "pressure and incentives" to cajole the government in Khartoum into pursuing peace in the troubled Darfur region, settling disputes with the autonomous government in southern Sudan and providing the United States greater cooperation in stemming international terrorism, according to administration officials briefed on the plan. It also provides Khartoum with a path to improved relations with the United States if it begins to address long-standing U.S. concerns.
The public rollout of the policy brings an end to months of contentious internal debate on how to confront a government headed by an indicted war crimes suspect, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, and blamed in the deaths of more than 300,000 people in Darfur, according to U.N. estimates.
In what is intended as a show of unity for the new policy, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Susan E. Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, will announce it at the State Department with President Obama's special envoy to Sudan, retired Air Force Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration. Rice and Gration had battled fiercely over the direction of the new policy, with Rice pressing for a tougher line and Gration calling for easing U.S. sanctions.
In an interview last month with The Washington Post, Gration said he wanted to give "cookies" and "gold stars" to Khartoum, infuriating human rights advocates and congressional officials. Under the new policy, Gration will not be authorized to negotiate directly with Bashir, and Sudan will not be removed from the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism in the immediate future, officials said.
The administration officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the policy ahead of Monday's announcement.
The review also addresses a long-standing dispute between Rice, who has argued that there is an "ongoing genocide" in Darfur, and Gration over how to characterize the violence in Darfur. From now on, the United States will maintain that genocide "is taking place" in Darfur, officials said. The agreement on genocide represents a setback for Gration, who argued publicly in June that Sudan is no longer engaged in a campaign of mass murder in that region. "What we see is the remnants of genocide," he told reporters.
But the administration's policy also marks a significant evolution for the president and close aides such as Rice. During last year's campaign, Obama and his top advisers had advocated a more confrontational approach to Sudan -- including tougher sanctions and the establishment of a no-fly zone that would prevent Sudanese fighter jets from bombing Darfurian villages. "There must be real pressure placed on the Sudanese government," Obama said last year. "We know from past experience that it will take a great deal to get them to do the right thing."
For her part, Rice last year accused the Bush administration of offering "the regime major concessions in exchange for minor steps."
Clinton is expected to frame the evolving U.S. strategy toward Sudan as part of the broader effort to engage America's traditional enemies to achieve U.S. political goals. American officials said that although the United States is not planning to detail possible rewards or penalties, many such ideas are on the table, including tightening U.N. sanctions and removing Khartoum from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Indeed, the overall U.S. approach builds on an engagement strategy that Gration has been pursuing independently for months, which has placed more emphasis on the prospects for improved relations with the United States if Khartoum pursues peace. The policy toward Bashir's government would be one of "verify, then trust," one official said.
Buoyed by booming oil wealth and a close relationship with China, Sudan has shrugged off repeated threats of action by the United States and other major powers. The new U.S. policy has three overarching goals: to end mass killings and other human rights abuses in Darfur, assure the success of a 2005 peace accord between the mostly Muslim north and the Christian and animist south, and prevent Sudan from being used as a terrorist haven.
Diplomats and aid workers fear that the slow implementation of the peace accord could reignite the two-decade civil war, which pitted the Islamic government in the north against rebels based in the south. That conflict left 2 million people dead, primarily from famine and disease, and 4 million homeless.
The Darfur conflict, in western Sudan, broke out in 2003 after African rebel groups attacked police stations and military outposts. The Sudanese government and allied militias have waged a brutal fight against rebels in the Darfur area, destroying more than 2,000 villages, killing more than 300,000 people and displacing more than 2.7 million.
Sudan has cooperated with U.S. counterterrorism officials since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but officials say they are eager to see Khartoum take steps to cut support for Palestinian militants groups, including Hamas, and stop African terrorist elements from using the country as a haven.
Gration has said that however unsavory the government might appear, engaging it was the only way to get a settlement in Darfur and prevent the country from slipping back into war. He has also argued that the situation in Darfur has become more complex, with the repressive government campaign giving way to banditry and skirmishes among rebel factions.
Those positions had ignited a firestorm, with members of Congress and nongovernmental organizations arguing that they amounted to appeasement of a government that had continually broken its promises. American officials conceded that congressional concerns about the U.S. strategy could constrain the administration's effort to reward Sudan for good behavior. They cited a large body of U.S. laws that prohibit the administration from acting without congressional support.
Human rights advocates became so concerned about the administration's policy drift on Sudan that they launched a newspaper campaign in August aimed at Obama, titled "Sudan Now: Keep the Promise," which called attention to the president's past statements.
John Prendergast, co-chairman of the Enough Project, a human rights group advocating tougher, multilateral sanctions, said the new policy appeared to be "a fine one."
"The wild card is whether the intentions on paper will be translated into practice by the diplomats carrying out the strategy," Prendergast said. Until now, he said, "the president's special envoy has indicated a very clear public preference for incentives only."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/16/AR2009101603309_pf.html
October 17, 2009
U.S. to Engage Sudan Leaders to Uphold Pact With Rebels
By GINGER THOMPSON
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has formulated a new policy for Sudan that proposes working with that country’s government, rather than isolating it as President Obama had pledged to do during his campaign.
In an interview on Friday, President Obama’s special envoy to Sudan, Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration, retired, said the policy, to be announced Monday by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, would make use of a mix of “incentives and pressure” to seek an end to the human rights abuses that have left millions of people dead or displaced while burning Darfur into the American conscience.
General Gration said the administration would set strict time lines for President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan to fulfill the conditions of a 2005 peace agreement that his government signed with rebels in southern Sudan.
Under that agreement, independence for southern Sudan is to be put to a vote in 2011.
“To advance peace and security in Sudan, we must engage with allies and with those with whom we disagree,” said a statement of the policy that was obtained by The New York Times.
General Gration said the administration’s new approach was also intended to prevent Sudan, which once provided refuge to Osama bin Laden, from again serving as a terrorist haven.
During his campaign, Mr. Obama criticized the Bush administration for doing too little to stop the killing.
His new policy, the result of months of vigorous and heated debate within the administration, signals a significant shift in the president’s thinking, which his aides say is a reflection of changing facts on the ground.
In recent months, analysts from both inside and outside the United States government have reported that “low-intensity” skirmishes replaced systematic slaughter by government-supported militants on one side and rebel groups on the other. Villages are no longer being burned down at the same rate, although some say that is because there are few villages left to burn.
Crime has replaced warfare as the biggest threat to civilians. And intelligence officials say Sudan has provided important cooperation in the United States’ fight against terrorists.
The Obama administration continues to use the word genocide to characterize the killings in Sudan, and aides acknowledged that the word loomed large in their months of deliberations.
But Michael Abramowitz, director of the Committee on Conscience at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, wrote on the committee’s Web site, “Now conditions in Sudan have changed. We believe it is most accurate to place Darfur and the rest of Sudan in our ‘genocide warning’ category.”
A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “People were wrestling with the question of how to deal with the fact that to get to the best-case scenario — which is to change the behavior of the Khartoum government — we are going to have to work with a government responsible for so many atrocities.”
But the new administration policy is likely to inflame an already vociferous chorus of criticism.
In advertisements and letters to the White House, legislators, activist groups and Sudanese rebel leaders have accused Mr. Obama of abandoning his promises to make Sudan a priority from his first day in office and to stand tough against President Bashir, whom the International Criminal Court indicted this year for crimes against humanity.
Some critics have expressed outrage over earlier statements by General Gration in which he raised questions about the effectiveness of imposing sanctions and suggested that a series of rewards might work better at getting Mr. Bashir’s government in Khartoum to cooperate.
In the interview, General Gration disagreed with the critics.
Summing up the administration’s approach, he cited what he described as an old African proverb. “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, you have to go with someone,” he said.
“We want to go far,” General Gration said, “and to do that we are going to have to go with Khartoum.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/world/africa/17sudan.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=darfur&st=cse
- From Washington Post on the same issue:
In Shift for Obama, U.S. Settles On Modulated Policy for Sudan
By Colum Lynch and Mary Beth Sheridan
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, October 17, 2009
After lengthy debate, the Obama administration has settled on a policy toward Sudan that offers a dramatically softer approach than the president had advocated on the campaign trail -- but steers clear of the conciliatory tone advocated by his special envoy to the country.
The new U.S. policy, which will be formally unveiled Monday, calls for a campaign of "pressure and incentives" to cajole the government in Khartoum into pursuing peace in the troubled Darfur region, settling disputes with the autonomous government in southern Sudan and providing the United States greater cooperation in stemming international terrorism, according to administration officials briefed on the plan. It also provides Khartoum with a path to improved relations with the United States if it begins to address long-standing U.S. concerns.
The public rollout of the policy brings an end to months of contentious internal debate on how to confront a government headed by an indicted war crimes suspect, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, and blamed in the deaths of more than 300,000 people in Darfur, according to U.N. estimates.
In what is intended as a show of unity for the new policy, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Susan E. Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, will announce it at the State Department with President Obama's special envoy to Sudan, retired Air Force Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration. Rice and Gration had battled fiercely over the direction of the new policy, with Rice pressing for a tougher line and Gration calling for easing U.S. sanctions.
In an interview last month with The Washington Post, Gration said he wanted to give "cookies" and "gold stars" to Khartoum, infuriating human rights advocates and congressional officials. Under the new policy, Gration will not be authorized to negotiate directly with Bashir, and Sudan will not be removed from the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism in the immediate future, officials said.
The administration officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the policy ahead of Monday's announcement.
The review also addresses a long-standing dispute between Rice, who has argued that there is an "ongoing genocide" in Darfur, and Gration over how to characterize the violence in Darfur. From now on, the United States will maintain that genocide "is taking place" in Darfur, officials said. The agreement on genocide represents a setback for Gration, who argued publicly in June that Sudan is no longer engaged in a campaign of mass murder in that region. "What we see is the remnants of genocide," he told reporters.
But the administration's policy also marks a significant evolution for the president and close aides such as Rice. During last year's campaign, Obama and his top advisers had advocated a more confrontational approach to Sudan -- including tougher sanctions and the establishment of a no-fly zone that would prevent Sudanese fighter jets from bombing Darfurian villages. "There must be real pressure placed on the Sudanese government," Obama said last year. "We know from past experience that it will take a great deal to get them to do the right thing."
For her part, Rice last year accused the Bush administration of offering "the regime major concessions in exchange for minor steps."
Clinton is expected to frame the evolving U.S. strategy toward Sudan as part of the broader effort to engage America's traditional enemies to achieve U.S. political goals. American officials said that although the United States is not planning to detail possible rewards or penalties, many such ideas are on the table, including tightening U.N. sanctions and removing Khartoum from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Indeed, the overall U.S. approach builds on an engagement strategy that Gration has been pursuing independently for months, which has placed more emphasis on the prospects for improved relations with the United States if Khartoum pursues peace. The policy toward Bashir's government would be one of "verify, then trust," one official said.
Buoyed by booming oil wealth and a close relationship with China, Sudan has shrugged off repeated threats of action by the United States and other major powers. The new U.S. policy has three overarching goals: to end mass killings and other human rights abuses in Darfur, assure the success of a 2005 peace accord between the mostly Muslim north and the Christian and animist south, and prevent Sudan from being used as a terrorist haven.
Diplomats and aid workers fear that the slow implementation of the peace accord could reignite the two-decade civil war, which pitted the Islamic government in the north against rebels based in the south. That conflict left 2 million people dead, primarily from famine and disease, and 4 million homeless.
The Darfur conflict, in western Sudan, broke out in 2003 after African rebel groups attacked police stations and military outposts. The Sudanese government and allied militias have waged a brutal fight against rebels in the Darfur area, destroying more than 2,000 villages, killing more than 300,000 people and displacing more than 2.7 million.
Sudan has cooperated with U.S. counterterrorism officials since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but officials say they are eager to see Khartoum take steps to cut support for Palestinian militants groups, including Hamas, and stop African terrorist elements from using the country as a haven.
Gration has said that however unsavory the government might appear, engaging it was the only way to get a settlement in Darfur and prevent the country from slipping back into war. He has also argued that the situation in Darfur has become more complex, with the repressive government campaign giving way to banditry and skirmishes among rebel factions.
Those positions had ignited a firestorm, with members of Congress and nongovernmental organizations arguing that they amounted to appeasement of a government that had continually broken its promises. American officials conceded that congressional concerns about the U.S. strategy could constrain the administration's effort to reward Sudan for good behavior. They cited a large body of U.S. laws that prohibit the administration from acting without congressional support.
Human rights advocates became so concerned about the administration's policy drift on Sudan that they launched a newspaper campaign in August aimed at Obama, titled "Sudan Now: Keep the Promise," which called attention to the president's past statements.
John Prendergast, co-chairman of the Enough Project, a human rights group advocating tougher, multilateral sanctions, said the new policy appeared to be "a fine one."
"The wild card is whether the intentions on paper will be translated into practice by the diplomats carrying out the strategy," Prendergast said. Until now, he said, "the president's special envoy has indicated a very clear public preference for incentives only."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/16/AR2009101603309_pf.html
Friday, October 16, 2009
Day 191 - October 16th
- Some pupils in an elementary school of Um Godudu (near ElFasher) were transferred to the hospital of Elfasher for psychological treatment and observation. A Darfuri close to the case told Radio Dabanga that the little pupils (females) were taken to the hospital after they suffered hysterical conditions in the school. He further told Radio Dabanga that there are many similar cases affecting pupils and students in many schools in Darfur. This is the toll of war and insecurity in Darfur.
- Two night guards were gunned down in a warehouse of World Food Program (WFP) in Kas (West Darfur), a community leader told Radio Dabanga. The leader said the town of Kas spent tense night when armed men kept firing bullets an hour before midnight and continued till around 3 a.m. The leader said that the bodies of the two victims were discovered. The two guards were students in the High School and were working with WFP as night guards to support their families.
- Two night guards were gunned down in a warehouse of World Food Program (WFP) in Kas (West Darfur), a community leader told Radio Dabanga. The leader said the town of Kas spent tense night when armed men kept firing bullets an hour before midnight and continued till around 3 a.m. The leader said that the bodies of the two victims were discovered. The two guards were students in the High School and were working with WFP as night guards to support their families.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Day 190 - October 15th
- From Washington Post:
Darfur Advocates, Rep. Wolf Intensify Pressure on Obama
Letters Call for Harder Line on Sudan
By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Human rights groups and lawmakers are ratcheting up pressure on the Obama administration this week over its approach to ending violence in Sudan, saying the White House and the State Department are treading too cautiously in dealing with the government in Khartoum.
A coalition of U.S.-based advocates focused on the Darfur region -- where they say genocide is still being committed by the Sudanese government -- sent a letter to President Obama on Monday demanding the replacement of retired Air Force Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration as special envoy to Sudan, arguing that his attempt to engage with the country's rulers "is wrong and deadly."
"The good-intentioned yet soft approach of the General towards the Government of Sudan is abused and exploited by a regime that has continued to rule Sudan with fire and blood throughout the last twenty years," read the letter from nine groups, including the Darfur Reconciliation and Development Organization, and several individuals.
White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said in response, "The President is extremely grateful for the work General Gration has done thus far, and for all the work he'll do on this critical issue in the future."
In a separate letter to be released Thursday, Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.), a member of the House Sudan caucus who has long been critical of the Khartoum regime, calls on Obama to personally intervene to ensure that no U.S. lobbying firm is allowed to represent the country. The Washington Post reported last week that Robert B. Crowe, a fundraiser for Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), is attempting to secure U.S. approval for a lobbying contract with Khartoum.
"I urge you to personally engage on the issue of Sudan," Wolf writes to Obama. "You've rightly noted that 'silence, acquiescence and paralysis in the face of genocide is wrong,' and you've advocated for 'real pressures [to] be placed on the Sudanese government.' I wholeheartedly support these sentiments, but sentiments absent action ring hollow."
The sharply worded criticisms come as the Obama administration prepares to release a long-awaited policy on Sudan, which has been torn apart by a two-decade civil war and by government-backed massacres in the western region of Darfur that have killed more than 300,000 people and displaced millions.
Sudan's president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes in Darfur. His government has embarked on an effort this year to persuade the United States to ease sanctions against Sudan, seeking to hire a lobbyist and helping to negotiate a $1.3 million consulting contract between Qatar and former Reagan aide Robert "Bud" McFarlane, records show.
The letters to Obama this week are the latest in a series of demands for a harder U.S. line on Khartoum. Salva Kiir Mayardit, the president of semiautonomous southern Sudan, wrote to Obama last month, saying that Bashir continues to foment violence in the region, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Post.
"There has not been any transformation or reform at the center," Mayardit wrote, referring to Khartoum. "The status quo prevails. . . . Significant change in policy in relation to Sudan should only come when there is change in the reality of Sudan."
- From Voice of America (VOA):
Darfur Groups Demand US Special Envoy’s Ouster
By Howard Lesser
15 October 2009
San Francisco Darfur Coalition's Mohamed Suleiman - Download (MP3) Download
San Francisco Darfur Coalition's Mohamed Suleiman - Listen (MP3) audio clip
Expatriate groups representing more than 1,000 Darfuris living in the United States have sent a letter asking President Barack Obama to relieve Major General (Retired) Scott Gration of his post as Sudan Special Envoy. Darfuris say the request was triggered by attacks in Darfur and the direction of policy pursued by General Gration, which they say takes a soft approach that helps Khartoum stay the course as it maneuvers to strengthen its influence over crises within its various regions.
US envoy Scott Gration (File)
US envoy Scott Gration (File)
Mohamed Suleiman of the San Francisco, California Darfur Coalition drafted the October 12 White House letter. He says that General Gration’s conciliatory approach is wrong, that Washington needs to get tougher with Khartoum, and would do better to leave the special envoy post vacant until President Omar Hassan al-Bashir feels less emboldened to continue the violence.
“Having Gration on board will give comfort to the government in Sudan, and as we see it, embolden them more and more, even in carrying out attacks in Darfur. But by not having General Gration there and having that post vacant, if the (American) reaction is harsh, I don’t think that the government of Sudan will venture in operations as were carried out just recently in the Darfur area,” he said.
During the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, then-Senator Obama elated American anti-genocide groups by pledging to make Darfur a top foreign policy priority in his new administration. But Suleiman says that by last April shortly after the newly appointed envoy Gration made his first visit to the region, initial hopes were dashed.
Sudanese Pres. Omar al-Bashir at the AU summit in Tripoli, Libya
Sudanese Pres. Omar al-Bashir at the AU summit in Tripoli, Libya
Sudan President Bashir was indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court in early March, and retaliated by expelling 13 major humanitarian aid agencies that provided services to hundreds of thousands of homeless Darfur war victims.
From General Gration, Suleiman says Khartoum received signals that Washington had acquiesced to the readmission of only a small fraction of the groups expelled by President Bashir. The Darfur-born Suleiman says Ambassador Gration may have acted well-intentioned in sounding a conciliatory note, praising the return of four of the international aid groups, but thousands of displaced civilians in Darfur internment camps were endangered by poor services, a debilitating rainy season, and health care that was seriously deficient.
“From day one, when General Gration went to Sudan, whatever the government of Sudan was doing, it got the approval from Washington indirectly. Of course, General Gration has good intentions. But knowing the government of Sudan that committed all of those atrocities in the south and in Darfur, that is not the way to deal with a government who actually preys always on the weak and vulnerable and committed genocide in Darfur,” he said.
In the past, observes Suleiman, Sudanese officials are keenly aware of how far they can push their backing of regional warfare in Darfur and in southern Sudan before drawing reprimands from the international community. He says Darfuri expatriates living in the United States have concluded that the absence of a Sudan envoy at present would promote greater debate and allow other Obama administration voices to press for stronger opposition to Sudan government policies.
Northern and Southern Sudan
Northern and Southern Sudan
“The government of Sudan is attacking the civilians and using the same methods of bombing by Antonovs and the janjaweed are unleashed. They couldn’t have done this if there was a harsher response from Washington, D.C., even just rhetoric. So we reached the conclusion that having this post filled by General Gration is kind of encouragement to the government of Sudan to just go on with the atrocities on our people. Having the post vacant is more a deterrent to the government of Sudan than having General Gration on the post,” he said.
As Sudan faces national elections next year and a critical test of national unity with an upcoming referendum on self-determination for the semi-autonomous southern part of the country, Washington believes that the role of a Sudan Special Envoy is essential in preventing the breakup of Africa’s largest country. Mohamed Suleiman says the Darfur coalition has not yet received a reply to its request for Ambassador Gration to leave his post.
Darfur Advocates, Rep. Wolf Intensify Pressure on Obama
Letters Call for Harder Line on Sudan
By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Human rights groups and lawmakers are ratcheting up pressure on the Obama administration this week over its approach to ending violence in Sudan, saying the White House and the State Department are treading too cautiously in dealing with the government in Khartoum.
A coalition of U.S.-based advocates focused on the Darfur region -- where they say genocide is still being committed by the Sudanese government -- sent a letter to President Obama on Monday demanding the replacement of retired Air Force Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration as special envoy to Sudan, arguing that his attempt to engage with the country's rulers "is wrong and deadly."
"The good-intentioned yet soft approach of the General towards the Government of Sudan is abused and exploited by a regime that has continued to rule Sudan with fire and blood throughout the last twenty years," read the letter from nine groups, including the Darfur Reconciliation and Development Organization, and several individuals.
White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said in response, "The President is extremely grateful for the work General Gration has done thus far, and for all the work he'll do on this critical issue in the future."
In a separate letter to be released Thursday, Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.), a member of the House Sudan caucus who has long been critical of the Khartoum regime, calls on Obama to personally intervene to ensure that no U.S. lobbying firm is allowed to represent the country. The Washington Post reported last week that Robert B. Crowe, a fundraiser for Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), is attempting to secure U.S. approval for a lobbying contract with Khartoum.
"I urge you to personally engage on the issue of Sudan," Wolf writes to Obama. "You've rightly noted that 'silence, acquiescence and paralysis in the face of genocide is wrong,' and you've advocated for 'real pressures [to] be placed on the Sudanese government.' I wholeheartedly support these sentiments, but sentiments absent action ring hollow."
The sharply worded criticisms come as the Obama administration prepares to release a long-awaited policy on Sudan, which has been torn apart by a two-decade civil war and by government-backed massacres in the western region of Darfur that have killed more than 300,000 people and displaced millions.
Sudan's president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes in Darfur. His government has embarked on an effort this year to persuade the United States to ease sanctions against Sudan, seeking to hire a lobbyist and helping to negotiate a $1.3 million consulting contract between Qatar and former Reagan aide Robert "Bud" McFarlane, records show.
The letters to Obama this week are the latest in a series of demands for a harder U.S. line on Khartoum. Salva Kiir Mayardit, the president of semiautonomous southern Sudan, wrote to Obama last month, saying that Bashir continues to foment violence in the region, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Post.
"There has not been any transformation or reform at the center," Mayardit wrote, referring to Khartoum. "The status quo prevails. . . . Significant change in policy in relation to Sudan should only come when there is change in the reality of Sudan."
- From Voice of America (VOA):
Darfur Groups Demand US Special Envoy’s Ouster
By Howard Lesser
15 October 2009
San Francisco Darfur Coalition's Mohamed Suleiman - Download (MP3) Download
San Francisco Darfur Coalition's Mohamed Suleiman - Listen (MP3) audio clip
Expatriate groups representing more than 1,000 Darfuris living in the United States have sent a letter asking President Barack Obama to relieve Major General (Retired) Scott Gration of his post as Sudan Special Envoy. Darfuris say the request was triggered by attacks in Darfur and the direction of policy pursued by General Gration, which they say takes a soft approach that helps Khartoum stay the course as it maneuvers to strengthen its influence over crises within its various regions.
US envoy Scott Gration (File)
US envoy Scott Gration (File)
Mohamed Suleiman of the San Francisco, California Darfur Coalition drafted the October 12 White House letter. He says that General Gration’s conciliatory approach is wrong, that Washington needs to get tougher with Khartoum, and would do better to leave the special envoy post vacant until President Omar Hassan al-Bashir feels less emboldened to continue the violence.
“Having Gration on board will give comfort to the government in Sudan, and as we see it, embolden them more and more, even in carrying out attacks in Darfur. But by not having General Gration there and having that post vacant, if the (American) reaction is harsh, I don’t think that the government of Sudan will venture in operations as were carried out just recently in the Darfur area,” he said.
During the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, then-Senator Obama elated American anti-genocide groups by pledging to make Darfur a top foreign policy priority in his new administration. But Suleiman says that by last April shortly after the newly appointed envoy Gration made his first visit to the region, initial hopes were dashed.
Sudanese Pres. Omar al-Bashir at the AU summit in Tripoli, Libya
Sudanese Pres. Omar al-Bashir at the AU summit in Tripoli, Libya
Sudan President Bashir was indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court in early March, and retaliated by expelling 13 major humanitarian aid agencies that provided services to hundreds of thousands of homeless Darfur war victims.
From General Gration, Suleiman says Khartoum received signals that Washington had acquiesced to the readmission of only a small fraction of the groups expelled by President Bashir. The Darfur-born Suleiman says Ambassador Gration may have acted well-intentioned in sounding a conciliatory note, praising the return of four of the international aid groups, but thousands of displaced civilians in Darfur internment camps were endangered by poor services, a debilitating rainy season, and health care that was seriously deficient.
“From day one, when General Gration went to Sudan, whatever the government of Sudan was doing, it got the approval from Washington indirectly. Of course, General Gration has good intentions. But knowing the government of Sudan that committed all of those atrocities in the south and in Darfur, that is not the way to deal with a government who actually preys always on the weak and vulnerable and committed genocide in Darfur,” he said.
In the past, observes Suleiman, Sudanese officials are keenly aware of how far they can push their backing of regional warfare in Darfur and in southern Sudan before drawing reprimands from the international community. He says Darfuri expatriates living in the United States have concluded that the absence of a Sudan envoy at present would promote greater debate and allow other Obama administration voices to press for stronger opposition to Sudan government policies.
Northern and Southern Sudan
Northern and Southern Sudan
“The government of Sudan is attacking the civilians and using the same methods of bombing by Antonovs and the janjaweed are unleashed. They couldn’t have done this if there was a harsher response from Washington, D.C., even just rhetoric. So we reached the conclusion that having this post filled by General Gration is kind of encouragement to the government of Sudan to just go on with the atrocities on our people. Having the post vacant is more a deterrent to the government of Sudan than having General Gration on the post,” he said.
As Sudan faces national elections next year and a critical test of national unity with an upcoming referendum on self-determination for the semi-autonomous southern part of the country, Washington believes that the role of a Sudan Special Envoy is essential in preventing the breakup of Africa’s largest country. Mohamed Suleiman says the Darfur coalition has not yet received a reply to its request for Ambassador Gration to leave his post.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Day 189 - October 14th
- Leaders in the Internally-Displaced-Persons (IDPs) camps around Zalengie area complained to Radio Dabanga about the sever shortage in medical personnel in the camps. The leaders told the radio that shortage is affecting the health of thousands of the camps' residents.
- I far north-east of Darfur, community leaders in the Malha area complained to Radio Dabanga from crippling shortage in education material in addition to imposition of high education fees by the government on the families of the pupils.
- I far north-east of Darfur, community leaders in the Malha area complained to Radio Dabanga from crippling shortage in education material in addition to imposition of high education fees by the government on the families of the pupils.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Day 188 - October 13th
- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact -Susan Morgan, 617-797-0451
susan@paxcommunications.org
US-BASED DARFURIS CALL ON PRESIDENT OBAMA TO REPLACE SPECIAL ENVOY GRATION
In open letter to President, Darfuris express grave concern about direction of US policy on Sudan
CITIES NATIONWIDE – October 12, 2009 – Today Darfuri organizations representing over 1000 Darfuris who live throughout the United States called on President Obama to replace Special Envoy Major General Scott Gration. In an open letter to the President, the Darfuris expressed their grave concern about the recent attacks in Darfur and the direction of US policy under Special Envoy Gration. Copies of the letter were also sent to key decision makers in the Administration and on Capitol Hill, and a translated version has been disseminated to foreign media outlets. (Full text of letter and list of signatories are below.)
The letter states:
“Given the track record in the past nine months, we believe that the violence, terror, death rates in Darfur are greater after the appointment of Major General Scott Gration as Special Envoy than before his appointment. The good-intentioned yet soft approach of the General towards the Government of Sudan is abused and exploited by a regime that has continued to rule Sudan with fire and blood throughout the last twenty years. The Darfuris and the Southern Sudanese are the ones who are paying the price now. Major General Scott Gration, after hearing the complaints of the victims in the camps, is stubbornly staying the course of treating the government of the killers of our people, with the same soft approach. Not even a public condemnation of the latest round of violence in Darfur is heard from his office.
We, the undersigned, in order to save the lives of our people in Darfur, respectfully request from your excellency that Major General Gration be relieved from his post as Special Envoy to Sudan. We hope that a candidate who has better understanding of dealing with the Government of Sudan will replace him.”
According to Mohamed Suleiman, spokesman for the group, the Darfuris in United States of America believe that the current U.S. policy carried out by the U.S. Special Envoy is futile. “We believe that the current soft approach policy towards the regime in Khartoum by the U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan, Major General Scott Gration, has emboldened the government of Sudan which is headed by a President who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court to commit further atrocities against our people in Darfur. We understand that the selection process of the next candidate for this post may take time, yet we believe that having the post vacant is greater deterrent to Khartoum regime than having Major General Gration in the post.
.
“In Darfur we have lost already more than 400 thousands and the numbers are climbing. Worse than Rwanda, the Government of Sudan is holding now 3 millions Darfuris as hostages in the refugees’ camps. It is not wise to wait for something terrible to happen to our people to prove that the policy of Major General Gration is wrong,” stated Suleiman.
###
FULL TEXT OF October 12 LETTER
October 12, 2009
The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500
cc: Vice President Joseph Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Ambassador Susan Rice, Senator John S. Kerry, Senator Richard G. Lugar
Dear President Obama,
We, Darfuris in the United States of America, write to you with grave alarm and concern about the latest news coming from our native land, Darfur. The Government of Sudan is brutally taking advantage of the fact that the world is turning numb to the news of atrocities occurring in Darfur and is now wreaking havoc in North and West Darfur.
At the end of last month, the Government of Sudan mounted fresh attacks on our people in the areas of Korma, Ain Siero, Jabal Marra, and Miliet. The news we get from our people is that the Government used the now familiar tactics: Antonov aerial bombings, Janjaweed attacks on civilians, burning, looting, raping, and savage killings. The news is chillingly so familiar that it escaped the attention of the news media and the international community. This familiar method of executing genocide in Darfur in a fresh wave of violence is an evil, clever way for the Government of Sudan to hide its crimes in the open.
Yet there is a fresh Darfuri blood spilled over the hills and valleys of Darfur as recently as last week. The society is further destroyed. Now even those who are fleeing the hellish killing fields are prevented from reaching the camps or the large towns and cities. In these recent attacks, the Government of Sudan has unleashed its surrogate militias, the Janjaweed, to block the trails and ways that lead from Korma to the major refugees’ camps or cities like ElFasher. Many civilians are stranded in the mountains and hills between Korma and ElFasher with little food and water.
Last month, our beleaguered people in the Internally-Displaced-Persons (IDPs) camps near ElFasher met with your Special Envoy Major General Scott Gration. Despite the heavy presence of the government’s security agents, our people braved the authority of the Government of Sudan and told your Special Envoy that his current approach in handling the Darfur problem is simply wrong and deadly. They called on you from their camps to replace your current Special Envoy.
We whole-heartedly agree with our people in Darfur. They are the ones who are paying the price with the loss of their lives almost daily by a government that committed and still is committing genocide against them.
Given the track record in the past nine months, we believe that the violence, terror, death rates in Darfur are greater after the appointment of Major General Scott Gration as Special Envoy than before his appointment. The good-intentioned yet soft approach of the General towards the Government of Sudan is abused and exploited by a regime that has continued to rule Sudan with fire and blood throughout the last twenty years. The Darfuris and the Southern Sudanese are the ones who are paying the price now. Major General Scott Gration, after hearing the complaints of the victims in the camps, is stubbornly staying the course of treating the government of the killers of our people, with the same soft approach. Not even a public condemnation of the latest round of violence in Darfur is heard from his office.
We, the undersigned, in order to save the lives of our people in Darfur, respectfully request from your excellency that Major General Gration be relieved from his post as Special Envoy to Sudan. We hope that a candidate who has better understanding of dealing with the Government of Sudan will replace him.
Truly yours,
Darfur Reconciliation and Development Organization
Adeeb Yousif, Founder & Chairperson
Zalingei-West Darfur and San Francisco – California
Fur Cultural Revival
Mansour Ahmed, President
Portland, Maine
San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition
Mohamed E. Suleiman, Member Executive Committee
San Francisco, California
Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy
Mohamed Yahya, Founder and Executive Director
Washington, D.C.
Darfur Human Rights Organization of the USA
Abdelgabar Adam, President
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Darfur Human Rights Organization of the USA
Garelnabi Abbass Abusikin, Director of Operations
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Darfur People’s Association of New York
Bushara Dosa, President
New York, New York
Darfur Renaissance Association
Ismail Omer Ibrahim, Executive Director
Dallas, Texas
Darfur Working Group
Dr. Badawi Osman
Washington, D.C.
Rahama Deffallah
Brooklyn, NY
Fatima M. Haroun
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mahdi Musa Nouk
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Ibrahim Hamid
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Motasim Adam
Brooklyn, New York
Yahya Osman
New Jersey
Eltayeb M. Ibrahim
San Jose, California
Sabah Ibrahim
Springfield, Virginia
Isam Omer
Brooklyn, New York
Hamzah Ibrahim
Brooklyn, New York
Contact -Susan Morgan, 617-797-0451
susan@paxcommunications.org
US-BASED DARFURIS CALL ON PRESIDENT OBAMA TO REPLACE SPECIAL ENVOY GRATION
In open letter to President, Darfuris express grave concern about direction of US policy on Sudan
CITIES NATIONWIDE – October 12, 2009 – Today Darfuri organizations representing over 1000 Darfuris who live throughout the United States called on President Obama to replace Special Envoy Major General Scott Gration. In an open letter to the President, the Darfuris expressed their grave concern about the recent attacks in Darfur and the direction of US policy under Special Envoy Gration. Copies of the letter were also sent to key decision makers in the Administration and on Capitol Hill, and a translated version has been disseminated to foreign media outlets. (Full text of letter and list of signatories are below.)
The letter states:
“Given the track record in the past nine months, we believe that the violence, terror, death rates in Darfur are greater after the appointment of Major General Scott Gration as Special Envoy than before his appointment. The good-intentioned yet soft approach of the General towards the Government of Sudan is abused and exploited by a regime that has continued to rule Sudan with fire and blood throughout the last twenty years. The Darfuris and the Southern Sudanese are the ones who are paying the price now. Major General Scott Gration, after hearing the complaints of the victims in the camps, is stubbornly staying the course of treating the government of the killers of our people, with the same soft approach. Not even a public condemnation of the latest round of violence in Darfur is heard from his office.
We, the undersigned, in order to save the lives of our people in Darfur, respectfully request from your excellency that Major General Gration be relieved from his post as Special Envoy to Sudan. We hope that a candidate who has better understanding of dealing with the Government of Sudan will replace him.”
According to Mohamed Suleiman, spokesman for the group, the Darfuris in United States of America believe that the current U.S. policy carried out by the U.S. Special Envoy is futile. “We believe that the current soft approach policy towards the regime in Khartoum by the U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan, Major General Scott Gration, has emboldened the government of Sudan which is headed by a President who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court to commit further atrocities against our people in Darfur. We understand that the selection process of the next candidate for this post may take time, yet we believe that having the post vacant is greater deterrent to Khartoum regime than having Major General Gration in the post.
.
“In Darfur we have lost already more than 400 thousands and the numbers are climbing. Worse than Rwanda, the Government of Sudan is holding now 3 millions Darfuris as hostages in the refugees’ camps. It is not wise to wait for something terrible to happen to our people to prove that the policy of Major General Gration is wrong,” stated Suleiman.
###
FULL TEXT OF October 12 LETTER
October 12, 2009
The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500
cc: Vice President Joseph Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Ambassador Susan Rice, Senator John S. Kerry, Senator Richard G. Lugar
Dear President Obama,
We, Darfuris in the United States of America, write to you with grave alarm and concern about the latest news coming from our native land, Darfur. The Government of Sudan is brutally taking advantage of the fact that the world is turning numb to the news of atrocities occurring in Darfur and is now wreaking havoc in North and West Darfur.
At the end of last month, the Government of Sudan mounted fresh attacks on our people in the areas of Korma, Ain Siero, Jabal Marra, and Miliet. The news we get from our people is that the Government used the now familiar tactics: Antonov aerial bombings, Janjaweed attacks on civilians, burning, looting, raping, and savage killings. The news is chillingly so familiar that it escaped the attention of the news media and the international community. This familiar method of executing genocide in Darfur in a fresh wave of violence is an evil, clever way for the Government of Sudan to hide its crimes in the open.
Yet there is a fresh Darfuri blood spilled over the hills and valleys of Darfur as recently as last week. The society is further destroyed. Now even those who are fleeing the hellish killing fields are prevented from reaching the camps or the large towns and cities. In these recent attacks, the Government of Sudan has unleashed its surrogate militias, the Janjaweed, to block the trails and ways that lead from Korma to the major refugees’ camps or cities like ElFasher. Many civilians are stranded in the mountains and hills between Korma and ElFasher with little food and water.
Last month, our beleaguered people in the Internally-Displaced-Persons (IDPs) camps near ElFasher met with your Special Envoy Major General Scott Gration. Despite the heavy presence of the government’s security agents, our people braved the authority of the Government of Sudan and told your Special Envoy that his current approach in handling the Darfur problem is simply wrong and deadly. They called on you from their camps to replace your current Special Envoy.
We whole-heartedly agree with our people in Darfur. They are the ones who are paying the price with the loss of their lives almost daily by a government that committed and still is committing genocide against them.
Given the track record in the past nine months, we believe that the violence, terror, death rates in Darfur are greater after the appointment of Major General Scott Gration as Special Envoy than before his appointment. The good-intentioned yet soft approach of the General towards the Government of Sudan is abused and exploited by a regime that has continued to rule Sudan with fire and blood throughout the last twenty years. The Darfuris and the Southern Sudanese are the ones who are paying the price now. Major General Scott Gration, after hearing the complaints of the victims in the camps, is stubbornly staying the course of treating the government of the killers of our people, with the same soft approach. Not even a public condemnation of the latest round of violence in Darfur is heard from his office.
We, the undersigned, in order to save the lives of our people in Darfur, respectfully request from your excellency that Major General Gration be relieved from his post as Special Envoy to Sudan. We hope that a candidate who has better understanding of dealing with the Government of Sudan will replace him.
Truly yours,
Darfur Reconciliation and Development Organization
Adeeb Yousif, Founder & Chairperson
Zalingei-West Darfur and San Francisco – California
Fur Cultural Revival
Mansour Ahmed, President
Portland, Maine
San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition
Mohamed E. Suleiman, Member Executive Committee
San Francisco, California
Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy
Mohamed Yahya, Founder and Executive Director
Washington, D.C.
Darfur Human Rights Organization of the USA
Abdelgabar Adam, President
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Darfur Human Rights Organization of the USA
Garelnabi Abbass Abusikin, Director of Operations
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Darfur People’s Association of New York
Bushara Dosa, President
New York, New York
Darfur Renaissance Association
Ismail Omer Ibrahim, Executive Director
Dallas, Texas
Darfur Working Group
Dr. Badawi Osman
Washington, D.C.
Rahama Deffallah
Brooklyn, NY
Fatima M. Haroun
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mahdi Musa Nouk
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Ibrahim Hamid
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Motasim Adam
Brooklyn, New York
Yahya Osman
New Jersey
Eltayeb M. Ibrahim
San Jose, California
Sabah Ibrahim
Springfield, Virginia
Isam Omer
Brooklyn, New York
Hamzah Ibrahim
Brooklyn, New York
Monday, October 12, 2009
Day 187 - October 12th
- GoS (Government of Sudan) is intent to close down the Kalma IDP (Internally-Displaced-People) people, reported a refugee to Radio Dabanga. The refugee said that the GoS has introduced lately rules and regulations that will result in fear and starvation in the camp. The refugee, who sounded educated, said to Radio Dabanga that these rules and regulations will affect the security inside the camp and will slow down the flow of food and other necessary goods into the camp.
- Security forces opened fire on a vehicle carrying civilians and wounded 4 passengers, reported Radio Dabanga. The vhicle was traveling from IDP_ camp of Alsalam and Nyala in south Darfur when, with no apparent reason, security forces opened fire on the vehicle wounding 4 people among them a 5 months child in the lap of his mother, the mother to Radio Dabanga. It is reported that the injury of the child was on the head and was very serious.
- IDP leaders in the camps of Shaddad and Ottash met yesterday with some NGOs and complaint about lack of blankets (winter is approaching), food, education materials, and other necessary items, reported Radio Dabanga.
- Security forces opened fire on a vehicle carrying civilians and wounded 4 passengers, reported Radio Dabanga. The vhicle was traveling from IDP_ camp of Alsalam and Nyala in south Darfur when, with no apparent reason, security forces opened fire on the vehicle wounding 4 people among them a 5 months child in the lap of his mother, the mother to Radio Dabanga. It is reported that the injury of the child was on the head and was very serious.
- IDP leaders in the camps of Shaddad and Ottash met yesterday with some NGOs and complaint about lack of blankets (winter is approaching), food, education materials, and other necessary items, reported Radio Dabanga.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Day 185 - October 10th
- The GoS (Government of Sudan)is impeding the construction of any new building inside the new Zamzam IDP (Internally-Displaced-Persons) camp. A youth organization leader from Zamzam IDP camp told Radio Dabanga that the NGOs ( Non-Governmental Organizations) who apply for permits to build clinics, schools, and centers in the new extension of Zamzam IDP camp their applications were delayed by the GoS. The new extension of Zamzam IDP camp sprang into existence after January attacks of GoS army and militias on the civilians of Muhajerriah and the surrounding villages. The youth leader told Radio Dabanga that the refugees who arrived in large numbers settled in make-shift shelters on farm lands around the Zamzam IDP camp. Due to international cry about the plight of the new refugees,the GoS promised the owners of the lands with compensation of the value of their lands so as to enable the NGOs to deliver the humanitarian services to the new refugees. The GoS now is reneging on its promises and at the same time, as the authority that approves the NGOs permits for construction inside the camps, delays or denies any building permits inside the new extension of Zamzam IDP camp, the youth leader told Radio Dabanga.
- IDPs in the camps around Zalengie are complaining about lack of education inside their camps. A Sheikh (tribal leader) from Hamediah camp told Radio Dabanga that since the expulsion of the NGOs from Darfur in 4th of March this year, the camps are facing many problems and these days it is more felt in education sector. The leader told Radio Dabanga that the children are helping their parents in the farms around the camps in the rainy season to make up for the needs of the families in food. Yet the children are missing education that is necessary for the future of the new generation, reported the leader in the Hamediyah IDP camp.
- 3 months has passed for the leaders of IDP camps in detention. Leader Subajo and other sixteen leaders from camps around ElFasher are still detained in prisons in Elfasher under Emergency Laws declared by ElBashir in Darfur. Some of the relatives who managed to see their detained relatives reported that they saw clear signs of torture ( untreated wound on the limbs and faces).
- IDPs in the camps around Zalengie are complaining about lack of education inside their camps. A Sheikh (tribal leader) from Hamediah camp told Radio Dabanga that since the expulsion of the NGOs from Darfur in 4th of March this year, the camps are facing many problems and these days it is more felt in education sector. The leader told Radio Dabanga that the children are helping their parents in the farms around the camps in the rainy season to make up for the needs of the families in food. Yet the children are missing education that is necessary for the future of the new generation, reported the leader in the Hamediyah IDP camp.
- 3 months has passed for the leaders of IDP camps in detention. Leader Subajo and other sixteen leaders from camps around ElFasher are still detained in prisons in Elfasher under Emergency Laws declared by ElBashir in Darfur. Some of the relatives who managed to see their detained relatives reported that they saw clear signs of torture ( untreated wound on the limbs and faces).
Friday, October 9, 2009
Day 184 - October 9th
- Civilians and refugees in the camps in Jebel Maidoub (far north-east in North Darfur) complain of acute shortage in drinking water, reported Radio Dabanga this morning. A leader in the area, Ali Adam, told Radio Dabanga that there in intentional negligence from the authorities to the needs of the people in that area. Also the leader added that absence of the NGOs has affected adversely the basic services in the tribal area.
- Villagers and farmers in the area of Krainink (West Darfur) complaint to Radio Dabanga that they are attacked regularly by the Nomads. A leader in the area said that the attacks are increasing steadily with no efforts from the authorities to protect them (the civilians in Krainik and the villages near by).
- Villagers and farmers in the area of Krainink (West Darfur) complaint to Radio Dabanga that they are attacked regularly by the Nomads. A leader in the area said that the attacks are increasing steadily with no efforts from the authorities to protect them (the civilians in Krainik and the villages near by).
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Day 183 - October 8th
- Reported by Radio Dabanga:
Human Rights groups and lobbyists for the sake for Darfur, warn the international community that the war in Darfur is not over. The main international players are this week gathering in Moscow, with the participations from the Sudan, United States, Russia, Britain, China, France and the European Union. The Human Rights Watch published Tuesday a new report stating that the war in Darfur is not over, contrary to reports by the Sudanese army and the ruling party. The recent confrontation between the government and the movements and the random shootings in Darfur, is evidence that the war in Darfur is not yet over. Earlier, the previous commander of the Un-peacekeepers mission in Darfur, general Martin Luther Agwai, announced that the stage of war had ended in Darfur. On his part, Nur Al Daiem Mohamed Ahmed, chairman of the Union of Darfur, in the United Kingdom and Ireland, welcome the Human Rights Watch reports. He told radio Dabanga that ‘the misleading statements are far from reality’.
Various sources in east Meilit confirmed to Radio Dabanga that the government forces carried out a large scale campaign at Worrel, Um Kitra, Um Hashaba, Goz Leban and Abu Jiera (villages in North Darfur). The security sources said that the government is searching for people affiliated to the armed rebel-movements. An eyewitness told Radio Dabanga that the armed looted villages and started robbing some people from their belongs belongings.
- The displaced people at Kassab-camp near Kutum, complain about facing accurate water shortages after the mechanic pumps stopped working due to lack of fuel. One of the sheikhs at the camp told Radio Dabanga that there is only one water pump functioning in the camp populated by 35 thousands displaced people.
- At least three children have been killed by an exploding bomb in front of their houses in Al Rhiaad camp near El Geneina where they were playing. Three other children were wounded. The explosion happened on Tuesday. The children were taken to El Geneina hospital for further treatment. An eyewitness told Radio Dabanga that the children found the bomb and started playing with it without knowing the danger.
Human Rights groups and lobbyists for the sake for Darfur, warn the international community that the war in Darfur is not over. The main international players are this week gathering in Moscow, with the participations from the Sudan, United States, Russia, Britain, China, France and the European Union. The Human Rights Watch published Tuesday a new report stating that the war in Darfur is not over, contrary to reports by the Sudanese army and the ruling party. The recent confrontation between the government and the movements and the random shootings in Darfur, is evidence that the war in Darfur is not yet over. Earlier, the previous commander of the Un-peacekeepers mission in Darfur, general Martin Luther Agwai, announced that the stage of war had ended in Darfur. On his part, Nur Al Daiem Mohamed Ahmed, chairman of the Union of Darfur, in the United Kingdom and Ireland, welcome the Human Rights Watch reports. He told radio Dabanga that ‘the misleading statements are far from reality’.
Various sources in east Meilit confirmed to Radio Dabanga that the government forces carried out a large scale campaign at Worrel, Um Kitra, Um Hashaba, Goz Leban and Abu Jiera (villages in North Darfur). The security sources said that the government is searching for people affiliated to the armed rebel-movements. An eyewitness told Radio Dabanga that the armed looted villages and started robbing some people from their belongs belongings.
- The displaced people at Kassab-camp near Kutum, complain about facing accurate water shortages after the mechanic pumps stopped working due to lack of fuel. One of the sheikhs at the camp told Radio Dabanga that there is only one water pump functioning in the camp populated by 35 thousands displaced people.
- At least three children have been killed by an exploding bomb in front of their houses in Al Rhiaad camp near El Geneina where they were playing. Three other children were wounded. The explosion happened on Tuesday. The children were taken to El Geneina hospital for further treatment. An eyewitness told Radio Dabanga that the children found the bomb and started playing with it without knowing the danger.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Day 182 - October 7th
- Authorities in South-Darfur state, detained 41 donkeycars belonging to displaced people at Kalma camp. The displaced disclosed that the authorities are still detaining displaced people accusing them of cooperating with the armed movements. A displaced person told Radio Dabanga that the authorities in Nyala accuse the car owners of being illegal and belonging to the armed movements.
- The people of Jebel Sagda, nearby Nyala called yesterday on the government of South-Darfur to compensate their agriculture lands. This land which has been taken from them to build an UNAMID camp. The people of the area said that they complained to the state governor and UNAMID to redress and compensate them. They did not receive any response till now, one of the affected people told Radio Dabanga.
- The people of Jebel Sagda, nearby Nyala called yesterday on the government of South-Darfur to compensate their agriculture lands. This land which has been taken from them to build an UNAMID camp. The people of the area said that they complained to the state governor and UNAMID to redress and compensate them. They did not receive any response till now, one of the affected people told Radio Dabanga.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Day 181 - October 6th
- The following is from Darfur Relief and Documentation Center, an organization documents and publishes the atrocities committed by the Government of Sudan in Darfur:
Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre
Geneva, 05.10.2009
Renewed Military Activity in Darfur
Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre (DRDC) is gravely concerned about the renewed
military operations and displacement of civilians in Darfur. Violence is reported in Korma, Meliet, Jebal Moo, Jebal Mediob and eastern Jebal Marra in North Darfur State.
Heavymilitary equipments including fighter planes and artillery are being used intensively during the last 4 weeks causing indiscriminate damage on civilian targets.
Wide spread burning of dwellings and destruction of social facilities followed by organised looting of goods and livestock from the villagers were reported in many places.
This new round of military action puts an end to a period of about 6 months of relative calm in the region.
In the first week of September 2009 the government army and the Janjaweed militia started military offensive in Ain Siro area in North Darfur. In the following days fighting broke out between the army and the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) led by Abdelwahid Al-Nur in Korma area (70 km northwest of El-Fashir). Two SLM soldiers and 5 civilians including Mr.Ibrahim Adam Mohamed a long time primary school teacher died in this attack.
Displacement of civilians is currently taking place in the area where about 12,000 IDPs were forced to abandon their villages.
The security forces blocked the main access routes to the operation
areas thus preventing many civilians from reaching more secure zones in major towns like Tawila and El Fasher. For several days the army and the SLM refused to allow UNAMID access to the affected areas. On 28th and 29th September 2009, the government launched a new offensive in the Meilit area in North Darfur. In Jebal Moo, northwest of Meilit, at least 20 civilians including children were killed and dozen others injured.
DRDC received reports that the Government continues building-up troops and military assets in different parts of Darfur. Thousands of soldiers and light military vehicles are being deployed in North Darfur in the environs of Kuttum and Kabkabiya. It is also reported that hundreds of armed Chadian rebels are currently stationed in Argi, Umdersai, Korri, Fono and Korti areas in North Darfur in their way to settle in Ain Siro. The locals expressed fears that Ain Siro could witness fighting in the coming weeks.
It is significant that the renewed military offensives are taking place at a crucial time at the end of the rainy season and while villagers prepare to harvest their stable food.
In another incident on 28th September 2009 armed men killed a Nigerian peacekeeper and injured two other soldiers during an attack on a UNAMID convey near El Geneina (West Darfur). The assailants stole one of the convey vehicles.
DRDC condemns the renewed fighting and the targeting of civilians in Darfur. This serious development belies the recent statements made by top UNAMID officials that “the war in Darfur is over.” It also indicates the necessity of a more robust intervention from the international community to put an end to the ongoing military action, violence and atrocious acts against civilians in the region.
Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre (DRDC)
27, Ch. des Crêts-de-Pregny
1218 Grand-Saconnex
Geneva (Switzerland)
Tel: 0041 22 747 00 89
Fax: 0041 22 747 00 38
http://www.darfurcentre.ch
Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre
Geneva, 05.10.2009
Renewed Military Activity in Darfur
Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre (DRDC) is gravely concerned about the renewed
military operations and displacement of civilians in Darfur. Violence is reported in Korma, Meliet, Jebal Moo, Jebal Mediob and eastern Jebal Marra in North Darfur State.
Heavymilitary equipments including fighter planes and artillery are being used intensively during the last 4 weeks causing indiscriminate damage on civilian targets.
Wide spread burning of dwellings and destruction of social facilities followed by organised looting of goods and livestock from the villagers were reported in many places.
This new round of military action puts an end to a period of about 6 months of relative calm in the region.
In the first week of September 2009 the government army and the Janjaweed militia started military offensive in Ain Siro area in North Darfur. In the following days fighting broke out between the army and the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) led by Abdelwahid Al-Nur in Korma area (70 km northwest of El-Fashir). Two SLM soldiers and 5 civilians including Mr.Ibrahim Adam Mohamed a long time primary school teacher died in this attack.
Displacement of civilians is currently taking place in the area where about 12,000 IDPs were forced to abandon their villages.
The security forces blocked the main access routes to the operation
areas thus preventing many civilians from reaching more secure zones in major towns like Tawila and El Fasher. For several days the army and the SLM refused to allow UNAMID access to the affected areas. On 28th and 29th September 2009, the government launched a new offensive in the Meilit area in North Darfur. In Jebal Moo, northwest of Meilit, at least 20 civilians including children were killed and dozen others injured.
DRDC received reports that the Government continues building-up troops and military assets in different parts of Darfur. Thousands of soldiers and light military vehicles are being deployed in North Darfur in the environs of Kuttum and Kabkabiya. It is also reported that hundreds of armed Chadian rebels are currently stationed in Argi, Umdersai, Korri, Fono and Korti areas in North Darfur in their way to settle in Ain Siro. The locals expressed fears that Ain Siro could witness fighting in the coming weeks.
It is significant that the renewed military offensives are taking place at a crucial time at the end of the rainy season and while villagers prepare to harvest their stable food.
In another incident on 28th September 2009 armed men killed a Nigerian peacekeeper and injured two other soldiers during an attack on a UNAMID convey near El Geneina (West Darfur). The assailants stole one of the convey vehicles.
DRDC condemns the renewed fighting and the targeting of civilians in Darfur. This serious development belies the recent statements made by top UNAMID officials that “the war in Darfur is over.” It also indicates the necessity of a more robust intervention from the international community to put an end to the ongoing military action, violence and atrocious acts against civilians in the region.
Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre (DRDC)
27, Ch. des Crêts-de-Pregny
1218 Grand-Saconnex
Geneva (Switzerland)
Tel: 0041 22 747 00 89
Fax: 0041 22 747 00 38
http://www.darfurcentre.ch
Monday, October 5, 2009
Day 180 - October 5th
- A refugee in the IDP camp of AbuShouk, Abdulkarim Mohamed Ramadan, was shot killed by armed men entered the eastern side of the camp. Radio Dabanga reported that initially the armed men robbed the refugee Ramadan and another refugee before opening fire on Ramadan and left for unknown place.
- Leaders in the camp of Dar Alsalam (near ElFasher) told Radio Dabanga that Security Unit entered the camp and arrested the guard of the Youth Center in the camp and set fire to the building. The Leaders said to Radio Dabanga that the building ws completely burnt down. Further, the leaders reported to the Radio the Security Unit did not tell the refugees why they had arrested the guard (a refugee) and burned down the Youth Center.
- Leaders in the camp of Dar Alsalam (near ElFasher) told Radio Dabanga that Security Unit entered the camp and arrested the guard of the Youth Center in the camp and set fire to the building. The Leaders said to Radio Dabanga that the building ws completely burnt down. Further, the leaders reported to the Radio the Security Unit did not tell the refugees why they had arrested the guard (a refugee) and burned down the Youth Center.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Day 178 - October 3rd
- 7 Internally displaced persons (IDPs) were abducted by 13 armed militia in uniform in West Darfur yesterday. Radio Dabanga reported that 4 women and 3 men from IDP camps near Zalengie were working on small Okra farm next to the camp were attacked and abducted by armed men on pickups and took them to unknown place.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Day 178 - October 2nd
- Civilians who managed to reach ElFasher (capital of North Darfur)from Korma area (attacked by Government of Sudan last week), told Radio Dabanga this morning about atrocities committed by pro government militia. One civilian said the Janjaweed in one locality raped 47 women and girls, 13 of them underage. He added saying that one girl, age of 13 years was gang raped by 7 men of the pro government militias. The girl later died because there was no medical treatment and her falks couldn't get her to Elfasher to receive medical aid, eyewitness said. Another witness said that another child, a girl under 13 years old, was raped in Korma attack but her relatives succeeded to get her to the Saudi Hospital in Elfasher where she is receiving medical care now.
Also Radio Dabanga reported that about 30 families have just arrived recently to the IDP (Internally-Displaced-Persons) camps of Dar-Alsalam and Abushouk in the outskirts of ElFasher. The radio added that these families arrived from Korma area and live in a terrible humanitarian conditions in these camps after a horrific journey to reach the camps. Radio Dabanga reported also that there are about 28 families stranded in Tawila (a town next to Korma) and many other families scattered and some headed to the mountains seeking protection, specially to in Jebel See (pronounced as the letter C), a mountain closer to Korma than Jebel Marra. An eyewitness told Radio Dabanga that the Government of Sudan, through its armo and militias, is preventing the beleaguered civilians from reaching Elfasher or any refugees camps (IDP camps), so as a result, there were many civilians wondering in the country side, others trapped in Korma and Tawilla, others headed to the nearby mountains.
There were reports that the Red Cross and other humanitarian aid organizations trying to reach the affected civilians but the GoS is not making their task easier.
Also Radio Dabanga reported that about 30 families have just arrived recently to the IDP (Internally-Displaced-Persons) camps of Dar-Alsalam and Abushouk in the outskirts of ElFasher. The radio added that these families arrived from Korma area and live in a terrible humanitarian conditions in these camps after a horrific journey to reach the camps. Radio Dabanga reported also that there are about 28 families stranded in Tawila (a town next to Korma) and many other families scattered and some headed to the mountains seeking protection, specially to in Jebel See (pronounced as the letter C), a mountain closer to Korma than Jebel Marra. An eyewitness told Radio Dabanga that the Government of Sudan, through its armo and militias, is preventing the beleaguered civilians from reaching Elfasher or any refugees camps (IDP camps), so as a result, there were many civilians wondering in the country side, others trapped in Korma and Tawilla, others headed to the nearby mountains.
There were reports that the Red Cross and other humanitarian aid organizations trying to reach the affected civilians but the GoS is not making their task easier.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Day 177 - October 1st
= New settlers occupy villages of Tollolu and others around it. Leaders from the Internally -Displaced-People (IDPs) in the camp of Hamidiah (near Zallengi) told Radio Dabanga that eyewitnesses from Tollolu arrived at the camps said pro-GoS militia arrived at Tollolu village and chased away the few remaining people and started to settle in the village and others around it.
- From Radio Dabanga: According to rebel groups in North Darfur, The Sudan Armed Forces have bombed and attacked the Jebel Mo-area, northwest of Meilit in North Darfur. The spokesman of the faction of SLM-Abdelshafi said that planes flew over the area and were hitting targets in the Mo village. The attack was followed by a ground offensive by militia’s, explained Ahmed Fadul Abdallah of SLM-Abdelshafi. He said that the hospital and school was hit, but Radio Dabnga could not verify his statement. The Sudan Armed Forces did not respond to questions. The rebel spokesman did not give details about the number of casualties. According to him, the attack was repelled and the rebels are remaining control over that area.
- From Sudan Tribune:
Red Cross distributes food aid in North Darfur after recent attacks
Thursday 1 October 2009
(KHARTOUM) – The International Red Cross (ICRC) started today distribution of food and essential household items to families affected by recent attacks by the Sudanese army on rebel positions in and around Korma, in North Darfur.
Since the beginning of this month government troops and militias carried out regular attacks on the positions of Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) led by Abdel Wahid Al-Nur near Jebel Marra in Korma and Ain Siro.
IDPs spokesperson appealed for urgent humanitarian assistance to the villagers affected by the attacks. The UNAMID attempted during the two past weeks to send an assessment mission but its efforts had been hampered by government delay.
The ICRC, based on the finding of an assessment team sent to the area, said today that there are more than 13,000 people affected by the recent attacks.
“We will start the distribution today, but it will probably take another three days to reach everyone,” said Jan Nicolas Schuett, head of the ICRC sub-delegation in Alfasher, who is supervising the operations.
The ICRC assistance will include a half-month food ration for almost 11,500 people affected by the latest events in the area. In addition, almost 2,000 people will receive basic household items such as kitchen sets, tarpaulins, blankets, mats, soap, jerrycans and buckets to help them cope with the situation, the Red Cross said.
“We are distributing enough food for two weeks,” said Mr Schuett. “That should be sufficient until more food is delivered to the affected families by other humanitarian agencies that will be able to enter the area within the coming weeks.”
- From Radio Dabanga: According to rebel groups in North Darfur, The Sudan Armed Forces have bombed and attacked the Jebel Mo-area, northwest of Meilit in North Darfur. The spokesman of the faction of SLM-Abdelshafi said that planes flew over the area and were hitting targets in the Mo village. The attack was followed by a ground offensive by militia’s, explained Ahmed Fadul Abdallah of SLM-Abdelshafi. He said that the hospital and school was hit, but Radio Dabnga could not verify his statement. The Sudan Armed Forces did not respond to questions. The rebel spokesman did not give details about the number of casualties. According to him, the attack was repelled and the rebels are remaining control over that area.
- From Sudan Tribune:
Red Cross distributes food aid in North Darfur after recent attacks
Thursday 1 October 2009
(KHARTOUM) – The International Red Cross (ICRC) started today distribution of food and essential household items to families affected by recent attacks by the Sudanese army on rebel positions in and around Korma, in North Darfur.
Since the beginning of this month government troops and militias carried out regular attacks on the positions of Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) led by Abdel Wahid Al-Nur near Jebel Marra in Korma and Ain Siro.
IDPs spokesperson appealed for urgent humanitarian assistance to the villagers affected by the attacks. The UNAMID attempted during the two past weeks to send an assessment mission but its efforts had been hampered by government delay.
The ICRC, based on the finding of an assessment team sent to the area, said today that there are more than 13,000 people affected by the recent attacks.
“We will start the distribution today, but it will probably take another three days to reach everyone,” said Jan Nicolas Schuett, head of the ICRC sub-delegation in Alfasher, who is supervising the operations.
The ICRC assistance will include a half-month food ration for almost 11,500 people affected by the latest events in the area. In addition, almost 2,000 people will receive basic household items such as kitchen sets, tarpaulins, blankets, mats, soap, jerrycans and buckets to help them cope with the situation, the Red Cross said.
“We are distributing enough food for two weeks,” said Mr Schuett. “That should be sufficient until more food is delivered to the affected families by other humanitarian agencies that will be able to enter the area within the coming weeks.”
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