While We Wait

Day 748 - July 6th 2011

2011-07-06T06:14:00.000-07:00

Continuing Extrajudicial Killing and Lawlessness in Darfur

Contact: Osman Hummaida, Executive Director

Phone: +44 7956 095738

(6 July 2010) At 10:30 AM on 30 June, residents of Sag Al Na’am locality, approximately 25 kilometres south of El Fashir, brought the bodies of Hurri Mendi Issa, a member of the Zaghawa tribe, and Adam Abdorahman Annor, a member of the Mima tribe, to El Fashir hospital for autopsies to be performed on each body. Both of the deceased were teachers at the Sag Al Na’am Primary School.

According to sources, members of the Popular Defence Forces and Central Reserve Forces based in Kalimendo locality attacked Sag Al Na’am’s market around noon on 29 June. Three unknown residents were injured when they were shot and were brought alongside Mr. Issa and Mr. Annor to El Fashir hospital the following day. Shortly after the attack on the market, the gunmen began inquiring as to Mr. Issa’s and Mr. Annor’s whereabouts. At 2 PM, they arrived at Sag Al Na’am school and forcibly removed them from the building. They were both shot at point blank range in the head outside.

El Fashir’s Chief Prosecutor, Director of Police, and Director of the Central Reserve Forces all viewed the bodies. The Chief Prosecutor confirmed the death and indicated that the armed elements responsible for the two men’s death and the attacks on Sag Al Na’am’s market were still at large.

The extrajudicial killing of Mr. Issa and Mr. Annor comes only a month after 16 members of the Zaghawa ethnic group were executed summarily near Shangil Tobaya by unknown militias, and their bodies left exposed for three days before they were buried in a mass grave (see 16 Members of the Zaghawa Tribe Summarily Executed and Buried in Mass Graves in North Darfur). A Zaghawa Community leader and member of the Commission of Inquiry formed by the North Darfur government to investigate the incident, Mohamed Saleh Haroun, was killed by militias on 5 June when the Commission entered Shangil Tobaya to begin their investigation. The acting Special Prosecutor for Crimes in Darfur, Al Fatih Tayfour, affirmed in early July that a new investigation has commenced, as well as announcing that the investigation into the September 2010 massacre in Tabra, an ethnically Fur village in North Darfur, had concluded. These horrific events exemplify the complete erosion of the rule of law and the scope of impunity throughout Darfur.

Though not officially incorporated into the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), the Popular Defence Forces and Central Reserve Forces are allegedly closely affiliated with the SAF. Immunities under the Sudan Armed Forces Act of 2007 preclude members of the SAF being tried for criminal responsibility for acts committed while in service. The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies calls on the Sudanese government and relevant UN representatives to initiate a full and thorough investigation to hold the perpetrators of the attack and extrajudicial killings in Sag Al Na’am accountable, and ensure the independence of the any future Commission established.

day 636 - March 16th 2011

2011-03-16T18:10:00.000-07:00

Between Sudan and Libya, Critics See U.S. Inconsistency
Why the rush to use force against Qaddafi when Sudan has suffered more?

By Rebecca Kaplan
Monday, March 14, 2011 | 12:49 p.m.

Barack Obama was clear about the African leader who had turned his troops on his own people: The dictator was creating an unacceptable refugee and humanitarian crisis, Obama said. “When genocide is happening, when ethnic cleansing is happening somewhere around the world, and we stand idly by, that diminishes us. And so, I do believe that we have to consider it as part of our interests, our national interests, in intervening where possible.”

He went on to acknowledge that in a world full of violence, the United States cannot be everywhere. But it should be in certain places. “We could be providing logistical support, setting up a no-fly zone at relatively little cost to us, but we can only do it if we can help mobilize the international community and lead,” Obama said.

The year was 2008 and Obama was talking about the Darfur region of Sudan. Then a presidential candidate, he was pushing for the U.S. to do more to stem the humanitarian crisis in the Central African nation. His critics say he never enacted the policies he called for in the campaign -- a lapse that seems all the more glaring now that the U.S. is considering military action in Libya.

The crisis in Libya has once again highlighted the troubles in neighboring Sudan, which shares the country’s southeast border. Despite a much larger humanitarian crisis in Sudan—some 2 million people have died during a decades-long civil war between North and South -- it is Libya where the administration has gone from zero to 60 in three weeks with its threat to use force to protect the people. The death toll in Libya, while gruesome, is still just a few thousand people. Those who have been pressuring the administration to do more in Sudan wish that the administration was showing the same determination toward pressuring the regime in Khartoum that it is dsiplaying toward Qaddafi’s regime in Tripoli.

“I’m encouraged by his statements with regard to encouraging [Libyan President Col.] Muammar el-Qaddafi to step down,” said Elizabeth Blackney, a GOP strategist-turned-writer who is active in Sudan relief. “My concern is with the inconsistency in calling for dictators who perpetrate human-rights violence against their own people.”

She’s not alone. Sam Bell, the executive director of the Save Darfur Coalition and Genocide Intervention Network, two groups that recently merged, said that people would be “scratching their heads” over the president’s decision to threaten to use force to carry out humanitarian assistance in Libya, but not in Sudan. “The [Sudanese President Omar] Bashir government has been as, if not more, brutal in terms of suppressing its people and perpetrating violence against them than Qaddafi has.”

As human-rights activists see it, one difference is that Libya’s disintegration threatens other Arab regimes; Sudan’s collapse has not caused a wave of instability. More important, Libya is oil-rich and Sudan is not. The Sudanese are “at the bottom of the geopolitical pecking order,” said Sudan researcher and analyst Eric Reeves. “And they’ve been treated accordingly.”

If the human-rights community had high expectations of Obama, it is not hard to understand why. As a candidate, he spoke of a national interest that included acting as a world policeman against ethnic violence. Sudan was ground zero for humanitarian assistance. A long war between the Arab Muslim North and the black Christian and animist South cost 2 million lives and ended on paper with the signing of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005.

During the 2000s, fighting in the western Sudanese province of Darfur led to massive ethnic cleansing that the Bush administration unabashedly dubbed genocide. Bashir faces an arrest order for war crimes. Earlier this year, the South voted overwhelmingly to succeed, but whether the dictator will allow the split remains to be seen.

Darfur was the central Sudan issue when Obama sought the presidency. In fact, as a candidate, he supported taking many of the same measures in Sudan that the U.S. has either taken or is considering for Libya. On his campaign website, he called on the international community to deploy a “large, capable U.N.-led and U.N.-funded force with a robust enforcement mandate to stop the killings.”

He also called on Washington to further pressure the regime in Khartoum – which was charged with supplying weapons to the Arab Janjaweed militias used to kill Southern Sudanese. Candidate Obama wanted sanctions, no-fly zones, and other forms of pressure brought to bear. In 2007 and 2008, he joined with then-Sens. Joe Biden and Hillary Rodham Clinton in criticizing the Bush administration for engaging with Khartoum. The trio called for the use of sticks, not carrots, in U.S.-Sudan relations.

The administration's policies, however, have been very different from what Obama promised during the campaign. The U.S. helps fund a minor military presence, the African Union/United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur, providing a $536.6 million estimated contribution in FY2011 to a force with a $1.8 billion budget. Of the 22,443 total uniformed personnel serving in UNAMID, zero are from the United States. If an international force goes into Libya, no one expects it to be free of Americans.

National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor says that the current situation in Libya is more akin to the situation in Darfur before the UNAMID forces were deployed in 2007. By that reasoning, the administration continues to support peacekeeping forces in Sudan. But some, like analyst Reeves, say that the United States refuses to provide the forces with the kind of equipment and supplies they would need to be effective.

That’s not to say that Washington has done nothing. The administration was active in critical negotiations to ensure that a referendum allowing the South to vote on independence would take place on time. Against a number of odds, it did, and the people in the South voted overwhelmingly to secede from the North.

Mark Schneider, a senior vice president at the International Crisis Group, which does conflict-prevention analysis and resolution, said that those negotiations may have prevented the country from falling back into the civil war from which it had barely emerged in 2005 with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which the Bush administration helped negotiate.

“The referendum itself was a major achievement. That was a surprise. The outcome was not a surprise,” Schneider said. “But the acceptance of it was also a very positive step.”

Simon Maina/AFP/Getty Images

South Sudanese living in Kenya lined up to vote at a polling station in Nairobi on January 9, 2011, on the first day of a week-long independence referendum. The U.S. was instrumental in facilitating negotiations that allowed the referendum to take place.

That’s also how the administration sees its efforts. “Regional governments, including the government of South Sudan, asked that the United States assist in the last stages of negotiating the referendum by demonstrating to the Sudanese government that there was a path toward normalization if they lived up to their international commitments outlined in the CPA,” Vietor said. By the administration's estimation, getting Khartoum to agree to a separation – not an easy task – was just one step on the way to normalization. To get all the way there, violence in Darfur must end, and the administration says it will continue to press the issue.

It was the road to referendum, however, that has left many activists angry at the administration. In order to get the North to come to the negotiating table, the U.S. had to decouple the issue of peace in Darfur, where an estimated 450,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced. Obama also sent Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., to tell Sudanese authorities that if they allowed the referendum to occur, the State Department’s could remove Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, a major step toward normalization of relations between the two countries.

Reeves, the scholar, argued, “That’s absolutely shocking that you would decouple an issue that you have described as genocide.”

But Vietor said that the president is by no means reversing the policy he proposed as a candidate. “Since the very beginning, he has been clear that we will engage even with those with whom we disagree if doing so allows us to get results. We have provided the Sudanese with a road map for normalization of relations, but only upon the satisfactory completion of the CPA, and, specifically, resolution of the Abyei issue, as well as peace in Darfur.”

It’s true the president pledged to engage with dictators such as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran and Kim Jong Il in North Korea; Obama believes that direct, aggressive diplomacy is better than no diplomacy. But as a candidate, he spoke of using sticks in his Sudan policy. As a president, he’s been using carrots. Libya is all about sticks.

The next big test is whether the secession of the South from the North will occur peacefully in Sudan. It is scheduled for July 9, but a host of issues must first be resolved. Chief among them is what to do about Abyei, a city in central Sudan that bridges the North and the South and sits atop a number of the country’s oil fields. It is still unclear whether Abyei will join the North or the South or how oil revenues from the region will be split.

Violence has broken out in the city in recent weeks as the two sides' forces clash. According to reports, at least 100 people have been killed and thousands displaced. Photos from the Satellite Sentinel Project - a group conceived by George Clooney that works with the Enough Project to document violence in Sudan with satellite imagery – confirmed that three villages in the region were burned in a targeted attack.

On Wednesday, the White House called for peace. “This dangerous standoff is unacceptable for the Sudanese people, and we condemn the deployment of forces by both sides,” said a statement that was issued not by the president – who would issue a statement decrying violence in Cote D’Ivoire later that day – but by White House press secretary Jay Carney.

“The type of statement issued by President Obama’s White House today confirms to the South that we’re not being robust against those in the North who are the sponsors of this violence,” said Richard Williamson, who was a special envoy to Sudan during the Bush administration.

John Prendergast of the anti-genocide Enough Project, said that his group is not advocating for the use of U.S. force to deliver humanitarian assistance in Sudan. But the group is monitoring the situation closely. “If the Khartoum regime undermines peace between the North and South, and continues to escalate in Darfur, the [U.S.] administration will have no choice but to alter its present policy,” he said. In Libya, “the swift consequences the U.S. was able to cobble together in the U.N. Security Council was indeed an important precedent, one which we will draw on if the situation deteriorates further in Sudan.”

For now, the administration is safe. As long as military intervention in Libya remains a hypothetical rather than an actuality, human-rights advocates have less to demand. But they’ll be keeping watch.

“I would ask," Reeves said, "why it is that Libyan civilians are more valuable, command more attention, more military commitment than the civilians of Darfur?”

He’s waiting for the Obama administration to prove that such is not the case.

We, the Darfuris, are baffled and disappointed (to say the least), of what we see and hear these days coming out of Washington.
1- Senator John Kerry now enthusiastically leading the way for imposing No-Fly-Zone over Libya within days, because a Dictator is killing his own people using military air power, while another Dictator is doing worse (genocide) in Darfur. Senator Kerry came with the a cover for that Dictator (decoupling Darfur) to pave the way for rewarding an indicted war criminal.

2- President Obama in his latest news conference mentioned genocides in Rwanda and Balkans, while conspicuously skipped Darfur. This was to point out why he (Obama) believes that Dictator Ghadaffi must go. While the other Dictator who has caused stain on his soul is allowed to stay in power through U.S.- blessed sham elections, and continue to stain the soul of humanity by committing an on-going genocide in Darfur.

3- In Libya we hear from The White House (all options, including military, are ruled in), while with the indicted genocidaire AlBashir, the White House preferred the policy of " engagement, smiles, and cookies". This is a coded message that AlBashir understood very well: you have adequate time to kill Darfuris (by air or by Janjaweed).

4- The White House kept sending messages through years while Darfuris are being slaughtered that: Sudan is a sovereign country, U.S. won't like to get envolved militarily in another muslim country, U.S. is stretched thin militarily, U,S, prefers solving Darfur problem diplomatically, U.S. has no leverage on Sudan.
Now we see how all those excuses came down crashing in dealing with Libya (a template of all of the above).

5- Remnants of Darfuris will wait for an apology from President Obama several years from now, as exactly did another American President when he apologized to the remnants of the Tootsies about doing nothing while the genocide was raging on under his watch in Rwanda.

Mohamed Suleiman

day 610 - February 23rd 2011

2011-02-23T05:26:00.000-08:00

No Fly Zone is a must in Darfur, isn't it?

From Radio Dabanga this morning:

5 people killed and 32 wounded in air strikes on Korofola village
TAWILA

(23 Feb.) -

The death toll from air strikes Sunday on the village of Korofola, south of Tawila, is five people. Another 32 people were wounded. Witnesses said that the village burnt down entirely after aerial bombardment at one in the morning.

The villagers have fled to Zamzam and Tawila. Witnesses in Tawila said that the number of people displaced from Korofola is 800. Speaking from Tawila, a witness told Radio Dabanga that some of the wounded were taken to El Fasher, some are still receiving treatment in Tawila.

Other bombing occurred in Dirma on Monday. At least one citizen was injured in aerial attacks on the village, which is east of Jebel Marra. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that the bombing, which occurred in the early hours of the morning, was carried out by two Antonov planes. Four homes were burned and a number of cattle killed. The witness said that the injured citizen was evacuated to El Fasher to receive treatment, while other Dirma residents fled to Zamzam and Tawila.

Meanwhile, a government aircraft last Saturday dropped 20 bombs around Kagor village, east of Jebel Marra. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that 19 bombs fell on the valley near the village but did not detonate, while one exploded and fell on the village. A witness said that all citizens in Kagor area fled after the aerial bombardment to the Suneto area where they are being sheltered by UNAMID.

http://www.radiodabanga.org/node/9835

day 605 - February 18th 2011

2011-02-18T03:01:00.000-08:00

Thia is some of what is going on in Darfur:

- Since Wednesday 16th of Feb., Government of Sudan is bombing villages east of Jebel Marra: Tukumary, Hashaba, Wadi Murrah, and Dali. 3 women and 2 children were reported to be killed so far. Many animals were killed. All the water sources were targetted and destroyed completely as reported by the Omda and other community leaders.

- On Tuesday Feb. 15th, GoS militias attacked and burned down IDP camp of Draisai in Central Darfur. Over 13 thousands (including women and children) fled the camp. Eyewitness said there were reports of casualties.

- on Tuesday Feb. 15th, IDP camp of Shaddad near Shangel Tobai was attacked by GoS Militias and partially set on fire, causing some refugees to flee the camp.

- There is methodical and planned attacks by GoS and its militias targeting the ethnicity of Zaghawa tribe. In Shangel Tobai there were incidents of killings of Zaghawa individuals and families. The properties of Zaghawa merchants in the market (stores) were confiscated by GoS military and given to other individuals and families pro-government changing ownership papers and changing the block numbers on the buildings. There are intentional plans to keep Darfur perpetually unstable and impoverish its people into submissiveness or death.

- From private source: On Feb. 13, Ali Karti (Foreign Minister and one of the leaders of the government Popular Defense Troops) held a meeting with selected pro-government journalists and among other points he has stated the following:

* "Sudan position internationally is becoming better especially in the light of improving contacts with the U.S. Government. we are optimistic that for the first time in the 2 decades that our name will be cleared with regard to the ill-treatment by U.S. Administrations, our name will soon be removed fro the State Sponsoring Terrorism List. Now we stand good chance that our name will be cleared from the ICC too".

* "We will keep negotiating with the Darfuris to appease the international community, but we will keep hitting them [the Darfuris] very hard on the ground> We have now as I speak to you, 8 brigades of our Popular Defense Troops in Darfur, and 2 additional brigades of PDT on the borders between Darfur and Bahr Alghazal (neighboring state of South Sudan)".

day 584 - January 28th 2011

2011-01-28T09:45:00.000-08:00

From Radio Dabanga this morning:

Sudan army surrounds, threatens to burn down UNAMID camp
SHANGIL TOBAYA

(28 Jan.) -

A Sudanese army force of 200 soldiers on 40 vehicles surrounded the exit of an UN – African Union military camp yesterday in Shangil Tobaya. A senior officer at the head of the force then threatened to burn down the military camp and an adjoining refugee camp. The threat came at about 6:00 p.m., after the UN forces unsuccessfuly tried to prevent the army from threatening and arresting refugees at the neighboring camp. The army arrested three people in the camp.

“The SAF commander at the scene stated that they were carrying out their duties and intended to persuade the IDPs to return to their original camps. He then threatened to burn down the makeshift camp and UNAMID team site, if the peacekeepers continued to interfere,” UNAMID reported in an e-mailed statement yesterday.

The makeshift camp next to the UNAMID base sheltered thousands of people who had fled during the events of December 2010.

UNAMID also reported that it was unable to complete a “verification mission” from its Shangil Tobaya base to Tabit, where fighting broke out Monday, due to “resumption of aerial bombardment in the area.”

day 583 - January 27th 2011

2011-01-27T10:50:00.000-08:00

January 27th 2011:

Government of Sudan conducts intensive aerial bombings in Darfur:

- Government of Sudan (GoS) is conducting intensive aerial bombings targeting villages south of Elfasher (Capital of North Darfur). There are clashes between GoS and rebels. Yet the GoS is going after the villages and civilians. Many villages were bombed, burnt, and destroyed by aerial bombings. These villages were then looted by Janjaweed. Thousands are fleeing now the bombed areas.
Via phone calls, these are the names of some of the villages (8 of them) that are bombed and completely destroyed: Tabit, Hashabah, Traney, Chemerry, Abu Talatin, Abu Gretion, Komis, Tangary.
Thousands of civilians of these villages are now on the run,

- Resident of Elfasher told me that the GoS stopped civilian flights form and to Elfasher because the Airport is busy with military air activities.

- UNAMID issued a statement that the GoS has prevented two of its convoys to reach the affected civilians in two separate incidents.

- Khartoum announced it is flying thousands of its "Popular Defense" para-military troops militias to Darfur to "secure the return of the IDPs".

day 551 - December 27th 2010

2010-12-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

Khor Abeche, a disaster in the making.

While the world celebrates the holidays, Government of Sudan (GoS) has picked the right timing to turn Khor Abeche into a Srebrenica, not the Serbian style but Kahrtoum style: slow death through blockade and starvation.
Since December 10th 2010 (more than 2 weeks ago), GoS did not allow any vehicle to enter the town. The only western NGO, World vision, left Khor Abeche when areal bombings started on the 10th. No humanitarian aid (food, medicine, other life essentials) was allowed in. Trucks from Nyala that were sent by the relatives of the town residents desperately trying to help the trapped people in and around Khor Abbechi, were turned back by GoS troops and Janjaweed forces lead by Musa Galis.
I am in contact with some residents of the town of Khor Abbechi and some of their sons in Europe, and this what they told me:

- Khor Abeche is a town in South Darfur. It is about 55 miles north-east of Nyala (capital city of South Darfur). The town is inhabited now with about 11 thousand people.

- Musa Galis, a retired Police General who is now the Nazir (head of a tribe) of the Birgid tribe, said publicly in October 2010 that he odes not want certain tribes in the area. He specifically singled out a large population of the Zaghawa tribe (one of the tribes targeted by GoS in its campaign of ethnic cleansing). Musa Galis mentioned that he has the backing of GoS and " the Ababil jets are ready". Ababil is the biblical name the GoS uses to describe its air force power. (Ababil means the birds that drop fatal stones).
Musa Galis was promised by the GoS that he will be in charge of the area, including Khor Abeche, if he droves away the other tribes considered "enemy of the State".

- On December 10th and 11th of this month, government's jets, antonoves, and helicopters bombed Khor Abeche. Targets included anything that sustains the life of the local people: water sources, food storage huts, livestock, and the market. On the 12th and the following days, Musa Galis and his militia entered the the town marked looting and destroying crops and goods. The town just finished harvest after the farming season. Eyewitness said the destruction was deliberate. Many huts contain harvest of peanuts, sesame, and sorghum, were set on fire.
On Friday 17 and Friday 24th, more areal bombings were carried out by Ababils.

- About 1500 of the town residents sought refuge in UNAMID local post. More than 2500 fled to to Wadi Hariza (dry river) and some tried to escape the bombings by fleeing to the Mountain.

- Musa Galis is sending the messages to those who remained in the town (about 7000), that he will not harm them if they seek refuge in the IDP camps or any other place but not to remain in Khor Abeche. When the people refused to leave, his now message is: if Ababils do not force you out, hunger will.

day 506 - November 12th 2010

2010-11-12T20:06:00.000-08:00

What is going on now in Darfur is an operation by the Government of Sudan (GoS). The operation is called by the GoS : "Misk al-Khitam". It is similar to the "Final Solution".

Eric Reeves has encapsulated the situation in Darfur in the following article he wrote today. Please be patient and read diligently and read it all to know what is really going on in Darfur while the world is not paying attention:

The Obama Administration "Decouples" Darfur

Khartoum is given free rein to obtain its "perfect ending" ("Misk al-Khitam")

Eric Reeves

November 12, 2010

The relationship between Darfur and Southern Sudan has never been well understood by the Obama administration, largely because of the incompetence of the president's special envoy to Sudan, retired Air Force General Scott Gration. Gration came to the position in early 2009 without any significant diplomatic experience or familiarity with the extraordinary complexities of Sudan—Africa's largest and most diverse country; he touted as background only his birth in Africa to missionary parents and an apparent facility in Swahili (of no use anywhere in Sudan). But he has enjoyed until recently the full support of President Obama, and this has made informed, tough-minded engagement with the Khartoum regime impossible.

The consequences of this failure are increasingly evident in proliferating news coverage of the critical and unresolved issues between the regime in Khartoum and the southern leadership in Juba. Unsurprisingly, as the scheduled referenda for southern Sudan and Abyei draw nearer, there has been a corresponding proliferation of commentary, nearly all of it from sources as belated as the Obama administration itself in recognizing the dangers looming in Sudan. What these commentaries most conspicuously lack is any sense of the relationship between events in Darfur and Khartoum’s stalling on the southern electoral process.

THE COST of US belatedness in responding to the electoral calendar leading to the two southern referenda has been extraordinarily high (http://www.dissentmagazine.org/atw.php?id=303 ). With less than two months until the January 9, 2011 date on which the votes are to occur, Khartoum has successfully run out the clock and is in a position to extract significant concessions from the US—sweeteners to persuade the regime to allow the referenda to occur as guaranteed by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which in January 2005 ended more than twenty years of unfathomably destructive civil war. Desperate to avoid the diplomatic catastrophe of a CPA collapse, the Obama team has been significantly expanded in recent weeks and months; however, it is far from clear that there is enough time to prevent war from re-igniting, the same war ended by the CPA almost six years ago. Warnings unheeded for well over a year have only now set off all the alarm bells; in turn, the most significant part of the US response has been to offer Khartoum more and more in the way of incentives.

But even this belated and unseemly piling up of goodies for a genocidal regime may not be enough—particularly for securing the Abyei referendum, which Khartoum seems determined to make impossible (there is still no Abyei Referendum Commission, or agreement on the contentious issue of who is resident in the region and thus allowed to vote in the referendum). The purpose of the delay is clearly to allow Khartoum to retain this referendum as a point of leverage in ongoing negotiations with the US and other international actors.

As the consequences of CPA failure have registered ever more fully, the Obama administration has pushed Gration aside and in his place sent Senator John Kerry to Khartoum to conduct urgent negotiations—twice in the past three weeks. The Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee—whose record on Sudan is hardly sterling—had been authorized by the President to offer Khartoum expedited removal from the US list that designates Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism, but only if the regime plays ball on the southern referendum (increasingly used in the singular by the administration).

This is a very large carrot, though it may still not be enough to satisfy Khartoum’s génocidaires. But what made the offer particularly significant was that it was tendered with the understanding that the deal excluded from consideration any actions in Darfur, genocidal or otherwise (both Senators Kerry and Obama voted in July 2004 to declare genocide to be occurring in Darfur; candidate and President Obama has a number of times reiterated this declaration, on occasion in vigorous language). But at a State Department background briefing on November 8, a "senior administration official" declared that in order to secure cooperation from the regime on the referenda, "the US is prepared to accelerate the removal of Sudan from the state sponsor of terrorism list." Specifically, in its now desperate effort to rescue the referenda, the administration "would also be decoupling the state sponsor of terrorism from Darfur and the Darfur issue." (http://geneva.usmission.gov/2010/11/09/senior-administration-officials-on-developments-in-sudan/ )

The "Darfur issue": what fantastically euphemistic language for what had previously been "genocide"! "Decoupling"—yet more euphemism! But the significance of the decision here can hardly be obscured. The leverage deriving from what is certainly the biggest carrot the US has to offer Khartoum will no longer be available for resolution of intensifying armed conflict in Darfur and deteriorating humanitarian conditions affecting more than 4 million civilians, the majority of them displaced from their homes. To be sure, these "senior administration officials" were at pains to point to other sanctions that will remain in place until the "Darfur issue" is resolved (though in fact some have recently been lifted). But the message here has not been lost on the brutally calculating men in Khartoum: in extremis, the US will choose the southern CPA over ending genocidal violence and attrition in Darfur. There is every reason to believe, given past history, that having surrendered on one key issue, the US will be pressured by Khartoum to give yet more. Hence the regime’s decision to leave the Abyei referendum unresolved, no matter how conspicuously obstructionist its tactics. Perversely, by yielding on the issue of state sponsorship of terrorism—and so clearly under duress—the Obama team has given the regime an incentive for extended bargaining, on Abyei at the very least. But even more importantly, the willingness to allow Khartoum to dictate the pace of events provides additional time for the regime to complete its own resolution of the "Darfur issue."

So just what are the costs to Darfur of these diplomatic calculations made under self-inflicted time pressures? What might follow from the US decision to "decouple" Darfur? What is happening in Darfur right now?

"The Perfect Ending"

"Misk al-Khitam" is an Arabic phrase—from the Qur'an—that has reportedly been given by the Khartoum regime to the massive offensive military actions underway in many parts of Darfur and North Kordofan. One rendering of this phrase into English is "The Perfect Ending," perhaps the equivalent of the Latin "Finis Coronat Opus," "The End Crowns the Work." Certainly numerous reports from the region confirm that Khartoum is undertaking a vast movement of arms, men, and materiel into Darfur, and is again recruiting and deploying the Janjaweed as brutal militia proxies, often in the guise of paramilitary "Border Guards." The UN/African Union “hybrid” force in Darfur has proved impotent in investigating these reports, but they are too numerous, widespread, and consistent to be construed as anything other than the beginning of "Misk al-Khitam."

One well-informed Darfuri has written to me that “evidence of mobilization in Darfur is everywhere: airports, convoys leaving large cities and towns, heading toward villages in North and West Darfur” (email received November 2, 2010). This source continues: “Many tanks, troops were seen in North Darfur near Kutum, Kornoi, and al-Tina. Additionally, Janjaweed gatherings were seen in the West Darfur areas of el-Geneina and Kulbus.” And further, “Loads of pro-Government of Sudan volunteers landed in Kutum (North Darfur) airport.” When asked who they were and where they were going, one enthusiast replied, “We are mujahideen and the government told us we have to fight the infidels and supporters in Darfur. We came to clean Darfur.” The same source reports that a family member in Nyala has observed a sharp uptick in military flights out of Nyala airport.

Much of the weaponry and ammunition used by the regime’s forces in Darfur comes from China, despite a UN arms embargo on the region. At the UN in New York, Beijing is attempting to suppress a current report by the UN Panel of Experts on Darfur (charged with monitoring the arms embargo under the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 1591, March 2005). But much of report has been leaked and the findings are damning:

• "Twelve of these [ammunition] samples bear markings consistent with markings applied by manufacturers in the People's Republic of China."

• "Foreign post-embargo produced ammunition was recovered from the positions of the attackers at all three of the sites of attacks on UNAMID (U.N./African Union peacekeepers) personnel -- including the attack in which three Rwandan UNAMID peacekeepers were killed near Nertiti in West Darfur in June 2010."

• "The majority of small arms ammunition cartridges which the Panel encountered in Darfur have markings consistent with those applied by Chinese manufacturers." (Reuters [Dateline: UN/New York], October 27, 2010)

For its part, Khartoum has done little to conceal its ongoing violation of the arms embargo—or its use of military aircraft in combat operations, also in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1591. Indeed, so brazen is the regime that even during a recent Security Council visit to el-Fasher,

“Ground attack jets of the kind that a UN report says may have been used by Sudan's government in strikes in Darfur in violation of an arms embargo were in plain view of Security Council diplomats during their visit this month to Sudan's conflict-torn region. Sudan has acquired 15 Russian-made Sukhoi Su-25 ‘Frogfoot’ jets from Belarus since 2008….”

“A Reuters reporter accompanying the delegation took the photograph of the Su-25s in full view of Sudanese and UN security officials and Security Council diplomats. Several envoys in the delegation also noticed the jets and voiced surprise that Sudan's government left them on the tarmac near a UN plane that was taking the envoys to the capital Khartoum.”

The jets in the photograph were identified by three experts, including Gareth Jennings, managing editor of Jane's Missiles and Rockets. “They are specifically designed to attack ground targets and are the Russian equivalent of the US Air Force A-10 Warthog,’ Jennings said in a statement to Reuters.” (Reuters [dateline: UN/New York], October 22, 2010)

And of course air-to-ground combat has been extremely intense and immensely destructive throughout the Darfur conflict; such combat has also involved helicopter gunships, Antonov bombers, and even MiG-29’s. That such attacks have been repeatedly confirmed, even by the largely incompetent UN/African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID), as well as by countless reports from the ground by Darfuri sources, presents a spectacle of UN impotence and failure that would be difficult to surpass in a peacekeeping context.

Heavy fighting has occurred off and on since January, especially in the populous eastern Jebel Marra region of central Darfur (Khartoum has imposed a near total humanitarian blockade of the region since February). So too have Janjaweed assaults on non-Arab civilians: in early September Janjaweed forces attacked the village of Tabarat in North Darfur, executing 58 unarmed African men and boys, and wounding 86, according to the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (http://www.acjps.org/Publications.html ). But fighting over the past two months—and especially the past two weeks—has become even more destructive of civilian lives and livelihoods, as Human Rights Watch very recently reported:

“[Khartoum’s] forces have carried out a series of attacks on civilians since August 2010 in Jebel Marra…. Credible accounts from witnesses to the attacks indicate that Sudanese government forces committed serious laws-of-war violations during attacks in August, September, and October on populated areas around Deribat, Jawa, and Soni in the Jebel Marra region of Darfur. The attacks resulted in civilian deaths and injuries, mass displacement, and destruction of property. In the first week of November, government forces continued the attacks, targeting villages to the south of Soni, causing further destruction and displacement.”

“On September 30, government Antonov airplanes and helicopters dropped bombs and rockets on the town of Jawa, setting fire to the market and killing six civilians, including the imam of the mosque and a woman and her two sons, one a six-month-old baby, witnesses told Human Rights Watch. The same day, government soldiers and militias entered the town and surrounding villages and looted civilian properties….”

“In the first week of October, government forces bombed numerous villages on the road from Deribat to Soni, and a cluster of villages south of Soni, including Feina, destroying hundreds of homes, witnesses told Human Rights Watch. Government troops in the area have prevented civilians from returning to their farms…. The attacks, which continue to date, caused tens of thousands of civilians to flee their homes, mostly to scattered settlements in rebel-controlled areas that the government has made off-limits to UN and humanitarian organizations. Sources on the ground told Human Rights Watch that the health conditions of displaced populations are deteriorating. The total number of casualties in the recent attacks is not known.” (Human Rights Watch, “Halt Wave of Attacks on Civilians in Darfur,” November 11, 2010, at http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/11/11/sudan-halt-wave-attacks-civilians-darfur )

For its part, Radio Dabanga—now the primary source of detailed news from the ground in Darfur—has recently provided dozens of additional reports. These come from places with names unfamiliar to most, but give some sense of the geographic ambition of the current offensive:

“The Military headed toward the areas of Kirkey Towleh and [D]onki Derissa [from Nyala, South Darfur].” (Dateline: Nyala, November 9, 2010)

“The rebel Justice and Equality Movement engaged in three straight days of fighting and offensive movements in [northeast] North Darfur, South Darfur, and North [Kordofan].” (Dateline: al-Majrur, November 7)

“The…battle was fought Saturday, November 6, at Darma, 25 kilometres northeast of Kornoi [northwest North Darfur]…. Rebels claim that [Khartoum’s] Kornoi battalion fled the battlefield leaving behind more than 100 dead, scores of war prisoners, 32 vehicles…and 10 supply trucks.” (Dateline: al-Majrur, November 7, 2010; JEM provided a detailed breakdown of the captured vehicles, including mounted heavy weapons)

“Government fuel convoy attacked by rebels near South Darfur city: More than 50 government soldiers were killed in battle while dozens of others were injured, according to reports from South Darfur. The battle raged near the railway line yesterday, at Khor Ta'an area, which lies along the road between Ed Daein [eastern South Darfur] and Nyala, the largest city in Darfur.” (Nyala, November 4, 2010)

The Sudan Tribune reports (November 5, 2010):

“Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) Friday [November 5, 2010] clashed with the Sudanese army in North Kordofan, two days after similar fighting in South Darfur. JEM military spokesperson said today a government mobile force mounted on 147 vehicles attacked their troops at Hamari, south of Ghibaisha town in North Kordofan. Ali Alwafi further said they captured 35 vehicles and destroyed other 12.”

The rebel movements—augmented by a number of recent defections from Khartoum’s Arab militia allies and by huge captures of ammunition, vehicles, fuel, and arms—have fought Khartoum’s offensive vigorously, and—while suffering many defeats—have administered what appear to be a series of substantial military blows to the regime’s forces, including shooting down a MiG-29 (the most advanced fighter jet in the regime’s arsenal; with servicing and training, it cost this debt-ridden and famine-prone country $30 million—and Khartoum has purchased 24).

For its part, Khartoum baldly and characteristically lies, declaring through Defense Minister Abdel Rahim Hussein that, “Darfur is free of insurgency” (http://www.shrig.org.sd/news-archive/darfur-news/2352-defense-minister-declares-darfur-free-of-insurgency-.html ). But of course such mendacity changes nothing, whatever its domestic political purposes. And inevitably it is Darfuri civilians who pay the all-too-real price for any rebel victory. Those such as Obama administration envoy Gration—who has claimed that there are “only remnants of genocide” in Darfur—should review carefully a number of recent reports on ethnically-targeted violence in the region:

“Today November 9th, Government forces and allied militia paid a reprisal visit to the town of Bia Kida near Boba [North Darfur], the site of their last defeat at the hands of JEM. Government of Sudan force committed a multiple rape of three girls, took away 7 men to an unknown destination and tortured 30 citizens of all ages and gender including aged and children. They also killed 120 sheep and drove away with 200 heads of camels.” (This JEM press release [ http://www.sudanjem.com/2009/archives/37471/en/#more-37471 ] came over the name of Suleiman Jamous, humanitarian coordinator for the rebel group; he is without question the most reliable and honest of rebel interlocutors.)

Intense fighting in the northwest area of North Darfur is also part of a campaign of civilian destruction, directed at non-Arab tribal groups, as reported to me by a Darfuri in the diaspora with excellent contacts on the ground in Darfur (lightly edited for clarity):

“Civilians in the area say that the plan of the Government of Sudan is to depopulate specific areas in North Darfur:

[1] There was heavy bombings around the water wells in the vicinities of Kornoi (northwest of Kutum).

[2] The khazan of Doba (khazan means water reservoir) was bombed 24 hours ago. This is one of [the] large reservoirs of water in North Darfur. The rainy season has just ended last month; the rain water accumulated in this reservoir [and is] expected to last till May. Now by this damage, the civilians and their livestock are expected to migrate to other places, probably to Chad for water and security reasons.” (email received November 6, 2010)

Radio Dabanga reported from Tawilla (North Darfur east of el-Fasher) that,

“Uniformed gunmen killed four (4) people and injured 24 in Tawila in central Darfur. The victims were displaced people who had made the town their temporary home. Among the dead is a child. The gunmen were dressed in military uniforms and rode on camels. They opened fire indiscriminately at people on the way to Konji Market of Ronda Camp, in Tawila of North Darfur State.” ([dateline: Tawilla], November 2, 2010)

The victims were all from African tribal groups, as were those in Jebel Kargo (South Darfur):

“A force of 12 Land Cruisers and 3 tanks attacked Kailik camp [ ] in Jebel Kargo yesterday. The attack led to the killing of 17, the wounding of others and the burning of villages and neighboring farms, which caused residents to flee into the mountains, according to rebel commander Hamid Ibrahim.” (Radio Dabanga, November 12, 2010)

And from Tawilla, el-Fasher, and Shangil Tobaya Radio Dabanga reports:

“Thousands of people displaced from East Jebel Marra are fleeing toward the camps of El Fasher, Tawila and Shangil Tobaya. Hundreds of families reaching the camps have included some cases of fatigue and severe fatigue as a result of the long days spent on the perilous journey. They left after their villages were burned and their property destroyed by aerial bombardment and ground offensive by the army. Local activists told Radio Dabanga that hundreds of families that have reached the camps in Tawila, Shangil Tobaya and El Fasher are living in the open without shelter or food.”

“A rebel faction thought to have controlled the area said that it had no forces in the area during the offensive. The Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahid Al Nur said that its forces were absent from the areas devastated in the offensive. The movement’s spokesman Ahmed Ibrahim described what happened in East Jebel Marra as genocide. He said that civilians in these areas were targeted deliberately, systematically, and in a planned way, through extensive bombing of their villages to ashes.” (October 19, 2010)

The ethnic targeting that produced these massive displacements had been reported by Radio Dabanga several days earlier:

“Witnesses who are ethnically Fur described atrocities and hardships facing inhabitants of eastern Jebel Marra. They said their villages were destroyed by aerial bombardment by Antonov planes and ground offensive by government forces, killing large numbers of civilians and displacing thousands of people. Witnesses who spoke to Radio Dabanga described what happened in the area of Bom Boli in East Jebel Marra. They said their region was subjected to a campaign of mass rapes by government forces described as Janjaweed. A witness who managed to escape and access a safe area after marching for days on foot described what happened for the Saturday broadcast.”

“The witness affirmed that all areas and villages destroyed by aircraft in East Jebel Marra had no presence of fighters from the armed movements. She said that displaced women had figured out how to use their radio on low frequencies to listen to talks taking place between captain of the Antonov aircraft and others on the ground to determine which sites to be bombed. She explained that once they select the sites they then shell the villages and populated communities. She related that someone asked how much the distance was between Java and Suni and then another said to him four kilometers, and then said to him, ‘bomb, bomb this place,’ and those were all areas where there were villages of civilians.”

This genocidal destruction marks an acceleration in the campaign begun in September. Radio Dabanga reported on September 28, 2010:

“57 killed, 6 villages burnt in Sudan army attack: Darfur rebels—the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahed Al Nur announced that 57 people were killed and 25 others wounded during an offensive by the Sudanese government in central Darfur.”

“SLM…controls the highlands of central Darfur. The movement said that six entire villages were burnt in East Jebel Marra by intensive aerial bombardment by government aircraft that were supporting ground troops in the region. The rebel spokesman called on the UN Security Council, the European Union and the United States of America to investigate independently the intensive aerial bombardment by the government on the villages of the Jebel Marra mountains….”

No such investigation has been undertaken, but the many eyewitness accounts, including those cited by Human Rights Watch, leave little doubt about what has been occurring.

Beyond military actions and large-scale civilian destruction—portending a major push toward “the perfect ending”—there has been a very sharp escalation of smaller-scale attacks on civilians, including rape and torture, both in camps and rural areas; and there has been a corresponding increase in the arrests of traditional leaders (especially in the camps) and Darfur human rights leaders elsewhere in the country. This has been accompanied by a widespread and severe crackdown on news media, including the offices of Radio Dabanga in Khartoum (Radio Dabanga broadcasts from The Netherlands). Fourteen people, including human rights workers, lawyers, and journalists, were arrested on October 20, 2010. In Nyala four children were among those sentenced to death for their ties to one of the rebel movements and a charge of carjacking (http://www.acjps.org/Publications/Press%20releases/2010/27-10-10SpecialCourtsinDarfur.html ). The regime in Khartoum has never been more repressive. Even the UN-sponsored Miraya Radio is being blocked from broadcasting (http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article36887 ); this follows the forced closing of BBC and Radio France International radio stations broadcasting in Arabic from Khartoum.

It would be difficult to overstate how brazen the regime has become in its present drive to complete work in Darfur. Just hours prior before the arrival of a UN Security Council delegation in el-Fasher (North Darfur), an army spokesman for the regime announced an offensive in eastern Jebel Marra (Reuters [dateline el-Fasher], October 7, 2010). The results are grimly chronicled above in this analysis. Following the Council visit to a displaced persons camp near el-Fasher in North Darfur, some of those brave enough to speak with UN ambassadors and staff were arrested and others immediately went into hiding. So far the Security Council has done nothing to secure the release of these individuals or to protect those still at large. And in a characteristic bit of UN disingenuousness, the new top UN humanitarian official, Valerie Amos, declared on her own subsequent visit to the same area, “I hope that there is no fear”—this after camp leaders (sheiks) from al-Salam camp refused to meet with her (Agence France-Presse [dateline: al-Salam camp, North Darfur], November 7, 2010). “Hope” indeed.

At the same time, humanitarian conditions throughout Darfur continue to deteriorate as access and capacity are further diminished—as does information about humanitarian conditions and security. During its time in Darfur, the UN Security Council delegation was scheduled to receive briefings from some of the UN agency heads about protection issues; but these critical briefings were cancelled and commentary was instead circulated in paper, with no opportunity for follow-up questioning. Georg Charpentier, the head of UN relief efforts in Darfur, refuses to release reports on humanitarian conditions, effectively silencing nongovernmental relief organizations as well; he also allows his own public statements to be vetted by Khartoum, and refuses to speak out on urgent humanitarian issues. His silence on the regime’s July expulsion of senior officials of the UN High Commission for Refugees, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the International Office for Migration was all too conspicuous

None of this shows any sign of changing. Indeed, as I’ve recently noted, (http://www.dissentmagazine.org/atw.php?id=297 ), Nils Kastberg, UNICEF representative in Sudan, recently admitted to Radio Dabanga that,

“[T]he Sudanese government ‘very often’ bars the release of data on child malnutrition in Darfur. Sudanese security services have also hindered or delayed UNICEF’s access to camps in Darfur, [Kastberg said]: ‘Part of the problem has been when we conduct surveys to help us address issues, in collaboration with the ministry of health, very often other parts of the government such as the humanitarians affairs commission interferes and delays in the release of reports, making it difficult for us to respond timely.’”

To this must now be added a shocking charge from former US special envoy for Sudan, Richard Williamson:

“[When] Khartoum kicked out 13 international humanitarian NGOs from Darfur [March 2009] that were providing badly needed assistance, again the Obama team's response was weak. Days later, the administration praised Khartoum for letting three of the NGOs back into Darfur. Meanwhile, for more than a year US government reports of inadequate humanitarian aid to Darfur have been covered up in Washington, according to two people familiar with the documents.” (Foreign Policy [on-line], November 11, 2010, at http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/11/11/how_obama_betrayed_sudan?page=0,0 )

As Radio Dabanga suggests, because Washington provides the most aid to Darfur, “it [has] extensive insider access to unpublished reports by humanitarian groups that have been largely silenced since put under threat of expulsion in March 2009.” And contrary to the disingenuous suggestion about NGO returns to Darfur by the Obama administration—including special envoy Gration and Senator Kerry—there was a permanent, substantial reduction in humanitarian capacity, leadership experience, and logistical ability. The organizations expelled (e.g., Save the Children/USA, the largest humanitarian actor in West Darfur) were not allowed back in. Yes, several of these NGOs were replaced by another national section of the organization (in the case instanced here, Save the Children/Sweden); but they arrived belatedly, and with nowhere near the capacity, experience, or institutional memory of the organizations expelled. We will never know how many lives have been lost because of these unconscionable expulsions—too many to bear contemplating.

But if Richardson’s more ominous charge is true, it signals a despicable acquiescence in war crimes and crimes against humanity—for that is what Khartoum’s widespread, systematic denial and obstruction of humanitarian assistance over seven years amounts to. Any cover-up or suppression of information, deliberately denying to the broader international community an understanding of the scope of humanitarian distress in Darfur, betrays all that Obama has said as senator, candidate, and president, and has contributed to the loss of innocent lives.

THROUGH INCOMPETENCE, misprision, and disingenuousness, the Obama administration has created the potential for diplomatic catastrophe—the collapse of the southern referenda and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The most urgent of measures are required if Khartoum is to be persuaded to allow a peaceful and fully honored referendum for the South, as well as a referendum for Abyei—or at the very least a negotiated arrangement on Abyei that is satisfactory to Juba (a highly unlikely diplomatic achievement). And this would still leave extraordinary tensions between the indigenous Ngok Dinka and nomadic Misseriya Arabs, as well as an uneasy cease-fire between insufficiently disciplined military forces on both sides of the North/South border. Abyei will remain a flashpoint for renewed conflict indefinitely, especially since the UN peace support operation in the South has proved as feckless and incompetent as its counterpart in Darfur.

But if only for the sake of history, let us be clear about why the diplomatic situation is so desperate, and how that desperation translates into an incentive for Khartoum to complete its “Perfect Ending” in Darfur, a project now fully underway.

[Eric Reeves is author of A Long Day’s Dying: Critical Moments in the Darfur Genocide]

_____________________________
Eric Reeves
Smith College
Northampton, MA 01063

ereeves@smith.edu
413-585-3326
www.sudanreeves.org

day 504 - November 10th 2010

2010-11-10T06:09:00.000-08:00

Reports of rape, torture, and executions as Government troops (with janjaweed militia) enter village of Bia Kida in North Darfur.
Multiple sources via phone report that GoS troops and its Militia have committed the following atrocities in the past four days in the village of Bia Kida in North Darfur:
- Rape of at least three girls (one of them 11 year old).
- Interrogation with torture of 28 villagers (men and boys).
- 9 men were led away (fear of their execution).
- Looting of the village, killing of livestock.

day 476 - July 29th 2010

2010-07-29T10:46:00.000-07:00

From a reliable source: Masked armed men opened fire on a gathering inside Kalma IDP camp, killing at least 8 people and wounding tens today. The IDPs gathered to protest peacefully the Doha negotiation that excluded IDPs from the camps, when they were attacked.

day 426 - June 9th 2010

2010-06-09T20:30:00.000-07:00

- From Radio Dabanga:
Janjaweed gun down sheikh of IDP camp in South Darfur
MERSHING

Members of one of the Janjaweed militias in South Darfur gunned down a sheikh of Mershing Camp, according to a leader of the camp residents. Sheikh Abakr Hamid went outside of the camp on a trip to gather firewood when he was spotted by the janjaweed who opened fire immediately, killing the sheikh. The janjaweed then went into the camp and began firing in the air. The militia is always coming to the area of Mershing with their weapons, a camp leader told Radio Dabanga. He called on the authorities or UNAMID to protect the camp.

-

day 406 - May 20th 2010

2010-05-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

- From Reuters:

Darfur rebels and army clash, peace hopes fade
Thu May 20, 2010 12:02pm EDT

* Darfur rebels, army clash in South Darfur

* Hopes for peace talks fade

* Sudanese journalists protest against arrests, censorship

KHARTOUM, May 20 (Reuters) - Darfur rebels fought government troops on Thursday in the east of the troubled region, the latest in a wave of clashes which has seen hopes of reviving a faltering peace process fade away.

President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's counter-insurgency campaign in Sudan's west sparked one of the world's worst humanitarian crises and earned him an arrest warrant for war crimes from the International Criminal Court.

Darfur rebel divisions and clashes have been the main obstacles to Qatar-hosted peace talks. The militarily powerful rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has warned it would attack the government "anywhere" after suspending its participation in the talks, citing bombardment of its areas.

"Yesterday (Wednesday) JEM went into Um Sa'ouna village and began to use the civilians as human shields," Sudan's army spokesman said. "We have surrounded the roads leading out of the village and have heavy clashes with anyone who comes out," he said, adding the standoff was ongoing.

The spokesman said the army was not fighting inside Um Sa'ouna village in the east of South Darfur state, because it was worried about civilian casualties.

JEM said the army had been routed. "Their troops fled to Ed-Daeen and She'aria," said JEM commander Suleiman Sandal, referring to two nearby towns. He said JEM had lost four soldiers and had killed more than 200 government soldiers.

There was no independent version of events.

JOURNALISTS DELIVER MESSAGE

Also on Thursday, about 50 Sudanese journalists delivered a memorandum to government authorities condemning the closure, seizure of assets and the arrest of four employees of the opposition al-Rai al-Shaab paper in a midnight raid on Saturday.

Sudanese authorities also censored two papers on Wednesday night, which the journalists criticised as a step backwards in developing democracy.

One security source said the papers had been inciting people against the state.

Sudan held its first open elections in 24 years in April, and lifted direct censorship of the papers last year.

But journalists said restrictions continued in other ways like withdrawing government company advertising revenues, essential for papers to survive.

"This means papers are forced to self censor and that is more dangerous than the direct censorship," said Yasir Haroun from the English-language Sudan Tribune daily.

The Ajras al-Huriya daily is also facing five court cases raised by the police, army and security forces.

The journalists said if their four colleagues from al-Rai al-Shaab were not charged or released they would begin regular protests and lobbying against the authorities.

Al-Rai al-Shaab is the mouthpiece of opposition Islamist Hassan al-Turabi's Popular Congress Party. Turabi was also arrested on Saturday but the party said none of the five has been charged yet.

(Reporting by Opheera McDoom)

day 397 - May 11th 2010

2010-05-11T21:17:00.000-07:00

From Radio Dabanga:

-
West Darfur residents flee JEM-Sudan fighting to Chad
KOUNOUNGO

11 May
Fighting between the government and the rebel Justice and Equality Movement has forced residents of West Darfur to flee to Chad. Approximately 2500 people arrived at Birak in eastern Chad from Holeilat, Bir Salila, Jebel Moon and Gergi Gergi. These areas were the scene of clashes and aerial bombardment. A source today said that the UN refugee agency met the refugees and promised to find a place for them in Mileh and Konoungo camps. The witness said the refugees are faced with bad conditions staying on the ground under trees.

day 392 - May 6th 2010

2010-05-06T19:45:00.000-07:00

From Darfur:
The Government of Sudan is conducting campaign of more bombings in West Darfur, North Darfur, and South Darfur per reports coming from Darfur.
- Today (Thursday May 6th) SAF (Sudan Air Force) plane dropped a bomb on civilians near village of Tabit (between Elfasher and Nyala), killing a woman, her baby, and her donkey.
Eyewitness near Nyala said that they saw a military airplane went down coming from north (probably the same plane that killed the woman and her baby).

- Yesterday (Wednesday May 5th.), an Antonove plane bombed civilians while they were getting water from a well near the village of Gallabat (about 25 miles west of ElFasher). That bombing killed:
Sharafia Ahmed Mohamed - female in her 40s.
Magbola Gumaah and her son.
Magbola's husband was seriously injured, still alive.

day 388 - May 2nd 2010

2010-05-02T23:30:00.000-07:00

- Police open fire on demonstration in Elfasher, North Darfur.
More Details:

1- The police, security forces opened fire ( light arms and machine guns) on the demonstrators at the center of the city. So far from the hospital at least 17 were dead and more than 200 injured.
2- The leaders of the demonstration claim that the Governor is involved in the scheme, that is why the demonstration was headed towards the Governor's office. They claim that the central government is involved in the cover-up. That is why the demonstration was met with deadly forces (use of machine guns).
3- Most likely curfew in the city will be declared.

4- The actual dead and the injured numbers are far more than reported in the international news agencies.

- From Radio Dabanga:
Sudan Air Force has dropped 9 bombs in the village of Gibbashah, West Darfur. No casualties reported. This bombing occured on Sunday May 2nd 2010.

day 385 - April 29th 2010

2010-04-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

More details regarding the bombing in Darfur on April 27th 2010:

- The aerial bombing by the Government of Sudan had targeted water reservoir where civilians with their livestock gather for water. The location is called Khazzan Wergeniga ( means the Dam of Wergeniga). These are water reservoirs made by walls of sand in heaps to collect water during the rainy season and some hold water for the period of dry season. The Government of Sudan used to target these locations through the past eight years to kill civilians and animals that the civilians depend on.
Through a source ( via phone), this last raid had killed at least 25 civilians, wounded many, and killed many animals (details to follow).
The dead were 8 shepherds, 9 women, and 8 children.
The dead children are:
2 daughters of Dowsa Shoushah ( a villager).
2 daughters of Arga (a villager)
1 son of Abbaker Kouko ( a villager)
3 daughters of Yashiero (a villager)

Among dead women was the wife of Gussieb Hussein ( villagers).

Among the dead also an elder: Abdulrahman Garem Fadul 66 years old.
Fadul is the father of Bakheit Garem Fadul, a Darfuri lives in Oregon (U.S.A.).

day 385 - April 28th 2010

2010-04-28T22:19:00.000-07:00

- From Darfur:
The Government of Sudan resumed aerial bombings in Darfur. In West Darfur near Bagi Gargi Sudan Air Force (Antonove bombers, Mig Fighters, and Helicopter gunships) raided many villages killing at least 9 civilians ( children among the dead). JEM sources said that their bases in the area were also subject to the bombings.

day 362 - April 5th

2010-04-05T22:28:00.000-07:00

From Reuters:

Sudan, Darfur rebels exchange blame over ceasefire

* JEM rebels accuse government of bombing

* Khartoum says JEM seizing new territory

KHARTOUM, April 5 (Reuters) - Sudan's government and Darfur's most powerful rebel force accused each other of breaking a recently-signed ceasefire on Monday, undermining already stalled peace talks between both sides.

The insurgent Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) told Reuters that Sudan's army bombed its positions in Darfur, close to the Chad border, from midnight through Monday morning, wounding six civilians and killing their livestock.

Sudan's army denied launching any attacks on JEM and a senior government official accused the rebels of seizing new territory in the remote western region, against the terms of the same agreement.

Sudan's president Omar Hassan al-Bashir declared the seven- year Darfur conflict over after his government signed a ceasefire and initial peace deal with JEM in the Qatari capital Doha in February.

But further talks quickly stalled after JEM objected to Khartoum starting parallel discussions with another rebel group.

The peace push was also marred by reports of clashes between Khartoum and a third insurgent force in the Jabel Marra area.

Violence surged in 2003 after JEM and other mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against Sudan's government, accusing it of neglecting the development of the region.

Khartoum mobilised mostly Arab militias to crush the revolt, unleashing a wave of violence that Washington and some activists have call genocide, a charge Sudan's government rejects.

"The bombing started at midnight and continued this morning ... These people (the government) are not interested in finding a political solution to the problem," said JEM spokesman Ahmed Hussein Adam, speaking from Qatar by phone.

Adam said government planes bombed JEM positions around the North Darfur areas of Abu Hamra, Furawiya and Jabel Moun.

He said the rebel force was "considering its position" over future talks but there were no immediate plans to walk out of negotiations.

Sudan dismissed JEM's accusations. "The Sudanese Army is committed to the ceasefire it has signed with JEM. It has not bombed any JEM positions," an army spokesman told Reuters.

JEM's main negotiator Ahmed Tugud told Reuters both sides were in stalemate over details of how the ceasefire would be monitored and managed, together with other issues he did not want to discuss in the media.

Khartoum's main Darfur negotiator Ghazi Salaheddin said JEM has been looking to take more territory.

"They (JEM) have been fanning out in the area and trying to establish themselves in Kulbus and Jabel Moun which is a violation of the ceasefire declaration," Salaheddin told reporters in Khartoum.

Darfur's under-equipped joint U.N./African Union UNAMID peacekeeping force said it could not confirm whether any fighting took place. "We are not present in the area so we can not confirm," UNAMID spokesman Noureddine Mezni told Reuters.

Day 358 - April 1st

2010-04-01T16:59:00.000-07:00

- From Radio Dabanga:
Thousands in Kass in plight after attacks on Darfur villages

KASS (1 Apr.) – Thousands of villagers have gathered in Kass amid fear of attacks and fighting in South Darfur. One observer estimated that 7000 families are in the area, but an aid worker told Radio Dabanga that the Humanitarian Aid Commission puts the number at 14,000 househoulds and 43,000 individuals in 16 locations.

An UN inter-agency team has conducted an assessment in the area but a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Khartoum could not provide details. The number is unconfirmed.

In all, some of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) came about 32 days ago but most came 8 days ago. The refugees are mainly from the Misseriya tribe but also include some from Beni Hassan, Houtia, Fur, Gimr and Taalba. They came to Kass after clashes between Misseriya and Nuwayba, a camel herding subtribe of the Rizeigat Arabs.

Misseriya IDPs described the attacks as undertaken by the government. They said that some attackers were wearing uniforms. In Bulbul, 30 kilometres from Kass, villagers fled when they heard and saw the oncoming attackers. They also witnessed attackers shoot some men and women and drive over bodies with vehicles. Minister of Defence Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein appointed an investigation committee to determine whether the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have been involved in the tribal clashes between the Nuwayba and Misseriya. There are no Nuwayba IDPs in Kass.

John Ratcliffe, a spokesman for the UN OCHA, said that an UN inter-agency team and partners have conducted an assessment of the situation and were delivering some nutritional and food aid. Likewise, a local source said today that CARE-Switzerland in partnership with UNICEF provided some nutrition kits to children but there were not enough for everyone.

Tearfund is planning to distribute shelters but the Humanitarian Aid Commission will not permit them to set up shelters until a location for an IDP camp is designated.

The total IDP population of Darfur is typically estimated to be 2.7 million.

Day 349 - March 23rd

2010-03-23T06:13:00.000-07:00

- From Reuters:
KHARTOUM, March 22 (Reuters) - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir threatened on Monday to expel international election monitors after they said April's vote may have to be delayed.

"We brought these organisations from outside to monitor the elections, but if they ask for them to be delayed, we will throw them out," Bashir said in comments broadcast on state TV.

"We wanted them to see the free and fair elections, but if they interfere in our affairs, we will cut their fingers off, put them under our shoes, and throw them out," Bashir added.

The only long-term international observer mission in Sudan said last week that the country may need a slight delay in its first multi-party elections in 24 years to deal with logistical problems, with hundreds of thousands of names missing from the voters' list weeks before the polls.

Carter Center officials issued a report saying Sudan's April presidential and legislative elections remained "at risk on multiple fronts" and urged Sudan to lift harsh restrictions on rallies and end fighting in Darfur ahead of the ballot.

The Center declined to comment until it was able to review the president's speech.

Bashir expelled major aid agencies from Darfur after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for him in March last year for war crimes in Darfur.

OPPOSITION CRITICISMS

The opposition has criticized Sudan's National Elections Commission for making decisions they said favoured Bashir's ruling party.

Opposition presidential candidate Mubarak al-Fadil told Reuters the warning made it clear Bashir was worried.

"He (Bashir) is very nervous. He may do it," al-Fadil said.

Voting is due to start in Africa's largest country on April 11 in elections promised under a 2005 peace deal that ended more than two decades of north-south civil war.

Sudan is preparing for some of the most complex elections on record with at least six different votes using three different voting systems. The ballot, originally scheduled before July 2009, has already been delayed several times.

The Carter Center, a non-governmental organization founded by former U.S. president Jimmy Carter that aims to further democracy and human rights, said preparations by Sudan's National Elections Commission were lagging.

Many opposition parties have called for the elections to be postponed, saying Sudan needs time to pass democratic reforms.

A European Union election observer mission arrived in Sudan this month.

- From Reuters:

KHARTOUM, March 22 (Reuters) - Sudanese police demolished the homes and surrounded the residents of a refugee camp in the outskirts of Khartoum on Monday, just three weeks ahead of the first multi-party polls in 24 years, residents said.

After U.N. condemnations, Sudan had largely stopped forcibly relocating and demolishing homes in the slums surrounding the capital, filled with millions of people who fled conflict and hardship in the east, south and western Darfur regions.

But on Sunday night residents of Soba al-Shahanat, mostly from the troubled Darfur region, said they saw dozens of their homes and shops demolished by bulldozers.

They refused to move and on Monday a Reuters witness said they were surrounded by a police cordon and barbed wire fence hindering the delivery of food and water.

"We cannot allow this kind of barbaric behaviour to happen in Khartoum," said Edward Lino, the former southern rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement's electoral candidate for Khartoum governor during a visit to the camp.

April's first multi-party elections in 24 years have raised tensions in Africa's largest country with youth activists complaining of harassment and the opposition accusing the ruling party of anti-constitutional restrictions on freedom of expression and association.

At least one journalist was arrested and beaten by authorities for trying to film the operation, a Reuters witness said.

"They put up barbed wire around the area," said one female resident from Darfur who did not give her name. "We can't eat or drink or stay, we are all just sitting around in the sun."

"FENCING AND DESTRUCTION"

Sudan's governor was not immediately available to comment but the authorities have previously said they always give residents notice and provide them with adequate compensation and alternative land before moving them.

"The agreement was that they were to prepare for us a different place with everything -- infrastructure, streets, electricity, water -- then they give us our land and five months to move," said Abdallah Mohamed Ahmed, an independent candidate for the area in April elections.

"(But) until now they did not give us our land and as you can see -- the fencing and destruction."

The move is likely to be unpopular in the politicised camps surrounding the capital.

President Omar Hassan al-Bashir threatened to expel the international observers of Sudan's presidential and legislative elections on Monday, which opposition candidates said showed he was worried he may not win.

The polls are a key benchmark of a 2005 peace deal ending more than two decades of north-south civil war which destabilized much of east Africa and claimed an estimated 2 million lives.

It is quickly followed by a January, 2011 southern referendum on secession, which many analysts believe will create Africa's newest nation state.

Day 343 - March 17th

2010-03-17T15:54:00.000-07:00

- From Radio Dabanga:
investigation about performance of Humanitarian Affairs Ministry

KHARTOUM (17 Mar.) – The Council of Ministers in Khartoum have called for an investigation about the performance of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs after the sacking of Commissioner of Humanitarian Affairs Hassabu Mohamed Abdel Rhman by Minister Abdulbagi al Gilani. The council was convened to discuss the issue after newspaper reports claimed that the commissioner was sacked due to irregularities at the ministry. Sources revealed the disappearance of 10 billion pounds allocated for reconstruction of Darfur.

- From Radio Dabanga
Arrest of seven people from East Jebel Marra

NYALA (17 Mar.) - Security authorities in Nyala arrested seven people who came originally from Alo Dibenera and Jawa, east of Jebel Marra. Sources told Radio Dabanga that the people were arrested Sunday night at their home in the Khartoum Bileil district north of Nyala. They were ordered to get into a vehicle which drove to an unknown destination. Their families fear of torture and ill-treatment and demanded that their relatives be released immediately or get a fair trial.

Day 334 - March 8th

2010-03-08T05:50:00.000-08:00

- From Radio Dabanga:
Villagers flee to Zalingei from Jebal Marra West Darfur

ZALINGEI (8 Mar.) – A large number of villagers of Bishara al Tayeb, Koga and Kobaloo in Jebel Marra localities fled to Zalingei IDP camps as a result of the clashes in the area since last week. An IDP from Zalingei told Radio Dabanga that dozens of families arrived to Hammidiya and Tayba IDP camps in Zalingei in a very poor humanitarian situation. The IDP’s appealed to humanitarian organizations to provide help for the newcomers.

Day 326 - March 1st

2010-03-01T20:44:00.000-08:00

- No access to new crisis area Darfur: ten thousands on the run, hundreds killed

(Radio Dabanga)

KHARTOUM (2 Mar) – Not the UN nor any other international humanitarian organization has access to the Darfur war-zone in Jebel Marra, where during the last days hundreds of people have been reportedly killed during clashes between government militias and inter faction fighting within the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM). The last organization that had to move out, was Medicins du Monde due to attacks. Witnesses reported Radio Dabanga last week that the clashes had flared up, but the spokes office of the Darfur peacekeeping force UNAMID was not able to confirm any information coming from the area. Also the humanitarian office of the UN, UNOCHA could not confirm since none the UN organization had access to the remote are. Last week, the international observers were celebrating a new framework agreement towards peace in Darfur between the government and one of the rebel factions, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). President Bashir announced last week that the war in Darfur ‘was over’. Today the JEM walked away from the negotiating table, after the government started also bilateral peace talks with other rebel factions.

The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) denied that they are involved in the attacks at local markets and villages, but the rebel groups of the SLA told Radio Dabanga that the government is behind the fighting. The SLA counted 340 tot 360 confirmed dead casualties, but Radio Dabanga did not receive independent confirmation. Reuters cited non identified UN sources confirming a figure between 140 and 400 people killed in the last battle. Radio Dabanga was not able to get a clear picture what caused the most victims. Some local observers say that some inter factional fighting also contributed to the death toll. But they all mention government militia being involved in a range of attacks.

Before the weekend, the NGO Médecins du Monde, had been forced to suspend its medical activities throughout the area Deribat in the Feina region after a severe attack. The fighting has raged for several days. Deribat is a town of 50 000 inhabitants and was attacked last Wednesday as reported by Radio Dabanga. Médecins du Monde says the fighting was triggering a ‘massive exodus’ by the population and bringing the total number of displaced people in the region to over 100 000.

Médecins du Monde says it is deeply concerned about the health-related consequences of these population displacements: lack of access to health care, inadequate access to drinking water, risk of outbreaks of meningitis and the early arrival of the “hunger gap” this year linked to poor harvests that threatens to increase the incidence of acute malnutrition, particularly among children under five. Médecins du Monde condemned the looting carried out at the Feina health center on 18th February that has deprived the area’s 30 000 inhabitants of their only efficient healthcare facility. A week before due to fighting in the areas of Kidingeer and Leiba, the organization was already obliged to evacuate its foreign aid workers from the Jebel Mara on 11th February.

Day 324 - Feb. 27th

2010-02-27T23:42:00.000-08:00

- From Radio Dabanga:

Attack on schools and market in Deribat

DERIBAT (26 Feb.) – Dozens of people in Jebel Marra were injured and villages burned. The market and three schools in Deribat were burned by attacks of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the previous days. A student who was injured told Radio Dabanga that the injured have no shelter. The SAF denied the attack.

Day 319 - Feb. 22nd

2010-02-22T05:30:00.000-08:00

- IDPs in Kalma camp, the largest camp in South Darfur, rejected the peace agreement between Government of Sudan and the JEM ( Justice and Equality Movement).
Sheikh Ali AbdulRahman Altahir, the leader of the camp, told Radio Dabanga this morning that any peace agreement that does not include IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons), will fail.

Day 310 - Feb. 13th

2010-02-13T11:00:00.000-08:00

- A Darfuri student was abducted, tortured, and killed by the security forces in Khartoum. From Radio Dabanga:

KHARTOUM (12 Feb) – Students demonstrated in front of the Omdurman hospital were a tortured and killed Darfur student was brought. They chanted slogans against the security organs who allegedly abducted him last Wednesday. The hospital management was fearing violence and refused to return his corpse to his relatives. Yesterday (Thursday) the student was found dead in Omdurman. Mohamed Musa from Kabkebiya (North Darfur), studying at Khartoum University, was abducted last Wednesday from the dormitories in Khartoum near the University of Khartoum where he studies at the Education Faculty. After the mathematics student disappeared in the late afternoon his colleagues started searching. According to the leader of the Darfur Students Union, Osman al Nijami, the corpse of Mohamed Musa was found yesterday and brought to the Omdurman hospital. This morning the Darfur Students Union will request to release the body and has asked for legal support from the Darfur Bar Association. The killing of the students is one of several incidents in a row. Security organs have recently arrested scores of Darfur students who are protesting exclusion from exams. Demonstrators have been detained without charges.

Day 308 - Feb. 11th

2010-02-11T04:54:00.000-08:00

- Government wages attacks in Darfur.

From Sudan Tribune:

Sudanese army attack three rebel positions in Jebel Marra

February 10, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese troops and armed militia attacked today the position of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army led by Abdel Wahid Al Nur in Jebel Marra, a rebel official said on Wednesday.

The attack comes one month after the SLA-AW rebels took the control of Gulu, the capital of the mountainous area, from the army on January 13. It also highlights the growing violence in the Jebel where the fighting between the government army and the rebels resumed since last summer.

"Since this morning Sudanese army and Janjaweed militiamen attacked three of our positions in Kadmir, Lidy and Fugly in the southern east of Jebel Marra," said Ibrahim El-Hilu, a SLM spokesperson.

He said the fighting continued all the day till the evening, stressing that warplanes and helicopters also participated in the fighting. "the troops arrived from Nyala and Malam," he added.

Aid workers in the area confirmed the attack to Sudan Tribune.

However Ibrahim was unable to provide details about the causalities of today’s clashes saying it displaced thousands from their homes.

The humanitarian situation in the area has been recently described as grave by many humanitarian groups.

UNAMID and some aid groups agreed yesterday on a plan to provide humanitarian assistance to the newly-displaced persons in Nertiti, 65 kilometres west of Zalingei in West Darfur, another part of the mountainous area.

The hybrid peacekeeping explained the increase of IDPs by inter-factional fighting that erupted in Jebel Marra last January.

- From Radio Dabanga:

NIERTETE (11 Feb.) – IDPs who fled last week Jebel Marra to Niertete complain of shortage of food and humanitarian aid. They fled the inter-factional fighting in the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM). IDPs told Radio Dabanga they live under trees or in the streets of Niertete without support. They asked the international community for help.

- In the IDP camp of Abu-Shauk near Elfasher (the capital of North Darfur), an elementary school was burned down to ground. The leaders of the camp suspect that the fire was deliberately set by an arsonist. The six-classes school was completely destroyed. The fire was set while the school is off-classes time. No reports of deaths or injuries.

Day 306 - Feb. 9th

2010-02-09T06:46:00.000-08:00

- From Radio Dabanga:

Today (Tuesday), government backed militias in Kass (South Darfur) have attacked two different camps of internal displaced people (IDP). Three people were confirmed dead, two Fur-sheikhs Musa Tingil and Musa Dakka were arrested amongst 40 other residents. The Border guards set Yahya Haggar camp and the Janubia-market ablaze, while Bitari camp was partly destroyed. Radio Dabanga recorded this morning intense cross fire and provided witness reports. The Central Reserve Police from Nyala rushed this morning to calm the situation, but until noon the shootings continued. According to the residents, an uniformed policeman or soldier was found dead nearby one of the camps on Monday. It was not confirmed whether he was a member of a government backed militia or the Border Intelligent Guards. The militias started their siege of the camps this morning (Tuesday) immediately after sunrise. They entered the camps of Yahya Haggar and Bitari and also the market of Janubia for large scale looting, including burning of houses and shops. The local government could not be reached for comment at the moment. The former Janjaweed have been integrated in the Border Guards, a military unit of the Sudanese Armed Forces. It is still unclear whether the government militia involved has already been formally integrated in the structures of the Border Guards, but have received arms and dresses. The Central Reserve Police is another military unit initially meant to protect the borders of the Khartoum State. It is part of the national armed forces with headquarters near Jebel Aulia, south of Khartoum. Kass has been recently the scene of several armed clashes. Several months ago masked gunmen killed two Sudanese policemen guarding a guesthouse run by the UN World Food Programme (WFP). While tracking down the potential attackers, a third police officers was killed and two of the alleged attackers were killed in an exchange of fire. There is a large presence of UNAMID peacekeepers in Kass.

Day 302 - Feb. 5th

2010-02-05T05:53:00.000-08:00

- IDPs (Internally-Displaced-Persons) in the camps of Nertiti(West Darfur) expressed their support to the ICC (International Criminal Court) decision on February 3rd, Radio Dabanga reported this morning. The ICC appeal circuit has decided to accept the appeal of the Chief Prosecutor on his charges to the President of Sudan AlBashir with genocide crimes in Darfur.
The refugees in Eastern Chad also were very pleased with the ICC decision, Radio Dabanga reported in interviews with many refugees.

- IDPs in the largest camp in Kutum area (North Darfur) complained to Radio Dabanga that the Government of Sudan threatened them that the government will deal with them (the refugees) harshly if they don't evacuate the camp. A female leader in the camp told Radio Dabanga that few days ago the Mayor of Kutum with army and security forces came to the camp and told the refugees that they have two choices: Either to go back to their destroyed villages or to find homes and shelters in the city (Kutum). The mayor told them they have to evacuate the camp or the government will deal with them harshly and will dismantle the camp.
The female leader asked through the radio that the international community should intervene.

Day 301 - Feb. 4th

2010-02-04T06:22:00.000-08:00

- While IDPs in Darfur welcome the International Criminal Court's (ICC) decision, the Government of Sudan rejects that decision ( regarding Genocide charges against AlBashir). From Radio Dabanga:

THE HAGUE (04 Feb.) – The International Criminal Court (ICC) will reconsider their indictment with genocide against president Omar Al Bashir after judges upheld an appeal by prosecutors of the chamber. Shortly after the appeal of the chamber in The Hague the Sudanese Foreign Ministry declared its total rejection of the court as well as its decisions. The ministry described the new decision as irrelevant and said it will not affect its steadfast stance on the ICC. It said the court has no jurisdiction over Sudanese nationals. Rabi Al Ati, adviser to the Ministry of Information told Radio Dabanga that the decision was intended to place impediments in the way of the peace process in Darfur and the upcoming elections.

IDPs welcomed the decision of the appeal chamber and described the move as a step forward to prosecute war criminals. According to a leading figure in Al Salaam camp in El Fasher, IDPS see the decision as an opportunity to help relieve their sufferings.

Rebel leaders welcome the decision of the court. JEM leader, Khalil Ibrahim hailed the decision of the ICC as fair and told Radio Dabanga the move would open the door to charge Al Bashir with genocide. He also called on the ruling National Conference Party (NCP) to withdraw Al Bashir´s candidacy. SLM leader, Abdel Wahid Mohammed al Nur welcomed the decision and called on Al Bashir to surrender to the ICC. Nur stressed to Radio Dabanga that the decision will help to restore security and peace in Darfur. Zakaria Ibrahim the leading figure in a group signatory to Addis Ababa´s road map welcomed the decision too.

Day 293 - January 27th

2010-01-27T06:29:00.000-08:00

From Radio Dabanga this morning:

The Saudi Red Crescent Corporation stopped temporarily its activities in Bileil and Kalma camp till efforts are made to ensure the safety of its workers. The commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs in South Darfur, Sabil Ahmed Sabi l informed Radio Dabanga the organization’s pull out from Bileil health centre and Kalma. Last Sunday several villagers and displaced people held a demonstration against threatening workers. They protested in front of the UNAMID’s headquarters against the government’s plan to build a road passing through their camp.

Day 291 - January 25th

2010-01-25T06:33:00.000-08:00

- Chadian Rebels (backed by the Government of Sudan) attacked yesterday the villages of Martego, Wagd, and Magti in North Darfur near the town of Malit, reported Radio Dabanga this Morning. Civilians complained to the radio that the rebels entered into these villages house by house, terrorizing the villagers, looting homes, and destroying properties. No reports of death or injuries.

- In a fresh round of bombings,as recent as yesterday - Sunday, the Sudan Air Force bombed villages of Kulbus, Abu Gamra in West Darfur near the border with Chad.
From Radio Dabanga:
Government warplanes bombed yesterday morning the Jebel Moon’s Koujuk reservoir area. The bombardment caused the injury of 4 people according to Treibo Ibrahim Juma, one of the JEM commanders in the region. Bombs led to the death of twenty camels and thirty sheep as well damage to water sources. Juma told the government warplanes still continue to fly around the area.

Witnesses from Abu Gamara told Radio Dabanga Sudanese military warplanes bombed the region for a second day in a row until Sunday morning. Saying the strike hit a number of sites in Abu Gamara and Kulbus.

Day 286 - January 20th

2010-01-20T04:21:00.000-08:00

- Areal bombings continue in Darfur. New villages are bombed.
From Radio Dabanga:

JEM accuse the government of bombing the Western Darfur area Abu Gamra. The bombardment on Monday caused the loss of sheeps and camels told JEM’s commander in chief Suleiman Sandal Radio Dabanga. The SLM of Minni Minawi held the JEM secretary for Humanitarian Affair, Hamid Nour Shugar directly responsible for the attack. Saying that Shugar had implicated JEM in the region and this prompted the violent government reaction.

The attack forced many families seek shelter in the mountains and valleys according to the SLM. It increased the detoriating situation of the civilians.

Suleiman Sandal downplayed SLM’s accusations as unfounded and saying the SLM is to blame for the attack as long as Minni Minawi is part of the government in Khartoum.

- Famine threatens lives of IDPs (internal Displaced People) in some camps in Darfur.
Leaders in the idp camps in the area of Zalengi told Radio Dabanga this morning that there is severe shortage of food and basic necessities hitting the camps and villages in the area of Zalengi, West Darfur. The leaders said the people outside Darfur should not believe the government's lies that there is "Food Gap but no famine". Other leaders in Kalma, the largest camp in South Darfur, complained bitterly to Radio Dabanga that there is acute shortage of food, medicine, and drinking water in the camp.

- In Ma;it area, North Darfur, the Chadian rebels (backed by the Government of Sudan) continued to wreak havoc in the area. Due to lack of security, prices of necessary commodities shot through the roof.
From Radio Dabanga:
Food and water priced in Milliet increased after Chadian opposition rebels attacked a private owned waer well. Local residents told Radio Dabanga they fear the same encounter. Residents told the price of a water container (better known as Khurug) has exceeded to fifteen Sudanese pounds.

- Clashes continue between GoS and the rebels in the area of Ain Siro, North Darfur.
From Radio Dabanga:

UNAMID send an investigation team along with medical supplies to the area of Ain Siru in North Darfur. The area is witnessing clashes between the Government of Sudan (GoS) and the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) of Abdul Wahid. Spokesman Noureddine Mezni told Radio Dabanga the agreement to send a team was an important change to the movement’s position. Earlier the SLM did not allow free entry to its combat zones.

Day 284 - January 18th

2010-01-18T04:36:00.000-08:00

- From Radio Dabanga:
NCP students attack Darfur colleagues in Omdurman

OMDURMAN (18 Jan.) - Darfur students say that a group of students of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) attacked a dormitory compound mainly inhabited by Darfur students in Omdurman. The President of the Darfur student Association at the University of Khartoum, Osman Mohammed Ibrahim Al Noujemi told Radio Dabanga that the attack happened on Friday evening. The attackers burned down eight rooms and caused damages to students’ properties according to Al Noujemi. He added the attack did not only result in property damages but also led to the injury of more than 13 students including the President of Darfur Student Union at the Faculty of Education.

Day 283 - January 17th

2010-01-17T14:02:00.000-08:00

From Sudan Tribune:

Sudan military court hand death sentences on 18 Darfur stationed soldiers: report
Sunday 17 January 2010.

(KHARTOUM) – A Sudanese military court sentenced 18 soldiers to death charging them with insubordination and mutiny, a newspaper reported this week.

The members of the Sudanese army belonged to different ranks, according to the pro-SPLM Ajras Al-Hurriya newspaper, refused to deploy from Al-Obayid city in Kordofan state to the town of Umbro in Northern Darfur and instead went to the Al-Fasher capital city in a convoy of 26 vehicles.

The report did not say what prompted this action from the soldiers. During the peak of the Darfur conflict in 2003-2004 there were numerous reports of mutiny among Darfuri pilots and soldiers in the army who refused to carry out orders of attack in the war ravaged region.

The defendants were found guilty of violating articles of the Armed Forces Act, including violation of instructions the commander in chief. Families of the convicted soldiers appealed to the Sudanese president and the minister of defense to overrule the sentence.

The court sentenced 17 others to imprisonment for a period ranging from five to six months while others have been acquitted. The attorneys told the newspaper they are planning an appeal.

A spokesperson for the Sudanese army declined to confirm or deny the report when reached by Ajras Al-Hurriya.

The army commander of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) Suleiman Sandal hailed the “bravery” of the soldiers.

“They have done the right thing and sided with the people, refusing to carry orders of the Bashir who is the commander in chief of the army” Sandal told Sudan Tribune by satellite phone from an undisclosed location

“Bashir is a war criminal indicted by an international court so complying with his orders is a violation of international law and humanitarian norms” he added.

Sandal called on the appeals court to bear in mind that what the convicted soldier “were in compliance with the law” and urged the defense lawyers to stress this in their filings.

- From Reuters:

Darfur rebels say Sudan army attacks market area
Sat Jan 16, 2010 12:22pm EST
KHARTOUM, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Darfur rebels said Sudan's army had attacked their troops in a populated area of the western state of North Darfur on Saturday, escalating fighting ahead of peace talks due to open this month.

Tensions were already high in oil-producing Sudan which is gearing up for presidential, parliamentary and state governor elections in April.

Saturday's attack follows an assault by the rebel Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) on the government garrison town Golo in Jabel Marra last Wednesday after days of government bombardment of rebel positions in Sudan's remote west.

"The government attacked our areas in the market area of Furug," SLA commander Ibrahim el-Helwu told Reuters. "This is a heavily populated area," he added.

The army spokesman's office was not immediately available to comment and the U.N.-African Union peacekeepers (UNAMID) said they were checking the reports.

"All the areas under the control of SLA (Abdel Wahed)...are a no-go area for us," UNAMID spokesman Noureddine Mezni said.

The rebels accuse the mission of working too closely with Khartoum and refuse to allow them to enter their areas.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in 2009 for war crimes during a brutal counter-insurgency campaign in Sudan's west after rebels took up arms in 2003 demanding more autonomy.

Darfur's fighting sparked a humanitarian crisis which the United Nations estimates has claimed 300,000 lives and driven more than 2 million from their homes.

Fighting has largely subsided since the early battles, but sporadic clashes have since pushed rebels out of the main towns and into the vast swathes of arid countryside.

Day 282 - January 16th

2010-01-16T06:47:00.000-08:00

- From Radio Dabanga:

The Central Reserve Police of Sudan have clashed with the Border Intelligence Guards in South Darfur. According to the Border Intelligence Guards, a mutiny started within the battalion of the Central Reserve Police in Ferduz locality in South Darfur. The Central Reserve Police protested a wave of random arrests of civilians carried out by the Border Intelligence Guards. The protesting battalion was led by its commander Mohammed Al Rakib, the military spokesman told Radio Dabanga. The Central Reserve Police was heading towards the Border Intelligence Guards when an exchange of fire started injuring at least 3 guards. According to an eyewitness, there were tens of cars with mounted rocket launchers involved. After the confrontation turned into fierce fighting, the reserve police deserted quickly the area and went to the camps of the Revolutionary Forces Front (RFF) in the nearby area at Bahr al Arab. The RFF is headed by General Moussa Djadeen who merged with the rebel movement JEM in 2009. The Border Intelligence Guards is a unit of the Sudan Armed Forces. Several former Janjaweed militias were integrated into this unit. The Central Reserve Police are a heavily armed military unit and are often deployed along border areas or to defend the capital Khartoum. They have headquarters near Jebel Aulia, south of Khartoum.

- Death sentences:
This week 18 military personnel of the Sudanese were sentenced to death for desertion, for having refused to obey military orders in Darfur. Their battalion of 250 military personnel had been dispatched to Umboro near Kornoi to carry out a military action, but they refused. 65 of them were finally convicted, including the men on the death row.

- A delegation of opposition parties from South Darfur have requested the SPLM and all opposition parties to boycott the elections in April. The head of the Darfur delegation told Radio Dabanga that they don’t believe that the elections will be free and fair.The lawyer and member of the Communist Party, Adam Sharif, says that the government has not fulfilled its promises. ‘The voters registration was not correct, also the districts are divided in a way that the ruling parties are advanced to win. We discussed all these issues with the government during the Juba-coalition meeting. But the government did not comply with its promises to remove the obstacles. There is still no freedom of information, the Security Act has not been amended and the war in Darfur continues’, he explained to Radio Dabanga. The delegation arrived in Khartoum just hours after the SPLM announced the candidacy of Yasir Arman as presidential candidate.

- Comment by Mohamed Suleiman regarding the SPLM nomination to the presidency of Sudan in the coming Elections:

Yasir Arman is a good person and stood for long time with the causes of marginalized people in Sudan, but he has zero chance to win this elections for many reason. The followings are some of the reasons:
1- Staying in power is a matter of life or death for Albashir and NCP. Losing power, by any means, means NCP leaders will be brought to trials immediately inside Sudan ( even before ICC executes its warrants) to answer for crimes extend from 1989. No one has any chance to win these Elections (in the current conditions) but AlBashir.

2- SPLM has made up its mind to secede with South Sudan as an independent state. It would be a dilemma to have a native Southerner (Kiir, Amum, Maschar, or any one of the prominent SPLM leaders) as a candidate for presidency of the Sudan. If that candidate wins, then as President of Sudan he/she would advocate for unity and having South Sudan in the greater Sudan even if the southerners would continue to be treated as second class citizens. If that candidate loses elections it would be difficult for him/her to advocate for the secession of the South, otherwise he/her would be seen as a sour loser. This move (of nominating Yasir) is seen by many as a way out for SPLM from that dilemma.

3- On December 14th (2009) when SPLM decided not to join the Northern opposition in a protest demonstration and, instead stroke a deal with NCP, now the the N. opposition are showing a cold reception to the news of Yasir candidacy. Moreover, the leaders of all the main Northern opposition parties are entering the race themselves (at least 3 has declared candidacy so far). This move by the N. opposition leaders for sure will weaken any support Yasir may expect from the northern opposition masses.

4- The root cause of the problems of Sudan is that since independence from the British in 1956, Sudan was ruled and controlled by the elites from the three Northern Nile Arab tribes (Gaalin, Shaygiah, and Danagla). Nile North is the only region that has never seen any war, military actions, or destabilization. Many marginalized on the web were repeating thus question at the news of Yasir's candidacy: Is this why 2 million people died in the South and 1/2 million others in Darfur to narrow the presidency race back to be a contest between the same ruling elite, or worse, either to elect AlBashir or his relative?
Symbolism here is very important. Majority of the marginalized people in Sudan has reaped nothing from Sudan but death and destruction. Instead of electing a marginalized -sympathizer, why not a genuine marginalized who has inherited the legacy of oppression and being treated as second class citizen in his/her own country?
I hope no one dismisses this last point as nonsensical. We have all witnessed how America made history and was greeted warmly by the rest of the world when it elected an African American as President of the United States of America.

Once more, Yasir Arman is a fine person. But problems of Sudan are not about an individual.

Mohamed Suleiman

Day 281 - January 15th

2010-01-15T06:20:00.000-08:00

- The center for women in Kalma camp was burned in an attack by three gunmen. The raid on the center which is run by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) happened around two o’clock in the morning. It was reported that the attackers tried to set fire to the organization’s headquarters but vigilant residents were able to extinguish the fire.

Camp officials accused the Bileel security chief of plotting to cause damage and harm to the displaced people. They held him responsible for all attacks in and around the camp. They think the security chief of Bileel Municipality was behind the hiring of individuals to target displaced as well as international organizations in various IDP camps.

A camp official told Radio Dabanga that the attackers fled towards Bileel leaving behind anxiety and chaos among the displaced.

- A series of arrests of Darfuri activists in Egypt is reported by the Sudan Center for Contemporary Studies in Cairo. The center, which observes Sudanese activities in Egypt, said Egyptian security authorities continued for the second day to make arrests among Darfuri activists who live in Egypt as refugees. Sources told Radio Dabanga the new arrests have targeted a number of well-known Darfuri politicians including the SLM Cairo bureau official of the faction of Khamis Abakar.

With the arrest of an official of Khamis Abakar’s SLM faction yesterday, the number of those who were detained by the Egyptian security forces has risen to 12. Little was known so far about how the SLM official was captured and where he was taken to. Sources indicated an Egyptian force raided his apartment in Der Al Malak district in the early hours of Sunday morning and took him away.

Day 280 - January 14th

2010-01-14T07:03:00.000-08:00

- The GoS continued intense areal bombing in wide areas in west Dafur. In areas close to South Darfur, military jets and bombers continued bombings in areas of Kas, Jabal Marra, and Gulu.
In East and West ElGeneinah (largest city in West Darfur), Antonovs and Miggs continued for the seventh day bombing the villages around Algeneinah and Jabal Moon.Eyewitnesses told Radio Dabanga that in one location a village of Tmur was bombed and 30 civilians were killed. In a phone call it was reported by an eyewitness that the military planes dropped much powerful exploding bombs this round. The eyewitnesses added that there are many families in the Jabal Moon area started to flee towards neighboring Chad. The GoS sources say that they are after the rebels.

- 2 of the 3 indicted by ICC for war crimes in Darfur are running for high offices in the coming Elections.
- Omer Albashir has officially filed for running for the Presidency of Sudan.
- Ahmed Haroun is nominated officially to run for the Governor post in South Kordofan.

Nafi Ali Nafi (who is also running for Parliament) announced the names of the NCP nominations for Governors posts across Sudan and the National Parliament. The names and faces are familiar (hardcore of NCP).
Nafi made scornful jokes about the opposition parties and declared that they (the opposition) are dreaming of Election's postponement. He declared that NCP will win "democratically" in the coming Elections and asked mockingly: isn't that what the opposition wants, democratic Elections?

Day 279 - January 13th

2010-01-13T05:49:00.000-08:00

- From Radio Dabanga:
Authorities in North Darfur closed 27 Schools in the Tagabu and Siyyah area two days ago. The closure happened two days ago because residents of those areas refused to allow their children to go to school for fear of being intimidated and attacked by Chadian opposition forces. The regions reportedly became in recent days the scene of killing looting and rape by the Chadian opposition forces. Mohamed Yahya, spokesman for the Siyyah association told Radio Dabanga the residents started to express their concern about the presence of Chadian opposition forces since they were moved there a month ago. He added that the presence of those forces not only caused anxiety among residents but also caused hundreds of citizens to flee the region.

- From Radio Dabanga:
Residents of Kabkabiya have stayed last night in a state of fear and panic after gunmen used heavy machine guns and abundantly fired in the air. In the first moments people thought that Chadian opposition forces had attacked the city but later they found out that the shots were fired by a group of border guards who were said to be celebrating the retrieve of a vehicle looted earlier by armed militias. Local residents in Kabkabiya raised concern about loosing the city and several other areas in North Darfur State to Chadian opposition forces, calling on the government to intervene and stop the violations.

- Sudan 365 - Op-Ed:

President Obama: Hear the Beat of the Drums…Now
January 9 marks the fifth anniversary of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the 20 year North-South War in Sudan. That war resulted in over 2 million deaths and 6 million displaced persons. It destroyed the infrastructure of the South and devastated lives, trust and hope. Today, the CPA is at risk of collapse. Sudan is in danger of returning to full-scale war. Only President Obama’s personal involvement with world leaders can salvage the CPA. But, time is running out.
The CPA established a new political, military and economic system based on the values of justice, democracy, and human rights. It also provided a process to determine borders between North and South, for popular elections in 2009 (postponed to April 2010), and for a referendum in 2011 for the South to separate if unity is not attractive. It includes a model for other marginalized areas of Sudan or could be amended to include other marginalized areas within its terms.
Assistance by and pressure from the United States, United Kingdom, Italy and Norway were essential to negotiating and signing the CPA. Unfortunately, as so often happens, the international community’s support for implementation and enforcement has been woefully insufficient. It now must make up for lost time.
The National Congress Party (NCP), Sudan’s ruling party, came to power by military coup in 1989. It has continued its governing tactic of “divide and rule” despite the CPA and has successfully maintained the poverty, malnutrition, and lack of education and health care affecting Christians and animists in the South. It has similarly marginalized the Beja in the East, the Nuba peoples of Kordofan province, and the Shilluk and Dinka of the Upper Nile. And, of course, it continues to perpetrate genocide against my own people in Darfur.
Tensions related in part to the NCP’s obstruction of the CPA have provoked renewed violence in South Sudan. Its intransigence has prevented conditions essential to free and fair elections. An election in April rigged to legitimize the NCP and its leader (President Omar al-Bashir indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity) threatens the integrity of the referendum and easily could push the country into full-scale war. It would enable the NCP to complete its “final solution” in Darfur. Millions of additional lives would be at risk. Destabilization of the entire region is a realistic possibility.
Human rights activists around the world recognize the need for immediate re-engagement with Sudan through diplomacy by world leaders. On January 9th, “Sudan 365: A Beat for Peace” kicks off an international campaign urging intensive and coherent diplomatic support to prevent increased violence and provide civilian protection. Some of the world’s most famous drummers are coming together to create a ‘beat for peace’ in Sudan. Sudan 365 will release a film of this global beat for peace upon launch of the campaign.
Sudanese in the U.S. and concerned Americans have been calling on President Obama since his campaign to assume personal leadership in facilitating peace in Sudan. He has not heard our words. I can only hope that he will respond to the beat of the drums—long a symbol of freedom for Africans. The lives of my relatives, friends and countrymen in Sudan depend on it.
_______________

Day 278 - January 12th

2010-01-12T05:38:00.000-08:00

- From Reuters:

Chadian rebels attack, rape Darfuris--residents
Mon Jan 11, 2010 2:15pm EST
* Activists say UN probe needed, may be war crimes

* Recent rapprochement in sensitive Chad-Sudan ties

By Opheera McDoom

KHARTOUM, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Chadian rebels are raping, beating and looting villagers in western Sudan's North Darfur region, residents said on Monday.

Rights activists said the attacks might be war crimes and urged the Sudanese government and the United Nations to investigate them.

Chadian-Sudanese relations are key to the conflict in Darfur, and the two countries have accused each other of supporting rebels fighting for more power.

A rapprochement between the two neighbours last month included an agreement to form a joint border patrol force and to move rebel forces away from the long and porous frontier.

"We are asking the Khartoum government ... to immediately move these forces out of our areas ... and to compensate the victims of these crimes," a member of the youth movement from the al-Sayah area, Adam Shiekat, told Reuters by telephone.

Shiekat, who used a nickname for fear of arrest, said two teachers from the school in al-Sayah had been arrested by security forces and accused of disseminating information about the attacks.

The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies said those committing the crimes should be held accountable. "These acts may constitute war crimes and (we) call on the government of Sudan and relevant UN representatives to initiate a full and thorough investigation," it said in a statement.

A source in the aid community in Khartoum confirmed there had been numerous attacks and said that since the Chadians moved to the area on Dec. 3, at least 20 women had been raped, a woman eight months pregnant had died from her injuries and four other people had been killed.

"These people are very, very poor and now they are suffering twice -- once during the Darfur war and now again," the source said, adding that the Chadians were stealing the precious little water, food and firewood in the area.

Sudan expelled 13 aid agencies last year, and those left are too scared to speak openly.

Violence in Darfur erupted in early 2003, when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against the government and Khartoum responded by mobilising militia to quell the uprising. The United Nations estimates the ensuing conflict claimed 300,000 lives and drove 2 million people from their homes.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant last year for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes in Darfur, but Khartoum refused to recognise the court.

During the conflict between government militias and rebels, the Sudanese and Chadian governments accused each other of backing the other side's rebels, and groups of bandits have harassed and attacked local people and foreign peacekeepers.

Chad has accused Sudan of using Chadian rebels to quell the revolt in Darfur in return for helping them in their drive to overthrow Chadian President Idriss Deby.

U.N.-African Union peacekeepers (UNAMID) said they had observed the arrival of the Chadians in the area on Dec. 3, but said Khartoum bore ultimate responsibility for the forces.

"Serious concerns regarding these opposition forces have been reported by observers in this region since early December 2009," said Chris Cycmanick, a UNAMID spokesman.

Deby and his predecessor Hissene Habre were both installed by rebellions launched from Darfur. Sudan says the Sudenese rebels in Darfur are armed by and have bases in Chad.

- From Radio Dabanga:

SLM accuses government of Sudan of bombing Jebel Moon villages

JEBEL MOON (12 Jan ) - The SLM of Abdel Wahid Al Nur accused yesterday the Government warplanes of bombing West Darfur villages of Kerkrou, Hajar Hawan and Kundre in the Jebel Moon area. According to SLM Political Secretary, Ibrahim Mohammed Nasser the attack left 37 sheeps and a donkey dead.

Day 268 - January 2nd

2010-01-02T04:48:00.000-08:00

- On Wednesday December 30th a Sudanese military aircraft terrified displaced people in Kalma camp when it flew at very low altitude over the camp causing at least one house to be uprooted and leaving many defenseless inhabitants in disarray. Meanwhile an official in Kalma camp said to Radio Dabanga the incident was part of the government intimidation campaign against local population in Darfur. Furthermore, he said they reported the incident to the UNAMID for further investigations.

- Militia men attacked and killed a Darfuri farmer near Kass in West Darfur, Reported radio Dabanga. A relative of the dead man said that the man was working in his tomato farm when these militia men (pro GoS) entered his farm and started to beat him with the end of the AK47s and sticks, eyewitness told Radio Dabanga. The man was taken to Kass hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Day 267 - January 1st

2010-01-01T18:33:00.000-08:00

- Year 2010 is here, yet violence, insecurity, and IDP camps are the same.

- In the outskirts of the IDP (internally displaced persons) of Hasahisa in Zalengie, 3 women were raped and a man who came for the aid was killed, reported Radio Dabanga. The assailants, as reported by one of the leaders of the camp, were in military uniform of the Government of Sudan.

- The Chadian rebels ( protected by the Government of Sudan) are still wreaking havoc in the town of Sayah and the surounding villages, reported Radio Dabanga. The villagers told the radio that so far todate 18 women plus a girl were raped. Also there are reports of wide scale of looting, robberies, and violent assaults against civilians. The villagers told Radio Dabanga that the Chadian rebels are acting with impunity.

Day 264 - December 29th

2009-12-29T06:04:00.000-08:00

- The Chadian rebels (backed by the Government of Sudan) are wreaking havoc in central Darfur. An 11 year young girl was raped by these rebels in the village of Kluklu, a villager told Radio Dabanga. The Chadian rebels were moved from the borders with Chad further in-land according to deals between the two governments: the Sudanese and the Chadian. Yet the Chadian rebels feel free to assault the Darfuri civilians wherever they go. Civilians in Ain Siero, Mallit, and Sayah in North Darfur have complained bitterly about the atrocities of these rebels (looting, rape, and terrorizing) but of no avail.

- Security forces of GoS (Government of Sudan) are in a campaign of arresting community leaders in South Darfur, A Darfuri Journalist reported. The arrests are mainly among Arab tribes leaders and civilians because the GoS is feeling the pressure of rebellion that is growing among Arab tribes in South Darfur, reported the Journalist. The Security forces are putting pressure on the detained leaders and demanding from them to intervene in order to stop the flow of the youth to the rebels, said the Journalist.

Day 256 - December 21st

2009-12-21T06:27:00.000-08:00

- A leader of an IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp of Abduljabbar near Kas (west Darfur) was gunned down, reported Raadio Dabanga. Sheikh Nassruldin Adam was killed by two gunmen. The sheikh is the leader of leaders of IDP in the area.

- 16 of detained IDP leaders in the prison of Elfasher (North Darfur) are suffering from bad detention and health conditions, reported Radio Dabanga. These are leaders of the camps near Elfasher and were detained since August this year without trial. Relatives and friends told Radio Dabanga that 4 of the leaders were transfered in chains to the Hospital of Elfasher due to deteriorating health conditions.

Day 252 - December 17th

2009-12-17T02:17:00.000-08:00

- GoS (Government of Sudan) expelled 51 Darfuri female students from University of Khartoum. A female student told Radio Dabanga that she was and other Darfuri female students were surprised around 10:00 pm with a security unit storming the students residents in the campus and ordering the students out, throwing their belongings (mattresses, cloths, books) out on the street. The students said the security forces calaimed that they have orders from the University's Administration to expel the Darfuri female students for not paying the fees.

- From Sudan Tribune:

Sudan says it will not permit any demonstrations by opposition
Thursday 17 December 2009.

December 16, 2009 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government said it will categorically prevent any attempts to stage demonstrations saying that the conditions in the country are not suitable for this form of expression.

The Sudanese presidential adviser and the former director of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) Salah Gosh told a convention for the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) that the government will crack down “on any attempts to stir up the absurdity and the destabilization of the country’s security”.

Gosh was referring to two failed attempts this month by a coalition of Northern opposition parties and Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) to stage a rally after hundreds of riot police were deployed to the streets and party headquarters to prevent the demonstrators from taking the streets.

Sudanese police said that the organizers did not get proper permission to conduct the rally but opposition parties say they have notified the authorities as required under the law.

A number of senior SPLM figures were arrested along with hundreds of other opposition supporters. The purpose of the demonstrations was to deliver a memo to the parliament demanding the adoption of pro-reform laws.

Gosh accused the opposition parties of seeking to create a popular uprising to topple the government describing that scenario as “impossible”. He added that the NCP is prepared to stop the absurdity of the opposition parties.

He challenged the opposition parties to “infiltrate” the security of the Sudanese capital even if supported by regional and international powers adding that the NISS has tight control over the security.

The former NISS director said that the NCP will teach the opposition parties “a brutal lesson during the elections” suggesting a landslide victory for the ruling party.

A political analyst speaking to Sudan Tribune from Khartoum said that Gosh is seeking to reinforce his image on the scene following his removal from the post as the spy chief last August.

“He is trying to say I am here and active on the scene. He also wants to show his loyalty to Bashir and the regime hence the strong language he used. It is quite unusual for someone who rarely made media interviews but given how shaken the NCP is after these demonstrations it is understandable” the analyst said.

The US condemned the crackdown by Sudanese authorities and called on Khartoum to allow peaceful freedom of expression without intimidation to allow for a conducive environment to hold the elections.

Day 251 - December 16th

2009-12-16T04:17:00.000-08:00

- Without the slightest warning to the residents of the region of Rockerro in Jebel Marra, a force of 17 vehicles believed to be a unit of the Sudanese army opened fire indiscriminately, prompting residents to flee and take refuge in nearby mountains. A witness called Radio Dabanga from his hiding place in the mountains and said the village was under a heavy attack by a hostile military campaign over the last two days. Adding he did not know the whereabouts of his family members and was not aware of whether there were casualties as a result of the incident.

- With the full knowledge of the regular forces and the local authorities in Kebkabiya, members of the border intelligence guards committed two grave violations against local population during last Monday and Friday.The first incident occurred last Monday in the city market when one of the border intelligence guards stabbed a local vendor in front of a large number of people using his rifle bayonet. Apart from the stabbing he tried to charge his weapon, sparking public panic. The incident led to the partial closure of the market.

According to the information available to Radio Dabanga this incident occurred when three border intelligence guards came to the vendor’s shop, ordering him to sell his goads in accordance with the by force imposed pricing but he refused to accept that , then immediately followed the attack . Eventually the vendor was taken to the hospital for treatment but no legal actions were taken so far to try to keep individuals responsible for the attack.

The city witnessed a similar event on Wednesday, when four members of border intelligence guards arrested two butchers on unfounded basis that they had slaughtered two stolen camels.

The butchers were moved to Jebel Si detention center, where they were severely tortured and locked up with no legal justifications provided to them. However, the row was only ended when a financial settlement was secured. Family members and Managing Director of Kebkabiya advised them to pay an amount of $ 10 million Sudanese pounds to ransom their lives.

Day 249 - December 14th

2009-12-14T03:17:00.000-08:00

- Today, at this moment, The Government of Sudan is suppressing another peaceful demonstration in Khartoum.
The security forces of GoS faced with force the 2nd peaceful demonstration in Khartoum.
This time prominent leaders from North opposition parties are detained:
1- Shara Abdalla - Justice Party ( not JEM).
2- Ismail Mohamed Bashir - Student - Sudanese Independent Parti.
3- Mohamed Galal Ahmed Hashim.
4- Mubarak Alfadil - Umma Party.
5- Sara Nugdallah - Umma Party.
6- Rabah Alsadig Almahadi - Umma Party.
7- SidAhmed Alkhatib - Communist Party.
8- Mariam Alsadig Almahadi - Umma Party.
9- Abdallah Deng.
10 - Kamal Omer Abdulsalam - Popular Congress Party.
11- Faisal M. Shubbo - SPLM

Arrests and tear gases operations are still going on.
The GoS closed all the Bridges in the Capital, searching homes.

- From Reuters:

Sudan fires tear gas to disperse opposition rally
Mon Dec 14, 2009 9:52am GMT

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese security forces fired tear gas to disperse about 200 opposition protesters on Monday who tried to rally near Sudan's parliament to demand democratic reforms before presidential and parliamentary polls.

Riot police with batons and shields lined the streets near parliament before the planned rally, a Reuters witness said.

Political tensions are mounting in Sudan in the buildup to the April elections. Khartoum drew international criticism after arresting three leaders from the main party in south Sudan at a rally last week.

South Sudan's former rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement and opposition groups are demanding that President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's National Congress Party usher in reform of Sudan's security forces and other arms of the government.

The sides came closer together on Sunday when Bashir's party reached a deal with the SPLM on the terms of a referendum on southern independence.

Opposition groups said on Monday they were pushing for more changes before the elections and referendum. More than 200 opposition and SPLM supporters had gathered outside a compound close to Sudan's parliament for Monday's protest.

"Monday's agreements were only partial. Laws relating to the democratisation process -- relating to the security service, the trade unions and criminal procedure still have to be changed," said Mubarak al-Fadil, leader of the opposition Umma Reform and Renewal Party.

He said supporters were hoping to hold a peaceful march to parliament to hand over a letter requesting the changes. But a large number of security forces in the streets were preventing protesters from approaching.

"For us, this crackdown proves our point that the situation in the country does not permit free and fair elections," Fadel told Reuters.

Ibrahim Ghandour, a senior NCP official, said the rally was a matter for the security services and that organisers had not applied for permission for a march.

"We hope that the opposition parties instead of talking in their historical jargon go forward and encourage their supporters, if they have any, to take part in the election," he said.

Day 245 - December 10th

2009-12-11T05:38:00.000-08:00

- Government of Sudan (GoS) arrests more refugees leaders, IDPs (Internally Displaced People), in the camps in Darfur, reported Radio Dabanga:

Security services launch a new campaign of arrests against IDP in Darfur

ABU SHOUK (11 Dec.) - IDPs in Abu Shouk camp appealed to the government authorities in Nyala to release Sheikh Mendy Yusuf Bosh because he is suffering from cartilage and high blood pressure. The spokesman of the IDPs in Abu Shouk cam, Adam Abu Al Kul said to Radio Dabanga that the elderly was arrested two days ago from the Southern market in Nyala and taken away by security authorities to an undisclosed location.

He added the number of detainees from the Abu Shouk and Al Salaam camp reached 28. He said the detainees are in danger because of the continued detention and lack of knowledge of their fate in the hands of security services.

Day 244 - December 9th

2009-12-09T17:38:00.000-08:00

- In a telephone call I was informed that the Government of Sudan (GoS) is using Chadian rebels to terrorize Darfuri civilians in Malit area ( North Darfur. The caller, who is a reliable source, said that the the Chadian rebels enter homes of civilians and threaten them while the GoS troops are at a visible distance. He said no injuries were reported. This incident occurred last Sunday.

Day 242 - December 7th

2009-12-07T00:21:00.000-08:00

- Fresh fighting in Darfur.
From Sudan Tribune:

Rebels kill 17 Sudanese troops during fresh attack in Darfur
Monday 7 December 2009.

December 6, 2009 (LONDON) — Rebels in Darfur said today they killed 17 government troops when they repelled an attack by the Sudanese army against one of their bases in the western part of mountainous area of Jebel Marrah.

The Sudan Liberation Army led by Abdel Wahid Al-Nur (SLA-AW) said they repulsed an attack by the government troops and militias against their position in Tourain Tawrah in West Darfur.

"Some 500 soldiers and Janjaweed militia attacked early this morning our position in Trourain Tawrah. The assailants arrived in vehicles, camels and horses," Nimer Abdelrahman, the SLA-Aw military spokesperson told Sudan Tribune by telephone on Sunday.

The rebel official said they killed 17 army troops and militiamen, adding they destroyed three vehicles and captured two others; besides killing five camels and 15 horses.

The attacker who arrived from Kass meant to "take the control of our base there. It is part of their efforts to put pressure on our movement to join the peace process," added the rebel official.

The SLM/A-AW refuses to join the peace process in the Qatari capital Doha. However, the Paris based leader of the rebel group, Al-Nur engaged discussions with the Chief Mediator Djibril Bassole to find ways to reconcile their demand for security and the peace process.

Nimer said the assailants burnt the location of Tourain Tawrah and the civilians evacuated their homes and fled to the mountains. He called on aid groups in the restive region to provide humanitarian assistance to the affected population.

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said in a report o the UN Security Council at mid November that the Sudanese government restricts the movement of the hybrid peacekeeping mission preventing it from going to a number of areas there.

Since this summer Sudanese forces carry out regular attack on the SLA-AW positions in central Darfur area. On November 30, the rebels said they killed five troops in an attack against their position near Jiba, in Jebel Marrah.

Day 241 - December 6th

2009-12-06T10:51:00.000-08:00

- From AllAfrica.com:

Rwanda: Govt Blames Sudan for Darfur Attacks

Frank Kagabo

6 December 2009

Kigali — Rwanda has accused the Khartoum government of being behind the ambush in which three RDF peacekeepers were killed and two injured at Saraf Umra in Darfur on Friday.

Hours later, two more peacekeepers were killed in a separate attack yesterday; the RDF spokesman Maj. Jill Rutaremara told The Sunday Times that there is no known presence of rebel activity in the area where the ambush took place.

He pointed out that the ambush took place 300 metres from the Government Forces' check point.

"The proximity of the ambush to the checkpoint manned by the government forces raises some questions. The only logical conclusion the RDF can make is that the RDF Peacekeepers were killed and injured by the government forces," said Rutaremara.

He revealed that the second attack in which two soldiers died yesterday were carried out by gunmen dressed in civilian clothes in Shagilitobay where they were supplying water to Internally Displaced Persons, the army spokesman said,

"There is nothing that immediately points an accusing finger to the Government forces in the Shangilitobay case apart from the coincidence of timing."

"More investigations are needed in this second case to establish the identity of the perpetrators," he added.

Rutaremara, however, said that the RDF is hopeful that a diplomatic solution will be found.

"Meanwhile the RDF peacekeepers are observing maximum vigilance ready to defend themselves and where necessary pursue the attackers as they did. There are always some lessons learnt in any operation. The RDF will constantly review the way they conduct their operations in light of these developments."

Rwanda has over 3,500 troops serving under the UN-AU hybrid force, UNAMID as well as UNMIS.

Day 240 - December 5th

2009-12-05T13:24:00.000-08:00

- The Peace Keepers in Darfur are targetted:

From Reuters:

Two Darfur peacekeepers killed in second attack
1:33pm EST

By Andrew Heavens

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Two Rwandan peacekeepers were shot dead and one was wounded in Sudan's Darfur region on Saturday, the second attack on their contingent in 24 hours, the force said.

Gunmen in traditional robes opened fire on the soldiers as they distributed water in a refugee camp, the joint U.N./African Union force said, a day after three Rwandan soldiers were killed in an ambush as they escorted a water tanker.

UNAMID communications chief Kemal Saiki said it was too early to say whether the attacks were linked. The shooting brought to 22 the number of peacekeepers killed since the undermanned force were deployed in January 2008.

UNAMID, which is supposed to keep the peace in a territory about the size of Spain, has faced threats and harassment from Sudanese government troops, the United Nations reported last month, and has also been targeted by bandits active in the remote western region. Khartoum dismissed the U.N. report.

Saiki said the Rwandans were handing out water at a refugee camp in the settlement of Shangil Tobay, about 65 km (40 miles) south of the capital of north Darfur El Fasher.

"Some men in the crowd were hiding guns in their robes ... They opened fire without warning. Two of the peacekeepers were killed on the spot," Saiki said.

A third Rwandan soldier was wounded, he said, adding the attackers drove off in a UNAMID pick-up, later found abandoned by pursuing peacekeepers.

Three Rwandan soldiers were killed and two wounded in an ambush near the north Darfur settlement of Saraf Omra, about 200 km west of El Fasher, Friday.

UNAMID said it was investigating the motives of the attackers, but suspected they were trying to steal a vehicle.

Law and order has collapsed more than six years after mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against Sudan's government, accusing it of neglecting the region.

Sudan's government mobilized mostly Arab militias to crush the uprising. Violence has diminished in recent years, replaced in many areas by a free-for-all involving rival tribes, rebel splinter groups and bandits.

Estimates of the death toll range from 300,000 according to the United Nations, to 10,000 according to Khartoum.

Day 239 - December 4th

2009-12-04T21:05:00.000-08:00

- Hearing of House Subcommittee on Sudan on 12/03/2009, with General Gration, John Prendergast, and others as witnesses:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNAzWm6ViP4&feature=channel

Day 236 - December 1st

2009-12-01T07:32:00.000-08:00

- From Sudan Tribune:

‘Keep Silent’ on Darfur, Sudan tells US

Tuesday 1 December 2009.

November 30, 2009 (WASHINGTON) - The US administration should stay away from the crisis in the Darfur region if it is to be resolved, the Sudanese UN ambassador said today.

“It is better if the US want to assist the peace process is to keep silent because they don’t have the information and the UN itself confirmed in no uncertain terms through the visit of Mrs. Malcorra [UN Under Secretary-General for Field Support, Susana Malcorra] last week in Sudan through the tripartite arrangement and mechanism that access is provided, that cooperation of Sudan with UNAMID is on course,” the Sudanese envoy Abdel-Mahmood Abdel-Haleem told reporters today at the UN headquarters.

His statements came few minutes after his US counterpart Susan Rice criticized at the stakeout what she described as impediments made by Khartoum to UNAMID that was mentioned in the periodic report by the UN Secretary General.

“The United States is particularly concerned about the reports that we heard referenced in the Secretary-General’s report of some 42 instances in which UNAMID personnel and patrols have been denied freedom of movement and access” Rice said.

“These quite directly and seriously contravene the terms in the status of forces agreement that the government of Sudan has committed to. It impedes UNAMID’s ability to protect civilians and do its vital work and it is utterly unacceptable, as are the threats by the government of Sudan against UNAMID and its personnel, threats that are amply documented in the Secretary-General’s report. But we expect that the UN will continue the important and vital efforts of UNAMID occurring in the most difficult of circumstances and we expect that the UN will report fully, accurately and on a timely basis, not only about incidents that occur, but who is responsible for incidents when they occur” she added.

The UN ambassador also took a hit at Abdel-Haleem accusing him of “bullying”.

“The sort of efforts that we saw today by the Permanent Representative of Sudan in the Chamber to try to bully and intimidate the United Nations into not reporting fully and accurately, will not be tolerated. And we will insist on and continue to expect timely and full reporting on these incidents and clear accounting for who is responsible so that we and other members of the Security Council can employ this vital information in the implementation of our national and our collective policies” she said.

The Sudanese official objected to the “bleak” pictures presented in the report and claimed that his views were shared by half of the UN Security Council (UNSC) members.

The Deputy UN peacekeeping chief Edmond Mulet who briefed the UNSC today said that Darfur rebel forces also have made it difficult for UNAMID to carry out its mission.

“Similar commitments to UNAMID’s freedom of movement are required from the armed [rebel] movements with respect to their areas of control if UNAMID is to succeed in its mission of assisting the parties in re-establishing comprehensive peace and stability," Mulet said.

The UN official noted that the opening of a new round of UN-backed talks on Darfur this month in the Arab Gulf state of Qatar coincided with an escalation of armed clashes between the rebels.

He gave examples in southern Darfur, where Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) from the Minni Minnawi faction (SLA/MM) attacked two villages, killing 11 people, and a few days later on 19 November 29 Sudanese soldiers were ambushed and killed, with both SLA/Abdul Shafie and SLA/Abdul Wahid fighters claiming responsibility.

“These attacks are unacceptable and illustrate the extent to which the fragmentation of the Darfurian rebel movements continues to be a reality ¬– with obvious implications for the mediation and peace process,” Mr. Mulet said in the briefing on UNAMID.

The Assistant-Secretary-General told the Council that a number of groups in Darfur, including the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and SLA/AW continue to express concern over the holding of national elections, slated for April 2010, before a peace agreement is reached.

In this connection, Mr. Mulet said that the “start of elections registration on 1 November led to heightened tensions in some areas of Darfur,” which he characterized as an unacceptable threat to the electoral process in Sudan.

This month Hussein Abu Sharati the spokesperson of Darfur IDP’s and refugees told Sudan Tribune that seven IDP’s were killed in West Darfur in a clash between the residents and government troops which attempted to force them to take part in voter registration process.

- From Reuters:

Millions could miss Sudan elections - observers

Tue Dec 1, 2009 5:25am EST

* Lack of publicity hits voter registration across Sudan

* Fears of intimidation at Darfur registration stations

* Peaceful registration process praised

KHARTOUM, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Millions of voters could be left out of Sudan's first elections in 24 years because of a failure of authorities to persuade more people to register for the poll, international observers said on Tuesday.

The elections, scheduled for April next year, have already been marred by accusations of fraud and opposition parties have threatened to boycott them if democratic reforms are not passed before they take place.

International observers from The Carter Center said they were concerned poor publicity over the process had already hit the number of people registering to vote, warning some states might sign up fewer than half of eligible voters.

"Without civic education millions may effectively be disenfranchised by a combination of ignorance of the electoral process, mistrust of central authorities, and poor publicity of registration activities," a Carter Center statement said.

"Without specific attention to reaching those most distant from the process, the registration exercise will be undermined."

The ballot was set up under a 2005 peace agreement that ended more than two decades of north-south civil war in the oil-producing nation. But leaders from both sides remain at loggerheads over preparations.

The Carter Center urged Sudan's National Elections Commission (NEC) to increase publicity and funding for teams signing up voters across Africa's largest country, saying current figures showed most states might miss registration targets.

It said there were concerns over the turnout for registration in western Darfur territory as well as the east, south and the central Kordofan regions.

Registration was due to end after a 30-day period on Nov. 30 but was extended for one week following concerns about low turnout and public awareness.

The presence of government intelligence agents at registration centres in Darfur might intimidate voters there, it said.

It also said agents from some political parties were gathering outside centres to take down voters' personal details and persuade them to hand over their registration receipts.

The Carter Center also said it was concerned that military and security personnel had been allowed to register where they work, rather than where they live, which might allow for double registration.

http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSHEA134129._CH_.2400

- From Reuters:

Report urges sanctions against Sudan ruling party

Mon Nov 30, 2009 12:04am EST

* Sudan's UN envoy says Darfur activists are "war mongers"

* U.S. urged to push China to pressure Khartoum

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The United States and other world powers should impose sanctions on key members of the Sudanese government for refusing to end violence in Darfur and south Sudan, a report by an anti-genocide group said on Monday.

Sudan's U.N. Ambassador Abdalmahmoud Abdalhaleem reacted angrily to the report, calling the Enough Project, a Washington-based anti-genocide group, "war mongers."

The Enough Project's report said there was a risk of a new civil war and warned that nationwide elections next year and a 2011 referendum on whether the oil-rich and semi-autonomous south should secede from the Khartoum-led north would not be free and fair.

The report placed the bulk of the blame on the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who was indicted in March by the International Criminal Court for suspected war crimes in Sudan's remote western region of Darfur. The report called for sanctions.

"Without a firm response from the international community, led by the United States, full-scale nationwide war is inevitable," said the report, written by Enough Project co-founder and former U.S. State Department and National Security Council official John Prendergast.

"This should involve a special outreach effort to China because of the vulnerability of its oil investments should war resume in the South," the report said. "The United States must, then, organize and lead a multilateral diplomatic surge in Sudan aimed at negotiating and consolidating national peace."

It recommended "multilateral asset freezes aimed at key members of the NCP who have enriched themselves as a result of the oil boom of the last decade in Sudan." The report also supported travel bans and denying Khartoum access to the debt relief it has been lobbying for.

Sudan's U.N. envoy Abdalhaleem rejected the report.

"Those war mongers and war traders are in a race with time to stop the peace train which is already moving to its destination," he told Reuters. "Their report exposes their bankruptcy and the fact that realities on the ground .... defeated their sick mentality."

DISAPPOINTMENT

The head of Save Darfur, a separate coalition of more than 180 religious, political, and human rights organizations, backed the main conclusions of the Enough Project report.

"Coordinated multilateral action is crucial to promoting peace in Sudan, and that action has to deal with the reality that the core of the problem is the ruling National Congress Party's seeking to maintain its domination of power and wealth," Save Darfur president Jerry Fowler told Reuters.

"It is difficult for me to see how a strategy that doesn't include pressure could succeed," he said.

Behind the complaints of Darfur activists is disappointment with U.S. President Barack Obama's administration, which took nearly 10 months to formulate and announce a new Sudan policy that they worry is not being implemented aggressively enough.

That strategy calls for renewed U.S. economic sanctions on Sudan, but also offers Khartoum new incentives to end violence in Darfur and the South ahead of polls next year.

The former head of the U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur said earlier this year that the six-year conflict in Darfur was essentially over.

But that assessment was contradicted by a recent report of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who said that fighting between the Sudanese army and rebels continued, civilians remained at risk, and peacekeepers were routinely harassed by government forces.

U.N. diplomats and analysts say China's opposition to U.N. sanctions on Khartoum remains steadfast. Beijing holds a veto on the U.N. Security Council, which means it has the power to block any resolution imposing U.N. sanctions on Khartoum.

They also warn that a 2005 peace deal between the North and South that ended a two-decade civil war is unraveling.

The United Nations says more than 2 million people were driven from their homes and some 300,000 people died in the Darfur crisis, although levels of conflict have fallen since the mass killings of 2003 and 2004. Khartoum puts the death toll at 10,000.

http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSN30423373._CH_.2400

Day 234 - November 29th

2009-11-29T05:02:00.000-08:00

- Sudan Government kills seven IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) in the camp of Deliij. The killings were executed by Sudan's security agents and the Janjaweed as part of terror campaign to force Elections registration on the displaced people of Darfur in the camps.
More details as reported by Sudan Tribune:

Sudan kills seven IDPs in Darfur camp

Sunday 29 November 2009.

November 28, 2009 (PARIS) — Seven Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were killed Friday in West Darfur following a wrangle between the residents and government troops which attempted to force them to take part in voter registration.


Burial ceremony at Kalma IDP camp (UNAMID/file)

The IDPs ask the government to disarm militia and to bring to justice responsible of atrocities committed in the restive region as well as to conclude a peace deal with the rebel groups before organize elections in the country.

However, the local authorities in Darfur launched a voter registration process in the three states of the province in a bid to count IDPs that the UN estimates their number to be 2.7 million.

Many of them resisted the Sudan fifth population and housing census conducted in April year. The total number of Darfur three states is estimated at 7 501 012 according to the figures published by the Sudanese authorities.

The Sudanese regular forces and militia in West Darfur state on Friday evening — at 05:00pm – killed seven people in Deleij IDPs camp, some 280 klm from El Geneina the capital of West Darfur state. The incident took place after attempts by local officials to persuade the residents of the camp to register in electoral lists.

In a discussion with the officials who were accompanied by regular forces from the army and police besides Janjaweed militiamen the residents reiterated their rejection to the electoral operation.

"They had a hot discussion with the officials after declaring their support to (the rebel leader) Abdel Wahid Al-Nur, then the regular forces and the militia started shooting on the innocent civilians," said Hussein Abu Sharati the spokesperson of Darfur IDPs and refugees.

He further said the peacekeepers in the area were present but did not intervene to prevent the killing.

Speaking on Saturday afternoon, the IDPs spokesperson added the regular forces had been withdrawn after the killing.

Abu Sharati also stressed that what was happened in Deleij could be repeated in two other camps in North Darfur.

According the spokesperson, the Sudanese authorities already visited Al-Maliha and Kassap camps today and threatened to arrest tomorrow those who refuse the voter registration operation.

"Today they already arrested seven local leaders (Mashaikh) from Kassap camp," he further said.

Sudan launched a one month voter registration operation inside and outside the country, ahead of general election scheduled to be held next April. The process is extended for one week during the next month.

- Also from Sudan Tribune on Elections that the ruling party NCP is clearly planning to rig:

Sudan slams US skepticism over conducting credible elections in 2010

Sunday 29 November 2009.

November 28, 2009 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese government responded angrily to a statement by the US administration which expressed doubts that the April 2010 elections could be held in a credible manner hinting that it should be delayed.

Yesterday the US State department released a statement saying that Washington is “concerned about the chances for conducting credible elections and referenda”.

“In Khartoum, the two parties to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)—the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM)—continue their discussions to resolve key outstanding issues relating to the 2010 national elections and the 2011 referenda in Southern Sudan and Abyei. Unfortunately, the parties have not yet demonstrated the political will necessary to achieve resolution on these difficult and sensitive issues”.

In the past the US has been adamant about conducting elections on time despite signs that this may not be possible in light of political disagreement and long standing objections by opposition parties that the NCP is restricting free press and political campaigning with wide powers granted to the security bureau including those relating to arresting individuals.

The Sudanese foreign ministry spokesperson Muawiya Osman Khalid described the US position as “sabotage with a goal of achieving special agenda” adding that the number of registered voters surpassed 10 million which he described as a “good figure”.

Khalid noted that the border demarcation between North and South “is a long technical process” stressing that the committees are carrying out their duties in “coordinated and coherent steps”.

The Sudanese official called on the international community “to ignore the voices which seeks to doubt the elections” and the support the democratic transformation process and encourage the political parties “to carry out their role towards its members”.

This week in Khartoum the US special envoy to Sudan Scott Gration said that he is “pleased to see that Sudan is entering into the registration period that things are proceeding, and we look forward to a good election in April”.

The change in US position could indicate failure by Gration to make the NCP or SPLM reach a middle ground on last year’s census results used to determine geographical constituencies which the ex-southern rebel group views as objectionable because it claims to understate the population of Southerners. There is also a dispute of the draft national security bill as well as the referendum law.

The negotiations between the NCP and SPLM on elections and referendum have been dragging on for months which could jeopardize the timing of holding both processes. The elections have so far been moved up 3 times.

The SPLM categorically rejects any delay in rescheduling the 2011 referendum amid regional concern that the South may resort to unilateral declaration of referendum.

The Sudanese political parties including the SPLM are scheduled to meet in the coming weeks to determine whether they will take part in the elections which they alleged to be marred with widespread fraud.

The Islamist opposition leader Hassan Al-Turabi said any boycott decision has to be made by a coalition of parties and that it is useless for one single party to make such a move unilaterally.

Day 233 - November 28th

2009-11-28T15:37:00.000-08:00

- Security in Zalengi (west Darfur) is in jeopardy, residents told Radio Dabanga. Some residents said that there are armed ethnic groups wearing uniforms enter homes of people claiming that they are security forces and in mission of search, then they assault people and terrorize civilians.

- From Reuters:

U.S. says Sudan's 2010 elections in doubt

Fri Nov 27, 2009 12:19pm EST

* U.S. cites lack of political will to resolve issues

* Statement comes after U.S. envoy's visit to Sudan

* Strains raise fears north-south civil war could restart

WASHINGTON, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Sudan may be unable to hold credible elections in coming months because the ruling party and opposition cannot agree on ground rules for the polls, the U.S. State Department said on Friday.

At the end of a trip to Sudan by President Barack Obama's special envoy Scott Gration, the State Department said it saw little movement on issues such as voter registration and border delineation between Khartoum and the semi-autonomous South -- endangering plans for national elections in April 2010 and a referendum on southern succession in 2011.

"Without immediate resolution of these disputes, we are concerned about the chances for conducting credible elections and referenda," it said in a statement.

"Unfortunately, the parties have not yet demonstrated the political will necessary to achieve resolution on these difficult and sensitive issues."

Gration's trip to Sudan was his first since Washington announced in October it would keep economic sanctions on Sudan but would also offer Khartoum new incentives to end violence in Darfur and the South.

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), former southern rebels who are now junior partners in the governing coalition under the terms of a 2005 peace deal, have accused the North of stalling on a democratic transformation and undermining plans for free elections.

The SPLM and other parties said on Wednesday they would delay a decision on whether to boycott April's elections in part due to a week-long extension of the voter registration period.

The strains have raised fears the north-south civil war -- fueled by issues including religion, ethnicity, oil and ideology between mostly Christian southern rebels and the Islamist Khartoum government -- could reignite.

Gration visited voter registration centers and urged people to sign up for the polls "as it is the only way for the Sudanese people to maintain their right to participate in the national elections in April 2010," the statement said.

He also visited Darfur, where the United Nations says more than 2 million people were driven from their homes and some 300,000 people died in a crisis that saw non-Arab militias take up arms against the central government. Khartoum puts the death toll at 10,000.

Gration's meetings concentrated on the security situation along the Chad-Sudan border, with the State Department noting lawlessness and banditry were heightening tensions yet again.

- From Reuters Also:

Ten killed in Darfur clashes, rebels say

* Fighting as peace talks begin

By Opheera McDoom

KHARTOUM, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Rebels in Sudan's Darfur region on Thursday accused government troops of launching two attacks in a development likely to hinder peace talks which began this month. Rebel commander Suleiman Marjan of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) said government forces attacked civilians in Jabel Eissa and al-Harra in North Darfur on Wednesday.

"They drove out the civilians, beating them, looting and arrested 11 young men," Marjan said.

The SLA had no base in the villages, which was home to about 6,000 people, he said.

In an earlier army attack on Nov. 18 on a nearby SLA base, two rebels and eight government soldiers were killed, he said.

"We repulsed them and they left 20 injured behind and about 50 prisoners who we later released," Marjan said.

Officials from the government army were not available to comment. The joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force (UNAMID) was also unable to confirm the attacks.

The United Nations estimates about 300,000 people have been killed since mostly non-Arab rebels in Darfur took up arms against Khartoum more than six years ago. The government puts the toll at about 10,000.

The International Criminal Court has demanded President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's arrest for war crimes linked to the counter-insurgency campaign .

The peace process mediated by the United Nations and African Union began earlier this month in Qatar with civil society groups taking part. The SLA has refused to attend until security returns to Darfur.

The fighting has driven more than 2 million people from their homes and destabilised the remote region bordering Chad and the Central African Republic, who are both fighting uprisings fuelled by the Darfur unrest.

Day 232 - November 27th

2009-11-27T03:28:00.000-08:00

- As reported by Radio Dabanga from Eastern Chad: Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad are continuing to suffer from the lack of secondary schools. Students usually do not find opportunities to continue their education even if they successfully completed the primary education. As a result of this, proportion of the lost generations among the refugees has dramatically increased.

In order to address this matter, Mrs. Fatima Ibrahim Adam, a deputy superintendent of education at camp Abu Nabag appealed to the voluntary organizations to provide secondary education for the refugees in Eastern Chad.

- NCP practices unfair registration tactics during Elections' registration in Nyaka: After 12 hours arrest ,security authorities in Nyala released on Wednesday November 25 Abussfian Mohammed Al Hassan, he was an observer of the Popular Congress Party at Kawakib electoral Registration Centre, Constituency number 5. According to a member of the popular congress party the arrest of Abussvian was due to his protest against some practices that were contrary to the regulations and criticism he made against the policy of multiple registrations by members of the National Conference at the electoral registration Centre .

Day 231 - November 26th

2009-11-26T19:26:00.000-08:00

- IDP Camp attacked:
As reported by Radio Dabanga: Prompted by deaths of its members, an armed group believed to be members of the Arab Aballa tribe (camels herders) attacked on Tuesday morning the IDP camp in Deleij in Wadi Saleh. The attackers not only flogged the displaced people with whips but also looted their belongings. According to an eyewitness, the displaced people suspected that the attackers were incited by an incident Monday evening, in which two persons entered the camp to watch a film at the video club but end up being killed by the IDPs .

Day 226 - November 21st

2009-11-21T04:00:00.000-08:00

- Villagers in Thur, Jabal Marra area (West Darfur) are living in terror and undersiege by armed pro government militia, Radio Dabanga reported this morning. A villager told the radio in an interview that armed militia entered the farms of the villagers with their live stock grazing the the planted crops and threatened the villagers not to leave their homes or try to come to the farms. In the same area a vehicle of World Food Program (WFP) was carjacked and not found til now, Radio Dabanga reported. The villager interviewed said the area is undergoing complete chaos and no security whatsoever.

Day 225 - November 20th

2009-11-20T07:06:00.000-08:00

- Gun men on horsebacks and camels kill 11 and wound 4 in a village in south Darfur:

By Alaa Shahine

Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Unidentified gunmen, many riding on camels, killed 11 people in attacks on two villages in Sudanâ€™s Darfur region, the United Nations and African Union peacekeeping mission said today.

More than 300 gunmen took part in the attack in the state of South Darfur, the mission said in an e-mailed statement.

â€œThe cause of the clashes is unconfirmed, although access to water seemed to be the trigger,â€‌ the statement said.

Analysts including Jeffery Sachs, a development economist at New Yorkâ€™s Columbia University, have blamed world powers and the UN for focusing mainly on political and military solutions for the crisis in Darfur, while neglecting other root causes such as scarce natural resources.

Clashes between pro-government forces and rebels -- along with tribal fighting, banditry and disease -- have killed about 300,000 people since 2003, the UN says. The mostly African rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated government, accusing it of neglecting the region. The government puts the violence-related death toll at about 10,000.

Four people were also wounded in the attacks on the villages of Taman and Shaleb Shaleb on Nov. 17, the peacekeeping mission said. Two other people were still missing, it added.

Day 224 - November 19th

2009-11-19T05:14:00.000-08:00

- Armed men entered a camp and killed two refugees, an IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) witness in the camp of Elriyad near the city of ElGeneina in West Darfur.
The leader added that the assailants entered the camp by night carrying arms and entered one home and shot Mohamed Adam Akasha (27 years) in the head without provocation. The the armed men entered another house, shot same way in the head and killed Fanniyah (30 years old female).

- Violent clashes are occurring in South Darfur. In one incident violence broke between two Arab tribes of Reziegat and Habbanyiah where 5 people were killed. In another incident 7 from Sudan Government's troops were killed in an ambush by unknown armed people.

- IDPs in Kalma and Zalingei did not send representative to Doha

Kalma - Zalingei - 18 – November: The displaced People in Kalma camp said on Thursday that they did not send anyone to represent them in the Doha meeting. Those who went there from these camps represent only themselves . One of the leaders of the displaced persons camp said they learned that there are workshops held in Nyala last week. The IDP camp was not consulted about these workshops and therefore they had no representative there.
The IDPs in Zalingei renewed their rejection of the Doha consultations and they said those who went to Doha to take part are members of the National Congress Party and they are not related to displaced persons. The coordinator of the camps in Zalingei said that the route used by the government and UNAMID does only lead to more complexity in Darfur.

Day 222 - November 17th

2009-11-17T05:11:00.000-08:00

- Leaders of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in camps around Kas (west Darfur) told Radio Dabanga that they have authorized anyone to represent them in Doha. These days there is a workshop is held for " civil society leaders" in Doha, Qatar. There are other complaints from other Darfuris in Sudan that the Government of Sudan has played influential role in selecting Darfuris who traveled from Khartoum to Doha to participate in the current workshop.

- After heavy criticism it received regarding the limited registration centers for elections, the Sudan Embassy in Washington issued an statement in a harry. In that statement, the Embassy announced that the registration committee in the Sudan Embassies in Washington and New York will travel to some American cities. In the announced schedule it is decided for some regions, like Texas, two days for registration. In many other regions, like California, the date and period are not determined yet.
The Government of Sudan is not genuine in carrying out these elections as truly free and fair. Such above reactions are only meant to hush criticism.
Below is the latest statement issued by the Embassy of Sudan in Washington (in Arabic):

الثلاثاء, 17 نوفمبر 2009 14:03

Embassy of The Republic of the Sudan – Washington

2210 Massachusetts Ave.

Washington, DC, 20008

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

سفارة جمهورية السودان واشنطون

هاتف : 202-338-8565

فاكس : 202-667-2406

سفارة السودان بواشنطون: مشاركة السودانيين المقيمين بالولايات المتحدة الأمريكية في إنتخابات رئاسة الجمهورية

مشاركة السودانيين المقيمين بالولايات المتحدة الأمريكية في إنتخابات رئاسة الجمهورية

تفيد السفارة السودانية بواشنطن ان المفوضية القومية للانتخابات قد قررت فتح مركزين لتسجيل الناخبين بالولايات المتحدة الامريكية ، بالسفارة السودانية بواشنطن (المكتب القنصلى) وبالبعثة الدائمة بنيويورك وقد بدأ التسجيل فى العاشر من نوفمبر وسيستمر حتى الثلاثون من نوفمبر من العام الحالى.

استنادا على التفويض الممنوح للجان التسجيل بالسفارات والقنصليات بالتحرك خارج المراكز لتسجيل الناخبين فى مواقع تجمعاتهم فسيتم تحرك لجان التسجيل بمركزى واشنطن ونيويورك وفقا للجداول التالية:

البعثة بواشنطن:

الجهة

موقع التسجيل

الفترة الزمنية

دالاس – تكساس

دار الجالية2440 West Irving Blvd. Irving, Tx 75063

19-20/11/2009

شيكاغو- الينوى

Holiday Inn O’hare Area

5615 N. Cumberland Ave.

Chicago , IL 60631

21-22/11/2009

اوماها - نبراسكا

يحدد لاحقا

23-24/11/2009

قرينزبورو – نورث كارولينا

Marriot

304 N. Greene Street

Greensboro’ N.C 27401

25-26/11/2009

المندوبية بنيويورك

الجهة

موقع التسجيل

الفترة الزمنية

بوستن - ماساشيوستس

يحدد لاحقا

يحدد لاحقا

اوكلاند- كاليفورنيا

يحدد لاحقا

يحدد لاحقا

فلادلفيا

يحدد لاحقا

يحدد لاحقا

شروط التسجيل:

1. ان يكون الناخب سودانى الجنسية 2. ان يكون بالغا من العمر ثمانية عشر عاما عند بدء التسجيل

3. ان يكون سليم العقل 4. ان يحمل جواز سفر سودانى واقامة سارية.

كما تنص قواعد التسجيل على حضور الشخص الراغب فى التسجيل بنفسه

لمزيد من المعلومات يمكن الرجوع الى موقع المفوضية WWW.NEC.ORG.SD وبريدها اللالكترونى info@nec.org.sd هذا البريد الالكتروني محمى من المتطفلين , يجب عليك تفعيل الجافا سكر يبت لرؤيته

Day 220 - November 15th

2009-11-15T07:19:00.000-08:00

The coming Elections in Sudan: A Disaster in the Making

On last Tuesday November 10th, Samantha Power, NSC Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs, held a live stream video question and answer session at the White House. The session “ ask U.S.” was about Sudan and Darfur. Other participants were The Special Envoy to Sudan General Gration, the President of the Save Darfur Coalition Jerry Fowler, and the Student Director of STAND Layla Amjadi.
Martina Knee from San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition submitted one excellent question directed to the Special Envoy. The question was:
“ What actions were being taken with respect to the 2010 elections so that they do not result in a U.S.-paid-for and organized legitimization of President Al-Bashir and the National Congress Party? Given the control by NCP of media, security forces, and all aspects of the elections, the logistical challenges of elections in Sudan, and the vulnerability of the Sudanese voters, please outline all the steps to be taken between now and the elections to insure that they are truly free and fair, What are the indicators of a truly free and fair elections that the U.S. Government will be using?”

Well, The Special envoy in his answer to Martina’s questions mentioned many things, and how important the elections are. He failed to come up with a single indicator that the U.S. Government will be using to determine that the elections will be truly free and fair. The Special Envoy to Sudan did not outline any single step to be taken between now and the elections to insure that they are going to be truly free and fair.

In this whole session I was concerned with the lack of specific answers from the Special Envoy. Moreover, it bothered me greatly his oversimplifying the situation in Sudan and Darfur, having no clear plans for the return of the internally displaced persons (IDPs), not voicing the concerns of many Sudanese about the blatant fraud committed in the open by NCP through election process so far (census, registration, campaigns, lack of freedom).
When the Special Envoy was pressed for specific answers (benchmarks for example), he conveniently cites “these are classified”, or “let us see how it turns out”. For him the lives and future of my people in Darfur is an experiment. A doctor should not tell a patient “ I am going to give you medicine and operate on you, but all these are classified”.
The Special Envoy to date is not able to show a tangible concession or compromise drawn from NCP in order to settle any major dispute in Darfur or in the South to the satisfaction of the concerned people in Darfur or in the South. General Gration in every dispute he handled so far in Sudan, treats it as a ”dispute” between equal partners and hence he works as a broker seeking settlement out of an American court. He asks those who have lost almost everything (Darfuris and Southerners) to give more, while the assailant (NCP) keeps everything acquired by force or deceit in return of empty promises and hollow rhetoric.
The Special Envoy now compromises even justice for the Darfuris by endorsing the AU panel recommendations. The Darfuris across the board has rejected the AU panel recommendations since they see them as a ploy to circumvent ICC. The Ex-Foreign Minister of Egypt and a member of the AU panel has embarrassed the AU panel when he said in an interview that the purpose of the AU panel is to find a way out for AlBashir from the ICC indictment.
These half-measures, ambiguities, and lack of specifics in handling Sudan’s problems by the Special Envoy has encouraged the ruling party, the NCP, to practice unfairness openly.

One example of such unfair practices, which will benefit NCP, is the elections coming in April 2010. These elections will be anything but free and fair. To be specific: Look at the registration process for Sudanese outside Sudan. The Government of Sudan has distributed a formal statement about eligibility conditions of voting for Sudanese outside Sudan. As a Sudanese living abroad to be registered for voting you have to fulfill the following conditions:

1- To present a valid Sudanese passport besides the ID of the hosting country.
2- Registration must be in person (electronic or by mail is not acceptable) in the designated registration centers or in the Embassies of Sudan.

The Government of Sudan has designated its Embassies in Washington and New York as the only places for registration.
According to the Government of Sudan, I am not eligible to register and hence, not eligible to vote since I can’t fulfill the above two conditions (I don’t have a valid Sudanese passport and it is not reasonable to travel from California to New York or Washington just to register).
I am not alone in this exclusion. Now there are thousands and thousands of Sudanese like me across U.S.A., Canada, Europe, and Australia. The West is considered by NCP as home for dissidents, political asylum seekers, torture victims, and ordinary Sudanese who wish some day will return to a free and democratic country called Sudan.
While a country like U.S.A. has only two designated centers for registration, another tiny country like Qatar (which hosts many NCP supporters as expatriate workers) has many designated registration centers, including mobile ones (the registration center comes to you at your work or home). Who does designate and control these centers inside Sudan and around the world? … Al-Bashir’s government does.

The Government of Sudan does not hide these blatant actions of election fraud.
Martina has raised crucial points in her questions to the Special Envoy. Census and registration fraud are rampant in Sudan. Albashir and NCP will not loose this Election. It is the United States of America that has everything to loose in helping killers to abuse a sacred democratic process that many people around the world yearn to enjoy.

Elections in Sudan in April 2010 is a disaster in the making, not because it will come with an indicted Al-Bashir to power, but the U.S.A. government will be complicit in legitimizing a genocidal government to rule Sudan for the next twenty years.

I believe that the Obama’s strategy in Sudan in the coming period is:
1- Put Darfur’s problem in a deep freezer.
2- Allow NCP to rule Sudan hoping such appeasement will allow the South to secede peacefully with no violence.
3- Elections (any) will solve the Sudan’s complex problems.

Many Sudanese believe that if Al-Bashir and NCP win April’s elections, the South will revolt and secede violently, followed by unrest in the rest of Sudan. If AlBashir and NCP loose elections in April, then AlBashir and NCP will resort to violence to survive by clinching to power.

The video session with the Special Envoy could be watched here in its entirety:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNSXeMkiZ_M

Day 219 - November 14th

2009-11-14T02:01:00.000-08:00

My apologies for not reporting news from Darfur in the past days due to circumstances beyond my control.
It is important on this blog to report major news coming from Darfur. Yet it is more important to report news of less significance (as may be defined by the main stream media) about incidents occur to individuals or communities in Darfur and outside Darfur. Such incidents although may be small in scale or not so frequent in space and time, yet they cast a deliberate pattern of abuse carried out by Government of Sudan against the Darfuri people.
The international community, Activists, and human rights advocates are becoming less and less alarmed by abuses and on going genocide in Darfur. This is the "boiling frog" syndrome (the story of a frog died in an experiment when it failed to react to the danger of temperature's rise. The reason of the frog failing to sense the danger was due to not sensing the gradual rise of temperature of the water in small increments over relatively extended period of time). In other words the creep of normalcy is setting in.
In the past ten days, these are brief lines of some of the events that has occured to Darfuris in Darfur, Khartoum, or elsewhere:

- Leaders of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in camps of Abu Shouk, Al Salam, and Zalengie has issued an statement rejecting the Elections and the registration process.

- Government of Sudan expels more than 50 female Darfuri students from University of Khartoum. These are the same students that were assaulted few months ago in the campus by security agents and supporters of the ruling party (NCP).

- Fire destroys 22 classrooms in the IDP camp of Zamzam. This is the second in a week fire destroys school buildings in the camp. Unknown men were suspected in setting these fires.

- The International Committee of the Red Cross suspends partly its activities in the state of West Darfur, due to lack of adequate security and safety of their staff.

- AlBashir (the indicted president of Sudan) cancelled a trip to Turkey for fear of arrest.

(note: In contemporary tests, many frogs sensed the danger of rising temperature and leaped out).

Day 208 - November 3rd

2009-11-03T14:26:00.000-08:00

- From Reuters:

Britain to allow non-Arab Darfur refugees to stay
Tue Nov 3, 2009 2:44pm EST
LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Non-Arab asylum seekers from Darfur will be allowed to stay in Britain and will not be sent back to Sudan after it was deemed too dangerous, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.

The refugees will be able to remain in Britain for five years, with periodic reviews to be carried out on the safety of the war-torn African country.

The guidance update was influenced by recent reports from international organisations expressing concern about treatment of Darfuris returning to Khartoum, an Interior Ministry spokeswoman said.

"All non-Arab Darfuris, regardless of their political or other affiliations, are at real risk of persecution in Darfur and internal relocation elsewhere in Sudan is not currently to be relied upon," the Interior Ministry's UK Border Agency concluded in its operational guidance note.

The human rights group Amnesty International said about 1,200 Sudanese, many from Darfur, have applied for asylum in Britain during the past three years.

Up to now, they could be deported back to the Sudanese capital.

Mostly non-Arab Darfuri rebels took up arms against Sudan's central government in early 2003, accusing it of neglect. The government mobilised mostly Arab tribes in a brutal counter-insurgency campaign that caused one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

Non-Arab tribes in Darfur, located in western Sudan, tend to speak a language other than Arabic as their mother tongue. But after generations of inter-marriage it is sometimes difficult to differentiate non-Arabs from Arabs. The United Nations estimates some 300,000 died in Darfur and 2.7 million driven from their homes, mostly farmers from non-Arab tribes. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in March for war crimes in Darfur.

Day 206 - November 1st

2009-11-01T21:06:00.000-08:00

- Darfuris in the camps and in Diaspora have stated consistently that they want to see justice.
The Darfuris have suspected that AU, Arab League, and other entities want to find a way out for the fugutive Omer Hasan Al Bashir, the indicted president of Sudan.
Well, AU panel member has admitted that all the commotion they were making was exactly that: To find a way out for the indicted dictator.
This is from Sudan Tribune:

‘Our goal was to find a way out for Sudan president’ says Mbeki panel member

November 1, 2009 (WASHINGTON) – The African Union (AU) high level panel on Darfur wanted to find away out for Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir from the International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment, one of the commission members said today in an interview.

This week the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) endorsed a report prepared by an eight-member team headed by former South African president Thabo Mbeki that was tasked with crafting a formula to resolve the conflict in Darfur that would take into consideration peace, justice and reconciliation.

The panel was formed weeks before the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Bashir prompting skepticism from Darfur rebels and other critics who say that the AU wants to circumvent the indictment, something which Mbeki has denied in meetings with Darfur IDP’s.

Mbeki called for a hybrid court to try war crimes suspects and changes to Sudanese laws. It took no position on the ICC warrant except to say that the Hague-based tribunal cannot try all the suspects, effectively supporting its work.

However, one of the members of the AU panel said that the goal of the mission was to give Bashir an exit strategy from the ICC row.

“Incriminating the president is out of question and fundamentally unacceptable” the former Egyptian foreign minister said in an interview with the Egypt based Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper.

“Our goal was to find a way out [to Bashir] from the dilemma of the ICC that sparked a great deal of controversy,” Maher said.

The AUPD member, who served as Egypt’s Foreign Minister from 2001 until 2004, said that the ICC case against Bashir was “political” in nature and “biased” against the Sudanese head of state “with exaggeration in depicting the situation”.

“Demanding the prosecution of an African head of state before an international tribunal is totally unacceptable” the former Egyptian top diplomat said.

Maher said that achieving justice in Darfur “will be through Sudanese prosecution with African members selected by Sudan and agreed upon by the AU”.

“We are not prosecutors. We observe the situation and make sure that perpetrators are brought to justice and this is the task of the Sudanese judiciary. Whoever is involved should be prosecuted,” he said.

Maher noted that the panel found that dispute over resources between different ethnic groups as one of the “incorrect” situations during their work requiring a ceasefire, repatriation and providing compensation to the displaced.

The remarks made by Maher will likely cause a huge embarrassment to the AU and the panel chief, Mbeki who sought to quell accusations on seeking to protect the Sudanese president.

Mbeki is now heading the implementation team established by the AU to ensure that the recommendations see the light.

Alex De Waal, a Sudan expert who was also an adviser to the panel, writes in his blog ‘Making Sense of Darfur’, about what they encountered in their discussions on justice with various parties they met. De Waal gives examples of how the panel was initially met with intense skepticism on its impartiality by IDP’s and accusations that it is a cover up to protect Bashir from ICC prosecution.

“The allegation that Pres. Mbeki was intent on salvaging Pres. Bashir came up several times in the discussion. One woman said, “We fear you are here to defend the criminal Omar al Bashir.” One man stood up and said, “Seven members of my family were killed. How should I feel if Thabo Mbeki says that Omar al Bashir should not go to court?” De Waal writes.

“Pres. Mbeki challenged him, “from where did you get this information that I said that President Bashir should not go to court?” The man responded, “it is well known.” He then said that the Africans were the ones saying Bashir should not go to the ICC, citing the early June meeting in Addis Ababa to discuss the African position on the ICC. This reply did not satisfy Pres. Mbeki, who continued to press him, “I asked you a question. Please answer it. You made an allegation. From where did you get this information?” The man said it was the BBC”.

In Paris, the head of Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur reiterated his rejection of the hybrid court saying his movement only accepts the ICC intervention in the Darfur crimes.

Al-Nur stressed that the war in Darfur “is not tribal” adding that the government arming of militias triggered the conflict and the humanitarian situation.

He further said that reconciliation “occurs after peace process is concluded and through local mechanism not requiring international mechanisms”.

The UN says up to 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million fled their homes since ethnic minority rebels in the western region of Darfur first rose up against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum in February 2003.

The Sudanese government disputes the death toll saying 10,000 people died.

Day 205 - October 31

2009-10-31T06:02:00.000-07:00

- 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.

Day 204 - October 30th

2009-10-30T15:06:00.000-07:00

- 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.

Day 203 - October 29th

2009-10-29T06:47:00.000-07:00

- 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

Day 201 - October 27th

2009-10-27T07:51:00.000-07:00

- 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

Day 199 - October 25th

2009-10-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

-

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

Day 198 - October 24th

2009-10-24T06:43:00.000-07:00

- 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.

Day 197 - October 23rd

2009-10-23T03:58:00.000-07:00

- 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.

Day 196 - October 22nd

2009-10-21T04:30:00.000-07:00

- 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.

Day 194 - October 20th

2009-10-20T03:57:00.000-07:00

- 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.

Day 193 - October 19th

2009-10-19T17:24:00.000-07:00

- 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.

Day 192 - October 17th

2009-10-17T04:15:00.000-07:00

- 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

Day 191 - October 16th

2009-10-16T05:32:00.000-07:00

- 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.

Day 190 - October 15th

2009-10-15T07:43:00.000-07:00

- 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.

Day 189 - October 14th

2009-10-14T07:19:00.000-07:00

- 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.

Day 188 - October 13th

2009-10-13T03:14:00.000-07:00

- 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

Day 187 - October 12th

2009-10-12T05:18:00.000-07:00

- 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.

Day 185 - October 10th

2009-10-10T06:07:00.000-07:00

- 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).

Day 184 - October 9th

2009-10-09T05:31:00.000-07:00

- 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).

Day 183 - October 8th

2009-10-08T07:10:00.000-07:00

- 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.

Day 182 - October 7th

2009-10-07T04:39:00.000-07:00

- 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.

Day 181 - October 6th

2009-10-06T05:23:00.000-07:00

- 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

Day 180 - October 5th

2009-10-05T07:21:00.000-07:00

- 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.

Day 178 - October 3rd

2009-10-03T02:00:00.000-07:00

- 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.

Day 178 - October 2nd

2009-10-02T06:18:00.000-07:00

- 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.

Day 177 - October 1st

2009-10-01T03:19:00.000-07:00

= 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.”

Day 176 - Sept. 30th

2009-09-30T04:58:00.000-07:00

- The security agents of the Government of Sudan is continuing to harass and detain Darfuri activists in Darfur. the latest are 5 activists were detained more than a week ago and their whereabouts unknown. A Darfuri told Radio Dabanga that this is a tactic from the Government.

- An UNAMID peacekeeper is killed while his convoy was attacked by six to eight armed men in El Geneina on Monday 28 September. The incident took place on the road between the UNAMID camp and the city around 18.45 in the evening told UNAMID spokesperson Noureddine Mezni. The convoy existed of civilian and military personnel and was escorted by the police. According to eyewitness, the convoy was fired by the men. Three peacekeepers were injured and taken to the hospital in Nyala. One of them did not survive.

Day 175 - Sept. 29th

2009-09-29T05:44:00.000-07:00

- An eyewitness from Abu Shouk Camp, near El Fasher, South Darfur, told Radio Dabanga that government forces came to the area. Apparently the armed rebel groups had already left the area before the government troops arrived. He further said there was a lot of looting in the market, which was completely plundered. He confirmed to Radio Dabanga that women were raped by government soldiers. Houses in four villages in the area were looted.

- From Radio Dabanga:
After the killing of the Tunjur Chief Omar Adam Ishag (Al Sarough) and his wife in Abu Shouk Camp near El Fasher, the security forces started a wave of arrests.Seventeen IDPs are in prison since the 8th of August. The relatives went to the Human Rights Department of UNAMID. They requested the immediate release of the detainees and appealed to the governement the possibility to visit them and to give them a lawyer. They expressed fears that the IDPs might be tortured and harassed.

- A leader in an IDP camp in Nertiti (in Gabal Marra area) accused the Government of Sudan of using food and humanitarian aid as a weapon to punish IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) who are viewed as anti GoS by depriving them of food and humanitarian aid. The Leader (Sheikh) told Radio Dabanga that his camp now suffers from lack of food, blankets, and other humanitarian aid.

Day 174 - Sept. 28th

2009-09-28T03:07:00.000-07:00

- More displaced people from Korma area are arriving at Abushouk and other camps around ElFassher. Eyewitnesses are telling horrible stories of atrocities committed by the Government of Sudan (GoS) and its militias in Korma. One eyewitness said to Radio Dabanga that he gave up seeing justice in this life. He said that the Army and militias entered the town without a fight. Yet they immediately started looting the market, assaulting the civilians, and raping women. He told Radio Dabanga that his family was beaten, his wife was assaulted after throwing her baby on the ground, his 90 years mother had a gun barrel in her mouth so as not to scream, all children were slapped on their faces, and he was forced to watch all this while beaten. He said was spared killing because the damage caused to him is worse than been killed.
Leaders of the camp told Radio Dabanga that there is no help from humanitarian aid organizations to the new arrivals. They told Radio Dabanga that those who managed to reach the camps say that there are many people coming this way but the GoS is preventing them from reaching IDP camps.

- The four IDP(Internally Displaced Persons) camps around Zalengi (West Darfur) complaint to Radio Dabanga that since the end of Ramadan (a week ago) militia gunmen enter every night into their camps and fire rounds and rounds of bullets in the air in a terror campaign.

Day 172 - Sept. 26th

2009-09-26T04:13:00.000-07:00

- In the deadly conflict in Darfur, the pro-government militias and the Army of the Government Sudan rob and loot the targeted villages. In the on going violence there are reports of killing of many owners and shepherds of livestock and their animals are taken by the pro-government militia. after attacking Korma, Ain Siro, Gafafil, Kafout, and Delil there are reports that in each incident and village that the Janjaweed and the army take the livestock of the victims. In the village of Delil (east of Kutum), eyewitness reported to their relative who lives in U.S.A. that their combined losses in the livestock was more than 5 "murahs". Each "murah" has about 100 counts.
This is another tactic which is used by the GoS to reward the Janjaweed and at the same time depriving the civilian survivals from any means of sustainable life.

Day 171 - Sept. 25th

2009-09-25T04:22:00.000-07:00

- New attacks on Ain Siro in Darfur by the Government of Sudan (GoS) are reported. These news also reported by Radio Dabanga. A leader in a Darfuri rebel movement told Radio Dabanga that GoS is preparing to attack Gabal Maidobe in the far north of North Darfur.

- In a phone call from a Darfuri in U.S.A. in contacting his relatives in Kutum (North Darfur)he mentioned that there are reports of heavy aerial bombings east of Kutum. Also he said that he was informed of 36 incidents of rape in the village of Delil (in east of Kutum).

Day 170 - Sept. 24th

2009-09-24T05:53:00.000-07:00

- More displaced people reach already crowded camps.
From Radio Dabanga:
The war in North Darfur has been renewed. The first displaced people have arrived from the battlefields in North Darfur to the capital El Fasher. The first group of people arrived on Tuesday in Al Salaam camp. Sudan Air Force is continuing aerial bombing of the area of Korma in North Darfur. UN-chief Ban Ki Moon condemned the fighting and said he is deeply concerned about the latest developments. Only a few weeks ago the UN declared the Darfur war as being ‘over and finished’.

The government Air Force is mainly targeting the positions of the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahid al Nur. The reports concerning Korma are contradicting each other. The government claimed it hat conquered the area while civilians (eyewitnesses) reported to Radio Dabanga incidents of rapes and pillaging of villages. But rebel soldiers and other civilians said that the government has no control over the town and surrounding villages. An eyewitness described the situation to Radio Dabanga as ‘tragic and complex'. People were dispersed and had to flee to the surrounding mountains seeking protection and safety. Civilians further told Radio Dabanga that a girl had died after being raped by gunmen, but more details could not be confirmed yet. Civilians described a worsening humanitarian situation caused by the military operations. People moved towards Tawila and El Fasher. Some told Radio Dabanga that they were hindered to move towards El Fasher. Local reporters of Radio Dabanga notified that villages were totally burnt down. The UN office OCHA organization said that it has no sufficient information on the humanitarian situation in Korma and it is still waiting for more information to evaluate the situation. According to the Chinese news agency Xinhua, the governor of North Darfur State Osman Mohamed Yousif Kibir stated that “there is no fighting.” At the same time he admits that ‘the army has been expanding the security base to cover Korma which has witnessed limited presence of the SLM, Abdul Wahid-faction,” the governor said. He added that ”The army entered the area to enable the internally displaced persons (IDPs) to return to their home areas,” Kibir explained. He also said that the army is currently taking control of the area and establishing security. Her said that is arranging ‘for the voluntary return of the IDPs’.

- Three displaced chiefs have been facing poor conditions while in detention in one of the police precincts of El Fasher. The leaders are Hussein Sago, Nimeiri Khamis, Abdel Rizeh Abdullah are facing tragic condition in their detention at El Fasher, centr division of police. An eyewitness told radio Dabanga yesterday that the three chiefs were arrested more than 2 months ago following immediately the killing of Tunjur tribe Chief Al Sarough (Abu Shok camp). Reports described their condition as deplorable indicating that they are staying in a narrow cell with no windows for ventilation and they are not allowed to eat the normal meals at the regular times. They are held in a deplorable sanitation conditions.

Day 169 - Sept. 23rd

2009-09-23T03:55:00.000-07:00

- In a phone call yesterday from a Darfuri friend who lives in U.S.A., he told me that he learned from his relatives in Darfur that his village Gefafil (near Kutum - North Darfur) was attacked and burned by the Janjaweed last week. His grandma Dagla was among the dead. She was brutally killed along with his cousin. His grandma was 74 years old. He said he spoke with survivors from his village and other neighboring villages ( Um Liyanah, Garbah, Kaffout) who said that the Janjaweed were brutal and vengeful. The janjaweed and security agents were looking particularly for teachers. Some teachers were shot dead on the spot. The relatives told him that Teacher of the village who had refused to leave the village for years, Ustaz Alnueil, was shot dead. The survivors who managed to reach to an IDP camp told him that in their flight they saw many dead bodies scattered in the open in the destroyed villages along the way. The survivors told him that if you are "Zurga male" then you are dead without questioning regardless of your age.
(I have the name and phone # of the Darfuri who lost his village and relatives. He is upset with the silence of the international community and willing to speak out).

- A survivor, who is a resident of Korma but hiding in an undisclosed location now, told Radio Dabanga via mobile phone this morning that Government of Sudan continued til late last night (Tuesday September 22nd) its campaign of aerial bombings of Korma and the surrounding villages. He is appealing to the UNAMID, U.N., international communities, and U.S.A. to help the fleeing civilians who are now going hungry in the mountains and country side. He said the Government of Sudan is throwing more troops and Janjaweed in the area in the name of cleaning the Korma area from bandits and enemies of the State. The survivor said he himself has 8 young children and just ate their last meal made of last flour he has. The survivor said he has little water left and the Janjaweed are occupying all the wells. He said to Radio Dabanga that they can see Antonoves air-crafts dropping bombs on villages he knows very well. The survivor said he lost about ten of his relatives in this round of violence.

- Another survivor told Radio Dabanga that some civilians tried to flee to Tawila ( a town next to Korma) and to ElFasher (capital of North Darfur and where UNAMID is headquartered) but they were blocked. The survivor said many civilians fled to Gabal Sea mountain ( large mountain on the other direction of Jabal Marra mountains). The survivor said there were many villages burned down completely, he counted 3 villages that were completely burned down. He added that those who are trapped in the mountains will certainly face hunger.

Comment:

The targeting of teachers is a well designed plan from the Government of Sudan. Many Darfuri teachers have resisted the temptation of leaving or work as translators with the foreign organizations or news corporations, simply to stay and help the new Darfuri generations in getting education. The Government of Sudan wants to control illiterate people in Darfur. In this latest round of violence, I got many stories from North Darfur, South Darfur, Jabal Marra area, and Korma area all spoke about security agents and janjaweed asking about "Mudarressein" i.e. "Teachers". In some places the security agents have lists of names of the teachers.
The Government of Sudan knows exactly what it is doing, and is going forward in its plan of the "Final Solution" of the Darfuri problem. The sad question is: what is the plan of the international community, namely The United States of America, to counter the evil plan of the Government of Sudan?
( Is "NEVER AGAIN" still true??!!)

Day 168 - Sept. 22nd

2009-09-22T04:57:00.000-07:00

- An eyewitness in ElFasher told Radio Dabanga that he counted 263 vehicles filled with Army and militias supporting the Government of Sudan. The eyewitness said that the convoy of the vehicles is headed out of ElFasher and headed towards Korma and Jabal Mara, where military activities still are going on. The eyewitness added that he saw two Antonove bombers take off from ElFasher airport and heading west (Korma and Jebel Marra direction). Elfasher is where UNAMID is headquartered.

- The night before, I was getting bad news from almost all Darfur (North, South, and West Darfur).
The UNAMID is turning blind eye.
- In North Darfur, in the area of Dereik, UNAMID Helicopter was almost hit by Antonove bomb. Eyewitness said the Helicopter immediately aborted landing and flew towards Kutum (large town north-west of ElFasher). UNAMID claim they get reports of such attacks from either rebels or other sources. This incident was one of many that UNAMID officials and pilots were eye witnesses to such government attacks, needless to say that the Government attack airplanes conduct their sorties from the same airports that are used by UNAMID. The officials can see GoS airplanes take off, loaded with bombs and return empty to refuel and reload with more bombs.
- In the town of Korma ( south of Jebel Marra and west of Alfasher), on friday and Suturday the janjaweed entered the town and deja vu all over again ( looting, killing, raping, and burning).
- Civilians in thousands (number put by more than 2 people I spoke with) were fleeing the villages around Jebel Marra, Ain Siero, and in the North Darfur in Donkey Housh area. Some fled to the already crowded IDP camps.
- This is supposed to be the happiest days in the year (End of Ramadan and beginning of Eid), yet Government of Sudan is determined to deprive Darfuris of any happy moment.
- Darfuris in Darfur see the GoS has a free hand in killing Darfuris with impunity, free hand more than before.

Day 167 - Sept. 21st

2009-09-21T03:03:00.000-07:00

- A child and a man have been injured at Hassaheissa displaced camp in Zalingei yesterday (Sunday) morning. After random shootings were heard at Hassaheissa, the camp inhabitants started to look for the cause of shootings. But sources told Radio Dabanga that the so called Central Reserve Police, locally known as Abutera together with some militia-members were firing randomly. For unknown reasons bullets hit the shoulder of a child and a man was injured in his chest. They both were transferred to Zalingei hospital for treatment .The displaced people were angered and denounced the action of the armed men. According the witnesses the shootings and threatening took place in front of some UNAMID peacekeepers.

- Security forces have arrested a student Eishag Adam, of the Secondary school in Abu Shok camp. He disappeared with the forces on Thursday morning, a relative informed Radio Dabanga. The relatives went also to the Human Rights department of UNAMID. They requested the immediate release of the student. They expressed fears that the student might be tortured and harassed. According to sources the security has the student still in detention in their premised of the southern section of the security.