Tuesday 21 August 2007.
August 20, 2007 (ASMARA) — An Asmara-based umbrella group of Darfur rebel movements announced Monday it would return to the war-torn western Sudanese region to unify its armed wings into a single force.
Representatives of the United Front for Liberation and Development (UFLD) - an alliance of five factions formed last month - promised that their troops would work to protect aid workers and non-government organizations (NGOs).
"The leaders are going back to Darfur to unify all the armies into one group," UFLD official Abdel Aziz told reporters in the Eritrean capital Asmara.
"They will be protecting civilians and creating a secure area for NGOs doing their work in Darfur," he added.
The move comes two weeks after most Darfur rebel factions met in Arusha, Tanzania for talks sponsored by mediators from the United Nations and African Union to hammer out a common platform ahead of peace talks with Khartoum.
However Abdel Aziz stressed that final settlement negotiations with the Sudanese government could only take place if Suleiman Jamous, a veteran rebel who has been confined to a hospital and seen as a key negotiator, is released.
"No negotiation will take place unless Suleiman Jamous has been released," said Abdel Aziz.
According to the United Nations, Khartoum has agreed to let Jamous travel abroad for treatment. The 62-year-old rebel, a member of the Sudan Liberation Movement, is expected in Kenya.
According to UN estimates, at least 200 000 people have died from the combined effect of war and famine since the start of the Darfur conflict and some two million have been displaced.
Some experts say the toll is higher but Khartoum puts the figure at nine thousand.
The civil war broke out when rebel groups complaining of marginalisation by Khartoum launched a rebellion, which was brutally repressed by the Sudanese government and its proxy militia, the Janjaweed.
(AFP)
Monday, August 20, 2007
Khartoum unwilling to self determination in South Sudan - MP
Tuesday 21 August 2007.
August 20, 2007 (FREETOWN) — An MP from Southern Sudan has told a Sierra Leone audience that the situation in his country is rapidly deteriorating. He further said that Khartoum seems unwilling to the self determination as it is provided in the CPA, the Freetown based Concord Times reported.
Dr. Peter Adwok Nyaba, a senior representative of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) in Khartoum told journalists yesterday that the ongoing situation in Southern Sudan is worsening.
Nyaba, who is on a week’s visit in Sierra Leone as a guest of the Africanist Movement, said his mission to West Africa is to help other Africans understand the crisis in Sudan and its implications for the rest of the continent.
"The situation is South Sudan is that of marginalization, exploitation, racial oppression and political exclusion by the north," Nyaba said, adding that the key to the solution of Sudan’s problems is the granting of the right to self-determination to all Sudanese.
He explained that relative peace is being experienced in South Sudan due to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), but the Khartoum government appears unwilling to sincerely allow the Southern Sudanese their right to self-determination as provided in the CPA.
"According to the CPA, the South will have to decide in an international referendum whether they should remain with the north or secede in favor of self-determination," he stated and added that, "key to our struggle is for justice, equality, social reconstruction and democracy for everyone in the Sudan. If we have these, there is no point of struggle." The referendum to determine whether the South will split from the North will be held in 2011.
Earlier in the programme, Africanist leader Chernoh Alpha M. Bah said his group is hosting the visit on the basis of international solidarity.
"We believe in a free, united Africa and African people everywhere," he said, adding that the question of South Sudan is highly complicated and requires discussions and a more profound understanding.
The President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Ibrahim Ben Kargbo said this is the first visit of an official of the SPLM in Sierra Leone.
"I think it is a significant step because Africans need to know about each other’s struggles," he stated.
(Concord Times)
August 20, 2007 (FREETOWN) — An MP from Southern Sudan has told a Sierra Leone audience that the situation in his country is rapidly deteriorating. He further said that Khartoum seems unwilling to the self determination as it is provided in the CPA, the Freetown based Concord Times reported.
Dr. Peter Adwok Nyaba, a senior representative of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) in Khartoum told journalists yesterday that the ongoing situation in Southern Sudan is worsening.
Nyaba, who is on a week’s visit in Sierra Leone as a guest of the Africanist Movement, said his mission to West Africa is to help other Africans understand the crisis in Sudan and its implications for the rest of the continent.
"The situation is South Sudan is that of marginalization, exploitation, racial oppression and political exclusion by the north," Nyaba said, adding that the key to the solution of Sudan’s problems is the granting of the right to self-determination to all Sudanese.
He explained that relative peace is being experienced in South Sudan due to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), but the Khartoum government appears unwilling to sincerely allow the Southern Sudanese their right to self-determination as provided in the CPA.
"According to the CPA, the South will have to decide in an international referendum whether they should remain with the north or secede in favor of self-determination," he stated and added that, "key to our struggle is for justice, equality, social reconstruction and democracy for everyone in the Sudan. If we have these, there is no point of struggle." The referendum to determine whether the South will split from the North will be held in 2011.
Earlier in the programme, Africanist leader Chernoh Alpha M. Bah said his group is hosting the visit on the basis of international solidarity.
"We believe in a free, united Africa and African people everywhere," he said, adding that the question of South Sudan is highly complicated and requires discussions and a more profound understanding.
The President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Ibrahim Ben Kargbo said this is the first visit of an official of the SPLM in Sierra Leone.
"I think it is a significant step because Africans need to know about each other’s struggles," he stated.
(Concord Times)
Sudan says informed UK embassy of terrorism risk
Monday 20 August 2007.
August 19, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan showed understanding to the closure of consular section at the British embassy in Khartoum. Further, the Foreign ministry said it had provided the embassy with information on the risk of terror action against the United Kingdom diplomatic mission there.
Spokesperson of the ministry of foreign affairs, Ali al-Sadiq, disclosed that a security alert from the Sudanese authorities triggered the temporary closure of visa, consular sections of the British embassy in Khartoum.
In a press release, the British Embassy announced yesterday the temporary suspension of public services at the Embassy from 19 August. "The Visa and Consular sections of the Embassy will be closed until further notice." The statement said.
This closure comes after Sudanese police found three weapons caches in the capital during the past week. Police arrested eight Sudanese in connection with the stores, which mostly contained grenades and ammunition.
Sadiq also said that the foreign ministry under secretary Mutref Sideiq, met today with Ambassadors of France, UK, UN and USA, to inform them about the arrest of this terrorist group which had plans to attack the missions of the three countries and the UN.
The spokesperson said that giving such information to UK embassy was aimed at taking caution before bad thing happened to the mission, its property and staff, adding that more security has been provided to the embassy in the framework of the government’s responsibility.
On August 13, an explosion occurred yesterday at a house in the Um-Salma area, south of Khartoum, injuring two people. Sudanese police, which is probing the case, said three people were arrested. Following this explosion the police discovered the three weapons caches.
Also Sudan has banned today the local press from reporting on the weapon caches and the arrested groups. The press had initially reported that foreign Islamists had been arrested but an interior ministry source played down fears of terrorist attacks.
(ST)
August 19, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan showed understanding to the closure of consular section at the British embassy in Khartoum. Further, the Foreign ministry said it had provided the embassy with information on the risk of terror action against the United Kingdom diplomatic mission there.
Spokesperson of the ministry of foreign affairs, Ali al-Sadiq, disclosed that a security alert from the Sudanese authorities triggered the temporary closure of visa, consular sections of the British embassy in Khartoum.
In a press release, the British Embassy announced yesterday the temporary suspension of public services at the Embassy from 19 August. "The Visa and Consular sections of the Embassy will be closed until further notice." The statement said.
This closure comes after Sudanese police found three weapons caches in the capital during the past week. Police arrested eight Sudanese in connection with the stores, which mostly contained grenades and ammunition.
Sadiq also said that the foreign ministry under secretary Mutref Sideiq, met today with Ambassadors of France, UK, UN and USA, to inform them about the arrest of this terrorist group which had plans to attack the missions of the three countries and the UN.
The spokesperson said that giving such information to UK embassy was aimed at taking caution before bad thing happened to the mission, its property and staff, adding that more security has been provided to the embassy in the framework of the government’s responsibility.
On August 13, an explosion occurred yesterday at a house in the Um-Salma area, south of Khartoum, injuring two people. Sudanese police, which is probing the case, said three people were arrested. Following this explosion the police discovered the three weapons caches.
Also Sudan has banned today the local press from reporting on the weapon caches and the arrested groups. The press had initially reported that foreign Islamists had been arrested but an interior ministry source played down fears of terrorist attacks.
(ST)
Sudan to name presidential assistant as responsible of Darfur dossier
Monday 20 August 2007.
August 19, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese president has assigned the dossier of Darfur crisis to Nafi Ali Nafi, a presidential assistant and the deputy leader of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), a pro-governmental newspaper reported today.
Nafi Ali Nafi
Political sources have confirmed that the Presidency has decided to assign the resolution of Darfur crisis to Nafi Ali Nafi, whole will replace the late Majzoub al-Khalifah Ahmad. The sources indicated a decision in this regard will be issued within the next few days, Akhir Lahzah said.
The sources attributed Nafi’s selection to the complexity of the Darfur dossier where the work of the majority of official military, security and political bodies intersected. They further said it was necessary to appoint an influential leader who was capable of taking decisions during and after the forthcoming negotiations with Darfur’s rebel movements.
The question of the succession of Majzoub al-Khalifah was one of the important matters in term of balance of power between the two major streams within the NCP, observers say.
The eventual nomination of Nafi means that the hardliners in Khartoum keep the upper hand over the dossier of Darfur. Nafi and Majzoub are considered among the Al-Bashir’s wing in the ruling party. “It was obvious from the beginning that the vice-president Ali Osman Taha would not be assigned for this mission.”
Since the signing of the CPA with the SPLM Ali Osman is accused of working to replace al-Bashir. He also accused of making a lot of concession to the SPLM during Naivasha talks.
(ST)
August 19, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese president has assigned the dossier of Darfur crisis to Nafi Ali Nafi, a presidential assistant and the deputy leader of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), a pro-governmental newspaper reported today.
Nafi Ali Nafi
Political sources have confirmed that the Presidency has decided to assign the resolution of Darfur crisis to Nafi Ali Nafi, whole will replace the late Majzoub al-Khalifah Ahmad. The sources indicated a decision in this regard will be issued within the next few days, Akhir Lahzah said.
The sources attributed Nafi’s selection to the complexity of the Darfur dossier where the work of the majority of official military, security and political bodies intersected. They further said it was necessary to appoint an influential leader who was capable of taking decisions during and after the forthcoming negotiations with Darfur’s rebel movements.
The question of the succession of Majzoub al-Khalifah was one of the important matters in term of balance of power between the two major streams within the NCP, observers say.
The eventual nomination of Nafi means that the hardliners in Khartoum keep the upper hand over the dossier of Darfur. Nafi and Majzoub are considered among the Al-Bashir’s wing in the ruling party. “It was obvious from the beginning that the vice-president Ali Osman Taha would not be assigned for this mission.”
Since the signing of the CPA with the SPLM Ali Osman is accused of working to replace al-Bashir. He also accused of making a lot of concession to the SPLM during Naivasha talks.
(ST)
Friday, August 17, 2007
Ethiopia claims heavy losses inflicted on Ogaden rebels
ADDIS ABABA 08/09 - Ethiopian state radio said Wednesday that government troops had killed at least 650 rebels in the predominantly Somali ethnic region of Ogaden in the past two and half months.
But rebels in the restive southern region of Ethiopia dismissed the claims, insisting that Addis Ababa did not have "effective control" of Ogaden.
"The Ethiopian Defence Force, in collaboration with the elders of the area, have killed most of the anti-peace elements since it started its continous attacks on May 21," said state radio.
The defence ministry said Tuesday that it had killed some 200 members of the Oromo Liberation Front, Ogaden National Liberation Front and Al Ittihad groups since stepping up operations last month.
In May, the two separatist groups OFL and ONLF said they had killed 157 Ethiopian troops in the area, a claim denied by Addis Ababa.
Ethiopian claims could not be independently confirmed, since the Ethiopian authorities last month evicted the International Committee of the Red Cross officials from much of the area.
The ONLF, which has been fighting for the independence of Ogaden since 1984, said the government`s was trying to give a false sense of security to oil companies so they did not abandon their exploration plans.
"Pursuing oil and natural gas exploration activities in Ogaden at this stage can only be characterized as gross corporate irresponsibility given the war crimes being committed against our civilian population," the group said.
http://www.angolapress-angop.ao/noticia-e.asp?ID=551405
But rebels in the restive southern region of Ethiopia dismissed the claims, insisting that Addis Ababa did not have "effective control" of Ogaden.
"The Ethiopian Defence Force, in collaboration with the elders of the area, have killed most of the anti-peace elements since it started its continous attacks on May 21," said state radio.
The defence ministry said Tuesday that it had killed some 200 members of the Oromo Liberation Front, Ogaden National Liberation Front and Al Ittihad groups since stepping up operations last month.
In May, the two separatist groups OFL and ONLF said they had killed 157 Ethiopian troops in the area, a claim denied by Addis Ababa.
Ethiopian claims could not be independently confirmed, since the Ethiopian authorities last month evicted the International Committee of the Red Cross officials from much of the area.
The ONLF, which has been fighting for the independence of Ogaden since 1984, said the government`s was trying to give a false sense of security to oil companies so they did not abandon their exploration plans.
"Pursuing oil and natural gas exploration activities in Ogaden at this stage can only be characterized as gross corporate irresponsibility given the war crimes being committed against our civilian population," the group said.
http://www.angolapress-angop.ao/noticia-e.asp?ID=551405
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Sudan lifts a rebel's travel ban
Sudan is to allow a sick Darfur rebel chief on its wanted list to travel to Kenya for treatment, the UN says.
Suleiman Jamous has been confined to a United Nations peacekeeping base near Darfur for more than 13 months.
He needs surgery and had been threatened with arrest by Sudanese authorities if he left the UN's care.
Mr Jamous has been a key link between rebels in Darfur and humanitarian workers serving families displaced during the four-year conflict.
Some 200,000 people are believed to have died and more than 2m have been left homeless in Darfur since fighting broke out in 2003.
Guarantee
Mr Jamous is suffering from abdominal complications and has been cared for at a UN hospital.
"The government of Sudan has made clear that Suleiman Jamous was free to leave the hospital to undergo medical treatment and subsequently reside with his family under the condition the UN guarantee that he will not return to Darfur to fight," UN spokeswoman Michele Montas told Associated Press news agency.
She said the UN would facilitate his evacuation to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
In May last year, Mr Jamous, Sudan's Liberation Army humanitarian co-ordinator, rejected the Darfur peace deal - and was promptly detained by those rebels who did sign.
After a month the UN intervened and flew him to Kadugli for treatment.
Earlier this month, US actress Mia Farrow offered her freedom in exchange for Mr Jamous so he could attend peace talks in Tanzania.
Eight rebel factions, who did not sign last year's agreement, have since reached a common position for talks with Sudan's government.
Troops
Meanwhile, the African Union and UN special representative for Darfur, Rodolphe Adada, says peacekeeping troops pledged by African countries must meet UN standards.
Speaking on the first day of a visit to Darfur, Mr Adada said the deadline for offers of peacekeepers was the end of the month.
The UN Security Council has sanctioned the deployment of the hybrid force composed of 26,000 troops.
AU Commission Chairman Alpha Konare has said Africa will provide all of the required peacekeepers.
The UN had expected to call on Asian troops. Critics say Africa lacks enough trained troops for an effective force.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/6949313.stm
Suleiman Jamous has been confined to a United Nations peacekeeping base near Darfur for more than 13 months.
He needs surgery and had been threatened with arrest by Sudanese authorities if he left the UN's care.
Mr Jamous has been a key link between rebels in Darfur and humanitarian workers serving families displaced during the four-year conflict.
Some 200,000 people are believed to have died and more than 2m have been left homeless in Darfur since fighting broke out in 2003.
Guarantee
Mr Jamous is suffering from abdominal complications and has been cared for at a UN hospital.
"The government of Sudan has made clear that Suleiman Jamous was free to leave the hospital to undergo medical treatment and subsequently reside with his family under the condition the UN guarantee that he will not return to Darfur to fight," UN spokeswoman Michele Montas told Associated Press news agency.
She said the UN would facilitate his evacuation to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
In May last year, Mr Jamous, Sudan's Liberation Army humanitarian co-ordinator, rejected the Darfur peace deal - and was promptly detained by those rebels who did sign.
After a month the UN intervened and flew him to Kadugli for treatment.
Earlier this month, US actress Mia Farrow offered her freedom in exchange for Mr Jamous so he could attend peace talks in Tanzania.
Eight rebel factions, who did not sign last year's agreement, have since reached a common position for talks with Sudan's government.
Troops
Meanwhile, the African Union and UN special representative for Darfur, Rodolphe Adada, says peacekeeping troops pledged by African countries must meet UN standards.
Speaking on the first day of a visit to Darfur, Mr Adada said the deadline for offers of peacekeepers was the end of the month.
The UN Security Council has sanctioned the deployment of the hybrid force composed of 26,000 troops.
AU Commission Chairman Alpha Konare has said Africa will provide all of the required peacekeepers.
The UN had expected to call on Asian troops. Critics say Africa lacks enough trained troops for an effective force.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/6949313.stm
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Darfur’s Jamous says may leave UN care Thursday
Tuesday 14 August 2007.
August 13, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Darfur rebel figure Suleiman Jamous said on Monday if the United Nations did not respond to his request to fly him out of Sudan for medical treatment by Thursday, he would hand himself over to the government.
Suleiman Jamous (reuters)
Jamous, the Sudan Liberation Army’s (SLA) humanitarian coordinator, was the key liaison between insurgents and the world’s largest aid operation helping some 4.2 million people in Darfur.
"I gave them until Thursday," Jamous said.
"If they refuse to take me out, I will just go out to where the government of Sudan is waiting to be detained, and I will consider this a compulsory turning over to the government by the U.N." he told Reuters by telephone.
The United Nations moved him to a U.N. hospital near Darfur more than a year ago without informing Khartoum. Sudan calls him a criminal and had said it would arrest him if he left U.N. care.
Last week Sudan said Jamous could be released for peace talks, but declined to say whether his freedom would be conditional.
Jamous needs a stomach biopsy which cannot be performed in the U.N. hospital. On Monday he left the hospital for the first time in more than 13 months to walk to the nearby U.N. headquarters and ask to be flown out of Sudan for medical treatment.
"They replied they needed time to consult with Khartoum and I have given them until Thursday," Jamous said.
"Now I am becoming indifferent. If I am detained by the United Nations or the government of Sudan it is the same," he said.
The United Nations was not immediately available to comment, but two U.N. sources have said they were unlikely to fly Jamous out of Sudan.
The elderly Jamous is respected in Darfur and considered a consensus builder who could help peace efforts and unify fractured rebels.
Since a 2006 peace deal signed by only one of three negotiating rebel factions, the insurgents have split into more than a dozen groups, creating chaos in Darfur.
Because of increasingly violent attacks against their staff and aid convoys, the humanitarian operation has been scaled down and some 500,000 people are out of reach of vital help.
International experts estimate some 200,000 have been killed and 2.5 million driven from their homes in more than four years of fighting in Darfur.
(Reuters)
August 13, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Darfur rebel figure Suleiman Jamous said on Monday if the United Nations did not respond to his request to fly him out of Sudan for medical treatment by Thursday, he would hand himself over to the government.
Suleiman Jamous (reuters)
Jamous, the Sudan Liberation Army’s (SLA) humanitarian coordinator, was the key liaison between insurgents and the world’s largest aid operation helping some 4.2 million people in Darfur.
"I gave them until Thursday," Jamous said.
"If they refuse to take me out, I will just go out to where the government of Sudan is waiting to be detained, and I will consider this a compulsory turning over to the government by the U.N." he told Reuters by telephone.
The United Nations moved him to a U.N. hospital near Darfur more than a year ago without informing Khartoum. Sudan calls him a criminal and had said it would arrest him if he left U.N. care.
Last week Sudan said Jamous could be released for peace talks, but declined to say whether his freedom would be conditional.
Jamous needs a stomach biopsy which cannot be performed in the U.N. hospital. On Monday he left the hospital for the first time in more than 13 months to walk to the nearby U.N. headquarters and ask to be flown out of Sudan for medical treatment.
"They replied they needed time to consult with Khartoum and I have given them until Thursday," Jamous said.
"Now I am becoming indifferent. If I am detained by the United Nations or the government of Sudan it is the same," he said.
The United Nations was not immediately available to comment, but two U.N. sources have said they were unlikely to fly Jamous out of Sudan.
The elderly Jamous is respected in Darfur and considered a consensus builder who could help peace efforts and unify fractured rebels.
Since a 2006 peace deal signed by only one of three negotiating rebel factions, the insurgents have split into more than a dozen groups, creating chaos in Darfur.
Because of increasingly violent attacks against their staff and aid convoys, the humanitarian operation has been scaled down and some 500,000 people are out of reach of vital help.
International experts estimate some 200,000 have been killed and 2.5 million driven from their homes in more than four years of fighting in Darfur.
(Reuters)
Unity state defends recruitment of Kenyan teachers
Tuesday 14 August 2007.
August 13, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — The Unity State in southern Sudan has defended its decision to seek teachers from Kenya and Uganda to teach the English language at primary and secondary levels because of the weakness of local cadres.
Addressing a press conference yesterday in Khartoum, the state minister of finance, Simon Jandong, defended his state for resorting to seek teachers from Kenya and Uganda to teach English.
He added that they had noted clear improvements in the capacity of students, and attributed this to the step taken, which he noted was necessitated by the weakness of the southern cadres in teaching the language.
He said there was need to expand education after the realization of peace and this was what made the state to seek foreign teachers.
(ST)
August 13, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — The Unity State in southern Sudan has defended its decision to seek teachers from Kenya and Uganda to teach the English language at primary and secondary levels because of the weakness of local cadres.
Addressing a press conference yesterday in Khartoum, the state minister of finance, Simon Jandong, defended his state for resorting to seek teachers from Kenya and Uganda to teach English.
He added that they had noted clear improvements in the capacity of students, and attributed this to the step taken, which he noted was necessitated by the weakness of the southern cadres in teaching the language.
He said there was need to expand education after the realization of peace and this was what made the state to seek foreign teachers.
(ST)
Darfur Arab rebels capture 12 Sudan soldiers
Tuesday 14 August 2007.
August 13, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — An obscure mostly Arab Darfur rebel group said on Monday it had kidnapped 12 Sudanese soldiers and challenged the government to stop mobilising militias to counter the four-year-old revolt in western Sudan.
The Democratic Popular Front Army (DPFA) said in a statement sent to Reuters that among the captured was officer Ali Mohamed. By way of proof they offered his military I.D. number, 44206.
"This is the first time we have captured government soldiers," DPFA Secretary-General Osama Mohamed al-Hassan told Reuters.
"We have been marginalised by the government. The government took advantage of our sons and paid them and gave them arms and used them to fight against others," he said.
He was referring to the Popular Defence Forces, mobilised by the government to quell revolts in Darfur and during decades of civil war in the south.
"We want them to stop the PDF, to leave people to live their lives and be able to farm and feed their cattle and eat and live in peace," he said, adding the group would continue to fight the government.
Darfur experts called the DPFA stance significant.
"This group is vitally important because it represents a young generation of Darfurian Arabs who refuse to die for a government 1,000 miles away that has always neglected all Darfurians — Arab and non-Arabs," said Julie Flint, co-author of a book on Darfur, who has met the group’s leader.
"The vast majority of Darfur’s Arabs have refused to take sides so far. They may be beginning to come off the fence."
The group said its members came from mostly Arab tribes — the Rizeigat, Habbaniya, Terjem, Beni Halba, Taasha — and the non-Arab Fellata tribe. They are mostly based in West and South Darfur states but had some people in the north too.
DEVELOPMENT NEEDS
The DPFA statement said the attack on Sudanese forces occurred in Soja in Wadi Saleh, in the southern area of West Darfur state, on Saturday.
"Our forces captured eight military vehicles as well as a large amount of weapons and ammunition and are controlling the area," said the statement, which included a British telephone number, an Egyptian number and a thuraya satellite phone number.
A Sudanese army spokesman dismissed the report as false.
"This is lie. There’s no basis to the news," he said.
Mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003 accusing the central government of marginalising the remote, arid west. Khartoum mobilised mostly Arab militias to stem the revolt.
A Sudanese analyst who declined to be named said Arab tribes felt they had been largely ignored in peace talks with the government.
"They have development needs too, and feel they are being labelled the bad guys," the analyst said.
Sudan expert Alex De Waal said the government may be worried by this development.
"It’s very significant. Without the Arab militia the government cannot remain in Darfur." But he cautioned not all Arab tribes in Darfur were now anti-government.
One Arab commander, Abu Surrah, was at U.N.-African Union mediated meeting in Tanzania earlier this month as he had allied himself with other mostly non-Arab rebel groups.
Rebel commanders and groups there agreed on a common platform ahead of peace talks due to begin within three months.
But Flint said this attack showed the mediators had not fully understood which groups were key for talks:
"The fact that this group was not invited to the Arusha talks shows how little those organizing the peace process know about where the real power lies in the rebel movements."
(Reuters)
August 13, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — An obscure mostly Arab Darfur rebel group said on Monday it had kidnapped 12 Sudanese soldiers and challenged the government to stop mobilising militias to counter the four-year-old revolt in western Sudan.
The Democratic Popular Front Army (DPFA) said in a statement sent to Reuters that among the captured was officer Ali Mohamed. By way of proof they offered his military I.D. number, 44206.
"This is the first time we have captured government soldiers," DPFA Secretary-General Osama Mohamed al-Hassan told Reuters.
"We have been marginalised by the government. The government took advantage of our sons and paid them and gave them arms and used them to fight against others," he said.
He was referring to the Popular Defence Forces, mobilised by the government to quell revolts in Darfur and during decades of civil war in the south.
"We want them to stop the PDF, to leave people to live their lives and be able to farm and feed their cattle and eat and live in peace," he said, adding the group would continue to fight the government.
Darfur experts called the DPFA stance significant.
"This group is vitally important because it represents a young generation of Darfurian Arabs who refuse to die for a government 1,000 miles away that has always neglected all Darfurians — Arab and non-Arabs," said Julie Flint, co-author of a book on Darfur, who has met the group’s leader.
"The vast majority of Darfur’s Arabs have refused to take sides so far. They may be beginning to come off the fence."
The group said its members came from mostly Arab tribes — the Rizeigat, Habbaniya, Terjem, Beni Halba, Taasha — and the non-Arab Fellata tribe. They are mostly based in West and South Darfur states but had some people in the north too.
DEVELOPMENT NEEDS
The DPFA statement said the attack on Sudanese forces occurred in Soja in Wadi Saleh, in the southern area of West Darfur state, on Saturday.
"Our forces captured eight military vehicles as well as a large amount of weapons and ammunition and are controlling the area," said the statement, which included a British telephone number, an Egyptian number and a thuraya satellite phone number.
A Sudanese army spokesman dismissed the report as false.
"This is lie. There’s no basis to the news," he said.
Mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003 accusing the central government of marginalising the remote, arid west. Khartoum mobilised mostly Arab militias to stem the revolt.
A Sudanese analyst who declined to be named said Arab tribes felt they had been largely ignored in peace talks with the government.
"They have development needs too, and feel they are being labelled the bad guys," the analyst said.
Sudan expert Alex De Waal said the government may be worried by this development.
"It’s very significant. Without the Arab militia the government cannot remain in Darfur." But he cautioned not all Arab tribes in Darfur were now anti-government.
One Arab commander, Abu Surrah, was at U.N.-African Union mediated meeting in Tanzania earlier this month as he had allied himself with other mostly non-Arab rebel groups.
Rebel commanders and groups there agreed on a common platform ahead of peace talks due to begin within three months.
But Flint said this attack showed the mediators had not fully understood which groups were key for talks:
"The fact that this group was not invited to the Arusha talks shows how little those organizing the peace process know about where the real power lies in the rebel movements."
(Reuters)
Monday, August 13, 2007
Darfur Arab tribes sign truce after clashes kill 140
Monday 13 August 2007.
August 12, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Rival Darfur Arab tribes have signed a truce after more than 140 people died in clashes, an official and tribal leaders said on Sunday.
"It’s an agreement to cease hostilities," Mohamed Ahmed Hassan, a Terjem tribal leader, told Reuters of the deal his tribe signed with the Rizeigat on Saturday.
"If the Rizeigat adhere to and respect the agreement, the Terjem will not violate it," he said.
Both are Arab tribes in South Darfur state. Fighting has continued on and off for months between them, but a reconciliation deal signed in February fell apart in July.
Ali Hassan, a Rizeigat tribal leader, said his group was committed to the truce. "We are going around trying to explain it to our people," he said.
Most of the casualties of the fighting were Terjem.
"Around 145 of our people were killed between July 30 and August 8," said Mohammed Ahmed Hassan, adding that 40 people with serious injuries were still in hospital in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur State.
"We have buried them in mass graves," he added. He said the Rizeigat had superior firepower.
South Darfur’s Labour Minister Abdul Rahman al-Zein has previously said three Rizeigat were killed in the clashes.
Each tribe blamed the other for starting the fighting.
The Terjem are a sedentary farming tribe while the Rizeigat are nomadic cattle herders. The latest problems began as the Rizeigat moved north in their seasonal migration, passing close to Terjem territory. The Terjem say the cattle eat their crops.
"The Terjem tell them you cannot pass through here," said Zein. "The government will deploy forces in the trouble spots to ensure compliance."
Ali Hassan declined to comment on the numbers killed.
Fighting over land and resources had been going on in Darfur for decades, before the region’s revolt broke out in early 2003. The conflict has led to a proliferation of weapons, making tribal clashes even deadlier.
International experts estimate 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million driven from their homes in the fighting in Darfur, where mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003, accusing Khartoum of neglecting their arid region.
Khartoum says only 9,000 people have died in the violence.
(Reuters)
August 12, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Rival Darfur Arab tribes have signed a truce after more than 140 people died in clashes, an official and tribal leaders said on Sunday.
"It’s an agreement to cease hostilities," Mohamed Ahmed Hassan, a Terjem tribal leader, told Reuters of the deal his tribe signed with the Rizeigat on Saturday.
"If the Rizeigat adhere to and respect the agreement, the Terjem will not violate it," he said.
Both are Arab tribes in South Darfur state. Fighting has continued on and off for months between them, but a reconciliation deal signed in February fell apart in July.
Ali Hassan, a Rizeigat tribal leader, said his group was committed to the truce. "We are going around trying to explain it to our people," he said.
Most of the casualties of the fighting were Terjem.
"Around 145 of our people were killed between July 30 and August 8," said Mohammed Ahmed Hassan, adding that 40 people with serious injuries were still in hospital in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur State.
"We have buried them in mass graves," he added. He said the Rizeigat had superior firepower.
South Darfur’s Labour Minister Abdul Rahman al-Zein has previously said three Rizeigat were killed in the clashes.
Each tribe blamed the other for starting the fighting.
The Terjem are a sedentary farming tribe while the Rizeigat are nomadic cattle herders. The latest problems began as the Rizeigat moved north in their seasonal migration, passing close to Terjem territory. The Terjem say the cattle eat their crops.
"The Terjem tell them you cannot pass through here," said Zein. "The government will deploy forces in the trouble spots to ensure compliance."
Ali Hassan declined to comment on the numbers killed.
Fighting over land and resources had been going on in Darfur for decades, before the region’s revolt broke out in early 2003. The conflict has led to a proliferation of weapons, making tribal clashes even deadlier.
International experts estimate 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million driven from their homes in the fighting in Darfur, where mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003, accusing Khartoum of neglecting their arid region.
Khartoum says only 9,000 people have died in the violence.
(Reuters)
Sunday, August 12, 2007
ANALYSIS-Cash needed to save south Sudan peace deal
10 Aug 2007 14:28:46 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Opheera McDoom
KHARTOUM, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Donors have been too slow in delivering funds to develop south Sudan after a landmark peace deal and need to adopt a unified approach to deal with multiple conflicts in Africa's largest country, observers say.
Sudan signed a north-south peace deal in 2005 to end Africa's longest civil war, but the agreement was overshadowed as a revolt in its western Darfur region sparked the world's largest aid operation, diverting donor focus and cash.
"Donor governments, which promised billions of dollars to help with the reconstruction of the south need to make those resources available to ensure that hundreds of thousands of returning Sudanese ... gain greater access to water, medical assistance, education," advocacy group Refugees International said in a report.
It singled out a World Bank-led mechanism called the Multi Donor Trust Fund (MTDF) as being too slow in giving money to the semi-autonomous south Sudan government to develop the war-torn south, one of the poorest areas in the world.
"Half a billion dollars...was committed to the World Bank administered MDTF, a mechanism that has thus far proved to be woefully inefficient, with only about $80 million disbursed to date," it added.
This week south Sudan said it would begin to demobilise some 25,000 soldiers but that support packages including seeds and tools were not guaranteed for them because of United Nations funding delays.
"The money is available," said David Gressly, the top humanitarian official in Sudan. "However, our policy is not to release funds, until the national framework has been agreed."
He acknowledged a new way to deliver cash rapidly to support urgent development was needed to add to the MDTF.
"We do need a new mechanism to fund early recovery projects. We have indeed proposed such a mechanism, and are seeking donor support for it."
FEAR OF FRESH CONFLICT
In Sudan's north-south war, 2 million were killed and at least 4 million fled their homes.
Sudan remains awash with small arms and many worry those who do not see a peace dividend could take up arms again.
State minister of foreign affairs Ali Karti said the international community was to blame for delays in implementing the north-south deal.
"The international community is failing and is unable to meet their obligation," he said. "This is something that we cannot do alone."
Jan Pronk, former head of the U.N. mission in Sudan entrusted with monitoring implementation of the deal, said there was almost no international attention on the north-south problem as negotiations continue on Darfur.
The United Nations last month authorised 26,000 U.N. and African Union troops and police to deploy to Darfur, where experts estimate 200,000 have died and 2.5 million driven from their homes in more than four years of conflict.
A July 9 deadline by which north and south armies were to deploy to each side of the north-south border was missed with no comment from anyone, Pronk said.
"It's as if people didn't care," he said. "They think there are two problems but it is one problem. It is a problem of unity and peace which is in Sudan as a whole."
Rebels from Sudan's outlying regions, south, east and west, all complain of neglect by the Khartoum government, dominated by central Nilotic tribes since independence.
Pronk said democratic elections by 2009, as envisaged by the north-south deal, was the only way forward for Sudan. It also gave southerners the right to vote on secession by 2011.
"They (donors) need to put a lot of pressure on the two parties to have the elections," he said, warning if key elements of the north-south deal were not implemented, the south could separate.
Source: Reuters
By Opheera McDoom
KHARTOUM, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Donors have been too slow in delivering funds to develop south Sudan after a landmark peace deal and need to adopt a unified approach to deal with multiple conflicts in Africa's largest country, observers say.
Sudan signed a north-south peace deal in 2005 to end Africa's longest civil war, but the agreement was overshadowed as a revolt in its western Darfur region sparked the world's largest aid operation, diverting donor focus and cash.
"Donor governments, which promised billions of dollars to help with the reconstruction of the south need to make those resources available to ensure that hundreds of thousands of returning Sudanese ... gain greater access to water, medical assistance, education," advocacy group Refugees International said in a report.
It singled out a World Bank-led mechanism called the Multi Donor Trust Fund (MTDF) as being too slow in giving money to the semi-autonomous south Sudan government to develop the war-torn south, one of the poorest areas in the world.
"Half a billion dollars...was committed to the World Bank administered MDTF, a mechanism that has thus far proved to be woefully inefficient, with only about $80 million disbursed to date," it added.
This week south Sudan said it would begin to demobilise some 25,000 soldiers but that support packages including seeds and tools were not guaranteed for them because of United Nations funding delays.
"The money is available," said David Gressly, the top humanitarian official in Sudan. "However, our policy is not to release funds, until the national framework has been agreed."
He acknowledged a new way to deliver cash rapidly to support urgent development was needed to add to the MDTF.
"We do need a new mechanism to fund early recovery projects. We have indeed proposed such a mechanism, and are seeking donor support for it."
FEAR OF FRESH CONFLICT
In Sudan's north-south war, 2 million were killed and at least 4 million fled their homes.
Sudan remains awash with small arms and many worry those who do not see a peace dividend could take up arms again.
State minister of foreign affairs Ali Karti said the international community was to blame for delays in implementing the north-south deal.
"The international community is failing and is unable to meet their obligation," he said. "This is something that we cannot do alone."
Jan Pronk, former head of the U.N. mission in Sudan entrusted with monitoring implementation of the deal, said there was almost no international attention on the north-south problem as negotiations continue on Darfur.
The United Nations last month authorised 26,000 U.N. and African Union troops and police to deploy to Darfur, where experts estimate 200,000 have died and 2.5 million driven from their homes in more than four years of conflict.
A July 9 deadline by which north and south armies were to deploy to each side of the north-south border was missed with no comment from anyone, Pronk said.
"It's as if people didn't care," he said. "They think there are two problems but it is one problem. It is a problem of unity and peace which is in Sudan as a whole."
Rebels from Sudan's outlying regions, south, east and west, all complain of neglect by the Khartoum government, dominated by central Nilotic tribes since independence.
Pronk said democratic elections by 2009, as envisaged by the north-south deal, was the only way forward for Sudan. It also gave southerners the right to vote on secession by 2011.
"They (donors) need to put a lot of pressure on the two parties to have the elections," he said, warning if key elements of the north-south deal were not implemented, the south could separate.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Sudan, rebels resume heavy fighting in Darfur
Friday 10 August 2007.
August 9, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Heavy fighting in southern Darfur has killed scores of rebels and government forces over the past week, and the Sudanese air force has bombed several villages, rebels and international observers in Darfur reported Thursday.
The clashes began Aug. 1 when a coalition of rebels, including members of the Justice and Equality Movement, captured the strategic town of Adila, where Sudanese troops were stationed to protect the only railway linking Darfur to Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, rebels said.
The Sudanese army and its allied janjaweed militias "were summarily defeated, leaving behind heavy weapons and ammunition," JEM said in a statement. The group said the offensive was led by Abdelazziz Ushar, a Darfur field commander previously fighting a separate rebellion in eastern Sudan.
A senior international observer in Darfur said Thursday that Sudanese forces had recaptured Adila, located near South Darfur’s border with the neighboring region of Khordofan, but reported clashes were ongoing.
"It seems over 100 (Sudanese) soldiers or janjaweed have been killed," the official told The Associated Press on the telephone. At least 10 rebels were killed and 15 injured, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Rebels said they launched the offensive because the janjaweed were burning villages in the area.
The African Union mission in Darfur confirmed there had been heavy fighting, but said it had no further details.
"The zone around Adila is a no-go area for us," said A.U. spokesman Noureddine Mezni.
Rebels and international observers said the fighters seized more than 50 government vehicles and some heavy armament during the offensive.
Meanwhile, Sudan’s air force bombed at least four villages in the area this week, observers and rebels said, but there were no reports of casualties because many of the civilians have fled.
One of JEM’s leaders said his group shot down a government MIG-29 fighter jet on Wednesday that was participating in the bombings, a claim denied by the government and disputed by other rebels.
Abdullahi el-Tom told AP the aircraft’s wreckage had been found 2.8 miles south of Adila, but the pilot had not been located.
Rebels from a faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement fighting alongside JEM told international observers the jet crashed because of a mechanical problem.
Army spokesman Gen. Osman Mohamed al-Agbash denied that rebels had downed a government jet, but indicated the military had faced heavy fighting in Adila.
"JEM wants to tell the international community that the army has used air bombing in (the) recapturing of Adila," the Sudan Media Center, a news services deemed close to the government, quoted al-Agbash as saying. There was no comment on military casualties.
Military flights are banned over Darfur by several U.N. resolutions and peace agreements, and Sudanese authorities routinely deny conducting air raids.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir visited Darfur last month and said the region was largely pacified. But the U.N. mission in Sudan said there have been clashes between rebels and the government in northern Darfur in recent days.
The heavy fighting in Adila came as the U.N. and A.U. sponsored a Darfur rebel conference in Arusha, Tanzania, to relaunch talks with the government after a May 2006 peace agreement between Khartoum and one rebel faction last year proved largely ineffective.
JEM’s el-Tom confirmed that rebel delegates attended last week’s conference and were willing to negotiate a peace agreement with Khartoum.
"But for the moment we have no cease-fire," he said. "Fighting will go on until we agree on something with Khartoum."
More than 200,000 people have died in Darfur since ethnic African rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated central government, accusing it of discrimination. Khartoum is accused of retaliating by unleashing janjaweed militias, which are blamed for the worst atrocities against civilians in a conflict that has displaced more than 2.5 million people.
The government denies the charges but resisted for months a push for U.N. peacekeepers to replace the 7,000-strong A.U. force in Darfur. A July Security Council resolution provides for a "hybrid force" of 26,000 U.N. and A.U. troops to deploy in Darfur under a compromise deal that could see the peacekeepers in the region by the end of the year.
(AP)
August 9, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Heavy fighting in southern Darfur has killed scores of rebels and government forces over the past week, and the Sudanese air force has bombed several villages, rebels and international observers in Darfur reported Thursday.
The clashes began Aug. 1 when a coalition of rebels, including members of the Justice and Equality Movement, captured the strategic town of Adila, where Sudanese troops were stationed to protect the only railway linking Darfur to Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, rebels said.
The Sudanese army and its allied janjaweed militias "were summarily defeated, leaving behind heavy weapons and ammunition," JEM said in a statement. The group said the offensive was led by Abdelazziz Ushar, a Darfur field commander previously fighting a separate rebellion in eastern Sudan.
A senior international observer in Darfur said Thursday that Sudanese forces had recaptured Adila, located near South Darfur’s border with the neighboring region of Khordofan, but reported clashes were ongoing.
"It seems over 100 (Sudanese) soldiers or janjaweed have been killed," the official told The Associated Press on the telephone. At least 10 rebels were killed and 15 injured, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Rebels said they launched the offensive because the janjaweed were burning villages in the area.
The African Union mission in Darfur confirmed there had been heavy fighting, but said it had no further details.
"The zone around Adila is a no-go area for us," said A.U. spokesman Noureddine Mezni.
Rebels and international observers said the fighters seized more than 50 government vehicles and some heavy armament during the offensive.
Meanwhile, Sudan’s air force bombed at least four villages in the area this week, observers and rebels said, but there were no reports of casualties because many of the civilians have fled.
One of JEM’s leaders said his group shot down a government MIG-29 fighter jet on Wednesday that was participating in the bombings, a claim denied by the government and disputed by other rebels.
Abdullahi el-Tom told AP the aircraft’s wreckage had been found 2.8 miles south of Adila, but the pilot had not been located.
Rebels from a faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement fighting alongside JEM told international observers the jet crashed because of a mechanical problem.
Army spokesman Gen. Osman Mohamed al-Agbash denied that rebels had downed a government jet, but indicated the military had faced heavy fighting in Adila.
"JEM wants to tell the international community that the army has used air bombing in (the) recapturing of Adila," the Sudan Media Center, a news services deemed close to the government, quoted al-Agbash as saying. There was no comment on military casualties.
Military flights are banned over Darfur by several U.N. resolutions and peace agreements, and Sudanese authorities routinely deny conducting air raids.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir visited Darfur last month and said the region was largely pacified. But the U.N. mission in Sudan said there have been clashes between rebels and the government in northern Darfur in recent days.
The heavy fighting in Adila came as the U.N. and A.U. sponsored a Darfur rebel conference in Arusha, Tanzania, to relaunch talks with the government after a May 2006 peace agreement between Khartoum and one rebel faction last year proved largely ineffective.
JEM’s el-Tom confirmed that rebel delegates attended last week’s conference and were willing to negotiate a peace agreement with Khartoum.
"But for the moment we have no cease-fire," he said. "Fighting will go on until we agree on something with Khartoum."
More than 200,000 people have died in Darfur since ethnic African rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated central government, accusing it of discrimination. Khartoum is accused of retaliating by unleashing janjaweed militias, which are blamed for the worst atrocities against civilians in a conflict that has displaced more than 2.5 million people.
The government denies the charges but resisted for months a push for U.N. peacekeepers to replace the 7,000-strong A.U. force in Darfur. A July Security Council resolution provides for a "hybrid force" of 26,000 U.N. and A.U. troops to deploy in Darfur under a compromise deal that could see the peacekeepers in the region by the end of the year.
(AP)
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Darfur Rebels Say They Shot Down Government Plane
By REUTERS
Filed at 6:15 a.m. ET
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Darfur rebel commanders said on Wednesday they had shot down a government MiG 29 plane they say was bombing civilian villages in their areas in Sudan's Darfur region.
"We have downed a plane - MiG 29 around 4.5 km south of Adila yesterday around 5 p.m. (10 a.m. EDT)," commander Adel Aziz el-Nur Ashr from the Darfur rebel Justice and Equality and Movement (JEM) told Reuters by telephone.
Adila is in the far east of South Darfur state. Last week the government accused JEM of attacking the government controlled town.
JEM said the government attacked their areas around Adila ahead of a U.N.-African Union mediated meeting of rebel factions in Tanzania to renew the peace process.
"We are looking for the pilot," said Ashr. "We have the body of the plane."
Neither the United Nations, nor the AU, which is monitoring a shaky ceasefire in Sudan's arid west, could immediately confirm the report.
Sudan's army spokesman was not immediately available to comment.
The rebels have brought down government Antonov planes and helicopters over the more than four years of conflict in Darfur.
A U.N. report said the government had been bombing in Darfur until the end of June, which would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions banning offensive flying.
Filed at 6:15 a.m. ET
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Darfur rebel commanders said on Wednesday they had shot down a government MiG 29 plane they say was bombing civilian villages in their areas in Sudan's Darfur region.
"We have downed a plane - MiG 29 around 4.5 km south of Adila yesterday around 5 p.m. (10 a.m. EDT)," commander Adel Aziz el-Nur Ashr from the Darfur rebel Justice and Equality and Movement (JEM) told Reuters by telephone.
Adila is in the far east of South Darfur state. Last week the government accused JEM of attacking the government controlled town.
JEM said the government attacked their areas around Adila ahead of a U.N.-African Union mediated meeting of rebel factions in Tanzania to renew the peace process.
"We are looking for the pilot," said Ashr. "We have the body of the plane."
Neither the United Nations, nor the AU, which is monitoring a shaky ceasefire in Sudan's arid west, could immediately confirm the report.
Sudan's army spokesman was not immediately available to comment.
The rebels have brought down government Antonov planes and helicopters over the more than four years of conflict in Darfur.
A U.N. report said the government had been bombing in Darfur until the end of June, which would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions banning offensive flying.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Sudan unhappy at some Darfur rebel demands
By Opheera McDoom
Tue Aug 7, 1:29 PM ET
Sudan's government is not enthusiastic about some elements of a joint Darfur rebel negotiating platform agreed during U.N. and African Union mediated talks, U.N. Darfur envoy Jan Eliasson said on Tuesday.
Eliasson and his AU counterpart Salim Ahmed Salim, in an effort to reignite peace efforts, brought many Darfur commanders and groups together for unity talks in Arusha early this week.
They emerged from the meeting in Tanzania with a common platform, including agreement on land issues, power and wealth-sharing ahead of proposed talks with the government.
But Eliasson told reporters after meeting Foreign Ministry officials in Khartoum: "Not all of the points of course are met with great enthusiasm, but it is a basis."
Khartoum says a Darfur peace deal it signed with one of three rebel negotiating factions in May 2006 should not be reopened to address the concerns of rebels, who have since split into more than a dozen factions.
"The government does not want to have a renegotiation of the DPA (Darfur Peace Agreement) so this is a matter we will discuss both with the government and with the non-signatories -- how will we finalize the final agenda," Eliasson added.
He said the U.N.-AU team would to try to bring government and rebel positions together in the coming weeks to reach a final agenda for talks, due to begin in about two months.
Senior Foreign Ministry official Mutrif Siddig said the government welcomed the Arusha talks, but was disappointed not all the factions were present and that the original timeline, which had envisaged peace talks beginning by August, was lost.
LEGITIMACY
International experts estimate 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been driven from their homes during more than four years of rape, murder, disease and looting in Darfur, violence Washington calls genocide.
European governments are reluctant to use the term, which Khartoum rejects. Sudan puts the death toll at 9,000.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued arrest warrants on war crimes charges against a government minister and a militia leader.
On Tuesday ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Khartoum must hand over the suspects.
"Sudan cannot be a pariah country. They know it is important. The government needs legitimacy, so they will respect the law," Moreno-Ocampo told Reuters in Australia.
Sudan says the ICC has no authority in Darfur.
After months of talks, threats and negotiations, the government finally agreed to a joint U.N.-AU 26,000-strong peacekeeping force in Darfur, but said most of the troops should come from Africa.
But Zambia said on Tuesday the continent could not muster enough soldiers to complete the mission and international troops would have to be found from other areas.
"We don't have the means," Foreign Minister Mundia Sikatana told Reuters during a meeting in Malaysia. "Immediately Africa has no capacity to deal with the situation in Darfur."
Andrew Natsios, U.S. special envoy on Sudan, concurred. "We are going to try to recruit from Africa but it is very clear from already talking to African leaders and military that there are not enough African troops that are trained in peacekeeping operations to make up this force."
"I think there is an understanding from the Sudanese government that we are going to have to go outside of Africa. This is a sensitive issue," he told reporters.
The United Nations says the joint force must deploy alongside a renewed political process, as they must have a peace to keep.
REBEL ABSENCES
Analysts said the Arusha meeting's chance of success was hampered by the absence of some important rebel figures, but nonetheless succeeded in boosting unity which has been a major hindrance to talks with the government.
Among those who did not attend was Suleiman Jamous, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) humanitarian coordinator who is seen by experts as key to any lasting peace.
He has been hospitalised outside Darfur and risks arrest if he returns. On Tuesday the government said it would lift that threat if the international community guaranteed he would not rejoin armed groups in Darfur.
Eliasson said a seat at any future talks was also available for Darfur SLA leader and founder Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur, who refuses any talks until an oil-for-food program and no-fly zone is in place in Sudan's remote west.
Nur has few troops on the ground but commands huge popular support among Darfur's largest tribe, the Fur.
(Additional reporting by Clarence Fernandez in Malaysia, Rob Taylor in Australia and Sue Pleming in Washington)
Tue Aug 7, 1:29 PM ET
Sudan's government is not enthusiastic about some elements of a joint Darfur rebel negotiating platform agreed during U.N. and African Union mediated talks, U.N. Darfur envoy Jan Eliasson said on Tuesday.
Eliasson and his AU counterpart Salim Ahmed Salim, in an effort to reignite peace efforts, brought many Darfur commanders and groups together for unity talks in Arusha early this week.
They emerged from the meeting in Tanzania with a common platform, including agreement on land issues, power and wealth-sharing ahead of proposed talks with the government.
But Eliasson told reporters after meeting Foreign Ministry officials in Khartoum: "Not all of the points of course are met with great enthusiasm, but it is a basis."
Khartoum says a Darfur peace deal it signed with one of three rebel negotiating factions in May 2006 should not be reopened to address the concerns of rebels, who have since split into more than a dozen factions.
"The government does not want to have a renegotiation of the DPA (Darfur Peace Agreement) so this is a matter we will discuss both with the government and with the non-signatories -- how will we finalize the final agenda," Eliasson added.
He said the U.N.-AU team would to try to bring government and rebel positions together in the coming weeks to reach a final agenda for talks, due to begin in about two months.
Senior Foreign Ministry official Mutrif Siddig said the government welcomed the Arusha talks, but was disappointed not all the factions were present and that the original timeline, which had envisaged peace talks beginning by August, was lost.
LEGITIMACY
International experts estimate 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been driven from their homes during more than four years of rape, murder, disease and looting in Darfur, violence Washington calls genocide.
European governments are reluctant to use the term, which Khartoum rejects. Sudan puts the death toll at 9,000.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued arrest warrants on war crimes charges against a government minister and a militia leader.
On Tuesday ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Khartoum must hand over the suspects.
"Sudan cannot be a pariah country. They know it is important. The government needs legitimacy, so they will respect the law," Moreno-Ocampo told Reuters in Australia.
Sudan says the ICC has no authority in Darfur.
After months of talks, threats and negotiations, the government finally agreed to a joint U.N.-AU 26,000-strong peacekeeping force in Darfur, but said most of the troops should come from Africa.
But Zambia said on Tuesday the continent could not muster enough soldiers to complete the mission and international troops would have to be found from other areas.
"We don't have the means," Foreign Minister Mundia Sikatana told Reuters during a meeting in Malaysia. "Immediately Africa has no capacity to deal with the situation in Darfur."
Andrew Natsios, U.S. special envoy on Sudan, concurred. "We are going to try to recruit from Africa but it is very clear from already talking to African leaders and military that there are not enough African troops that are trained in peacekeeping operations to make up this force."
"I think there is an understanding from the Sudanese government that we are going to have to go outside of Africa. This is a sensitive issue," he told reporters.
The United Nations says the joint force must deploy alongside a renewed political process, as they must have a peace to keep.
REBEL ABSENCES
Analysts said the Arusha meeting's chance of success was hampered by the absence of some important rebel figures, but nonetheless succeeded in boosting unity which has been a major hindrance to talks with the government.
Among those who did not attend was Suleiman Jamous, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) humanitarian coordinator who is seen by experts as key to any lasting peace.
He has been hospitalised outside Darfur and risks arrest if he returns. On Tuesday the government said it would lift that threat if the international community guaranteed he would not rejoin armed groups in Darfur.
Eliasson said a seat at any future talks was also available for Darfur SLA leader and founder Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur, who refuses any talks until an oil-for-food program and no-fly zone is in place in Sudan's remote west.
Nur has few troops on the ground but commands huge popular support among Darfur's largest tribe, the Fur.
(Additional reporting by Clarence Fernandez in Malaysia, Rob Taylor in Australia and Sue Pleming in Washington)
Monday, August 6, 2007
FACTBOX-Major players at Darfur peace talks
Aug 6 (Reuters) - Darfur rebel factions meeting in Tanzania have reached a common negotiating position and want final peace talks with the Sudanese government within months, international mediators said on Monday.
The African Union and United Nations called the Darfur meeting in Arusha, Tanzania to form a rebel consensus after a May 2006 peace deal was signed only by a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) led by Minni Arcua Minnawi.
Another SLA faction led by founder Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur and the Justice and Equality Movement headed by Khalil Ibrahim did not sign, despite intense international pressure.
The lack of support by other rebels undermined the agreement within days. The rebels have split into more than a dozen factions.
Minnawi became special assistant to Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, but has lost much ground in Darfur and some question whether all his forces there remain loyal to him. Many of his allies have broken away to form their own factions.
Minnawi's forces have been accused of attacking, threatening and killing African Union peacekeepers in his areas in South Darfur as well as in AU head quarters in North Darfur.
The major factions have loose alliances and are in constant negotiations to form new coalitions.
Here are the major players:
* SLA - Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur - Nur has few troops left based in western Jabel Marra. But from Darfur's largest Fur tribe, he commands huge popular support especially in the camps housing more than 2 million people driven from their homes during the fighting. Nur, who is in France, refused to attend the Arusha talks.
* JEM - Khalil Ibrahim - Dogged by splits and with claims by JEM's military leadership that it has overthrown Ibrahim, which he denies, observers say JEM is not a significant power on the ground but is included to avoid the group acting as a spoiler. Ibrahim has been sanctioned by the United States for hindering the peace process. His group was represented at Arusha.
* Jar el-Neby and Suleiman Marajan - Based in North Darfur, these two are important figures with many troops in Darfur. They had wanted a commanders' unity conference before Arusha but decided to attend the meeting.
* SLA-Unity - Abdallah Yehia. Commanders include Ahmed Kubur in Darfur. SLA-Unity loosely encompasses other prominent SLA rebels including Sherif Harir. Yehia said Unity field commanders would not attend Arusha unless SLA Humanitarian Coordinator Suleiman Jamous was released.
* United Front for Liberation and Development - Khamis Abdallah. SLA figure Abdallah, who represented the UFLD at Arusha, and four other smaller factions formed a new umbrella group in Eritrea last month. Each faction alone counts for little on the ground, analysts say, but by virtue of the unification earned a seat at talks.
* Suleiman Jamous - The elderly Jamous has been virtually imprisoned in a U.N. hospital in Kordofan, a region neighbouring Darfur, for 13 months. All agree he is influential and respected among Darfuris and all rebel factions. Khartoum says if he leaves the U.N. building he will be arrested. Eleven prominent activists, including South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, wrote to Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to request his release. Jamous, the SLA humanitarian coordinator, was the liaison between rebels and the world's largest aid operation in Darfur until the United Nations airlifted him to Kordofan for medical treatment last year.
The African Union and United Nations called the Darfur meeting in Arusha, Tanzania to form a rebel consensus after a May 2006 peace deal was signed only by a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) led by Minni Arcua Minnawi.
Another SLA faction led by founder Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur and the Justice and Equality Movement headed by Khalil Ibrahim did not sign, despite intense international pressure.
The lack of support by other rebels undermined the agreement within days. The rebels have split into more than a dozen factions.
Minnawi became special assistant to Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, but has lost much ground in Darfur and some question whether all his forces there remain loyal to him. Many of his allies have broken away to form their own factions.
Minnawi's forces have been accused of attacking, threatening and killing African Union peacekeepers in his areas in South Darfur as well as in AU head quarters in North Darfur.
The major factions have loose alliances and are in constant negotiations to form new coalitions.
Here are the major players:
* SLA - Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur - Nur has few troops left based in western Jabel Marra. But from Darfur's largest Fur tribe, he commands huge popular support especially in the camps housing more than 2 million people driven from their homes during the fighting. Nur, who is in France, refused to attend the Arusha talks.
* JEM - Khalil Ibrahim - Dogged by splits and with claims by JEM's military leadership that it has overthrown Ibrahim, which he denies, observers say JEM is not a significant power on the ground but is included to avoid the group acting as a spoiler. Ibrahim has been sanctioned by the United States for hindering the peace process. His group was represented at Arusha.
* Jar el-Neby and Suleiman Marajan - Based in North Darfur, these two are important figures with many troops in Darfur. They had wanted a commanders' unity conference before Arusha but decided to attend the meeting.
* SLA-Unity - Abdallah Yehia. Commanders include Ahmed Kubur in Darfur. SLA-Unity loosely encompasses other prominent SLA rebels including Sherif Harir. Yehia said Unity field commanders would not attend Arusha unless SLA Humanitarian Coordinator Suleiman Jamous was released.
* United Front for Liberation and Development - Khamis Abdallah. SLA figure Abdallah, who represented the UFLD at Arusha, and four other smaller factions formed a new umbrella group in Eritrea last month. Each faction alone counts for little on the ground, analysts say, but by virtue of the unification earned a seat at talks.
* Suleiman Jamous - The elderly Jamous has been virtually imprisoned in a U.N. hospital in Kordofan, a region neighbouring Darfur, for 13 months. All agree he is influential and respected among Darfuris and all rebel factions. Khartoum says if he leaves the U.N. building he will be arrested. Eleven prominent activists, including South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, wrote to Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to request his release. Jamous, the SLA humanitarian coordinator, was the liaison between rebels and the world's largest aid operation in Darfur until the United Nations airlifted him to Kordofan for medical treatment last year.
North-south Sudan armies differ over oil areas
By Skye Wheeler
JUBA, Sudan, Aug 6 (Reuters) - A South Sudanese army official said on Monday that North Sudanese troops still in the south's vital oil areas were now "occupation forces" since they had not left the region as agreed under a 2005 peace deal.
He said his own southern forces had almost finished withdrawing from areas they had to leave under the accord.
The January 2005 deal created separate north and south armies, joint units for main towns and the sensitive oil areas and required both armies to redeploy either side of the 1956 north-south border by July 9, 2007.
But the northern Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) missed the redeployment deadline, and a senior U.N. official said most of the forces still in the south remained in the oil fields, where Sudan pumps some 500,000 barrels per day of crude.
Kuol Diem Kuol, spokesman for the southern Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), said:
"We are not happy. The SPLA is waiting for the orders from the southern Sudan security council on how to handle this issue of occupation forces."
Kuol said some 16,600 northern troops remained in the south's two largest oil-producing states and the still contested oil-rich Abyei area, which under the deal can choose whether to join the south or stay in the north by 2011.
"(They) are staying illegally in a territory that they're not supposed to be in," said Kuol.
The SPLA also missed the deadline to withdraw from two transitional areas, Southern Blue Nile and South Kordofan. The SPLA had said that was because the joint units, supposed to take over after their withdrawal, were not yet functioning.
But Kuol on Monday said that the SPLA were moving out of the two areas as per the peace deal.
"All the SPLA soldiers have withdrawn out of Blue Nile, except for a company of 120 soldiers," said Kuol.
He explained these soldiers were guarding tanks, anti-aircraft weapons and heavy artillery that cannot be transported into south Sudan because of heavy rains.
"Once it is dry we will move them into the south," said Kuol.
Similarly all of the SPLA's troops are currently moving out of South Kordofan State said Kuol, with less than 300 remaining to guard heavy artillery.
The two areas were now under the control of the joint north-south units, known as Joint Integrated Units (JIUs) but Kuol said there were some concerns that they were not yet able to deal with an uneasy security situation in South Kordofan.
"The militias are still active ... are not yet disarmed,. The whole population is not yet disarmed," said Kuol. "(It is) very dangerous".
"They are not trained together, they are not the JIU envisaged by the peace agreement," said Kuol about the units.
Last year 150 people were killed during clashes between the north and south armies in the southern town of Malakal, fighting sparked by northern-aligned militias.
The discovery of oil in south Sudan during the years of war further inflamed the conflict in which 2 million people died and some 4 million were displaced.
JUBA, Sudan, Aug 6 (Reuters) - A South Sudanese army official said on Monday that North Sudanese troops still in the south's vital oil areas were now "occupation forces" since they had not left the region as agreed under a 2005 peace deal.
He said his own southern forces had almost finished withdrawing from areas they had to leave under the accord.
The January 2005 deal created separate north and south armies, joint units for main towns and the sensitive oil areas and required both armies to redeploy either side of the 1956 north-south border by July 9, 2007.
But the northern Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) missed the redeployment deadline, and a senior U.N. official said most of the forces still in the south remained in the oil fields, where Sudan pumps some 500,000 barrels per day of crude.
Kuol Diem Kuol, spokesman for the southern Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), said:
"We are not happy. The SPLA is waiting for the orders from the southern Sudan security council on how to handle this issue of occupation forces."
Kuol said some 16,600 northern troops remained in the south's two largest oil-producing states and the still contested oil-rich Abyei area, which under the deal can choose whether to join the south or stay in the north by 2011.
"(They) are staying illegally in a territory that they're not supposed to be in," said Kuol.
The SPLA also missed the deadline to withdraw from two transitional areas, Southern Blue Nile and South Kordofan. The SPLA had said that was because the joint units, supposed to take over after their withdrawal, were not yet functioning.
But Kuol on Monday said that the SPLA were moving out of the two areas as per the peace deal.
"All the SPLA soldiers have withdrawn out of Blue Nile, except for a company of 120 soldiers," said Kuol.
He explained these soldiers were guarding tanks, anti-aircraft weapons and heavy artillery that cannot be transported into south Sudan because of heavy rains.
"Once it is dry we will move them into the south," said Kuol.
Similarly all of the SPLA's troops are currently moving out of South Kordofan State said Kuol, with less than 300 remaining to guard heavy artillery.
The two areas were now under the control of the joint north-south units, known as Joint Integrated Units (JIUs) but Kuol said there were some concerns that they were not yet able to deal with an uneasy security situation in South Kordofan.
"The militias are still active ... are not yet disarmed,. The whole population is not yet disarmed," said Kuol. "(It is) very dangerous".
"They are not trained together, they are not the JIU envisaged by the peace agreement," said Kuol about the units.
Last year 150 people were killed during clashes between the north and south armies in the southern town of Malakal, fighting sparked by northern-aligned militias.
The discovery of oil in south Sudan during the years of war further inflamed the conflict in which 2 million people died and some 4 million were displaced.
INTERVIEW-Rebel disorganisation delays east Sudan peace deal
By Jack Kimball
ASMARA, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Squabbling among east Sudanese rebels and disorganisation in their ranks are hampering implementation of a deal that ended a decade long insurgency, a former rebel leader said on Monday.
The Eastern Front took up arms against Khartoum in the 1990s, accusing it of neglect in an echo of the grievances expressed by insurgents in Sudan's west and south.
A peace deal mediated by neighbouring Eritrea ended the low-level revolt in October but internal divisions within the group, disputes over posts and lack of political structure have helped cause delays.
"The most important point is that when we started creating the Eastern Front, we didn't finish the hierarchy, the institutions and the political programme," said Amna Dirar, a senior Eastern Front official.
Since the deal, the Front has met in Eritrea -- which has hosted Sudanese opposition figures for years -- hoping to work out divisions over the allocation of positions.
"Self interest has also delayed the implementation of the agreement," Amna told Reuters by telephone. She said the Front planned to leave the Eritrean capital in mid-August.
The former rebels comprise the non-Arab Beja and the pure Arab Rashaidiya tribes.
A power-sharing clause in the peace deal gave the Front one junior minister in Khartoum, an assistant to the president, an adviser to the president and a number of parliamentary seats.
While government posts were decided based on an ethnic quota, divisions arose when fixing positions within the Front.
"Lacking any clear ideology or political agenda, the first fall-back position is ethnic or tribal loyalties ... it creates conflict," said an Asmara-based analyst.
The east is home to the nation's largest gold mine and Sudan's only port. Sudan's oil pipeline runs there, carrying 500,000 barrels per day of crude.
But it has one of the highest malnutrition rates in the country and has little development.
During the conflict, eastern rebels allied themselves with former southern rebels and those from Darfur. But after insurgents elsewhere signed peace deals with Khartoum, the eastern rebels found themselves in a weaker negotiating position.
ASMARA, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Squabbling among east Sudanese rebels and disorganisation in their ranks are hampering implementation of a deal that ended a decade long insurgency, a former rebel leader said on Monday.
The Eastern Front took up arms against Khartoum in the 1990s, accusing it of neglect in an echo of the grievances expressed by insurgents in Sudan's west and south.
A peace deal mediated by neighbouring Eritrea ended the low-level revolt in October but internal divisions within the group, disputes over posts and lack of political structure have helped cause delays.
"The most important point is that when we started creating the Eastern Front, we didn't finish the hierarchy, the institutions and the political programme," said Amna Dirar, a senior Eastern Front official.
Since the deal, the Front has met in Eritrea -- which has hosted Sudanese opposition figures for years -- hoping to work out divisions over the allocation of positions.
"Self interest has also delayed the implementation of the agreement," Amna told Reuters by telephone. She said the Front planned to leave the Eritrean capital in mid-August.
The former rebels comprise the non-Arab Beja and the pure Arab Rashaidiya tribes.
A power-sharing clause in the peace deal gave the Front one junior minister in Khartoum, an assistant to the president, an adviser to the president and a number of parliamentary seats.
While government posts were decided based on an ethnic quota, divisions arose when fixing positions within the Front.
"Lacking any clear ideology or political agenda, the first fall-back position is ethnic or tribal loyalties ... it creates conflict," said an Asmara-based analyst.
The east is home to the nation's largest gold mine and Sudan's only port. Sudan's oil pipeline runs there, carrying 500,000 barrels per day of crude.
But it has one of the highest malnutrition rates in the country and has little development.
During the conflict, eastern rebels allied themselves with former southern rebels and those from Darfur. But after insurgents elsewhere signed peace deals with Khartoum, the eastern rebels found themselves in a weaker negotiating position.
Darfur war crimes suspect has free rein despite ICC warrants
Monday 6 August 2007.
August 6, 2007 (AL-FASHER) — For a man accused of masterminding massacres, Ahmad Harun seems quite comfortable in the place he allegedly helped destroy.
Ahmed Mohamed Haroun
He strolls around the grassy compound belonging to the local governor in Sudan’s deeply troubled Darfur region, embracing Arab tribal leaders, soldiers and officials who have come to hear the president.
Harun, a tall 42-year-old with high cheekbones and almond-shaped eyes, was in charge of the region’s security during the height of the violent attacks on farm villages that caused millions to flee their homes in 2003 and 2004. He allegedly recruited, funded and armed local militias to root out rebels who had attacked the Sudanese army, sweeping away their villages, families and the intricate fabric of Darfur’s identity along the way.
He publicly relished his command, telling an open meeting of hundreds of officials, tribesmen and soldiers in West Darfur in July 2003 that he had been given "the power and authority to kill or forgive whoever in Darfur."
The rebels are like fish, Harun told a Sudanese committee that was investigating alleged war crimes in 2004, and "the villages are like water to fish." The objective, he suggested, was to eliminate the water.
And yet, on this day three years later, Harun glides unhindered and unapologetic through the parched remains of Darfur. In fact, he is the minister of state for humanitarian affairs in charge of caring for the very people he is accused of displacing. That he holds such a post says much about the limits of international power to cope with a festering crisis.
In May, the Hague-based International Criminal Court charged him and a pro-government militia leader, Ali Mohammed Ali Abdalrahman, better known as Ali Kushayb, with war crimes and crimes against humanity. But Sudan has rejected the arrest warrants, saying that the country is not a signatory to the court and that the charges against Harun are false.
Instead of being put behind bars, as the court asked, Harun still has the power to decide who lives and dies in Darfur. And without Sudan’s cooperation, there is almost nothing the court can do to bring him to justice.
"It is absolutely unacceptable," complained chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, whose team carefully built the case against Harun through interviews with refugees, tribal leaders, colleagues and enemies.
"Harun has to be removed from office, arrested and sent to the court," Moreno-Ocampo said in an interview. "Allowing him to be the humanitarian minister is like putting the fox in front of the chickens."
The trouble, experts say, is that asking the government to hand him over is asking it to indict itself. And charging those with the true responsibility for Darfur means targeting the only ones able to guarantee peace: the president and vice president.
"Harun has been interrogated about the allegations, and there is no case," said Interior Minister Zubeir Bashir Taha, a senior Cabinet minister who also oversees Darfur. "The evidence does not stand scrutiny, and whether it does or not, it is a matter for Sudan to decide and act upon. The prosecutor has no jurisdiction here. He is an intruder."
Further, Moreno-Ocampo’s desire for swift justice competes with the aims of other U.N. bodies trying to bring peace to Darfur. The Security Council can demand that Khartoum make the arrests or face sanctions, but it is also trying to gain the government’s acceptance of a 26,000-strong peacekeeping force for Darfur as well as its cooperation in peace talks.
So the court must rely on the government of Sudan to surrender Harun unless the Security Council were to order U.N. officials to arrest him — a move likely to get U.N. peacekeepers and aid workers tossed out of the country.
The choice does not have to be between peace or justice. The two are intertwined — but perhaps the most effective tool is time, Moreno-Ocampo says. He has translated the indictment into Arabic, in a booklet to take with him on his rounds of neighboring countries, explaining the court and drumming up support to keep an eye on Harun. Sooner or later, Moreno-Ocampo says, circumstances will change or Harun will make a misstep.
"This is normal, this is the process, it will take time," he says. "I don’t know if it will take months or years, but Harun’s destiny is the court."
That’s not Harun’s view. Clad in a khaki safari suit that keeps him cool in the 100-degree Darfur heat, Harun wears his knowledge of the court’s impotence like armor.
"Who gave the ICC this right?" he asks. "It is a matter of politics. It is not an issue of justice."
He denies the allegations that he worked with the militias known as janjaweed to attack villages, and says that he will never go to The Hague to answer the charges. "We are not signatories" to the court, and neither is the United States, he says.
"When you sign, we are going to follow. You go first," he says with a high-pitched guffaw.
Harun faces 42 counts of individual criminal responsibility, including murder, rape, persecution and forcible transfer of population. Militia leader Ali Kushayb, who is accused of participating in the attacks and killing civilians, is charged with 50 counts.
Moreno-Ocampo deliberately chose the two to illuminate how, he believes, the government worked hand in hand with militias to commit massive crimes against civilians not involved in the conflict.
Although the court must rely on Sudan to hand the men over, if either sets foot outside the country, any police officer or Interpol official can nab him. Harun was getting medical treatment in Jordan when the court first named him as a key suspect, causing him to flee home.
Although Harun maintains a high profile at home, the indictment has had an effect. When he addressed a crowd soon after the indictments, a whispered chant rippled through the audience: "Janjaweed, janjaweed." He avoids reporters. But he laughs and jokes with tribal leaders who have come to see the president on a government show tour of Darfur. Many of the leaders have been government allies; some of them are testing the winds.
One Arab tribal chief gives a tight smile when asked whether Harun is really innocent, as he claims. The leader shakes his head, then looks around and lowers his voice. "It is not as he says, and everyone knows what he has done. He will be sacrificed, if he hasn’t been already. He knows he may have little time." One Khartoum insider predicts he will have an "accident" within a year.
For Harun, the time for talking about the international court is up. Instead, he says he wants to talk about the government’s humanitarian work in Darfur.
"The situation in general, based on humanitarian indicators, is good," he says. "There is full humanitarian access, the fast-track systems are functioning." When asked whether he feels a special responsibility for the people in the camps, a slow smile spreads over his face.
"They are our people," he says with a grand gesture toward the ruined land, "and we are taking care of them."
(LA Times)
August 6, 2007 (AL-FASHER) — For a man accused of masterminding massacres, Ahmad Harun seems quite comfortable in the place he allegedly helped destroy.
Ahmed Mohamed Haroun
He strolls around the grassy compound belonging to the local governor in Sudan’s deeply troubled Darfur region, embracing Arab tribal leaders, soldiers and officials who have come to hear the president.
Harun, a tall 42-year-old with high cheekbones and almond-shaped eyes, was in charge of the region’s security during the height of the violent attacks on farm villages that caused millions to flee their homes in 2003 and 2004. He allegedly recruited, funded and armed local militias to root out rebels who had attacked the Sudanese army, sweeping away their villages, families and the intricate fabric of Darfur’s identity along the way.
He publicly relished his command, telling an open meeting of hundreds of officials, tribesmen and soldiers in West Darfur in July 2003 that he had been given "the power and authority to kill or forgive whoever in Darfur."
The rebels are like fish, Harun told a Sudanese committee that was investigating alleged war crimes in 2004, and "the villages are like water to fish." The objective, he suggested, was to eliminate the water.
And yet, on this day three years later, Harun glides unhindered and unapologetic through the parched remains of Darfur. In fact, he is the minister of state for humanitarian affairs in charge of caring for the very people he is accused of displacing. That he holds such a post says much about the limits of international power to cope with a festering crisis.
In May, the Hague-based International Criminal Court charged him and a pro-government militia leader, Ali Mohammed Ali Abdalrahman, better known as Ali Kushayb, with war crimes and crimes against humanity. But Sudan has rejected the arrest warrants, saying that the country is not a signatory to the court and that the charges against Harun are false.
Instead of being put behind bars, as the court asked, Harun still has the power to decide who lives and dies in Darfur. And without Sudan’s cooperation, there is almost nothing the court can do to bring him to justice.
"It is absolutely unacceptable," complained chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, whose team carefully built the case against Harun through interviews with refugees, tribal leaders, colleagues and enemies.
"Harun has to be removed from office, arrested and sent to the court," Moreno-Ocampo said in an interview. "Allowing him to be the humanitarian minister is like putting the fox in front of the chickens."
The trouble, experts say, is that asking the government to hand him over is asking it to indict itself. And charging those with the true responsibility for Darfur means targeting the only ones able to guarantee peace: the president and vice president.
"Harun has been interrogated about the allegations, and there is no case," said Interior Minister Zubeir Bashir Taha, a senior Cabinet minister who also oversees Darfur. "The evidence does not stand scrutiny, and whether it does or not, it is a matter for Sudan to decide and act upon. The prosecutor has no jurisdiction here. He is an intruder."
Further, Moreno-Ocampo’s desire for swift justice competes with the aims of other U.N. bodies trying to bring peace to Darfur. The Security Council can demand that Khartoum make the arrests or face sanctions, but it is also trying to gain the government’s acceptance of a 26,000-strong peacekeeping force for Darfur as well as its cooperation in peace talks.
So the court must rely on the government of Sudan to surrender Harun unless the Security Council were to order U.N. officials to arrest him — a move likely to get U.N. peacekeepers and aid workers tossed out of the country.
The choice does not have to be between peace or justice. The two are intertwined — but perhaps the most effective tool is time, Moreno-Ocampo says. He has translated the indictment into Arabic, in a booklet to take with him on his rounds of neighboring countries, explaining the court and drumming up support to keep an eye on Harun. Sooner or later, Moreno-Ocampo says, circumstances will change or Harun will make a misstep.
"This is normal, this is the process, it will take time," he says. "I don’t know if it will take months or years, but Harun’s destiny is the court."
That’s not Harun’s view. Clad in a khaki safari suit that keeps him cool in the 100-degree Darfur heat, Harun wears his knowledge of the court’s impotence like armor.
"Who gave the ICC this right?" he asks. "It is a matter of politics. It is not an issue of justice."
He denies the allegations that he worked with the militias known as janjaweed to attack villages, and says that he will never go to The Hague to answer the charges. "We are not signatories" to the court, and neither is the United States, he says.
"When you sign, we are going to follow. You go first," he says with a high-pitched guffaw.
Harun faces 42 counts of individual criminal responsibility, including murder, rape, persecution and forcible transfer of population. Militia leader Ali Kushayb, who is accused of participating in the attacks and killing civilians, is charged with 50 counts.
Moreno-Ocampo deliberately chose the two to illuminate how, he believes, the government worked hand in hand with militias to commit massive crimes against civilians not involved in the conflict.
Although the court must rely on Sudan to hand the men over, if either sets foot outside the country, any police officer or Interpol official can nab him. Harun was getting medical treatment in Jordan when the court first named him as a key suspect, causing him to flee home.
Although Harun maintains a high profile at home, the indictment has had an effect. When he addressed a crowd soon after the indictments, a whispered chant rippled through the audience: "Janjaweed, janjaweed." He avoids reporters. But he laughs and jokes with tribal leaders who have come to see the president on a government show tour of Darfur. Many of the leaders have been government allies; some of them are testing the winds.
One Arab tribal chief gives a tight smile when asked whether Harun is really innocent, as he claims. The leader shakes his head, then looks around and lowers his voice. "It is not as he says, and everyone knows what he has done. He will be sacrificed, if he hasn’t been already. He knows he may have little time." One Khartoum insider predicts he will have an "accident" within a year.
For Harun, the time for talking about the international court is up. Instead, he says he wants to talk about the government’s humanitarian work in Darfur.
"The situation in general, based on humanitarian indicators, is good," he says. "There is full humanitarian access, the fast-track systems are functioning." When asked whether he feels a special responsibility for the people in the camps, a slow smile spreads over his face.
"They are our people," he says with a grand gesture toward the ruined land, "and we are taking care of them."
(LA Times)
TEXT: Conclusions of Darfur rebels’ consultations in Arusha
Monday 6 August 2007.
August 6, 2007 (ARUSHA, Tanzania) — Below the full text of the Chairmen’s Conclusions from the Arusha consultations issued by the AU-UN- special envoy for Darfur on Monday at the end of the three day meeting for Darfur rebel groups.
At the invitation of the AU and the UN Special envoys for Darfur, Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim and Mr. Jan Eliasson, leading personalities of the Darfur Movements held consultations in Ngurdoto, Arusha Tanzania, from 3 to 6 August 2007. The regional countries Chad, Egypt, Eritrea and Libya also participated in the meeting. Several Field Commanders were also present.
The Arusha meeting aimed at creating an enabling environment for the non-signatories to meet and consult amongst themselves, with other participants and the Special Envoys in order to facilitate the preparations for the negotiations.
The discussions focussed on the following issue: (a) Need for a common negotiation platform of the Movements for the resumed talks.; (b) Criteria and level of participation in the final negotiations; (c) Agenda and venue for the renewed talks (d) inclusions of the concerns of IDPs refugees, tribal leaders, women and other civil society groups and (e) Security and humanitarian matters.
The meeting stressed that the conflict in Darfur can have no military solution and that a political solution is of utmost urgency.
The Representatives of Darfur Movements present:
I. Reaffirmed their commitment to the Road-Map of the Special Envoys for reenergising the political process;
II. Expressed their commitment and readiness to fully participate in the forthcoming negotiations under the leadership of the AU/UN in partnership with regional actors, and with the support of the support of the international community.
III. Presented a common platform on power sharing, wealth sharing, security arrangements, land/hawakeer and humanitarian issues, for the final negotiations. The also recommended that final talks should be held between 2-3 moths from now in countries of the regional initiatives or in any other country that the mediation considers suitable in terms of environment and facilities, to ensure the success of the negotiations.
IV. Decided to keep open the possibility for those who were invited but did not participated in the Arusha Consultations, to join their common platform, in order to have an inclusive representation of the movements in the final negotiations;
V. Reiterated their readiness to respect a complete cessation of hostilities provided that all other Parties make similar commitments;
VI. Expressed their commitment to allow free access to humanitarian aid agencies, to refrain from any act of hostilities against the personnel and the assets of African Mission in the Sudan (AMIS), as well as against humanitarian organisations in Darfur.
VII. Welcomed the adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1769 on 31 July 2007, which authorised the deployment of the Hybrid Operation and expressed support for the ongoing political process. They also pledged their full co-operation for the implementation of the Hybrid Operation, bearing in mind that it would contribute to ending violence and insecurity on the ground.
VIII. Urged the Special envoy to continue and finalize their consultations with IDPs, refugees, traditional leaders and civil society organisations, including women’s groups in an effort to develop a mechanism to channel their views and positions into-the final negotiations.
The Special envoys welcomed their common positions as an important development in the preparations for the negotiations. They also commended the representatives of the movements.
With respect to the issues relating to negotiations, inter alia, venue, timing and cessation of hostilities, the Special Envoys will consult the Government of the Sudan and other stakeholders, bearing in mind the views expressed by the representatives pf the movements.
During the Consultations, the representatives of the movements expressed their concern over the situation of Mr. Suleiman Jamous. The Special Envoy recalled that they had taken up this issue on several occasions with the Government of the Sudan. They expressed their intention to pursue the matter in view of the role of Mr. Jamous can play in the political process.
The participants expressed gratitude and appreciation to the Government and People of the United Republic of Tanzania for hosting the meeting and for the generous hospitality extended to the participants.
Ngurdoto, Arusha, 6 August 2007.
August 6, 2007 (ARUSHA, Tanzania) — Below the full text of the Chairmen’s Conclusions from the Arusha consultations issued by the AU-UN- special envoy for Darfur on Monday at the end of the three day meeting for Darfur rebel groups.
At the invitation of the AU and the UN Special envoys for Darfur, Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim and Mr. Jan Eliasson, leading personalities of the Darfur Movements held consultations in Ngurdoto, Arusha Tanzania, from 3 to 6 August 2007. The regional countries Chad, Egypt, Eritrea and Libya also participated in the meeting. Several Field Commanders were also present.
The Arusha meeting aimed at creating an enabling environment for the non-signatories to meet and consult amongst themselves, with other participants and the Special Envoys in order to facilitate the preparations for the negotiations.
The discussions focussed on the following issue: (a) Need for a common negotiation platform of the Movements for the resumed talks.; (b) Criteria and level of participation in the final negotiations; (c) Agenda and venue for the renewed talks (d) inclusions of the concerns of IDPs refugees, tribal leaders, women and other civil society groups and (e) Security and humanitarian matters.
The meeting stressed that the conflict in Darfur can have no military solution and that a political solution is of utmost urgency.
The Representatives of Darfur Movements present:
I. Reaffirmed their commitment to the Road-Map of the Special Envoys for reenergising the political process;
II. Expressed their commitment and readiness to fully participate in the forthcoming negotiations under the leadership of the AU/UN in partnership with regional actors, and with the support of the support of the international community.
III. Presented a common platform on power sharing, wealth sharing, security arrangements, land/hawakeer and humanitarian issues, for the final negotiations. The also recommended that final talks should be held between 2-3 moths from now in countries of the regional initiatives or in any other country that the mediation considers suitable in terms of environment and facilities, to ensure the success of the negotiations.
IV. Decided to keep open the possibility for those who were invited but did not participated in the Arusha Consultations, to join their common platform, in order to have an inclusive representation of the movements in the final negotiations;
V. Reiterated their readiness to respect a complete cessation of hostilities provided that all other Parties make similar commitments;
VI. Expressed their commitment to allow free access to humanitarian aid agencies, to refrain from any act of hostilities against the personnel and the assets of African Mission in the Sudan (AMIS), as well as against humanitarian organisations in Darfur.
VII. Welcomed the adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1769 on 31 July 2007, which authorised the deployment of the Hybrid Operation and expressed support for the ongoing political process. They also pledged their full co-operation for the implementation of the Hybrid Operation, bearing in mind that it would contribute to ending violence and insecurity on the ground.
VIII. Urged the Special envoy to continue and finalize their consultations with IDPs, refugees, traditional leaders and civil society organisations, including women’s groups in an effort to develop a mechanism to channel their views and positions into-the final negotiations.
The Special envoys welcomed their common positions as an important development in the preparations for the negotiations. They also commended the representatives of the movements.
With respect to the issues relating to negotiations, inter alia, venue, timing and cessation of hostilities, the Special Envoys will consult the Government of the Sudan and other stakeholders, bearing in mind the views expressed by the representatives pf the movements.
During the Consultations, the representatives of the movements expressed their concern over the situation of Mr. Suleiman Jamous. The Special Envoy recalled that they had taken up this issue on several occasions with the Government of the Sudan. They expressed their intention to pursue the matter in view of the role of Mr. Jamous can play in the political process.
The participants expressed gratitude and appreciation to the Government and People of the United Republic of Tanzania for hosting the meeting and for the generous hospitality extended to the participants.
Ngurdoto, Arusha, 6 August 2007.
Darfur's rebel groups reach deal
Most of Darfur's rebel groups have agreed on a common position and want "final" talks with Sudan's government within two or three months.
The eight factions have been in talks since Friday to end their divisions - seen as a major factor in the failure to end the four-year conflict.
However, one of the key rebel leaders boycotted the meeting in Tanzania.
The agreement follows last week's decision to send 26,000 UN and African Union peacekeepers to Darfur.
The factions had reached a "common platform on power-sharing, wealth-sharing, security arrangements, land and humanitarian issues, for the final negotiations", they said in a statement.
BBC East Africa correspondent Karen Allen says details of the platforms are being presented in a confidential document, which will now be taken to Khartoum to set an agenda for revived peace talks.
Optimism
Special UN envoy to Darfur Jan Eliasson told the BBC the agreement was an important step forward.
"One of the main problems we have had to reach negotiations has been the split and the splintering among the rebel movement," he said, adding that he was on his way to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, for discussions with the government.
International Crisis Group analyst Hannah Stogdon told Reuters news agency that it depended on who would represent the rebels in talks with the government.
HAVE YOUR SAY
All I need to see is the joint AU and UN forces in Darfur protecting the people
Kulang, Juba, Sudan
"If they can agree on that publicly, that is a good sign."
Rebel leader Ahmed Hussein said the deal would "pave the way for a meaningful and positive new political process to solve the root causes of the conflict in Darfur".
The talks in Arusha were due to end on Sunday but were extended by a day.
One of the key rebel leaders, Abdul Wahid Mohammad Ahmed al-Nur, of the major faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement, boycotted the talks, saying a ceasefire should be agreed before political talks.
Common denominator
The African Union special envoy to Darfur, Salim Ahmed Salim, told the BBC that Mr Nur should take the current opportunity to put aside his differences and join the peace process.
"We are now at the pre-negotiation level, and we hope that the negotiations will begin within the period of two months."
KEY REBEL PLAYERS
SLM: Minni Minnawi's faction signed 2006 peace deal
SLM: Abdul Wahid Mohammad Ahmed al-Nur's faction rejected peace deal
Jem: Khalil Ibrahim, one of the first rebel groups, rejected deal
Rebel negotiator: Suleiman Jamous
SLM Unity: Abdallah Yehia
UFLD: recently formed umbrella group including SLM commanders
Other breakaway SLM commanders: Mahjoub Hussein, Jar el-Neby and Suleiman Marajan
There are estimated to be more than 13 rebel factions in Darfur
"It is not seen as logical to have the government of Sudan negotiating with 10 or 15 difference factions, so we have encouraged all the participants at the Arusha meeting to... find a minimum common denominator among themselves," he said.
At least 200,000 people are believed to have died and more than two million have been left homeless since 2003.
Sudan's government and pro-government Arab Janjaweed militias are accused of war crimes against the region's black African population, although the UN has stopped short of calling it genocide.
The talks follow last week's UN Security Council resolution to send 26,000 peacekeepers to Darfur.
Though the fighters in Arusha have welcomed the announcement that more peacekeepers will be deployed, they know that a political solution is the only way forward, says BBC Africa analyst David Bamford.
After months of wrangling, Sudan agreed to the UN resolution after it was watered down.
(BBC)
The eight factions have been in talks since Friday to end their divisions - seen as a major factor in the failure to end the four-year conflict.
However, one of the key rebel leaders boycotted the meeting in Tanzania.
The agreement follows last week's decision to send 26,000 UN and African Union peacekeepers to Darfur.
The factions had reached a "common platform on power-sharing, wealth-sharing, security arrangements, land and humanitarian issues, for the final negotiations", they said in a statement.
BBC East Africa correspondent Karen Allen says details of the platforms are being presented in a confidential document, which will now be taken to Khartoum to set an agenda for revived peace talks.
Optimism
Special UN envoy to Darfur Jan Eliasson told the BBC the agreement was an important step forward.
"One of the main problems we have had to reach negotiations has been the split and the splintering among the rebel movement," he said, adding that he was on his way to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, for discussions with the government.
International Crisis Group analyst Hannah Stogdon told Reuters news agency that it depended on who would represent the rebels in talks with the government.
HAVE YOUR SAY
All I need to see is the joint AU and UN forces in Darfur protecting the people
Kulang, Juba, Sudan
"If they can agree on that publicly, that is a good sign."
Rebel leader Ahmed Hussein said the deal would "pave the way for a meaningful and positive new political process to solve the root causes of the conflict in Darfur".
The talks in Arusha were due to end on Sunday but were extended by a day.
One of the key rebel leaders, Abdul Wahid Mohammad Ahmed al-Nur, of the major faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement, boycotted the talks, saying a ceasefire should be agreed before political talks.
Common denominator
The African Union special envoy to Darfur, Salim Ahmed Salim, told the BBC that Mr Nur should take the current opportunity to put aside his differences and join the peace process.
"We are now at the pre-negotiation level, and we hope that the negotiations will begin within the period of two months."
KEY REBEL PLAYERS
SLM: Minni Minnawi's faction signed 2006 peace deal
SLM: Abdul Wahid Mohammad Ahmed al-Nur's faction rejected peace deal
Jem: Khalil Ibrahim, one of the first rebel groups, rejected deal
Rebel negotiator: Suleiman Jamous
SLM Unity: Abdallah Yehia
UFLD: recently formed umbrella group including SLM commanders
Other breakaway SLM commanders: Mahjoub Hussein, Jar el-Neby and Suleiman Marajan
There are estimated to be more than 13 rebel factions in Darfur
"It is not seen as logical to have the government of Sudan negotiating with 10 or 15 difference factions, so we have encouraged all the participants at the Arusha meeting to... find a minimum common denominator among themselves," he said.
At least 200,000 people are believed to have died and more than two million have been left homeless since 2003.
Sudan's government and pro-government Arab Janjaweed militias are accused of war crimes against the region's black African population, although the UN has stopped short of calling it genocide.
The talks follow last week's UN Security Council resolution to send 26,000 peacekeepers to Darfur.
Though the fighters in Arusha have welcomed the announcement that more peacekeepers will be deployed, they know that a political solution is the only way forward, says BBC Africa analyst David Bamford.
After months of wrangling, Sudan agreed to the UN resolution after it was watered down.
(BBC)
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