GENEVA, September 26, 2007--Three ACT-Caritas staff have been released into police custody after they were detained by an armed group over the weekend in Zalingei, west Darfur. The three staff were held for close to 30 hours and work for ACT-Caritas through ACT member, Norwegian Church Aid (NCA).
Immediately following the incident, all non-life saving ACT-Caritas operations in and around Zalingei were suspended and non-essential staff were sent home.
John Distefano, director of the ACT-Caritas Darfur Emergency Response, said, "We are very pleased that our three staff members are safe and we expect them to be in our care as soon as possible. A team is also currently investigating the entire matter."
"We have strict security protocols in place to safeguard our staff and ensure that we don't inadvertently put those we assist at risk, but security is very fluid in this area," added Mr. Distefano.
Over the past two months insecurity had already reduced the ability of the ACT-Caritas operation to provide humanitarian assistance in and around Zalingei.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported in August that insecurity is negatively affecting the quantity and quality of aid to hundreds of thousands of people in Darfur.
Further details on the incident and future operations in Zalingei will be released in the near future.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/222031/119079222693.htm
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
China sends 250 tons of aid materials to Darfur
Tuesday 25 September 2007.
September 24, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — A special train carrying 250 tons of aid materials donated by the Chinese government left the Khartoum Railway Station on Monday for Sudan’s restive western region of Darfur.
The aid materials, including generators, water tankers and medical equipment for 30 water stations and 25 rural hospitals, is expected to arrive in Nyala, capital city of the South Darfur State, in five days.
This is one part of a total of RMB 80 million Chinese support to the Darfur region, which have been delayed by anti-government riots and tribal clashes since February 2003.
Besides the humanitarian assistances, a Chinese engineer unit consisting of 315 soldiers will be deployed in Darfur region in early October, to take part in a hybrid peacekeeping operation run by the United Nations and the African Union.
While addressing at a ceremony held for the aid delivery, Sudanese Minister of Energy and Mining Awad Ahmed Mohamed al-Jaz expressed his country’s appreciation for the positions of China and its support for the projects of development and public services in Sudan, especially in Darfur.
He appreciated the Chinese support as critical for the peace and stability in Darfur, saying it would promote the services and encourage the return of the refugees and displaced people to their homelands.
"We will start with the projects of water and health then the ones of education, housing and electricity," the Sudanese minister said.
Ahmed Mohammed Harun, the Sudanese minister of state for humanitarian affairs, also thanks Chinese government for providing such comprehensive support which covered all the vital fields.
He said this support indicated "the depth and solidity of the relations between Sudan and China."
Thanks to the cohesion of the Sudanese people and the support of Sudan’s friends, the Darfur cause was moving steadily forward towards a final solution, said Harun.
This was the third batch provided by the Chinese government and the previous two had been delivered to the Darfur region.
Chinese Ambassador to Sudan Li Chengwen reiterated China’s support to the efforts exerted by the Sudanese government to realize the social and political stability in Darfur for achieving a final and lasting peace in the region.
"We are desirous to push the development process, promote the production, enhance the services and provide the humanitarian assistance for the citizens in Darfur," Li said.
(Xinhua)
September 24, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — A special train carrying 250 tons of aid materials donated by the Chinese government left the Khartoum Railway Station on Monday for Sudan’s restive western region of Darfur.
The aid materials, including generators, water tankers and medical equipment for 30 water stations and 25 rural hospitals, is expected to arrive in Nyala, capital city of the South Darfur State, in five days.
This is one part of a total of RMB 80 million Chinese support to the Darfur region, which have been delayed by anti-government riots and tribal clashes since February 2003.
Besides the humanitarian assistances, a Chinese engineer unit consisting of 315 soldiers will be deployed in Darfur region in early October, to take part in a hybrid peacekeeping operation run by the United Nations and the African Union.
While addressing at a ceremony held for the aid delivery, Sudanese Minister of Energy and Mining Awad Ahmed Mohamed al-Jaz expressed his country’s appreciation for the positions of China and its support for the projects of development and public services in Sudan, especially in Darfur.
He appreciated the Chinese support as critical for the peace and stability in Darfur, saying it would promote the services and encourage the return of the refugees and displaced people to their homelands.
"We will start with the projects of water and health then the ones of education, housing and electricity," the Sudanese minister said.
Ahmed Mohammed Harun, the Sudanese minister of state for humanitarian affairs, also thanks Chinese government for providing such comprehensive support which covered all the vital fields.
He said this support indicated "the depth and solidity of the relations between Sudan and China."
Thanks to the cohesion of the Sudanese people and the support of Sudan’s friends, the Darfur cause was moving steadily forward towards a final solution, said Harun.
This was the third batch provided by the Chinese government and the previous two had been delivered to the Darfur region.
Chinese Ambassador to Sudan Li Chengwen reiterated China’s support to the efforts exerted by the Sudanese government to realize the social and political stability in Darfur for achieving a final and lasting peace in the region.
"We are desirous to push the development process, promote the production, enhance the services and provide the humanitarian assistance for the citizens in Darfur," Li said.
(Xinhua)
Cooperation with China reached "outstanding" stage - Ethiopia
Tuesday 25 September 2007.
September 24, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Monday the bilateral cooperation between Ethiopia and China has reached an "outstanding" stage.
During his talks with Li Ruogu, chairman of China Exim Bank, Meles said Ethiopia is keen to step up its current relationship with China.
China has been providing support to Ethiopia in various sectors, Meles said, adding that the cooperation in the areas of development projects should further be strengthened.
He also underlined China has been cooperating with African countries, particularly Ethiopia, in various sectors.
Li told journalists after the talks that the cooperation between Ethiopia and China has been gaining momentum from time to time.
The Chinese banker said his country is keen to beef up the development cooperation underway between the two countries.
Li arrived here on Sunday for a working visit.
(Xinhua)
September 24, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Monday the bilateral cooperation between Ethiopia and China has reached an "outstanding" stage.
During his talks with Li Ruogu, chairman of China Exim Bank, Meles said Ethiopia is keen to step up its current relationship with China.
China has been providing support to Ethiopia in various sectors, Meles said, adding that the cooperation in the areas of development projects should further be strengthened.
He also underlined China has been cooperating with African countries, particularly Ethiopia, in various sectors.
Li told journalists after the talks that the cooperation between Ethiopia and China has been gaining momentum from time to time.
The Chinese banker said his country is keen to beef up the development cooperation underway between the two countries.
Li arrived here on Sunday for a working visit.
(Xinhua)
Serious abuse continuing in Darfur - UN experts
Tuesday 25 September 2007.
September 24, 2007 (GENEVA) — A group of UN experts monitoring Darfur said Monday that serious human rights violations appeared to be continuing in the strife-torn western Sudanese region.
Sudanese Darfur survivor Ibrahim scratching through the dust where he says the remains of 25 of his friends and fellow villagers lie, at the site of a mass grave on the outskirts of the West Darfur town of Mukjar, Sudan, April 23, 2007. (AP)
In a report to the UN’s Human Rights Council, the experts said the Sudanese government was implementing some of their recommendations to prevent violations in the region, although progress on the ground so far appeared to be limited.
"The group of experts reiterates its concern about reports of ongoing serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights by various parties to the conflict," the report said.
It called on Khartoum to address the issue of impunity and ensure that all perpetrators of abuses are brought to justice. The experts did not list the reported incidents.
UN human rights chief Louise Arbour issued a similar warning last week, saying that human rights violations in Darfur were still "of the same nature and largely on the same scale."
She also said there was little indication that the Sudanese government was willing to respond to arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court.
UN envoy Walter Kaelin, a member of the group, on Monday praised Khartoum’s "excellent cooperation" and its efforts to implement measures to stop abuse in Darfur.
But he told the 47-nation Council: "The group reiterates that the ultimate measure of the government’s implementation of the recommendations compiled by the group has to be concrete improvement in the human rights situation on the ground in Darfur."
"It is possible to note at this time that while certain recommendations have been at least partially implemented, it is not in a position to report that a clear impact on the ground has been identified yet," he added.
Kaelin said the experts wanted to give Khartoum "the maximum possible time" to fulfill its undertakings and promised a comprehensive evaluation in December.
Sudan’s delegation at the Council described the report as "very constructive."
In June the experts laid out more than 30 detailed "recommendations" or targets that Sudan should meet — including clear orders to stop attacks on civilians, disarming militia and full cooperation with the ICC.
They also included indicators — such as the numbers of attacks in Darfur or the number of people handed over to the ICC — that would allow an assessment of progress.
The report acknowledged that the multiplication of the number of warring parties was hampering efforts on the ground, but it cautioned that they "cannot be invoked as obstacles" in stopping violations.
Rebels in Darfur have split into different factions, with some rejecting a peace agreement, and are divided over further talks with Khartoum next month.
More than two million people have fled their homes and at least 200,000 have died from the combined effects of famine and conflict since Khartoum enlisted militia allies to put down a local revolt in 2003, according to the United Nations.
(AFP)
September 24, 2007 (GENEVA) — A group of UN experts monitoring Darfur said Monday that serious human rights violations appeared to be continuing in the strife-torn western Sudanese region.
Sudanese Darfur survivor Ibrahim scratching through the dust where he says the remains of 25 of his friends and fellow villagers lie, at the site of a mass grave on the outskirts of the West Darfur town of Mukjar, Sudan, April 23, 2007. (AP)
In a report to the UN’s Human Rights Council, the experts said the Sudanese government was implementing some of their recommendations to prevent violations in the region, although progress on the ground so far appeared to be limited.
"The group of experts reiterates its concern about reports of ongoing serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights by various parties to the conflict," the report said.
It called on Khartoum to address the issue of impunity and ensure that all perpetrators of abuses are brought to justice. The experts did not list the reported incidents.
UN human rights chief Louise Arbour issued a similar warning last week, saying that human rights violations in Darfur were still "of the same nature and largely on the same scale."
She also said there was little indication that the Sudanese government was willing to respond to arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court.
UN envoy Walter Kaelin, a member of the group, on Monday praised Khartoum’s "excellent cooperation" and its efforts to implement measures to stop abuse in Darfur.
But he told the 47-nation Council: "The group reiterates that the ultimate measure of the government’s implementation of the recommendations compiled by the group has to be concrete improvement in the human rights situation on the ground in Darfur."
"It is possible to note at this time that while certain recommendations have been at least partially implemented, it is not in a position to report that a clear impact on the ground has been identified yet," he added.
Kaelin said the experts wanted to give Khartoum "the maximum possible time" to fulfill its undertakings and promised a comprehensive evaluation in December.
Sudan’s delegation at the Council described the report as "very constructive."
In June the experts laid out more than 30 detailed "recommendations" or targets that Sudan should meet — including clear orders to stop attacks on civilians, disarming militia and full cooperation with the ICC.
They also included indicators — such as the numbers of attacks in Darfur or the number of people handed over to the ICC — that would allow an assessment of progress.
The report acknowledged that the multiplication of the number of warring parties was hampering efforts on the ground, but it cautioned that they "cannot be invoked as obstacles" in stopping violations.
Rebels in Darfur have split into different factions, with some rejecting a peace agreement, and are divided over further talks with Khartoum next month.
More than two million people have fled their homes and at least 200,000 have died from the combined effects of famine and conflict since Khartoum enlisted militia allies to put down a local revolt in 2003, according to the United Nations.
(AFP)
Lack of security may force Oxfam to stop Darfur’s operation
Tuesday 25 September 2007.
September 24, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Oxfam could withdraw from Darfur if security worsens, its country director said on Monday, amid reports of 10 attacks in the past four days in Sudan’s violent and remote west.
Despite a peace deal signed last year by the government and one rebel faction and intense international focus on ending the conflict, Darfur has descended into chaos forcing the world’s largest aid operation to evacuate some areas and work at high risk in others to provide assistance to some 4 million people.
"It’s certainly a strong possibility that if things get any worse Oxfam would have to withdraw," the British aid agency’s country director Caroline Nursey told Reuters.
"Oxfam is operating at the limits of what it can tolerate as an organisation. In most circumstances if the security situation were as bad as it is in Darfur we would withdraw.
"The only reason we are still there is that we are aware of very large numbers of people who are totally dependent on us for services," said Nursey, who has worked on Sudan for four years — the last 18 months based in Khartoum.
Oxfam provides water and sanitation to 500,000 people in Darfur and neighbouring Chad, where the conflict that began in Darfur in early 2003 has spilled across the border.
Two weeks ago an Oxfam vehicle was taken in broad daylight by armed men in South Darfur’s massive and volatile Kalma camp. Nursey said the driver overheard the men debating whether to kill the two Oxfam staff members.
Last year an Oxfam driver was killed in North Darfur and staff faced mock executions in an attack in Gereida, South Darfur.
CHAOTIC SCENARIO
Since the conflict began when mostly non-Arabs revolted, accusing the government in Khartoum of neglect, some 200,000 people have died in Darfur and 2.5 million have fled their homes for sprawling camps run by aid groups.
Around 7,000 African Union police and troops have failed to stem the violence, and have been accused of bias for mediating the 2006 deal which many in Darfur’s makeshift camps reject as inadequate. Only one of three rebel factions signed the deal.
Since the peace deal rebels factionalised into more than a dozen rival groups and mostly Arab militias began fighting each other or the government which had mobilised them to quell the revolt, creating a chaotic security scenario.
Rebels, government-backed militias and bandits have all been blamed for recent attacks. Some violence has also been tribal.
Between Sept. 19-22, a U.N. statement reported eight attacks on aid convoys, compounds and police by unknown armed men in Darfur, a vast, arid area the size of France.
On Monday a government official in West Darfur told Reuters Nertiti, in the central Jabel Marra area, was attacked two days ago. One civilian was killed and four injured.
On Sunday nearby Suloo was also attacked. Four policemen were injured.
After months of negotiations and threats, Khartoum accepted a 26,000-strong joint U.N.-African Union force to absorb the struggling AU mission.
But U.N. officials in New York have said Khartoum and the AU have rejected non-African infantry battalions for the force.
Rebels say they prefer non-Africans as the AU had not managed to control the crisis. They took up arms in early 2003 accusing Khartoum of neglecting the remote region.
Officials have also said Western nations have not come up with the necessary logistical and technical support needed to launch the massive peacekeeping mission.
(Reuters)
September 24, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Oxfam could withdraw from Darfur if security worsens, its country director said on Monday, amid reports of 10 attacks in the past four days in Sudan’s violent and remote west.
Despite a peace deal signed last year by the government and one rebel faction and intense international focus on ending the conflict, Darfur has descended into chaos forcing the world’s largest aid operation to evacuate some areas and work at high risk in others to provide assistance to some 4 million people.
"It’s certainly a strong possibility that if things get any worse Oxfam would have to withdraw," the British aid agency’s country director Caroline Nursey told Reuters.
"Oxfam is operating at the limits of what it can tolerate as an organisation. In most circumstances if the security situation were as bad as it is in Darfur we would withdraw.
"The only reason we are still there is that we are aware of very large numbers of people who are totally dependent on us for services," said Nursey, who has worked on Sudan for four years — the last 18 months based in Khartoum.
Oxfam provides water and sanitation to 500,000 people in Darfur and neighbouring Chad, where the conflict that began in Darfur in early 2003 has spilled across the border.
Two weeks ago an Oxfam vehicle was taken in broad daylight by armed men in South Darfur’s massive and volatile Kalma camp. Nursey said the driver overheard the men debating whether to kill the two Oxfam staff members.
Last year an Oxfam driver was killed in North Darfur and staff faced mock executions in an attack in Gereida, South Darfur.
CHAOTIC SCENARIO
Since the conflict began when mostly non-Arabs revolted, accusing the government in Khartoum of neglect, some 200,000 people have died in Darfur and 2.5 million have fled their homes for sprawling camps run by aid groups.
Around 7,000 African Union police and troops have failed to stem the violence, and have been accused of bias for mediating the 2006 deal which many in Darfur’s makeshift camps reject as inadequate. Only one of three rebel factions signed the deal.
Since the peace deal rebels factionalised into more than a dozen rival groups and mostly Arab militias began fighting each other or the government which had mobilised them to quell the revolt, creating a chaotic security scenario.
Rebels, government-backed militias and bandits have all been blamed for recent attacks. Some violence has also been tribal.
Between Sept. 19-22, a U.N. statement reported eight attacks on aid convoys, compounds and police by unknown armed men in Darfur, a vast, arid area the size of France.
On Monday a government official in West Darfur told Reuters Nertiti, in the central Jabel Marra area, was attacked two days ago. One civilian was killed and four injured.
On Sunday nearby Suloo was also attacked. Four policemen were injured.
After months of negotiations and threats, Khartoum accepted a 26,000-strong joint U.N.-African Union force to absorb the struggling AU mission.
But U.N. officials in New York have said Khartoum and the AU have rejected non-African infantry battalions for the force.
Rebels say they prefer non-Africans as the AU had not managed to control the crisis. They took up arms in early 2003 accusing Khartoum of neglecting the remote region.
Officials have also said Western nations have not come up with the necessary logistical and technical support needed to launch the massive peacekeeping mission.
(Reuters)
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Unknown gunmen attack aid workers in Darfur
Sunday 23 September 2007.
September 22, 2007 (UNITED NATIONS) — Three aid workers are wounded in an ambush staged by unidentified gunmen in South Darfur near Bulbul Timisgo, a small village on the main road between Nyala and Kass, the UN said today.
A convoy from U.S.-based World Vision International, which included eight staff members, was attacked on Thursday September 20. The three wounded aid workers are Sudanese; two of them were transported to Khartoum for medical attention while the third is treated in Nyala due to the severity of his injuries.
Attacks against relief workers increased by 150% from June 2006 to June 2007, the UN said. Since the start of 2007, some 98 vehicles have been hijacked, some 105 staff were temporarily taken hostage, more than 66 humanitarian personnel have been physically or sexually assaulted, and 61 convoys have been ambushed and looted.
John Holmes, the U.N. undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs, condemned the attack and urged the Sudanese government to find the attackers and to punish them.
“This is a horrifying and brutal attack on aid staff who are working to save the lives of Sudanese people,” said John Holmes, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. “We call on the Government of Sudan to act with all speed to identify those responsible and ensure that they are held accountable for their crime,” he added.
The UN statement didn’t identify the attackers but underscored that "clashes among rival Arab tribes in this area in 2007 have caused significant levels of destruction and displacement."
"The area is also beset by banditry and violence." The UN further said.
World Vision, one of the world’s largest NGOs, provides a wide range of relief assistance in South Darfur, with projects in food aid, nutrition, water, education, sanitation, and agriculture, among others. They employ several hundred staff there.
(ST)
September 22, 2007 (UNITED NATIONS) — Three aid workers are wounded in an ambush staged by unidentified gunmen in South Darfur near Bulbul Timisgo, a small village on the main road between Nyala and Kass, the UN said today.
A convoy from U.S.-based World Vision International, which included eight staff members, was attacked on Thursday September 20. The three wounded aid workers are Sudanese; two of them were transported to Khartoum for medical attention while the third is treated in Nyala due to the severity of his injuries.
Attacks against relief workers increased by 150% from June 2006 to June 2007, the UN said. Since the start of 2007, some 98 vehicles have been hijacked, some 105 staff were temporarily taken hostage, more than 66 humanitarian personnel have been physically or sexually assaulted, and 61 convoys have been ambushed and looted.
John Holmes, the U.N. undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs, condemned the attack and urged the Sudanese government to find the attackers and to punish them.
“This is a horrifying and brutal attack on aid staff who are working to save the lives of Sudanese people,” said John Holmes, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. “We call on the Government of Sudan to act with all speed to identify those responsible and ensure that they are held accountable for their crime,” he added.
The UN statement didn’t identify the attackers but underscored that "clashes among rival Arab tribes in this area in 2007 have caused significant levels of destruction and displacement."
"The area is also beset by banditry and violence." The UN further said.
World Vision, one of the world’s largest NGOs, provides a wide range of relief assistance in South Darfur, with projects in food aid, nutrition, water, education, sanitation, and agriculture, among others. They employ several hundred staff there.
(ST)
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Humanitarian situation in Ethiopia’s Ogaden region worsens - UN
Thursday 20 September 2007.
September 19, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia) — The United Nations said Wednesday that the situation in Ethiopia’s Ogaden region has "deteriorated rapidly," and called for an independent investigation into the humanitarian issues there.
The U.N. sent a fact-finding mission to the Ogaden in the country’s volatile east from Aug. 30 to Sept. 6.
"The mission observed the recent fighting has led to a worsening humanitarian situation, in which the price of food has nearly doubled," the U.N. said in a statement released late Wednesday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
The mission also called for a substantial increase in emergency food aid to the impoverished region where rebels have been fighting for increased autonomy for more than a decade.
The U.N. mission was sent after months of fighting that followed a crackdown ordered by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on the Ogaden National Liberation Front. The government says the rebels, who killed 74 members of a Chinese-run oil exploration team, are terrorists, funded by its archenemy Eritrea.
The rebels have accused the Ethiopian government of genocide - a charge the government denies. In a statement on Sept. 13, the front said the government was punishing civilians for the rebel activities and that the fact-finding mission had not visited areas where war crimes were being committed.
"The Ethiopian regime’s policy in Ogaden continues to be a campaign of state-sponsored terror that largely avoids engagements with ONLF forces and instead focuses on collectively punishing our civilian population," the statement said. "Victims of the regime’s war crimes include victims of rape, torture, gunshot wounds and those fleeing burnt villages," it said.
The front called on the international community to stop "yet another preventable African genocide," and urged the U.N. to investigate further in the region, saying the recent trip had been too tightly controlled by the government.
Bereket Simon, the special adviser to the prime minister, dismissed the rebels’ claims after the statement was issued last week.
"They said it is good that the U.N. has sent the fact-finding mission. And now when the facts from the ground are found to be not supporting their claims, they are fighting the fact-finding mission," he said.
The group is fighting for greater political rights for the region, which is ethnically Somali.
(AP)
September 19, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia) — The United Nations said Wednesday that the situation in Ethiopia’s Ogaden region has "deteriorated rapidly," and called for an independent investigation into the humanitarian issues there.
The U.N. sent a fact-finding mission to the Ogaden in the country’s volatile east from Aug. 30 to Sept. 6.
"The mission observed the recent fighting has led to a worsening humanitarian situation, in which the price of food has nearly doubled," the U.N. said in a statement released late Wednesday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
The mission also called for a substantial increase in emergency food aid to the impoverished region where rebels have been fighting for increased autonomy for more than a decade.
The U.N. mission was sent after months of fighting that followed a crackdown ordered by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on the Ogaden National Liberation Front. The government says the rebels, who killed 74 members of a Chinese-run oil exploration team, are terrorists, funded by its archenemy Eritrea.
The rebels have accused the Ethiopian government of genocide - a charge the government denies. In a statement on Sept. 13, the front said the government was punishing civilians for the rebel activities and that the fact-finding mission had not visited areas where war crimes were being committed.
"The Ethiopian regime’s policy in Ogaden continues to be a campaign of state-sponsored terror that largely avoids engagements with ONLF forces and instead focuses on collectively punishing our civilian population," the statement said. "Victims of the regime’s war crimes include victims of rape, torture, gunshot wounds and those fleeing burnt villages," it said.
The front called on the international community to stop "yet another preventable African genocide," and urged the U.N. to investigate further in the region, saying the recent trip had been too tightly controlled by the government.
Bereket Simon, the special adviser to the prime minister, dismissed the rebels’ claims after the statement was issued last week.
"They said it is good that the U.N. has sent the fact-finding mission. And now when the facts from the ground are found to be not supporting their claims, they are fighting the fact-finding mission," he said.
The group is fighting for greater political rights for the region, which is ethnically Somali.
(AP)
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Rights violations are contining with impunity in Darfur - UN
Tuesday 18 September 2007.
September 17, 2007 (GENEVA) — The United Nations top human rights official warned on Monday that rights violations are contining in Darfur and that the Sudanese government has yet to make serious progress on tackling impunity for offenders.
Louise Arbour
"Darfur continues to be a matter of serious preoccupation," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour told journalists.
"Human rights violations continue to be of the same nature and largely on the same scale," she said.
People forced into camps after fleeing their homes continue to be targeted, with women in particular vulnerable to sexual attacks, she said.
Arbour warned that there was "very little progress on national efforts to combat the culture of impunity."
"There is very little indication of a change of attitude for the better on the part of the government of Sudan to respond to the warrants issued by the International Criminal Court," she added.
In May, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Ahmed Haroun, the secretary of state for humanitarian affairs, and pro-government Janjaweed militia leader Ali Kosheib, but Sudan has refused to hand them over.
However, Arbour did say that the "slightly more energised peace process" and the prospect of a joint UN-African Union "hybrid" peacekeeping force give some hope of new momentum towards a peaceful settlement.
"These two initiatives certainly give cause for some optimism that the human rights situation could improve," she said.
Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir met with Italian prime minister Romano Prodi last week and reportedly promised "total cooperation" with a hybrid peacekeeping force.
According to UN estimates, more than 200,000 people have died and some two million have been displaced in Darfur as a result of the combined effect of war and famine since the conflict erupted more than four years ago.
Khartoum disputes the figures and says only 9,000 people died.
(AFP)
September 17, 2007 (GENEVA) — The United Nations top human rights official warned on Monday that rights violations are contining in Darfur and that the Sudanese government has yet to make serious progress on tackling impunity for offenders.
Louise Arbour
"Darfur continues to be a matter of serious preoccupation," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour told journalists.
"Human rights violations continue to be of the same nature and largely on the same scale," she said.
People forced into camps after fleeing their homes continue to be targeted, with women in particular vulnerable to sexual attacks, she said.
Arbour warned that there was "very little progress on national efforts to combat the culture of impunity."
"There is very little indication of a change of attitude for the better on the part of the government of Sudan to respond to the warrants issued by the International Criminal Court," she added.
In May, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Ahmed Haroun, the secretary of state for humanitarian affairs, and pro-government Janjaweed militia leader Ali Kosheib, but Sudan has refused to hand them over.
However, Arbour did say that the "slightly more energised peace process" and the prospect of a joint UN-African Union "hybrid" peacekeeping force give some hope of new momentum towards a peaceful settlement.
"These two initiatives certainly give cause for some optimism that the human rights situation could improve," she said.
Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir met with Italian prime minister Romano Prodi last week and reportedly promised "total cooperation" with a hybrid peacekeeping force.
According to UN estimates, more than 200,000 people have died and some two million have been displaced in Darfur as a result of the combined effect of war and famine since the conflict erupted more than four years ago.
Khartoum disputes the figures and says only 9,000 people died.
(AFP)
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Sudan to issue arrest warrants for Darfur rebels
Tuesday 11 September 2007.
September 10, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan is preparing arrest warrants for six Darfur rebel leaders, accusing them of masterminding a bloody attack on a government base, the Justice Ministry said on Monday.
Khartoum said 41 people were killed when the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) attacked a police base in the town of Wad Banda in Kordofan region, 200 km (125 miles) from the border with war-torn Darfur late last month.
The ministry said in a statement carried by state-run media the attack was "a criminal and terrorist act".
"Arrest warrants would be issued in cooperation with the Interpol against six leaders of the JEM responsible for the attack," the ministry said. It did not name suspects.
JEM claimed responsibility for the August 29 attack, but insisted it was on a military base, manned by 1,700 troops and used for launching government-backed raids against southern Darfur. The government denies the charges.
JEM commanders were not available for comment.
The announcement of the arrest warrants came seven weeks before the start of peace talks between Khartoum and rebel groups, expected to take place in Libya on October 27.
It also coincided with fresh reports of violence and lawlessness in war-torn Darfur.
The United Nations on Monday reported crowds of displaced Sudanese had killed four men who had tried to hijack a U.N. vehicle in south Darfur’s Kalma camp on Thursday. A day earlier, gunmen killed one resident of the nearby Bilal camp and kidnapped another.
International experts estimate 200,000 people have died in more than four years of conflict in Darfur and 2.5 million others have been driven from their homes by rape, looting and killing. Washington calls the violence genocide, a term European governments are reluctant to use.
Khartoum says only 9,000 people have been killed, blaming Western media for exaggerating the conflict.
(Reuters)
September 10, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan is preparing arrest warrants for six Darfur rebel leaders, accusing them of masterminding a bloody attack on a government base, the Justice Ministry said on Monday.
Khartoum said 41 people were killed when the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) attacked a police base in the town of Wad Banda in Kordofan region, 200 km (125 miles) from the border with war-torn Darfur late last month.
The ministry said in a statement carried by state-run media the attack was "a criminal and terrorist act".
"Arrest warrants would be issued in cooperation with the Interpol against six leaders of the JEM responsible for the attack," the ministry said. It did not name suspects.
JEM claimed responsibility for the August 29 attack, but insisted it was on a military base, manned by 1,700 troops and used for launching government-backed raids against southern Darfur. The government denies the charges.
JEM commanders were not available for comment.
The announcement of the arrest warrants came seven weeks before the start of peace talks between Khartoum and rebel groups, expected to take place in Libya on October 27.
It also coincided with fresh reports of violence and lawlessness in war-torn Darfur.
The United Nations on Monday reported crowds of displaced Sudanese had killed four men who had tried to hijack a U.N. vehicle in south Darfur’s Kalma camp on Thursday. A day earlier, gunmen killed one resident of the nearby Bilal camp and kidnapped another.
International experts estimate 200,000 people have died in more than four years of conflict in Darfur and 2.5 million others have been driven from their homes by rape, looting and killing. Washington calls the violence genocide, a term European governments are reluctant to use.
Khartoum says only 9,000 people have been killed, blaming Western media for exaggerating the conflict.
(Reuters)
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Ethiopia blocking civilian access to medicine in Ogaden - MSF
Wednesday 5 September 2007
September 4, 2007 (NAIROBI) — Ethiopian soldiers have chased women and children from wells in the desert and blocked civilians from getting medical care in an eastern Ethiopian region where a rebellion is brewing, the aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said Tuesday.
Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) militants display their weapons during a 2006 photocall in Mogadishu. (AFP)
Ethiopian officials were not immediately available for comment.
Local and international staff of the agency, also known as Doctors Without Borders, withdrew from most of the Ogaden region in July because of insecurity.
Later, the agency felt security had improved but several attempts to return have failed because authorities said aid groups were being held back for their own safety and would be allowed to return once military operations had ended, said Loris de Filippi, the agency’s operational coordinator for Ethiopia.
Eileen Skinnider of Doctors Without Borders said she saw soldiers driving women and children away from wells in the Ogaden and a team treated several victims of beatings and some civilians with gunshot wounds. Skinnider described driving through roads lined with burnt-out or mostly deserted villages, with elderly and sick inhabitants cowering in their huts.
"They first hid when they heard the sound of vehicles approaching," Skinnider said about a trip to one village. "They told us that they were afraid that if they were still found in their village, it would be burnt."
"In one incident I saw, a donkey that was being used to transport water got stabbed to death by soldiers," said Dr. Sieke Felix, who has not been allowed to return since July. She said she also saw a woman who had been beaten by soldiers when she was looking for her children and a 10 year-old injured by a mine.
Following the withdrawal of Doctors Without Borders and the International Red Cross, which says it was ordered to leave by the government last month, there are no foreign aid workers in the region and no reliable information about what is happening.
De Filippi said that in the three worst pockets of fighting in the Ogaden, 400,000 people share one physician. Doctors Without Borders had not been able to deliver vital drugs for six months, he said, adding that to get help women suffering from complications while giving birth would have to make an arduous journey that takes up to nine hours by car.
Doctors Without Borders said it was impossible to know how many people were hungry or sick in the parched, famine-prone area without being able to do an assessment, but the agency’s staff had seen no commercial trucks carrying food in areas where the fighting was fiercest and had seen several cases of malnutrition before pulling out in July.
Clashes between Ethiopian soldiers and rebels intensified in the region after Ogaden National Liberation Front rebels killed 74 members of a Chinese-run oil exploration team in April.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front, which says it is fighting for the rights of the region’s roughly 4 million ethnic Somali people, has accused the government of burning down villages, blocking food aid and attacking civilians.
The government says the rebels are backed by Ethiopia’s bitter enemy Eritrea in an attempt to destabilize the country.
No journalists or aid workers are currently allowed in the region, although a U.N. assessment team is currently in the region. The rebels have declared a unilateral cease-fire until the U.N. mission completes its work. Filippi said so far the U.N. team had not visited any of the areas worst affected by the fighting.
(AP)
September 4, 2007 (NAIROBI) — Ethiopian soldiers have chased women and children from wells in the desert and blocked civilians from getting medical care in an eastern Ethiopian region where a rebellion is brewing, the aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said Tuesday.
Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) militants display their weapons during a 2006 photocall in Mogadishu. (AFP)
Ethiopian officials were not immediately available for comment.
Local and international staff of the agency, also known as Doctors Without Borders, withdrew from most of the Ogaden region in July because of insecurity.
Later, the agency felt security had improved but several attempts to return have failed because authorities said aid groups were being held back for their own safety and would be allowed to return once military operations had ended, said Loris de Filippi, the agency’s operational coordinator for Ethiopia.
Eileen Skinnider of Doctors Without Borders said she saw soldiers driving women and children away from wells in the Ogaden and a team treated several victims of beatings and some civilians with gunshot wounds. Skinnider described driving through roads lined with burnt-out or mostly deserted villages, with elderly and sick inhabitants cowering in their huts.
"They first hid when they heard the sound of vehicles approaching," Skinnider said about a trip to one village. "They told us that they were afraid that if they were still found in their village, it would be burnt."
"In one incident I saw, a donkey that was being used to transport water got stabbed to death by soldiers," said Dr. Sieke Felix, who has not been allowed to return since July. She said she also saw a woman who had been beaten by soldiers when she was looking for her children and a 10 year-old injured by a mine.
Following the withdrawal of Doctors Without Borders and the International Red Cross, which says it was ordered to leave by the government last month, there are no foreign aid workers in the region and no reliable information about what is happening.
De Filippi said that in the three worst pockets of fighting in the Ogaden, 400,000 people share one physician. Doctors Without Borders had not been able to deliver vital drugs for six months, he said, adding that to get help women suffering from complications while giving birth would have to make an arduous journey that takes up to nine hours by car.
Doctors Without Borders said it was impossible to know how many people were hungry or sick in the parched, famine-prone area without being able to do an assessment, but the agency’s staff had seen no commercial trucks carrying food in areas where the fighting was fiercest and had seen several cases of malnutrition before pulling out in July.
Clashes between Ethiopian soldiers and rebels intensified in the region after Ogaden National Liberation Front rebels killed 74 members of a Chinese-run oil exploration team in April.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front, which says it is fighting for the rights of the region’s roughly 4 million ethnic Somali people, has accused the government of burning down villages, blocking food aid and attacking civilians.
The government says the rebels are backed by Ethiopia’s bitter enemy Eritrea in an attempt to destabilize the country.
No journalists or aid workers are currently allowed in the region, although a U.N. assessment team is currently in the region. The rebels have declared a unilateral cease-fire until the U.N. mission completes its work. Filippi said so far the U.N. team had not visited any of the areas worst affected by the fighting.
(AP)
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Ethiopia orders Norwegian diplomats to Leave
Tuesday 28 August 2007.
August 27, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopia has ordered six Norwegian diplomats to leave the country by Sept. 15, expressing "dissatisfaction" with Norway’s conduct in the Horn of Africa region, the Norwegian foreign affairs minister said Monday.
"We are surprised and regret the Ethiopian authorities’ unilateral decision," Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said in a statement posted on the ministry’s Web site.
Norway had urged Ethiopia to reconsider its decision, but Ethiopia had maintained its position and so six Norwegian diplomats would be leaving, the statement added.
"This sharp reduction in staffing means that we may not be able to maintain our development cooperation with Ethiopia at the current level," Stoere added. "We regret the impact this will have on our partners."
Junior foreign minister Raymond Johansen told AFP: "The Ethiopian decision was passed to us on August 15 in a totally unexpected manner."
Ethiopia had accused Norway of trying to promote the interests of its enemy Eritrea in the course of its mediation work to bring about peace in the region, said Johansen.
In particular they raised Norway’s contacts with Eritrea in the course of its efforts to work end the conflicts in Somalia and Sudan, he added.
The Norwegian foreign ministry statement however said that the expulsion of the diplomats didn’t "imply" a break in diplomatic relations with Ethiopia.
Norway’s embassy in Ethiopia is also responsible for relations with the African Union, which has its headquarters in Addis Ababa.
Addis Ababa is seen to be wary of Norway’s backing of Asmara, which supports some rebel groups in Somalia and Sudan. Oslo actively backed Asmara during its liberation struggle.
Somalia and Ethiopia allege that Eritrea is trying to destabilize the interim government in Somalia by arming insurgents who have staged some of the worst fighting in the capital Mogadishu in more than a decade.
Asmara denies the charge and in turn says Ethiopia is guilty of breaking international law by "invading" Somalia and interfering with the country’s right to chose its own leaders.
(AFP/AP)
August 27, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopia has ordered six Norwegian diplomats to leave the country by Sept. 15, expressing "dissatisfaction" with Norway’s conduct in the Horn of Africa region, the Norwegian foreign affairs minister said Monday.
"We are surprised and regret the Ethiopian authorities’ unilateral decision," Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said in a statement posted on the ministry’s Web site.
Norway had urged Ethiopia to reconsider its decision, but Ethiopia had maintained its position and so six Norwegian diplomats would be leaving, the statement added.
"This sharp reduction in staffing means that we may not be able to maintain our development cooperation with Ethiopia at the current level," Stoere added. "We regret the impact this will have on our partners."
Junior foreign minister Raymond Johansen told AFP: "The Ethiopian decision was passed to us on August 15 in a totally unexpected manner."
Ethiopia had accused Norway of trying to promote the interests of its enemy Eritrea in the course of its mediation work to bring about peace in the region, said Johansen.
In particular they raised Norway’s contacts with Eritrea in the course of its efforts to work end the conflicts in Somalia and Sudan, he added.
The Norwegian foreign ministry statement however said that the expulsion of the diplomats didn’t "imply" a break in diplomatic relations with Ethiopia.
Norway’s embassy in Ethiopia is also responsible for relations with the African Union, which has its headquarters in Addis Ababa.
Addis Ababa is seen to be wary of Norway’s backing of Asmara, which supports some rebel groups in Somalia and Sudan. Oslo actively backed Asmara during its liberation struggle.
Somalia and Ethiopia allege that Eritrea is trying to destabilize the interim government in Somalia by arming insurgents who have staged some of the worst fighting in the capital Mogadishu in more than a decade.
Asmara denies the charge and in turn says Ethiopia is guilty of breaking international law by "invading" Somalia and interfering with the country’s right to chose its own leaders.
(AFP/AP)
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Sudanese forces attack Kalma camp in South Darfur
Tuesday 21 August 2007.
August 21, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese forces surrounded and attacked Darfur’s most volatile camp on Tuesday to flush out rebels they say are behind recent attacks on police, an army source and camp residents said.
The move on Kalma camp, home to 90,000 people, follows two attacks in the past week on police posts in South Darfur, one near Kalma and the other inside al-Salam camp. One policeman was killed and eight injured.
"At 6 a.m. the government of Sudan moved 2,000 soldiers to surround the camp — army, police and border intelligence," said Abu Sharrad, a spokesman for Kalma camp.
Sharrad, who called Reuters from inside the camp, said government forces had opened fire but it was unclear if anyone was killed or injured.
"We still cannot tell. They are still surrounding the camp," he added.
An army source said those who attacked the police posts were believed to be in Kalma camp, where rebels have previously taken refuge.
"This is an administrative, organisational operation to restore internal security," he said, adding the army was not involved, only police forces.
The United Nations said it as continuing to monitor the situation. "We are indeed concerned to receive reports of armed activity in the area," said Murizio Giuliano, spokesman for the U.N. Office for Humanitarian Affairs.
Kalma camp is one of Darfur’s most volatile.
Government offices were torched and officials expelled from the camp in 2005. Last year frustrated camp residents rioted, looting an African Union police base in the camps and hacking to death their Sudanese translator.
The 7,000-strong African Union force in Darfur has failed to stem the violence despite a 2006 peace deal. While large-scale fighting has largely ended, rebels and militias have fractured creating lawlessness and uncontrolled banditry.
International experts estimate some 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million driven from their homes since mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003.
Khartoum agreed to a 26,000-strong joint U.N.-AU force which will absorb the AU mission and try to stop violence which has hampered the world’s largest aid operation in Darfur. Some 500,000 people are out of reach of relief workers.
On Tuesday the U.N. rights office said allied government militias had attacked a village in the central Darfur Jabel Marra region, accusing them of mass rape and abductions which could constitute war crimes.
It called on Khartoum to investigate reports that about 50 women were forced into "sexual slavery" after an attack on the rebel-held town of Deribat last December.
The area is seen as supporting the Darfur rebel Sudan Liberation Army founder and chairman Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur, who rejects a May 2006 Darfur peace deal signed by only one of three negotiating rebel factions.
The U.N. report said a "pattern of mass abduction" which began with the Darfur conflict, appeared to be ongoing. The report covered a six-month period ending in May 2007.
(Reuters)
August 21, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese forces surrounded and attacked Darfur’s most volatile camp on Tuesday to flush out rebels they say are behind recent attacks on police, an army source and camp residents said.
The move on Kalma camp, home to 90,000 people, follows two attacks in the past week on police posts in South Darfur, one near Kalma and the other inside al-Salam camp. One policeman was killed and eight injured.
"At 6 a.m. the government of Sudan moved 2,000 soldiers to surround the camp — army, police and border intelligence," said Abu Sharrad, a spokesman for Kalma camp.
Sharrad, who called Reuters from inside the camp, said government forces had opened fire but it was unclear if anyone was killed or injured.
"We still cannot tell. They are still surrounding the camp," he added.
An army source said those who attacked the police posts were believed to be in Kalma camp, where rebels have previously taken refuge.
"This is an administrative, organisational operation to restore internal security," he said, adding the army was not involved, only police forces.
The United Nations said it as continuing to monitor the situation. "We are indeed concerned to receive reports of armed activity in the area," said Murizio Giuliano, spokesman for the U.N. Office for Humanitarian Affairs.
Kalma camp is one of Darfur’s most volatile.
Government offices were torched and officials expelled from the camp in 2005. Last year frustrated camp residents rioted, looting an African Union police base in the camps and hacking to death their Sudanese translator.
The 7,000-strong African Union force in Darfur has failed to stem the violence despite a 2006 peace deal. While large-scale fighting has largely ended, rebels and militias have fractured creating lawlessness and uncontrolled banditry.
International experts estimate some 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million driven from their homes since mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003.
Khartoum agreed to a 26,000-strong joint U.N.-AU force which will absorb the AU mission and try to stop violence which has hampered the world’s largest aid operation in Darfur. Some 500,000 people are out of reach of relief workers.
On Tuesday the U.N. rights office said allied government militias had attacked a village in the central Darfur Jabel Marra region, accusing them of mass rape and abductions which could constitute war crimes.
It called on Khartoum to investigate reports that about 50 women were forced into "sexual slavery" after an attack on the rebel-held town of Deribat last December.
The area is seen as supporting the Darfur rebel Sudan Liberation Army founder and chairman Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur, who rejects a May 2006 Darfur peace deal signed by only one of three negotiating rebel factions.
The U.N. report said a "pattern of mass abduction" which began with the Darfur conflict, appeared to be ongoing. The report covered a six-month period ending in May 2007.
(Reuters)
Monday, August 20, 2007
Darfur rebel umbrella to unite armed wings
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)
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)
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)
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