The "whole state apparatus" of Sudan is implicated in crimes against humanity in Darfur, the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor has said.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo's report into the crisis in western Sudan, due on Thursday, coincides with a visit to the region by the UN Security Council.
Sudan's ambassador to the UN said the comments were "fictitious and vicious" and harmful to the prospects of peace.
The UN ambassadors are in the country to try to end the conflict.
In the report on the situation in Sudan, to be delivered to the UN Security Council, Mr Moreno-Ocampo repeats his earlier call for the council to demand that Sudan hand over two men who face charges of crimes against humanity.
Time for sanctions
The treaty that created the International Criminal Court (ICC) was intended to hold individuals, not entire states, responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
By accusing Sudan's "whole state apparatus" of helping shield criminals, correspondents say, the prosecutor is implicating some of the highest officials of the government.
The Sudanese ambassador to the UN responded angrily that his country will not bend to the will of the ICC.
"We will never submit any of our citizens to be tried in The Hague," Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamed said.
"Ocampo is destroying the peace process and we demand that this man be held accountable for what he is doing to the peace process in Sudan."
Mr Moreno-Ocampo's report comes as the Aegis Trust campaign group released a 17-minute film featuring harrowing eyewitness accounts of the war crimes allegedly committed by the two men whom the ICC accuses the Sudanese government of harbouring.
During the five-year conflict, pro-government Arab militias stand accused of committing atrocities against black Africans.
It is a conflict that has claimed an estimated 200,000 lives and caused 2.5m people to flee their homes.
Ali Kushayb, a leader of the Janjaweed militia, and Ahmad Harun, Sudan's current Humanitarian Affairs Minister, are both charged with 51 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including acts of murder, persecution, torture, rape and forcible displacement.
Dr James Smith, Chief Executive of the Aegis Trust, said the time had come for the Security Council to increase the pressure.
"It is time the Security Council placed targeted sanctions - travel bans at least - on those in Sudan who harbour those wanted for war crimes."
France's ambassador to the UN, Jean-Maurice Ripert, who is taking part in the visit to Africa's trouble spots, said Europe would be willing to penalise Sudan if it did not cooperate with the ICC.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/africa/7436472.stm
Published: 2008/06/04 22:33:41 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
An Up-close View of Brutality in Darfur
Christian Science Monitor, May 12, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008 - 12:17 AM
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0512/p09s02-coop.html
By Eric Reeves
NORTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS - The brutality of the Khartoum regime's military actions in the Darfur region of western Sudan continually forces a question that seems to have no morally intelligible answer: Is there no act of civilian destruction so cruel, so savage, that the international community will finally respond vigorously and unambiguously?
On May 4, at about 4 p.m., a school was bombed in the village of Shegeg Karo in North Darfur; one classroom was destroyed, killing six students and injuring others. The village marketplace was also bombed, killing several people and destroying most of the shops in this vestige of a shattered agricultural economy.
The plane that dropped the bombs was an Antonov. It's not a bomber by design, but a retrofitted Russian cargo plane from which crude, shrapnel-loaded barrel bombs are simply rolled out the back cargo bay. There is no bombing guidance system, so Antonovs are useless as true military weapons. But they are exquisitely suited for their real purpose in Darfur: civilian terror.
Khartoum refuses to acknowledge or accept responsibility for the attacks, even as it refused to allow UN personnel to evacuate badly wounded children. But only Khartoum flies military aircraft in Darfur, so there can be very little doubt that the attacks were authorized by the military command of the National Islamic Front. As Human Rights Watch has conclusively demonstrated, Khartoum's chain of command – both military and civilian – is powerfully hierarchical. This was not the action of a rogue commander, but almost certainly an act of deliberate civilian destruction countenanced by senior officials.
Highly reliable sources report that the Antonov hovered over Shegeg Karo for a while before finally dropping its bomb load. There could have been no mistaking the civilian nature of the target.
This is hardly surprising. We have countless reports of similar bombing attacks in Darfur as well as during Sudan's earlier north/south conflict. Indeed, in southern Sudan, Khartoum repeatedly and deliberately attacked the sites of humanitarian operations.
This bombing attack, on a conspicuously civilian target, violates not only international law but a ban on all military flights in Darfur, nominally imposed by UN Security Council Resolution 1591 in March 2005. Khartoum has shown nothing but contempt for both, and the international community has watched with nothing but idle words and unctuous hand-wringing – a fact not lost on the regime's génocidaires as they calculate the costs of their continuing campaign of civilian destruction.
Who are the victims of this international cowardice? Who suffers when the world refuses to demand justice of those who would deliberately kill children? Let's at least grant the dignity of names to the victims of this most recent barbarism:
•Fatima Suleiman Adam Omar, 3rd grade, 10 years old
•Fatima Ahmad Bashir, 2nd grade, 8 years old
•Mubarak Mohammed Ahmad, 3rd grade, 10 years old
•Yusuf Adam Hamid, kindergarten, 5 years old
•Munira Suleiman Adam, 2nd grade, 7 years old
•Adam Ahmad Yusuf, 4th grade, 11 years old
How would Americans respond if terrorists acting on behalf of another country deliberately killed, with complete military impunity, six young children in one of our nation's schools? Outrage would bring the country to a halt. It would change the very nature of the presidential campaign. News coverage would be unending. Washington's response against the offending nation would be swift and destructive.
And yet in Darfur, an act all too analogous barely registers here. Darfur's victims are people whose lives have long since endured a ghastly moral discounting. These are not "our children," these are not "our problems," this is not "our responsibility."
The whole world should respond vigorously to a nation that barbarously bombs kindergartners such as Yusuf Adam Hamid. Instead, we lamely bow in deference to Sudan's "national sovereignty." Do we have the courage to accept the stark implications of our refusal to hold accountable those responsible for his death? The answer is painfully, disgracefully obvious.
[Eric Reeves, a professor of English language and literature at Smith College, is the author of "A Long Day's Dying: Critical Moments in the Darfur Genocide"]
CORRECTION:
May 13, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
UPDATE ON SHEGEG KARO BOMBING
Shegeg Karo village in North Darfur was bombed repeatedly by an Antonov aircraft on Sunday, May 4th. The bombing happened between 2-3pm, not at 4pm as reported in the May 5 press release from “Darfur Diaries”.
The Shegeg Karo market was hit directly and was completely burned, as confirmed by a UNAMID press release on May 10th. The school facilities, which had been reported as hit in the May 5 press release, we are now informed were unaffected. We have since been told that the six school children who were killed had already left the school and were in the adjacent market when the bombs dropped.
On Tuesday afternoon, May 6th, after waiting for 48 hours for medical help from UNAMID or a humanitarian organization the villagers drove cars with the most severely wounded in search of medical treatment. The four most severely injured civilians were reportedly taken to Bir Maza, a four hour drive away, including an unconscious eight year old girl they believed had a broken back and a fourteen year old boy they believed had a broken arm and leg and who had lost a lot of blood. A further eight more moderately injured civilians were driven by the villagers to Bahai, Chad to seek medical treatment.
Shegeg Karo received no help from UNAMID or humanitarian organizations until Wednesday, May 7th, when the ICRC came by land to treat the wounded.
A UNAMIS assessment team did not arrive to the village until Thursday, May 8, four days after the bombing, although the World Health Organization and the UN Department of Safety and Security had been notified just hours after the attack and UNICEF health division notified the following morning.
The Shegeg Karo school is funded by the Darfur Diaries project in cooperation with the Darfur Peace and Development Organization (www.darfurdiaries.org)
For more information, please contact:
Jen Marlowe, Darfur Diaries, or 1.202.375.3492
jenmarlowe@hotmail.com
www.darfurdiaries.org
http://www.sudanreeves.org/Article214.html
Monday, May 12, 2008 - 12:17 AM
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0512/p09s02-coop.html
By Eric Reeves
NORTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS - The brutality of the Khartoum regime's military actions in the Darfur region of western Sudan continually forces a question that seems to have no morally intelligible answer: Is there no act of civilian destruction so cruel, so savage, that the international community will finally respond vigorously and unambiguously?
On May 4, at about 4 p.m., a school was bombed in the village of Shegeg Karo in North Darfur; one classroom was destroyed, killing six students and injuring others. The village marketplace was also bombed, killing several people and destroying most of the shops in this vestige of a shattered agricultural economy.
The plane that dropped the bombs was an Antonov. It's not a bomber by design, but a retrofitted Russian cargo plane from which crude, shrapnel-loaded barrel bombs are simply rolled out the back cargo bay. There is no bombing guidance system, so Antonovs are useless as true military weapons. But they are exquisitely suited for their real purpose in Darfur: civilian terror.
Khartoum refuses to acknowledge or accept responsibility for the attacks, even as it refused to allow UN personnel to evacuate badly wounded children. But only Khartoum flies military aircraft in Darfur, so there can be very little doubt that the attacks were authorized by the military command of the National Islamic Front. As Human Rights Watch has conclusively demonstrated, Khartoum's chain of command – both military and civilian – is powerfully hierarchical. This was not the action of a rogue commander, but almost certainly an act of deliberate civilian destruction countenanced by senior officials.
Highly reliable sources report that the Antonov hovered over Shegeg Karo for a while before finally dropping its bomb load. There could have been no mistaking the civilian nature of the target.
This is hardly surprising. We have countless reports of similar bombing attacks in Darfur as well as during Sudan's earlier north/south conflict. Indeed, in southern Sudan, Khartoum repeatedly and deliberately attacked the sites of humanitarian operations.
This bombing attack, on a conspicuously civilian target, violates not only international law but a ban on all military flights in Darfur, nominally imposed by UN Security Council Resolution 1591 in March 2005. Khartoum has shown nothing but contempt for both, and the international community has watched with nothing but idle words and unctuous hand-wringing – a fact not lost on the regime's génocidaires as they calculate the costs of their continuing campaign of civilian destruction.
Who are the victims of this international cowardice? Who suffers when the world refuses to demand justice of those who would deliberately kill children? Let's at least grant the dignity of names to the victims of this most recent barbarism:
•Fatima Suleiman Adam Omar, 3rd grade, 10 years old
•Fatima Ahmad Bashir, 2nd grade, 8 years old
•Mubarak Mohammed Ahmad, 3rd grade, 10 years old
•Yusuf Adam Hamid, kindergarten, 5 years old
•Munira Suleiman Adam, 2nd grade, 7 years old
•Adam Ahmad Yusuf, 4th grade, 11 years old
How would Americans respond if terrorists acting on behalf of another country deliberately killed, with complete military impunity, six young children in one of our nation's schools? Outrage would bring the country to a halt. It would change the very nature of the presidential campaign. News coverage would be unending. Washington's response against the offending nation would be swift and destructive.
And yet in Darfur, an act all too analogous barely registers here. Darfur's victims are people whose lives have long since endured a ghastly moral discounting. These are not "our children," these are not "our problems," this is not "our responsibility."
The whole world should respond vigorously to a nation that barbarously bombs kindergartners such as Yusuf Adam Hamid. Instead, we lamely bow in deference to Sudan's "national sovereignty." Do we have the courage to accept the stark implications of our refusal to hold accountable those responsible for his death? The answer is painfully, disgracefully obvious.
[Eric Reeves, a professor of English language and literature at Smith College, is the author of "A Long Day's Dying: Critical Moments in the Darfur Genocide"]
CORRECTION:
May 13, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
UPDATE ON SHEGEG KARO BOMBING
Shegeg Karo village in North Darfur was bombed repeatedly by an Antonov aircraft on Sunday, May 4th. The bombing happened between 2-3pm, not at 4pm as reported in the May 5 press release from “Darfur Diaries”.
The Shegeg Karo market was hit directly and was completely burned, as confirmed by a UNAMID press release on May 10th. The school facilities, which had been reported as hit in the May 5 press release, we are now informed were unaffected. We have since been told that the six school children who were killed had already left the school and were in the adjacent market when the bombs dropped.
On Tuesday afternoon, May 6th, after waiting for 48 hours for medical help from UNAMID or a humanitarian organization the villagers drove cars with the most severely wounded in search of medical treatment. The four most severely injured civilians were reportedly taken to Bir Maza, a four hour drive away, including an unconscious eight year old girl they believed had a broken back and a fourteen year old boy they believed had a broken arm and leg and who had lost a lot of blood. A further eight more moderately injured civilians were driven by the villagers to Bahai, Chad to seek medical treatment.
Shegeg Karo received no help from UNAMID or humanitarian organizations until Wednesday, May 7th, when the ICRC came by land to treat the wounded.
A UNAMIS assessment team did not arrive to the village until Thursday, May 8, four days after the bombing, although the World Health Organization and the UN Department of Safety and Security had been notified just hours after the attack and UNICEF health division notified the following morning.
The Shegeg Karo school is funded by the Darfur Diaries project in cooperation with the Darfur Peace and Development Organization (www.darfurdiaries.org)
For more information, please contact:
Jen Marlowe, Darfur Diaries, or 1.202.375.3492
jenmarlowe@hotmail.com
www.darfurdiaries.org
http://www.sudanreeves.org/Article214.html
Monday, May 26, 2008
Sudan "on brink" of north-south war - southern official
By Andrew Heavens
KHARTOUM, May 26 (Reuters) - Sudan is on the brink of a new civil war following more than a week of north-south clashes in the disputed oil-rich town of Abyei, a senior southern official said on Monday.
Pagan Amum, secretary general of the southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), told reporters northern troops were building up around the remote central town, with southern troops likely to follow.
Amum said the way to avoid a full-scale conflict was for all troops to leave the town, to be replaced by a U.N. peacekeeping force or, eventually, joint north-south military units.
"We are on the brink of war as we speak. Clashes have already happened and forces are building up," he said before a news conference in Khartoum.
Sudan has witnessed sporadic, sometimes fierce fighting in recent weeks in the Abyei region, which is claimed by both Khartoum and the southern government.
Some 21 northern Sudanese army soldiers and an unknown number of southerners were killed last week in fighting that followed a week of skirmishes sparked by a local dispute. The clashes have displaced tens of thousands of people.
A two-decade-long civil war fought by Sudan's government and southern rebels and complicated by issues of ethnicity, ideology and oil ended with a 2005 peace deal and a coalition government formed by the SPLM and the northern National Congress Party (NCP).
But ties have been strained by the failure to agree on borders or a local government for Abyei. At stake are a nearby oil pipeline and installations that produce around half of Sudan's daily output of 500,000 barrels of oil, and grazing grounds and territory coveted by northerners and southerners.
Amum said northern government forces had been building up positions close to the town since last week's heavy clashes.
"I'm sure this will get a response from the SPLA," he added, referring to the armed wing of the SPLM -- now the army of Sudan's semi-autonomous southern government.
Amum said the south was doing all it could to avoid war. "For us, war is not an option ... Moving forces out of the area is the most important step now," he said.
"The only logical common sense is to demilitarise the area, deploy U.N. forces into the area, then after that we can proceed to deploy fresh joint integrated forces into the area."
"If the parties cannot agree to form a joint administration, let there be an international administration," he said.
Amum accused northern forces of starting the clashes to clear the area's population and claim the land as their own.
"(They) might have thought they could find a final solution to the problem of Abyei by replacing the population of Abyei."
He said the SPLM condemned "this barbaric act" by the Sudan government. "This was an act perpetrated by SAF (northern Sudan Armed Forces) under the direct leadership and command of the National Congress Party," Amum said.
Didiri Mohamed Ahmed, the NCP official in charge of Abyei, said he would not respond to Amum's comments ahead of a meeting of military officers and senior officials from both the north and south, due to take place in Khartoum on Tuesday.
He said he was also waiting for the results of a U.N.-led investigation into who sparked the latest clashes in Abyei. "When we know the culprit, hopefully both sides will have the courage to take the culprit to account," he added.
Sudan's ruling party last week denied southern accusations Khartoum was sending more troops to Abyei.
http://www.reuters.com/article/africaCrisis/idUSL26564278?sp=true
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
KHARTOUM, May 26 (Reuters) - Sudan is on the brink of a new civil war following more than a week of north-south clashes in the disputed oil-rich town of Abyei, a senior southern official said on Monday.
Pagan Amum, secretary general of the southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), told reporters northern troops were building up around the remote central town, with southern troops likely to follow.
Amum said the way to avoid a full-scale conflict was for all troops to leave the town, to be replaced by a U.N. peacekeeping force or, eventually, joint north-south military units.
"We are on the brink of war as we speak. Clashes have already happened and forces are building up," he said before a news conference in Khartoum.
Sudan has witnessed sporadic, sometimes fierce fighting in recent weeks in the Abyei region, which is claimed by both Khartoum and the southern government.
Some 21 northern Sudanese army soldiers and an unknown number of southerners were killed last week in fighting that followed a week of skirmishes sparked by a local dispute. The clashes have displaced tens of thousands of people.
A two-decade-long civil war fought by Sudan's government and southern rebels and complicated by issues of ethnicity, ideology and oil ended with a 2005 peace deal and a coalition government formed by the SPLM and the northern National Congress Party (NCP).
But ties have been strained by the failure to agree on borders or a local government for Abyei. At stake are a nearby oil pipeline and installations that produce around half of Sudan's daily output of 500,000 barrels of oil, and grazing grounds and territory coveted by northerners and southerners.
Amum said northern government forces had been building up positions close to the town since last week's heavy clashes.
"I'm sure this will get a response from the SPLA," he added, referring to the armed wing of the SPLM -- now the army of Sudan's semi-autonomous southern government.
Amum said the south was doing all it could to avoid war. "For us, war is not an option ... Moving forces out of the area is the most important step now," he said.
"The only logical common sense is to demilitarise the area, deploy U.N. forces into the area, then after that we can proceed to deploy fresh joint integrated forces into the area."
"If the parties cannot agree to form a joint administration, let there be an international administration," he said.
Amum accused northern forces of starting the clashes to clear the area's population and claim the land as their own.
"(They) might have thought they could find a final solution to the problem of Abyei by replacing the population of Abyei."
He said the SPLM condemned "this barbaric act" by the Sudan government. "This was an act perpetrated by SAF (northern Sudan Armed Forces) under the direct leadership and command of the National Congress Party," Amum said.
Didiri Mohamed Ahmed, the NCP official in charge of Abyei, said he would not respond to Amum's comments ahead of a meeting of military officers and senior officials from both the north and south, due to take place in Khartoum on Tuesday.
He said he was also waiting for the results of a U.N.-led investigation into who sparked the latest clashes in Abyei. "When we know the culprit, hopefully both sides will have the courage to take the culprit to account," he added.
Sudan's ruling party last week denied southern accusations Khartoum was sending more troops to Abyei.
http://www.reuters.com/article/africaCrisis/idUSL26564278?sp=true
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
Saturday, May 24, 2008
"They Shot Us As We Fled": HRW
In their most recent report on the situation on the ground in Darfur, Human Rights Watch outlines the massive human scale of the war crimes that were committed in West Darfur in February 2008 (as well as in attacks in April). The political and militaristic relations between Chad and Sudan are explored and analyzed in terms of its effects on the conflict in Darfur. HRW calls on the UN to impose targeted sanctions on individuals responsible for violating international human rights laws, as well as pressing for the ensured full-equipped deployment of UNAMID peacekeeping troops to the region. Not only is it the imperative of international law to fully address these crimes: it is also the imperative of humanity to ensure that the hell described below can never occur again.
"The attacks were carried out in a similar pattern in all locations, using aerial and
ground forces that included airplanes, helicopters, ground troops and large numbers
of Janjaweed militia on horse and camels. Working in concert, these forces killed,
assaulted, raped, and abducted civilians, destroyed their homes and villages, and
looted and destroyed their property, including food and water stores. The
government forces targeted civilians, particularly men, as they fled. In two cases
documented by Human Rights Watch, attackers shot at fleeing women with babies
on their backs, killing the babies. Humanitarian organizations, including clinics,
were robbed and vandalized."(The full report can be found in various forms at http://hrw.org/reports/2008/darfur0508/)
"The attacks were carried out in a similar pattern in all locations, using aerial and
ground forces that included airplanes, helicopters, ground troops and large numbers
of Janjaweed militia on horse and camels. Working in concert, these forces killed,
assaulted, raped, and abducted civilians, destroyed their homes and villages, and
looted and destroyed their property, including food and water stores. The
government forces targeted civilians, particularly men, as they fled. In two cases
documented by Human Rights Watch, attackers shot at fleeing women with babies
on their backs, killing the babies. Humanitarian organizations, including clinics,
were robbed and vandalized."(The full report can be found in various forms at http://hrw.org/reports/2008/darfur0508/)
Darfur crisis reaches Sudanese capital: Amnesty
23 May 2008
Amnesty International is gravely concerned by the Sudanese security forces’ crackdown following the incursion into Khartoum, by an armed group. The crackdown has been characterized by serious human rights violations including hundreds of arbitrary arrests, cases of ill-treatment, as well as extra-judicial executions. These violations have mostly been targeted at Darfuris.
On Saturday 10 May 2008, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a Darfur based armed opposition group launched a military attack on the outskirts of Khartoum. The attack marked the beginning of a new phase of the conflict in Darfur, with an armed opposition group reaching the edges of the capital for the first time since the conflict’s inception in 2003. Many members of the JEM were reportedly killed during the attack and scores were arrested.
The government’s response to this military attack has since included hundreds of arbitrary arrests and some cases of extra-judicial executions. These have been carried out by the Sudanese police and National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) and targeted at Darfuris, particularly from the Zaghawa ethnic tribe. Since the Sudanese forces repelled the attack a curfew was installed in Omdurman and check points were set up throughout the streets of the capital, allowing the arrest and detention of people travelling in buses and cars, while the NISS and the police have been raiding houses of Darfuris and their families.
“Civilians, mainly youths, have been brutally arrested in the streets, in their homes, and taken to yet unknown places of detention. The arrests in public places have been mostly based on their appearance, age, accent, and the colour of their skin.” With these words, a prominent Sudanese lawyer expressed his concerns to Amnesty International over the arbitrary nature of arrests – with individuals arrested on the basis of their ethnicity and age -, the associated ill-treatment and the lack of information about the places of detention. He told Amnesty International that young men, including minors, were more at risk because the JEM is known by the government to partially rely on young recruits. Eyewitnesses reported that those under threat of arrest were asked to pronounce certain words, to judge whether they were Darfuris or not.
The arrests include Darfuri men and women as well as entire families. Amnesty International further received reports of lawyers, journalists and at least one human rights activist having been arrested over the past week.
As of 21 May 2008, five members of the Popular Congress Party (PCP), a political opposition party, remain in detention after its leader Hassan Al Turabi and other members of the PCP were released.
Amnesty International condemns the arbitrary arrest of hundreds of people and urges the Sudanese Government to immediately and unconditionally release all those that were solely detained on the basis of their ethnicity or for the peaceful expression of their opinion.
Amnesty International asks the Sudanese Government to charge all other detainees with a recognizable criminal offence, or else release them immediately.
Eye witnesses spoke to Amnesty of the ill-treatment experienced by some of those arrested by the police and NISS during the arrest. One lawyer, who was released two days after he was detained, described how he and members of his family were dragged from their home and how he was beaten with rifles on his head and legs, leaving him with several serious injuries. Other witnesses spoke of extra-judicial executions of men and at least one woman in public in Omdurman. According to various reports, the woman was shot on 11 May by the NISS in the streets of Umbada in Omdurman, after she had protested against the arrest of her younger brother.
According to reports from his family, a 31 year old man from the White Nile was arrested by the NISS on either 16 or 17 May and taken to a NISS detention centre. He had already been arrested and released one day before, after he was accused of giving shelter to members of the JEM in one of his houses. On 19 May, when a relative went to inquire about his place of detention, he was informed by the NISS that the person in question had died of kidney failure whilst in detention. The NISS informed the relative that the condition had occurred on his first day of detention and that they had sent him to a NISS hospital, where he died after which he was transferred to a morgue. On 19 May, his family requested the morgue’s doctor to perform a forensic examination before taking delivery of his body. The examinations revealed that he died from a heavy internal bleeding as a result of several severe injuries and bruising on different parts of his body.
Amnesty International calls on the government of Sudan to condemn and investigate all allegations of ill-treatment, torture and all extra-judicial executions that have taken place in the aftermath of the JEM attack.
Although a number of detainees, according to reports, might be held in Kober prison in Khartoum, the whereabouts of most of those arrested remain unknown. In the case of many, namely those who were arrested in the streets, their detaining authority is also unknown. Families of those arrested consider them as missing. Amnesty International is concerned that many may have been subject to enforced disappearance.
The numbers and circumstances in which people are being arrested, the uncertainty surrounding their whereabouts and the ill-treatment associated with the arrests all lead to serious concerns over the fate of those detained. Amnesty International is gravely concerned over those held in incommunicado detention, possibly in non-recognised detention centres, with no access to lawyers or relatives, putting them at increased risk of torture and extra-judicial killings.
Amnesty International is further concerned over the fate of persons without identification living in the capital. The arrests are widespread and taking place throughout the city and on public transport, putting those who are unable to provide a proof of their identity more at risk.
Amnesty International received unconfirmed reports of mass graves following the attack by JEM on 10 May, one of them allegedly in Western Omdurman. Amnesty International demands that these possible sites are identified and secured so that independent investigators, with the requisite expertise, can examine them.
Amnesty International further urges the authorities to repeal Article 31 of the National Security Forces Act, which allows detainees to be held for up to nine months without access to judicial review.
Amnesty International reminds the Government of Sudan of its past commitment to grant Human Rights Officers from the United Nations Mission in Sudan access to places of detention and urges the Sudanese Government to immediately account for the whereabouts of all those in custody and to grant total access to Human Rights Officers, family, lawyers and doctors to places of detention.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/darfur-crisis-reaches-sudanese-capital-20080523
Amnesty International is gravely concerned by the Sudanese security forces’ crackdown following the incursion into Khartoum, by an armed group. The crackdown has been characterized by serious human rights violations including hundreds of arbitrary arrests, cases of ill-treatment, as well as extra-judicial executions. These violations have mostly been targeted at Darfuris.
On Saturday 10 May 2008, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a Darfur based armed opposition group launched a military attack on the outskirts of Khartoum. The attack marked the beginning of a new phase of the conflict in Darfur, with an armed opposition group reaching the edges of the capital for the first time since the conflict’s inception in 2003. Many members of the JEM were reportedly killed during the attack and scores were arrested.
The government’s response to this military attack has since included hundreds of arbitrary arrests and some cases of extra-judicial executions. These have been carried out by the Sudanese police and National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) and targeted at Darfuris, particularly from the Zaghawa ethnic tribe. Since the Sudanese forces repelled the attack a curfew was installed in Omdurman and check points were set up throughout the streets of the capital, allowing the arrest and detention of people travelling in buses and cars, while the NISS and the police have been raiding houses of Darfuris and their families.
“Civilians, mainly youths, have been brutally arrested in the streets, in their homes, and taken to yet unknown places of detention. The arrests in public places have been mostly based on their appearance, age, accent, and the colour of their skin.” With these words, a prominent Sudanese lawyer expressed his concerns to Amnesty International over the arbitrary nature of arrests – with individuals arrested on the basis of their ethnicity and age -, the associated ill-treatment and the lack of information about the places of detention. He told Amnesty International that young men, including minors, were more at risk because the JEM is known by the government to partially rely on young recruits. Eyewitnesses reported that those under threat of arrest were asked to pronounce certain words, to judge whether they were Darfuris or not.
The arrests include Darfuri men and women as well as entire families. Amnesty International further received reports of lawyers, journalists and at least one human rights activist having been arrested over the past week.
As of 21 May 2008, five members of the Popular Congress Party (PCP), a political opposition party, remain in detention after its leader Hassan Al Turabi and other members of the PCP were released.
Amnesty International condemns the arbitrary arrest of hundreds of people and urges the Sudanese Government to immediately and unconditionally release all those that were solely detained on the basis of their ethnicity or for the peaceful expression of their opinion.
Amnesty International asks the Sudanese Government to charge all other detainees with a recognizable criminal offence, or else release them immediately.
Eye witnesses spoke to Amnesty of the ill-treatment experienced by some of those arrested by the police and NISS during the arrest. One lawyer, who was released two days after he was detained, described how he and members of his family were dragged from their home and how he was beaten with rifles on his head and legs, leaving him with several serious injuries. Other witnesses spoke of extra-judicial executions of men and at least one woman in public in Omdurman. According to various reports, the woman was shot on 11 May by the NISS in the streets of Umbada in Omdurman, after she had protested against the arrest of her younger brother.
According to reports from his family, a 31 year old man from the White Nile was arrested by the NISS on either 16 or 17 May and taken to a NISS detention centre. He had already been arrested and released one day before, after he was accused of giving shelter to members of the JEM in one of his houses. On 19 May, when a relative went to inquire about his place of detention, he was informed by the NISS that the person in question had died of kidney failure whilst in detention. The NISS informed the relative that the condition had occurred on his first day of detention and that they had sent him to a NISS hospital, where he died after which he was transferred to a morgue. On 19 May, his family requested the morgue’s doctor to perform a forensic examination before taking delivery of his body. The examinations revealed that he died from a heavy internal bleeding as a result of several severe injuries and bruising on different parts of his body.
Amnesty International calls on the government of Sudan to condemn and investigate all allegations of ill-treatment, torture and all extra-judicial executions that have taken place in the aftermath of the JEM attack.
Although a number of detainees, according to reports, might be held in Kober prison in Khartoum, the whereabouts of most of those arrested remain unknown. In the case of many, namely those who were arrested in the streets, their detaining authority is also unknown. Families of those arrested consider them as missing. Amnesty International is concerned that many may have been subject to enforced disappearance.
The numbers and circumstances in which people are being arrested, the uncertainty surrounding their whereabouts and the ill-treatment associated with the arrests all lead to serious concerns over the fate of those detained. Amnesty International is gravely concerned over those held in incommunicado detention, possibly in non-recognised detention centres, with no access to lawyers or relatives, putting them at increased risk of torture and extra-judicial killings.
Amnesty International is further concerned over the fate of persons without identification living in the capital. The arrests are widespread and taking place throughout the city and on public transport, putting those who are unable to provide a proof of their identity more at risk.
Amnesty International received unconfirmed reports of mass graves following the attack by JEM on 10 May, one of them allegedly in Western Omdurman. Amnesty International demands that these possible sites are identified and secured so that independent investigators, with the requisite expertise, can examine them.
Amnesty International further urges the authorities to repeal Article 31 of the National Security Forces Act, which allows detainees to be held for up to nine months without access to judicial review.
Amnesty International reminds the Government of Sudan of its past commitment to grant Human Rights Officers from the United Nations Mission in Sudan access to places of detention and urges the Sudanese Government to immediately account for the whereabouts of all those in custody and to grant total access to Human Rights Officers, family, lawyers and doctors to places of detention.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/darfur-crisis-reaches-sudanese-capital-20080523
Friday, May 23, 2008
Horseback raid on Darfur troops
Armed men on horseback have attacked and stolen the weapons of Nigerian UN peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region.
The joint UN-African Union troops were ambushed by up to 60 men armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades on Wednesday, the Unamid peace force said.
It is not clear who was behind the attack, which has been made public for the first time.
The UN took joint control of the force in January but has not been able to bring peace to the region.
It has just 9,000 of the planned 26,000 troops.
"We are a peacekeeping organisation but there is no peace on the ground to keep," Unamid spokesman Noureddine Mezni told Reuters news agency.
He said the incident had been kept quiet while attempts were made to identify the attackers.
"We have bandits and we have armed groups and we have the [rebel] factions. With our very limited number of troops, it is not an easy job."
The attack happened near the West Darfur capital, Geneina.
The conflict began five years ago, when rebels took up arms in protest at alleged government discrimination against the region.
Pro-government Arab militias have been accused of widespread atrocities against the black African population.
But the rebel groups have split into numerous different factions, making a settlement difficult.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7416961.stm
Published: 2008/05/23 13:02:05 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
The joint UN-African Union troops were ambushed by up to 60 men armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades on Wednesday, the Unamid peace force said.
It is not clear who was behind the attack, which has been made public for the first time.
The UN took joint control of the force in January but has not been able to bring peace to the region.
It has just 9,000 of the planned 26,000 troops.
"We are a peacekeeping organisation but there is no peace on the ground to keep," Unamid spokesman Noureddine Mezni told Reuters news agency.
He said the incident had been kept quiet while attempts were made to identify the attackers.
"We have bandits and we have armed groups and we have the [rebel] factions. With our very limited number of troops, it is not an easy job."
The attack happened near the West Darfur capital, Geneina.
The conflict began five years ago, when rebels took up arms in protest at alleged government discrimination against the region.
Pro-government Arab militias have been accused of widespread atrocities against the black African population.
But the rebel groups have split into numerous different factions, making a settlement difficult.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7416961.stm
Published: 2008/05/23 13:02:05 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Chad rebels 'cross from Sudan'
Heavily-armed rebels have entered the east of the country from Sudan, Chad's government is saying.
An announcement on national radio reported that "mercenaries crossed the border in the area of Moudeina", north of the border town of Ade.
A rebel attempt to overthrow President Idriss Deby's government was thwarted last month.
Mr Deby is due to sign a non-aggression pact in the next few hours with President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan.
There is no independent confirmation of the incursion, but it was reportedly denied by the leader of the main Chadian rebel alliance, Mahamat Nouri.
According to the AFP news agency, General Nouri accused Chad's government of looking for "an excuse" not to sign the peace agreement with Sudan.
"There is no fresh offensive", it reported him as saying. "Nothing in particular is going on."
Accusations
Chad has accused Sudan of supporting Chadian rebels.
These charges are denied by Khartoum, which in turn accuses Chad of backing rebels in Sudan's Darfur region.
The two leaders were expected to meet on Wednesday, but President Bashir failed to turn up, blaming a headache after a long journey to get to the meeting in the Senegalese capital, Dakar.
They are due to sign a deal to stop supporting rebels in each other's territory, in an agreement overseen by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Previous agreements between the two countries have collapsed.
Coup attempt
In recent weeks Chad has taken steps to prevent attacks from rebels, including digging a deep trench around the capital, N'Djamena, and cutting down trees which could provide cover for attackers.
The government fought off last month's attempted coup in a fierce two-day battle.
Rebel columns in pick-up trucks rode into N'Djamena on 2 February, aiming to overthrow Mr Deby, who took shelter in his palace as street fighting raged.
The attack took place just before the deployment of a European peacekeeping force, to safeguard refugees from Darfur in eastern Chad and the Central African Republic.
A state of emergency was imposed to restore order after the coup attempt.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7293933.stm
Published: 2008/03/13 11:50:10 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
An announcement on national radio reported that "mercenaries crossed the border in the area of Moudeina", north of the border town of Ade.
A rebel attempt to overthrow President Idriss Deby's government was thwarted last month.
Mr Deby is due to sign a non-aggression pact in the next few hours with President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan.
There is no independent confirmation of the incursion, but it was reportedly denied by the leader of the main Chadian rebel alliance, Mahamat Nouri.
According to the AFP news agency, General Nouri accused Chad's government of looking for "an excuse" not to sign the peace agreement with Sudan.
"There is no fresh offensive", it reported him as saying. "Nothing in particular is going on."
Accusations
Chad has accused Sudan of supporting Chadian rebels.
These charges are denied by Khartoum, which in turn accuses Chad of backing rebels in Sudan's Darfur region.
The two leaders were expected to meet on Wednesday, but President Bashir failed to turn up, blaming a headache after a long journey to get to the meeting in the Senegalese capital, Dakar.
They are due to sign a deal to stop supporting rebels in each other's territory, in an agreement overseen by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Previous agreements between the two countries have collapsed.
Coup attempt
In recent weeks Chad has taken steps to prevent attacks from rebels, including digging a deep trench around the capital, N'Djamena, and cutting down trees which could provide cover for attackers.
The government fought off last month's attempted coup in a fierce two-day battle.
Rebel columns in pick-up trucks rode into N'Djamena on 2 February, aiming to overthrow Mr Deby, who took shelter in his palace as street fighting raged.
The attack took place just before the deployment of a European peacekeeping force, to safeguard refugees from Darfur in eastern Chad and the Central African Republic.
A state of emergency was imposed to restore order after the coup attempt.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7293933.stm
Published: 2008/03/13 11:50:10 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
Thursday, March 6, 2008
China says ready to work with West on Darfur
Thursday 6 March 2008.
March 5, 2008 (PARIS) — China’s special envoy to Darfur said Wednesday Beijing was ready to work with Western powers for a peaceful end to bloodshed in the war-torn region, but remains opposed to sanctions against Khartoum.
"There is no fundamental difference between China and Western countries. China is ready to cooperate sincerely, and is not looking for confrontation with the West" on Darfur, Liu Giujin told reporters in Paris.
As Sudan’s main overseas supporter and a key arms supplier, China has come under growing pressure to use its influence on the east African regime to end the six-year old conflict in the western region.
Liu, who was in Paris after travelling to Darfur and neighbouring Chad late last month, said China shared "the same objective" as Western nations, but that its approach was "not the same".
"China is opposed to the arbitrary use of sanctions and an embargo that only worsens the situation," he said.
Western powers including Britain, France and the United States have backed the idea of sanctions against Khartoum for resisting the full deployment of a joint AU-UN mission to keep the fragile peace in Darfur.
"China wants to exert a positive influence over (the Sudanese government). What we want is for the crisis to be solved as quickly as possible through dialogue and negotiation, not by force," Liu said.
He said foreign states must build a dialogue of equals with the "legitimate" government in Khartoum, "whether or not we approve of it".
"We must talk to it as an equal, as a partner, to create a minimum of trust. We must ask it what approach best suits its interests," he said.
Liu repeated a call for Western powers to use their "important influence over rebel groups" in Darfur, and "speak with a single voice" to bring them back to the negotiating table.
One of the main rebel leaders from Darfur, Abdel Wahid Mohammed Nur, whose Sudan Liberation Army/Movement (SLA/M) spearheaded a 2003 uprising at the start of the current spiral of violence, lives in exile in Paris.
The Darfur conflict, which the United Nations says has claimed the lives of an estimated 200,000 people and displaced 2.2 million, has raged since 2003 when rebel groups demanded a greater share of the country’s resources.
Pressure for China to use its influence on Khartoum has mounted ahead of the Olympic Games in Beijing in August.
Hollywood film-maker Steven Spielberg resigned last month as artistic consultant for the Games over the conflict, which the United States describes as the first genocide of the 21st century.
Nobel Prize winners and Olympic athletes have also written to Chinese President Hu Jintao, asking him to put pressure on Sudan over Darfur.
Liu argued that it was "unfair" to insist on China’s responsibility as arms supplier to Khartoum, saying it was one of seven weapons suppliers to the regime, and accounted for eight percent of its imports.
"In addition, Sudan is Africa’s third arms producer behind Egypt and South Africa, and is self-sufficient in conventional arms and ammunition," Liu said.
"The country will always find a way to obtain arms. It is unfair to accuse China."
(AFP)
March 5, 2008 (PARIS) — China’s special envoy to Darfur said Wednesday Beijing was ready to work with Western powers for a peaceful end to bloodshed in the war-torn region, but remains opposed to sanctions against Khartoum.
"There is no fundamental difference between China and Western countries. China is ready to cooperate sincerely, and is not looking for confrontation with the West" on Darfur, Liu Giujin told reporters in Paris.
As Sudan’s main overseas supporter and a key arms supplier, China has come under growing pressure to use its influence on the east African regime to end the six-year old conflict in the western region.
Liu, who was in Paris after travelling to Darfur and neighbouring Chad late last month, said China shared "the same objective" as Western nations, but that its approach was "not the same".
"China is opposed to the arbitrary use of sanctions and an embargo that only worsens the situation," he said.
Western powers including Britain, France and the United States have backed the idea of sanctions against Khartoum for resisting the full deployment of a joint AU-UN mission to keep the fragile peace in Darfur.
"China wants to exert a positive influence over (the Sudanese government). What we want is for the crisis to be solved as quickly as possible through dialogue and negotiation, not by force," Liu said.
He said foreign states must build a dialogue of equals with the "legitimate" government in Khartoum, "whether or not we approve of it".
"We must talk to it as an equal, as a partner, to create a minimum of trust. We must ask it what approach best suits its interests," he said.
Liu repeated a call for Western powers to use their "important influence over rebel groups" in Darfur, and "speak with a single voice" to bring them back to the negotiating table.
One of the main rebel leaders from Darfur, Abdel Wahid Mohammed Nur, whose Sudan Liberation Army/Movement (SLA/M) spearheaded a 2003 uprising at the start of the current spiral of violence, lives in exile in Paris.
The Darfur conflict, which the United Nations says has claimed the lives of an estimated 200,000 people and displaced 2.2 million, has raged since 2003 when rebel groups demanded a greater share of the country’s resources.
Pressure for China to use its influence on Khartoum has mounted ahead of the Olympic Games in Beijing in August.
Hollywood film-maker Steven Spielberg resigned last month as artistic consultant for the Games over the conflict, which the United States describes as the first genocide of the 21st century.
Nobel Prize winners and Olympic athletes have also written to Chinese President Hu Jintao, asking him to put pressure on Sudan over Darfur.
Liu argued that it was "unfair" to insist on China’s responsibility as arms supplier to Khartoum, saying it was one of seven weapons suppliers to the regime, and accounted for eight percent of its imports.
"In addition, Sudan is Africa’s third arms producer behind Egypt and South Africa, and is self-sufficient in conventional arms and ammunition," Liu said.
"The country will always find a way to obtain arms. It is unfair to accuse China."
(AFP)
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Fighting 'traps' Darfur refugees
Thousands of people are trapped in Sudan's Darfur region, unable to cross into Chad, amid a government offensive, rebels and aid workers say.
Aid agencies say the civilians took refuge in the Jebel Moun mountains following government bombing of three rebel-held towns earlier this month.
The rebels say Sudanese troops are stopping civilians crossing the border.
Sudan's Foreign Ministry told the Associated Press (AP) news agency it was unaware of any stranded refugees.
But a UN spokeswoman in Sudan, Orla Clinton, told AP at least 8,000 refugees were trapped in the mountainous part of western Darfur.
Aid struggle
Sudanese forces say they have taken control of Jebel Moun and inflicted heavy casualties on the rebels of the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem).
Jem accused the government of indiscriminately bombing civilians and killing 15 people.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon earlier condemned the bombing of a camp for displaced people by Sudanese government aircraft at Jebel Moun on Tuesday.
The camp was empty at the time. Eyewitnesses and rebels said army helicopters, Antonov aircraft and state-backed militias had carried out a three-pronged offensive.
Aid agencies were already struggling to cope with a wave of around 12,000 people who fled Darfur into Chad after bombing raids earlier this month.
More than 100 people were killed in that offensive against three major towns, residents say.
At least 200,000 people have died in five years of conflict between rebels, the army and pro-government militias in Darfur.
France has urged the Sudanese authorities to ensure immediate free access to the area for humanitarian workers.
The BBC's Amber Henshaw in Darfur says Jebel Moun remains out of bounds to aid workers and the UN peacekeeping mission to Darfur, Unamid, raising major concerns about thousands of people living in the area.
Unamid began deploying in January but the force still lacks most of the 26,000 personnel planned for the mission.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7255750.stm
Aid agencies say the civilians took refuge in the Jebel Moun mountains following government bombing of three rebel-held towns earlier this month.
The rebels say Sudanese troops are stopping civilians crossing the border.
Sudan's Foreign Ministry told the Associated Press (AP) news agency it was unaware of any stranded refugees.
But a UN spokeswoman in Sudan, Orla Clinton, told AP at least 8,000 refugees were trapped in the mountainous part of western Darfur.
Aid struggle
Sudanese forces say they have taken control of Jebel Moun and inflicted heavy casualties on the rebels of the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem).
Jem accused the government of indiscriminately bombing civilians and killing 15 people.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon earlier condemned the bombing of a camp for displaced people by Sudanese government aircraft at Jebel Moun on Tuesday.
The camp was empty at the time. Eyewitnesses and rebels said army helicopters, Antonov aircraft and state-backed militias had carried out a three-pronged offensive.
Aid agencies were already struggling to cope with a wave of around 12,000 people who fled Darfur into Chad after bombing raids earlier this month.
More than 100 people were killed in that offensive against three major towns, residents say.
At least 200,000 people have died in five years of conflict between rebels, the army and pro-government militias in Darfur.
France has urged the Sudanese authorities to ensure immediate free access to the area for humanitarian workers.
The BBC's Amber Henshaw in Darfur says Jebel Moun remains out of bounds to aid workers and the UN peacekeeping mission to Darfur, Unamid, raising major concerns about thousands of people living in the area.
Unamid began deploying in January but the force still lacks most of the 26,000 personnel planned for the mission.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7255750.stm
Saturday, February 16, 2008
China sells arms to Sudan
February 15, 2008 (HONG KONG) — China has exported more advanced weapon systems to Sudan.
TV video footage of a military parade during the 52nd anniversary of Sudanese independence last year shows that the country already had new-generation Chinese T96 and upgraded T59D main battle tanks and T92 wheeled infantry fighting vehicles fitted with Russian 2A72 30-mm cannon guns.
China acquired the technology from Russia to produce 2A72 30-mm cannon guns, which is believed to have been used to upgrade the Chinese PLA ground forces’ T86 infantry fighting vehicles, or IFVs. Installing 2A72 guns on T92 wheeled IFVs for export to Sudan is a recent development. So far the T-92 wheeled IFVs have been known to be provided only to the Chinese No.38 Group Army.
This appears to be the first time China has exported T92 wheeled IFVs and T96 MBTs to an African nation. The technological standard of this equipment is far superior to ground force equipment China has previously exported to Africa.
At the International Defense Exhibition and Conference 2007 held in Abu Dhabi last year, China introduced the upgraded variant of the T59D tank. African countries that are now using T59 tanks include Zambia and Tanzania.
In recent years, China has largely reinforced military cooperation with African countries through the strategy of trading oil for weapons. Both Sudan and Nigeria have purchased China-made F7M fighters. In 2005 Sudan exported to China 6.62 million tons of crude oil, about 5.2 percent of China’s total oil imports that year. China has a 40-percent stake in Sudan’s largest international oil consortium.
Other Chinese weapons currently in service in the Sudanese forces include Type 54 122-mm howitzers, Type 59-I 130-mm cannons, Type 81 122-mm rocket guns, Type 59 57-mm air-defense guns, mortars of different calibers, eight J-6 fighters and a number of J-7M fighters.
Sudan has also expressed interest in purchasing 12 Chinese FC1 fighters, and the two sides are now negotiating technical details of the deal. In 1996 Sudan purchased six F7M fighters from China, and another two Y8 transport aircraft are also in service. Western military observers believe that those Chinese weapons were paid for with Sudanese oil.
The Sudan military parade in 2007 had a strong Chinese color, as most of the armored weapons were from China. The same parade revealed that the Sudan air force had Chinese-made K8 military trainers. Three K8 trainers and three MiG-29s flew over the capital during the parade. Images from the parade have revealed to the world that the Sudanese army resembles a second Chinese Liberation Army.
(UPI)
TV video footage of a military parade during the 52nd anniversary of Sudanese independence last year shows that the country already had new-generation Chinese T96 and upgraded T59D main battle tanks and T92 wheeled infantry fighting vehicles fitted with Russian 2A72 30-mm cannon guns.
China acquired the technology from Russia to produce 2A72 30-mm cannon guns, which is believed to have been used to upgrade the Chinese PLA ground forces’ T86 infantry fighting vehicles, or IFVs. Installing 2A72 guns on T92 wheeled IFVs for export to Sudan is a recent development. So far the T-92 wheeled IFVs have been known to be provided only to the Chinese No.38 Group Army.
This appears to be the first time China has exported T92 wheeled IFVs and T96 MBTs to an African nation. The technological standard of this equipment is far superior to ground force equipment China has previously exported to Africa.
At the International Defense Exhibition and Conference 2007 held in Abu Dhabi last year, China introduced the upgraded variant of the T59D tank. African countries that are now using T59 tanks include Zambia and Tanzania.
In recent years, China has largely reinforced military cooperation with African countries through the strategy of trading oil for weapons. Both Sudan and Nigeria have purchased China-made F7M fighters. In 2005 Sudan exported to China 6.62 million tons of crude oil, about 5.2 percent of China’s total oil imports that year. China has a 40-percent stake in Sudan’s largest international oil consortium.
Other Chinese weapons currently in service in the Sudanese forces include Type 54 122-mm howitzers, Type 59-I 130-mm cannons, Type 81 122-mm rocket guns, Type 59 57-mm air-defense guns, mortars of different calibers, eight J-6 fighters and a number of J-7M fighters.
Sudan has also expressed interest in purchasing 12 Chinese FC1 fighters, and the two sides are now negotiating technical details of the deal. In 1996 Sudan purchased six F7M fighters from China, and another two Y8 transport aircraft are also in service. Western military observers believe that those Chinese weapons were paid for with Sudanese oil.
The Sudan military parade in 2007 had a strong Chinese color, as most of the armored weapons were from China. The same parade revealed that the Sudan air force had Chinese-made K8 military trainers. Three K8 trainers and three MiG-29s flew over the capital during the parade. Images from the parade have revealed to the world that the Sudanese army resembles a second Chinese Liberation Army.
(UPI)
Gunmen block Darfur refugees at Chad Border - UN
February 15, 2008 (N’DJAMENA) — Unknown armed men prevented humanitarian workers from moving traumatized, new arrivals from Darfur away from Chad’s volatile border with Sudan, the U.N. refugee agency reported Friday.
On Tuesday, gunmen blocked a group of about 1,000 refugees from boarding trucks. They are among some 8,000 refugees who have fled across the border since Sudan bombed three border towns last week.
It was unclear if the move was connected to Chad’s threat on Monday to expel Sudanese refugees if the international community failed to move them out of the Central African nation. Analysts had seen the threat as a ploy to encourage a speedy deployment of a European Union peacekeeping force being sent to protect more than half a million refugees in a volatile triangle where the borders of Chad, Sudan and the Central African Republic meet.
"The newly arrived refugees are exhausted. Women report being raped. Children have been separated from their families," said a statement from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva.
Spokeswoman Helene Caux said the agency had trucks ready to move the refugees to the relative safety of a camp. But they were awaiting permission from Chad’s government, she said.
Caux said it was impossible to say who the gunmen were. Several armed groups operate along Chad’s border with Sudan.
Chadian President Idriss Deby declared a nationwide state of emergency on Thursday, with a midnight to dawn curfew. He also banned most meeting and set limits on what the media can publish, measures he said were needed to restore order after the rebel attacks.
The rebels attacked the capital, N’Djamena, on Feb. 2-3, fighting to oust Deby, whom they accuse of corruption and embezzling millions in oil revenue. After a weekend of fighting in which clashes reached the gate of the presidential palace, Chad’s army repelled the rebels from N’Djamena and pursued them eastward toward the Sudanese border.
Deby said the emergency measures would be in place for 15 days, starting Friday, as allowed in Chad’s constitution. After 15 days, Chad’s national assembly can decide whether to allow an extension.
His declaration also gives extra powers to regional governors to control the movement of people and vehicles.
(ST)
On Tuesday, gunmen blocked a group of about 1,000 refugees from boarding trucks. They are among some 8,000 refugees who have fled across the border since Sudan bombed three border towns last week.
It was unclear if the move was connected to Chad’s threat on Monday to expel Sudanese refugees if the international community failed to move them out of the Central African nation. Analysts had seen the threat as a ploy to encourage a speedy deployment of a European Union peacekeeping force being sent to protect more than half a million refugees in a volatile triangle where the borders of Chad, Sudan and the Central African Republic meet.
"The newly arrived refugees are exhausted. Women report being raped. Children have been separated from their families," said a statement from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva.
Spokeswoman Helene Caux said the agency had trucks ready to move the refugees to the relative safety of a camp. But they were awaiting permission from Chad’s government, she said.
Caux said it was impossible to say who the gunmen were. Several armed groups operate along Chad’s border with Sudan.
Chadian President Idriss Deby declared a nationwide state of emergency on Thursday, with a midnight to dawn curfew. He also banned most meeting and set limits on what the media can publish, measures he said were needed to restore order after the rebel attacks.
The rebels attacked the capital, N’Djamena, on Feb. 2-3, fighting to oust Deby, whom they accuse of corruption and embezzling millions in oil revenue. After a weekend of fighting in which clashes reached the gate of the presidential palace, Chad’s army repelled the rebels from N’Djamena and pursued them eastward toward the Sudanese border.
Deby said the emergency measures would be in place for 15 days, starting Friday, as allowed in Chad’s constitution. After 15 days, Chad’s national assembly can decide whether to allow an extension.
His declaration also gives extra powers to regional governors to control the movement of people and vehicles.
(ST)
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Darfur towns burned in government attacks: U.N.
By Andrew Heavens
Tue Feb 12, 7:17 AM ET
KHARTOUM, Sudan (Reuters) - A major assault by the Sudanese army and allied militia has left two Darfur towns badly damaged by fire, sources close to a U.N. reconnaissance mission to the region said on Tuesday.
The news came as the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed one of its staff members had been killed in the offensive. Aid group MSF Switzerland said a small number of its staff had gone missing after the attacks.
Sudan said its forces attacked the western towns of Abu Surouj, Sirba and Suleia on Friday to clear out fighters from the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).
The U.N.'s refugee agency said at least 12,000 Darfuris fled into neighboring Chad to escape the violence. Residents, who claimed there were no rebels present in the towns, said 47 people were killed in one settlement alone.
A U.N. assessment mission to Abu Surouj and Sirba found buildings burned to the ground and reports of sustained air and ground assaults.
"Both places were partially burned down," said the source close to the U.N./African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) which took part in the investigation mission that ended its trip late Monday.
"We confirmed that they were attacked on February 8. Helicopter gunships were seen. Antonov aircraft were seen. Witnesses said they were also attacked by men riding on horseback accompanied by vehicles."
Residents left in Sirba had been too scared to talk openly to the investigation mission because of the presence of Sudanese army soldiers, said the source, adding that the team had not managed to visit the third settlement of Suleia.
Chad threatened on Monday to expel any more refugees arriving from Darfur, saying their presence was triggering insecurity.
RED CROSS WORKED KILLED
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Tuesday confirmed earlier reports that one of its Sudanese staff members had died during the assault on Suleia.
The 45-year-old father-of-six was killed inside the ICRC's office in the town, said the organization, adding that it was planning to investigate the incident "as security conditions permit."
"The ICRC extends its condolences to the family of the victim, who was not only a colleague but also a friend," said a spokesperson. "His death is a loss for the entire organization."
Humanitarian agencies on Tuesday said their access to west Darfur had been severely hampered for weeks by increasing unrest.
"This is the biggest and deadliest attack in many, many months," said one aid worker, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A spokesman for MSF Switzerland said the organization was still trying to trace staff that had been based in Suleia. "Most of our workers managed to get into Chad but we haven't been able to confirm the location of a small number of them," he said.
West Darfuris have been caught up in increasingly violent clashes involving Sudan's Armed Forces, insurgent groups, and the forces of neighboring Chad. The Chadian airforce in January bombed positions in West Darfur it said were held by Chadian rebels supported by Khartoum.
The increased Chadian involvement has brought additional turmoil to a region torn apart by almost five years of conflict.
International experts estimate some 200,000 have died and 2.5 million been driven from their homes in fighting since early 2003, when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in Darfur, accusing the government of neglect.
Khartoum says 9,000 have died and accuses the West of exaggerating the scale of the conflict and the casualties.
(Editing by Keith Weir)
Tue Feb 12, 7:17 AM ET
KHARTOUM, Sudan (Reuters) - A major assault by the Sudanese army and allied militia has left two Darfur towns badly damaged by fire, sources close to a U.N. reconnaissance mission to the region said on Tuesday.
The news came as the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed one of its staff members had been killed in the offensive. Aid group MSF Switzerland said a small number of its staff had gone missing after the attacks.
Sudan said its forces attacked the western towns of Abu Surouj, Sirba and Suleia on Friday to clear out fighters from the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).
The U.N.'s refugee agency said at least 12,000 Darfuris fled into neighboring Chad to escape the violence. Residents, who claimed there were no rebels present in the towns, said 47 people were killed in one settlement alone.
A U.N. assessment mission to Abu Surouj and Sirba found buildings burned to the ground and reports of sustained air and ground assaults.
"Both places were partially burned down," said the source close to the U.N./African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) which took part in the investigation mission that ended its trip late Monday.
"We confirmed that they were attacked on February 8. Helicopter gunships were seen. Antonov aircraft were seen. Witnesses said they were also attacked by men riding on horseback accompanied by vehicles."
Residents left in Sirba had been too scared to talk openly to the investigation mission because of the presence of Sudanese army soldiers, said the source, adding that the team had not managed to visit the third settlement of Suleia.
Chad threatened on Monday to expel any more refugees arriving from Darfur, saying their presence was triggering insecurity.
RED CROSS WORKED KILLED
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Tuesday confirmed earlier reports that one of its Sudanese staff members had died during the assault on Suleia.
The 45-year-old father-of-six was killed inside the ICRC's office in the town, said the organization, adding that it was planning to investigate the incident "as security conditions permit."
"The ICRC extends its condolences to the family of the victim, who was not only a colleague but also a friend," said a spokesperson. "His death is a loss for the entire organization."
Humanitarian agencies on Tuesday said their access to west Darfur had been severely hampered for weeks by increasing unrest.
"This is the biggest and deadliest attack in many, many months," said one aid worker, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A spokesman for MSF Switzerland said the organization was still trying to trace staff that had been based in Suleia. "Most of our workers managed to get into Chad but we haven't been able to confirm the location of a small number of them," he said.
West Darfuris have been caught up in increasingly violent clashes involving Sudan's Armed Forces, insurgent groups, and the forces of neighboring Chad. The Chadian airforce in January bombed positions in West Darfur it said were held by Chadian rebels supported by Khartoum.
The increased Chadian involvement has brought additional turmoil to a region torn apart by almost five years of conflict.
International experts estimate some 200,000 have died and 2.5 million been driven from their homes in fighting since early 2003, when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in Darfur, accusing the government of neglect.
Khartoum says 9,000 have died and accuses the West of exaggerating the scale of the conflict and the casualties.
(Editing by Keith Weir)
Friday, February 8, 2008
Sudan planes, militia attack Darfur towns-witnesses
08 Feb 2008 19:17:45 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Adds comment by Amnesty, Eliasson, edits)
By Opheera McDoom
KHARTOUM, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Sudanese government aircraft, army and militia attacked three towns in West Darfur state on Friday, causing heavy civilian casualties, Darfur rebels and witnesses said.
"The government attacked the town of Abu Surouj this morning ... a direct attack with cars and horses and bombardment," rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) commander Abdel Aziz el-Nur Ashr told Reuters from Darfur.
"Now they have continued their aggression to three towns ... including Suleia." He put the initial death toll at around 200 but said it was hard to tell because the army was still there.
The governor of West Darfur state Abu el-Gasim confirmed the armed forces had moved on Sirba, Suleia and Abu Surouj -- the last a city of some 150,000 people that also houses displaced people from other attacks -- to retake them from the rebels.
But he denied any casualties or bombing.
"There were a few houses burned but no wounded and no civilians have been killed. I was following the situation carefully," he told Reuters.
Abu Surouj resident Malik Mohamed said he had escaped during the attack early on Friday. "First of all I saw two helicopters and Janjaweed on horses and camels, after that I saw cars," he said. "The helicopters hit us four times and around 20 bombs were dropped," he said by telephone.
His voice breaking, he said he had no idea where his family was. "I am outside the city and can see burning. They (the attackers) are still inside."
Residents of el-Geneina, the state capital, told Reuters they could hear Antonov planes and had seen helicopters. Darfur rebels said that until the attacks they controlled the area north of el-Geneina, where they have often fought army troops, and which aid workers have been forbidden from entering.
Ashr had said previously the rebels expected the attacks because Khartoum had again mobilised militia groups, known locally as Janjaweed, in the area.
Yehia Abakr, a resident of Sirba, told Reuters by telephone he fled the town centre when the forces attacked.
"They have killed many people," he said.
The militia stand accused of widespread atrocities and the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for a junior cabinet minister and an allied militia leader accused of war crimes. Khartoum refuses to hand them over.
U.N. URGES RESTRAINT
The Sudanese army said it had attacked the area to move JEM out because the insurgents had been ambushing their forces. But it denied killing any civilians.
"The armed forces attacked the areas where the rebels are and they have rid the areas of them totally," a spokesman said.
JEM's Ashr said the rebels had not stationed forces inside the towns since capturing them late last year.
"When we attacked and took Suleia, we attacked the army there but not one civilian was killed," he said.
Two other rebel groups also said the nearby Chad-Sudan border area of Jabel Moun had been bombed.
Commander of the joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID), Martin Luther Agwai, said he was very concerned about the government attack, urging all sides to show restraint.
"In addition to the loss of life and damage to property, there is the potential for displacement of large numbers of villagers, compounding an already critical humanitarian situation," he said in a statement.
The UNAMID force, still awaiting an agreement from Khartoum on its operational rules due to be signed on Saturday says it has only 9,000 of its required 26,000 troops and police.
It also lacks attack and transport helicopters. Ethiopia said on Thursday it would provide five of the required 24.
Rights group Amnesty International said the government attack was a "major test" for the UNAMID mission which began operations on Dec. 31 and called on it to protect the civilians in the area.
"The Security Council ... should call on the government of Sudan to comply with international humanitarian law and ensure that civilians are protected at all times and call on JEM not to endanger civilians by stationing armed men within civilian areas," Tawanda Hondora, Amnesty's deputy Africa director, said in a statement on Friday.
"It looks like a rather large-scale operation," Jan Eliasson, U.N. special envoy to Darfur, said in New York of the latest offensive.
Witnesses said the attacks were similar to those in the early days of the Darfur conflict in 2003, when Khartoum mobilised militias to quell mostly non-Arab rebels who took up arms in western Sudan, accusing the government of neglect. (Editing by Andrew Roche)
AlertNet news is provided by Reuters
Source: Reuters
(Adds comment by Amnesty, Eliasson, edits)
By Opheera McDoom
KHARTOUM, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Sudanese government aircraft, army and militia attacked three towns in West Darfur state on Friday, causing heavy civilian casualties, Darfur rebels and witnesses said.
"The government attacked the town of Abu Surouj this morning ... a direct attack with cars and horses and bombardment," rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) commander Abdel Aziz el-Nur Ashr told Reuters from Darfur.
"Now they have continued their aggression to three towns ... including Suleia." He put the initial death toll at around 200 but said it was hard to tell because the army was still there.
The governor of West Darfur state Abu el-Gasim confirmed the armed forces had moved on Sirba, Suleia and Abu Surouj -- the last a city of some 150,000 people that also houses displaced people from other attacks -- to retake them from the rebels.
But he denied any casualties or bombing.
"There were a few houses burned but no wounded and no civilians have been killed. I was following the situation carefully," he told Reuters.
Abu Surouj resident Malik Mohamed said he had escaped during the attack early on Friday. "First of all I saw two helicopters and Janjaweed on horses and camels, after that I saw cars," he said. "The helicopters hit us four times and around 20 bombs were dropped," he said by telephone.
His voice breaking, he said he had no idea where his family was. "I am outside the city and can see burning. They (the attackers) are still inside."
Residents of el-Geneina, the state capital, told Reuters they could hear Antonov planes and had seen helicopters. Darfur rebels said that until the attacks they controlled the area north of el-Geneina, where they have often fought army troops, and which aid workers have been forbidden from entering.
Ashr had said previously the rebels expected the attacks because Khartoum had again mobilised militia groups, known locally as Janjaweed, in the area.
Yehia Abakr, a resident of Sirba, told Reuters by telephone he fled the town centre when the forces attacked.
"They have killed many people," he said.
The militia stand accused of widespread atrocities and the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for a junior cabinet minister and an allied militia leader accused of war crimes. Khartoum refuses to hand them over.
U.N. URGES RESTRAINT
The Sudanese army said it had attacked the area to move JEM out because the insurgents had been ambushing their forces. But it denied killing any civilians.
"The armed forces attacked the areas where the rebels are and they have rid the areas of them totally," a spokesman said.
JEM's Ashr said the rebels had not stationed forces inside the towns since capturing them late last year.
"When we attacked and took Suleia, we attacked the army there but not one civilian was killed," he said.
Two other rebel groups also said the nearby Chad-Sudan border area of Jabel Moun had been bombed.
Commander of the joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID), Martin Luther Agwai, said he was very concerned about the government attack, urging all sides to show restraint.
"In addition to the loss of life and damage to property, there is the potential for displacement of large numbers of villagers, compounding an already critical humanitarian situation," he said in a statement.
The UNAMID force, still awaiting an agreement from Khartoum on its operational rules due to be signed on Saturday says it has only 9,000 of its required 26,000 troops and police.
It also lacks attack and transport helicopters. Ethiopia said on Thursday it would provide five of the required 24.
Rights group Amnesty International said the government attack was a "major test" for the UNAMID mission which began operations on Dec. 31 and called on it to protect the civilians in the area.
"The Security Council ... should call on the government of Sudan to comply with international humanitarian law and ensure that civilians are protected at all times and call on JEM not to endanger civilians by stationing armed men within civilian areas," Tawanda Hondora, Amnesty's deputy Africa director, said in a statement on Friday.
"It looks like a rather large-scale operation," Jan Eliasson, U.N. special envoy to Darfur, said in New York of the latest offensive.
Witnesses said the attacks were similar to those in the early days of the Darfur conflict in 2003, when Khartoum mobilised militias to quell mostly non-Arab rebels who took up arms in western Sudan, accusing the government of neglect. (Editing by Andrew Roche)
AlertNet news is provided by Reuters
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Sudan doubles crude exports to China in 2007
January 22, 2008 (BEIJING) — Crude oil exports from Sudan to China more than doubled last year to top 200,000 barrels a day, with official data showing that China now takes 40 percent of the east African producer’s total output.
Sudan exported 10.31 million tonnes to China in 2007, or 113 percent above 2006, ranking as Beijing’s sixth-largest crude supplier, with 6 percent of the total crude imports to the world’s second-largest oil user, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.
The surge in Sudanese oil was due to the rising production at Block 3/7, which started up in August 2006 and produces a heavy, highly acidic crude Dar Blend, traders said.
State energy group CNPC, parent of PetroChina , is the largest oil investor in Sudan, owning 41 percent of block 3/7 and 40 percent of the 1/2/4 field, which produces Nile Blend crude.
Sudan now stood within striking distance of the fifth-largest exporter, Oman, where sales in 2007 sales went up a marginal 3.7 percent to 270,000 bpd.
Saudi Arabia, Angola, Iran and Russia were the top four exporters, among which Iran recorded the biggest increase — 22 percent over a year earlier, the data recorded.
State refiner Sinopec Corp raised spot purchases on top of term supplies, traders have said.
The data also showed that supplies from Russia came down 9 percent at 290,000 bpd, which traders attributed partly to below-target sales through railways.
For this year, Riyadh is set to remain Beijing’s top oil supplier, as the Kingdom agreed to raise exports by nearly 40 percent to some 720,000 bpd, to feed China’s new refining facilities, Beijing-based traders have told Reuters.
Since Beijing has agreed to raise imports from Tehran by about 100,000 bpd under a one-year supply pact, Iran could soon overtake Angola as China’s No.2 supplier.
(Reuters)
Sudan exported 10.31 million tonnes to China in 2007, or 113 percent above 2006, ranking as Beijing’s sixth-largest crude supplier, with 6 percent of the total crude imports to the world’s second-largest oil user, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.
The surge in Sudanese oil was due to the rising production at Block 3/7, which started up in August 2006 and produces a heavy, highly acidic crude Dar Blend, traders said.
State energy group CNPC, parent of PetroChina , is the largest oil investor in Sudan, owning 41 percent of block 3/7 and 40 percent of the 1/2/4 field, which produces Nile Blend crude.
Sudan now stood within striking distance of the fifth-largest exporter, Oman, where sales in 2007 sales went up a marginal 3.7 percent to 270,000 bpd.
Saudi Arabia, Angola, Iran and Russia were the top four exporters, among which Iran recorded the biggest increase — 22 percent over a year earlier, the data recorded.
State refiner Sinopec Corp raised spot purchases on top of term supplies, traders have said.
The data also showed that supplies from Russia came down 9 percent at 290,000 bpd, which traders attributed partly to below-target sales through railways.
For this year, Riyadh is set to remain Beijing’s top oil supplier, as the Kingdom agreed to raise exports by nearly 40 percent to some 720,000 bpd, to feed China’s new refining facilities, Beijing-based traders have told Reuters.
Since Beijing has agreed to raise imports from Tehran by about 100,000 bpd under a one-year supply pact, Iran could soon overtake Angola as China’s No.2 supplier.
(Reuters)
Darfur bandit attacks threaten aid to 2 million: WFP
By Opheera McDoom
Armed robberies and bandit attacks on aid convoys are threatening deliveries of food to more than 2 million people in Darfur, the World Food Program said on Wednesday.
Around two-thirds of the population of Darfur depend on the world's largest aid operation, but a collapse in law and order in the vast region has made life difficult for humanitarian workers.
Five years of fighting in Darfur has claimed an estimated 200,000 lives and driven 2.5 million from their homes.
So far this year, 22 trucks have been stolen and 18 drivers are missing, WFP officials said, calling on the Sudanese government to make sure the roads are safe.
"Our main trucking companies now refuse to send in more vehicles because of this upsurge in banditry and therefore we have no one to deliver about half our monthly food relief requirement, WFP Sudan country head Kenro Oshidari said in the statement.
"If the situation continues, we'll be forced to cut rations in parts of Darfur by mid-February," he added.
"Attacks on trucks carrying WFP supplies, abductions of drivers and trucks, looting of WFP supplies and drivers' personal property and beatings of WFP-contracted drivers to intimidate them have increased in recent months," the statement said.
In addition to the attacks on drivers under contract, WFP said there were two attacks on WFP staff and vehicles on Tuesday.
Near el-Fasher, Darfur's main town, two vehicles were taken and five staff briefly abducted and threatened with death before being released and walking to safety.
South of el-Geneina, capital of West Darfur state, WFP lorries were shot at. The cab of one vehicle took a direct hit although the driver escaped unharmed.
A joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission took over from struggling AU peacekeepers on December 31, but troop levels are unchanged and the government in Khartoum has obstructed deployment of the new mission.
In the absence of an effective peacekeeping operation, the government has also failed to maintain safety on the roads, although local authorities deny any security problems.
"WFP is urging Sudanese authorities to ensure the safety of main routes in Darfur," the statement added.
Mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003 accusing central government of marginalizing the region. Khartoum mobilized mainly Arab tribes to quell the insurgency.
Those tribal militias are accused of widespread atrocities against civilians. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for a junior government minister and an allied militia leader accused of war crimes, but Khartoum refuses to hand them over.
(Reporting by Opheera McDoom; Editing by Giles Elgood)
Copyright © 2008 Reuters
Armed robberies and bandit attacks on aid convoys are threatening deliveries of food to more than 2 million people in Darfur, the World Food Program said on Wednesday.
Around two-thirds of the population of Darfur depend on the world's largest aid operation, but a collapse in law and order in the vast region has made life difficult for humanitarian workers.
Five years of fighting in Darfur has claimed an estimated 200,000 lives and driven 2.5 million from their homes.
So far this year, 22 trucks have been stolen and 18 drivers are missing, WFP officials said, calling on the Sudanese government to make sure the roads are safe.
"Our main trucking companies now refuse to send in more vehicles because of this upsurge in banditry and therefore we have no one to deliver about half our monthly food relief requirement, WFP Sudan country head Kenro Oshidari said in the statement.
"If the situation continues, we'll be forced to cut rations in parts of Darfur by mid-February," he added.
"Attacks on trucks carrying WFP supplies, abductions of drivers and trucks, looting of WFP supplies and drivers' personal property and beatings of WFP-contracted drivers to intimidate them have increased in recent months," the statement said.
In addition to the attacks on drivers under contract, WFP said there were two attacks on WFP staff and vehicles on Tuesday.
Near el-Fasher, Darfur's main town, two vehicles were taken and five staff briefly abducted and threatened with death before being released and walking to safety.
South of el-Geneina, capital of West Darfur state, WFP lorries were shot at. The cab of one vehicle took a direct hit although the driver escaped unharmed.
A joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission took over from struggling AU peacekeepers on December 31, but troop levels are unchanged and the government in Khartoum has obstructed deployment of the new mission.
In the absence of an effective peacekeeping operation, the government has also failed to maintain safety on the roads, although local authorities deny any security problems.
"WFP is urging Sudanese authorities to ensure the safety of main routes in Darfur," the statement added.
Mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003 accusing central government of marginalizing the region. Khartoum mobilized mainly Arab tribes to quell the insurgency.
Those tribal militias are accused of widespread atrocities against civilians. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for a junior government minister and an allied militia leader accused of war crimes, but Khartoum refuses to hand them over.
(Reporting by Opheera McDoom; Editing by Giles Elgood)
Copyright © 2008 Reuters
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Sudan 'bombing rebels in Darfur'
Sudanese warplanes have been bombing rebel positions near Geneina in West Darfur, rebel commanders in the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) say.
They say there have been several civilian causalities as people flee villages to shelter from the raids.
Correspondents say Jem has claimed a series of recent victories over government troops in the area in fighting which is hampering aid work.
Some 200,000 people in Darfur have died in the five-year conflict.
More than 2m people are living in camps after fleeing the continued fighting and insecurity in the region.
The United Nations and African Union have so far sent 9,000 troops for a planned 26,000-strong force.
Prison break
"They killed three citizens - two women and one man," Jem commander Abdel Aziz el-Nur Ashr told Reuters news agency.
Another Jem leader told AFP news agency that bombing raids had taken place on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
International sources confirmed to Reuters that government planes had been seen in action on Sunday.
There has been no confirmation from the Sudanese army about the attacks.
There is concern that insecurity in the region is growing.
"All the roads around Geneina are no-go areas right now," Emilia Casella, spokeswoman for the UN's World Food Programme is quoted by Reuters as saying.
In South Darfur, the AP news agency reports that gunmen have stormed a prison freeing at least 90 prisoners.
Reports say the attackers wounded two guards at the Buram prison and took several inmates with them when they fled in pick-up trucks.
A United Nations official was quoted as saying the raid appeared to have been carried out by members of the Salamat community, suspected of belonging to the Janjaweed militia associated with the government.
The Sudanese authorities have promised an investigation.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7188937.stm
They say there have been several civilian causalities as people flee villages to shelter from the raids.
Correspondents say Jem has claimed a series of recent victories over government troops in the area in fighting which is hampering aid work.
Some 200,000 people in Darfur have died in the five-year conflict.
More than 2m people are living in camps after fleeing the continued fighting and insecurity in the region.
The United Nations and African Union have so far sent 9,000 troops for a planned 26,000-strong force.
Prison break
"They killed three citizens - two women and one man," Jem commander Abdel Aziz el-Nur Ashr told Reuters news agency.
Another Jem leader told AFP news agency that bombing raids had taken place on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
International sources confirmed to Reuters that government planes had been seen in action on Sunday.
There has been no confirmation from the Sudanese army about the attacks.
There is concern that insecurity in the region is growing.
"All the roads around Geneina are no-go areas right now," Emilia Casella, spokeswoman for the UN's World Food Programme is quoted by Reuters as saying.
In South Darfur, the AP news agency reports that gunmen have stormed a prison freeing at least 90 prisoners.
Reports say the attackers wounded two guards at the Buram prison and took several inmates with them when they fled in pick-up trucks.
A United Nations official was quoted as saying the raid appeared to have been carried out by members of the Salamat community, suspected of belonging to the Janjaweed militia associated with the government.
The Sudanese authorities have promised an investigation.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7188937.stm
Sunday, January 13, 2008
China, Russa quash ICC efforts to press Sudan over Darfur crimes
Saturday 12 January 2008.
By Katy Glassborow
January 11, 2008 (THE HAGUE) — A United Nations Security Council, UNSC, statement calling for the Sudanese government to comply with the International Criminal Court, ICC, by handing over two men suspected of war crimes in Darfur has been scrapped due to opposition from China and Russia.
The countries, two of the five permanent UNSC members, refused to endorse the presidential statement which urged the Government of Sudan, GoS, to cooperate fully with, and provide any necessary assistance to the ICC.
Human rights workers, officials and court representatives are now calling for the UNSC to take a tougher stance.
Back in March 2005, the UNSC referred Darfur to the ICC under Resolution 1593 because it considered the situation in Sudan a threat to international peace and security. The resolution urged all states to cooperate fully with the court.
In April 2007, ICC judges issued arrest warrants for government minister Ahmed Harun, and Janjaweed commander Ali Kushyb. However, the GoS refused to accept the jurisdiction of the ICC over crimes in Darfur, insisting that the Sudanese justice system is capable to trying suspects.
Khartoum refuses to cooperate with the court, and in a show of defiance, Harun has been promoted to minister in charge of humanitarian affairs, and as liaison for the new UN-African Union hybrid peacekeeping force, UNAMID.
The statement calling for greater cooperation from the GoS was drafted after the ICC prosecutor reported in December that a second wave of atrocities was being committed against 2.5 million Darfurians, who had previously been forcibly displaced from their homes and are now living in camps.
In his report, Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo spoke of a "calculated, organised campaign by Sudanese officials to attack individuals and further destroy the social fabric of entire communities", as well as an increasing number of attacks against humanitarian personnel and peace keepers.
He gave examples of the joint attack on the town of Muhajiriya by allied GoS and Janjaweed forces on October 8, 2007 in which 48 civilians praying in a mosque were rounded up and slaughtered, as well as a Sudanese airforce bombing of Adilla in August the same year which displaced a further 20,000 people.
Moreno-Ocampo asked the UNSC to send a strong, unanimous message to the GoS, requesting compliance and the execution of arrest warrants for Harun and Kushyb.
"It would be inaccurate and confusing to convey in any way to the GoS that the arrest warrants and the obligation to comply with Resolution 1593 will go away," said Moreno-Ocampo.
At the time, the then president of the UNSC, Italy’s ambassador Marcello Spatafora, described the contents of Moreno-Ocampo’s report as "very disturbing”. Following the prosecutor’s briefing, he said a UNSC declaration should be drafted.
"We cannot stay silent, and have to send a strong message [to the Sudanese authorities] so we propose this to the members and ask the countries to circulate a draft. It is now under consideration," he said.
Slovakia, Italy, UK, France, and Belgium then proposed a statement, citing the ICC arrest warrants for Kushyb and Harun, and urged Khartoum to cooperate with the ICC "in respect of these individuals".
However, on December 7, after two days of discussions between the 15 members of the UNSC, the statement was suddenly abandoned.
In an apparent about-turn, Spatafora told journalists that a statement was “not needed” because UNSC members had already been “loud and clear” about their views that the GoS should cooperate with the ICC.
UN sources told IWPR that China and Russia felt the presidential statement was not conducive to humanitarian, political and peacekeeping efforts.
UK ambassador to the UN John Sawyers suggested that China was responsible for blocking December’s statement. He said he was "confident that if the Chinese had not taken such a firm line against the statement, it would have been adopted".
ICC watchers, such as David Donat Cattin from Parliamentarians for Global Action, were not surprised the statement was scrapped and feel that it would not have made any real difference to the Darfur crisis.
"It would have been a nice political move, but would not have added anything to the legally binding Resolution 1593," he said.
But representatives of rebel groups in Sudan are disappointed that the UNSC has backed down.
Ahmed Diraige, chairman of the Sudan Federal Democratic Alliance and former head of the National Redemption Front, said in order to stay credible and respected by Darfurians, organisations such as the UN and ICC must prove they are fulfilling their duties.
"The resolve of the international community to bring people in Sudan to justice is a farce. The UNSC and ICC have passed resolutions and indicted individuals, but have no means of enforcing decisions and the government is defying them, and not handing individuals over,” said Diraige.
"One has been promoted to status of minister of humanitarian affairs when he is accused of violating human rights. This is very damaging to the reputation of these institutions. People will laugh and say they do not exist and are only names.”
He told IWPR that the international community must take a tougher stance against the Sudanese authorities.
"People in Darfur have lost faith. Injustices are continuing. The international community, international institutions and heads of state are not doing anything," he said.
Justice minister of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement, JEM, Bushara Suleiman, said that whether Kushayb and Harun end up in The Hague is entirely dependent on pressure from the UNSC on the government, and is calling for further sanctions.
"The UNSC need to impose oil sanctions, which is the only thing which will stop the genocide in Darfur, but [permanent member] China will never allow this,” he said.
"The Chinese have a UNSC veto and also have oil interests in Sudan. So rebels need to control cities like El Genina, El Fasher and Nyala, because any other sanctions will not convince the GoS to comply with the ICC."
China buys most of Sudan’s oil, and rebels accuse the country of indirectly funding Khartoum’s campaign in Darfur by investing in the country’s oil industry and thereby channelling money to the government.
Bushara told IWPR that those who have committed crimes have to be taken to the ICC and that "we will fight until this happens. For us it is clear. We need comprehensive sanctions".
But Sawyers is not confident about the resolve of fellow UNSC members over imposing progressively more hard-hitting sanctions against Sudan.
“If we press for further sanctions, we might find a number of other countries, not just China, but also Russia, Libya, Vietnam South Africa being cautious about applying that pressure,” he said.
Observers point out that the current sanctions imposed against Sudan by the UNSC are not working.
Cattin said that a travel ban currently in place against Harun is short-sighted because "experience tells us that the best way to arrest these people is to allow them to travel and arrest them outside Sudan".
Steve Crawshaw from Human Rights Watch said that blame for the UNSC’s half-hearted response to the Darfur crisis cannot be laid solely at the feet of China and Russia.
He said that right across the UNSC, there has been a lack of will to help the ICC, and added that the body was sending out “confusing signals” to Sudan.
In mid-2007, as the UN negotiated with the Sudanese authorities to send a deployment of hybrid peacekeepers to Darfur, the UNSC did not want to acknowledge the GoS was failing to cooperate with the ICC in case it ruined the deal.
Crawshaw said that Khartoum was praised by the UN for cooperating in discussions over peacekeepers, with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon failing to raise the issue of justice on a trip to Sudan.
"You can’t have Khartoum praised, and not mention that Harun was appointed as the liaison to UNAMID. This is a shameful slap in the face to the UN, and every government has to confront this," added Crawshaw.
Belgium’s UN ambassador Johan Verbeke told IWPR he has "again and again stressed the importance of the fight against impunity in Sudan, particularly in relation to the case of Harun, and succeeded in making an increasing number of UNSC members sensitive to the issue.
"Belgium will not accept Sudan’s utter defiance of its obligations.”
These are welcome words for ICC prosecutors after what they describe as “months of silence from the international community”.
An ICC spokesperson told IWPR that "it is now up to the members of the UNSC to live up to their responsibility and ensure that the GoS respect its obligations under Resolution 1593 and cooperate with the ICC, in particular through the arrest and surrender of Harun and Kushayb".
The Chinese and Russian delegations to the UN declined the opportunity to respond to interview requests from IWPR.
(IWPR)
By Katy Glassborow
January 11, 2008 (THE HAGUE) — A United Nations Security Council, UNSC, statement calling for the Sudanese government to comply with the International Criminal Court, ICC, by handing over two men suspected of war crimes in Darfur has been scrapped due to opposition from China and Russia.
The countries, two of the five permanent UNSC members, refused to endorse the presidential statement which urged the Government of Sudan, GoS, to cooperate fully with, and provide any necessary assistance to the ICC.
Human rights workers, officials and court representatives are now calling for the UNSC to take a tougher stance.
Back in March 2005, the UNSC referred Darfur to the ICC under Resolution 1593 because it considered the situation in Sudan a threat to international peace and security. The resolution urged all states to cooperate fully with the court.
In April 2007, ICC judges issued arrest warrants for government minister Ahmed Harun, and Janjaweed commander Ali Kushyb. However, the GoS refused to accept the jurisdiction of the ICC over crimes in Darfur, insisting that the Sudanese justice system is capable to trying suspects.
Khartoum refuses to cooperate with the court, and in a show of defiance, Harun has been promoted to minister in charge of humanitarian affairs, and as liaison for the new UN-African Union hybrid peacekeeping force, UNAMID.
The statement calling for greater cooperation from the GoS was drafted after the ICC prosecutor reported in December that a second wave of atrocities was being committed against 2.5 million Darfurians, who had previously been forcibly displaced from their homes and are now living in camps.
In his report, Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo spoke of a "calculated, organised campaign by Sudanese officials to attack individuals and further destroy the social fabric of entire communities", as well as an increasing number of attacks against humanitarian personnel and peace keepers.
He gave examples of the joint attack on the town of Muhajiriya by allied GoS and Janjaweed forces on October 8, 2007 in which 48 civilians praying in a mosque were rounded up and slaughtered, as well as a Sudanese airforce bombing of Adilla in August the same year which displaced a further 20,000 people.
Moreno-Ocampo asked the UNSC to send a strong, unanimous message to the GoS, requesting compliance and the execution of arrest warrants for Harun and Kushyb.
"It would be inaccurate and confusing to convey in any way to the GoS that the arrest warrants and the obligation to comply with Resolution 1593 will go away," said Moreno-Ocampo.
At the time, the then president of the UNSC, Italy’s ambassador Marcello Spatafora, described the contents of Moreno-Ocampo’s report as "very disturbing”. Following the prosecutor’s briefing, he said a UNSC declaration should be drafted.
"We cannot stay silent, and have to send a strong message [to the Sudanese authorities] so we propose this to the members and ask the countries to circulate a draft. It is now under consideration," he said.
Slovakia, Italy, UK, France, and Belgium then proposed a statement, citing the ICC arrest warrants for Kushyb and Harun, and urged Khartoum to cooperate with the ICC "in respect of these individuals".
However, on December 7, after two days of discussions between the 15 members of the UNSC, the statement was suddenly abandoned.
In an apparent about-turn, Spatafora told journalists that a statement was “not needed” because UNSC members had already been “loud and clear” about their views that the GoS should cooperate with the ICC.
UN sources told IWPR that China and Russia felt the presidential statement was not conducive to humanitarian, political and peacekeeping efforts.
UK ambassador to the UN John Sawyers suggested that China was responsible for blocking December’s statement. He said he was "confident that if the Chinese had not taken such a firm line against the statement, it would have been adopted".
ICC watchers, such as David Donat Cattin from Parliamentarians for Global Action, were not surprised the statement was scrapped and feel that it would not have made any real difference to the Darfur crisis.
"It would have been a nice political move, but would not have added anything to the legally binding Resolution 1593," he said.
But representatives of rebel groups in Sudan are disappointed that the UNSC has backed down.
Ahmed Diraige, chairman of the Sudan Federal Democratic Alliance and former head of the National Redemption Front, said in order to stay credible and respected by Darfurians, organisations such as the UN and ICC must prove they are fulfilling their duties.
"The resolve of the international community to bring people in Sudan to justice is a farce. The UNSC and ICC have passed resolutions and indicted individuals, but have no means of enforcing decisions and the government is defying them, and not handing individuals over,” said Diraige.
"One has been promoted to status of minister of humanitarian affairs when he is accused of violating human rights. This is very damaging to the reputation of these institutions. People will laugh and say they do not exist and are only names.”
He told IWPR that the international community must take a tougher stance against the Sudanese authorities.
"People in Darfur have lost faith. Injustices are continuing. The international community, international institutions and heads of state are not doing anything," he said.
Justice minister of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement, JEM, Bushara Suleiman, said that whether Kushayb and Harun end up in The Hague is entirely dependent on pressure from the UNSC on the government, and is calling for further sanctions.
"The UNSC need to impose oil sanctions, which is the only thing which will stop the genocide in Darfur, but [permanent member] China will never allow this,” he said.
"The Chinese have a UNSC veto and also have oil interests in Sudan. So rebels need to control cities like El Genina, El Fasher and Nyala, because any other sanctions will not convince the GoS to comply with the ICC."
China buys most of Sudan’s oil, and rebels accuse the country of indirectly funding Khartoum’s campaign in Darfur by investing in the country’s oil industry and thereby channelling money to the government.
Bushara told IWPR that those who have committed crimes have to be taken to the ICC and that "we will fight until this happens. For us it is clear. We need comprehensive sanctions".
But Sawyers is not confident about the resolve of fellow UNSC members over imposing progressively more hard-hitting sanctions against Sudan.
“If we press for further sanctions, we might find a number of other countries, not just China, but also Russia, Libya, Vietnam South Africa being cautious about applying that pressure,” he said.
Observers point out that the current sanctions imposed against Sudan by the UNSC are not working.
Cattin said that a travel ban currently in place against Harun is short-sighted because "experience tells us that the best way to arrest these people is to allow them to travel and arrest them outside Sudan".
Steve Crawshaw from Human Rights Watch said that blame for the UNSC’s half-hearted response to the Darfur crisis cannot be laid solely at the feet of China and Russia.
He said that right across the UNSC, there has been a lack of will to help the ICC, and added that the body was sending out “confusing signals” to Sudan.
In mid-2007, as the UN negotiated with the Sudanese authorities to send a deployment of hybrid peacekeepers to Darfur, the UNSC did not want to acknowledge the GoS was failing to cooperate with the ICC in case it ruined the deal.
Crawshaw said that Khartoum was praised by the UN for cooperating in discussions over peacekeepers, with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon failing to raise the issue of justice on a trip to Sudan.
"You can’t have Khartoum praised, and not mention that Harun was appointed as the liaison to UNAMID. This is a shameful slap in the face to the UN, and every government has to confront this," added Crawshaw.
Belgium’s UN ambassador Johan Verbeke told IWPR he has "again and again stressed the importance of the fight against impunity in Sudan, particularly in relation to the case of Harun, and succeeded in making an increasing number of UNSC members sensitive to the issue.
"Belgium will not accept Sudan’s utter defiance of its obligations.”
These are welcome words for ICC prosecutors after what they describe as “months of silence from the international community”.
An ICC spokesperson told IWPR that "it is now up to the members of the UNSC to live up to their responsibility and ensure that the GoS respect its obligations under Resolution 1593 and cooperate with the ICC, in particular through the arrest and surrender of Harun and Kushayb".
The Chinese and Russian delegations to the UN declined the opportunity to respond to interview requests from IWPR.
(IWPR)
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Chadian planes bomb rebels in Sudan - UN
07 Jan 2008 19:49:59 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Adds statement from Chadian government in paragraphs 6-8)
By Andrew Heavens
KHARTOUM, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Chadian planes have bombed Chadian rebel positions near the capital of Sudan's Western Darfur state, a U.N. report said of the second reported cross-border incursion in two weeks.
Six Chadian "opposition members" were killed in the attacks on villages in Darfur early Sunday, said the report seen by Reuters on Monday.
Rodolphe Adada, head of the African Union-United Nations force for Darfur, said he was watching growing tensions along the Chad-Sudan border with deep concern and said they could negatively affect the deployment of the long-awaited joint Darfur peacekeeping mission.
In a statement, Adada said he was "concerned that if the situation is not immediately brought under control, great numbers of internally displaced persons and refugees will likely be the first victims of any further escalations."
Relations between Chad and Sudan have been tense in recent years as both try to quell insurgencies close to their long and porous border. They accuse each other of backing rebels trying to overthrow their respective governments.
Chad's government issued a statement saying that Chadian "mercenaries" were integrated into the ranks of the Sudanese army. It said it viewed any attack from Sudanese territory as an attack by the Sudanese army and reserved the right to respond.
"All our air and ground forces are mobilised to guarantee the security of our national territory with the aim of blocking any mercenary presence or bases on either side of the border with Sudan," the statement said.
It made no direct reference to the strikes mentioned in the U.N. report.
SECURITY COUNCIL CONCERN
Sunday's reported strikes came a day after Chadian President Idriss Deby threatened to send his armed forces into Sudan to destroy rebel fighters he accuses Khartoum of supporting.
The U.N. report said the attacks took place on Jan. 6 at approximately 4:30 a.m. on the villages of Goker and Wadi Radi 35 km south of Geneina.
"It has been confirmed that the Chadian air force bombed these two locations killing six Chadian opposition members and injuring four," it said.
It said the injured were being treated in a civilian hospital in el Geneina, capital of Western Darfur state, 1,100 km (680 miles) west of Khartoum.
In New York, the U.N. Security Council expressed "serious concern at the recent upsurge of activities of the illegal armed groups in western Sudan and in eastern Chad, and at the resulting tension between Sudan and Chad."
A statement read to reporters by Libyan Ambassador Giadalla Ettalhi, current council president, said council members "called on Sudan and Chad to exercize restraint and pursue dialogue and cooperation".
The air strikes are likely to enrage Sudan, which has repeatedly denied supporting Chadian rebels and warned Chad not to take military action.
Sudan has accused Chad of bombing parts of Darfur on Dec. 28. But N'Djamena insisted it had targeted rebel units on the border without crossing into Darfur. (Additional reporting by Patrick Worsnip at the United Nations; Editing by Keith Weir)
AlertNet news is provided by Reuters
Source: Reuters
(Adds statement from Chadian government in paragraphs 6-8)
By Andrew Heavens
KHARTOUM, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Chadian planes have bombed Chadian rebel positions near the capital of Sudan's Western Darfur state, a U.N. report said of the second reported cross-border incursion in two weeks.
Six Chadian "opposition members" were killed in the attacks on villages in Darfur early Sunday, said the report seen by Reuters on Monday.
Rodolphe Adada, head of the African Union-United Nations force for Darfur, said he was watching growing tensions along the Chad-Sudan border with deep concern and said they could negatively affect the deployment of the long-awaited joint Darfur peacekeeping mission.
In a statement, Adada said he was "concerned that if the situation is not immediately brought under control, great numbers of internally displaced persons and refugees will likely be the first victims of any further escalations."
Relations between Chad and Sudan have been tense in recent years as both try to quell insurgencies close to their long and porous border. They accuse each other of backing rebels trying to overthrow their respective governments.
Chad's government issued a statement saying that Chadian "mercenaries" were integrated into the ranks of the Sudanese army. It said it viewed any attack from Sudanese territory as an attack by the Sudanese army and reserved the right to respond.
"All our air and ground forces are mobilised to guarantee the security of our national territory with the aim of blocking any mercenary presence or bases on either side of the border with Sudan," the statement said.
It made no direct reference to the strikes mentioned in the U.N. report.
SECURITY COUNCIL CONCERN
Sunday's reported strikes came a day after Chadian President Idriss Deby threatened to send his armed forces into Sudan to destroy rebel fighters he accuses Khartoum of supporting.
The U.N. report said the attacks took place on Jan. 6 at approximately 4:30 a.m. on the villages of Goker and Wadi Radi 35 km south of Geneina.
"It has been confirmed that the Chadian air force bombed these two locations killing six Chadian opposition members and injuring four," it said.
It said the injured were being treated in a civilian hospital in el Geneina, capital of Western Darfur state, 1,100 km (680 miles) west of Khartoum.
In New York, the U.N. Security Council expressed "serious concern at the recent upsurge of activities of the illegal armed groups in western Sudan and in eastern Chad, and at the resulting tension between Sudan and Chad."
A statement read to reporters by Libyan Ambassador Giadalla Ettalhi, current council president, said council members "called on Sudan and Chad to exercize restraint and pursue dialogue and cooperation".
The air strikes are likely to enrage Sudan, which has repeatedly denied supporting Chadian rebels and warned Chad not to take military action.
Sudan has accused Chad of bombing parts of Darfur on Dec. 28. But N'Djamena insisted it had targeted rebel units on the border without crossing into Darfur. (Additional reporting by Patrick Worsnip at the United Nations; Editing by Keith Weir)
AlertNet news is provided by Reuters
Sudan paper suspended for "insulting" president
Tuesday 8 January 2008.
January 7, 2008 (JUBA) — A Sudanese newspaper has been ordered to shut down for two days after being accused of insulting President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, the paper’s editor and owner said on Monday.
Nhial Bol said Sudan’s National Press Council had suspended his English language daily The Citizen over an editorial it wrote about armed clashes on the country’s north-south border.
"The National Press Council ... (said) an article was insulting to President Bashir and so they suspended us for two days," said Bol, who estimates he will lose $7,500 on advertising during the shutdown next Saturday and Sunday.
Newspapers have to register with the National Press Council, Sudan’s official press regulator, and cannot publish if their membership is suspended.
Bol said that his paper, which has its newsroom in south Sudan’s capital Juba, had been shut down nine times before by the press council.
"Sometimes they allow you to print and then they come and take all the papers. Comparatively, this is a light punishment," he said.
No one was immediately available for comment from the National Press Council.
(Reuters)
January 7, 2008 (JUBA) — A Sudanese newspaper has been ordered to shut down for two days after being accused of insulting President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, the paper’s editor and owner said on Monday.
Nhial Bol said Sudan’s National Press Council had suspended his English language daily The Citizen over an editorial it wrote about armed clashes on the country’s north-south border.
"The National Press Council ... (said) an article was insulting to President Bashir and so they suspended us for two days," said Bol, who estimates he will lose $7,500 on advertising during the shutdown next Saturday and Sunday.
Newspapers have to register with the National Press Council, Sudan’s official press regulator, and cannot publish if their membership is suspended.
Bol said that his paper, which has its newsroom in south Sudan’s capital Juba, had been shut down nine times before by the press council.
"Sometimes they allow you to print and then they come and take all the papers. Comparatively, this is a light punishment," he said.
No one was immediately available for comment from the National Press Council.
(Reuters)
Children mortality remains high in southern Sudan – charity
Wednesday 9 January 2008.
January 8, 2008 (LONDON) — A British-based international charity, Save the Children, said today that rates of children mortality remain high in southern Sudan. It further warned that thousands of children are still facing death.
A four-year-old Sudanese boy collapses from hunger at a feeding centre run by medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres in the village of Paliang, about 160 km northwest of the southern town of Rumbek, May 25, 2005. (Reuters).
Since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, three years ago, health care conditions for children reach crisis point. One in four children in Southern Sudan dies before the age of five, mainly from easily preventable diseases such as malaria or diarrhoea; said Save the Children.
It added that tens of thousands of families still have very limited access to basic healthcare, with just one trained doctor for every 100,000 people.
The 2005 peace agreement promised to direct proceeds from Sudan’s rich oil reserves to help rebuild the country’s destroyed health and education systems. Yet three years on, communities struggling to survive after the country’s 20 year civil war have seen little change.
The international charity called on southern Sudan government to commit more funding to building up education, health and protection services. Also it urged fundraisers to give more money and advice to the South Sudanese government to protect children.
In a report released at the end of last December, the UN’s children’s agency UNICEF said the number of children who die before their fifth birthday fell below 10 million in 2006, but much more still needed to be done.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report attributed the progress in children’s mortality rates largely to improvements in healthcare.
By comparison, an estimated 20 million children under five were dying every year at the beginning of the 1960s.
But UNICEF’s executive director, Ann Veneman, pointed out that "much more must be done" and "if we do so, we can help create a better world for girls and boys, and for generations to come."
The study also found an appalling lack of basic sanitation, hygiene and drinkable water, which contributes to the deaths of more than 1.5 million children each year from diarrhea and related ailments.
(ST)
January 8, 2008 (LONDON) — A British-based international charity, Save the Children, said today that rates of children mortality remain high in southern Sudan. It further warned that thousands of children are still facing death.
A four-year-old Sudanese boy collapses from hunger at a feeding centre run by medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres in the village of Paliang, about 160 km northwest of the southern town of Rumbek, May 25, 2005. (Reuters).
Since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, three years ago, health care conditions for children reach crisis point. One in four children in Southern Sudan dies before the age of five, mainly from easily preventable diseases such as malaria or diarrhoea; said Save the Children.
It added that tens of thousands of families still have very limited access to basic healthcare, with just one trained doctor for every 100,000 people.
The 2005 peace agreement promised to direct proceeds from Sudan’s rich oil reserves to help rebuild the country’s destroyed health and education systems. Yet three years on, communities struggling to survive after the country’s 20 year civil war have seen little change.
The international charity called on southern Sudan government to commit more funding to building up education, health and protection services. Also it urged fundraisers to give more money and advice to the South Sudanese government to protect children.
In a report released at the end of last December, the UN’s children’s agency UNICEF said the number of children who die before their fifth birthday fell below 10 million in 2006, but much more still needed to be done.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report attributed the progress in children’s mortality rates largely to improvements in healthcare.
By comparison, an estimated 20 million children under five were dying every year at the beginning of the 1960s.
But UNICEF’s executive director, Ann Veneman, pointed out that "much more must be done" and "if we do so, we can help create a better world for girls and boys, and for generations to come."
The study also found an appalling lack of basic sanitation, hygiene and drinkable water, which contributes to the deaths of more than 1.5 million children each year from diarrhea and related ailments.
(ST)
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