Preserving the genocidal status quo works to consolidate NIF power
Eric Reeves
October 9, 2005
The argument that a new "Government of National Unity" (GNU) in Sudan might change Khartoum's diplomatic or military thinking about Darfur has now been fully exposed as an expedient fiction on the part of the US, the European Union, and the African Union. Despite completed formation of the GNU, only the National Islamic Front (which has sought to rename itself the National Congress Party) dictates military policy on the ground in Darfur and diplomatic strategy in Abuja, Nigeria. There is no government by consensus; there is no representation of the views of the southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement on Darfur; there is only continued NIF tyranny and the preservation of a genocidal status quo that is gradually eliminating Darfur as a threat to the NIF's ruthless arrogation of national power and wealth. This is the final solution to what the NIF perceives as its "African problem" in Darfur, and it is taking place before our very eyes.
RECENT MILITARY ACTIONS
The most conspicuous evidence of NIF control of military actions in Darfur comes in the form of renewed use of helicopter gunships against Darfuri civilians (see extended analysis of the most recent attacks at http://www.sudanreeves.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=71). The full scale of these attacks has only recently come into view, with reports from the AU, the UN High Commission for Refugees, and other agencies offering fuller accounts of attacks on civilians by Khartoum and its Janjaweed allies. Much of what we know, however, comes from the extraordinary October 1, 2005 press conference and release by Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe, Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission on Darfur:
"On 18 September 2005, simultaneous attacks at Khartoum Djadeed, Sandego, Khasantongur, Tary, Martal and Djabain resulted in the death of 12 civilians, 5 seriously wounded, and the displacement of about 4,000 civilians. Heavy and small weapons mounted on vehicles were reportedly used by the Government of Sudan, in close coordination with about 300 Janjaweed Arab militia. Most of the displaced people moved to ZamZam and Tawilla Internally Displaced Persons camps." (Transcript of Kingibe press conference, Khartoum, October 1, 2005)
"On 28 September 2005, just four days ago, some reportedly 400 Janjaweed Arab militia on camels and horseback went on the rampage in Arusharo, Acho and Gozmena villages in West Darfur. Our reports also indicate that the day previous, and indeed on the actual day of the attack, Government of Sudan helicopter gunships were observed overhead. This apparent coordinated land and air assault gives credence to the repeated claim by the rebel movements of collusion between the Government of Sudan forces and the Janjaweed/Arab militia. This incident, which was confirmed not only by our investigators but also by workers of humanitarian agencies and NGOs in the area, took a heavy toll resulting in 32 people killed, 4 injured and 7 missing, and about 80 houses/shelters looted and set ablaze."
"The following day, a clearly premeditated and well rehearsed combined operation was carried out by the Government of Sudan military and police at approximately 11am in the town of Tawilla and its IDP camp in North Darfur. The Government of Sudan forces used approximately 41 trucks and 7 land cruisers in the operation which resulted in a number of deaths, massive displacement of civilians and the destruction of several houses in the surrounding areas as well as some tents in the IDP camps. Indeed, the remains of discharged explosive devices were found in the IDP camp. During the attack, thousands from the township and the IDP camp and many humanitarian workers were forced to seek refuge near the AU camp for personal safety and security."
"Finally, yesterday, 30 September 2005, we received reports that at about 1230 hours, machine gun and small gun fires were heard loudly in Shearia town and two helicopter gunships were reportedly seen dropping bombs in the direction of Ato village, some 5km south of Shearia. We are still investigating to establish the extent of any casualty and damage. Even as I speak now AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS) troops are closely monitoring the situation in Kabkabiya, Rokiro, Golo and Nertiti where increased activities of bands of [Khartoum-allied] militias dressed in green khaki indicate they are pressing to attack."
With respect to detentions of AU patrols in insurgency-controlled territory, Kingibe reports:
"The Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) commanders have often cited lack of prior notification, and more significantly the use by Government of Sudan forces of vehicles painted in AMIS colours, which makes it extremely difficult for them to distinguish friend from foe. In these latest incidents, we indeed observed some Government of Sudan vehicles painted in white colour, giving credence to the claim by the SLA. We, therefore, view as unacceptable and in violation of all established norms and conventions the use of a neutral parties colours by belligerents as is done by the Government of Sudan forces. This practice of painting some of the vehicles in AMIS colours was witnessed during the attack on Tawilla, and a couple of days earlier in Shangil Tobaya. We urge the Government of Sudan forces to stop forthwith this unethical practice in order to maintain the integrity and neutrality of the AMIS in Sudan forces." (Transcript of Kingibe press conference, Khartoum, October 1, 2005)
It is important to note that what Kingibe reports as the "rampage in Arusharo, Acho and Gozmena villages in West Darfur" entailed a massive assault on the Aro Sharow camp for displaced persons, where 4,000-5,000 innocent civilians were made to flee, at least 34 were killed, and (according to the UN High Commission for Refugees) approximately one quarter of the flimsy shelters in the camp were destroyed in the assault. Such an attack on an IDP camp is unprecedented, even for Darfur.
It is also important to understand how authoritative this particular AU report is. Speaking of the attack on Aro Sharow displaced persons camp in West Darfur, Kingibe declared in his press conference: "This incident [was] confirmed not only by our investigators, but also by workers of humanitarian agencies and nongovernmental organizations in the area."
Since the use of helicopter gunships against civilians conspicuously requires clearance from senior officials in the NIF military/security commands (given the notoriety achieved by these deadly killing machines in reports from human rights groups and various observers on the ground), it was hardly surprising that the NIF simply denied that their helicopters were used in such attacks. The NIF leadership assumed, with good reason, that as in the past, the international community would protest only meekly, if at all, and the AU report would be filed under the category of "inconclusive findings."
But the AU struck back at NIF lies in extraordinary fashion, not only reiterating its claim about NIF military complicity in multiple attacks, from the ground and the air, but asserting that it had video and photographic evidence of Khartoum's use of helicopter gunships and was prepared to make this evidence public if necessary:
"The African Union mission in Darfur is prepared to produce film and pictures to prove Sudan's security forces are attacking civilians there, despite Khartoum's denials, the AU mission chief said on Wednesday. Baba Gana Kingibe [ ] told reporters he had confidence in an AU report that all parties to the conflict were breaking the truce and that the violence had included attacks by government helicopter gunships."
"'We reported what we have observed. The report we received from the field said helicopter gunships were observed overhead in two different locations in Darfur,' Kingibe told reporters at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa. 'We have films and pictures. We do not make a statement of that nature, grave as they are, without evidence. If necessary we are ready to show them,' he said."
"He added without elaborating that Sudanese government forces had attacked not only refugee camps but also compounds that house some AU troops in Darfur's Tawilla district." (Reuters [dateline: Addis Ababa, AU Headquarters], October 5, 2005)
Overshadowed by these attacks was a serious Janjaweed assault on civilians in Chad:
"Monday [September 26, 2005], the janjaweed, in uniform and on horseback, crossed the border and killed 36 people in Chad. The Chad army, which claims to have killed seven of the attackers, said the janjaweed crossed the border to steal livestock." (The Independent [UK], September 28, 2005)
This wanton assault by Khartoum's militia proxies has led the Government of Chad to close its consulate in Darfur, as well as the Sudanese consulate in Abeche (eastern Chad):
"Chad has decided to close its consulate in al-Geneina, in Darfur, and the Sudanese consulate in Abeche. The Sudanese ambassador to Ndjamena was today summoned to the Chadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was informed of the decisions. According to Radio France Internationale, the closure is as a result of the attack against the Chadian village of Madayouna last week. Some 75 people, including 55 villagers, were killed by men from Sudan." (Sudan Tribune, October 4, 2005)
Additional military attacks in Darfur have also very recently been documented. The Darfur Relief and Documentation Center (Geneva) reports that it received information on additional attacks the day after Kingibe's press conference:
"The Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre received information that on Sunday October 2, 2005 at about 6am, the government army supported by the Janjaweed militia attacked Bollay village (about 70 km south of Kabkabyia), North Darfur State. They killed 7 persons and injured more than a dozen others. They looted property and burned most of the villages in the surrounding area. This attack rendered more than 6,000 individuals as internally displaced persons. They were forced to flee their destroyed villages to the southern part of the Jabal Mara massive. It was reported that the government army resumed the use of military aeroplanes against civilian targets in Darfur." (Darfur Relief and Documentation Center release, Geneva, October 3, 2005)
The cruel aftermath of recent NIF and Janjaweed attacks on civilians in Darfur is also becoming clearer. The US Agency for International Development reports that "the September 18 [2005] attacks on 10 North Darfur villages" has led to "the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reporting that approximately 4,000 new Internally Displaced Persons had arrived in Dali camp, near the town of Tawilla, since the attacks" (Fact Sheet for September 30, 2005). The UN World Food Program global report #40 (September 30, 2005) reports that violence in North Darfur has produced large numbers of new IDPs in ZamZam and other camps near al-Fasher (capital of North Darfur):
"The Government of Sudan Military Commander assured the [WFP and UN Field Security Coordination Office] security mission that the area was safe and the situation under control. However, it was confirmed that an estimated 10,000 people fled to nearby internally displaced persons camps, with significant IDP influxes into ZamZam camp."
VIOLENCE BY THE SUDAN LIBERATION MOVEMENT/ARMY
It must be stressed that the Sudan Liberation Army/Movement (SLA/M) is now deeply complicit in Darfur's rapidly escalating insecurity. And on October 8, 2005, the SLA/M assaulted an AU convoy in North Darfur, killing three AU soldiers and two civilian contractors; these are the first such casualties since AU deployment. This is an extraordinarily serious development, and threatens a mission already badly under-manned and under-equipped, without an appropriate mandate, and without operational cohesion, adequate logistical or transport capacity (in part because of deliberate NIF obstructionism; see below), or administrative capacity.
Just as ominous is an October 9, 2005 AU report on a large kidnapping in West Darfur: "'18 (AU) personnel including military observers, civilian police, a US representative and a Justice and Equality Movement (rebel) representative are held hostage today,' the acting head of the AU in Sudan, Jean Baptiste Natama, told Reuters."
At this time, responsibility for the kidnapping is unclear, though a BBC report (October 9, 2005) suggests "the kidnappers were believed to be members of a dissident faction of Darfur's rebel Justice and Equality Movement" [i.e., the National Movement for Reform and Development (NMRD)].
But even beyond the unforgivable attack on the AU monitoring force, elements of the SLA/M are increasingly threatening or assaulting humanitarian operations, engaging in opportunistic "banditry," and generally ignoring the urgent need to create a coherent diplomatic position for Darfuris in Abuja. Tensions between SLA/M Chairman Abdel Wahid Mohamed al-Nur and Secretary-General Minni Arcua Minnawi only intensify, as do strains between Minnawi and SLA/M field commanders in Darfur. Ethnic polarization (Abdel Wahid is a Fur, Minnawi is a Zaghawa) seems to be increasing dangerously, which only contributes to NIF efforts to "divide and conquer."
Popular support for the insurgency movements is rapidly waning as living conditions for Darfuris continue to deteriorate with no sign of improvement. The smaller Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), with its ties to Islamic ideologue Hassan al-Turabi in Khartoum and a broad national political agenda, has never had deep popular support in Darfur, and has even less now. And while previous military confrontations between the SLA/M and the JEM---extremely serious in early summer---seem to have diminished significantly, they could easily flare again as well. Minnawi and others in the SLA/M seem convinced that they can eliminate the JEM as a military rival, and thus severely curtail the movement's political influence in Abuja.
The larger effect of SLA/M violence in Darfur no longer serves any liberation cause, but only makes Khartoum's task of preserving current levels of insecurity, and thus the genocidal status quo, all the easier. If the SLA/M cannot unify its political efforts in the immediate near term, its military actions will only serve NIF ambitions.
CONTINUING PATTERNS OF GENOCIDAL VIOLENCE
The recent NIF military attacks are significant in themselves, but are even more significant in what they reveal of how military decisions are now made in the new "Government of National Unity," viz. in precisely the same way they were in the previous "government." In fact, the previous government was nothing more than a security cabal, preserving the tyrannical rule of essentially the same members of the National Islamic Front who came to power by military coup in 1989, deposing an elected government, and deliberately aborting the most promising chance for peace in Sudan since independence in 1956. These are the same men who orchestrated the genocidal jihad against the people of the Nuba Mountains in 1992, genocide against the mainly Nuer inhabitants of southern oil regions in 1997, and now genocide against civilians from the African tribal groups of Darfur.
The National Islamic Front determines policy in Darfur, and to argue otherwise is extraordinarily disingenuous. Only if we understand this political reality is it possible to see the full implications of the escalating violence threatening civilians and humanitarian workers. A Reuters dispatch from Riyad Camp, near el-Geneina in West Darfur, gives a telling account of what is experienced by all too many of the more than 2.5 million displaced Darfuris:
"Arab militias attack the Riyad camp in the Sudanese region of Darfur daily, beating residents and raping women with impunity, camp residents said. Many said African Union forces monitoring a shaky ceasefire in the region have not done enough to stop violence against around 15,000 refugees at the Riyad camp, just outside West Darfur's capital el-Geneina."
"'Daily they come in and beat our people. But no one does anything,' said Darfuri Yehya Ahmed. 'They come on horses and camels. They rape our women and try to scare us away to force us to go home,' the elderly camp resident told Reuters. 'They (the AU troops) just come and write reports which don't go anywhere,' he said. 'They have been here now for more than a year and still we live in terror---we cannot go home.'" (Reuters [dateline: Riyad Camp, West Darfur, October 6, 2005)
Other reports from West Darfur gives a clear indication of why Jan Egeland, head of UN humanitarian operations, recently issued an extremely ominous warning:
"'My warning is the following: if [insecurity] continues to escalate, if it continues to be so dangerous on humanitarian work, we may not be able to sustain our operation for 2.5 million people requiring lifesaving assistance,' said Jan Egeland, head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 'It could all end tomorrow---it's as serious as that,' he told reporters at UN offices in Geneva." (Associated Press and other wire services, September 28, 2005)
Reuters again reports on the conditions in West Darfur, especially the growing violence against humanitarian workers:
"Bandits have punched beaten and whipped aid workers attempting to deliver aid to hungry refugees in Sudan's remote Darfur region, part of a pattern of regular attacks, aid workers said. In West Darfur 75,000 people are cut off without aid because of a recent escalation in ambushes on the road targeting aid convoys, UN official Andy Pendleton said. 'They are punched, beaten---aid workers have been whipped by these bandits, intimidated,' he said."
"UN refugee chief Antonio Guterres, whose agency has about 40 expatriates deployed in Darfur, mainly in el-Geneina, said he hoped a withdrawal of UNHCR staff would not be necessary. But he told reporters in Geneva the situation there was 'extremely worrying.'"
Is this merely opportunistic violence? When these actions so clearly serve the NIF's longstanding efforts to obstruct humanitarian assistance, it is difficult to believe that the "banditry" is not being encouraged, a suggestion made (if necessarily obliquely) by an aid worker in el-Geneina (capital of West Darfur):
"Matthew Ryder, an aid worker in el-Geneina, said serious attacks happened as often as 2-3 times a week but were becoming less frequent because aid convoys had stopped using the roads south of the town. He said many attacks were by bandits but there was also a pattern of political violence. 'We can say there's a great deal of banditry---but just banditry? I think that's naive,' Ryder said." (Reuters [dateline: el-Geneina, West Darfur], October 7, 2005)
By the phrase "political violence" Ryder appears to suggest that political purposes are served by the intimidation, humiliation, and physical injury of humanitarian aid workers. Certainly the primary beneficiaries are Khartoum's genocidaires, and their pursuit of a "final solution" for Darfur. Here it is especially important to see how deliberately the NIF continues, quite visibly, to obstruct humanitarian relief and the efforts of the African Union force. Two recently reported examples are especially telling.
Reuters again reports (dateline: Addis Ababa) that the AU's "Kingibe has complained that 105 armoured vehicles donated by Canada were sitting in a dock in Dakar, Senegal, because the AU had not received permission to bring them into Sudan" (Reuters, October 5, 2005). Had the NIF any interest in seeing an effective AU mission in Darfur, it would not continue to deny access to these essential vehicles. It of course has no such interest.
The UN World Food Program, in its September 30, 2005 global assessment (No. 40), reports a characteristic example of humanitarian interference by the NIF-run "Humanitarian Affairs Commission":
"Complicating the situation [in West Darfur] is the Humanitarian Aid Commission's (HAC) recent institution of daily HAC permit applications for missions outside the capital [el-Geneina]. The UN Mission in Sudan and Office for the Coordination of humanitarian Affairs are pursuing the matter."
This is entirely gratuitous, and entirely characteristic, obstruction of humanitarian operations. Examples could be multiplied endlessly, with the collective effect of highly significant attenuation of overall humanitarian efficacy and capacity.
NIF CONTROL OF DIPLOMACY IN ABUJA, NIGERIA
Just as clear as NIF control of a genocidal military policy in Darfur is NIF determination to control fully the diplomacy in Abuja that seeks to end conflict in Darfur. While the southern SPLM has sought to join the negotiations---it is a nominal partner in the Government of National Unity, and nominally controls the First Vice-Presidency and the Foreign Ministry---they have been told categorically there is no role in Abuja other than as observers, seconding the NIF negotiating positions. The SPLM has so far rightly refused to attend the talks merely as a rubber-stamp for NIF diplomacy, even as nothing could reveal more clearly the limits of SPLM participation in a "national" government. The most critical issue in Sudan outside the south has been entirely commandeered by the NIF. If the SPLM does decide simply to make an appearance in Abuja, with no real voice in the negotiating position of Khartoum, it will be confirming its figurehead role in the GNU.
Negotiations in Abuja are going very badly, in large measure because of disarray among the insurgency movements, in particular the Sudan Liberation Army/Movement (SLA/M). But even were the rebels in Darfur to coalesce around clear and unified diplomatic positions, with reasonable and well-articulated views on security issues and power- and wealth-sharing, there is no likelihood that the NIF will negotiate in good faith. For now, though, the NIF feels no need to do more than give the appearance of being prepared to talk in Abuja: for no serious negotiations are taking place. Indeed, even the AU, which provides diplomatic auspices for negotiations in Abuja, recently agreed:
"The AU mediator in the Darfur conflict in western Sudan acknowledged on Friday criticism by UN chief Kofi Annan about the stagnation of peace talks between the government and rebel groups. 'The talks are moving very slowly,' Tanzanian mediator Salim Ahmed Salim said."
"The talks are meant to deal with power-sharing and security issues but divisions within the SLM, Darfur's main rebel group, have been holding up talks, Salim said. 'We began well with the workshops which went very well for seven days, but then it took another seven days to insist and improve the degree of unity of SLM,' Salim said." (Agence France-Presse, October 7, 2005)
As an important and extremely well-researched report from the International Crisis Group reveals in grim detail, the obstacles to SLM unity are far greater than Salim acknowledges (see "Unifying Darfur's Rebels: A Prerequisite for Peace," October 6, 2005 [Brussels], at http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=3723). But again, even assuming rebel negotiating unity, there is no reason to assume a more reasonable, less genocidal Khartoum government to negotiate with. The recent events on the ground in Darfur reveal a status quo that works inexorably to NIF advantage in a ghastly reshaping of the political, economic, and demographic realities in Darfur. Genocide by attrition continues, and it is only a matter of time before the NIF's obscene goals are fully achieved.
SILENCING THE WITNESSES TO GENOCIDE
Our ability to understand what is occurring in Darfur, including the NIF-orchestrated violence that has brought humanitarian organizations to the brink of possible withdrawal, has recently suffered another severe blow at the hands of Khartoum's still remarkably efficient security apparatus. Amnesty International reports (October 6, 2005) on the NIF's shameless effort to silence the Sudan Organization Against Torture (SOAT), perhaps the most resourceful and detailed human rights voice reporting on Darfur's atrocities over the past year:
"Amnesty International has learnt today that the Sudanese Government has launched legal proceedings against one of the country's leading human rights groups Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT) in apparent attempt to silence the organisation. According to local press reports, Sudan's Bureau of Crimes Against the State began proceedings against SOAT for spreading false information at the end of August but did not inform the organisation. If found guilty, members of the organisation could face more than 5 years in prison."
"'The Government seems intent upon silencing an organization which has done so much to raise awareness of the human rights situation in Sudan,' said Kolawole Olaniyan, Director of Amnesty International's Africa programme. 'This latest development must be seen in the wider context of continued harassment of and attacks on human rights activists in Sudan as well as severe restrictions on freedom of expression, association and assembly.'" (Amnesty International, AFR 54/160/2005, October 6, 2005)
The fact of a new "Government of National Unity" is as inconsequential in reshaping domestic security policy in Sudan as it is in changing genocidal ambitions in Darfur. SOAT will now be silenced for issuing numerous, detailed, highly authoritative reports on attacks that were never investigated by the African Union, and which could not be documented by either Western human rights groups or news organizations. A report of September 1, 2005 offers an example of SOAT's singularly important work:
"Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT)
Human Rights Alert: 01 September 2005
Darfur: Attack on Amar Jadeed Village
"On 19 August 2005, armed men on horsebacks allegedly attacked and looted Amar Jadeed village, North West of Labado, Shearia province, Southern Darfur state. The attack took place at approximately 01.00am when the villagers were sleeping. During the attack, three of the villagers were killed and tens were wounded. The militias also looted 630 camels.
"The details of the villagers killed are as follows:
1. Alsayid Yagoub Hessain Neel
2. Adam Abdella De'aina
3. Nasr Aldean Mohamed Bokhari
"Following the attack, the militias travelled to the North towards Niteaga, Shearia province where there has been confirmed reports of a gradual build-up of Janjaweed militias in the area. The Birgid tribe Administration have reported the attack on Amar Jadeed and the amassing of Janjaweed militias in Niteaga to African Union observers in the region and to the Governor of Shearia, however no action has thus far been taken.
"SOAT strongly condemns the attack on Amar Jadeed village resulting in the death of three people. SOAT calls on the Government of Sudan to immediately disarm the Janjaweed militias and any other militias operating in Darfur; undertake an investigation into the attack on Amar Jadeed village, and the amassing of armed Janjaweed militias in Niteaga ensuring that the perpetrators are brought before a court of law."
ENABLING THE GENOCIDAIRES
The voice of SOAT is being silenced by Khartoum's genocidaires. But there is no excuse for the silence and disingenuousness of those who have declared genocide to be occurring in Darfur, but who now seem to regard this judgment as an inconvenience. The Parliament of the European Union voted in September 2004 (over a year ago) to declare that the realities in Darfur are "tantamount to genocide" (the vote was 566 to 6). The German Defense Minister declared genocide was occurring in Darfur, also in September 2004; so too did British Foreign Minister Jack Straw this summer. The US Congress declared in a unanimous, bipartisan, bicameral resolution (July 2004) that genocide was occurring in Darfur. So too did the Bush administration: former Secretary of State Colin Powell in September 2004 testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; President Bush subsequently.
These governmental bodies have a great deal of nongovernmental company, including the US Holocaust Memorial Museum (which has issued an unprecedented genocide finding for Darfur), the US Committee for Refugees, Physicians for Human Rights, Africa Action, Justice Africa (UK), Yad Vashem (Jerusalem), Genocide Watch, and the Campaign to Prevent Genocide. Particularly notable public voices declaring Darfur's realities to be genocide include Bill Schulz, head of Amnesty International/USA, the distinguished international jurist Richard Goldstone, John Prendergast of the International Crisis Group, and Samantha Power, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning "'A Problem from Hell': America and the Age of Genocide." The vast majority of genocide and human rights scholars regard Darfur as the site of genocide.
But instead of action to stop genocide, by those with power to halt what they have rightly identified, we have only expedient international reliance on an embattled AU monitoring force in Darfur, a force that cannot protect itself, let alone the millions of Darfuris currently at risk, or the humanitarian operations on which more than 3.5 million people are currently dependent.
No matter that the NIF continues to flout the only meaningful "demand" made of it by the international community, viz. UN Security Council Resolution 1556 (July 30, 2005), "demanding" that Khartoum disarm the Janjaweed. No matter that the NIF's "Humanitarian Affairs Commission" continues to create numerous bureaucratic obstacles for humanitarian organizations. No matter that the NIF obstructs the entry into Sudan of 105 armoured vehicles destined for AU military personnel, such as those recently killed in ambush. And no matter that the AU is neither militarily nor politically capable of responding to the Darfur crisis, and lacks a mandate to protect civilians and humanitarian workers.
Despite these indisputable realities, it is painfully clear that the international community will offer no more than current NATO and EU logistical and transport assistance to the AU. This guarantees that the genocidal violence and insecurity will continue. The implications of this acquiescence are captured all too well in the conclusion to today's Washington Post editorial on Darfur:
"What about supplementing African Union troops with NATO ones? To be sure, NATO resources are stretched thin by Iraq and Afghanistan, and Western leaders are tempted to regard Sudan as marginal to their interests. But NATO was born---indeed, the idea of 'the West' was born---out of the ashes of Hitler's genocide. If it refuses to fight the modern echoes of that barbarism, what does the West stand for?" (Washington Post, October 8, 2005)
What indeed?
Eric Reeves
Smith College
Northampton, MA 01063
413-585-3326
ereeves@smith.edu
www.sudanreeves.org
Monday, October 10, 2005
Jewish Students Take Stand Against Violence in Darfur with Luxury Fast
October 10, 2005
Jewish students joined thousands of their classmates, community members and social-justice advocates on Oct. 6 to call attention to the plight of Sudanese in the country's war-torn Darfur region with an international luxury fast. Spearheaded by Students Taking Action Now: Darfur (STAND), in cooperation with numerous organizations worldwide, including Hillel, the event encouraged participants to give up one luxury item that day and donate the money they would have spent on the item to a humanitarian-relief organization. Students also organized vigils, rallies, speeches by survivors and petition drives to educate their communities about the genocide in Darfur and push for government action.
"The fast is a great way to engage students and begin fundraising to give money for relief in the effort," said Patrick Schmitt, a student and STAND coordinator at Georgetown University, where the movement began last fall. "One of the difficulties of understanding genocide is that it is unimaginable to know what 400,000 lost lives looks like. It really depends on [facts to be presented] to push the enormity of the situation and illustrate how devastating it really is."
The luxury fast coincided with Tzom Gedaliah, the traditional fast that Jews observe the day following Rosh Hashanah. While the fast was originally instituted to mark the assassination of Gedaliah, the governor of Israel during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, it can also represent Jewish communal responsibility to one another and the larger world. Muslims are also currently celebrating their holy month of Ramadan, during which they fast until sunset each day, so many students abstained from eating as well as observing the luxury fast.
Alissa Melczer, a junior at Loyola University in Chicago, told the Chicago Sun-Times that Gedaliah reminds the Jewish faithful to be an active part of "repairing the world," and shedding light on what's happening in Darfur is certainly one step toward that. Hillel at Loyola University helped organize the campus activities, including a break-fast that evening where nearly 200 people heard from two Darfur refugees.
Brown University's Darfur Action Network held a candlelight vigil and collected more than $1,200 to be donated to Mercy Corps, which helps improve living conditions at the refugee camps in Darfur. Many students also fasted, such as senior Lisabeth Meyers, who told the Providence Journal that being the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors drew her to the Darfur Action Network.
"You hear these expressions -- never again," she said. "As I got older, I realized it was happening again and again."
Along with the more than 43 universities and colleges dedicated to the fast, the STAND coalition garnered the support of many high-profile individuals, including Hillel President Avraham Infeld, comedian Bill Cosby; Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire, the former commander of the UN Assistance Mission in Rwanda; Nicholas Kristof, a columnist for the New York Times; Judith Lewis, the director of U.S. relations for the World Food Programme; actress Bette Midler; Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.); basketball star Dikembe Mutombo; Desmond Tutu, the archbishop emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa; and Rabbi David Saperstein, the director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism Rabbi David Saperstein.
Thought the fast has ended, the students' mission is far from over. Hillels around the country are continuing to support their students' efforts, and STAND offers many ways for newcomers to get involved.
Jewish students joined thousands of their classmates, community members and social-justice advocates on Oct. 6 to call attention to the plight of Sudanese in the country's war-torn Darfur region with an international luxury fast. Spearheaded by Students Taking Action Now: Darfur (STAND), in cooperation with numerous organizations worldwide, including Hillel, the event encouraged participants to give up one luxury item that day and donate the money they would have spent on the item to a humanitarian-relief organization. Students also organized vigils, rallies, speeches by survivors and petition drives to educate their communities about the genocide in Darfur and push for government action.
"The fast is a great way to engage students and begin fundraising to give money for relief in the effort," said Patrick Schmitt, a student and STAND coordinator at Georgetown University, where the movement began last fall. "One of the difficulties of understanding genocide is that it is unimaginable to know what 400,000 lost lives looks like. It really depends on [facts to be presented] to push the enormity of the situation and illustrate how devastating it really is."
The luxury fast coincided with Tzom Gedaliah, the traditional fast that Jews observe the day following Rosh Hashanah. While the fast was originally instituted to mark the assassination of Gedaliah, the governor of Israel during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, it can also represent Jewish communal responsibility to one another and the larger world. Muslims are also currently celebrating their holy month of Ramadan, during which they fast until sunset each day, so many students abstained from eating as well as observing the luxury fast.
Alissa Melczer, a junior at Loyola University in Chicago, told the Chicago Sun-Times that Gedaliah reminds the Jewish faithful to be an active part of "repairing the world," and shedding light on what's happening in Darfur is certainly one step toward that. Hillel at Loyola University helped organize the campus activities, including a break-fast that evening where nearly 200 people heard from two Darfur refugees.
Brown University's Darfur Action Network held a candlelight vigil and collected more than $1,200 to be donated to Mercy Corps, which helps improve living conditions at the refugee camps in Darfur. Many students also fasted, such as senior Lisabeth Meyers, who told the Providence Journal that being the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors drew her to the Darfur Action Network.
"You hear these expressions -- never again," she said. "As I got older, I realized it was happening again and again."
Along with the more than 43 universities and colleges dedicated to the fast, the STAND coalition garnered the support of many high-profile individuals, including Hillel President Avraham Infeld, comedian Bill Cosby; Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire, the former commander of the UN Assistance Mission in Rwanda; Nicholas Kristof, a columnist for the New York Times; Judith Lewis, the director of U.S. relations for the World Food Programme; actress Bette Midler; Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.); basketball star Dikembe Mutombo; Desmond Tutu, the archbishop emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa; and Rabbi David Saperstein, the director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism Rabbi David Saperstein.
Thought the fast has ended, the students' mission is far from over. Hillels around the country are continuing to support their students' efforts, and STAND offers many ways for newcomers to get involved.
90,000 refugees live in Darfur Kalam camp
Paris, France, 10/10 - About 90,000 refugees live in Kalam camp, in Sudan`s western Darfur region, reeling under armed conflict between two rebel groups and Sudan government forces, according to a census released Saturday by World Vision International.
"The exercise enabled World Vision to issue ration tickets to internal displaced persons, thus allowing them to have access to food distribution in the camp in the next three months," the NGO explained in a press release published in Paris.
It promised to continue a census of refugees in camps located in southern Darfur in order to ensure the effectiveness of its action.
"The enumeration of occupants of camps is central to the evaluation of their needs for the improvement of humanitarian assistance, mainly in food and basic needs," the press release added.
World Vision said the census operation in Kalam camp was effected through the support of the World Food Program (WFP), the UN Humanitarian Office (OCHA), and the African Union Mission in Sudan.
Other humanitarian organizations had estimated that 160,000 people were displaced in Kalma, which remains Darfur`s biggest camp.
"The exercise enabled World Vision to issue ration tickets to internal displaced persons, thus allowing them to have access to food distribution in the camp in the next three months," the NGO explained in a press release published in Paris.
It promised to continue a census of refugees in camps located in southern Darfur in order to ensure the effectiveness of its action.
"The enumeration of occupants of camps is central to the evaluation of their needs for the improvement of humanitarian assistance, mainly in food and basic needs," the press release added.
World Vision said the census operation in Kalam camp was effected through the support of the World Food Program (WFP), the UN Humanitarian Office (OCHA), and the African Union Mission in Sudan.
Other humanitarian organizations had estimated that 160,000 people were displaced in Kalma, which remains Darfur`s biggest camp.
Solana calls for halting acts of violence in Darfur
Sudan-European Union, Politics, 10/10/2005
The higher representative for the foreign policy in the European Union Javier Solana expressed in statements he made in Njamina his wonder over the renewed cycle of violence in Darfur, calling for calm.
Solana has called on all sides, including the rebels, to halt these attacks which aim at "terrifying the citizens " and to concentrate on the peace negotiations in the Nigerian capital Abuja.
He considered that "the responsibility of the government of Khartoum is to guarantee a constructive performance by all including the rebels, calling on the African Union to continye providing security in Darfur in collaboration with the international community.
The higher representative for the foreign policy in the European Union Javier Solana expressed in statements he made in Njamina his wonder over the renewed cycle of violence in Darfur, calling for calm.
Solana has called on all sides, including the rebels, to halt these attacks which aim at "terrifying the citizens " and to concentrate on the peace negotiations in the Nigerian capital Abuja.
He considered that "the responsibility of the government of Khartoum is to guarantee a constructive performance by all including the rebels, calling on the African Union to continye providing security in Darfur in collaboration with the international community.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Guns & genocide
Sunday, October 9, 2005
Dimitri Vassilaros' column "Fast-food lunch money" (Oct. 3 and TribLIVE.com), which argued that the victims of genocide in Darfur should be given guns to defend themselves, focused much deserved attention on the innocent victims in Darfur. But it needlessly insulted their only protectors, the African Union (AU), as well as those Americans concerned enough to try to drum up support for additional U.S. action.
What these 2 million internally displaced persons (mainly women and children) need is a well-trained and equipped military force to protect them from the well-trained and barbaric Janjaweed militias.
The AU is the only international military force in Darfur capable of protecting civilians, as both U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick and NATO Supreme Allied Commander James Jones Jr. recently told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Deputy Secretary Zoellick and General Jones also agreed that increasing our support of the AU forces is the best way for the U.S. to stop the bloodshed.
Average Americans who want to help should therefore do exactly what the Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition and others are doing: write letters, host events and do everything possible to press the White House and Congress to do their part to end the genocide and protect innocent civilians.
Alex Meixner
Washington, D.C.
The writer is a spokesman for the Save Darfur Coalition (savedarfur.org), which is composed of 134 humanitarian, faith-based and advocacy organizations united in their belief that genocide anywhere must be addressed by people everywhere.
source: pittsburghlive.com
Dimitri Vassilaros' column "Fast-food lunch money" (Oct. 3 and TribLIVE.com), which argued that the victims of genocide in Darfur should be given guns to defend themselves, focused much deserved attention on the innocent victims in Darfur. But it needlessly insulted their only protectors, the African Union (AU), as well as those Americans concerned enough to try to drum up support for additional U.S. action.
What these 2 million internally displaced persons (mainly women and children) need is a well-trained and equipped military force to protect them from the well-trained and barbaric Janjaweed militias.
The AU is the only international military force in Darfur capable of protecting civilians, as both U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick and NATO Supreme Allied Commander James Jones Jr. recently told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Deputy Secretary Zoellick and General Jones also agreed that increasing our support of the AU forces is the best way for the U.S. to stop the bloodshed.
Average Americans who want to help should therefore do exactly what the Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition and others are doing: write letters, host events and do everything possible to press the White House and Congress to do their part to end the genocide and protect innocent civilians.
Alex Meixner
Washington, D.C.
The writer is a spokesman for the Save Darfur Coalition (savedarfur.org), which is composed of 134 humanitarian, faith-based and advocacy organizations united in their belief that genocide anywhere must be addressed by people everywhere.
source: pittsburghlive.com
Fast-food lunch money
By Dimitri Vassilaros
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, October 3, 2005
The news release inadvertently spoke volumes about how misguided liberals can be even when they have the best intentions.
LOCAL LEADERS TO SPEAK AT DARFUR RALLY
Politicians, students, non-profit and community leaders to speak at rally for genocide in Darfur on Thursday, October 6, at 12:30.
For those against genocide in that hell hole, Thursday's lunch hour half-hour fast -- yes, 30 minutes -- is almost too easy to ridicule.
The Republic of the Sudan is the largest country in Africa, about quarter the size of the USA. Population, roughly 40 million. The western region of Darfur would cover California and part of Oregon. Population estimates are somewhat fluid since millions of innocents have been slaughtered or displaced because of the ethnic cleansing encouraged by their government.
The Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition is anticipating a crowd with high-profile local personalities at Mellon Square Park across from the Omni William Penn Hotel. All will be asked to forgo their noontime meals and donate the cost of the fast food to organizations providing humanitarian aid to Darfur's victims.
It is part of the International Solidarity Fast for Darfur with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Bill Cosby, Bette Midler and others with high name recognition having reserved seating at the buffet of self-denial.
"We are not just fasting passively," said David Rosenberg, the local spokesman. "It's part of saying we care about this."
In addition to the humanitarian aid, the movement demands that President George W. Bush do something about the genocide. But not by providing arms to the victims so they can defend themselves.
The fasters hope Mr. Bush sends money, supplies and arms to the African Union so the pathetic Third World knock-off of United Nations peacekeeper troops can do something more than just observe the continuing carnage that -- this is a recurring theme -- befalls victims who cannot defend themselves.
"I just don't feel you have a plan in place to rescue people," Rosenberg said when asked why not just buy arms so the victims can fight back. "This (fast) is the way to help people. Sudan's government needs to be pressured. This needs to be continued. How many people have been saved by gunrunning? None that we know of."
Take a deep breath and really think about that statement.
Humanitarian aid certainly does not encourage genocide but it also does nothing to kill it. Guns, however, would.
And the left knows it.
It's tempting to offer nonstop proof how the gun, the great equalizer, influenced American history. However, patriotic examples might be lost on the "let's not do lunch" crowd on Thursday.
So let's speak the left's language. Guns enabled the Bolsheviks to rule the former Soviet Union, the Soviets to rule Eastern Europe, and Castro, Cuba.
Guns also empowered the Russians to defeat the Germans at Stalingrad, the North Vietnamese to defeat the French at Dien Bien Phu , and the Chinese to butcher their own citizens at Tiananmen Square.
And if the Spanish Republic had had enough weapons, those socialists might have defeated General Franco's four columns of Nationalist army troops.
Send enough guns to the victims of Darfur and they will not need your lunch money.
If you are going to the rally, remember to pack a lunch.
Dimitri Vassilaros can be reached at dvassilaros@tribweb.com or (412) 380-5637.
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, October 3, 2005
The news release inadvertently spoke volumes about how misguided liberals can be even when they have the best intentions.
LOCAL LEADERS TO SPEAK AT DARFUR RALLY
Politicians, students, non-profit and community leaders to speak at rally for genocide in Darfur on Thursday, October 6, at 12:30.
For those against genocide in that hell hole, Thursday's lunch hour half-hour fast -- yes, 30 minutes -- is almost too easy to ridicule.
The Republic of the Sudan is the largest country in Africa, about quarter the size of the USA. Population, roughly 40 million. The western region of Darfur would cover California and part of Oregon. Population estimates are somewhat fluid since millions of innocents have been slaughtered or displaced because of the ethnic cleansing encouraged by their government.
The Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition is anticipating a crowd with high-profile local personalities at Mellon Square Park across from the Omni William Penn Hotel. All will be asked to forgo their noontime meals and donate the cost of the fast food to organizations providing humanitarian aid to Darfur's victims.
It is part of the International Solidarity Fast for Darfur with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Bill Cosby, Bette Midler and others with high name recognition having reserved seating at the buffet of self-denial.
"We are not just fasting passively," said David Rosenberg, the local spokesman. "It's part of saying we care about this."
In addition to the humanitarian aid, the movement demands that President George W. Bush do something about the genocide. But not by providing arms to the victims so they can defend themselves.
The fasters hope Mr. Bush sends money, supplies and arms to the African Union so the pathetic Third World knock-off of United Nations peacekeeper troops can do something more than just observe the continuing carnage that -- this is a recurring theme -- befalls victims who cannot defend themselves.
"I just don't feel you have a plan in place to rescue people," Rosenberg said when asked why not just buy arms so the victims can fight back. "This (fast) is the way to help people. Sudan's government needs to be pressured. This needs to be continued. How many people have been saved by gunrunning? None that we know of."
Take a deep breath and really think about that statement.
Humanitarian aid certainly does not encourage genocide but it also does nothing to kill it. Guns, however, would.
And the left knows it.
It's tempting to offer nonstop proof how the gun, the great equalizer, influenced American history. However, patriotic examples might be lost on the "let's not do lunch" crowd on Thursday.
So let's speak the left's language. Guns enabled the Bolsheviks to rule the former Soviet Union, the Soviets to rule Eastern Europe, and Castro, Cuba.
Guns also empowered the Russians to defeat the Germans at Stalingrad, the North Vietnamese to defeat the French at Dien Bien Phu , and the Chinese to butcher their own citizens at Tiananmen Square.
And if the Spanish Republic had had enough weapons, those socialists might have defeated General Franco's four columns of Nationalist army troops.
Send enough guns to the victims of Darfur and they will not need your lunch money.
If you are going to the rally, remember to pack a lunch.
Dimitri Vassilaros can be reached at dvassilaros@tribweb.com or (412) 380-5637.
The Bandits Find a Way
October 9, 2005: Bandits in Sudan's Darfur region are once again attacking and robbing aid workers. Attacks on aid workers have increased. Truck supply convoys are particularly vulnerable. While security appeared to be improving two months ago as African Union (AU) peacekeepers began to operate throughout the area, the bandits may have figured out that the 6000 peacekeepers can't be everywhere at once. The AU intends to double that number to 12,000 sometime in early 2006, but at the moment there are not enough peacekeepers and not enough armored trucks to protect the aid convoys entering Darfur (particularly West Darfur state).
Meanwhile, Darfur rebel in-fighting between the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) may make a new ceasefire more difficult, much less a lasting peace settlement. The rebels situation may be even more complicated, since there are "factions within factions" in the SLM and JEM.There are tribal interests at play. The powerful Fur tribe plays a major role in SLM leadership.
The SLM and JEM cannot control the small factions any more than the Sudan government can control the Janjaweed Islamist militias it supports with money and supplies. While many suspect the attacks on road convoys are the handiwork for the Janjaweed, the truth is in chaotic Darfur AU peacekeepers and the UN cannot be sure.
October 8, 2005: Two AU peacekeepers, and two civilians, were killed in an ambush in Darfur. It's not known if the attackers were bandits, or militiamen working for the government. The AU now has seven infantry battalions (each with about 600 troops) in Darfur, as part of a total force of 6,000 troops.
October 7, 2005: More Ugandan LRA rebels have entered southern Sudan. It's uncertain if the south Sudan rebels, or the army, will go after the LRA. In the past, the LRA was left alone, if the LRA did not raid in Sudan.
October 6, 2005: In the south, the SSDF (South Sudan Defence Forces) has agreed to integrate itself into the army, thus carrying out part of the peace deal for the southern rebels.
October 4, 2005: Government and Darfur rebel negotiators met in Nigeria. Not much is expected to come from this.
October 1, 2005: The UN is threatening the government with war crimes prosecutions is the government attacks on Darfur civilians do not stop. The government denies any responsibility for such violence, but the UN does not accept that.
source Strategy Page
Meanwhile, Darfur rebel in-fighting between the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) may make a new ceasefire more difficult, much less a lasting peace settlement. The rebels situation may be even more complicated, since there are "factions within factions" in the SLM and JEM.There are tribal interests at play. The powerful Fur tribe plays a major role in SLM leadership.
The SLM and JEM cannot control the small factions any more than the Sudan government can control the Janjaweed Islamist militias it supports with money and supplies. While many suspect the attacks on road convoys are the handiwork for the Janjaweed, the truth is in chaotic Darfur AU peacekeepers and the UN cannot be sure.
October 8, 2005: Two AU peacekeepers, and two civilians, were killed in an ambush in Darfur. It's not known if the attackers were bandits, or militiamen working for the government. The AU now has seven infantry battalions (each with about 600 troops) in Darfur, as part of a total force of 6,000 troops.
October 7, 2005: More Ugandan LRA rebels have entered southern Sudan. It's uncertain if the south Sudan rebels, or the army, will go after the LRA. In the past, the LRA was left alone, if the LRA did not raid in Sudan.
October 6, 2005: In the south, the SSDF (South Sudan Defence Forces) has agreed to integrate itself into the army, thus carrying out part of the peace deal for the southern rebels.
October 4, 2005: Government and Darfur rebel negotiators met in Nigeria. Not much is expected to come from this.
October 1, 2005: The UN is threatening the government with war crimes prosecutions is the government attacks on Darfur civilians do not stop. The government denies any responsibility for such violence, but the UN does not accept that.
source Strategy Page
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Negotiating With Genocide
Sunday, October 9, 2005; B06
MOST ARGUMENTS about the Darfur genocide boil down to a question of urgency. The Post and other critics have called for immediate pressure on the sponsors of genocide in Sudan's government and a quicker deployment of outside troops to defend civilians. Meanwhile the Bush administration has worked toward these goals, but slowly.
Rather than changing Sudan's behavior by, say, imposing a no-fly zone, the administration has sought a durable political solution to the tension between Sudan's government and its regions. Instead of pressing for a quick NATO deployment, the administration has ceded the job of protecting civilians to the slow-moving African Union. To be charitable, the administration's argument is not only that the direct application of U.S. or Western power would be costly and risky. It's that, in the long term, there won't be peace in Darfur without a political solution and that Africa will remain miserable unless it builds up the African Union to address its problems. Recent news has revealed some strength and much weakness in this approach.
The positive news is that the search for a political solution is inching ahead. Last year the administration pressed successfully for a north-south peace deal, under which southerners would be invited into Sudan's central government and given a share of the nation's oil wealth. To secure this deal, the Bush team had to forgo aggressive options such as a no-fly zone; when criticized for this choice of priorities, the administration argued that the north-south settlement would help Darfur because the power-sharing model could be extended to the territory, ending the root cause of its violence. Slowly, the administration is pursuing this vision. Despite the destabilizing death of John Garang, the southern leader, southerners have taken up positions in the central government. The next step is to include them in the government team that is negotiating with Darfur's rebels. If that can be achieved, it would boost peace prospects in Darfur.
The problem is that, in the meantime, horrific suffering continues. The slow response to the genocide last year cost the lives of probably tens of thousands of civilians. This year the case for urgency has sometimes dimmed: Government-backed death squads have been less active, and a huge humanitarian effort has forestalled large-scale starvation. But a recent series of attacks has shown how quickly violence can flare up again. In the last days of September, a Janjaweed death squad crossed into neighboring Chad
and killed 36 civilians, and another squad supported by government helicopters attacked a camp for displaced civilians in Darfur, killing 34. These and other attacks drove thousands from their homes and brought relief efforts to a standstill. The United Nations' disaster chief, Jan Egeland, warned that, unless security improved, the Western humanitarian effort "could all end tomorrow." Yesterday, the first killings of African Union peacekeepers in Darfur underscored his point.
The problem the Bush administration now confronts is the same one it's faced since the beginning of the genocide. It has chosen to work with Sudan's government in seeking a durable political solution, but there's no telling how long that quest will take or whether it will succeed at all. The administration's main interlocutor in the government, Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad Taha, sometimes appears able to lead Sudan in a moderate direction, as he did in agreeing to the north-south peace deal. But sometimes Mr. Taha appears to have been sidelined, as when his government harasses western relief workers in Darfur and resumes massacres of civilians. On other occasions Mr. Taha seems deluded. A Sudanese paper recently reported him as saying that Darfur's trouble "was closely linked to the American election fever."
With interlocutors such as these, the administration should not base its entire Darfur strategy on the potentially endless search for a political solution. Nor should it pretend that a small African Union force can keep the peace in a region the size of France. The administration's long-term desire for a negotiated peace and for African self-reliance in peacekeeping is laudable. But it needs a more muscular short-term strategy. What about punishing the government for its recent massacres by destroying the participating helicopters? What about supplementing African Union troops with NATO ones? To be sure, NATO resources are stretched thin by Iraq and Afghanistan, and Western leaders are tempted to regard Sudan as marginal to their interests. But NATO was born -- indeed, the idea of "the West" was born -- out of the ashes of Hitler's genocide. If it refuses to fight the modern echoes of that barbarism, what does the West stand for?
source: washingtonpost.com
MOST ARGUMENTS about the Darfur genocide boil down to a question of urgency. The Post and other critics have called for immediate pressure on the sponsors of genocide in Sudan's government and a quicker deployment of outside troops to defend civilians. Meanwhile the Bush administration has worked toward these goals, but slowly.
Rather than changing Sudan's behavior by, say, imposing a no-fly zone, the administration has sought a durable political solution to the tension between Sudan's government and its regions. Instead of pressing for a quick NATO deployment, the administration has ceded the job of protecting civilians to the slow-moving African Union. To be charitable, the administration's argument is not only that the direct application of U.S. or Western power would be costly and risky. It's that, in the long term, there won't be peace in Darfur without a political solution and that Africa will remain miserable unless it builds up the African Union to address its problems. Recent news has revealed some strength and much weakness in this approach.
The positive news is that the search for a political solution is inching ahead. Last year the administration pressed successfully for a north-south peace deal, under which southerners would be invited into Sudan's central government and given a share of the nation's oil wealth. To secure this deal, the Bush team had to forgo aggressive options such as a no-fly zone; when criticized for this choice of priorities, the administration argued that the north-south settlement would help Darfur because the power-sharing model could be extended to the territory, ending the root cause of its violence. Slowly, the administration is pursuing this vision. Despite the destabilizing death of John Garang, the southern leader, southerners have taken up positions in the central government. The next step is to include them in the government team that is negotiating with Darfur's rebels. If that can be achieved, it would boost peace prospects in Darfur.
The problem is that, in the meantime, horrific suffering continues. The slow response to the genocide last year cost the lives of probably tens of thousands of civilians. This year the case for urgency has sometimes dimmed: Government-backed death squads have been less active, and a huge humanitarian effort has forestalled large-scale starvation. But a recent series of attacks has shown how quickly violence can flare up again. In the last days of September, a Janjaweed death squad crossed into neighboring Chad
and killed 36 civilians, and another squad supported by government helicopters attacked a camp for displaced civilians in Darfur, killing 34. These and other attacks drove thousands from their homes and brought relief efforts to a standstill. The United Nations' disaster chief, Jan Egeland, warned that, unless security improved, the Western humanitarian effort "could all end tomorrow." Yesterday, the first killings of African Union peacekeepers in Darfur underscored his point.
The problem the Bush administration now confronts is the same one it's faced since the beginning of the genocide. It has chosen to work with Sudan's government in seeking a durable political solution, but there's no telling how long that quest will take or whether it will succeed at all. The administration's main interlocutor in the government, Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad Taha, sometimes appears able to lead Sudan in a moderate direction, as he did in agreeing to the north-south peace deal. But sometimes Mr. Taha appears to have been sidelined, as when his government harasses western relief workers in Darfur and resumes massacres of civilians. On other occasions Mr. Taha seems deluded. A Sudanese paper recently reported him as saying that Darfur's trouble "was closely linked to the American election fever."
With interlocutors such as these, the administration should not base its entire Darfur strategy on the potentially endless search for a political solution. Nor should it pretend that a small African Union force can keep the peace in a region the size of France. The administration's long-term desire for a negotiated peace and for African self-reliance in peacekeeping is laudable. But it needs a more muscular short-term strategy. What about punishing the government for its recent massacres by destroying the participating helicopters? What about supplementing African Union troops with NATO ones? To be sure, NATO resources are stretched thin by Iraq and Afghanistan, and Western leaders are tempted to regard Sudan as marginal to their interests. But NATO was born -- indeed, the idea of "the West" was born -- out of the ashes of Hitler's genocide. If it refuses to fight the modern echoes of that barbarism, what does the West stand for?
source: washingtonpost.com
لا تقدم في مفاوضات أبوجا السودانية: اختلاف على مشروع لقسمة السلطة من 13 بنداً
08 اكتوبر , 2005
أسمرا: الحياة
فيما حمّلت الأمم المتحدة الحكومة السودانية ومتمردي دارفور مسؤولية البطء الذي لازم مسيرة المحادثات المنطلقة بينهما منذ ما يقارب الشهر من دون إحراز أي تقدم، طرح وسطاء الاتحاد الافريقي ورقة حول قسمة السلطة حوت 13 نقطة اختلف الفرقاء المعنيون على تسع منها.
وندد الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة كوفي أنان أول من أمس بـ «عدم حصول تقدم» في مفاوضات السلام في دارفور والتي بدأت في أبوجا. وأكد عزمه على ممارسة ضغط على الخرطوم والمتمردين. وقال أنان في كلمة أمام اللجنة التنفيذية للمفوضية العليا للاجئين التابعة للامم المتحدة المجتمعة في جنيف: «نحن قلقون من بطء أو عدم تحقيق تقدم في عملية السلام في أبوجا». وأضاف: «سنحاول ممارسة الحد الاقصى من الضغط الممكن على الطرفين، على الحكومة وعلى المتمردين، لأن لكل منهما دوراً يلعبه». واوضح ان «الوسيلة الوحيدة لحل هذه المشكلة (دارفور) هي عن طريق تسوية سياسية». و قال: «في شكل عام لا يمكن ان يكون هناك سلام كامل في السودان طالما ان الوضع في دارفور لم يحل».
الى ذلك، فشل اجتماع موسع عقده الشركاء والسفراء والوسطاء أمس مع رئيس «حركة تحرير السودان» السيد عبدالواحد محمد نور في زحزحة فصيله في الحركة عن المواقف التي يتمسك بها. وناشد الاجتماع عبدالواحد العمل على توحيد الحركة التي باتت مهددة بشبح التفكك، الأمر الذي سيلقي بظلال قاتمة على مفاوضات أبوجا. ورفض عبدالواحد مشروع تسوية يقضي باعتماد مفاوضي الحركة في الجولة السابقة والبالغ عددهم 35 لخوض هذه الجولة الجديدة من المفاوضات مع الحكومة. وأعلن عن قائمة جديدة من المفاوضين. لكن منافسه في الحركة الأمين العام السيد مني أركوي ميناوي سارع الى إصدار بيان جدد فيه عدم التزامه بما ستسفر عنه الجولة الحالية من المفاوضات وهدد بضرب الفاشر.
وذكرت وسائل إعلام سودانية ان ممثلين أوروبيين انخرطوا في اجتماعات ماراتونية مع فصيلي «حركة تحرير السودان» مارسوا خلالها ضغوطاً لتوحيد الحركة. وأثمر ذلك الضغط قبولاً من الفصيلين بالدخول مجدداً في لقاءات تهدف الى ردم الهوة المتسعة بين جناحي نور ومناوي في هذه الحركة المتمردة في دارفور. وعُلم ان الوسيط الافريقي في مفاوضات أبوجا طرح ورقة جديدة على الفرقاء السودانيين مكونة من 13 بنداً، إلا ان الاطراف اختلفت حول تسعة منها ووافقت على أربعة فقط. ويتوقع مراقبون انتهاء هذه الجولة من المفاوضات بفشل تام.
أسمرا: الحياة
فيما حمّلت الأمم المتحدة الحكومة السودانية ومتمردي دارفور مسؤولية البطء الذي لازم مسيرة المحادثات المنطلقة بينهما منذ ما يقارب الشهر من دون إحراز أي تقدم، طرح وسطاء الاتحاد الافريقي ورقة حول قسمة السلطة حوت 13 نقطة اختلف الفرقاء المعنيون على تسع منها.
وندد الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة كوفي أنان أول من أمس بـ «عدم حصول تقدم» في مفاوضات السلام في دارفور والتي بدأت في أبوجا. وأكد عزمه على ممارسة ضغط على الخرطوم والمتمردين. وقال أنان في كلمة أمام اللجنة التنفيذية للمفوضية العليا للاجئين التابعة للامم المتحدة المجتمعة في جنيف: «نحن قلقون من بطء أو عدم تحقيق تقدم في عملية السلام في أبوجا». وأضاف: «سنحاول ممارسة الحد الاقصى من الضغط الممكن على الطرفين، على الحكومة وعلى المتمردين، لأن لكل منهما دوراً يلعبه». واوضح ان «الوسيلة الوحيدة لحل هذه المشكلة (دارفور) هي عن طريق تسوية سياسية». و قال: «في شكل عام لا يمكن ان يكون هناك سلام كامل في السودان طالما ان الوضع في دارفور لم يحل».
الى ذلك، فشل اجتماع موسع عقده الشركاء والسفراء والوسطاء أمس مع رئيس «حركة تحرير السودان» السيد عبدالواحد محمد نور في زحزحة فصيله في الحركة عن المواقف التي يتمسك بها. وناشد الاجتماع عبدالواحد العمل على توحيد الحركة التي باتت مهددة بشبح التفكك، الأمر الذي سيلقي بظلال قاتمة على مفاوضات أبوجا. ورفض عبدالواحد مشروع تسوية يقضي باعتماد مفاوضي الحركة في الجولة السابقة والبالغ عددهم 35 لخوض هذه الجولة الجديدة من المفاوضات مع الحكومة. وأعلن عن قائمة جديدة من المفاوضين. لكن منافسه في الحركة الأمين العام السيد مني أركوي ميناوي سارع الى إصدار بيان جدد فيه عدم التزامه بما ستسفر عنه الجولة الحالية من المفاوضات وهدد بضرب الفاشر.
وذكرت وسائل إعلام سودانية ان ممثلين أوروبيين انخرطوا في اجتماعات ماراتونية مع فصيلي «حركة تحرير السودان» مارسوا خلالها ضغوطاً لتوحيد الحركة. وأثمر ذلك الضغط قبولاً من الفصيلين بالدخول مجدداً في لقاءات تهدف الى ردم الهوة المتسعة بين جناحي نور ومناوي في هذه الحركة المتمردة في دارفور. وعُلم ان الوسيط الافريقي في مفاوضات أبوجا طرح ورقة جديدة على الفرقاء السودانيين مكونة من 13 بنداً، إلا ان الاطراف اختلفت حول تسعة منها ووافقت على أربعة فقط. ويتوقع مراقبون انتهاء هذه الجولة من المفاوضات بفشل تام.
عاجل من نيالا ....اغتيال مواطن داخل منزله رميا بالرصاص امام اطفاله
10/8/2005 12:59 م
فى سابقة منذرة بفتنة واسعة فى مدينة نيالا ، وفى حوالى الساعة الواحدة صباحا من يوم امس الجمعة ، اقدم ستة افراد من مليشيا الجنجويد فى مدينة نيالا على اقتحام منزل المواطن / محمدين أحمد عربى بالقفز من الاسوار وطلبوا منه تسليم مفاتيح عربته اللاندكروزر ، وعندما رفض المواطن وقاومهم قاموا باطلاق الرصاص عليه وقتله فى الحال امام زوجته واطفاله . لم يكتفوا بذلك حتى بعد قتله حاولوا تفتيش ملابسه لغرض الحصول على مفتاح السيارة ، الا ان اطلاق الاستغاثة من قبل زوجة الضحية جعل الجيران يسرعون لمعرفة الحدث وحينها قفز الجناة من الاسوار وفروا هاربين . تم ابلاغ السلطات بالحادث وتجمع الجيران واهالى القتيل فى الصباح الباكر وقاموا بتتبع الاثر الى منازل محددة بحى الرياض ، ولكن ما ان اقتربوا من هذه المنازل خرجت اليهم مجموعة مسلحة من عشرة افراد بملابس مدنية وحالوا بين الاهالى والمنازل ، ولكن اكثر ما استفز الاهالى ان المسلحين قالوا وبنبرة تحدى واضحة " نعم نحن الذين قتلناه ماذا انتم فاعلون " ؟!
امام هذا التحدى السافر والتعدى على ارواح المواطنين فى عاصمة الاقليم ، اتجه الاهالى الى والى الولاية / الحاج عطاالله المنان لمطالبته للقبض على الجناة الا ان الوالى وكعادته تلقى الخبر ببرود و لم يتجاوب بقدر خطورة الموقف ، وفسر موقف الوالى من قبل اهالى القتيل بالتراخى وعدم الجدية للتعامل مع موقف يعتبر تحدى لهيبة الدولة التى هو ممثلها . وفى هذا الاثناء و بعد ان لاحت بوادر الفتنة فى الافق وهدد المئات من اهل القتيل باقتحام بيوت القتلة رغم انهم عزل من السلاح ، تحرك اعيان المدينة وقابلوا مدير شرطة الولاية ونقلوا اليه خطورة الموقف لان الامور قد تخرج من نطاق السيطرة اذا استمر تماطل الوالى ولم يأمر باعتقال الجناة رغم ان الشرطة دائما تبعد نفسها من ممارسات الجنجويد لانهم يتلقون اوامرهم من والى الولاية فما فوق من السلطات . وبالفعل قدر مدير شرطة الولاية خطورة الموقف وارسل قوة كبيرة من الشرطة وتم القبض على عشرة افراد من المسلحين ، 6 من الذين نفذوا جريمة القتل واربعة آخرين من الذين تضامنوا مع القتلة واشهروا السلاح فى وجه المواطنين ومن ضمن المعتقلين شيخ المجموعة . ولا زال الموقف مشوب بالخطر ، ويعمل الآن افراد من مكتب حركة تحرير السودان بالمدينة على تهدئة الاهالى وعدم تصعيد الموضوع وخاصة بعد ان تم القبض على الجناة .
حركة تحرير السودان
مكتب نيالا
السبت 8 اكتوبر 2005 م
فى سابقة منذرة بفتنة واسعة فى مدينة نيالا ، وفى حوالى الساعة الواحدة صباحا من يوم امس الجمعة ، اقدم ستة افراد من مليشيا الجنجويد فى مدينة نيالا على اقتحام منزل المواطن / محمدين أحمد عربى بالقفز من الاسوار وطلبوا منه تسليم مفاتيح عربته اللاندكروزر ، وعندما رفض المواطن وقاومهم قاموا باطلاق الرصاص عليه وقتله فى الحال امام زوجته واطفاله . لم يكتفوا بذلك حتى بعد قتله حاولوا تفتيش ملابسه لغرض الحصول على مفتاح السيارة ، الا ان اطلاق الاستغاثة من قبل زوجة الضحية جعل الجيران يسرعون لمعرفة الحدث وحينها قفز الجناة من الاسوار وفروا هاربين . تم ابلاغ السلطات بالحادث وتجمع الجيران واهالى القتيل فى الصباح الباكر وقاموا بتتبع الاثر الى منازل محددة بحى الرياض ، ولكن ما ان اقتربوا من هذه المنازل خرجت اليهم مجموعة مسلحة من عشرة افراد بملابس مدنية وحالوا بين الاهالى والمنازل ، ولكن اكثر ما استفز الاهالى ان المسلحين قالوا وبنبرة تحدى واضحة " نعم نحن الذين قتلناه ماذا انتم فاعلون " ؟!
امام هذا التحدى السافر والتعدى على ارواح المواطنين فى عاصمة الاقليم ، اتجه الاهالى الى والى الولاية / الحاج عطاالله المنان لمطالبته للقبض على الجناة الا ان الوالى وكعادته تلقى الخبر ببرود و لم يتجاوب بقدر خطورة الموقف ، وفسر موقف الوالى من قبل اهالى القتيل بالتراخى وعدم الجدية للتعامل مع موقف يعتبر تحدى لهيبة الدولة التى هو ممثلها . وفى هذا الاثناء و بعد ان لاحت بوادر الفتنة فى الافق وهدد المئات من اهل القتيل باقتحام بيوت القتلة رغم انهم عزل من السلاح ، تحرك اعيان المدينة وقابلوا مدير شرطة الولاية ونقلوا اليه خطورة الموقف لان الامور قد تخرج من نطاق السيطرة اذا استمر تماطل الوالى ولم يأمر باعتقال الجناة رغم ان الشرطة دائما تبعد نفسها من ممارسات الجنجويد لانهم يتلقون اوامرهم من والى الولاية فما فوق من السلطات . وبالفعل قدر مدير شرطة الولاية خطورة الموقف وارسل قوة كبيرة من الشرطة وتم القبض على عشرة افراد من المسلحين ، 6 من الذين نفذوا جريمة القتل واربعة آخرين من الذين تضامنوا مع القتلة واشهروا السلاح فى وجه المواطنين ومن ضمن المعتقلين شيخ المجموعة . ولا زال الموقف مشوب بالخطر ، ويعمل الآن افراد من مكتب حركة تحرير السودان بالمدينة على تهدئة الاهالى وعدم تصعيد الموضوع وخاصة بعد ان تم القبض على الجناة .
حركة تحرير السودان
مكتب نيالا
السبت 8 اكتوبر 2005 م
AU suffers first Darfur troop losses
08/10/2005 20:36 KHARTOUM (AFP)
Two African Union peacekeeping soldiers and two civilian contractors were killed Saturday in Darfur, the first time the AU has suffered fatalities in the conflict-torn Sudanese region, an AU official said.
Noureddine Muzni told AFP that the troops hailed from Nigeria and three others were also wounded in the ambush, which occurred near the town of Nyala in South Darfur state.
He said the soldiers were targeted while on patrol and described the incident as "extremely grave and serious", adding that an investigation was already underway to find the culprits.
The three wounded, also from Nigeria, were airlifted to an AU hospital in al-Fasher in North Darfur state, Muzni also said. The nationality of the contractors was not immediately clear.
The pan-African body has some 6,300 troops in Darfur tasked with monitoring a fragile ceasefire between black African rebels and government-backed Arab militias. It is looking to increase its contingent to 7,700.
An estimated 180,000 to 300,000 people have died in Darfur, with some 2.6 million civilians left homeless since fighting erupted in February 2003.
The killings occurred as the warring parties prepared for the latest round of peace talks in the Nigerian capital of Abuja on Monday, at a time of increased volatility in the devastated region.
Both sides have expressed optimism that they would be able to negotiate a broad political settlement on the issues of power and wealth sharing between Darfur and the central government.
But the AU has admitted that the talks are moving very slowly, with divisions within the main Darfur rebel movement -- the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) -- holding up progress.
The killing of the AU troops comes at a time of renewed fighting which is undermining the ceasefire between government and rebel movements which was agreed in April 2004 and had largely held despite sporadic attacks.
Earlier this month the African Union's mission in Sudan accused government forces and Arab militias of launching joint attacks on villages and refugee camps in Darfur, in which at least 44 civilians were killed.
The conflict also spilled over into neighbouring Chad in late September, when 55 villagers were killed along with 17 militiamen and three Chadian soldiers in an attack near the border.
©2005 AFP
Two African Union peacekeeping soldiers and two civilian contractors were killed Saturday in Darfur, the first time the AU has suffered fatalities in the conflict-torn Sudanese region, an AU official said.
Noureddine Muzni told AFP that the troops hailed from Nigeria and three others were also wounded in the ambush, which occurred near the town of Nyala in South Darfur state.
He said the soldiers were targeted while on patrol and described the incident as "extremely grave and serious", adding that an investigation was already underway to find the culprits.
The three wounded, also from Nigeria, were airlifted to an AU hospital in al-Fasher in North Darfur state, Muzni also said. The nationality of the contractors was not immediately clear.
The pan-African body has some 6,300 troops in Darfur tasked with monitoring a fragile ceasefire between black African rebels and government-backed Arab militias. It is looking to increase its contingent to 7,700.
An estimated 180,000 to 300,000 people have died in Darfur, with some 2.6 million civilians left homeless since fighting erupted in February 2003.
The killings occurred as the warring parties prepared for the latest round of peace talks in the Nigerian capital of Abuja on Monday, at a time of increased volatility in the devastated region.
Both sides have expressed optimism that they would be able to negotiate a broad political settlement on the issues of power and wealth sharing between Darfur and the central government.
But the AU has admitted that the talks are moving very slowly, with divisions within the main Darfur rebel movement -- the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) -- holding up progress.
The killing of the AU troops comes at a time of renewed fighting which is undermining the ceasefire between government and rebel movements which was agreed in April 2004 and had largely held despite sporadic attacks.
Earlier this month the African Union's mission in Sudan accused government forces and Arab militias of launching joint attacks on villages and refugee camps in Darfur, in which at least 44 civilians were killed.
The conflict also spilled over into neighbouring Chad in late September, when 55 villagers were killed along with 17 militiamen and three Chadian soldiers in an attack near the border.
©2005 AFP
Friday, October 07, 2005
UNHCR Chief Warns Peace Prospects Slipping Away in Darfur
By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
07 October 2005
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, warns peace prospects in Sudan's conflict-ridden province of Darfur are slipping away. The refugee agency chief says failure to resolve the Darfur conflict could jeopardize a peace accord ending 20 years of warfare between northern and southern parts of Sudan. The annual U.N. Refugee Conference has just ended in Geneva.
Antonio Guterres greets Darfur refugee women in Iridimi camp, eastern Chad
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres says, when he visited Darfur a month ago, things were looking better than they do now. When he was there, he says, there was a window of opportunity that the peace deal ending Sudan's long-lasting north-south civil war might have a positive impact on Darfur.
He says peace negotiations in the Nigerian capital of Abuja on resolving the Darfur conflict also seemed to be making progress. But, since then, he says, violence has been increasing in Darfur.
"And, if there is not a very strong commitment of the whole of the international community - the African Union, the United States, relevant partners in the area - there is a risk that the peace process derails," he said. "And, without a peace agreement, things on the ground will become out of control. Even with a peace agreement, there will be a huge task to bring security in the field, to bring reconciliation, to bring disarmament. It will be a huge task with a peace agreement. Without a peace agreement, it will be an extremely risky situation."
Not only will this have serious consequences for Darfur, but Mr. Guterres says the impact on the rest of Sudan could be terrible.
The high commissioner says he is very concerned about the protection of refugees and displaced people in conflict areas. He says he also is worried about asylum-seekers fleeing persecution, who are being denied entry to countries that are tightening their asylum rules.
Mr. Guterres says his office is planning to create a post of Assistant High Commissioner for Protection to lead a fight against intolerance, discrimination and public misperceptions about asylum-seekers. He says many refugees are being refused asylum because a growing number of countries are turning away economic migrants and tightening their borders against suspected terrorists.
It is obvious that refugees are not terrorists," he said. "They are the victims of terror, and they do not constitute a threat to our societies. We need to fight terror without any compromise, but we need to preserve the institutions of asylum, as it is a main component of democracy itself."
High Commissioner Guterres says the new post is particularly crucial now, as the United Nations has given the UNHCR more protection responsibility.
source: voanesw.com
Geneva
07 October 2005
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, warns peace prospects in Sudan's conflict-ridden province of Darfur are slipping away. The refugee agency chief says failure to resolve the Darfur conflict could jeopardize a peace accord ending 20 years of warfare between northern and southern parts of Sudan. The annual U.N. Refugee Conference has just ended in Geneva.
Antonio Guterres greets Darfur refugee women in Iridimi camp, eastern Chad
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres says, when he visited Darfur a month ago, things were looking better than they do now. When he was there, he says, there was a window of opportunity that the peace deal ending Sudan's long-lasting north-south civil war might have a positive impact on Darfur.
He says peace negotiations in the Nigerian capital of Abuja on resolving the Darfur conflict also seemed to be making progress. But, since then, he says, violence has been increasing in Darfur.
"And, if there is not a very strong commitment of the whole of the international community - the African Union, the United States, relevant partners in the area - there is a risk that the peace process derails," he said. "And, without a peace agreement, things on the ground will become out of control. Even with a peace agreement, there will be a huge task to bring security in the field, to bring reconciliation, to bring disarmament. It will be a huge task with a peace agreement. Without a peace agreement, it will be an extremely risky situation."
Not only will this have serious consequences for Darfur, but Mr. Guterres says the impact on the rest of Sudan could be terrible.
The high commissioner says he is very concerned about the protection of refugees and displaced people in conflict areas. He says he also is worried about asylum-seekers fleeing persecution, who are being denied entry to countries that are tightening their asylum rules.
Mr. Guterres says his office is planning to create a post of Assistant High Commissioner for Protection to lead a fight against intolerance, discrimination and public misperceptions about asylum-seekers. He says many refugees are being refused asylum because a growing number of countries are turning away economic migrants and tightening their borders against suspected terrorists.
It is obvious that refugees are not terrorists," he said. "They are the victims of terror, and they do not constitute a threat to our societies. We need to fight terror without any compromise, but we need to preserve the institutions of asylum, as it is a main component of democracy itself."
High Commissioner Guterres says the new post is particularly crucial now, as the United Nations has given the UNHCR more protection responsibility.
source: voanesw.com
Bandits beat, whip aid workers in Darfur
Saturday October 8, 2005
El-Geneina, Sudan, Friday
Bandits have punched, beaten and whipped aid workers attempting to deliver aid to hungry refugees in Sudan's remote Darfur region, part of a pattern of regular attacks, aid workers said.
In West Darfur 75,000 people are cut off without aid because of a recent escalation in ambushes on the road targeting aid convoys, UN official Andy Pendleton said.
"They are punched, beaten -- aid workers have been whipped by these bandits, intimidated," he said.
"So of course you give them anything they want," he told Reuters on Thursday.
The armed men loot valuable equipment and supplies from aid convoys.
Pendleton said he had been caught in cross fire in Darfur. If security did not improve and aid could not get through, refugees would become malnourished, he said.
Almost 11,000 aid workers operate in Darfur, a region the size of France. Last week senior UN official Jan Egeland said the world body may have to pull out of Darfur because of the escalation of violence.
Matthew Ryder, another aid worker in el-Geneina, said serious attacks happened as often as 2-3 times a week but were becoming less frequent because aid convoys had stopped using the roads south of the town.
He said many attacks were by bandits but there was also a pattern of political violence.
"We can say there's a great deal of banditry -- but just banditry? I think that's naive," Ryder said.
Early last month a convoy of 22 aid workers were stopped and beaten near el-Geneina. The women were stripped and whipped.
A 6th round of peace talks began last month to try to end the revolt that has killed tens of thousands in Darfur and forced 2 million people to flee their homes.
Non-Arab rebels accuse the central government of neglect and of monopolising wealth and power.
Almost 6,000 African Union troops are deployed to monitor a shaky ceasefire but Arab militias attacked a refugee camp last week in West Darfur, killing at least 34 people.
Pendleton said the AU needed more troops.
"We are waiting ... for the full deployment of the AU which we hope will ... allow them to fulfil their mandate in a broader and more dynamic way," he said.
The AU plans to increase its force up to 12,000 in early 2006. But many aid organisations refuse to have AU troops accompany their vehicles, fearing association with any troops would endanger their neutrality. —Reuters
El-Geneina, Sudan, Friday
Bandits have punched, beaten and whipped aid workers attempting to deliver aid to hungry refugees in Sudan's remote Darfur region, part of a pattern of regular attacks, aid workers said.
In West Darfur 75,000 people are cut off without aid because of a recent escalation in ambushes on the road targeting aid convoys, UN official Andy Pendleton said.
"They are punched, beaten -- aid workers have been whipped by these bandits, intimidated," he said.
"So of course you give them anything they want," he told Reuters on Thursday.
The armed men loot valuable equipment and supplies from aid convoys.
Pendleton said he had been caught in cross fire in Darfur. If security did not improve and aid could not get through, refugees would become malnourished, he said.
Almost 11,000 aid workers operate in Darfur, a region the size of France. Last week senior UN official Jan Egeland said the world body may have to pull out of Darfur because of the escalation of violence.
Matthew Ryder, another aid worker in el-Geneina, said serious attacks happened as often as 2-3 times a week but were becoming less frequent because aid convoys had stopped using the roads south of the town.
He said many attacks were by bandits but there was also a pattern of political violence.
"We can say there's a great deal of banditry -- but just banditry? I think that's naive," Ryder said.
Early last month a convoy of 22 aid workers were stopped and beaten near el-Geneina. The women were stripped and whipped.
A 6th round of peace talks began last month to try to end the revolt that has killed tens of thousands in Darfur and forced 2 million people to flee their homes.
Non-Arab rebels accuse the central government of neglect and of monopolising wealth and power.
Almost 6,000 African Union troops are deployed to monitor a shaky ceasefire but Arab militias attacked a refugee camp last week in West Darfur, killing at least 34 people.
Pendleton said the AU needed more troops.
"We are waiting ... for the full deployment of the AU which we hope will ... allow them to fulfil their mandate in a broader and more dynamic way," he said.
The AU plans to increase its force up to 12,000 in early 2006. But many aid organisations refuse to have AU troops accompany their vehicles, fearing association with any troops would endanger their neutrality. —Reuters
Darfur petition offered online
Joy Karugu
Princetonian Contributor
The Princeton Humanity Project launched an online version of its ongoing petition protesting the Darfur genocide Wednesday, with the support of the USG.
The Humanity Project expects to send copies of both the electronic and the earlier paper petition to the White House by the end of next week.
The Humanity Project started planning a nonpartisan Darfur petition after comments made last week by Nobel Peace Prize Winner Elie Wiesel in a speech they sponsored with the Princeton Public Lecture Series. In response to a question from the audience about how Princeton students can best effect change in the world, Wiesel said that a petition signed by University students would have the greatest influence on the problems in Darfur.
Even before the speech ended, Julie Grenet GS, a student in the French and Italian languages department, had already written a petition protesting the genocide in Darfur and calling for American relief aid. Following the speech, she collected signatures from people leaving the lecture hall.
A week later, the officers of the Humanity Project decided to create a second petition because they disagreed with how Grenet's was conducted. "Although Julie Grenet had wonderful intentions with her petition, and we didn't want to cancel out her petition, we decided to make a new petition, hoping it would be more successful," Joe Falit '07, chair of the Princeton Humanity Project, said in a telephone interview.
The Humanity Project initiated their paper petition early last week. They have not yet totalled the number of signat\ures collected. The members of the Project have been going to upperclass dorm rooms and collecting signatures outside the residential college dining halls.
Sanjeev Arora, computer science professor and chair of the Public Lectures Series which cosponsored Wiesel's speech, said he was surprised by the effect Wiesel's talk had on the students.
"His ability to attract and inspire students towards a higher cause was like nothing I have seen in my 11 years on campus," he said in an email. "Though signing a mere petition may seem an insignificant thing and takes only a second, it is nevertheless very important."
The Humanity Project launched the electronic petition after a suggestion by USG President Leslie Bernard-Joseph '06. The Humanity Project anticipates that with the new electronic petition, they may be able to reach their goal of having 80 percent of the University community sign.
They also expect they will more easily be able to verify names and identify potential duplicate signatures. "We think it's very important to be able to check these electronic signatures," Falit said. "We don't want fraud."
The USG supported the effort by sending out an "Action Email" Wednesday with the link to the Darfur petition, encouraging students to "read up on the petition and how Elie Wiesel inspired Princeton students to start it."
Douglas Massey, a Wilson School professor on the Public Lectures Series committee, said he was impressed by the effect of Wiesel's speech.
"Energizing students to understand and take action on important social issues is one of my goals in serving on the Public Lectures committee," he said in an email. "I'm gratified to see that Elie Wiesel's recent lecture has galvanized student opinion to weigh in on the unfolding tragedy in Darfur."
Princetonian Contributor
The Princeton Humanity Project launched an online version of its ongoing petition protesting the Darfur genocide Wednesday, with the support of the USG.
The Humanity Project expects to send copies of both the electronic and the earlier paper petition to the White House by the end of next week.
The Humanity Project started planning a nonpartisan Darfur petition after comments made last week by Nobel Peace Prize Winner Elie Wiesel in a speech they sponsored with the Princeton Public Lecture Series. In response to a question from the audience about how Princeton students can best effect change in the world, Wiesel said that a petition signed by University students would have the greatest influence on the problems in Darfur.
Even before the speech ended, Julie Grenet GS, a student in the French and Italian languages department, had already written a petition protesting the genocide in Darfur and calling for American relief aid. Following the speech, she collected signatures from people leaving the lecture hall.
A week later, the officers of the Humanity Project decided to create a second petition because they disagreed with how Grenet's was conducted. "Although Julie Grenet had wonderful intentions with her petition, and we didn't want to cancel out her petition, we decided to make a new petition, hoping it would be more successful," Joe Falit '07, chair of the Princeton Humanity Project, said in a telephone interview.
The Humanity Project initiated their paper petition early last week. They have not yet totalled the number of signat\ures collected. The members of the Project have been going to upperclass dorm rooms and collecting signatures outside the residential college dining halls.
Sanjeev Arora, computer science professor and chair of the Public Lectures Series which cosponsored Wiesel's speech, said he was surprised by the effect Wiesel's talk had on the students.
"His ability to attract and inspire students towards a higher cause was like nothing I have seen in my 11 years on campus," he said in an email. "Though signing a mere petition may seem an insignificant thing and takes only a second, it is nevertheless very important."
The Humanity Project launched the electronic petition after a suggestion by USG President Leslie Bernard-Joseph '06. The Humanity Project anticipates that with the new electronic petition, they may be able to reach their goal of having 80 percent of the University community sign.
They also expect they will more easily be able to verify names and identify potential duplicate signatures. "We think it's very important to be able to check these electronic signatures," Falit said. "We don't want fraud."
The USG supported the effort by sending out an "Action Email" Wednesday with the link to the Darfur petition, encouraging students to "read up on the petition and how Elie Wiesel inspired Princeton students to start it."
Douglas Massey, a Wilson School professor on the Public Lectures Series committee, said he was impressed by the effect of Wiesel's speech.
"Energizing students to understand and take action on important social issues is one of my goals in serving on the Public Lectures committee," he said in an email. "I'm gratified to see that Elie Wiesel's recent lecture has galvanized student opinion to weigh in on the unfolding tragedy in Darfur."
Group details genocide
BY KRISTOFFER STRAUSS
Contributing Reporter
Some students walking through Cross Campus on Thursday paused to read numbers scrawled on large posters set up along the walkways: "400,000 dead; 2,000,000 displaced."
The posters, along with testimonials and photographs of starving children, burning homes and wounded teenagers, were put on display as part of a two day event organized by Yale's chapter of Students Taking Action Now: Darfur, an international group created to raise awareness about genocide and human rights violations in Sudan.
The organizers asked students walking by to donate money that they otherwise would have spent on food to the Genocide Prevention Fund.
"We're working on getting the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act passed," STAND member Eric Lockhart '07 said. "We have people calling senators to raise awareness of the act, and we are raising funds for the Genocide Intervention Fund."
University spokeswoman Gila Reinstein said although STAND is not officially affiliated with Yale, the administration encourages social awareness among students.
"Administratively, we're entirely supportive of students taking stands on issues like this," Reinstein said. "This is an issue of international significance."
Sylvia Bingham '09 said she is concerned that Yale has not openly disclosed whether it invests in corporations that may support the Sudanese government.
According to the U.S. State Department Web site, more than 61 percent of Darfur refugees have reported watching the murder of a family member, and overall violence in the region has affected the lives of more than 2 million people in Darfur. Some students said they feel the U.S. government has not done enough to address the problem and that it is the responsibility of American citizens to raise awareness.
"If no one shows President Bush that Americans care, then he and Congress will have no reason to act," Hannah Sufran '08 said.
Lockhart said it is critical for humanitarian workers to get aid into the country.
"The majority of refugee camps in Sudan and eastern Chad haven't seen a single humanitarian aid worker," Lockhart said. "A high percentage of children are dying from preventable diseases and malnutrition … [but] it's hard getting humanitarian aid when the workers are endangered in the situation."
STAND will continue to collect donations on Cross Campus today.
Contributing Reporter
Some students walking through Cross Campus on Thursday paused to read numbers scrawled on large posters set up along the walkways: "400,000 dead; 2,000,000 displaced."
The posters, along with testimonials and photographs of starving children, burning homes and wounded teenagers, were put on display as part of a two day event organized by Yale's chapter of Students Taking Action Now: Darfur, an international group created to raise awareness about genocide and human rights violations in Sudan.
The organizers asked students walking by to donate money that they otherwise would have spent on food to the Genocide Prevention Fund.
"We're working on getting the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act passed," STAND member Eric Lockhart '07 said. "We have people calling senators to raise awareness of the act, and we are raising funds for the Genocide Intervention Fund."
University spokeswoman Gila Reinstein said although STAND is not officially affiliated with Yale, the administration encourages social awareness among students.
"Administratively, we're entirely supportive of students taking stands on issues like this," Reinstein said. "This is an issue of international significance."
Sylvia Bingham '09 said she is concerned that Yale has not openly disclosed whether it invests in corporations that may support the Sudanese government.
According to the U.S. State Department Web site, more than 61 percent of Darfur refugees have reported watching the murder of a family member, and overall violence in the region has affected the lives of more than 2 million people in Darfur. Some students said they feel the U.S. government has not done enough to address the problem and that it is the responsibility of American citizens to raise awareness.
"If no one shows President Bush that Americans care, then he and Congress will have no reason to act," Hannah Sufran '08 said.
Lockhart said it is critical for humanitarian workers to get aid into the country.
"The majority of refugee camps in Sudan and eastern Chad haven't seen a single humanitarian aid worker," Lockhart said. "A high percentage of children are dying from preventable diseases and malnutrition … [but] it's hard getting humanitarian aid when the workers are endangered in the situation."
STAND will continue to collect donations on Cross Campus today.
EU envoy on peace mission
07/10/2005 13:38 - (SA)
Brussels - Javier Solana, the European Union's security affairs chief, headed for Sudan on Friday for talks with the government about the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.
Solana was scheduled to make a quick visit to the western Sudanese region, where the EU supported an African peacekeeping mission.
He was scheduled to return on Sunday after a stopover in Chad for talks with President Idriss Deby who had accused Sudanese militias involved in the Darfur conflict of making raids into his country.
Before leaving, Solana said he would also discuss the implementation of a January 9 peace deal that ended a North-South civil war after more than two decades in Sudan.
Campaign of murder, rape and arson
In the separate Darfur conflict, rebels from black African tribes took up arms in early 2003, complaining of discrimination and oppression.
They accused the government of unleashing Arab tribal militia known as the Janjaweed against civilians in a campaign of murder, rape and arson.
The campaign had already claimed the lives of 180 000 people - many from hunger and disease - and displaced two million others.
In Khartoum on Saturday, Solana would meet Sudanese President Omer el-Bashir and two vice-presidents, Ali Osman Taha and Salva Kiir Mayardit.
Sudan's government and Darfur rebels were locked in peace talks, sponsored by the African Union, that were making no progress.
Broad-based conferences
This week, the non-governmental International Crisis Group said this would not change if divisions remained between the main rebel groups.
The ICG said: "No marked progress toward a lasting, comprehensive solution will be made unless the key figures in these rebel movements return to Darfur and organise broad-based conferences to resolve their leadership disputes.
"Khartoum will exploit their weaknesses at the negotiating table, and they will find themselves increasingly isolated.
"A deadly conflict has been growing between the rebel groups that has put civilians in an increasingly desperate situation."
The EU supported a Darfur peacekeeping operation by the AU with trucks, planes and other logistical help such as command planning, surveillance and housing.
Accompanying Solana were Lord Triesman, Britain's minister for African affairs, and Austrian deputy foreign minister Hans Winkler. for African affairs, and Austrian deputy foreign minister Hans Winkler
Brussels - Javier Solana, the European Union's security affairs chief, headed for Sudan on Friday for talks with the government about the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.
Solana was scheduled to make a quick visit to the western Sudanese region, where the EU supported an African peacekeeping mission.
He was scheduled to return on Sunday after a stopover in Chad for talks with President Idriss Deby who had accused Sudanese militias involved in the Darfur conflict of making raids into his country.
Before leaving, Solana said he would also discuss the implementation of a January 9 peace deal that ended a North-South civil war after more than two decades in Sudan.
Campaign of murder, rape and arson
In the separate Darfur conflict, rebels from black African tribes took up arms in early 2003, complaining of discrimination and oppression.
They accused the government of unleashing Arab tribal militia known as the Janjaweed against civilians in a campaign of murder, rape and arson.
The campaign had already claimed the lives of 180 000 people - many from hunger and disease - and displaced two million others.
In Khartoum on Saturday, Solana would meet Sudanese President Omer el-Bashir and two vice-presidents, Ali Osman Taha and Salva Kiir Mayardit.
Sudan's government and Darfur rebels were locked in peace talks, sponsored by the African Union, that were making no progress.
Broad-based conferences
This week, the non-governmental International Crisis Group said this would not change if divisions remained between the main rebel groups.
The ICG said: "No marked progress toward a lasting, comprehensive solution will be made unless the key figures in these rebel movements return to Darfur and organise broad-based conferences to resolve their leadership disputes.
"Khartoum will exploit their weaknesses at the negotiating table, and they will find themselves increasingly isolated.
"A deadly conflict has been growing between the rebel groups that has put civilians in an increasingly desperate situation."
The EU supported a Darfur peacekeeping operation by the AU with trucks, planes and other logistical help such as command planning, surveillance and housing.
Accompanying Solana were Lord Triesman, Britain's minister for African affairs, and Austrian deputy foreign minister Hans Winkler. for African affairs, and Austrian deputy foreign minister Hans Winkler
We must wake up to the tragedy in Sudan
Inside Bay Area
Afew weeks ago, on a flight from Phoenix to Oakland, I sat next to a man who told me: "I'm from Sudan, a country in North Africa."
I wasn't sure how to respond.
In the last 21 years, the civil war in Sudan has killed at least 2 million people. More casualties than Angola, Bosnia, Chechnya, Kosovo, Liberia, the Persian Gulf, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Rwanda combined. And the man beside me assumed that I — a 29-year-old blonde American woman — didn't even know where on the planet Sudan was located.
The sad truth: Until recently, even though I was familiar with Sudan's geographical location, I knew very little about the country's ongoing tragedy. Since having this conversation with my seatmate, I've asked several people if they knew anything about Sudan's situation; most of them did not. And no one knew that the Bush administration is credited with brokering the country's recent, but fragile and not inclusive of Darfur, peace agreement.
I work on the events staff at Cody's bookstore in Berkeley, and coincidentally, a few weeks after this flight the authors of a book about Sudan were scheduled to read at our store. I had the book in my carry-on bag. "They Poured Fire On Us From The Sky" details the journey of three young boys from the south of Sudan who walked thousands of miles to refugee camps outside of the country. These three boys, the authors of the book, are now 23- to 25-year-old men living in San Diego.
I showed the book to my seatmate. For the first time he looked directly at me and I saw that a raised, cloudy white film covered his right eye.
He looked away and said: "Those Lost Boys, that's not the whole story."
My seatmate — also in his mid-20s — was from northern Sudan. Generally speaking, the civil war in Sudan was between the northern government and the southern people.
Later, my seatmate told me about his eye. He'd been blinded in "a Ghost Room," a euphemism for an interrogation center. His twin brother and father had been killed in one.
When the Sudanese authors came to Cody's, they too spoke of those who'd been lost.
Alephonsion Deng talked about a dream he'd had while sleeping on the flight from Sudan to America. In the dream, he stuck his head out the side of a moving vehicle and saw, as he had when he was an
8-year-old boy, the skeletons of human bodies lying beside the road. This time, however, the skulls smiled and spoke to him: "Son," they said, "you will fight this war. We all paid for it. Everybody will pay for it. To pay for it you must start the process."
"The process?" Alephonsion asked the skulls. "What is the process?"
The skulls answered: "The process is to find peace in your heart."
When I think about the stories of these young men from Sudan, I wonder: Why are we, as a nation, so unaware of the tragedies occurring outside of our country, particularly those in Sudan? Are we not robbing ourselves of the opportunity to learn from those who know about the casualties of war? These young men could teach us about the strength required to choose to honor the lives of all people.
When Alephonsion asked the skulls how he could start the process, they said: "If you answer that question, everybody will answer that question."
Alephonsion is doing his part; isn't it about time we do ours?
Amy Wilson is an Oakland resident.
When I think about the stories of these young men from Sudan, I wonder:
Why are we, as a nation, so unaware of the tragedies occurring
outside of our country, particularly those in Sudan? Are we not
robbing ourselves of the opportunity to learn from those who know about
the casualties of war?
Afew weeks ago, on a flight from Phoenix to Oakland, I sat next to a man who told me: "I'm from Sudan, a country in North Africa."
I wasn't sure how to respond.
In the last 21 years, the civil war in Sudan has killed at least 2 million people. More casualties than Angola, Bosnia, Chechnya, Kosovo, Liberia, the Persian Gulf, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Rwanda combined. And the man beside me assumed that I — a 29-year-old blonde American woman — didn't even know where on the planet Sudan was located.
The sad truth: Until recently, even though I was familiar with Sudan's geographical location, I knew very little about the country's ongoing tragedy. Since having this conversation with my seatmate, I've asked several people if they knew anything about Sudan's situation; most of them did not. And no one knew that the Bush administration is credited with brokering the country's recent, but fragile and not inclusive of Darfur, peace agreement.
I work on the events staff at Cody's bookstore in Berkeley, and coincidentally, a few weeks after this flight the authors of a book about Sudan were scheduled to read at our store. I had the book in my carry-on bag. "They Poured Fire On Us From The Sky" details the journey of three young boys from the south of Sudan who walked thousands of miles to refugee camps outside of the country. These three boys, the authors of the book, are now 23- to 25-year-old men living in San Diego.
I showed the book to my seatmate. For the first time he looked directly at me and I saw that a raised, cloudy white film covered his right eye.
He looked away and said: "Those Lost Boys, that's not the whole story."
My seatmate — also in his mid-20s — was from northern Sudan. Generally speaking, the civil war in Sudan was between the northern government and the southern people.
Later, my seatmate told me about his eye. He'd been blinded in "a Ghost Room," a euphemism for an interrogation center. His twin brother and father had been killed in one.
When the Sudanese authors came to Cody's, they too spoke of those who'd been lost.
Alephonsion Deng talked about a dream he'd had while sleeping on the flight from Sudan to America. In the dream, he stuck his head out the side of a moving vehicle and saw, as he had when he was an
8-year-old boy, the skeletons of human bodies lying beside the road. This time, however, the skulls smiled and spoke to him: "Son," they said, "you will fight this war. We all paid for it. Everybody will pay for it. To pay for it you must start the process."
"The process?" Alephonsion asked the skulls. "What is the process?"
The skulls answered: "The process is to find peace in your heart."
When I think about the stories of these young men from Sudan, I wonder: Why are we, as a nation, so unaware of the tragedies occurring outside of our country, particularly those in Sudan? Are we not robbing ourselves of the opportunity to learn from those who know about the casualties of war? These young men could teach us about the strength required to choose to honor the lives of all people.
When Alephonsion asked the skulls how he could start the process, they said: "If you answer that question, everybody will answer that question."
Alephonsion is doing his part; isn't it about time we do ours?
Amy Wilson is an Oakland resident.
When I think about the stories of these young men from Sudan, I wonder:
Why are we, as a nation, so unaware of the tragedies occurring
outside of our country, particularly those in Sudan? Are we not
robbing ourselves of the opportunity to learn from those who know about
the casualties of war?
Thursday, October 06, 2005
AU says has film of Sudanese security force attacks
06 Oct 2005 09:08:00 GMT
Source: AlertNet
By Tsegaye Tadesse
ADDIS ABABA, Oct 5 (Reuters) - The African Union mission in Darfur is prepared to produce film and pictures to prove Sudan's security forces are attacking civilians there, despite Khartoum's denials, the AU mission chief said on Wednesday.
Baba Gana Kingibe, leader of an AU team monitoring a shaky ceasefire, told reporters he had confidence in an AU report that all parties to the conflict were breaking the truce and that the violence had included attacks by government helicopter gunships.
The Sudanese army has denied the allegations, saying the AU report was based on comments from aid agency officials in Darfur that were unreliable.
"We reported what we have observed. The report we received from the field said helicopter gunships were observed overhead in two different locations in Darfur," Kingibe told reporters at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa.
"We have films and pictures. We do not make a statement of that nature, grave as they are, without evidence. If necessary we are ready to show them," he said.
He added without elaborating that Sudanese government forces had attacked not only refugee camps but also compounds that house some AU troops in Darfur's Tawila district.
"I do hope the (AU) Peace and Security Council would express total disgust over the very serious situation which is taking place in Darfur, whenever they convene," he added.
The council is scheduled to meet on Thursday but is only scheduled to discuss the political crisis in Ivory Coast.
SPIRALLING VIOLENCE
Tens of thousands have been killed during the 2-1/2 year-old revolt in Sudan's remote west and more than 2 million have fled their homes during a campaign of widespread rape, killing and burning of villages rebels blame on pro-government militias.
Despite peace talks and a ceasefire, violence has spiralled over the past two weeks. Rebel forces attacked a government garrison and Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, rampaged through a refugee camp, killing at least 34.
The AU has said helicopters were seen flying in the area at the time of the attack, indicating collusion between the government and Janjaweed.
Kingibe was in Addis Ababa to attend an emergency meeting of the council on Darfur that had been set for Wednesday. He said the gathering had been postponed to give delegates more time for informal consultations.
No new date has been announced for the meeting.
Kingibe blamed all parties to the conflict, saying they were not committed to observing the agreed ceasefire.
He said the deteriorating security situation in Darfur did not augur well for the peace talks being held in the Nigerian capital Abuja.
Kingibe complained that 105 armoured vehicles donated by Canada were sitting in a dock in Dakar, Senegal because the AU had not received permission to bring them into Sudan.
"Had these vehicles been deployed, the AU would have been able to protect IDP camps and protect villages," he said.
Source: AlertNet
By Tsegaye Tadesse
ADDIS ABABA, Oct 5 (Reuters) - The African Union mission in Darfur is prepared to produce film and pictures to prove Sudan's security forces are attacking civilians there, despite Khartoum's denials, the AU mission chief said on Wednesday.
Baba Gana Kingibe, leader of an AU team monitoring a shaky ceasefire, told reporters he had confidence in an AU report that all parties to the conflict were breaking the truce and that the violence had included attacks by government helicopter gunships.
The Sudanese army has denied the allegations, saying the AU report was based on comments from aid agency officials in Darfur that were unreliable.
"We reported what we have observed. The report we received from the field said helicopter gunships were observed overhead in two different locations in Darfur," Kingibe told reporters at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa.
"We have films and pictures. We do not make a statement of that nature, grave as they are, without evidence. If necessary we are ready to show them," he said.
He added without elaborating that Sudanese government forces had attacked not only refugee camps but also compounds that house some AU troops in Darfur's Tawila district.
"I do hope the (AU) Peace and Security Council would express total disgust over the very serious situation which is taking place in Darfur, whenever they convene," he added.
The council is scheduled to meet on Thursday but is only scheduled to discuss the political crisis in Ivory Coast.
SPIRALLING VIOLENCE
Tens of thousands have been killed during the 2-1/2 year-old revolt in Sudan's remote west and more than 2 million have fled their homes during a campaign of widespread rape, killing and burning of villages rebels blame on pro-government militias.
Despite peace talks and a ceasefire, violence has spiralled over the past two weeks. Rebel forces attacked a government garrison and Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, rampaged through a refugee camp, killing at least 34.
The AU has said helicopters were seen flying in the area at the time of the attack, indicating collusion between the government and Janjaweed.
Kingibe was in Addis Ababa to attend an emergency meeting of the council on Darfur that had been set for Wednesday. He said the gathering had been postponed to give delegates more time for informal consultations.
No new date has been announced for the meeting.
Kingibe blamed all parties to the conflict, saying they were not committed to observing the agreed ceasefire.
He said the deteriorating security situation in Darfur did not augur well for the peace talks being held in the Nigerian capital Abuja.
Kingibe complained that 105 armoured vehicles donated by Canada were sitting in a dock in Dakar, Senegal because the AU had not received permission to bring them into Sudan.
"Had these vehicles been deployed, the AU would have been able to protect IDP camps and protect villages," he said.
Nato Commander Hails Security Efforts in Darfur
United States Department of State (Washington, DC)
NEWS
October 5, 2005
Posted to the web October 6, 2005
By Jim Fisher-Thompson
Washington, DC
Allied and U.S. military interest in Africa is "embryonic" but growing at a rapid pace, especially in support of security operations in Darfur, NATO's supreme allied commander (SACEUR), Marine General James Jones, told Congress September 28.
Jones, who is also the commander of all U.S. forces in Europe (EUCOM), told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, "It is an exciting time to be in Europe and in Africa," working to support conflict resolution and humanitarian efforts in places like Sudan.
In Darfur, Jones said, NATO's involvement "will help create relationships between key regional security organizations as NATO works with the African Union [AU] mission. Most [important], this engagement will ameliorate one of the world's worst humanitarian crises." (See Darfur Humanitarian Emergency.)
He told the senators: "Different agencies estimate that between 180,000 and 300,000 [Darfurians] have died, and more than 1.8 million people have been displaced from their homes. Some 200,000 refugees are estimated to have fled westward to neighboring Chad, while the vast majority of refugees remain trapped in Darfur camps and settlements."
In Africa, Jones said, "our goal is to assist nations to build effective, responsive governments and to develop security structures supportive of emerging democratic governments. Our success depends on maintaining relevant, focused, and complementary security cooperation, tailored to the political, social, economic, and military realities in Africa."
Following a request by the AU in June, Jones said, the North Atlantic Council (the executive body of NATO) approved NATO's support for the African Union's Mission in Sudan (AMIS). The European Union (EU) indicated it also would join the effort.
Currently, about 2,000 of the 6,000 AMIS force, consisting of troops and police from Kenya, The Gambia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa, are stationed in Darfur. And with transportation -- airlift -- help from NATO and the EU, the total AU force in Sudan is expected to rise to 7,700 by the end of October.
In Darfur, the NATO commander told lawmakers, "the government in Khartoum set the downward spiral in motion" in 2003 by mounting a campaign of aerial bombardment supporting ground attacks by an Arab militia, the "Jingaweit," in response to rebel attacks on government installations.
Peace talks facilitated by the United States between the Khartoum government and rebel forces in Darfur currently are taking place in Abuja, Nigeria. An accord called the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed in January, ending the 20-year North-South conflict between Khartoum and southern rebels. (See related article.)
According to Jones, NATO nations that have made airlift commitments to transport troops and supplies into Sudan include Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. In addition, Ukraine, which is not a member of NATO, "has offered a variety of commercial charter aircraft under reimbursement arrangements for operational costs."
In addition, EU countries that have made airlift commitments include France, which has offered to move a complete Senegalese battalion with full equipment; Germany, which is devoting six aircraft to transport up to eight battalions of AU troops, as well as 380 police officers; Greece, which has offered two aircraft; and Luxembourg, which will provide 75,000 euros for contracted airlift or purchase of tickets on scheduled civilian flights.
Jones said NATO and European Union support of the AMIS peacekeeping force is a natural fit because "our history of bringing stability to areas [such as the Balkans] plagued by ethnic â-oe conflict has prepared us to broaden our focus to the East [Eastern Europe and western Russia] and to the South [Africa]."
At the same time, "NATO's mission to Darfur is especially significant," he added, because "it shows how the alliance is shouldering the burden of 21st century security challenges, even when they are radically different from Cold War challenges and located far beyond its traditional area of action."
Jones, the first Marine general to be NATO and EUCOM commander, spent his formative years in France, later graduating from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in Washington. He commands the Allied Military Command Europe (ACE) of the 26-member NATO alliance and, as EUCOM chief, is in charge of the approximately 100,000 U.S. forces stationed throughout Europe. EUCOM has responsibility for more than 93 countries, including most of sub-Saharan Africa.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov
NEWS
October 5, 2005
Posted to the web October 6, 2005
By Jim Fisher-Thompson
Washington, DC
Allied and U.S. military interest in Africa is "embryonic" but growing at a rapid pace, especially in support of security operations in Darfur, NATO's supreme allied commander (SACEUR), Marine General James Jones, told Congress September 28.
Jones, who is also the commander of all U.S. forces in Europe (EUCOM), told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, "It is an exciting time to be in Europe and in Africa," working to support conflict resolution and humanitarian efforts in places like Sudan.
In Darfur, Jones said, NATO's involvement "will help create relationships between key regional security organizations as NATO works with the African Union [AU] mission. Most [important], this engagement will ameliorate one of the world's worst humanitarian crises." (See Darfur Humanitarian Emergency.)
He told the senators: "Different agencies estimate that between 180,000 and 300,000 [Darfurians] have died, and more than 1.8 million people have been displaced from their homes. Some 200,000 refugees are estimated to have fled westward to neighboring Chad, while the vast majority of refugees remain trapped in Darfur camps and settlements."
In Africa, Jones said, "our goal is to assist nations to build effective, responsive governments and to develop security structures supportive of emerging democratic governments. Our success depends on maintaining relevant, focused, and complementary security cooperation, tailored to the political, social, economic, and military realities in Africa."
Following a request by the AU in June, Jones said, the North Atlantic Council (the executive body of NATO) approved NATO's support for the African Union's Mission in Sudan (AMIS). The European Union (EU) indicated it also would join the effort.
Currently, about 2,000 of the 6,000 AMIS force, consisting of troops and police from Kenya, The Gambia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa, are stationed in Darfur. And with transportation -- airlift -- help from NATO and the EU, the total AU force in Sudan is expected to rise to 7,700 by the end of October.
In Darfur, the NATO commander told lawmakers, "the government in Khartoum set the downward spiral in motion" in 2003 by mounting a campaign of aerial bombardment supporting ground attacks by an Arab militia, the "Jingaweit," in response to rebel attacks on government installations.
Peace talks facilitated by the United States between the Khartoum government and rebel forces in Darfur currently are taking place in Abuja, Nigeria. An accord called the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed in January, ending the 20-year North-South conflict between Khartoum and southern rebels. (See related article.)
According to Jones, NATO nations that have made airlift commitments to transport troops and supplies into Sudan include Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. In addition, Ukraine, which is not a member of NATO, "has offered a variety of commercial charter aircraft under reimbursement arrangements for operational costs."
In addition, EU countries that have made airlift commitments include France, which has offered to move a complete Senegalese battalion with full equipment; Germany, which is devoting six aircraft to transport up to eight battalions of AU troops, as well as 380 police officers; Greece, which has offered two aircraft; and Luxembourg, which will provide 75,000 euros for contracted airlift or purchase of tickets on scheduled civilian flights.
Jones said NATO and European Union support of the AMIS peacekeeping force is a natural fit because "our history of bringing stability to areas [such as the Balkans] plagued by ethnic â-oe conflict has prepared us to broaden our focus to the East [Eastern Europe and western Russia] and to the South [Africa]."
At the same time, "NATO's mission to Darfur is especially significant," he added, because "it shows how the alliance is shouldering the burden of 21st century security challenges, even when they are radically different from Cold War challenges and located far beyond its traditional area of action."
Jones, the first Marine general to be NATO and EUCOM commander, spent his formative years in France, later graduating from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in Washington. He commands the Allied Military Command Europe (ACE) of the 26-member NATO alliance and, as EUCOM chief, is in charge of the approximately 100,000 U.S. forces stationed throughout Europe. EUCOM has responsibility for more than 93 countries, including most of sub-Saharan Africa.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov
Atrocious assertions
In her letter "Actual atrocities" (Oct. 5), Catherine Tobin fails to give proper reasoning for her position that the subjects of abortion are not "people who are alive to feel pain and suffering." Tobin states that she disagrees with last Thursday's demonstrators' (Life and Liberty Ministries) contention that abortion is an atrocity. She states that "real atrocities that are being committed ... are occurring in Darfur where 500 people die every day from violence," and that these victims of the violence in Darfur are "people who are alive to feel pain and suffering."
I doubt that the demonstrators from last Thursday are arguing to redefine the word "atrocity." They argued that the subjects of abortion are persons, andthe removal of the right to life is an atrocity.
Here is where Tobin actually disagrees with the demonstrators -- not over what an atrocity is, but rather whether or not the subjects of abortion are persons. Tobin presents no reasoning for her position that the subjects of abortion are not persons. Tobin gives the reader a definition ofatrocity, when instead she should be giving the reader the reasoning for her stance that the subjects of abortion are not persons.
Stephen Mark Messenger
CLAS III
I doubt that the demonstrators from last Thursday are arguing to redefine the word "atrocity." They argued that the subjects of abortion are persons, andthe removal of the right to life is an atrocity.
Here is where Tobin actually disagrees with the demonstrators -- not over what an atrocity is, but rather whether or not the subjects of abortion are persons. Tobin presents no reasoning for her position that the subjects of abortion are not persons. Tobin gives the reader a definition ofatrocity, when instead she should be giving the reader the reasoning for her stance that the subjects of abortion are not persons.
Stephen Mark Messenger
CLAS III
Students recognize genocide
The Phoenix - News
Issue: 10/5/05
By Emily Lange
For decades, students have studied and remembered the atrocities of the Nazi Holocaust. Museums and memorials show the devastation millions of Jewish people suffered and carry the message of "never again," to announce that humanity will never again stand idle as members other human beings are slaughtered by the masses. But in Darfur, it is happening again and it is happening now.
Darfur is a region of Sudan, a northeastern country in Africa that has been plagued by ethnic cleansing through acts of government-sponsored genocide since 2002. At least 400,000 poor, black Muslim farmers have been murdered by the ruling Arab people in this predominantly Arab state.
On Oct. 6, Loyola will participate in a nationwide fast to display solidarity in the cause against the genocide in Darfur.
At a leadership conference for students involved in national movements for peace, Patrick Schmitt, a senior from Georgetown University and member of the national Hillel Association, decided to to hold a fast in remembrance of the people affected by the genocide in Darfur.
"The fast is a great way to engage students and begin fundraising to give money for relief in the effort." Schmitt said. "One of the difficulties of understanding genocide is that it is unimaginable to know what 400,000 lost lives looks like. It really depends on [facts to be presented] to push the enormity of the situation and illustrate how devastating it really is."
Students from LUC who attended the conference approached Hillel director, Patti Ray, about bringing the Darfur fast to Loyola. The event is sponsored by University Ministry, Hillel, the Muslim Students Association and the Hindu Students Organization, and is co-sponsored by the Hunger Week Committee, Loyola Anti-War Network, Black Cultural Center, Turkish Intercultural Club, Loyola Students Against Sweatshops and the Middle Eastern Students Association.
Loyola, one of many schools across the country participating in the fast, provided information on ways people can make a difference in Darfur. The students offered information about the situation in Darfur and provided information to write to government officials.
Some student organizations, such as LAWN, are hosting their own events in collaboration with the Darfur Fast Planning Committee. On Wednesday morning, Oct. 5, LAWN performed a "die-in" to demonstrate the deaths that have resulted from the genocide in Darfur. The students gathered outside Damen Hall and laid motionless on the ground for 30 minutes. Other students handed out fliers, which sent the message that one "cannot ignore a genocide."
Junior Bashir Faddoul, president of MESA, hopes that students will take the fast seriously.
"Everyone can make a difference," Faddoul said. "We have an opportunity to send a powerful message, to let people know that we remember."
On Oct. 6, all are invited to a presentation in Simpson's Multi-Purpose Room at 5:15 p.m., where participants will break their fast together with a cross-cultural dinner. Allison Szopinski, a Loyola alumna and member of the Pan-African Association, and Patrick Nono, a leader in the Sudanese community in Chicago, will speak on how the situation in Darfur has affected the local and international community.
"I really believe that a part of our world ... has been neglected by the media and the U.S., that we need to truly recognize the situation," Bina Mangattukattil, a chaplain of University Ministry who is closely involved with the preparation for the fast, said.
The fast is not an attempt to raise money. Students that participate are asked to fast in whatever way they can. Some may give up a meal or two, others may give up a luxury during the day. If students skip luxuries, like a latté or a bag of chips, they can use that as a way to remember the people ofDarfur, Mangattukattil explained.
The fast is a precursor to Hunger Week, which will take place the week of Oct. 21. Though the fast is not a fundraising event, the Darfur Fast Planning Committee hopes that a raised awareness of the Darfur situation will urge students to donate money during Hunger Week. One-third of the money raised during Hunger Week will be donated to Oxfam International, an organization that distributes money to the relief effort of injustices throughout the world.
"Start informing yourself. When you turn on the T.V., you don't see much about Darfur," Mangattukattil said. "Go on the Internet and start from there. Find opportunities to move to action."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Issue: 10/5/05
By Emily Lange
For decades, students have studied and remembered the atrocities of the Nazi Holocaust. Museums and memorials show the devastation millions of Jewish people suffered and carry the message of "never again," to announce that humanity will never again stand idle as members other human beings are slaughtered by the masses. But in Darfur, it is happening again and it is happening now.
Darfur is a region of Sudan, a northeastern country in Africa that has been plagued by ethnic cleansing through acts of government-sponsored genocide since 2002. At least 400,000 poor, black Muslim farmers have been murdered by the ruling Arab people in this predominantly Arab state.
On Oct. 6, Loyola will participate in a nationwide fast to display solidarity in the cause against the genocide in Darfur.
At a leadership conference for students involved in national movements for peace, Patrick Schmitt, a senior from Georgetown University and member of the national Hillel Association, decided to to hold a fast in remembrance of the people affected by the genocide in Darfur.
"The fast is a great way to engage students and begin fundraising to give money for relief in the effort." Schmitt said. "One of the difficulties of understanding genocide is that it is unimaginable to know what 400,000 lost lives looks like. It really depends on [facts to be presented] to push the enormity of the situation and illustrate how devastating it really is."
Students from LUC who attended the conference approached Hillel director, Patti Ray, about bringing the Darfur fast to Loyola. The event is sponsored by University Ministry, Hillel, the Muslim Students Association and the Hindu Students Organization, and is co-sponsored by the Hunger Week Committee, Loyola Anti-War Network, Black Cultural Center, Turkish Intercultural Club, Loyola Students Against Sweatshops and the Middle Eastern Students Association.
Loyola, one of many schools across the country participating in the fast, provided information on ways people can make a difference in Darfur. The students offered information about the situation in Darfur and provided information to write to government officials.
Some student organizations, such as LAWN, are hosting their own events in collaboration with the Darfur Fast Planning Committee. On Wednesday morning, Oct. 5, LAWN performed a "die-in" to demonstrate the deaths that have resulted from the genocide in Darfur. The students gathered outside Damen Hall and laid motionless on the ground for 30 minutes. Other students handed out fliers, which sent the message that one "cannot ignore a genocide."
Junior Bashir Faddoul, president of MESA, hopes that students will take the fast seriously.
"Everyone can make a difference," Faddoul said. "We have an opportunity to send a powerful message, to let people know that we remember."
On Oct. 6, all are invited to a presentation in Simpson's Multi-Purpose Room at 5:15 p.m., where participants will break their fast together with a cross-cultural dinner. Allison Szopinski, a Loyola alumna and member of the Pan-African Association, and Patrick Nono, a leader in the Sudanese community in Chicago, will speak on how the situation in Darfur has affected the local and international community.
"I really believe that a part of our world ... has been neglected by the media and the U.S., that we need to truly recognize the situation," Bina Mangattukattil, a chaplain of University Ministry who is closely involved with the preparation for the fast, said.
The fast is not an attempt to raise money. Students that participate are asked to fast in whatever way they can. Some may give up a meal or two, others may give up a luxury during the day. If students skip luxuries, like a latté or a bag of chips, they can use that as a way to remember the people ofDarfur, Mangattukattil explained.
The fast is a precursor to Hunger Week, which will take place the week of Oct. 21. Though the fast is not a fundraising event, the Darfur Fast Planning Committee hopes that a raised awareness of the Darfur situation will urge students to donate money during Hunger Week. One-third of the money raised during Hunger Week will be donated to Oxfam International, an organization that distributes money to the relief effort of injustices throughout the world.
"Start informing yourself. When you turn on the T.V., you don't see much about Darfur," Mangattukattil said. "Go on the Internet and start from there. Find opportunities to move to action."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Time to pay attention to Darfur
Posted on Wed, Oct. 05, 2005
Many of us donated time, talents and money to help Hurricane Katrina victims. That tragedy definitely hit close to home, although it was hundreds of miles away.
But should distance ever matter? Should we base how much we care, how willing we are to help, on miles?
With Katrina, we showed how our caring can stretch many miles. Why, then, haven't we reacted in the same way to a far more horrific tragedy an ocean away in North Africa?
An interfaith service on behalf of the people of Darfur will offer an opportunity to confront that question.
Priests, pastors and rabbis across the country will fast and pray for the Darfur region of Sudan. Ahavath Achim Hebrew Congregation and InterFaith Ministries are sponsoring the service here.
Drought, civil war and international indecision have collided to create what some have called the worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st century. About 300,000 people have died. More than 2.5 million people have been displaced.
Government-backed militias have raided villages, targeted food and water supplies, tortured men, raped women and mutilated children.
The prayer service will ask President Bush, who has labeled events there genocide, to continue to speak out forcefully against the atrocities. It also will ask the president to press other nations to support action to end the crisis. "They must be reminded that short-term political and economic interests are less important than the preservation of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives," the groups said in a joint news release.
The success of the prayer service depends on its ability to make the horrors of Darfur intimate and proximal. Up close and personal.
We haven't seen continuous coverage of the horrors there. Plus, disaster fatigue has set in following Katrina and Rita.
The hurricane tragedy moved Americans in part because Americans care about other Americans. We shared in it through the images we saw, through higher gas prices, through friends and relatives.
It's not as if we don't care about the rest of the world. After disasters like the tsunami, Americans are among the world's most generous givers. But our attention span demands that we see it and feel it for several news cycles.
In Darfur, the length of the tragedy -- nearly two decades -- and the distance mean less intense media coverage. And less response from Americans.
Absent a reversal of the continental drift to bring the world's continents closer, the people of Darfur can't compete with our domestic matters.
That means our care, concern and yes, our hearts, will have to go out to people in trouble a dozen time zones away, even while we join hands in a temple here in Wichita and ask our government to help.
IF YOU GO
PRAYING FOR DARFUR
What: An interfaith prayer service against genocide
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Where: Ahavath Achim Hebrew Congregation, 1850 N. Woodlawn
For more: www.SaveDarfur.com
Many of us donated time, talents and money to help Hurricane Katrina victims. That tragedy definitely hit close to home, although it was hundreds of miles away.
But should distance ever matter? Should we base how much we care, how willing we are to help, on miles?
With Katrina, we showed how our caring can stretch many miles. Why, then, haven't we reacted in the same way to a far more horrific tragedy an ocean away in North Africa?
An interfaith service on behalf of the people of Darfur will offer an opportunity to confront that question.
Priests, pastors and rabbis across the country will fast and pray for the Darfur region of Sudan. Ahavath Achim Hebrew Congregation and InterFaith Ministries are sponsoring the service here.
Drought, civil war and international indecision have collided to create what some have called the worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st century. About 300,000 people have died. More than 2.5 million people have been displaced.
Government-backed militias have raided villages, targeted food and water supplies, tortured men, raped women and mutilated children.
The prayer service will ask President Bush, who has labeled events there genocide, to continue to speak out forcefully against the atrocities. It also will ask the president to press other nations to support action to end the crisis. "They must be reminded that short-term political and economic interests are less important than the preservation of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives," the groups said in a joint news release.
The success of the prayer service depends on its ability to make the horrors of Darfur intimate and proximal. Up close and personal.
We haven't seen continuous coverage of the horrors there. Plus, disaster fatigue has set in following Katrina and Rita.
The hurricane tragedy moved Americans in part because Americans care about other Americans. We shared in it through the images we saw, through higher gas prices, through friends and relatives.
It's not as if we don't care about the rest of the world. After disasters like the tsunami, Americans are among the world's most generous givers. But our attention span demands that we see it and feel it for several news cycles.
In Darfur, the length of the tragedy -- nearly two decades -- and the distance mean less intense media coverage. And less response from Americans.
Absent a reversal of the continental drift to bring the world's continents closer, the people of Darfur can't compete with our domestic matters.
That means our care, concern and yes, our hearts, will have to go out to people in trouble a dozen time zones away, even while we join hands in a temple here in Wichita and ask our government to help.
IF YOU GO
PRAYING FOR DARFUR
What: An interfaith prayer service against genocide
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Where: Ahavath Achim Hebrew Congregation, 1850 N. Woodlawn
For more: www.SaveDarfur.com
Monday, October 03, 2005
Darfur: What is going on?
10/03/2005 10:14
The atrocities in Darfur continues today. When is somebody going to do something?
The atrocities in Darfur are today well known after the world's media circus decided to consider the region as worthy of a visit in the light of horrendous atrocities perpetrated by Janjaweed Arab militia against Negroes.
The sheer scale of the problem is witnessed by the numbers of those affected: two and a half million people displaced and tens of thousands shot dead, burnt alive, raped or hacked to pieces.
The story was true to its two-week slot in the media, complete with front-page photographs of starving children and the TV images showing mothers cradling skeletal babies. The world grunted, said "How sad", shrugged its shoulders and moved on, to the start of the soccer season, the build-up to FIFA 2006 and the atrocities in Iraq.
Yet Darfur never went away. Today, the 11,000 humanitarian aid workers in the region are unable to fulfill their duties because of attacks on a daily basis. They are being robbed, they are being attacked, they are being threatened and they are being abducted. Civilians are being raped and killed. Every day.
Jan Egeland, Under-Secretary-General of the UNO for Humanitarian Affairs, declared on Thursday in Geneva that the 5,000 troops supplied by the African Union are not enough, and that three times this number is required to stop the violence.
He referred to the need of the international community to apply pressure on the government of Khartoum to force the Janjaweed to cease their atrocities. In recent days, there has been what the UN refugee agency describes as "an unprecedented attack" on thousands of refugees by Janjaweed militia, resulting in 29 deaths and 10 serious injuries.
Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, declared on Thursday that "As long as this insecurity continues, the international community cannot provide the assistance that is so desperately needed by hundreds of thousands of people".
What does the international community do? Nothing. Certain countries spend five hundred thousand million USD on weapons systems every single year, preferring to slaughter civilians than to help them.
The history book will judge Mankind for its callousness at this moment in time when words speak louder than actions. How much more suffering must the people of Darfur endure?
Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey
Pravda.Ru
Back
source: PRAVDA.Ru
The atrocities in Darfur continues today. When is somebody going to do something?
The atrocities in Darfur are today well known after the world's media circus decided to consider the region as worthy of a visit in the light of horrendous atrocities perpetrated by Janjaweed Arab militia against Negroes.
The sheer scale of the problem is witnessed by the numbers of those affected: two and a half million people displaced and tens of thousands shot dead, burnt alive, raped or hacked to pieces.
The story was true to its two-week slot in the media, complete with front-page photographs of starving children and the TV images showing mothers cradling skeletal babies. The world grunted, said "How sad", shrugged its shoulders and moved on, to the start of the soccer season, the build-up to FIFA 2006 and the atrocities in Iraq.
Yet Darfur never went away. Today, the 11,000 humanitarian aid workers in the region are unable to fulfill their duties because of attacks on a daily basis. They are being robbed, they are being attacked, they are being threatened and they are being abducted. Civilians are being raped and killed. Every day.
Jan Egeland, Under-Secretary-General of the UNO for Humanitarian Affairs, declared on Thursday in Geneva that the 5,000 troops supplied by the African Union are not enough, and that three times this number is required to stop the violence.
He referred to the need of the international community to apply pressure on the government of Khartoum to force the Janjaweed to cease their atrocities. In recent days, there has been what the UN refugee agency describes as "an unprecedented attack" on thousands of refugees by Janjaweed militia, resulting in 29 deaths and 10 serious injuries.
Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, declared on Thursday that "As long as this insecurity continues, the international community cannot provide the assistance that is so desperately needed by hundreds of thousands of people".
What does the international community do? Nothing. Certain countries spend five hundred thousand million USD on weapons systems every single year, preferring to slaughter civilians than to help them.
The history book will judge Mankind for its callousness at this moment in time when words speak louder than actions. How much more suffering must the people of Darfur endure?
Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey
Pravda.Ru
Back
source: PRAVDA.Ru
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Journalist brings Sudanese conflict to life
By MARK DAVIS
BOOKS EDITOR
Last update: October 02, 2005
It's been in bookstores for a few months now, but Philip Caputo's "Acts of Faith" is a ripped-from-the-headlines novel that could've been released anytime in the last 10 years and still seem evocative and relevant.
A grandiose adventure, "Acts of Faith" follows the lives of several people, Americans and foreigners, who get entangled in Sudan's civil war in the not-too-distant past. Although there's a truce in the large African nation now, the peace is fragile and the U.N. has investigated claims of genocide in the western Darfur region.
The civil war is a violent, unforgiving backdrop on which Caputo paints a resplendent portrait of foreigners trying to do good while trying to deal with their own personal struggles. "Acts of Faith" is a geopolitical soap opera but with deeper and darker themes. Can good be done in such a fractured country? Can altruism be successfully intertwined with business? Can love flourish between people of different races and vastly different ages?
Caputo's plot basically revolves around the lives of four characters, three Americans and one Kenyan. Douglas Braithwaite is a gung-ho, young American pilot who heads an independent air service that makes dangerous relief flights into the heart of Sudan; Wesley Dare is Braithwaite's partner and a veteran pilot and mercenary; and Quinette Hardin is a Christian missionary who is hired by a human rights group to help redeem black slaves captured by Arab raiders. Fitzhugh Martin is a mixed-race Kenyan who joins Braithwaite's team and finds himself immersed in something much bigger, and sinister, than he realized.
Caputo is no stranger to Africa. He has written a few books about the continent, most notably "Horn of Africa" and "Ghosts of Tsavo." The latter was a real-life story about tracking the legendary lions of the Tsavo region. Caputo is best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning work for the Chicago Tribune and his acclaimed memoir about the Vietnam War, "A Rumor of War."
Caputo really spreads his wings in "Acts of Faith," putting his experience and knowledge of Africa to full use. With the modern storylines and fully realized characters, the novel packs a punch and wraps up quite nicely. But "Acts of Faith" is not for the meek or faint of heart. It's complex and not easy to get a grip on. It drifts aimlessly in spots. Caputo fans will be satisfied, but readers with less patience and ambition may be too intimidated.
Caputo does a marvelous job of weaving big themes together (love, altruism, business, faith, hope) into an exciting narrative. But Sudan is still a difficult place to understand.
"This entire century has made friends with the absurd, and none are better friends with it than the Sudanese," says a German doctor in a Sudanese field hospital. "A war whose beginning no one can remember, whose end no one can see, whose purpose no one knows."
mark.davis@news-jrnl.com
© 2005 News-Journal Corporation. ® www.news-journalonline.com.
BOOKS EDITOR
Last update: October 02, 2005
It's been in bookstores for a few months now, but Philip Caputo's "Acts of Faith" is a ripped-from-the-headlines novel that could've been released anytime in the last 10 years and still seem evocative and relevant.
A grandiose adventure, "Acts of Faith" follows the lives of several people, Americans and foreigners, who get entangled in Sudan's civil war in the not-too-distant past. Although there's a truce in the large African nation now, the peace is fragile and the U.N. has investigated claims of genocide in the western Darfur region.
The civil war is a violent, unforgiving backdrop on which Caputo paints a resplendent portrait of foreigners trying to do good while trying to deal with their own personal struggles. "Acts of Faith" is a geopolitical soap opera but with deeper and darker themes. Can good be done in such a fractured country? Can altruism be successfully intertwined with business? Can love flourish between people of different races and vastly different ages?
Caputo's plot basically revolves around the lives of four characters, three Americans and one Kenyan. Douglas Braithwaite is a gung-ho, young American pilot who heads an independent air service that makes dangerous relief flights into the heart of Sudan; Wesley Dare is Braithwaite's partner and a veteran pilot and mercenary; and Quinette Hardin is a Christian missionary who is hired by a human rights group to help redeem black slaves captured by Arab raiders. Fitzhugh Martin is a mixed-race Kenyan who joins Braithwaite's team and finds himself immersed in something much bigger, and sinister, than he realized.
Caputo is no stranger to Africa. He has written a few books about the continent, most notably "Horn of Africa" and "Ghosts of Tsavo." The latter was a real-life story about tracking the legendary lions of the Tsavo region. Caputo is best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning work for the Chicago Tribune and his acclaimed memoir about the Vietnam War, "A Rumor of War."
Caputo really spreads his wings in "Acts of Faith," putting his experience and knowledge of Africa to full use. With the modern storylines and fully realized characters, the novel packs a punch and wraps up quite nicely. But "Acts of Faith" is not for the meek or faint of heart. It's complex and not easy to get a grip on. It drifts aimlessly in spots. Caputo fans will be satisfied, but readers with less patience and ambition may be too intimidated.
Caputo does a marvelous job of weaving big themes together (love, altruism, business, faith, hope) into an exciting narrative. But Sudan is still a difficult place to understand.
"This entire century has made friends with the absurd, and none are better friends with it than the Sudanese," says a German doctor in a Sudanese field hospital. "A war whose beginning no one can remember, whose end no one can see, whose purpose no one knows."
mark.davis@news-jrnl.com
© 2005 News-Journal Corporation. ® www.news-journalonline.com.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
War crimes warnings over Darfur
The United Nations and UK have warned of possible war crimes prosecutions amid renewed violence in the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur.
In the latest incident, 34 people were reportedly killed by pro-government Arab militias at a refugee camp.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called for an end to attacks, and for those responsible to be brought to justice.
In London, minister Hilary Benn said the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague was collecting evidence.
"The government of Sudan should be under no doubt whatsoever," the international development secretary told the BBC.
"Those who are committing these crimes will in the end be brought to account and the government of Sudan is under an international obligation now to co-operate."
'Names'
The UN Security Council has ruled that human rights violations in Darfur can be prosecuted by the ICC.
On Friday, the UN refugee agency said the death toll from Wednesday's attack on Aro Sharow camp in Western Darfur had risen to 34.
The attackers are believed to be Janjaweed Arab militiamen. It is thought to be the first direct assault on a refugee camp since the conflict began more than two years ago.
The Sudanese government denies any links to the Janjaweed and described them as criminals.
Mr Annan condemned "the attacks of civilians, humanitarian workers and assets and the African Union mission in Sudan".
About 5,600 peacekeepers from the African Union (AU) are monitoring an uneasy ceasefire in Darfur.
UN envoy to Sudan Jon Friday said: "The names of the individuals responsible for the attack, when known, will be reported to the Security Council... as well as to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court."
More than two million people have been forced from their homes and at least 180,000 have died in the conflict between the government and Darfur rebels.
The conflict began in early 2003, after a rebel group began attacking government targets, claiming that the region was being neglected by Khartoum.
Story from BBC NEWS:
"
In the latest incident, 34 people were reportedly killed by pro-government Arab militias at a refugee camp.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called for an end to attacks, and for those responsible to be brought to justice.
In London, minister Hilary Benn said the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague was collecting evidence.
"The government of Sudan should be under no doubt whatsoever," the international development secretary told the BBC.
"Those who are committing these crimes will in the end be brought to account and the government of Sudan is under an international obligation now to co-operate."
'Names'
The UN Security Council has ruled that human rights violations in Darfur can be prosecuted by the ICC.
On Friday, the UN refugee agency said the death toll from Wednesday's attack on Aro Sharow camp in Western Darfur had risen to 34.
The attackers are believed to be Janjaweed Arab militiamen. It is thought to be the first direct assault on a refugee camp since the conflict began more than two years ago.
The Sudanese government denies any links to the Janjaweed and described them as criminals.
Mr Annan condemned "the attacks of civilians, humanitarian workers and assets and the African Union mission in Sudan".
About 5,600 peacekeepers from the African Union (AU) are monitoring an uneasy ceasefire in Darfur.
UN envoy to Sudan Jon Friday said: "The names of the individuals responsible for the attack, when known, will be reported to the Security Council... as well as to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court."
More than two million people have been forced from their homes and at least 180,000 have died in the conflict between the government and Darfur rebels.
The conflict began in early 2003, after a rebel group began attacking government targets, claiming that the region was being neglected by Khartoum.
Story from BBC NEWS:
"
Attorney stresses importance of war crimes tribunal
Article published Oct 1, 2005
From a podium at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, a supporter of the International Criminal Court made his case for the tribunal Friday afternoon.
John Washburn, with the American Non-governmental Organizations Coalition for the International Criminal Court, spoke to about 20 people in Gainesville at the end of his three-day speaking tour throughout the South. Washburn, who is an attorney, served as a director in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1988 to 1993.
The coalition is made up of national organizations working to secure United States support for the International Criminal Court, based in The Hague, Netherlands.
Established in 2002, the International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal set up to try individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
As of August, 99 countries have ratified a statute defining the court. The United States is not among them.
The court is involved in investigations of violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Darfur, Sudan, where the almost two-year conflicts between a government-supported militia and others has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands.
Washburn plowed through this and other details about the court's workings, before taking questions from the group mostly made up of students.
"It is up and running. It's affecting U.S. policy," Washburn said, referring to the court. "And it's quickly providing for the doubters and others a track record for its performance by which we hope that many of their reservations will be taken care of and the court's performance, particularly we hope on Darfur, will assist us to bring the court and the United States together and to bring an end to the hostility campaign of the United States."
Among complaints from U.S. critics of the court are warnings that it exposes American soldiers and political leaders to false claims of war crimes charges and that it has no power to enforce extradition.
Washburn said it's expected that the court will issue arrest warrants in the next few months in the Darfur investigation. Named will likely be senior officials in Sudanese government. Even if officials don't answer to the warrants or possible indictments, he said the investigation will make an impact.
"It is clear that when somebody gets indicted, they start to lose their political standing," and businesses and other governments don't want to deal with these individuals, Washburn said.
They also face arrest in countries that have dealings with the court.
Lise Fisher can be reached at (352) 374-5092 or fisherl@gvillesun.com.
source: gainesville.com
From a podium at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, a supporter of the International Criminal Court made his case for the tribunal Friday afternoon.
John Washburn, with the American Non-governmental Organizations Coalition for the International Criminal Court, spoke to about 20 people in Gainesville at the end of his three-day speaking tour throughout the South. Washburn, who is an attorney, served as a director in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1988 to 1993.
The coalition is made up of national organizations working to secure United States support for the International Criminal Court, based in The Hague, Netherlands.
Established in 2002, the International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal set up to try individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
As of August, 99 countries have ratified a statute defining the court. The United States is not among them.
The court is involved in investigations of violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Darfur, Sudan, where the almost two-year conflicts between a government-supported militia and others has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands.
Washburn plowed through this and other details about the court's workings, before taking questions from the group mostly made up of students.
"It is up and running. It's affecting U.S. policy," Washburn said, referring to the court. "And it's quickly providing for the doubters and others a track record for its performance by which we hope that many of their reservations will be taken care of and the court's performance, particularly we hope on Darfur, will assist us to bring the court and the United States together and to bring an end to the hostility campaign of the United States."
Among complaints from U.S. critics of the court are warnings that it exposes American soldiers and political leaders to false claims of war crimes charges and that it has no power to enforce extradition.
Washburn said it's expected that the court will issue arrest warrants in the next few months in the Darfur investigation. Named will likely be senior officials in Sudanese government. Even if officials don't answer to the warrants or possible indictments, he said the investigation will make an impact.
"It is clear that when somebody gets indicted, they start to lose their political standing," and businesses and other governments don't want to deal with these individuals, Washburn said.
They also face arrest in countries that have dealings with the court.
Lise Fisher can be reached at (352) 374-5092 or fisherl@gvillesun.com.
source: gainesville.com
Sudan Government Attacks Darfur Civilians, African Union Says
Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) --
Sudanese government troops have attacked civilians in the Darfur region with ``overwhelming'' force in apparent coordination with nomadic militia forces known as the Janjaweed, the African Union said today.
About 400 Janjaweed fighters on camels and horseback attacked the Aro Sharow refugee camp in western Darfur, killing 34 people Sept. 28 as government helicopters flew overhead, said Baba Gana Kingibe, the union's special representative to Sudan.
Government forces have ``resorted to the violent, destructive and overwhelming use of force not only against rebel forces, but also on innocent civilian villages and the IDP camps,'' Kingibe told reporters today in Khartoum, Sudan's capital. The African Union, a regional grouping of African countries, has a peacekeeping force of 6,000 troops in Darfur.
The violence may force the United Nations and international aid groups to suspend aid programs in the region, which is the size of France, Jan Egeland, the UN's emergency relief coordinator, said yesterday. Aid agencies are trying to feed 3.5 million people in Darfur. As many as 180,000 people have died and 2 million have fled their homes since a rebellion erupted against the government in Khartoum in 2003.
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan yesterday said he is ``appalled'' by the attacks which come as government and rebel negotiators are holding a sixth round of talks in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. Kingibe said the violence in Darfur indicates neither side is showing ``good faith.''
The government's deployment of helicopter gunships overhead while the Janjaweed forces were attacking villagers suggests cooperation with the militia, he said.
``This apparent land and air assault gives credence to the repeated claim by the rebel movements of collusion between the GOS forces and the Janjaweed/Arab militia,'' he said.
Last year, the U.S. government accused Sudan's government of carrying out genocide in Darfur.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Karl Maier in Khartoum, Sudan at kmaier2@bloomberg.net.
Sudanese government troops have attacked civilians in the Darfur region with ``overwhelming'' force in apparent coordination with nomadic militia forces known as the Janjaweed, the African Union said today.
About 400 Janjaweed fighters on camels and horseback attacked the Aro Sharow refugee camp in western Darfur, killing 34 people Sept. 28 as government helicopters flew overhead, said Baba Gana Kingibe, the union's special representative to Sudan.
Government forces have ``resorted to the violent, destructive and overwhelming use of force not only against rebel forces, but also on innocent civilian villages and the IDP camps,'' Kingibe told reporters today in Khartoum, Sudan's capital. The African Union, a regional grouping of African countries, has a peacekeeping force of 6,000 troops in Darfur.
The violence may force the United Nations and international aid groups to suspend aid programs in the region, which is the size of France, Jan Egeland, the UN's emergency relief coordinator, said yesterday. Aid agencies are trying to feed 3.5 million people in Darfur. As many as 180,000 people have died and 2 million have fled their homes since a rebellion erupted against the government in Khartoum in 2003.
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan yesterday said he is ``appalled'' by the attacks which come as government and rebel negotiators are holding a sixth round of talks in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. Kingibe said the violence in Darfur indicates neither side is showing ``good faith.''
The government's deployment of helicopter gunships overhead while the Janjaweed forces were attacking villagers suggests cooperation with the militia, he said.
``This apparent land and air assault gives credence to the repeated claim by the rebel movements of collusion between the GOS forces and the Janjaweed/Arab militia,'' he said.
Last year, the U.S. government accused Sudan's government of carrying out genocide in Darfur.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Karl Maier in Khartoum, Sudan at kmaier2@bloomberg.net.
Those who commit atrocities in Sudan will face international court: official at 6:51 on October 1, 2005, EST.
LONDON (AP) - Those who commit atrocities in the troubled Darfur region of Sudan will face trial by the International Criminal Court, a senior British official said Saturday.
"The government of Sudan has should be under no doubt whatsoever - we (the international community) are serious about our commitment to support the International Criminal Court," International Development Secretary Hilary Benn said.
"It is doing its work and those who are committing these crimes will in the end be brought to account."
The United Nations has condemned a militia attack on a refugee camp in western Darfur this week that killed 34 men.
The Darfur crisis began early in 2003 when rebels took up arms against what they saw as years of state neglect and discrimination against Sudanese of African origin.
The government is accused of responding with a counter-insurgency campaign in which the ethnic Arab militia, known as Janjaweed, committed widespread abuses against ethnic Africans.
In an interview with British Broadcasting Corp. radio, Benn said the only way for the government and the rebels to settle their differences was through peace talks taking place in Abuja, Nigeria.
"These latest attacks are very worrying and those who are committing them have to be very clear - they have to stop and politics has to be used to find a solution," he said.
Benn said the International Criminal Court in The Hague is collecting evidence about atrocities in Darfur.
"When it thinks it is in a position to press charges it will take the necessary action and the international community has got to support that," he said.
"The government of Sudan has should be under no doubt whatsoever - we (the international community) are serious about our commitment to support the International Criminal Court," International Development Secretary Hilary Benn said.
"It is doing its work and those who are committing these crimes will in the end be brought to account."
The United Nations has condemned a militia attack on a refugee camp in western Darfur this week that killed 34 men.
The Darfur crisis began early in 2003 when rebels took up arms against what they saw as years of state neglect and discrimination against Sudanese of African origin.
The government is accused of responding with a counter-insurgency campaign in which the ethnic Arab militia, known as Janjaweed, committed widespread abuses against ethnic Africans.
In an interview with British Broadcasting Corp. radio, Benn said the only way for the government and the rebels to settle their differences was through peace talks taking place in Abuja, Nigeria.
"These latest attacks are very worrying and those who are committing them have to be very clear - they have to stop and politics has to be used to find a solution," he said.
Benn said the International Criminal Court in The Hague is collecting evidence about atrocities in Darfur.
"When it thinks it is in a position to press charges it will take the necessary action and the international community has got to support that," he said.
UN threatens prosecution as death toll from attack on Darfur camp rises to 34
04:53 AM EDT Oct 01
GENEVA (AP) - The United Nations condemned a militia attack on a refugee camp in Darfur that left 34 dead, warning Friday that the perpetrators will be referred to the International Criminal Court for prosecution.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said it sent a team to the Aro Sharow camp that had discovered more details about Wednesday's attack by a large group of armed men riding horses and camels.
The UNHCR team reported that many of camp's 4,000 to 5,000 residents had returned from surrounding areas "where they initially fled as the horsemen swooped into the camp, killing residents and burning down their makeshift shelters," the agency said.
The survivors said the attackers included up to 300 Arab men.
The 34 people killed in the attack were men. Half had been living at the camp and half in nearby villages, UNHCR said. One of the victims appeared to have had his arms bound before being killed, and witnesses reported that he was tied up and dragged behind a horse until he died, the agency said.
In New York, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said: "The secretary-general emphasizes the need to immediately halt the attacks and bring the perpetrators to justice."
In Khartoum, a senior official of the National Congress, the major partner in Sudan's governing coalition, said no government troops were involved in the attack.
The official, Hussein Barqu, said the Sudanese government would consult the government of Chad, which borders West Darfur, about the suspected perpetrators.
"This (attack) threatens the security of both Sudan and Chad," Barqu said.
The United Nations estimates that the Darfur conflict has left 180,000 people dead, many from hunger and disease, and has driven 2 million from their homes since it started in February 2003.
UNHCR said it was concerned that the deterioration in security was slowing aid supplies, and could prompt Darfur's refugees to flee again, possibly to neighbouring Chad, which already has more than 200,000 Sudan refugees.
The Darfur crisis began when rebels took up arms against what they saw as years of state neglect and discrimination against Sudanese of African origin. The government is accused of responding with a counter-insurgency campaign in which the ethnic Arab militia, known as Janjaweed, committed widespread abuses against ethnic Africans.
© The Canadian Press, 2005
GENEVA (AP) - The United Nations condemned a militia attack on a refugee camp in Darfur that left 34 dead, warning Friday that the perpetrators will be referred to the International Criminal Court for prosecution.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said it sent a team to the Aro Sharow camp that had discovered more details about Wednesday's attack by a large group of armed men riding horses and camels.
The UNHCR team reported that many of camp's 4,000 to 5,000 residents had returned from surrounding areas "where they initially fled as the horsemen swooped into the camp, killing residents and burning down their makeshift shelters," the agency said.
The survivors said the attackers included up to 300 Arab men.
The 34 people killed in the attack were men. Half had been living at the camp and half in nearby villages, UNHCR said. One of the victims appeared to have had his arms bound before being killed, and witnesses reported that he was tied up and dragged behind a horse until he died, the agency said.
In New York, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said: "The secretary-general emphasizes the need to immediately halt the attacks and bring the perpetrators to justice."
In Khartoum, a senior official of the National Congress, the major partner in Sudan's governing coalition, said no government troops were involved in the attack.
The official, Hussein Barqu, said the Sudanese government would consult the government of Chad, which borders West Darfur, about the suspected perpetrators.
"This (attack) threatens the security of both Sudan and Chad," Barqu said.
The United Nations estimates that the Darfur conflict has left 180,000 people dead, many from hunger and disease, and has driven 2 million from their homes since it started in February 2003.
UNHCR said it was concerned that the deterioration in security was slowing aid supplies, and could prompt Darfur's refugees to flee again, possibly to neighbouring Chad, which already has more than 200,000 Sudan refugees.
The Darfur crisis began when rebels took up arms against what they saw as years of state neglect and discrimination against Sudanese of African origin. The government is accused of responding with a counter-insurgency campaign in which the ethnic Arab militia, known as Janjaweed, committed widespread abuses against ethnic Africans.
© The Canadian Press, 2005
Violence threat to Darfur relief
Escalating violence in Sudan's Darfur region could lead to the United Nations halting relief efforts there, says their chief aid coordinator.
Jan Egeland said violence in Darfur had become so bad that the UN operation could "all end tomorrow - it's as serious as that".
He was speaking as reports were made that 29 refugees were killed by Arab militias in their refugee camp.
Mr Egeland said international aid workers were being targeted.
The UN refugee agency said it had received reports that some 300 armed men attacked the Aro Sharow camp in West Darfur.
They burnt 80 shelters, forcing thousands of people who had already fled their homes to run away once more.
'Impunity'
Violence has also flared on the border between Darfur and Chad.
At least 36 people were killed in eastern Chad after gunmen on horseback - said to have crossed the border from Darfur - raided the village of Madayouna in an apparent attempt to steal cattle.
"Armed horsemen wearing military uniforms and coming from Sudan penetrated [on Monday] into Chadian territory," the Chadian government said in a statement.
The military killed eight and captured seven of the attackers, the government added.
On Tuesday, the UN criticised the Sudanese government over its peace efforts.
Special UN advisor on preventing genocide, Juan Mendez, said Khartoum had done little to disarm militias or end the "culture of impunity" there.
He said Sudan's authorities remained in denial about the extent of the problem.
More than two million people have been forced from their homes and at least 180,000 have died during conflict between the government and rebel groups in Darfur.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/africa/4289924.stm
Jan Egeland said violence in Darfur had become so bad that the UN operation could "all end tomorrow - it's as serious as that".
He was speaking as reports were made that 29 refugees were killed by Arab militias in their refugee camp.
Mr Egeland said international aid workers were being targeted.
The UN refugee agency said it had received reports that some 300 armed men attacked the Aro Sharow camp in West Darfur.
They burnt 80 shelters, forcing thousands of people who had already fled their homes to run away once more.
'Impunity'
Violence has also flared on the border between Darfur and Chad.
At least 36 people were killed in eastern Chad after gunmen on horseback - said to have crossed the border from Darfur - raided the village of Madayouna in an apparent attempt to steal cattle.
"Armed horsemen wearing military uniforms and coming from Sudan penetrated [on Monday] into Chadian territory," the Chadian government said in a statement.
The military killed eight and captured seven of the attackers, the government added.
On Tuesday, the UN criticised the Sudanese government over its peace efforts.
Special UN advisor on preventing genocide, Juan Mendez, said Khartoum had done little to disarm militias or end the "culture of impunity" there.
He said Sudan's authorities remained in denial about the extent of the problem.
More than two million people have been forced from their homes and at least 180,000 have died during conflict between the government and rebel groups in Darfur.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/africa/4289924.stm
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