UNAMID Evacuates Wounded SAF Soldiers in Darfur: Larger Implications

Eric Reeves
November 18, 2012
On November 13, 2012 the UN/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) made the decision to provide “medevac” (medical evacuation) to approximately twelve Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) soldiers following heavy fighting with rebel forces in North Darfur. One report puts the number of evacuated wounded soldiers at two dozen.  The injured were taken to the city of el-Fasher, location of the primary SAF military base in Darfur.  Such military clashes between the SAF and rebel forces have been escalating for many months, as has violence against civilians, especially by Khartoum’s proxy forces in Darfur; all this occurs even as UNAMID has resolutely insisted that fighting and violence have diminished, thus justifying a draw-down in forces.  But the grim truth is that UNAMID can’t sustain an adequate security presence for the vast majority of locations in Darfur facing threats of violence by Khartoum-allied militia forces.  We might well wonder, then, why UNAMID would choose to deploy its conspicuously inadequate resources to evacuating Khartoum’s combatants, especially since such medevac forms no part of UNAMID’s mandate—indeed, “evacuating combatants” is neither mentioned nor suggested anywhere in the UN delineation of that mandate (running to over 1,300 words, included below as Appendix A).  Nor is the task of evacuation, by aircraft or ground vehicles, anywhere mentioned in the very lengthy and highly detailed Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), signed by Khartoum and the UN/AU force in February 2008.
To be sure, UNAMID spokesman Chris Cycmanick is narrowly accurate in declaring that this medevac is justified by International Humanitarian Law (the medevac was “completely in line with International Humanitarian Law”), and several of the Geneva Conventions are explicit on the question of the legality of such medical evacuation.  But Cycmanick seriously misrepresents the situation by declaring that medical evacuation of SAF soldiers is in any way part of the “core requirement of international humanitarian law, which falls under the Mission’s mandate” (UNAMID press release, November 13, 2012).   International Humanitarian Law certainly governs the UNAMID mandate and the actions of UNAMID; but again, there is not one word about medical evacuation of combatants.  On the contrary, the meaningful language of the mandate is given overly entirely to specifying the obligations of the peacekeeping force to protect civilians and humanitarians—this is the “core” task, and to suggest otherwise is simply disingenuous.  The mandate does also speak vaguely about UNAMID’s assisting in the implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement (May 2006); but the DPA had long been irrelevant when the language of the mandate was drafted, and it was simply convenient for a UN peacekeeping force to have at least a nominal “peace agreement” to be presiding over (the absurdly negotiated and widely rejected “Doha Document for Peace in Darfur” now serves as an equivalent placeholder).
Moreover, the real question here is not a legal one—it concerns the implications of UNAMID’s consequential decision to use scarce transport resources for a military medevac on behalf of a regime that has an abysmal record of itself defying International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law in any number of situations.  Here it should first be pointed out that UNAMID has in the past been highly selective in its use of transport resources for medevac purposes.  Cycmanick claims that UNAMID has in the past provided such services to rebel wounded and civilians; however, this is a highly questionable assertion, one borne out by pitifully little in the way of reporting from the region, including from UNAMID itself.  It is hardly surprising that one of the main rebel groups vehemently protested the medevac, since they are quite aware that their own wounded would never be accorded such assistance.  Nor would such wounded rebel combatants enjoy the protection of IHL, even in hospitals supposedly enjoying UNAMID protection. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Why is the Arab League silent about Darfur?

By Magdy el-Baghdady

Arab and Muslim nations condemn Israel but remain mute in the face of ongoing ethnic cleansing in Sudan.

This week, the Arab League met for its annual ministerial summit and issued a condemnation of Israel for bombing a weapons factory in Sudan. Israel has not admitted destroying the Yarmouk facility on 23 October, because it never confirms or denies such military operations. However, it is accepted by the international community that Israel is the perpetrator. It is also widely believed both inside Sudan and beyond that Yarmouk was making weapons both for and on behalf of Iran, and smuggling them to Hamas in Gaza.
Arab and Muslim countries have responded swiftly and with a united voice, expressing outrage at Israel’s actions. Yet, for almost ten years the same organisations have been mute in the face of the ongoing ethnic cleansing and murder of Muslims in Sudan’s remote western region, Darfur.
It surprises friends in Britain when I explain that Sudan’s avowedly Islamist regime has been ruthlessly ethnically cleansing their fellow Muslims. People assume the deaths of an estimated 300,000 Darfuris have religious roots, Muslim against non-Muslim.
This misapprehension is understandable: for decades Sudan’s rulers tried to ‘Arabise’ and impose their version of Islam on the non-Arab and non-Muslim inhabitants of southern Sudan, resulting in more than two million deaths, and leading to South Sudan’s eventual secession last year.
No one disputes that Muslims around the world stand in solidarity with the long-suffering Palestinian people. Equally they are rightly horrified by attacks on European Muslims by far-right racist groups, and by the recent violence against the Muslim minority in Burma. One of the Koran’s central messages is that Muslims must care for each other, showing each other hospitality, charity, protection and solidarity.
Yet, the plight of their fellow Muslims in Darfur has been of little concern for a decade. If any opinion is expressed, it is usually to blame Israel for funding Darfur’s rebels. Khartoum has succeeded in convincing most Arab, Muslim, and even African countries that the bloodshed in Darfur is due to a foreign plot against Khartoum. Depending on their audience, representatives of the regime will frame this conspiracy as colonialist, imperialist or Zionist.
This shameful silence is compounded by commentators and academics in the west who are afraid they will be seen as racist or Zionist for criticising Sudan, a Muslim nation. They therefore explain the violence in Darfur as a consequence of ancient tribal rivalries, and scant economic development, coupled with desertification due to climate change. What they avoid at all costs is suggesting what millions of black Africans know from bitter experience: that in many parts of the Muslim world, black people are regarded as racial inferior.
Racial prejudice is the motive that few dare mention, knowing they will instantly be branded as Zionists or Islamophobic. For many, Darfuris are simply the wrong kind of Muslims because they are black and African. How else can one explain the lack of outrage at the Sudanese regime’s systematic destruction of black African villages in Darfur? The violence in Darfur continues to rage, with the Sudanese armed forces bombing villages while arming its disgruntled local Arab proxies to ethnically cleanse the black African tribes with whom they existed for centuries.
When the Sudanese security forces prevent UNAMID, the international peacekeeping force, from investigating such attacks, those who fund UNAMID, including the British government, remain silent, becoming complicit in the atrocities taking place against Sudanese citizens by its own government.
Back in July 2004 the UN Security Council passed a resolution giving Khartoum 30 days to bring the Arab militia under control, or to face international action. There have been no consequences for the Sudan regime, and all these years later several similar UN resolutions remain unenforced. Why? Because Sudan can always count on the support of its business partners, Russia and China, and the unquestioning backing of Arab and Muslim nations. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

.N. ELECTS GENOCIDAL SUDAN TO TOP HUMAN RIGHTS BODY

NEW YORK, Nov. 8 - UN Watch, the Geneva-based non-governmental human rights group, urged UN chief Ban Ki-moon, rights commissioner Navi Pillay, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice and the EU’s Catherine Ashton to condemn today’s U.N. election of “genocidal, misogynistic and tyrannical” Sudan to its 54-member Economic and Social Council, a top U.N. body that regulates human rights groups, oversees U.N. committees on women's rights, and crafts resolutions from Internet freedom to female genital mutilation.

"This is an outrage," said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch. "On the same day we hear that Sudan is killing babies and burning homes in Darfur -- precisely the kind of dire situation ECOSOC should be urgently addressing -- the U.N. has now made vital human rights protection less likely than ever." Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>

By Mahmoud A. Suleiman

First and foremost while one does not condone any assault on the sovereignty of the Sudanese soil, it is pointless to have weapons factories serving the interests of foreign countries. This makes Sudan an area unnecessarily open for foreign military interventions. It has been more appropriate for the National Congress Party (NCP) regime to work towards containing the crises resulting from its absurd internal wars it wages against the citizens by the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) in Darfur and the rest of the country. What hurts more is that the National Islamic Front (NIF) regime never learns from its fateful mistakes of harbouring terrorist groups, allowing smuggling of weapons to other countries through its territories and establishing military relations with countries classified as rogue states suspected for being in violation of the international law.

Nevertheless, the regime goes on to commit the very crimes in a systematic manner without being deterred by the consequences of the mistakes resulting from intransigence, lack of wisdom in the management of the state that might arise from their baseless sheer arrogance. Such Behaviours are enough to attract and bring the hostility from those affected by the thoughtless and reckless childish acts. As long as things remain in the country at the same pace, style and state of affairs, isn’t it high time for all the Sudanese people to rise up to overthrow this nightmare, throw it into the garbage dustbin of history once and for all?

This article comes against the backdrop of the aerial strike of the Yarmouk weapons factory (Yarmouk Complex for Military Industries) in the south of the Sudanese national capital Khartoum, the seat of the National Congress Party (NCP) regime on Tuesday the 23rd October 2012. As usual, the information Minister warned that his government ‘reserves the right to strike back’ after blaming Israel for the attack. He continued to say: "We are now certain that this flagrant attack was authorized by the same state of Israel. Four radar-evading planes coming from the east bombed the Yarmouk industrial complex around midnight on Tuesday" He went on: "The main purpose is to frustrate our military capabilities and stop any development there, and ultimately weaken our national sovereignty".

The (NIF) and its progeny the despotic (NCP) regime have been giving the same flimsy excuses for almost a quarter of a century for their failings to protect the land of Sudan and maintaining the sovereignty of the state from the violation of invading foreign powers. The failure of the (NIF) and its successor the (NCP) to maintain the Sovereignty of Sudan is attributable to their lack of legitimacy of their coming to power through the ill-fated coup d’état on June 30th 1989. Furthermore, the NCP bigots have forgotten the duty to protect the country and its people. They simply buried the moral compass behind the doctrine of self-Empowerment and fiddling for becoming superrich-wealthy and to better themselves, at the expense of the helpless citizens who live in hardship, at all costs. The people of Sudan are sick and tired of listening them through their National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) spokesman using lying machine spreading rumours, sedition and fraud. Thus, the Sovereignty of Sudan is lost at the hands of the shameless NIF/ NCP Putschists regime forever. Blessed are the old days, which went in vain from the age of Sudan under the racist minority rule who suffer from inferiority complex and claim Arabism and deny their African origin despite their physical features and facial characteristics to adapt for the climate such as black/dark skin, curly hair, thick lips and big noses expose the lie of their claims. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Militia in Sudan's North Darfur state attacked a village and killed 13 people

KHARTOUM — Militia in Sudan's North Darfur state attacked a village and killed 13 people, a local source said on Saturday, adding to an upsurge of deadly violence in the area.
The attack on Friday targeted Sigili village, about 30 kilometres (19 miles) southeast of the state capital El Fasher, said the source, who cannot be further identified for security reasons.
"Basically it was a tribal clash between local militia and Zaghawa," the source said, adding that five people were also reported missing.
Since July, civilians have been increasingly at risk from inter-communal fighting, harassment by militia groups, and sporadic clashes between rebel and government troops, particularly in North Darfur, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said in a three-monthly report issued on October 16.
Disputes between farmers and pastoralists over land use triggered most of the inter-communal violence, he said.
Tensions escalated when tribal militia aligned to the government became involved, along with anti-regime rebels.
"At the same time, local sources have cited mounting frustration among communities from which the militias are drawn... over unfulfilled commitments by the government that have led to the militia challenging authorities and engaging government security forces," Ban said.
In the Hashaba area northwest of El Fasher, more than 70 civilians died in September from rebel-government fighting and aerial bombardments, the United States said. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The Avalanche of Violence Continues to Accelerate in Darfur

Eric Reeves,

The disappearance of Darfur from the international agenda now seems complete, perversely at the very moment when the region may be facing its most dangerous season of violence.  As I argued two months ago, what we are seeing is a sharp rise in the levels of all forms of violence, imperiling many hundreds of thousands of civilians. Such increasing violence makes a mockery of claims by the UN and African Union that their joint mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has achieved sufficient improvements in human security on the ground to permit a substantial draw-down of military and police personnel.  The all too conspicuous truth is that UNAMID is being quietly phased out because it is massively expensive and yet has failed miserably.  Indeed, the grim reality is that UNAMID cannot even provide security for its own forces, as was again demonstrated in the tragic deaths of four Nigerian members during a patrol last week—in an attack that occurred only two kilometers from a regional military base of operations in el-Geneina (West Darfur) and quite near check-points controlled by regime-allied forces.

The U.S. State Department issued a statement about these deaths, and used the occasion to express concern about increasing violence in Darfur, thus directly contradicting the claims expressed by officials from the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operation, senior UN humanitarian officials, and the AU.  This statement echoes an excessively restrained, not to say inaccurate assessment of several weeks ago by the chief U.S. diplomat with responsibilities for Darfur, Dane Smith: Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Statement: ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda on International Day of the Girl

“The suffering of girls in armed conflicts all over the world is an urgent issue and a top priority for me as ICC Prosecutor. Girls are among the most vulnerable members of society: they should not be made to serve as sex slaves and soldiers. They should not be subjected to rape and sexual violence, nor made to witness brutal sexual attacks. In accordance with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, I shall continue to include gender crimes and crimes against children in our charges and to bring the full force of the law to bear on those most responsible for them. I have recently announced my Office’s work to adopt a policy paper on children, which would include this very important issue. Women have a role to play at the heart of our societies, our communities and our families. The women of the future, the young girls of the world, should not be deprived of their fundamental human right to play and learn and enjoy being children.


To stop these ongoing massive crimes and bring justice for their victims, ICC fugitives such as Joseph Kony, Bosco Ntaganda and Omar al Bashir must be arrested and transferred to The Hague to face justice. On this first International Day of the Girl, and for the sake of all victims of international crimes, I call again on the international community to execute these outstanding arrest warrants to put an end to their victims’ plight.”

Source : Bureau du Procureur

OTPNewsDesk@icc-cpi.int

Darfur war crimes, changes in demographic composition, and ethnic displacement

By Hamid Eltgani Ali


October 1, 2012 — This year has been the bloodiest year ever in Darfur. The government has stepped up its air campaign in East Jebal Mara and in other parts of Darfur. Short-wave radio signal receptors revealed a communication between a government official and an air commander that the latter’s mission had been accomplished by destroying all the rats! The “rats” in question were civilians working on farms. The government has embarked on dangerous road of ethnic cleansing and demographic engineering to uproot the African tribes in North Darfur.

The first phase of the government demographic engineering has started with a brutal massacre that occurred this week in Hashaba, Um La’ota, and Tabaldia, in North Darfur. In this incident the government used seven fighter jets to provide air cover for the Janjaweed to block the roads and massacre more than 87 innocent villagers, including women and children. This is an old tactic used by the junta in Khartoum to commit genocide in Darfur eight years ago. The ultimate result is the destruction and displacement of the African tribes in Darfur, in particular the Zaghawa tribe. This is beginning. The world is silent. Darfur Regional Authority is tacitly in agreement with the government that is why they remained silent.

The military juntas in Khartoum are masters of deception, and they have brought out their old play book for the game. Since they know that Darfur is no longer on the world’s agenda, they return again and again to spill more innocent blood. For example, during the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) with South Sudan, the government exploited the world’s sympathy and blessing for the hallmark peace deal to commit war crimes in Darfur with impunity. Vice President Ali Osman Taha Al-Ezarik, the mastermind of the CPA, promised the Bush administration to clear up the Darfur rebellion in matter of weeks. The administration gave its blessing, on condition that if the conflict was protracted there would be consequences and they would have to submit to talks! Today, once again, while the world’s attention is focused on South Kordofan, the Blue Nile, and South Sudan, the regime is using this as a cover to commit war crimes, including demographic engineering and ethnic displacement in Darfur.

The regime has prepared a master plan to displace the African tribes, particularly the Zaghawa tribe in North Darfur. The government has divided the areas owned by the Zaghawa, Meedoub, Tinger, and Massalit African tribes among the following Arab tribes:

1. the Megour area to the Iragatt tribe

2. the Ba’ashooum and Wa’khaem areas to the Zayadiea tribe

3. the El Housh area to the Awlad Rasheed tribe

4. the Mouzbad area to the El Maharia tribe

5. the Ombarou and Orshee areas to the Galoul tribe

6. the Abugamra area to the Awlad Tago tribe

7. the Wadi Saira, Eid Elkhar, Karnoi, and Tuna areas to the Awlad Zaid, Awlad Eid, and Awlad Kluab tribes

In order to carry out this racist Arabizing project, the government has set up training and mobilization garrisons for the military and its Janjaweed militias. The Army’s mobilization garrisons are in the following areas:

1. Gareed Elsaul, north of El Fasher

2. Doamaya, west of Niyala

3. El Genenia

4. Malha and D’rea She’gea, north of El Fasher

5. El Salayaa, north of El Genena

6. Areas of military mobilization under the supervision of the joint patrol forces (Sudan and Chad) include Abou Saroog, northwest of El Genena; Bear Saluba; Birk; Teeuna; Bahai; Om Geraus; Kari Yari; and Ombaro.

1. The militias’ mobilization and training areas are:

2. the Quba area east of Kutum, where there is cavalry with more than 160 trucks mounted with machine guns. This week’s massacre in Hashaba was launched by the Janjaweed commander Elnour from Quba.

3. the Da’awa area southwest of Kutum, where there is cavalry with more than 180 trucks mounted with machine guns.

4. the Mustraha area near Kabkabia, the headquarters of the notorious Janjaweed leader Musa Hilal.

5. the Serif Benuo-Hussein area, where there is cavalry with more than 160 trucks mounted with machine guns.

6. the garrison of Essia Hussein, with sizable cavalry.

The objectives of this project are:

1. to create an iron wall between the African tribe of Toboo in southern Libya and the African tribes in Darfur, particularly the Zaghawa;

2. to secure the Chadian borders from any infiltration by the opposition forces in future;

3. to eliminate the historical existence of the oppositions of Chad, Sudan, and Libya along the borders of these countries;

4. to conquer and displace the African tribes, and in particular the Zaghawa tribe, because of their role in the Darfur struggle;

5. to distract the Darfur rebel movements from their goals and drag them into war in the desert, with the aim of “domesticating” the violence into inter-ethnic conflict and thus to prolong the survival of the regime.

This new wave of demographic change will be very brutal and costly, because other countries in the region will become players. It will be funded by Libya and carried out by the Sudan junta and their militias. For example, the rebellion in southern Libya by the African Toobo tribes has raised fears in both Sudan and Libya that the African tribes could create a depth for their struggles. The Sudanese government has convinced its Libyan counterpart to replace all of the African ethnic groups with tribes of Arab origin in order to isolate the Toobo from the Zaghawa tribes. This racist Arabizing project will extend from north of El Fasher to the Libyan border, encompassing the border with Chad and including West Darfur.

In order to avert this catastrophic event, all the Sudanese people must realize that these bankrupt juntas have no future. They must go today, rather than tomorrow. The longer they stay, the messier the country becomes, and the harder it will be to rebuild the social fabric. It is important for the tribal leaders in Darfur and the rest of the country to avoid such heinous and satanic plots that can only escalate ethnic tensions.

The Darfuri movements should not squander their energy in domesticating the conflict. Instead, they must take the struggle to the gates of Republican Palace to dislodge the juntas. This is a struggle between the past and the future. It will be costly, but there is no option other than to continue marching for the dawn of justice and freedom. The country needs radical change. The old temple must be demolished to build a newer one. It is time for all the rebel movements in Sudan, with the rest of civil society, to set a clear agenda and roadmap on how to govern Sudan and put an end to the human suffering under the juntas. The change is coming, we must work for it.

* The writer is professor of Public Policy at the American University in Cairo.

Sudan's Darfur region still living through troubled times

Two UN peacekeepers disappeared in Sudan's North Darfur state, last week, according to the UN. The two Jordanian officers from the UN-African Union force, Unamid, were declared missing in the town of Kabkabiya, about 140km west of El Fasher, North Darfur's capital.

Darfur no longer commands the headlines it used to, especially in 2004 when ethnic African tribes – the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa – formed a broad alliance against Khartoum because of long-held grievances, including marginalisation and human rights abuses by Arab supremacist groups.
The Sudanese government responded by unleashing the janjaweed (Arabic for devil on horseback) militia on the rebels. The janjaweed carried out a campaign of murder and rape that drove more than a million black African villagers from their homes in the western region of Darfur.

In 2009, the international criminal court (ICC) indicted Omar Hassan al-Bashir, the Sudanese president, and issued an arrest warrant for Abdel Raheem Muhammad Hussein, the defence minister, for war crimes in Darfur. Sudan retaliated by expelling several foreign humanitarian organisations, accusing them of helping to build the charges against Bashir. The groups were thrown out despite their insistence they were independent and had no connection with the ICC. Among the NGOs expelled were Oxfam, Care and Save the Children.
The two men remain at large and Darfur largely disappeared from the news pages as the region lapsed into an uneasy calm – until this year. More than 700 people have been killed in clashes between rebels and government troops as well as in tribal unrest and criminal incidents, more than for the whole of 2011, according to UN peacekeepers. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Darfur’s invisible violence,” ReutersAlert (August 28, 2012)

Over the past month violence against civilians in Darfur has continued to explode upwards to levels not seen in years. On July 31 Khartoum’s security forces, using automatic weapons with live rounds, gunned down scores of student demonstrators in Nyala, killing twelve and leaving many critically injured. On August 4, I received an urgent email from North Darfur, informing me of the near total destruction of humanitarian capacity in the town of Kutum, which was overwhelmed by Arab militia on August 3, as was nearby Kassab IDP camp. On August 13 – 14 ethnic violence killed or injured dozens in Mellit. On August 17, following evening prayers, the town of Tabit was attacked by Khartoum’s paramilitary Central Reserve Police. The assault had hallmarks of a deliberate massacre.




There are almost daily reports from Radio Dabanga of girls and women being raped. It is difficult to know the full scale of sexual violence, since UNAMID and the UN don’t dare offend Khartoum by reporting or speaking about it. Astonishingly, there is no mention of rape in the last two reports on UNAMID by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. And his reports note only two instances of civilian bombings since the beginning of the year, despite the fact there have been dozens. Many attacks are in Jebel Marra, to which UNAMID, humanitarian organizations, and UN agencies are all denied access.

This sharp increase in violence and insecurity comes as UNAMID is preparing to reduce its force by over 4,000 troops and police. The justification? Security has improved sufficiently to justify this drawdown, and UNAMID force size should reflect “reality on the ground,” according to Hervé Ladsous, head of UN peacekeeping.


But the lack of security represented by the attacks on Kutum, Mellit, Tabit, and many other locations is the major “reality on the ground”; and growing insecurity means that humanitarians cannot reach many of those in camps who most need food, clean water, and primary health care. Dr. Mohamed Ahmed Eisa, former director of the Amal Center in Nyala, has indicated to me that based on his communications with medical professionals and others on the ground in Darfur, the health situation this rainy season is considerably worse than last year.

Water-borne diseases pose an especially grave threat, as the rains have been extremely heavy at times, and many locations have experienced serious flooding. Malaria, diarrheal diseases, and a host of other acute health risks are becoming more urgent by the day, especially in the wake of the withdrawal, expulsion, or suspension of operations by key medical relief organizations: MSF was force to suspend operations in Jebel Si, North Darfur; Médecins du Monde, active in Jebel Marra, was expelled by Khartoum in 2011; Aide Médicale Internationale and Medair both withdrew from West Darfur earlier this year. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

No peace in Sudan's Darfur despite costly peacekeeping force

More than four years after an African Union-UN peacekeeping force costing billions of dollars arrived in Sudan's restive western region of Darfur, peace remains elusive and some question the mission's value.


Critics say the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), the world's largest peacekeeping operation, is too close to the Sudanese government and not aggressive enough in fulfilling its core mandate of protecting civilians.

"It may be better than nothing," one analyst said, asking for anonymity. "But they are really focused on protecting themselves."

The concern comes as Darfur suffers a surge in violence.
More than 700 people have already been killed this year in clashes between rebels and government troops as well as in tribal unrest and criminal incidents, more than for the whole of 2011, UNAMID data show.



Rebels drawn from black African tribes rose up against the Arab-dominated Khartoum government in 2003. The conflict peaked years ago, killing at least 300,000 people, according to UN estimates. The government said 10,000 died.


Overall, there has been a "drastic decrease" in the number of people killed in clashes, and things would have been worse without UNAMID's roughly 16,700 troops, the force commander says.

"The mere presence of us on the ground flying the flag is a substantial deterrent," Lieutenant General Patrick Nyamvumba of Rwanda said.

Since he took over three years ago, UNAMID patrols have roughly doubled to around 150 a day, and more people displaced by the conflict have returned home.

The UN recorded 178,000 returnees between January 2011 and March this year.

"This could not be possible if there were not increased security," Nyamvumba said.

But an estimated 1.7 million remain in camps -- which more closely resemble poor villages -- where residents have reported shootings, arson and other violence.

In a July report focused on Khartoum's use since late 2010 of non-Arab militia to displace ethnic Zaghawa rebels and civilians from east Darfur, Swiss-based independent researchers alleged that in several cases "abuses against civilians, looting, and burning of property occurred in the immediate vicinity of UNAMID positions".

Nyamvumba says his troops are clearly mandated to give "physical protection" to civilians in imminent danger, which they have done.

The fact that 38 UNAMID peacekeepers have been killed in hostile action shows they are doing their job, he said, adding: "I think the mission has accomplished quite a lot."

'They were not able to protect themselves'

But Darfur's top official, Eltigani Seisi, said the protection mandate seems to lack clarity.

"We saw incidences where UNAMID forces have been attacked and they were not able to... protect themselves," he said.

UN figures show that 13 UNAMID vehicles were carjacked in the first half of this year.

"If they are not able to protect themselves, they cannot protect the civilians," said Seisi, who heads the Darfur Regional Authority, set up to implement a peace deal signed last year between Khartoum and rebel splinter factions. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Parts of Darfur See Stability, but Others Are Seething

By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN / The New York Times

   

NAIROBI, Kenya -- It was a scene that seemed to belong to a different time, say, early 2004, when war was raging across Sudan's vast desert region of Darfur. Hundreds of armed men -- on horseback, camels, donkeys and in four-by-four trucks -- some in street clothes, some in camouflage fatigues, swept into the Kassab displaced persons camp and began looting, burning, raping and shooting.
In the span of a few hours, several people were killed and tens of thousands were sent running for their lives.

But this was not 2004. It happened this month, this year, and United Nations officials and aid workers said it was among the more troubling violence Darfur has experienced in years.
"We haven't had a crisis like this in awhile," said Christopher Cycmanick, a spokesman for the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur, known as Unamid.
Nearly a decade after war first arrived, Darfur is a land of mixed signals.
Some areas have become stable -- even peaceful, many residents say -- like parts of western Darfur, where thousands of families are finally returning home.

But at the same time, other areas are seething.
The overall trend for the past couple of years had been one of cautious improvement, United Nations officials say, with civilian deaths gradually declining. But this year is on track to be a setback, they warn, with more criminality, rebel attacks, rapes, displacements and assorted mayhem than in the recent past.
Activists contend that official pronouncements of progress have long been misleadingly rosy, and they are increasingly fed up with the huge, $1.5-billion-a-year peacekeeping mission in Darfur, saying that it is failing at its core mission: protecting civilians.

"This is probably the least cost-effective peacekeeping mission in U.N. history, but it's simply not possible to say that out loud, given A.U. sensitivities," said Eric Reeves, a Smith College professor and a prolific blogger on Sudan. "There are factitious claims about 'improved' security, and woe to the man who disputes the U.N./Unamid line."
In the case of Kassab, many of the victims begged for help when the marauders stormed into the camp, but because of the intensity of the violence and some flooding along the roads, United Nations peacekeepers did not arrive until three days later. When they did get there, they pulled back because government forces were still battling the militia fighters. It took several more days before government troops were able to restore a semblance of control.

Government forces in Darfur are stretched thin these days, but beyond that, they seem to be living up to their history as some of the worst perpetrators. Just this Friday, there were reports of renegade soldiers ransacking the market in Tabit, breaking into shops and shooting civilians.

In the past few months, there have been heavy bombings in eastern Jebel Marra; deadly protests in Nyala; vicious clashes near Tabun; and further attacks on displaced people in several other camps across Darfur. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

Flawed Peace Process Fails in Darfur, Again: Enough Project Report .

WASHINGTON--(ENEWSPF)--August 6, 2012. The African Union and U.N. Security Council renewed Darfur’s hybrid peacekeeping mission, UNAMID, this week without acknowledging the glaring failures of the Doha peace process. The Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, or DDPD, signed in July 2011, is yet another attempt by the Khartoum regime to continue its ongoing divide-and-conquer strategy of dealing with each of the country’s conflicts in isolation, argues a new Enough Project report.


The DDP was inherently flawed from the beginning because it does not address the root security or political issues of the Darfur conflict. Moreover, the only signatures to the DDPD are the government of Sudan and the Liberation and Justice Movement, excluding the three most prominent rebel groups in the region—the Justice and Equality Movement, and both factions of the Sudan Liberation Movement.

“Despite the head of UNAMID Ibrahim Gambari briefing the U.N. Security Council earlier this week on the progress in Darfur implemented as part of the Doha process, it has been an operational failure due to a lack of compliance among other things” said Omer Ismail, Enough Project senior policy advisor and co-author of the report. “One of the Khartoum regime’s hallmark moves is to appease international pressure and agree to an accord but not follow through on obligations in the agreement, which is exactly what is happening with the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur.”

The Enough Project report outlines Khartoum’s three significant violations of the DDPD: a failure to transfer funds to the Darfur Regional Authority, reluctance to cooperate with UNAMID, and refusal to allow unfettered humanitarian access in Darfur. The report points out that all three of these violations are reflected in Khartoum’s behavior dealing with the other conflicts taking place in Sudan.

“The U.S. government and other key donors and multilateral organizations must rethink their Sudan policy portfolios so the Darfur crisis is not dealt with in isolation,” said Enough Project Executive Director John Bradshaw. “Each conflict in Sudan, including Darfur, stems from the Khartoum regime’s systematic marginalization and neglect of the periphery and requires a comprehensive approach to achieve lasting peace.” Read more >>>>>>>>>>>

Sudan: Security forces must stop using live roundsagainst demonstrators

Sudanese security forces must stop shooting protesterswith live ammunition, Amnesty International said after confirming thatat least eight demonstrators killed on Tuesday had bullet wounds in theirchests, some inflicted at close range.
At least 10 people, many of them high school students,were killed on July 31 when Security services and paramilitary police openedfire in Nyala, South Darfur, during a demonstration against fuel pricesand the cost of living. Dozens more were injured.
Medical staff at Nyala Public Hospital told Amnesty Internationalthat the wounds inflicted on the eight bodies admitted to their morguewere consistent with those caused by 5.56mm and 7.62mm automatic rifles.
“Any individual members of the security forces involvedin the events that caused this bloodbath must be suspended immediately,”said Paule Rigaud, Amnesty International’s Africa program director.
“The Sudanese government must investigate why protesterswere directly targeted by the security force personnel who opened fireon them with live bullets.”
The Sudanese authorities have routinely used excessiveforce against mostly peaceful demonstrations which have occurred regularlyin Sudan’s major cities since mid-June.
According to the United Nation’s Basic Principles of theUse of Force, live ammunition should not be used, either directly againstdemonstrators or as warning shots, unless it is absolutely necessary andonly after less extreme means have proved ineffective.
The security forces also fired Dushka-type heavy machine-gunsin the air, which injured residents in their homes as bullets fell downfrom the sky.
“The Sudanese security forces must not be allowed to policedemonstrations in such a reckless manner and with flagrant disregard forhuman life,” said Rigaud.
“Sudanese citizens must be allowed to express their opinionpeacefully without experiencing systematic repression. Attacks againstpeaceful protesters are an unacceptable violation of their right to freedomof expression, assembly and association.”
Amnesty International is also concerned that injured protestersmay have been denied medical care following eye witness reports some werearrested and that plain clothes National Security Service personnel weredeployed within Nyala General Hospital.
Amnesty International has documented a pattern in recentweeks of injured protesters being denied medical treatment in Khartoum.
Police forces have used batons, tear gas and rubber bulletsat close range against demonstrators.
And, in response to the protest movement, the NationalSecurity Services (NSS) arrested hundreds of known political and civilsociety activists, regardless of their involvement in demonstrations. Manytold Amnesty International they had been tortured with sticks, water hosesand fists, and made to stand under the scorching sun all day.
In some cases individuals who had been injured in demonstrationsor as a result of torture and ill-treatment by security forces told AmnestyInternational that they preferred not to seek treatment in hospitals becausethey feared arrest and intimidation.
Dozens of activists remain in administrative detention.
Notes to Editors
• Security forces involved in the Nyala shootingsinclude the Central Reserve Police – a combat-trained paramilitary police- and plainclothes agents of the National Security Services (NSS).
AI Index: PRE01/378/2012

"Vast humanitari​an crisis in Sudan—yet again"

"Vast humanitarian crisis in Sudan—yet again"

From The Christian Science Monitor, August 3, 2012
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2012/0803/Vast-humanitarian-crisis-in-Sudan-again
 
By Eric Reeves

Yet again the grim title of "world's greatest humanitarian crisis" goes to Sudan—this time for developments in the border regions between Sudan and the newly independent country of South Sudan. The crisis is exploding as the rainy season descends fully upon this area, and humanitarian resources are overwhelmed.

Khartoum's denial of all humanitarian access to rebel-controlled areas within its borders, along with a relentless campaign of aerial bombardment, is generating a continuous flow of tens of thousands of refugees—4,000 per day according to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). But even that June figure is being quickly overtaken according to reports. And no wonder. The regime faces no significant international condemnation or consequences for its role in creating this crisis. That must change.

At various points over the last quarter century, greater Sudan has been the site of vast humanitarian crises, notably in Darfur, in western Sudan. These were foreseeable episodes of human suffering and destruction rooted in deliberate military and political decisions by the ruling National Islamic Front/National Congress Party and Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir. If the regime's tactics have differed, its strategic goal has not. This is "counter-insurgency on the cheap," and it's painfully familiar.

At present, hundreds of thousands of civilians have been forced from their homes in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states—areas that are part of what is now (northern) Sudan, but which are substantially populated by people who sided with the South during the 1983-2005 civil war. Those fleeing are driven by desperate hunger, a lack of water, and air attacks. There is no accurate census for the numbers who have reached refugee camps in the South (in the Unity and Upper Nile states), but data suggest that the figure is approaching 300,000. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

UN CALLS FOR INDEPENDEN​T PROBE INTO VIOLENCE THAT KILLED EIGHT PEOPLE IN DARFUR

UN CALLS FOR INDEPENDENT PROBE INTO VIOLENCE THAT KILLED EIGHT PEOPLE IN DARFUR
New York, Aug  3 2012 10:05AM
The United Nations today urged Sudan to launch an independent investigation into the reported use of excessive force by Government security forces during a protest in Darfur on Tuesday, which resulted in eight deaths and injured more than 50 people.
According to eyewitnesses, security forces opened fire at demonstrators in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, and used tear gas, killing eight people, five of whom were young students aged 17 and below.
“We urge the Government to promptly launch an independent and credible investigation into the violence and the apparent excessive use of force by security forces,” the spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Ravina Shamdasani, <"http://ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12404&LangID=E">told reporters in Geneva.
Media reports state that the population was protesting against rising prices in Sudan’s western Darfur region after the Government announced a cut in fuel subsidies and other austerity measures last month.
“There are key international guidelines that must be respected in handling protests so that the legitimate right of people to freedom of expression and assembly are fully respected,” Ms. Shamdasani said. “We call on the Government to unequivocally condemn excessive use of force to suppress protests, and to hold accountable those who were responsible for the fatalities and injuries.”
High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay had earlier called on Sudanese authorities to ensure that demonstrations are allowed to proceed peacefully and for restraint from all sides.
“We also call again on the Government to immediately and unconditionally release those who have been detained for merely exercising their rights to freedom of assembly and expression,” Ms. Shamdasani said, adding that human rights staff of the UN-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) will continue to monitor the situation.

Deployed at the beginning of 2008, UNAMID is tasked with protecting civilians, promoting an inclusive peace process and helping ensure the safe delivery of humanitarian assistance across Darfur, an arid region on Sudan’s western flank.

For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news

Janjaweed militias raided IDPs camp (Kasab) and killed three displaced people in front of the North Darfur governor Osman Yousif Kibir

Kuttum August 1st, 2012. In a striking development of events in the city of Kutum, Northern Darfur, following the killing of Mayor of Oasis Abdul Rahman Mohammed Isa on Wednesday, groups of the Janjaweed militia raided IDPs camp (Kasab) near the city Kuttum.


They surrounded the camp. The governor of the state of North Darfur, Osman Yusuf Kibir visited the area to see the developments. Upon his arrival in the camp (Kasab,) some individuals wanted to talk to him. But some Janjaweed immediately shot the camp dwellers dead in front of the governor and the commander of the army. One of the people killed was Adam Khamis. People are trying to investigate the identity of the others.

In another development of the events, another group of Janjaweed from El Fasher arrived to Kassab IDP camp on Thursday morning. They started looting, killing and abusing camp dwellers. They still continue to do so.



According to reports from Kuttum, the town has become a ghost city. Only herds of the janjaweed militias can be see roaming different parts of the city, terrorizing the town inhabitants and committing crimes.

The regular Sudanese army and police have so far kept silent. UNAMID force, mandated to protect the civilians in Darfur, is nowhere to be seen.

This arises suspicion and doubt in the effectiveness of these forces in executing their mandate and the collusion between them and the Sudanese government.

The source in Kuttum said "The Janjaweed militias in Kuttum are mostly foreign elements under the command of Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, First Vice President".

Sudan transport price protests kill six in Darfur

Six people have been killed in violent protests against high transport prices in the Darfur region of western Sudan, local officials say.



Police in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, fired tear gas at protesters throwing stones and burning tyres in the streets, witnesses said.

Several protesters chanted slogans calling for the government's downfall.

Since June, Sudan has seen sporadic protests against government austerity measures, including fuel subsidy cuts.

The country's authorities have been trying to cut spending since Sudan lost three-quarters of its oil revenue when South Sudan seceded last year.

Demonstrators in Nyala chanted "No to high prices" and "People want to change the regime", according to witnesses.


Bothina Mohmed Ahmed, a spokeswoman for the state of South Darfur, said it was not known how the six deaths had happened, and that an investigation had been launched. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Darfuris Union organizes cultural festival at The Hague under the theme: Let us join hands together for Darfur

Darfuris Union organizes cultural festival at The Hague under the theme: Let us join hands together for Darfur


In the context of contact with different communities in The Netherlands and to pinpoint cultural and social reality of Darfur, Darfur Union organizes an Open Day. The program contains:

1.Exhibition

2.History and heritage of Darfur

3.Songs

4.Special program for kids

5.Miscellaneous

Time: July 7th, 2012 at 13.00 hours

Place: The Hague

Direction: Take trams 16 from Hollandspoor train station going to Wateringen. Step out at the station Alberding Thijmstraat. From there, it is 1 minutes walk to Ferrandweg 4T

For queries, please contact bellow numbers:

Al-Sadig Khamis 0684283940

Kamal Yacoub 0643771256

You are all welcome. Entrée is free.

World’s most murderous dictator thrives

By: Nat Hentoff, The Dickinson Press


Except primarily for the ironhanded rulers in Russia and China, the most despised global dictator is President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, who is inflicting monstrous genocide on his own people. As usual, the United Nations is useless. But meanwhile, another monster is thriving, someone who has killed and starved to death hundreds of thousands more of his people than al-Assad.




President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan has had arrest warrants issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and, yes, genocide. Swashbuckingly unintimidated, al-Bashir is making initial martial moves against recently independent South Sudan that could bring back the years of horrors he unleashed in the country as a whole, including Darfur in the west.



In the past, the U.N. issued paper resolutions of concern and helped negotiate the now continually vulnerable independence of South Sudan. However, as al-Bashir’s Army continues to rape and murder, creating omens of a renewed civil war, the U.N. is silent, as are nations that have demonstrated concern about human rights, including Barack Obama’s United States.



And just about everywhere, the rushing media is otherwise occupied. But, as I expected, the most courageous American investigative reporter, The New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof, has been writing from the remote, almost inaccessible Nuba Mountains of Sudan. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Mukesh Kapila: Act Now or It will Be Too Late

The former head of the United Nations in Sudan said humanitarian situation in the Nuba mountains is very disturbing. Mukesh Kapila recently visited villages in southern Kordofan and said he has witnessed illegal weapons such as landmine and cluster bombs being used against civilians in the Nuba Mountains.




He also said many children in the region showed signs of malnourishment. Kapila warned of what he termed the ‘’second genocide of the century’’ unless the international community takes action. Fighting between Sudan Armed Forces and rebels of Sudan People’s Liberation Army – North (SPLA North) erupted in June of last year, forcing thousands of civilians to take refuge in South Sudan.



Fighting in Nuba Mountains


He accused Sudan of using heavy weapons against civilian targets. ‘’ What is going on in Nuba mountains is even worse because ten years after Darfur we have much more sophisticated weaponry being used by Sudan Armed Forces’’ Kapila said.



The former United Nations diplomat said Sudan's government is using proxy popular

defense militia to terrorize the people of Nuba mountains. He said Darfur was the first

genocide of the 21st Century, adding that what he has witnessed on his most recent trip to the area suggests a second genocide is occurring in Sudan. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

ICC asks UN to help arrest Sudan's president

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Sudan's refusal to arrest President Omar al-Bashir and three others accused of war crimes in Darfur is "a direct challenge" to the U.N. Security Council, and it should now consider asking all countries and regional organizations to carry out the arrests, the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor said Tuesday.




Luis Moreno-Ocampo conceded that council discussions of other possibilities to arrest the four Sudanese, including seeking help from member states and regional bodies, "will be problematic."



"But the victims will receive a clear message: They are not ignored," he said. "And the perpetrators will receive a clear message: There will be no impunity."



The court, set up in 2002 to prosecute the most senior perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes from nations that cannot or will not put them on trial, has no police force of its own to arrest suspects. More than 100 countries that are parties to the Rome statute are required to arrest those sought by the tribunal — but al-Bashir has traveled to friendly nations without being detained. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Darfur War Crimes Prosecutor Urges Tougher Action Against Sudan President

The outgoing prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, frustrated over his inability to enforce arrest warrants for the Sudanese president and three others accused of war crimes in the Darfur conflict, recommended to the Security Council on Tuesday that it take more severe action against the defendants, including possibly seizing them inside Sudan for trial in The Hague.


The prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, whose term expires at the end of June, told council members in his 15th and final report on the Darfur prosecution effort that the council also should consider requesting that all 193 members of the United Nations — not just those that recognize the court’s authority — take action to enforce the arrest warrants on President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan and the others, who include two powerful subordinates and the leader of a feared militia accused of large-scale killings, pillage and rapes.




Mr. Bashir, the only sitting head of state to be indicted on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, has repeatedly scoffed at the arrest warrants and has even traveled abroad despite the risk of arrest, although he could face that threat again next month if he attends an African Union summit meeting in Malawi. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Ocampo last briefed the Council on the work of the ICC in Sudan on 15 December 2011

http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/site/c.glKWLeMTIsG/b.8102701/k.516C/June_2012brSudanDarfur.htmExpected Council Action


In early June, the Council is scheduled to receive the biannual briefing from Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo on the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Sudan. Ocampo is expected to deliver his report in a public meeting of the Council, followed by a private meeting. (This will be his final briefing to the Council as ICC Prosecutor, as he is expected to leave his post mid-month. He will be succeeded by Fatou Bensouda of Gambia.)

Key Recent Developments

Ocampo last briefed the Council on the work of the ICC in Sudan on 15 December 2011. He outlined the evidence that the ICC had mustered against the various Sudanese officials and rebels that it had indicted. He also noted that only days prior to the briefing his office had requested an arrest warrant for Sudan’s Minister of Defence, Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein, for crimes against humanity and war crimes he allegedly committed while serving as Interior Minister and Special Representative of the President in Darfur. In particular, Ocampo said that Hussein “played a central role in coordinating the crimes, including in recruiting, mobilizing, funding, arming, training and deploying the militia/Janjaweed as part of the Government of Sudan forces, with the knowledge that these forces would commit crimes.”


Ocampo also emphasised the importance of implementing ICC arrest warrants and respecting Security Council resolutions. He called for the AU and the Arab League to play a key part in helping to find a solution that respects the authority of the Council and the decisions of ICC judges.


Regarding the situation in Darfur more generally, Ocampo said that, despite numerous requests from the Council, aerial bombardments continued and the Janjaweed (a pro-Khartoum militia) had not been disarmed.


Ambassador Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali-Osman (Sudan) also addressed the Council in December. He said that Ocampo’s remarks contained “baseless accusations” and ignored improved security conditions in Darfur. Ali-Osman also noted that Ocampo had not mentioned the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, which he said reflected the Sudanese government’s desire for peace.


On 1 March, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Hussein for crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed in Darfur between August 2003 and March 2004. (Ocampo had requested the pre-trial chamber to issue the warrant for Hussein’s arrest, on 2 December 2011.)


On 20 April, a formed police unit that had been patrolling a camp for internally displaced persons in Western Darfur was fired upon while returning to base. Four Togolese peacekeepers were wounded in the assault, and one later died. The Council adopted a press statement (SC/10623) on 24 April condemning the attack and calling on the Sudanese government to bring those responsible to justice. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Somebody Help: The Forgotten Population in North Darfur

In the remote Jebel Si area of North Darfur, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) runs a hospital, five health posts, and a mobile clinic. These are the only health facilities in the area, and they serve a permanent population of 100,000, as well as about 10,000 seasonal nomads. The majority of MSF’s patients in Jebel Si are women and children.

As the only medical organization with a permanent presence in Jebel Si, the population is entirely dependent on MSF for health care and emergency assistance. MSF’s relationship with the local community is one of mutual trust and cooperation.

But now a series of obstacles threaten to seriously hamper MSF’s ability to deliver medical assistance. Vital medical and logistical supplies have been prevented from reaching the area, work permits have not been granted, and physical access to the region has become increasingly difficult.

As a result of these obstacles, MSF has been forced to scale down its activities dramatically. Unless urgent steps are taken to rectify the situation, the people of Jebel Si will be faced with the reality of a future without essential health care. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

GOC Charges Soldiers On Sexual Conduct In Darfur

Another troop of 800 officers and men of the Nigerian Army have been prepared for deployment on peacekeeping mission to Darfur Region of Sudan, with a stern warning to stay away from sexual misconduct. The 26-battalion troop was also warned to avoid circumstances that may lead to being disarmed by the Darfur rebels and guard against any act that would tarnish Nigeria’s image.
General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Mechanised Division Nigerian Army, Major General Garba A. Wahab, gave the warning at the graduation ceremony of the 26 Battalion Pre-Deployment Training at the Nigerian Army Peace Keeping Centre (NAPKC), Jaji, near Kaduna, yesterday. According to the GOC, “as you are aware, Nigeria is the largest troop contributor to the United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) operations. In this regard, you should strive to live above board and avoid anything that would ridicule the good image our dear country has built over the years in the area of international peace and security.
“As your General Officer Commanding, I have confidence in your ability to execute your task in accordance with UNAMID’s mandate. But, I must remind you that the Nigerian Army will not accept any situation where its soldiers are disarmed hence the need for effective leadership at all levels,” he said. Noting that the situation in the crisis areas of Sudan were unpredictable, Wahab told the peace keepers to avoid engaging in any form of sexual misconduct, saying, “don’t go to Darfur and start sleeping with women. It is highly unprofessional. Aside that, AIDS is real,” he warned. He stressed that having expended huge resources on their training, the Nigerian government placed high premium on their capability as a peace-keeping force. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Sudan restrictions hamper aid work in Darfur - MSF

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Government restrictions on Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) have forced the group to suspend key medical activities in part of Sudan's Darfur region, leaving tens of thousands of people without health care, the aid agency said on Tuesday.


The western Darfur area has been racked by violence since 2003, when rebels took up arms against a central government they accused of neglecting the remote region.



While fighting is down from its peak and the United Nations runs a large peacekeeping operation in Darfur, banditry and tribal fighting in addition to clashes between rebels and government forces have continued to plague the region.



MSF said hurdles to procedures like getting permits and shipping in medical supplies forced it to suspend most of its medical activities in the Jebel Si area, a conflict area in North Darfur state, where it is the only healthcare provider.



"With the reduction of our activities in Jebel Si, more than 100,000 people in the region are left entirely without healthcare," Alberto Cristina, MSF's operational manager for Sudan, said in the statement. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Sudanese civil society organizations urge Dutch government and entrepreneurs Not to invest in the Sudan

For Immediate Release                                                                                       May 21st, 2012

Sudanese civil society organizations urge Dutch government and entrepreneurs Not to invest in the Sudan

The Sudanese Dutch Private Investment Forum will be organized by The Chamber of Commerce Haaglanden on May 21st, 2012 at The Hague.

Almost all members of the Sudanese delegation are government officials. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued warrants for the arrest of Sudan's president for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide and other senior government officials who are still in power. Violations of human rights are on daily basis, civil liberties are denied and security is non-existent across the country.

The Sudanese government relies on foreign investments to fund its military and the brutal militias to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity against the people of the Sudan. The revenue from the investment will be used to purchase arms to commit more crimes on innocent people in South Kordofan, Eastern Sudan, Blue Nile, Darfur and the rest of the Sudan.

The Sudanese civil society organizations sent letters to The Dutch government, entrepreneurs, people of The Netherlands and the participants in The Sudanese Dutch Private Investment Forum, urging them to divest instead of investing in the Sudan, to pressure the government of Sudan to improve human rights records, to fully cooperate with the International Criminal Court and to allow the humanitarian aid organizations to access the people in a dire need.

Darfur Union
darfurunion@yahoo.com

Nuba Mountains Solidarity Abroad
sabiraglain@hotmail.com

Sudan Youth for Change Movement
nasir518@hotmail.com

Sudan Democratic forum

A Comment on African Union's Road Map and United Nations Security Council's Resolution 2046

By: Gamal Adam


The African Union’s recent road map which the United Nations Security Council has endorsed with the Resolution 2046 includes a clause that puts pressure on the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) to negotiate with Khartoum in order to settle the Sudanese problem in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile -- a clause which the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) has refuted through its commander in chief, Abdl-Aziz Adam Al-Hilu, who said that selective negotiations are not acceptable because they will never lead to sustainable peace since they do not address the root cause of the conflict in Sudan (see www.sudantribune.com 10/5/2012). Mr. Al-Hilu also added that the international community has short memories with regard to Sudanese conflict and he tried to remind the AU and the UNSC that “Bashir has dishonored more than 43 peace agreements including key provisions of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement….” I say yes, Al-Hilu and Sudan Revolutionary Front have got it right, whereas the international community represented by the African Union and the United Nations Security Council got it seriously wrong. The road map which has been endorsed by the Resolution 2046 might be suitable for the settlement of the crisis between Khartoum and Juba, but including to it South Kordofan and Blue Nile is a serious mistake. It is something in a gold dish, as Sudanese saying goes, which unexpectedly came across Khartoum’s way because it never thought that the AU and UNSC would be in such a level of naivety or even dangerous carelessness. There are many questions which those who included South Kordofan and Blue Nile to the road map for the settlement of conflict between Juba and Khartoum should have first asked themselves before doing what they have done. They should have asked themselves: “Where are the agreements which Khartoum signed with several fronts in 2005 and 2006, including Abuja Agreement, Asmara Agreement, and Cairo Agreement? Why did the majority of southern Sudanese opt for independence rather than unity? Was the unity really attractive and southern Sudanese did not want it simply because they wanted to have their own country for no genuine reason? Why did Pagan Amum cry that the SLPM/A and the NCP started the division of portfolios nicely as if it was a spoon for the NCP and a spoon for the SPLM/A, but as soon as they reached the portfolios of finance, energy and mining, security, interior, and so forth, the NCP threw its spoon away and used both hands? Why is Tijani Seisei crying that his Doha agreement is dying (even though I had told him many months before he signed it that his Doha was going to be born dead because he did not take right steps toward its conception)? How can Doha be an agreement without ceasefire and why have most of the crimes of which Al-Bashir and leading members of his party have been accused continued, including killing, rape, and various types of humiliation (e.g. farmers farm their own farm lands and harvest crops on condition that regime’s militiamen take what they want of the crops and leave the rest to farmers or farmers rent their own lands from militiamen or else they should not farm, militiamen also rape women almost every day and those of them who try to defend themselves or their relatives are killed, stabbed or seriously beaten up, and so forth)? And have Minni, Abul-Gasim Imam, Al-Hilu, Agar, and Arman gone back to arms simply because they are naturally inclined to fight, risking their own lives for no genuine reasons?” The people who formed the Sudan Revolutionary Front did not form it only to be dismantled by selective negotiations which lead to no settlement. In fact, the selective negotiations regardless of their number (43, more or less) did function like a type of medicine that doubled the resistance of virus once it was taken. One of these examples is the Comprehensive Peace Agreement which the NCP and the SPLM/A signed in 2005. Had that agreement been signed between the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), including the SPLM/A and the other constituents of the NDA, Sudan would still have probably been one country ruled by a democratically elected leader, the fruitless agreements that took place in Cairo, Asmara, Abuja, Doha, and Addis Ababa would have been avoided, and efforts and money wasted in them been invested somewhere else. Also, Dinka, Misseirya, and other Sudanese would have been interacting peacefully in Abyay and Hijleej, Al-Bashir’s racist speeches and Al-Intibaha’s abhorrent writings stopped, and the games of hatred in the name of Islam outlawed. However, according to some authentic sources, Dr. John Garang had at the beginning insisted that the problem of the whole Sudan be solved at once in Naivasha, but he let the idea of including the NDA to the talks go because of the mounting pressure that some IGAD members and friends exercised on him. There is no doubt that Khartoum had in some ways influenced the mediators to exclude the other members of NDA, as any move toward the segmentation of Sudan’s problem constitutes a dream that comes true for the NCP regime whose existence in power is based on dividing the Sudanese society at all levels starting from the smallest unit such as family to the entire country. For example, the regime divided members of the same families between supporters and enemies, causing conflicts among them, made population of the same villages kill each other, and tore the social web of Sudanese society by categorizing the people as either Arabs and non-Arabs (‘Abeed—slaves or non-full-citizens) and treat them accordingly. I would like to correct Mr. Al-Hilu that the problem of Sudan is not only limited to Blue Nile, Darfur, and South Kordofan—it has now reached almost every corner in the country and most Sudanese, except NPC members, and Al-Mahdis and Al-Marghanis and their entourages, are convinced that the NCP regime has to go by all means. The document which 12 Sudanese political parties and movements signed in Washington DC on May 10, 2012 and in which they decided to work together for the regime change is evidence that most Sudanese want this regime to go (see www.sudanile.com 10/5/2012). Moreover, the Sudan Revolutionary Front does not only include SPLM/A-N and the Darfur movements, as the Beja Congress and Kush which represent the far north and east are also its members in addition to some important political figures from the DUP and Umma party who had been fed up with the incompetent leadership of Al-Mahdis and Al-Marghanis and decided to join the SRF (see Sarri at www.sudanile.com 17/05/2012). I also met many individuals from the eastern, northern, and western parts of Kordofan who were members of the movements that were fighting the regime in Darfur and which are now part of the SRF. All of these efforts leading toward keeping the remaining Sudan united and even bringing South Sudan back in the future, if we are able to completely exclude religion, ethnicity, and race from politics, and make everything be based on citizenship. The frustration of these efforts, exerted by Sudanese of all backgrounds toward finding an inclusive settlement to their country’s problem, will definitely lead to further complication of already complicated situation, as there has never been peace in Darfur and Asmara Agreement did not bring any genuine stability in Eastern Sudan. Moreover, western Kordofan, far north, and many parts of Al-Jazeera (central Sudan) are all potential conflict areas. As Al-Hilu has mentioned, the way toward reaching sustainable peace for Sudan is the inclusive negotiations that will lead to the birth of a constitution that genuinely guarantees equal rights for all Sudanese citizens regardless of their backgrounds, bestows on them the right to never accept again any more coups d’état and resist dictatorships by all possible means, establishes a real national army, as there is no longer Sudanese army, and allows the people of each region to run the affairs of their own region, including the management of resources. I have to point out that the leaders of Sudan Revolutionary Front are partly responsible for the mistakes that the international community is about to make on Sudan, as they are not able to quickly get rid of the factional labels (e.g. SPLM/A North, SPLM/A Adelwahid or Minni, JEM, and so forth) that make them look divided. They have to raise themselves to the hopes of most Sudanese, pave the way for a Sudan that is for all Sudanese, and put an end to Al-Bashir’s Sudan of masters and slaves (or humans and insects). I hope that Sudanese all over the world will demonstrate against the AU and UNSC’s clause on South Kordofan and Blue Nile that will not only further divide Sudan, but will also prolong the suffering of Sudanese people under a regime which many Sudanese describe as the worst ever in the history of Sudan since 1821.


The writer can be reached at gamaladam@yahoo.ca

The forgotten Darfur conflict

By Kevin J. Kelley Nearly forgotten amid the attention being given to the Sudan-South Sudan conflict, the nine-year-long war in Darfur is said by differing sources to be either winding down or intensifying. A generally upbeat assessment was offered in February by New York Times East Africa correspondent Jeffrey Gettleman, who visited a set of villages in western Darfur near the border with Chad. About 100,000 local residents displaced by Arab militias’ attacks have returned to their land, the NYT journalist reported, suggesting that this development serves as “a sign that one of the world’s most infamous conflicts may have decisively cooled.” Gettleman, who won a top US journalism award last month, cautioned in his report that “all is not well in Darfur.” He noted that more than two million inhabitants of this region of Sudan remain in camps for refugees or internally displaced people, while some rebel groups continue to battle Sudanese government forces and allied Arab militias known collectively as the Janjaweed. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Khartoum and the Language of War: Who’s Really Listening?

Eric Reeves May 11, 2012 Every day it becomes clearer that unless Juba buckles before Khartoum’s extortionate demands, on a range of issues, then the regime will settle matters militarily—as it did in Abyei precisely one year ago. Yet in a remarkable display of obtuseness, the international community, putatively concerned with peace between Sudan and South Sudan, refuses to hear what the regime is actually saying. This obtuseness is apparent in the toothless UN Security Council resolution of May 2nd, which contains a cease-fire demand that has already been repeatedly violated by Khartoum; in the African Union roadmap, which (though backed by the Security Council) Khartoum accepts only “provisionally,” claiming the roadmap is “full of shortcomings and outright bias in favor of the SPLM”; and in the vehement and geographically ill-informed condemnations of the Southern “invasion” of Heglig along the contested North/South border, a profoundly misguided effort to accommodate Khartoum’s tendentious territorial claims (April 10 – 20). The failure of comprehension is also apparent in the now increasingly perfunctory condemnations of Khartoum’s relentless bombing of civilian targets inside sovereign Southern territory, even as these bombings are meant by Khartoum to bring both political and military pressure on Juba. And perhaps the most telling sign of policy myopia is the refusal by the Security Council to do more than “urge” Khartoum to allow humanitarian access to those starving in Blue Nile and the Nuba Mountains, where civilian bombings have been relentless for over eleven months. Without securing humanitarian access from the regime in the very near term, the international community is likely consigning tens of thousands of people to death by starvation as Khartoum continues its genocidal counter-insurgency tactics. A distorted narrative. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Four children killed in Darfur blast: AU-UN

A UNAMID spokesman said the incident occurred when a UXO (unexploded ordnance) detonated in Jealjeala, 60 kilometres (37 miles) from the West Darfur state capital El Geneina. He could not immediately give other details, including exactly when the blast happened. The UN estimates that at least 300,000 people have died as a result of the Darfur conflict, which began in 2003 when rebels from non-Arab tribes in Sudan's far west rose up against the Arab-dominated Khartoum regime. The Sudanese government puts the death toll at 10,000. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The Security Council Who Cried Wolf

By Brigitte Hamadey "Kony 2012" is one organization's attempt to demand the arrest and surrender of Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, to the International Criminal Court. While Invisible Children has succeeded in putting Kony back on a radar screen, the question is not whether their goal will be accomplished, but why their efforts might have been necessary in the first place. The YouTube sensation highlights the fact that there are outstanding arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court that demand the international community's attention. One of the ICC's major realities is that it relies entirely on states to arrest and surrender accused to the Court. In this respect, state cooperation gives teeth to the ICC's bark. This is especially true for the Court's attempt to provide justice in Darfur and Libya, the situations referred by the UN Security Council, because neither Sudan nor Libya themselves requested ICC involvement. The Court has issued seven arrest warrants in these situations. To date, none of the suspects have been surrendered to The Hague. Despite its leadership in referring the Darfur situation to the ICC, the Security Council has failed to pressure the Sudanese government to comply with its international obligations vis-à-vis the Court. For instance, since April 2007, when the Court first issued arrest warrants for suspects who have allegedly committed crimes in Darfur, the ICC Prosecutor has briefed the Security Council nine times on the situation in Darfur, including on Sudan's repeated refusals to cooperate. In May 2010, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber informed the Security Council of its decision that Sudan has failed to comply with its legal obligations. In spite of these findings, the Council has turned a blind eye. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Sudan: No end to violence in Darfur: Arms supplies continue despite ongoing human rights violations

Sudan: No end to violence in Darfur: Arms supplies continue despite ongoing human rights violations The supply of various types of weapons, munitions and related equipment to Sudan in recent years, by the governments of Belarus, the People's Republic of China ...Read the full story >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Three workers for Catholic aid agency arrested in Darfur

JUBA, South Sudan (CNS) -- Three staff members of a Catholic aid agency working in southern Darfur were arrested by security forces in Nyala as they were making preparations to return to South Sudan. The Sudan Catholic Radio Network reported security forces also closed the Nyala office of Sudan Aid, an affiliate of Caritas Internationalis, the Catholic church's aid and development organization. Gabriel Yei, director of Caritas South Sudan, said that Dominic Pathic, James Celestino and William Atorjony when security forces confronted them and took them into custody. No word on their whereabouts was available. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Sudan Army in Fresh Clashes With SPLA and Rebels in Darfur and South Kordofan

Khartoum — The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) has repelled an attack by South Sudan's army today in al-Meram locality in South Kordofan state, a local official said. The al-Meram mayor Colonel Fathi Abdullah Arabi told the government-sponsored Sudanese Media Center (SMC) website that the assault targeted an SAF brigade in Bahr al-Arab region which lies 62 kilometers south of al-Meram town. Arabi said that the SPLA wants to disperse SAF efforts in trying to liberate the Heglig region occupied by the south last week. He claimed that they inflicted heavy losses on the assailants that are still being counted. The mayor called it a violation of borders and promises made by South Sudan in the agreements signed and vowed a "double response" to rebellion in his area. In South Darfur, the deputy governor Abdel-Kareem Moussa said that the Darfur Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) attacked Sispan area in Katila locality on borders with South Sudan. The mayor of Katila said that JEM destroyed a communication tower and seized fuel supplies and disclosed that Goghana area was also attacked and killed one cattle herder while injuring another. He added that livestock also perished in the aftermath. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Obduracy at the New York Times: Refusal to Acknowledge Errors or Problems in the Representation of Realities in West Darfur

Eric Reeves On April 4, 2012 I published an extensive challenge to the claims of the New York Times dispatch from Nyuru, West Darfur (February 26, 2012) by Jeffrey Gettleman, this in the form of an open letter to the Public Editor, nominally charged with “representing the readers of the NYT.” My subsequent communications with the New York Times have not produced any acknowledgement of errors or problems in the reporting from Nyuru: there has been no recognition of how deeply problematic it is to use self-interested UNAMID sources, and even the in-country personnel of UN humanitarian agencies (I attach at the end of this brief links to a series of analyses of demonstrable mendacity on the part of senior UNAMID and UN humanitarian officials). Nor has there been a meaningful response to the substantial issues raised by a lengthy series of reports by Radio Dabanga in the wake of the NYT dispatch, as well as in its general reporting from the region. Most significantly there has been no acknowledgement by the NYT that the dispatch as it was published clearly implies that there have been massive returns of refugees from eastern Chad. This is simply not the case, as Radio Dabanga has conclusively demonstrated on the basis of interviews with the leaders of all twelve Darfuri refugee camps in eastern Chad and with the Chad representative of the UN High Commission for Refugees. Moreover, the NYT seems unaware that the total Darfuri refugee population living in eastern Chad outside the camps is unlikely to exceed 20,000. UNHCR reports a total registration in the twelve camps as a highly stable 282,000.Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Echoes of Darfur

Will Omar al-Bashir and Ahmad Harun get away with genocide once more? Almost five years ago, on April 27th 2007, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Ahmad Harun (aka Ahmed Mohammed Haroun), citing 20 counts of crimes against humanity and 22 counts of war crimes in Darfur. Harun is one of three Sudanese wanted by the ICC, including the country's president Omar al-Bashir. Not only does North Sudan refuse to surrender Harun to the ICC, but in September 2007 cynically made him the head of an investigation into human rights violations in Darfur. Harun also served as Sudan's Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs until 2009 and was appointed by the Sudanese government to the committee overseeing the UNSC -approved United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). Ahmad Harun later became Governor of South Kordofan – following an election widely believed to have been rigged – and in that capacity suspended the 'popular consultations' which were supposed to have taken place under the terms of the 2005 peace agreement in order for the people of South Kordofan to decide their future. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Sudan: Salih Mahmoud - Violence Against Students is 'Racist Phenomenon'

El Geneina — Salih Mahmoud, a Sudanese human rights lawyer, calls the recent arrests and killings of students a 'new and racist phenomenon in Darfur'. Security forces have reportedly arrested 11 Darfurian students from the University of Zalingei, branch of El Geneina on Sunday. The students, including two female students, have not been released till today. The students were arrested during a protest against the poor living conditions and lack of services provided by the university. Security forces used violence and tear gas to disperse the protest. Incidents instill fear Among the 11 arrested students are Babiker Mohamed Adam, Hassan Musa Adam, Muhammad Hassan Abdo, Solomon Markaz Ahmad and Abdul Muttalib Adam Mohammed. Sources told Radio Dabanga they are now tortured by the security forces in El Geneina. Salih Mahmoud, who won the Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought, told Radio Dabanga today that the arrests of students in Darfur in universities becomes a trend. He said students are now also targeted by security forces outside the universities. Mahmoud explained that the recurrence of the incidents instill fear among Sudanese people and Darfurians in particular. He places the killing of student Abdul Hakim Abdullah Musa, the student killed by security authorities last week in the new trend. According to the human rights lawyer, Musa's dead is inseparable linked to a series of assassinations that specifically target students of different universities in Darfur. 'Break the silence' He said it is unacceptable no officials made statements yet on the arrests and killings. Neither were efforts made by the authorities to make the prosecutions of the students transparent for the public: 'it is the responsibility of political leaders, human rights defenders and civil society organizations to break the silence and indifference on the recent incidents.'Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Why should we worry (like George Clooney) about war crimes in Sudan? Because the weapons used were made closer to home than you might think

By AIDAN HARTLEY

Under the glare of Sudan’s sun, a toddler points skywards at the metallic aircraft. Shouts of ‘Antonov!’ go out and everybody runs for cover in the mountain caves. The plane banks left in front of the sun, so it’s hard to make out, but the drone of the engines grows louder. Then come the thundering roar of explosions. I stagger out of my trench with the urge to run – to get anywhere safe. Terrified children look up at me; one has wet herself in fear. These bombings are a daily event in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan. George Clooney visited the region last month, and on his return to the U.S. got himself arrested on the steps of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington in an attempt to gain world attention to the ethnic cleansing that is going on here. He is also helping to fund a network of private satellites to watch over the military movements of the Khartoum government, which is behind the terror attacks on its own people. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Medical Evidence of Widespread Torture in Darfur Released by PHR in PLoS Medicine

Today’s issue of PLoS Medicine features a peer-reviewed study led by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) that provides rare forensic medical evidence of widespread, sustained torture and other human rights violations by the Government of Sudan (GoS) and allied Janjaweed forces against non-Arabic-speaking civilians in South Darfur. In the study, PHR’s forensic medical experts reviewed the medical records of 325 patients seen in 2004-2006 at a clinic in Nyala, South Darfur for torture victims. The documentation from this review of medical records provides important validation of extensive testimonies gathered by many organizations and UN agencies over the years “The killing, rape, torture, and other human rights violations documented in our study appear to have been committed as part of widespread, systematic and coordinated attacks directed against non-Arab speaking civilian populations in Darfur,” said Vincent Iacopino, Senior Medical Advisor at PHR and senior author of the study. “These apparent crimes against humanity demand investigation, accountability and justice. Inaction in the face of such inhumanity would be complicity by default.” Key findings of the study include: •90% of patients from 12 different non-Arabic-speaking tribes alleged that they had been attacked by GoS and/or Janjaweed forces in 23 rural areas across Darfur •Of those attacked, 16% stated that GoS and Janjaweed forces attacked in concert, often with aerial bombardment coordinated with simultaneous ground assault by GoS and Janjaweed forces •The most common abuses were beatings (50%), gunshot wounds (43%), destruction or theft of property (37.2%), and involuntary detainment (30%) •Villages were repeatedly attacked, with 5 villages reportedly attacked a total of 41 times during the study period •Virtually all (99%) of the reported attacks occurred in the absence of active armed conflict between Janjaweed/GoS forces and rebel groups •Forensic review of these medical records by PHR’s medical experts corroborated the allegations of abuse in 100% of cases in which there was adequate information on which to base an expert opinion. •Approximately one-half (49%) of all women disclosed that they had been sexually assaulted, and one-half of sexual assaults were described as having occurred in close proximity to a camp for internally displaced persons “This study underscores the necessity of peace and reconciliation for the people of Darfur,” said Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Eisa, Sudan Fellow at PHR and co-author of the study. “Hundreds of thousands of civilians who have been attacked and tortured during the past decade are living in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps and desperately need security and protection. Once they are safe, these survivors deserve compensation and restitution for what they have endured.” Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>