Darfur Update: “All the News that’s Fit to Ignore” –
Eric Reeves, 15 June 2012 –
There is nothing new in these dispatches from various sources: Did anyone really expect that Khartoum would grant the UN expert on human rights in Sudan access to Darfur? Or that a UNAMID assessment team would be given freedom of movement in Darfur to determine the security needs of the region?
And as for the continuing violence (rape, aerial assaults, expulsions of farmers from their lands, murder) and the growing humanitarian crises in many camps—there’s nothing new here either. Even the forced suspension of operations by Nobel Peace Prize-winning Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has ample precedent—it’s far from being the only organization currently harassed, impeded, abused, and threatened by Khartoum. The relentless attenuation of humanitarian reach has been ongoing for years, largely because UNAMID has been so ineffective in providing appropriate levels of security for relief workers.
The question really is: Why don’t these people simply go to Nyuru, West Darfur–a region of peace and harmony that has been encouragingly described by the New York Times? (“A Taste of Hope Brings Refugees Back to Darfur,” February 26, 2012). Indeed, the NYT declares Nyuru to be “a sign that one of the world’s most infamous conflicts may have decisively cooled”:
“‘It’s amazing,’ said Dysane Dorani, head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission [i.e. UNAMID—the United Nations/African Union Mission in Darfur] for the western sector of Darfur. ‘The people are coming together. It reminds me of Lebanon after the civil war.'”
Amazing indeed!
“…on a recent morning, thousands of Nyuru’s residents were back on their land doing all the things they used to do, scrubbing clothes, braiding hair, sifting grain and preparing for a joint feast of farmers and nomads. Former victims and former perpetrators would later sit down side by side together, some for the first time since Darfur’s war broke out, sharing plates of macaroni and millet….”
Just like the good old times! So, Radio Dabanga’s grim and decidedly contradictory accounts notwithstanding (see below and the concluding Appendix), the move to Nyuru seems an obvious choice for Darfuris. And it’s easy walking distance from many of the locations in West Darfur reported below….
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• UN rights expert prevented from visiting Darfur
Agence France-Presse (14 June 2012)
The newly appointed UN expert on human rights in Sudan said on Thursday that Khartoum prevented him from visiting Darfur during a five-day trip to Sudan, despite his request to do so. Mashood Adebayo Baderin, at a press briefing in the Sudanese capital at the end of his first visit since being appointed in March, said he was unable to go to the war-torn region because the authorities failed to grant him a travel permit. “We requested that we wanted to visit Khartoum and Darfur, but the time limit I was informed was short to make the arrangements,” Baderin said. “In spite of the assurances from the government that the human rights situation in Darfur is relatively improved, I have received contrary representations from other stakeholders,” he added.
Baderin also highlighted concerns about press freedom in Sudan. He said stakeholders had raised the issue with him, “with particular reference being made to the use of national security laws to clamp down on the press, including closure of media houses, arrest of journalists and confiscation of newspapers.” He declined to comment on the human rights situation in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, saying he did not make any request to visit the embattled southern border states for security reasons. (all emphases in all quotes have been added)
• South Darfur, UN Officials Hold Heated Discussion About UNAMID Movement
Sudan Tribune (13 June 2012) – The movement of the African Union United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) was a source of a heated debate between a regional official and a UN visiting official in Nyala, South Darfur capital on Wednesday. The controversy begun when South Darfur deputy governor, Abdel Karim Moussa told a UN team visiting the region that UNAMID should inform the Sudanese authorities before to move in order to protect its members.
The head of the UNAMID delegation, the British Tony Prena, told the Sudanese official that the hybrid mission is dispensed from such requirement and has complete freedom of movement in Darfur as per its mandate which is voted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. Sudan complains that the soldiers of the largest peacekeeping operation and its convoys become the main source of supplies and weapons for the rebel groups who used to stop them without any resistance. The UN visiting team is inspecting the performances of the UNAMID and the security situation in Darfur as the UN, Sudan and the African Union are considering to reduce the number of peacekeepers deployed in the region.
• Another Darfur prosecutor resigns in mysterious circumstances
Sudan Tribune, June 12, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – The Special Prosecutor of Darfur Crimes, Ahmed Abdel-Motalib, announced on Tuesday that he has tendered his resignation to Sudan’s president Omer Al-Bashir, less than six months since he was appointed to investigate crimes in the western region. Abdel-Motalib told the Khartoum-based daily newspaper Al-Intibaha that he is waiting for Al-Bashir to accept the resignation for which he gave no reasons. He was appointed to his position on 10 January with the mandate to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Darfur since the outbreak of the most recent conflict there in 2003. This is the second Darfur prosecutor to resign since the former prosecutor Abdel Daim Zumrawi quit in April 2011 citing “personal reasons.”
The first Darfur prosecutor, Nimir Ibrahim Mohamed, was sacked by the justice minister in October 2010 after he attempted to investigate former minister and current governor of South Kordofan State, Ahmad Haroun, who is named by the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a suspect in Darfur crimes. Insiders say that the work of the three Darfur prosecutors who were appointed to the position since its creation in 2010 was complicated by the pitfalls that attended any attempts to prosecute officials in question.
• Refugees say UNAMID chief statements about voluntary return misleading
Radio Dabanga, Eastern Chad (5 June 2012) – Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad [a very large percentage of whom are living within 50 miles of West Darfur—ER] have denounced the statements of Ibrahim Gambari, the head of the UN/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) saying he witnessed groups of refugees returning from Chad to Darfur. A refugee for eastern Chad said he was surprised at the statements and wondered whether Gambari had become “the UNAMID mouthpiece for the ruling National Congress Party.” He said when the government and UNAMID refer to the return of refugees, they are actually talking about the new settlers, who have arrived from countries such as Niger and Mali, along with Chadian war refugees in Sudan, who have resettled in displaced Darfuri residents’ land. He said the reasons they had to flee their lands remain the same, as their villages are still insecure and patrolled by pro government militias. He called on Gambari to tell the truth and not lie about the security situation in Darfur.
• On May 22, 2012 MSF announced:
“As a result of increasing restrictions imposed by Sudanese authorities, the medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has been forced to suspend most of its medical activities in the conflict area of Jebel Si, in Sudan’s North Darfur State. MSF is the sole health provider in the region. ‘With the reduction of our activities in Jebel Si, more than 100,000 people in the region are left entirely without healthcare,’ says Alberto Cristina, MSF’s operational manager for Sudan.”
• Two national NGOs ordered to close their offices in South Darfur
On 24 April, [Khartoum’s] Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) reported the closure of two national NGOs in South Darfur, the Sudan Council of Churches (SCC) and Sudan Aid. Most of the staff of the two NGOs are of South Sudanese origin whose contracts were terminated on 31 March based on a directive from HAC that they were now considered foreigners and require a work permit to work in Sudan. Three staff members from Sudan Aid were arrested by the security forces. They were later released and asked to leave the county within 72 hours. Both national NGOs are implementing partners of the international NGO Norwegian Church Aid (NCA). (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs [OCHA] Weekly Bulletin, week of April 29)
• Armed group shoots man, expels farmers from land
Radio Dabanga, Gereida, (14 June 2012) – An armed group of 30 members traveling on horses shot a man and tried to expel farmers from their land near Gereida in South Darfur. Witnesses said the men entered a village and shot Muhannad Yacob from Al Safa while he was tending to his farm. They said Yacob was taken to hospital in Gereida for treatment.They added that militias try to take over farmlands belonging to displaced people as many are still living in the camps, forgoing the right to their land.
• IDPs flee back to camps after new settlers open fire
Radio Dabanga, El Daein (18 May 2012) Hundreds of displaced people have fled back to Neem camp in East Darfur [formerly part of South Darfur] after new settlers on their original lands attacked them, when they returned with state authorities as part of the programme of voluntary return. Witnesses said on Wednesday the old Neem camp residents were taken with authorities including the state governor to resettle on the land they were originally displaced from. On arrival they said militants started shooting heavily into the air and threatening to kill the returnees if they did not leave the area, even though senior government officials were present.
• OCHA May 27 Weekly Report 4. Darfur
Security and fighting
On 22 May, the UN received reports of fighting between SAF and Arab nomads in Abata (approximately 30km northeast of Zalingei, Central Darfur [formerly West Darfur]) in which one nomad tribesman and three soldiers were killed. Due to fears of revenge attacks, 130 people from the area fled to Zalingei’s Hamediya IDP camp, according to humanitarian actors. There are fears that if government authorities do not ensure the security of the village, up to 2,000 people living in the area may be displaced. According to the reports, local farmers in Abata had complained to government authorities about crop destruction by nomads. Upon arrival in the area, SAF were allegedly fired upon by nomads.
Criminal acts targeting humanitarian staff in Darfur on the rise
In El Geneina, West Darfur, a national NGO vehicle was carjacked. During the carjacking, the armed perpetrators shot and killed two people and injured another. The vehicle was later found abandoned close to Kereinik (approximately 25km east of El Geneina). Police are investigating the incident. Internal security protocols require UN agencies and international NGOs to use a security escort when driving 4×4 vehicles in Darfur. Since January 2012, there have been seven carjacking incidents in West Darfur, resulting in six people killed. There have been reports of an increase in criminal acts against humanitarian staff in Darfur during the reporting period.
• OCHA was also the source (May 6 weekly update) reporting aerial bombardment of a number of villages in the border region between South Darfur and South Sudan. Some 5,000 people have been displaced. A UNAMID patrol tried to investigate the bombing, an egregious violation of both international law and UN Security Council Resolution 1591 (March 2005); they were, however, were stopped at a military check-point, where they were told by Khartoum’s military forces they could not proceed because of “insecurity.”
• “According to IOM [the International Organization for Migration], some 3,400 newly displaced people have been verified and registered in Zamzam IDP camp, North Darfur. These newly displaced people fled their homes because of inter-tribal fighting between Zaghawa and Birgid tribesmen in Alauna village (approximately 25km north of Dar el Salam, North Darfur) that started on 22 February. The international NGO Plan Sudan estimates that some 8,900 displaced people in Zamzam….” (OCHA April 29 weekly update)
• Three militants rape woman in El Geneina
Radio Dabanga, El Geneina, West Darfur (29 May 2012) – Three pro government militants raped a woman near Abu Sur camp for displaced people in El Geneina. Witnesses said the woman went to buy vegetables from market outside of the camp when three militants approached. They said the woman refused to go along with their demands and was severely beaten and then raped by the three gunmen. They left her out in the open and fled. The witnesses said the woman is in a serious condition in a hospital in El Geneina. The incident was reported to the local police and the UN/African Union Mission in Darfur.
• Residents flee after militants burn down village
Radio Dabanga, Dali (5 June 2012) – Residents that fled Dali near Kabkabiya have said their village was completely burned down by militias. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that dozens of residents fled towards Kabkabiya yesterday evening after gunmen attacked killing one resident and wounding several others. They said gunmen traveled on camels, horses and in cars opening fire before setting the village alight. They added that the incident came a day after two people were killed in an exchange of gunfire with militants at a village near Dali.
• Displaced man shot dead by pro government militia
Radio Dabanga, Dummah camp (30 May 2012) – A displaced man was shot dead by pro government militia and his body dumped in Dummah camp near Nyala in South Darfur. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga gunmen are frequently attacking displaced people as they leave the camps, raping women with impunity despite camp residents repeatedly reporting the incidents to the police. One witness described the situation for the displaced as harsh, saying they have not received any humanitarian aid for over six months, adding that camp leaders have raised the issue with officials in Nyala on more than one occasion without getting any meaningful response.
• Woman killed in air strikes in North Darfur
Radio Dabanga, Numeira (11 Jun 2012) – A woman was killed in air strikes in an area 30 km west of Numeira village in North Darfur. Witnesses said Fatima Ali Muhammed died as the Sudanese air force dropped bombs near a group of herders. The strikes also wiped out several sheep and cattle. Witnesses said residents were angry at the government launching strikes in a civilian area and condemned the action as murder. They said they hold defence minister Abdul Rahim Muhammed Hussein as responsible and appealed to human rights lawyers to prosecute those responsible and take them to court.
Man killed in SAF strikes in Tawila
Radio Dabanga, Tawila (15 May 2012) – A man was killed and eight others wounded in air strikes south of Tawila, North Darfur. A resident described his life as ‘hell’ due to the ongoing aerial bombardment by the Sudanese air force in Numeira, Kouto, Dali, Crowla and Masalit areas of Tawila last Friday to Sunday. He said Muhammed Ab Bakr Muhammed was killed and Fatima Abdullah, Hawa’ Abbaker Yagoub, Maymuna Yahya Abbaker, Mariam Hassan Juma, Abdul Qader Saleh and two children Nur Eldaim Saleh and Ibrahim Musa Saleh, Haroun, Adam Saleh Issa were injured in the attacks. The witness added that 12 cows were also killed along with the destruction of seven houses. He said residents remain living in a state of terror while the SAF planes continue to fly overhead.
• Woman shot in leg at Hamidiya camp
Radio Dabanga, Hamidiya, in what was formerly West Darfur (11 June 2012) – A displaced woman was shot in the leg at Hamidiya camp on Sunday. Hamidiya camp coordinator told Radio Dabanga the woman aged 22 was hit by random shots in the right leg. She was taken to hospital in Zalingei to have the bullet removed. The coordinator accused pro-government militias for carrying out the recent spate of random shootings in and around the camp.
• Five men in army uniform loot car near Garsila
Radio Dabanga, Garsila, in what was formerly West Darfur (14 June 2012) – Five men wearing Sudanese army uniforms looted a car traveling from Um Duhun near Garsila in Central Darfur. Witnesses said the five men watched as the car dropped off its passengers, and then moved in to steal their money and mobile phones. They said the attack happened around three km from Garsila.
• Man shot for not handing over possessions
Radio Dabanga, Kassab (12 June 21012) – Gunmen opened fire on a displaced man, Muhammed Ibrahim Abdullah in Kassab camp, Kutum, in North Darfur on Monday evening. A witness said that four gunmen attacked Muhammed as he was filling cans with water from a nearby pump. The men demanded he hand over his possessions, but the man told them he was not carrying anything. The gunmen searched him but when they did not find anything and shot him in the hand. He was taken to hospital initially in Kutum. The witness said today he was moved to El Fasher hospital for treatment. He said displaced people are subject to attacks by insurgents on a daily basis and called for the UN/AU Mission in Darfur to step up its security patrols in the camp, which tend to be few and far between with UNAMID keeping at a distance from the camp.
• Series of rape crimes throughout Darfur, Nyala
Radio Dabanga (12 April 2012)
http://www.radiodabanga.org/node/28523
Relatives of rape victims reported on violent attacks on female camp residents from North, South and West Darfur. Three displaced women from camp Armankul in West Darfur, Sirba locality, were abducted some kilometers away from the camp by ten gunmen loyal to the government. The girls were on their way to collect wood. A relative said the girls were found in a forest by camp residents. The residents went to the Armankul police to report on the incident, but the police refused to file the rape crimes. Earlier this week, two women from the same camp were raped.
• Authorities hire new settlers to destroy evidence of mass graves, Wadi Salih, West Darfur, Radio Dabanga (5 April 2012; http://www.radiodabanga.org/node/28085 )
[NB: UNAMID seems to have remained quite uninterested in preventing the activities reported here by Radio Dabanga—ER]
Sudanese authorities in the Wadi Salih area of West Darfur are reportedly hiring new settlers to destroy the evidence of mass graves in the area. Eyewitnesses said that government authorities have hired groups of new settlers to clear the evidence of mass graves particularly in Mukjar, Bindisi, Arwala, Deleig and Sundu. The groups were reportedly told to burn all traces of bodies and bones to destroy all evidence of extra-judicial killing by the government and its militias. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga Daif al Summah, Al Sadig Salona and Korin Kwei were hired by Ali Kushayb to oversee this operation. [Ali Kushayb is wanted by the International Criminal Court for multiple crimes against humanity in West Darfur; Wadi Saleh was scene of some of the worst mass killings, especially of Fur men and boys, during the early years of the genocide—ER]
• Six children die from measles in Seraf Umra camps
Radio Dabanga, Seraf Umra (6 June 2012) – Six children have died from measles in over past week in Jebel, Dankoj and El Naseem camps in Seraf Umra in North Darfur. Witnesses from the camps told Radio Dabanga that the medical reports in Seraf Umra hospital indicated the cause of death as measles. They expressed deep concern at the quick spread of diseases in the camp due to the lack of health care and appealed to local authorities and organisations to immediately intervene to provide desperately needed assistance.
• Drinking water cut off at Tolom camp
Radio Dabanga, Tolom (29 May 2012) – Tolom refugee camp in eastern Chad has been suffering from a lack of water for the past four days after a pump stopped working, leaving 25,000 people without access to drinking water. Camp leader Haider Gardiya said since the water stopped working on Sunday, refugees have been venturing five to 10 miles out of the camp to fetch water from wells. He said has caused cases of diarrhea particularly among children and the elderly. Gardiya appealed to organisations working in the field of water to assist in fixing the pumps and provide emergency supplies to the camp.
• Mornay camp food rations reduced by half
Radio Dabanga, Mornay camp (29 May 2012) – Mornay camp residents have complained that the World Food Programme have reduced food rations by half. A camp leader told Radio Dabanga that the rations were reduced without any explanation from the WFP. He appealed to the WFP to resume full rations and remember the difficulties facing displaced people in buying food from the market, amid food shortages and high prices.
• Food crisis could become ‘disaster’ in El Geneina camps
Radio Dabanga, El Geneina (13 May 2012) – High food prices and the withdrawal of food rations is causing a humanitarian crisis that could become a disaster in El Geneina camps, in West Darfur. Leaders of Tunjaki, Kendebe, Beer Dagig, Serba, Abu Suruj, Saraf Jidad, Armenkol, Ban Jadeed, Munjura and Sileya told Radio Dabanga that the camps have had no humanitarian aid since last October, describing the food situation as ‘catastrophic’ and requiring urgent action. A leader said they did not know why they were being deprived of assistance after being forced off their land, which is currently being occupied by new settlers.
• Camp Mornei and camp Zamzam plagued by malaria and malnutrition
Radio Dabanga, Mornei [West Darfur], Zamzam (1 June 2012) – Residents of camp Mornei in Central Darfur suffer from poor health conditions as diseases like malaria and malnutrition spread rapidly. Especially children, elderly and pregnant women suffer from the diseases. Residents told Radio Dabanga there is no doctor working in the camp and that the hospital in Mornei is not functioning well. One of the elders from camp Mornei said the hospital does not have a general practitioner and there is a lack of beds in the hospital.
The farsha of Mornei said another problem is a lack of medicines in the hospitals. Doctors write prescriptions and ask patients to buy their drugs from pharmacies in the streets. A lot of people, however, cannot afford to buy drugs and do therefore not receive treatment. As a result, they turn to herbal treatment and traditional medicines. The farsha of Mornei calls on local authorities and humanitarian organizations to solve the problems in the hospital of Mornei and to assist the displaced people of camp. In North Darfur, in camp Zamzam, children suffer from an outbreak of diarrhea and fever. The outbreak raised fear and panic among their parents. They do not know what caused or how to treat the sudden illness of their children.
An activist from camp Zamzam said the facilities in the nearby hospitals need to be improved as soon as possible. In the meantime, he argued, there is an urgent need for medicines and doctors inside the clinics of the camp.
• Neem camp: no food aid for a year
Radio Dabanga, Neem camp (8 June 2012) – Sheikh Said Bakr, leader of Neem camp in East Darfur has said there are around one million people in the camp that have not received any food rations for a full year. In a interview with Radio Dabanga Sheikh AbuBabr said the conditions are catastrophic noting that the camp residents were forced out of their homes as their villages were attacked. He said they had told the World Food Programme and the Humanitarian Aid Commission but neither have moved to take any action. He appealed to the both bodies to act immediately to save these people from hunger before the situation deteriorates further.
Water crisis adding to woes
The Sheikh also said a water crisis is increasing the suffering of camp residents, along with a deterioration in health services after the government suspended Sudan Aid, a body running the health centres across Neem camp. He said patients in need of critical care are forced to find their way to Daein hospital, which is also struggling under the weight of increased demand. The Sheikh appealed to HAC and humanitarian organisations to resolve the water crisis and work to provide urgently needed health services, especially before Autumn approaches.
• Reduced fuel shares exacerbate Zam Zam water shortages
Radio Dabanga, Zam Zam camp (30 May 2012) – Water shortages in Zam Zam camp for displaced people are getting worse as the local authority is reducing the fuel shares needed to operate the water stations. An activist from Zam Zam told Radio Dabanga that the camp residents are facing a water crisis as the authorities have reduced the fuel quota for water stations manned by UNICEF and at other privately owned stations. He said the crisis has increased the price of a barrel of water to 10-12 Sudanese pounds inside the camp, and aggravated long queues in front of the eight UNICEF stations, which are only operating for three hours a day. The activist appealed to local authorities to increase the fuel to Zam Zam and provide permits for commercial water stations. He also called for UNICEF to increase its water stations to cover the high level of demand.
• WFP: 30 percent of Darfur threatened with food insecurity
Radio Dabanga, El Fasher (22 May 2012) – The World Food Programme says that 30 percent of the population of Darfur is threatened with food insecurity and in need of urgent aid. The Programme conducted surveys in Darfur finding around 30 percent to be in need of urgent assistance, said WFP Field Coordinator Adham Mesallami to Radio Dabanga. He said that families told the WFP about their inability to cover their daily needs for food.
• Abu Suruj camp: no food aid for six months
Radio Dabanga, El Geneina (28 May 2012) – Residents of Abu Suruj camp for internally displaced people said they have not received food aid for more than six months. Witnesses said the camps north of El Geneina are reaching a desperate situation and called for the World Food Programme to immediately intervene and deliver food aid to people in need of urgent assistance. They said the disruption of the planting season has also contributed creating a situation nearing famine, reminiscent of the Darfur famine of 1983. They call for the WFP coordinator to visit the areas to witness it for themselves.
• Jebel Marra residents stranded with no aid access
Radio Dabanga, Jebel Marra (27 May 2012) – The coordinator of internally displaced person camps in North Darfur, Ahmed Atim said the situation of civilians in Jebel Marra is becoming desperate. He said civilians are stranded with no access from humanitarian organisations including the World Food Programme (WFP). The coordinator appealed to the WFP to provide aid and relief to those affected north, west, east and south of Jebel Marra. He said they are in need of urgent humanitarian intervention.
WFP lists miss thousands
Atim also called for the WFP to review the distribution of cards and registration process, which he said has missed thousands of names of displaced people still living at Abu Shouk and Zam Zam camps without urgently needed access to food. He said among those missing from the list are newborns and children born since the last census carried out in 2004. He said the WFP refuses to register these children saying they do not have birth certificates. With the situation in Darfur, many families have not been able to obtain birth certificates for their children, continued Atim. He demanded that the Programme immediately correct this problem and provide food to those who need it without conditions.
• Security shuts down four pharmacies in Zam Zam camp
Radio Dabanga, Zam Zam camp (4 June 2012) – Security services closed down four large pharmacies in Zam Zam camp for displaced people, confiscating medicines and arresting four of the owners. A witness said one was released without bail, but the rest are still in custody with no reasons given for their detention. Some camp residents told Radio Dabanga that they believe this move was taken to deliberately reduce the number of medicines available in the camp. They also complained about the delays in giving the four health centres permits to deliver medicines to the camp. They appealed to the local authorities to allow immediate access for medication to the camp, release the three detained pharmacy owners and return the confiscated medicines to people that desperately need them.
• Millih camp lacking health services and shelters
Radio Dabanga, Milih camp (11 June 2012) – Sudanese refugees at Milih camp in eastern Chad have complained of a deterioration of health services and a lack of shelter building materials. A camp spokesman said the camp is particularly lacking sheets of tarpaulin needed in the coming months to protect refugees from exposure to rain and cold weather. He also said ill camp residents to forced to travel far to find hospital treatment. He appealed to humanitarian organisations to resolve both issues urgently for the refugees.
• Darfur Fighting Between JEM and Khartoum
KHARTOUM (Reuters) – June 3, 2012
Rebels in Sudan’s Darfur region launched an attack on government troops on Saturday, with both sides claiming to have inflicted heavy casualties. The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), part of a rebel alliance that wants to topple the government in Khartoum, said it attacked an army camp in Wad Ganja in northeastern Darfur, killing several soldiers, destroying 15 army vehicles and taking several prisoners. Army spokesman al-Sawarmi Khalid confirmed the attack but said the rebels had been defeated. “They suffered heavy losses. Twenty-five fighters of the Justice and Equality Movement were killed, 10 of their trucks were destroyed,” he said, adding that JEM had earlier attacked a market in the area and stolen goods.
Rebels in Sudan’s Darfur region launched an attack on government troops on Saturday, with both sides claiming to have inflicted heavy casualties. The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), part of a rebel alliance that wants to topple the government in Khartoum, said it attacked an army camp in Wad Ganja in northeastern Darfur, killing several soldiers, destroying 15 army vehicles and taking several prisoners. Army spokesman al-Sawarmi Khalid confirmed the attack but said the rebels had been defeated. “They suffered heavy losses. Twenty-five fighters of the Justice and Equality Movement were killed, 10 of their trucks were destroyed,” he said, adding that JEM had earlier attacked a market in the area and stolen goods.
At this point UNAMID should be given its say, but that doesn’t require much space:
“Speaking about the complaints of citizens with respect to militias, road blockades, Abu Tira [Central Reserve Police] attacks, looting and rape, [UNAMID Spokesman Christopher] Cycmanick said he had ‘not heard anything about these events, but promised to discuss the matter and carry out an investigation.'”
It would appear Mr. Cycmanick has spending a good deal of time in Nyuru—and of course it was UNAMID that facilitated the trip to Nyuru for the New York Times correspondent.
APPENDIX:
• Farsha of Morney: no voluntary return of refugees to Nuri (Nyuru), Nuri/Nyuru, West Darfur
Radio Dabanga (10 April 2012)
http://www.radiodabanga.org/node/28283
The highest native administrator of Morney, Izzedeen Abdurrahman, told Radio Dabanga “there is no voluntary return of refugees from eastern Chad to their villages in Nuri [Nyuru].” He added that if anybody claimed he had been to Nuri and saw refugees returning “he must have confused trees with human beings.” [… ]
The Farsha returned to Nuri [Nyuru] and found not a single returnee.
He explained that he did not deal with voluntary return files, as the most pressing issue in Nuri [Nyuru] and surroundings is the lack of security: “80% of the people from Nuri [Nyuru] are still living in refugee camps in eastern Chad.” The rest of the people found shelter in camps in El Geneina, Morney and Cisse: “These places are deserted, every school is destroyed.”
• Four more Chad camp leaders deny voluntary return to Darfur
Radio Dabanga, (5 April 2012)
http://www.radiodabanga.org/node/28084
Four more camp leaders from Goz Amir, Um Nabuk, Tolom, Berayjin in eastern Chad have confirmed to Radio Dabanga that there has not been any voluntary return to Darfur from their camps. Camp leader Ahmed of Goz Amir said there had been a steady increase of Darfuri refugees to the camp which is home to more than 27,000 people. The other camps number between 19,000 and 37,000 residents and were set up in 2004. The leaders all said that the claims that large numbers of people have repatriated to Darfur from Chad as implied by Jeffrey Gettleman’s article in the New York Times is “peddling government propaganda intended to promote the Doha peace agreement.”
• Camp leaders in eastern Chad deny voluntary return to Darfur
Radio Dabanga, (3 April 2012)
http://www.radiodabanga.org/node/27946
The leaders of seven refugee camps in eastern Chad have denied claims of voluntary return to Darfur by the UN and the Sudanese government. They told Radio Dabanga that the recent promotion of refugees leaving the camps in Chad in the international media is ‘false and misleading.’ The camp leaders of camp Arka, Soni, Furshana, Jebel, Terayjin, Kulungo and Gaga gave unanimous statements to Radio Dabanga: local authorities must first guarantee security and provide basic services before refugees will voluntary return to their villages in Darfur.
• [Eastern Chad Refugee Camps Are No Different in Present Population]
Radio Dabanga, (March 30, 2012):
In interviews with the 12 camp leaders to be broadcast over the next few days, they said the return of 100,000 refugees was ‘misleading’ and if this was the case the camps would also be visibly emptier. The leaders of Gaga, Furshana, Berayjin, Terayjin, Milih, Tolom, Um Nabuk, Areka Soni, Jebel, Kulungo, Ardimay, Goz Amir said they were surprised at the timing of this ‘false information’ suggesting refugees were freely returning to Darfur.
• UNHCR confirms no refugees have returned to Darfur from Chad
Radio Dabanga, (2 April 2012)
http://www.radiodabanga.org/node/27865
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has confirmed that no refugees repatriated to Darfur from Chad as suggested by the New York Times. UNHCR Chad representative Jean Bosco spoke to Radio Dabanga. Here is the full interview:http://www.radiodabanga.org/node/27865
• April 2 update from Radio Dabanga, presenting an interview with UNHCR Chad representative Jean Bosco:
We are happy to interview you today at Radio Dabanga.
Firstly, we would like to know: How many Sudanese are registered as refugees in Chad?
‘For the time being we have 282,743.’
How many Sudanese refugee camps are in Chad?
‘We have 12 refugee camps with Sudanese refugees.’
Is it possible for you to give us the capacity of the refugee camps?
‘There is no standard capacity. Some camps like Areka Soni are hosting 36,000, while others like Milih are hosting only 18,000.’
Did any voluntary repatriation took place ever?
‘So far no repatriation took place from the Sudanese refugee camp in Chad.’
So there are no people retained voluntary from Chad to Sudan officially under the coordination of UNHCR?
‘No, what we call spontaneous repatriation is not organised by the UNHCR. People can decide to go by themselves. In such a case, the UNHCR doesn’t provide for any assistance. We heard that some Sudanese had repatriated. We asked our colleagues from UNHCR, even implementing personnel in the Darfur region. But none had been able to provide evidence that those people were living in the refugee camps in Chad. So right now I’m not in the position to certify that any refugee had repatriated from the refugee camps in Chad.’
I ask this question because we read in the international media that there is repatriation from Sudanese refugee camps in Chad from Sudan.
‘No, this did not happen.’
In the last year, 2012, did there happen any repatriation?
‘No, last year, nobody repatriated from the refugee camps.’
What happened to the agreement between the UNHCR, the Sudanese government, the Chadian government concerning the repatriation of refugees?
‘So far, no tripartite agreement has been signed yet. There have been two tripartite technical meetings. One in Khartoum and one in Chad. The third one will most likely take place on the 9th of May 2012. I am just starting drafting the tripartite agreement. But right now even the draft of the agreement doesn’t exist yet.’