September 2013 update: “They Bombed Everything that Moved”: Aerial military attacks on civilians and humanitarians in Sudan and South Sudan, 1999 – 2011
Eric Reeves | September 2013 | http://wp.me/p45rOG-1XZ
Preface
This is the fifth update to my original May 5, 2011 report and data spreadsheet (now representing data through June 2012; see June-5-2012-data-spreadsheet-FINAL). Collectively, the reports and data attempt to render as completely as possible all confirmed aerial attacks on civilians and humanitarians working in what is now Sudan and South Sudan. The attacks recorded here are all the responsibility of the National Islamic Front/National Congress Party regime in Khartoum, which this year marked its 24th year in power following the June 30, 1989 military coup.
The motivation for this schematic history and archival project continues to be the intolerable singularity of Khartoum’s sustained, deliberate, and unconstrained aerial attacks on Sudanese civilians and relief workers over many years—this along with the conviction that the profound anonymity of nearly all victims of these attacks is morally unacceptable: they deserve some reckoning, some accounting, some identifiable part in this unspeakably grim history of incidents that together constitute crimes against humanity.
As I argue, and believe the facts amply demonstrate, such a sustained aerial military strategy—profoundly destructive in its consequences—has no historical precedent or parallel anywhere in the world. The current outrage over atrocities in Syria seems quite uncomprehending—or ignorant—of the much greater, more destructive, and more enduring conflict in Darfur; the particular character of Khartoum’s aerial attacks is the subject of the first two sections of this update. The “moral obscenity” of chemical weapons used against civilians in Syria, deplored by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and others, can be no more “obscene” than the ongoing and often deliberate aerial targeting of civilians and humanitarians. What we have seen in Syria over the past two and a half years pales before the suffering and loss of human lives and livelihoods in Darfur over the past decade. International weariness with the conflict cannot diminish its terrible realities. The implicit suggestion by the unctuous Kerry and others seems to be that the significance of a child who dies a terrible death from chemical weapons is greater than that of a child eviscerated by bomb shrapnel that leaves her to die a slow, agonizing death. The comparison, even if implicit, is despicably invidious.
[ Note, November 6, 2016 on evidence of chemical weapons use by Khartoum’s military aircraft: Many reports of chemical weapons use that appear in dispatches here from Radio Dabanga, several years before use of these weapons was confirmed by Amnesty International (“Scorched Earth, Poisoned Air: Credible evidence of children killed and maimed by horrific chemical weapons attacks in Darfur,” September 29, 2016 | https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/09/chemical-weapons-attacks-darfur ). These reports on the use of chemical weapons by the Khartoum in Darfur come long after the report my MSF on chemical weapons use in Equatoria (South Sudan) in 1999: (Living under aerial bombardments: Report of an investigation in the Province of Equatoria, Southern Sudan, February 20, 2000); see below. ]
Geostrategic calculations of national self-interest on the part of the U.S., as well as the nations of the EU, the Arab League, and the African Union ensure that the western part of Sudan will see no commensurate language of outrage; this is true even as a number of the attacks reported recorded here give strong evidence of the use of chemical weapons. Such reports have been continually forthcoming following an emphatic finding by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in South Sudan in 1999.
As I noted in the original version of this report, the use of chemical weapons by Khartoum has never been properly investigated by the UN; nor has the international community pushed effectively for such investigation. Despite very strong prima facie evidence that the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) had engaged in chemical warfare on a number of occasions, a decade after the end of the Iraqi Anfal the international community again showed no interest in investigating:
MSF [Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders] is particularly worried about the use or alleged use of prohibited weapons (such as cluster bombs and chemical bombs) that have indiscriminate effect. The allegations regarding the use of chemical bombs started on 23 July 1999, when the villages of Lainya and Loka (Yei County) were bombed with chemical products. In a reaction to this event, a group of non-governmental organizations had taken samples on the 30th of July, and on the 7th of August; the United Nations did the same.
Although the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is competent and empowered to carry out such an “investigation of alleged use,” it needs an official request made by another State Party. [N.B.] To date, we deplore that OPCW has not received any official request from any State Party to investigate, and that since the UN sample-taking, no public statement has been made concerning these samples or the results of the laboratory tests.
MSF offers several eyewitness accounts of chemical weapons in bombs, including a grim narrative of events in Yei County (now Central Equatoria):
The increase of the bombings on the civilian population and civilian targets in 1999 was accompanied by the use of cluster bombs and weapons containing chemical products. On 23 July 1999, the towns of Lainya and Loka (Yei County) were bombed with chemical products. At the time of this bombing, the usual subsequent results (i.e., shrapnel, destruction to the immediate environment, impact, etc.) did not take place. [Rather], the aftermath of this bombing resulted in a nauseating, thick cloud of smoke, and later symptoms such as children and adults vomiting blood and pregnant women having miscarriages were reported.
[N.B.]: These symptoms of the victims leave no doubt as to the nature of the weapons used. Two field staff of the World Food Program (WFP) who went back to Lainya, three days after the bombing, had to be evacuated on the 27th of July. They were suffering from nausea, vomiting, eye and skin burns, loss of balance and headaches.
After this incident, the WFP interrupted its operations in the area, and most of the humanitarian organizations that are members of the Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) had to suspend their activities after the UN had declared the area to be dangerous for its personnel.
MSF concludes:
[E]vidence has been found and serious allegations have been made that [N.B.] weapons of internationally prohibited nature are regularly employed against the civilian population, such as cluster bombs and bombs with “chemical contents.” (Living under aerial bombardments: Report of an investigation in the Province of Equatoria, Southern Sudan, February 20, 2000)
Let us be clear, then: “chemical weapons” are a “moral obscenity,” a “violation of international norms,” only when a particular sort of people are victims. That we have so many reports of savagely destructive aerial attacks in Darfur, in many cases strongly suggestive of chemical weaponry, makes the hypocrisy of the international community on this issue painfully clear. All reports indicating the possible use of chemical weapons in Darfur during the period covered by this update have been highlighted ( §§§ ) in the section on bombing dispatches from Radio Dabanga (Section I). There are many earlier such reports of chemical weapons being used in Darfur; there has been nothing, however, from the UN/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), charged with monitoring a ban on military flights over Darfur (UN Security Council Resolution 1591, March 2005) and presumably violations of the Chemical Weapons Conventions of 1993, to which the Khartoum regime is nominally a signatory.
All the reports from Radio Dabanga here have been edited for length, although what is most often edited out are the details of physical damage and in particular the constant calls for international protection and assistance—pleas for protection and humanitarian relief, especially for those displaced from their lands and homes by aerial bombardment. Such pleas occur in most reports, typically with an accompanying bewilderment: “Where is UNAMID? Why is it not protecting us? Why won’t it patrol in our area? What good are they?” It should also be noted that Radio Dabanga’s casualty figures are often incomplete because people have had to flee their homes, villages, and lands so rapidly in the face of intolerable and often extremely intense bombardment. Nor is Radio Dabanga able to track all the displaced to their points of destination, at least on an individual basis: the situation on the ground is too chaotic to permit such determinations. Indeed, most locations in rural Darfur are without the means to communicate easily with Radio Dabanga. What we have from Radio Dabanga is not a complete census but a representative sampling of various areas in Darfur.
What Radio Dabanga does with regularity—a pattern that is revealed only when one reads these dispatches as a whole—is report on the bombing of water sites. This is an extraordinarily destructive act: not only are civilians and livestock most likely to be concentrated around water points, but their frequent destruction (often after many bombing attempts) has disastrous consequences for local agriculture and thus civilian livelihoods. In this, the assault on Darfur is entirely continuous with the ambitions of Khartoum in its bombing of civilians and farmland in the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
The corollary of such relentless, indiscriminate, and massive aerial assaults is psychological trauma of an extreme sort. People are unable to work, unable to sleep, and are often so seized with fear and anxiety that they see no choice but to leave. They cannot live anything like normal lives under such constant bombardment. These civilians make up a disproportionately large percentage of the more than 400,000 people newly displaced this year. (This figure is a conservative extrapolation from all reports available: the OCHA figure in mid-May was “more than 300,000″ newly displaced in 2013, and violence and displacement have been relentless during the intervening four months.) Like total mortality in Darfur, the number of displaced persons has become unfortunately politicized and the UN, African Union, and UNAMID all bear substantial blame for this state of affairs.
Radio Dabanga has also reported repeatedly on the consequences of unexploded ordnance (UXO), a common feature of Khartoum’s aerial assaults, as well as the increasing number of incidents in which the toxic effects of bombs are peculiar and out of character with “regular” bombing. Even regular bombs have toxic effects, especially in water that gathers in the craters they create. But the nature of the toxic effects is much more sinister, as reported on any number of occasions. At the very least there should be an international investigation of the allegations of chemical weapons use (Sudan is a party to the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention); sadly, despite the rhetorical flights of condemnation over Syria’s use of chemical weapons, the subject of investigating in a region of Darfur such as Jebel Marra—to which UNAMID is denied all access—is never even mentioned. Again, all reports here suggestive of chemical weapons delivered by military aircraft have been highlighted (§§§).
• A note on nomenclature:
Most of the aerial attacks in Darfur are by retrofitted Antonov cargo planes; they are cheap, immune from ground fire because they fly above 5,000 meters (but also consequently even more inaccurate), and the ordnance (shrapnel-loaded barrel bombs) is extremely cheap, though deadly against civilians and livestock. Helicopter gunships are also often used, especially in conjunction with ground assaults on villages. Many eyewitness reports indicate that “MiGs” are involved in bombing attacks. One suspects, given the disposition of aerial assets by the SAF, that these are mainly Sukhoi Su-25 attack jets, flying low and extremely fast, and difficult for those without military training to distinguish from other high-speed aircraft. “MiG,” in short, is the rubric for combat aircraft with jet engines. Khartoum does have a number of MiG-29s, older MiGs, other military jet aircraft, and has recently acquired a deadly new ground attack aircraft from Belarus, the Su-24. But in Darfur, the jet aircraft taking off from el-Fasher or el-Obeid airbases are more likely to be Su-25s.
On a more purely linguistic matter: for some reason, Radio Dabanga very frequently uses the verb “shell” where most English speakers would normally expect “bomb.” This can cause some confusion, since “shelling” in its ordinary sense (artillery and mortar fire) is also reported by Radio Dabanga. Inevitably, however, context makes clear what action has occurred. Similarly, “herders” typically refers to nomadic Arab pastoralists, but may also refer to those sedentary African farmers who are “herding” their livestock; again, context almost always makes clear just who is being referred to.
• A note on place names and county/locality designations:
This report discusses three large, remote, and geographically and linguistically diverse areas in Darfur. There are, inevitably, different spellings and transliterations—and simply different names—for many of the locations in these regions. I have tried to regularize the spelling for clarity’s sake. In the case of towns or localities that are more variously differentiated, I have chosen to preserve the locality/county names of the source if it is public or to use the names and transliterations of the highly detailed UN Darfur Field Atlases (2005).
• A note on military sources:
Radio Dabanga frequently cites “military spokesmen” for the rebel groups of the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), including the two major factions of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) from Darfur. In previous updates and in the original report, these were not deemed sufficiently objective to be included as sources. There are still questions about the veracity of all claims made, but so often do civilian eyewitness accounts support or supplement military claims, that such military sources have been included here for the first time. The fact that a given source is a military spokesman is always highlighted with an asterisk (*).
Errors in an enterprise such as this—with multiple names, spellings, transliterations, geographic uncertainties, and corruption through transmission—are inevitable. Everything has been done to secure the most accurate data and geographical information possible, but given the ongoing nature of this archive, the author would be grateful to receive comments.
• Note for this update
Highlighting of terms and data records
For the present update I have focused exclusively on Darfur; subsequent updates will treat data and reports on bombing in South Kordofan, Blue Nile, and aerial attacks on the territory of the sovereign nation of South Sudan, which became an independent country in July 2011.
I have generally put in bold the most important proper names, dates, numbers, ethnicities, and geographical locations on first appearance in a given section within this report. All emphases have been added by the author and appear as bold italics. For even greater emphasis I have sometimes used the abbreviation for the Latin nota bene (“note well”), N.B. mechanical, grammatical, and idiomatic errors have sometimes been silently corrected for clarity. The data spreadsheet to which the update refers includes all confirmed aerial attacks from the original report and its four subsequent updates; all can be found on this site. An updated spreadsheet—including data subsequent to June 2012—consolidates data from all reports in all areas but does not presently include the data from this update on Darfur.
Research to date indicates that there have been more than 2,000 confirmed aerial attacks on civilians and humanitarians by military forces of the current regime. These are, in all likelihood, only a small percentage of attacks that have actually occurred, but represent what the data and available sources will permit by way of confirmation.
Sections of this update
Preface and Notes
I. Aerial attacks in Darfur continue undiminished
II. Consequences to date and the course of future human destruction
III. Continuing violent hostility toward international humanitarian organizations in Darfur and greater Sudan
IV. Aircraft and munitions in use in Darfur and greater Sudan
V. The near-term future for Darfur and greater Sudan: The Abyei Crisis
VI. Context for reports of aerial attacks from Radio Dabanga and other sources
VII. Sources and bibliographies for bombing reports
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Update to: “They Bombed Everything that Moved”: Aerial military attacks on civilians and humanitarians in Sudan and South Sudan, 1999 – 2013
(Update as of September 2013)
REPORTED AERIAL ATTACKS, MAY 2012 – SEPTEMBER 2013
(all highlightings in these dispatches have been added; four dispatches have been marked | §§§ | this signifies reports of chemical weapons use)
• More bombing of Darfur’s East Jebel Marra, youths harassed
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (15 September 2013) – In the Nimra region, East Jebel Marra, resident Abdullah Mohamed was seriously injured on Sunday, reportedly as a result of bombardments by the Sudanese Air Force… A witness informed Radio Dabanga that an Antonov jet started intensive bombing above the area of East Jebel Marra around 8am, continuing until 11am. This led to the injury of Abdullah Mohamed (55). He was taken to the health centre of Shangil Tobaya for treatment. A number of livestock were also killed.
• Continued bombing and shelling of Darfur’s East Jebel Marra
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (12 September 2013) – The Sudanese Air Forces (SAF) has allegedly continued bombing Darfur’s East Jebel Marra for the third day in a row, as well as shelling with heavy artillery. Security services have closed the main road between the Zam Zam displaced camp and Tabet, leading to Fanga and Dirbat, three days ago. Witnesses who fled told Radio Dabanga that on Thursday, MiG fighters and Antonov planes continued their bombardments of the areas of Kira, Sabi and Jabel Korgi, for the third day in a row. They said that on Thursday, the shelling continued from 8am till 11am, creating huge fear and leading to most of the residents to flee to the valleys. Others fled to Zam Zam camp, near El Fasher, the capital of north Darfur. The people fleeing the attacks have allegedly been exposed to heavy abuse by security men in the Umm Hashaba region and by “Abu Tira” forces at the gate of the Zam Zam camp. Women have been harassed, others were beaten, heavily insulted, and their possessions taken, on the pretext that they are supporting the armed rebel movements.
• Dead, injured in clashes, air raids in Darfur
Radio Dabanga, EL FASHER (11 September 2013) – Witnesses who fled from the villages Makariba A and Makariba B, south of El Fasher and from villages in the area of Tabet, in East Jebel Marra have reported casualties and the death of livestock due to intense bombardments, allegedly by the Sudanese Air Forces and shelling by heavy artillery on Wednesday. One witness confirmed to Radio Dabanga the killing of one of his relatives named Haji Ali Mousa Ali (65), amongst others during an air strike, while they were hiding in one of the valleys in the Tabet area. Other witnesses who fled confirmed that heavy aerial bombardments started on Tuesday evening and continued until Wednesday evening, targeting the villages Makariba A and Makariba B located between Tabet and Zamzam camp, south of El Fasher….
• “Several dead and injured in Darfur air raid”: witnesses
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (3 September 2013) – An unknown number of people have reportedly been killed and injured in a sustained aerial bombardment, allegedly by Antonov aircraft of the Sudanese Air Force, in parts of Darfur’s East Jebel Marra on Monday and Tuesday. Multiple witnesses told Radio Dabanga that the North Darfur areas of Abu Hamra, Hafara, Dubbo Al Omda, and southeast Al Malam were hit in the raid that began at about 3pm on Monday and was reportedly sustained until Tuesday evening. The exact number of casualties has not been ascertained, as residents have apparently fled in all directions, many taking cover in the surrounding mountains and valleys. One man who fled the Dubbo Al Omda area told Radio Dabanga that the eight-year-old Yahiya Yaqoub Saleh, as well as Adam Abkar Mohamed, and Dar Es Salaam Omar Saleh, were killed as they moved towards their farm on Tuesday morning. He reported that 45 head of cattle and three donkeys were also killed.
• “At least seven dead in Darfur air raid”: herdsman
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (5 September 2013) – At least seven people, including four children, are reported to have died in renewed air raids, allegedly by the Sudanese air force, in Darfur’s East Jebel Marra on Thursday. Several witnesses fleeing the area told Radio Dabanga that the vicinities of Kined, Silo, Shangil Tobay, as well as the villages of Kunjara, Sharaf, Tirbo, and Vanaga were affected.
They said that three Antonov aircraft and two MiG jets pounded those areas from 8am until 1pm on Thursday. They said that they saw “many dead and wounded among the population, as well as a number of livestock killed.” They could not quote exact number, however, as “people were fleeing for their lives in all directions.” A herdsman who spoke to Radio Dabanga said that while they were watering their livestock at the wells of the Abuzaid agricultural project, a strike killed seven people and wounded five others. “The dead included four children: Aisha Hussein Yaqoub (6), Yahya Jaqoub Issa (7), Rufiedah Adam Saleh (12), and Adam Saleh Jumma (15),” the herdsman said, confirming that farmers are fleeing the areas of Marshang, Manawashi and Abu Hamra.
“People live in constant terror of the terror of the Antonovs, MiGs, and helicopters,” he said. “With the roar of aircraft above them they are not able to go about their daily lives, tend their farms of shop for food, as the bombs could fall at any moment.” The witnesses called on the UN and the international community to enforce a no-fly zone in Darfur, and to document the crimes of the Khartoum regime.
• One killed, two brothers maimed by grenade in East Darfur
Radio Dabanga, ADILLA (29 August 2013) – One young man was killed and two brothers maimed on Thursday when a grenade they found in East Darfur exploded. A relative of the deceased told Radio Dabanga that Mohamed Ahmed Al Hadi was killed outright. Brothers Daw Al Naim and Ibrahim Al Sadik Ahmed were both seriously injured in the explosion. They reportedly both lost their hands and feet. The relative said that the incident occurred about 3km west of Adilla. “The men were on their way home after tending their farm when they found the grenade. We suspect it was left over from the recent tribal clashes in the area. When Mohamed picked it up, it went off.” After more than a decade of hostilities, Darfur is littered with the debris of war, which includes unexploded ordnance (UXO).
• Two Darfuris killed in on-going East Jebel Marra airstrikes
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (23 August 2013) – Bombings allegedly carried out by the Sudanese Air Force continued on Friday in East Jebel Marra leaving at least two people dead and several others injured, local sources fleeing the strikes say. As a result of the “heavy bombardments, targeting mainly the North Darfur village of Dubbo al Omda and surroundings,” houses and farms caught on fire and livestock were killed.
Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that a MiG aircraft dropped bombs on Friday from 8am until 10am, adding the bombardment “intensified.” A man fleeing the village of Kaja, located 7km east from Dubbo al Omda, said he saw two of relatives killed during the strikes: Mansour Ali Mansour and his son Hamouda Mansour, seven years old. “I could not count the dead and wounded because everyone fled in different directions on their own to survive the attack,” he said, while confirming that houses and farms are on fire due to the “intense bombardment by the Sudanese Air Force.” Bombings in East Jebel Marra are going on for more than one week. Sources told Radio Dabanga the noise of aircrafts “has completely traumatised the children, and some pregnant women have miscarried.”
• Air sorties “traumatising Darfur’s East Jebel Marra”: witnesses
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (22 Aug 2012) – Residents of Darfur’s East Jebel Marra are reportedly living in continuous fear of air raids. They allege that the area is constantly patrolled by “Sudanese Air Force” jets and helicopters, severely disrupting their daily lives. Citizens have called on the UN and the international community to intervene and impose a no-fly zone in Darfur. They say that in addition to low-flying helicopters and MiG jets, high-flying Antonov aircraft “threaten aerial bombardment at any moment.” “For three consecutive days from Tuesday to Thursday constant sorties have forced many citizens to spend their days taking cover in the wood or the valleys. The noise has completely traumatised the children, and some pregnant women have miscarried,” a source said. The affected areas include Abu Hamra, Affara, Adola and North Al Malam. Residents complain that they are having difficulty going about their daily lives, obtaining food and water, or tending their farms and livestock.
• “Village destroyed, civilians dead and injured in Darfur air raid”: villagers
Radio Dabanga, SHANGIL TOBAY (20 August 2013) – An “intense air bombardment,” allegedly by the Sudanese Air Force, reportedly caused an unknown number of casualties and completely destroyed the village of Abu Tega in North Darfur on Tuesday. A villager fleeing the area told Radio Dabanga that from 12pm till 1pm, two Antonov aircraft strafed the area to the east and west of the main highway that connects El Fasher and Nyala, capitals of North and South Darfur. Areas east, north and west of Marshang locality in South Darfur were also reportedly targeted. Witnesses counted a total of 25 bombs that were dropped. “The village of Abu Tega to the west of Shangil Tobay was completely burned and the population fled in all directions.” The source said while he was sure that there were “many dead and injured,” he could not yet account for the human casualties due to their dispersal.
• “At least four dead, entire village destroyed in Darfur air raids”: witnesses
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (18 August 2013) – At least four people—including a pregnant woman—are reported to have died, many injured, and a village completely destroyed on Saturday and Sunday, following a series of air raids on East Jebel Marra. Multiple reports reaching Radio Dabanga from civilians fleeing the area say that on Sunday, the pregnant Hawaa Suleiman Yahiya died, and at least two people were injured, when “a group of eight Sudanese Air Force aircraft including MiG jets, helicopters and Antonovs bombarded a large area of East Jebel Marra.”
The North Darfur villages of Tanagara, Sharfa, Dolma, Abu Hamra, Sani Kundo, and Tagali Umagali were all reportedly hit. Tanagara was apparently completely destroyed. In the Gallab area, close to North Tabit military base, Nour Al Daim Saleh Bakhit, and Musa Yahiya Issa were both seriously injured in a bombardment. However, witnesses say that as the raids are ongoing, the exact number of casualties has yet to be assessed. As previously reported by Radio Dabanga, several civilians have died, dozens have been injured and much property has been destroyed in “almost daily” bombardments of the East Jebel Marra locality over the past few weeks.
• Darfur’s East Jebel Marra shelled—at least two civilians die: witnesses
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (15 August 2013) – Government militias guarding fuel convoy reportedly subjected villages in East Jebel Marra to “artillery and mortar fire” on Thursday, killing at least two civilians, and injuring many more. Multiple witnesses told Radio Dabanga that the government troops and militiamen were guarding a convoy of 150 fuel tanker trucks that reached Tabit military base in North Darfur on Thursday morning. In the past, fuel convoys have been the target of rebel attacks. The guards then reportedly gathered in the Tangara area, about 7km south of the base, and began to shell the South Darfur villages of Shawara, Ronja Guenjy, Aduma, Umm Genji, Crowe, and the surrounding farms “with artillery, howitzers and mortars.”
Witnesses say that two women, Maimuna Easa Saleh (35 years) and Dar es Salaam Hassan Yahiya (25 years) died in “intensive bombing” of Shawara. “A large fire also broke out in the village,” they said. Sources say that following the shelling, “the Sudanese Air Force dropped several bombs on the area,” but could not give further details. The bombardments also reportedly injured many people, but the witnesses underscored that it was too soon to give accurate casualty figures. Large numbers of livestock are also said to have perished. Citizens appealed to the international community to intervene and “impose a no-fly zone in Darfur, and document the crimes of the Khartoum regime in East Jebel Marra.”
• Sudanese Air Force strikes on East Jebel Marra continue: sources
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (13 August 2013) – Air raids “carried out by the Sudanese Air Force” on East Jebel Marra continue for a third consecutive day, local sources affirm. They were not yet able to confirm any casualties. MiG aircrafts have reportedly bombed Dubbo al Omda and surrounding villages of North Darfur, “on Tuesday morning and afternoon.” Witnesses could not yet confirm any casualties to Radio Dabanga as people fled towards several directions and most are still hiding. “Farmers left their crops, and pastoralists lost their livestock and camels due to the constant shelling,” sources said. They stressed that local communities, especially children, women, and the elderly, are facing a “humanitarian crisis” caused by extreme difficult conditions and poor health as they must constantly flee.
• Darfur’s East Jebel Marra bombing death toll rises
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (12 August 2013) – The death toll of air strikes allegedly carried out by the Sudanese Air Force in North Darfur’s East Jebel Marra rose from seven to nine, sources affirmed. On the occasion of the bombings on Dubbo al Omda, witnesses said the bombardment was so intense that people were simply not able to escape. Sources informed Radio Dabanga that two more bodies, belonging to the twin brothers Hassan Yahiya Mohamed and Hussein Yahiya Mohamed, 7, were found on Monday in the zone of Keyra, which belongs to the Dubbo al Omda administrative unit.
“The shattered bodies were found among animal carcasses. The Sudanese Air Force continues bombing the area for a second day in a row,” a witness stated. He said that MiGs dropped four bombs on the village of Suri of Dubbo al Omda administrative unit, “inciting terror and fear in the hearts of citizens” who sought refuge in the wadis and mountains nearby. A large number of livestock is also reported to have been killed. Local residents repeated their demands for the international community to “ban the Sudanese Air Force from flying over Darfur and send teams to investigate the crimes carried out by the Khartoum regime.”
• At least seven die, dozens wounded in North Darfur air raids
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA/TAWILA (11 August 2013) – At least seven people have died and dozens more were wounded when Antonov and MiG aircraft, allegedly belonging to the Sudanese Air Force, subjected parts of North Darfur to “an intense aerial bombardment.” Speaking to Radio Dabanga from Dubbo al Omda in East Jebel Marra on Sunday, witnesses said that the initial bombardment occurred between 7am and 10am, and included Kadja and Dady, as well as the Abu Zaid agricultural project. “The air raids on the area then resumed, and continued into Sunday evening.” Three brothers—Hawe Yahya Omar, Adam Yahya Omar, and Walid Yahya Omar died in one attack—while Gaber Abdurahman Yousuf, and his sons Adam Jaber, Mohammed Jaber, and Noor Mohammed Jaber died in another. In addition to dozens of wounded, large numbers of livestock perished, and many people fled towards Zamzam camp and the city of Shangil Tobay. However, most of the citizens of the area are reportedly taking cover in the wadis and the mountains.
• Young Darfur herder dead in “almost daily air raids on East Jebel Marra”
Radio Dabanga JEBEL MARRA (1 August 2013) – The Sudanese Air Force is allegedly carrying out “almost daily” air raids on the East Jebel Marra locality in South Darfur. On Thursday, 12-year-old herder Musa Suleiman died, and about 47 livestock were killed by one of the bombs. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that Thursday’s air raid, allegedly by a Sudanese Air Force Antonov, hit the area of Hafara in East Jebel Marra, where Musa was herding his cattle. The witnesses complained that the locality “has been under constant and almost daily bombardment.” Farmer Kaltoum Haroun Yahya was killed outright when a bomb hit her farm at about midday on Sunday 21 July. No further casualties have been reported, but witnesses say that many of the people have taken cover in the surrounding mountains. The mountains to the south and west of Shangil Tobay in Dar El Salam locality were reportedly also “subject to aerial bombardment” on Wednesday.
• Darfur farmer killed in air raid on Jebel Marra
Radio Dabanga, JEBEL MARRA (23 July 2013) – A 55-year old South Darfur farmer was reportedly killed on Sunday when “a Sudan Air Force Antonov” allegedly dropped a bomb on her farm east of Jebel Marra in South Darfur. Witnesses from the area told Radio Dabanga the Antonov carried out an air raid over the Fanga and Karkaro areas.
• “Sudan Air Force bombs South Darfur villages”: sources
Radio Dabanga, EL SALAM CAMP (8 July 2013) – The Sudanese Air Force has on Sunday reportedly bombed areas around Umm Gunja in South Darfur. The air raid, a source said, was followed by artillery shelling by machine guns. On Thursday, three women were injured after shells “resulting from clashes in Nyala” hit the Dreige camp for displaced. The wounded were transferred to a hospital in the state capital. Sheikh Mahjoub Adam Tabaldiya of El Salam camp near Nyala said the site’s population is “terrorized.” Several people, during the air raids, were cultivating their vegetable gardens near El Salam and rushed back to the camp in fear. “This is compromising the livelihoods of the displaced.”
• Thousands flee clashes, air raids, in Darfur’s East Jebel Marra
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (30 June 2013) – Clashes between troops of the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) on Friday, followed by alleged air raids by the Sudanese Air Force, have reportedly caused about 17,000 civilians in East Jebel Marra to flee and become displaced. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, Hussein Abu Sharati, spokesman for the Association of Displaced Persons and Refugees of Darfur, said “Friday’s clashes and air raids in eastern Jebel Marra drove the people from their villages to settle in the areas of Kululu and Kele. They are living under trees with no shelter from the rain in conditions that are difficult, even for healthy adults,” Abu Sharati said.
He appealed to the international community and aid organisations to expedite the provision of food, medicine and shelter to the displaced. He also called on the UN “to intervene and stop air raids against unarmed civilians.” In a separate incident on Saturday, a 75-year-old civilian was reportedly killed when the “Sudan Air Force” allegedly bombarded the Abu Zaid Agricultural project 50 kilometres east of Al Malam in South Darfur. Witnesses said that the bombardment, which resulted in the death of Hamdoon Mansoor Saad and his three camels, was “carried out in order to provide cover for a SAF military convoy moving for Marshang locality to Al Malam locality.”
• Nine Darfuri kids injured by bomb
Radio Dabanga, KALMA CAMP (28 June 2013) – A bomb explosion has injured nine children—seven seriously—on Friday morning from Kalma camp for Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad. The camp is close to Umm Dukhun, which recently saw fierce fighting between the Misseriya and Salamat tribes. The unexploded munition could be a remnant from that conflict. A family member of one of the injured told Radio Dabanga that the children were playing near Umm Dukhun at around 10am when the munition exploded. The children were taken to Tissi hospital in Chad for treatment.
• §§§ “Bomb residue” kills four children in Darfur
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (26 June 2013) –Four children died last Wednesday after reportedly coming into contact with residue from bombs dropped on the water wells of Rofota, East Jebel Marra. Musa Haroun (8), Saleh Mohamed (9), Om Kalthoum (12) and Ibrahim Yahiya Yaqoub (17) went to inspect the wells that were damaged by bombs dropped by a “Sudan Air Force Antonov.” Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that soon after returning home, the children all complained of the swelling of their bodies and nausea. This developed into diarrhoea and they also developed a rash. The symptoms deteriorated until all of them died last Wednesday morning. Residents suspect that the children came into contact with rainwater contaminated by residue from the bombs.
• Women killed, injured in air raids on Darfur’s East Jebel Marra
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (24 June 2013) – Three women have been killed and another three injured in reported aerial bombardments of Bir Abu Yassin, East Jebel Marra on Sunday and Monday. The raids also killed 37 cows and seven camels, and destroyed essential water installations, sources said. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that at 6:00pm on Sunday, a “Sudanese Air Force Antonov” made passes over the Rovata area, 35 kilometres west of Vananga, from various directions and dropped several bombs in a raid that was “very violent.” An even heavier raid reportedly followed at 11:15am on Monday, which destroyed three wells and a water pump installation. Maryam Ismail Abakar (75), Yasmine Yahiya Yusuf (17), and Dar Naim Haroun Saleh (22) died in the first raid, witnesses said. Later, when bombs were dropped on the Bir Abu Yassin well, a father and his two sons Yahiya Yaqoub Adam, Adam Yahiya Yaqoub, and Suleiman Yahyia Yaqoub were injured, sources added. The blasts also destroyed a water pump head and its generator.
• Woman, children killed by bombing in Darfur’s East Jebel Marra
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (16 June 2013) – A 27-year-old woman and her two daughters of five and seven were killed when a “Sudanese Air Force Antonov” bombed their home on the outskirts of a village in East Jebel Marra on Sunday. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that Dar Naim Yahya (27), Hawa Saleh Abkar Savnier (7), and Miriyam Saleh Abkar Savnier (5) all died on Saturday when the aircraft dropped two bombs on their home as they were cooking in the courtyard. The bombing also reportedly killed seven cows and five sheep belonging to the family. Observers suspect that the bomber targeted the light of the cooking fire.
• Children killed, injured in explosion at El Salam camp, South Darfur
Radio Dabanga, EL SALAM CAMP (9 June 2013) – A violent explosion killed two children and injured three more on Friday at El Salam camp for the displaced near Nyala, the capital of South Darfur. The children reportedly found an unexploded munition while they were playing outside the camp. They brought it into the camp and were examining it in their house when it exploded, killing Kamal Mohamed Adam and Nahla Jalal Mohamed Adam, and wounding Aduma Abkar Muhammad, Hawa Jachia and Amna Adam Jachia.
• “SAF bombing” leaves eight-year-old girl dead
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (26 May 2013) – An eight-year-old girl, Dar al Salam Omer, was killed on Saturday when a “Sudan Air Force (SAF) Antonov” bombed the village of Simo, about 30 kilometres west of Vanaga in East Jebel Marra. Witnesses from East Jebel Marra told Radio Dabanga that the Antonov bombed the village of Simo on Saturday at approximately 2:00pm. The witnesses also blame the deaths of several more children on “the remnants of the on-going bombing,” which have been occurring since 28 January. Several children have died as a result of “diarrhoea and swelling of the body” in the area of Simo, Tornaga, Hillat Abkar, Gurun Bay, Al Mashro, Doboa, Kenjara and Sharfa; all East, South and North Jebel Marra. They added that the displaced people in these areas “have not received any humanitarian aid” and that they “hold UNAMID responsible for the lack of aid being delivered to them.”
• Sudan Air Force aircraft “cause panic” in Nyala camp
Radio Dabanga, NYALA (21 May 2013) – Three “Sudanese Air Force” aircraft repeatedly overflew a camp near Nyala, capital of South Darfur, “inciting horror and panic” among the residents on Tuesday. Sheikh Abdel Karim Abakar of camp Attash told Radio Dabanga the three “military aircraft” repeatedly overflew the camp for 90 minutes. “Especially women and children were frightened,” he said. The camp’s residents have not able discover a reason.
• Air raids decimate livestock near East Jebel Mara—Darfur
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (14 May 2013) – Eyewitnesses have told Radio Dabanga of renewed air raids on Tuesday on areas of East Jebel Marra in Darfur, which led to the death of large numbers of livestock. According to the witnesses, between 12pm and 1:30pm, a Sudanese Air Force Antonov aircraft dropped several bombs on the area of Dadi and Kair. Local sources also saw three bombs dropped by an Antonov on water wells in the Dadi area which killed large numbers of livestock. They say that three herders’ children are also still unaccounted for. The population of East Jebel Marra have asked the international community to put pressure on the Sudanese government to stop the indiscriminate aerial bombardment of civilians and water sources in the region. They described the situation in East Jebel Marra as very bad, especially as the area does not have a health centre for the wounded to receive treatment.
• “Sudan forces now targeting civilians,” camp leader says
Radio Dabanga, NYALA (9 May 2013) – Approximately 1,321 families from villages in South Darfur have arrived at camp Attash in Nyala over the past two weeks. A sheikh has noted that people are fleeing their homes “because government forces now avoid attacking rebel formations and instead turn their weapons and aircraft on civilians.” Sheikh Abdel Karim Abakar told Radio Dabanga on Thursday that the displaced come from the villages of Umm Daraba, Umm Gunja and Abu Jabra. He stressed they are all experiencing terrible humanitarian conditions. Abakar disclosed that government forces are using different types of weapons against civilians including aircrafts. He added that, on Wednesday in the village of Umm Daraba, more than 600 homes were torched and destroyed. “These crimes committed by the government are based on ethnic and tribal reasons,” Abakar said. “This is causing thousands to flee their villages and homes.”
• South Jebel Marra “hit by air strikes”
Radio Dabanga, SOUTH JEBEL MARRA (5 May 2013) – The area of Libi in South Jebel Marra was exposed to an air strike on Sunday which led to the death of livestock and the destruction of property in an area located 65 kilometers north of Malam, news reports from the region claim. The air strikes continued between 3 and 4:00pm, witnesses added. There are no reports of civilian casualties, but the witnesses pointed out that livestock was killed and numerous residents fled the area towards nearby caves and valleys, in search of safety and protection.
• Deadly air strike “hits area south of Nyala,” South Darfur
Radio Dabanga, NYALA (29 April 2013) – An unknown number of people was killed and several injured on Sunday in the area of Umm Gunja and Allah Kareem, south of Nyala in South Darfur. It was reported that the village of Allah Kareem was burned down completely and scores of livestock were killed after government forces carried out an air strike and a ground offensive. Several witnesses informed Radio Dabanga that an Antonov and two MiG warplanes bombed the areas of Umm Gunja and Allah Kareem on Sunday afternoon. The witnesses claimed that the Antonov dropped more than 20 bombs, which was followed by heavy artillery shelling and a ground offensive carried out by pro-government militias.
Speaking to Radio Dabanga, the witnesses revealed that an unknown number of people were killed and several were injured and added that the village of Allah Kareem was burned to the ground and that scores of livestock were killed. Also, it was reported that pro-government militants beat and tortured whomever they encountered as well as aggressively looting people’s belongings. Civilians fled towards neighboring valleys and forests in an attempt to escape the attacks. According to the witnesses, rebels united in the Sudan Revolutionary Front are not present in the areas. It was reported that most of the people fled the recent incidents in Muhajeriya, Labado and Marla. They were heading towards the areas of Umm Gunja and Allah Kareem before pro-government militants closed the roads leading to Nyala, followed by the bombardments. Those who attempted to flee towards Nyala would be subjected to death or at least to looting and beating, witnesses stated. Sources reported that thousands of children and elderly are facing extremely difficult circumstances and called on international aid organizations and humanitarian organizations to intervene immediately and stop the air strikes and provide aid to those affected.
• Labado in Darfur taken by Sudan army and allied militias
Radio Dabanga, LABADO (16 April 2013) – Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), supported by the Popular Defense Forces (PDF) and another armed group, have taken control of Labado town in East Darfur which was under rebels’ control for the past two weeks, UNAMID reported on Tuesday. The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) said “fierce fighting … resulted in the death of four civilians and in the wounding of six others.” For its part, the rebel group Sudan Liberation Army-Minni Minawi (SLA-MM) announced* its “withdrawal” from Labado after receiving information about “heavily armed government convoys” heading towards the area. SAF troops were coming from “six different directions: North Kordofan, West, East and North Darfur, in addition to two from Nyala,” rebels military spokesman Adam Saleh Abkar disclosed, adding that Khartoum is bombing the surroundings.
Local witnesses told Radio Dabanga about violent clashes between SLA-MM and SAF west of Labado that began at 12:00pm on Tuesday, adding that both sides suffered fatal casualties. “Thousands” of civilians fled the clashes in “all directions” while others were killed because they were caught in the fighting or were hit by airstrikes carried out with Antonov airplanes, Sukhoi and helicopters. Sources could hear sounds of aircraft flying over Labado until Tuesday evening. A runaway saw two dead bodies and several cows and camels that were killed by airstrikes on his way out of Labado.
• Airstrikes kill 2 in Darfur’s East Jebel Marra
Radio Dabanga, ZAMZAM (12 April 2013) – Aerial bombardments by “the Sudanese government” killed two civilians in East Jebel Marra on Thursday night, sources said. Mohamed Issa Yahiya and Adam Bakhit from Zamzam camp were hit by airstrikes at 12:00am as they were asleep in an area located 15 kilometers east of Dobbo. They had gone collecting firewood in Abu Zayd, a government-sponsored agricultural project. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga the bombings led to “widespread devastation in the region.” Activists and local residents say the international community should pressure on the Sudanese government to put an end to airstrikes. They urged UNAMID to protect civilians in Darfur, in particular those living in East Jebel Marra.
• Airstrikes kill 4 in Khor Abeche, South Darfur
Radio Dabanga, KHOR ABECHE (9 April 2013) – A young child and three adults were killed when an Antonov aircraft “belonging to the Sudanese air forces” dropped several bombs in Khor Abeche, South Darfur, on Sunday. Aircrafts have been flying regularly over the area “since Sunday at daytime,” the mother of the decreased child told Radio Dabanga. She noted the bombardments also killed several livestock Anticipating imminent airstrikes, hungry residents do not dare leaving their shelters and search for food. In addition, roads around Khor Abeche have been closed for days and the area is facing shortages in food and in medicine.
• Muhajeriya air strike “claims 9 lives” East Darfur—rebels
Radio Dabanga, MUHAJERIYA (8 April 2013) – Air strikes carried out by the Sudan Air Force on Saturday evening around 9:00pm reportedly left nine people dead in Muhajeriya, East Darfur. Adam Saleh, military spokesman of the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Minni Minawi (SLM-MM) said in an interview with Radio Dabanga that an Antonov plane shelled Muhajeriya on Saturday which resulted in the death of nine people, among them seven children. Among the victims are Albarai Abkar Haroun, one month old, Faiza Abkar Haroun, four years old, Zahira Abkar Haroun, five years old, Arafa Abkar Haroun, nine years old, Madawi Ibrahim Adam and Walaa Aldin Ibrahim Adam, and both four years old, Fatima Youssef Ibrahim, one year old.
• Darfur children remain at risk of unexploded mines
Radio Dabanga, KHARTOUM (April 3, 2013) – Harum Ali used to dream of becoming an engineer, but changed his mind after he was hospitalised with severe injuries following a horrific mine explosion. Now the 17-year-old from Mellit in North Darfur wants to be a doctor so that he can help others suffering from debilitating injuries or illness. Ali is still recovering from the serious leg and arm injuries he sustained after a piece of artillery he was playing with exploded. Tragically Ali also lost his two younger brothers in the incident. Ali’s life changed forever on 26 January after finding the remains of a projectile, no bigger than a pack of gum, near his house.
• Mellit bombings claim “12 victims” in North Darfur
Radio Dabanga, MELLIT (25 March 2013) – The number of victims as a result of the bombings in the village of Umm Ajaja, at about 20 kilometer northwest of Mellit in North Darfur on Friday, has been adjusted to 12 people. Among the fatal victims are a child and woman, sources stated. Besides, the bombings resulted in the death of more than 350 cattle heads. Mellit’s deputy of the National Council, Yaser Ahmadi, claims that the affected areas do not accommodate any insurgency. Authorities reportedly confirmed that the bombing might have been caused by “inaccurate information.” The Darfur Bar Association condemned the bombings and asserted in a statement that the targeted area does not accommodate any rebel groups.
• Air strike East Jebel Marra “kills 2 children”
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (25 March 2013) – An air strike on a water source in the area of Kira, East Jebel Marra, has reportedly left two children dead. Witnesses informed Radio Dabanga that the Sudanese Air Force dropped a number of seven bombs at about 3:30 pm on Sunday afternoon on the areas of Sabi and Nimra. According to the witnesses, the air strike resulted in the death of two children and a number of livestock at a water source in the area of Kira in East Jebel Marra.
• Aerial bombings kill “at least 4” in Mellit, North Darfur
Radio Dabanga, MELLIT (22 March 2013) – At least four people were confirmed to have been killed in air strikes by the Sudan Air Force near Mellit in North Darfur. The shelling hit a crowded water source on Friday afternoon. Sources speaking to Radio Dabanga said the village of Umm Ajaja, located 20 kilometers west of Mellit, was hit at 12:00pm. Besides the four fatal victims, several others were wounded and a number of livestock were killed when the Antonov shelled a busy water source. The deceased are the Sheikh of the Umm Goz village Abdul Rahman, a woman, a child, and Mohiuddin Omar Zaki, member of the Popular Defense Forces. Onlookers told Radio Dabanga that another three areas in the vicinity were targeted by bombings on the same day. They believe the attack left more civilians dead and injured, but the exact number of casualties is not yet known.
• “4,000 flee villages burnt by aerial bombings in South Darfur” – sources
Radio Dabanga, NYALA (18 Mar 2013) – Some 4,000 people in South Darfur were displaced after having their villages “burnt by aerial bombings by the Sudanese air force” during last week’s battles, sources claim. Rebels (SLA-MM) and army (SAF) both reported clashes Thursday and Friday south of Nyala, making competing claims to the number of casualties, with the army spokesman saying 100 rebels were killed in two battles and SLA-MM saying 170 soldiers and 90 militia were killed. Eight villages appear to have been burned by the shelling, and civilians are living in appalling conditions “under trees, without food, shelter or blankets in dire need of emergency relief items.” Roads leading to Nyala remain closed since the eruption of hostilities last week, and the 4,000 displaced are now stranded between their burned villages and Nyala as a result, a sheikh from Tabaldia told Radio Dabanga on Monday. Tabaldia, along with Abga Radji, Hashaba, Makarin, Um Sayala, Humedah, Sonnut, and Hillet Saleh, were the communities burnt by last week’s shelling, he said. They are located south of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur. The sheikh urged humanitarian organizations to act immediately and provide the displaced “all necessary items such as mattresses and blankets and even pots for drinking water” and to open the roads. He further urged the Sudanese government to halt its “indiscriminate aerial bombardments on villages and civilian,” pointing out “this is the reason these communities were destroyed and people are now homeless.” “What happened [the bombings] is immoral and unacceptable,” he said. The sheikh is calling upon “everyone” to take action and demand that the government and rebels move their fighting away from villages and civilians’ concentrations. Lastly, he demanded UNAMID “to do its work and do not stand on the sidelines of what is happening to civilians.”
• SAF bombs several areas in North Darfur, no casualties reported
Radio Dabanga, NORTH DARFUR (11 March 2013) – The Sudanese Air Forces “heavily bombarded” a number of areas and villages in the locality of Al Malaha, North Darfur on Friday and Saturday. According to reports, the bombardments have caused citizens to flee from their villages and destroyed a number of homes as well as killing dozens of livestock. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, Adam Saleh, military spokesman* of the Sudan’s Liberation Movement leadership Minni Minawi (SLM-MM) stated that the bombings targeted the areas of Al Hara, Souq Al Ithnein and Jebel Issa. Saleh revealed that the bombardments destroyed more than six homes completely and that more than 100 cattle heads were killed in addition to large numbers of citizens fleeing from their villages….
Sources from the region, locality of Al Malaha, confirmed the bombardment to Radio Dabanga and explained that the bombings targeted the areas of Tarjam Bout, Ain Bassara, Al Hara and Jebel Issa.
• §§§ More “deformed babies” in South Jebel Marra
Radio Dabanga, GOROLONBAY (11 March 2013) – According to reports from the region of Gorolonbay, three women gave birth to deformed babies last week in the area of Kinga, east Gorolonbay in South Jebel Marra. Sources informed Radio Dabanga that Dar El Salam Yahya Adam, Fatima Suleiman Salih and Nur el-Yigin Mustafa Mohamed gave birth to “deformed babies” last week. The sources explained that these deliveries took place three days after seven women gave birth to children without eyes. Residents from the area appealed to doctors and international organizations to access the area in order to examine the cases and determine if the causes are linked to the bombardments. They pointed out that the area has not witnessed any such cases “throughout history.”
• Fresh shelling in East Jebel Marra, North Darfur—locals
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (8 March 2013) – The Sudanese air force has reportedly shelled the East Jebel Marra region in North Darfur killing several livestock on Thursday and inciting “fear and terror among civilians,” according to reports. A local resident told Radio Dabanga government airplanes were flying over the hit areas again on Friday but did not drop any bombs. He said the affected communities are Kator, Al Mashro and Dobbo El Omda.
• UN panel: “Sudan violating sanctions with Darfur air strikes”
Reuters, NEW YORK (March 4, 2013) – The UN Security Council’s independent panel of experts, who monitor sanctions imposed on Darfur in 2005, said on Friday that Sudan’s government has violated UN sanctions on the Darfur region by carrying out air strikes and using aircrafts from Belarus and Russia…. In a report recently presented to the Security Council, the panel said Sudan violated a Security Council resolution and written pledges to Belarus and Russia not to use aircrafts purchased from them in Darfur by carrying out “aerial bombardments and intimidating flights.”
• §§§ “Toxic bombs in [formerly West] Darfur pollute water, kill 23 children”—rebels
Radio Dabanga, SOUTH JEBEL MARRA (27 February 2013) – The military spokesman of the Sudan Liberation Movement-Abdel Wahid (SLM-AW) disclosed that 23 children died of diarrhea after drinking water polluted by toxic bombs following last week’s bombings in South Jebel Marra, Central Darfur. Mustafa Tambour added to Radio Dabanga that another 287 people are infected with the disease and that 11,000 citizens were displaced due to the shelling. “Toxic bombs have been used by the Sudanese army in both South and West Jebel Marra,” he said, mentioning that areas such as Golo and the Jildu garrison were also affected. According to him, the majority of the citizens who were exposed to the bombings in those areas are complaining about diarrhea after drinking water from local wells. The humanitarian situation in South Jebel Marra is currently deteriorating according to Tambour, who appealed to the UN and other agencies to provide aid….
Five people died following “heavy bombing” by the Sudanese government on 17 February on the South Jebel Marra region, according to sources. Witnesses revealed the bombs used by then were “different” and could not be seen “with the naked eye.” The shells left white ashes after exploding and their residue was causing diarrhea and eye infections among children, miscarriages among women as well as death of livestock.
• Sudan official: Nyala shelling “an accident” Darfur sources deny
Radio Dabanga, NYALA (22 February 2013) – The deputy governor of South Darfur announced on Thursday that the shelling by the government on a market south of Nyala, the state’s capital, was “an accident.” The bombing, Radio Dabanga reported, killed three people and injured at least 15. Abdel Karim Musa, who reportedly attended the victims’ funeral in Nyala, said the incident was not in line with the government’s purpose of providing protection and safety to the people of Darfur.
“Not an accident”
However, sources from Nyala affirmed to Radio Dabanga the shelling was not an accident. Instead, they stressed, bombings and people dying as a result thereof are a daily routine in Darfur. They called the deputy governor’s justification that rebels were the ones being targeted as nonsense, as civilians are the ones under attack by bombings. Sources pointed to the fact that if the shelling was in reality a mistake, the Sudanese military would be in charge of making the announcement, as they are the ones responsible for it, not the deputy governor of South Darfur.
• Shelling “kills 3, injures 15” in market near Nyala, South Darfur
Radio Dabanga, NYALA (21 February 2013) – Three people were killed and at least 15 were injured after an Antonov aircraft shelled a weekly market in Ungdeito, near Nyala in South Darfur on Thursday. Eyewitnesses speaking to Radio Dabanga said this market, located about 15km south of Nyala, attracts villagers from the whole area. They said the injured were taken to a hospital in South Darfur’s capital and urged the government to stop bombing civilian areas like markets and villages. Adam Saleh, military spokesman of the Sudan Liberation Movement-Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM), told Radio Dabanga that ears south of Nyala were bombed on Wednesday and Thursday. He said the citizen Ismail Abdullah Abdelrahman was killed as a result, and the girl Noahir Mohamed Bashir, 11, was injured. Several livestock were also killed. The affected areas, he claims, are Umm Gona, Muhaijir Tunu and Umm Arala. According to Saleh, the government is attacking civilian areas such as water resources and main roads.
• UN renews Darfur arms embargo, Sudan denies air strikes
Radio Dabanga, NEW YORK (15 February 2013) – The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) renewed on Thursday the mandate of a panel of experts in charge to supervise the arms embargo in Darfur amid fears materials supplied could be used by the Sudan government for air strikes in the region. The 15-member council expressed concern that “the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of technical assistance and support … could be used by the Government of Sudan to support military aircraft being used in violation” of Darfur sanctions. [N.B.] Sudan’s Ambassador to the UN Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman said the country intends to cooperate with the panel, but denied it carries out air strikes in Darfur. He claimed Sudan uses its air capacities only for peaceful purposes.
• Rebels: shelling kills 12 in Central [formerly West] Darfur, thousands displaced
Radio Dabanga, GIDU (14 February 2013) -The military spokesman* of the Sudan Liberation Movement-Abdel Wahid (SLM-AW) is accusing the Sudanese government of shelling the Gidu village in West Jebel Marra, Central Darfur and killing 12 civilians on Thursday. Mustafa Tambour said an Antonov airplane bombed Gidu around 3:00pm, burning nine homes and all 12 civilians in them. He added three of the victims were children. In addition, more than 20 people were injured due to the shelling; some of them are in critical conditions.
• Bombings “intensify” in North Darfur, 1 killed and 10 wounded
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (6 February 2013) – One woman was killed and at least 10 others were wounded as a result of “government bombings” in East Jebel Marra, North Darfur, on Wednesday. Sources affirm shelling by the Sudan Air Force has “intensified” in the area lately. Civilians who managed to escape the bombardments told Radio Dabanga an Antonov dropped bombs on a well at the Dalma area as they were fetching water with their livestock at 11:30am. A woman called Suleiman Adam was killed along with several livestock, including two donkeys, goats, cows and sheep. The exact amount of human and animal casualties is not yet clear, as those who survived the shelling fled in different directions and have not yet returned to Dalma.
Before shelling Dalma, the Sudan Air Force bombed the villages of Kiro and Sharafa, which were “burned down” as a result, onlookers say. Immediately after the bombardments, pro-government militias coming from El-Fasher and from Shangil Tobay allegedly “cleaned up the region,” sources say. They attacked civilians and “looted their cattle and their personal belongings.” The group coming from El-Fasher was led by al-Hadi Abdullah Abulbasher and the one from Shangil Tobay by Ibrahim Abdur, witnesses added. Sources told Radio Dabanga that the “intensified bombings” in East Jebel Marra are inciting much “horror and panic among the population,” who are fleeing to valleys, mountains or are hiding under trees “to save their lives.”
• “Government launches 3 air strikes,” kills child in North Darfur
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (27 January 2013) – The Sudanese government launched three air strikes in the region of East Jebel Marra, North Darfur, killing a 12-year old child on Sunday, onlookers affirm. The victim is called Hammouda Hamdan Saleh, witnesses told Radio Dabanga. They added that livestock were also killed and large farm areas were burnt as a result of the bombings. A witness said the shelling took place between 8:00am and 10:00am on Sunday, hitting the semi-deserted areas of Dolma, Sharafa, Jenq, and Dar Bosh. Very few people and their livestock still occupy these areas, called Furqaan, as the rest of the population fled their homes because of government bombardments, a source explained.
• “Sudanese air force bombs injure 2 children,” North Darfur
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (21 January 2013) – Two children were injured when the Sudanese air forces bombed their village of Abu Zayd, in East Jebel Marra, North Darfur, on Monday morning, 21 January. Residents told Radio Dabanga that Adam Mohamed, seven years old, and Maymouna Yahiya eight years old, were hurt after a bomb hit their town at 8:00am. It appears that the government was targeting water wells in the area, eyewitnesses suggested. Besides hurting the children, the shelling also killed eight cows and three sheep, according to testimonies. Abu Zayd village is reportedly the site of an agriculture project set-up by the government of Sudan.
• Fresh government shelling kills 10 in East Jebel Marra, North Darfur
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (11 January 2013) – At least 10 civilians were killed after a government Antonov airplane shelled the area of Dresa, northeast of East Jebel Marra, North Darfur, on Friday, 11 January. Mustafa Tambour, military spokesman* of the Sudan Liberation Movement-Abdel Wahid (SLM-AW), added to Radio Dabanga that several people were wounded, livestock were killed and homes were destroyed. The bombardments lasted for over one hour and afterwards the government airplane flew to the Jildu area, West Jebel Marra in Central Darfur, the spokesman affirmed. More than 38 bombs were dropped in the region “entirely burning” a school and six homes, according to Tambour. He added that frightened residents sought shelter around valleys and behind stones.
• Bombings in Golo leave “several dead”
Radio Dabanga, GOLO (4 January 2013) – The Sudanese Air Force is accused of bombing large areas near the central town of Golo and West Jebel Marra in Central Darfur, on Friday, 4 January, onlookers told Radio Dabanga. Several people were killed and injured, however witnesses were not yet able to assess the exact number of casualties. An unidentified number of cattle were also killed and large farms areas were burned, according to local reports. Eyewitnesses recounted that an Antonov airplane began bombing the Golo area at 6am and the shelling continued throughout the day and evening. They said scared civilians fled in the directions of Kass, South Darfur and Nertiti, while others are seeking refuge from the shelling near mountains, valleys or under trees.
• SLM-AW: “air strike in East Jebel Marra kills 5”
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (3 January 2013) – An air strike, carried out by an Antonov plane on villages northeast of Katur in East Jebel Marra on Sunday, 30 December 2012, has allegedly resulted in the death of five people, among them a baby and an infant. Mustafa Tambour, spokesman* of the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahid, told Radio Dabanga that next to the fatal victims, eight people were wounded. The fatal victims, Tambour continued, are Zahra Arbab Osman, Aicha Khalil Ahmed, Dar as-Salaam Manan Osman who was only 15 days old and Mohamed Adam Yousef Abdul Rahman and Yaser Adam Ibrahim, 5 years old.
• SLM-AW: “Air strike West Jebel Marra kills 2”
Radio Dabanga, EL GENEINA (31 December 2012) – [SLM-AW spokesman*] Abdel Wahid Mustafa Tambour told [Radio Dabanga] that an air strike was carried out by the Sudan Armed Forces on Saturday in villages in West Jebel Marra. He added that an Antonov plane dropped around 22 bombs, killing 2 children and burning a large number of homes in the area.
• Bombings kill two near Golo, Central [formerly West] Darfur
Radio Dabanga, GOLO (27 December 2012) – Two people were killed and three were injured after an Antonov airplane belonging to the Sudan Armed Forces bombed the village of Barasani, located west of the central town of Golo, Central Darfur. Witnesses said the bombings took place on Wednesday, 26 December, and caused the destruction of seven houses and farms, killing camels and cows. Golo was captured by the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) several days ago and the Sudanese army is reportedly trying to recapture this key village in the Jebel Marra area of Central Darfur.
• UNAMID: alleged air strikes cause displacement North Darfur
Radio Dabanga, EL FASHER (21 December 2012) -A press statement issued by UNAMID on Friday, 21 December, claims that the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have allegedly carried out air strikes in Shangil Tobaya and Tawila localities, North Darfur. It was added that UNAMID deployed a patrol to Dalma and Dady villages to verify the reported air strikes in the area, but was denied access by SAF.
Furthermore, reports were received claiming that civilians from Kunjura, Hashaba, Namira and Masal villages have fled to Argo camp in Tawila area as a result of air strikes allegedly carried out by SAF on 18 December. It was added that UNAMID is arranging for further verification of the incidents. The Mission … warned that continued fighting could lead to a catastrophic humanitarian situation for the displaced civilians in North Darfur.
• §§§ North Darfur civilians: “strange bombs, two dead”
Radio Dabanga, EAST JEBEL MARRA (29 November 2012) –
Two children were killed in East Jebel Marra, North Darfur when the Sudanese air force bombed the area on Wednesday, 28 November, witnesses told Radio Dabanga. They added that the government dropped “strange bombs” in the area for two consecutive days. Both victims, Adam Issa and Mariam Mohamed were looking after their cattle when the bombs hit them on Wednesday, sources recounted. Onlookers affirmed that Antonov and MiG airplanes belonging to the Sudanese air force were used during the attacks. In addition, 48 cattle were reportedly killed and farms were burned. According to local residents, the bombings were “violent” and targeted the areas of Keira, Sabi and Tabaldiya Delmah. These villages are located about 15km west of Tabet, the main base of government troops and pro-government militias in the region.
Onlookers told Radio Dabanga that “intensive bombings” resumed on Thursday, killing another 72 cattle and burning more farms. The bombings used by the government were “strange,” according to witnesses, who affirmed never seeing them before. They explained that, after hitting the ground, these shells broke into seven pieces and destroyed large areas. Their smoke is causing vomiting, skin sensitivity and eye infections, residents told Radio Dabanga. On Thursday, victims pointed out, the government dropped a total of 13 bombs on the area.
II. Consequences to date and the course of future human destruction
In aggregate, Khartoum’s more than 2,000 confirmed, deliberate aerial attacks on its own civilians and international aid workers—recorded in detail by many sources over more than a decade—constitute crimes against humanity (see Article 7 of the Rome Statute). The regime’s systematic, deliberate assaults on its own people are unrivaled, Syria and Libya notwithstanding. This is an historically unprecedented and ongoing campaign of human destruction by means of military aircraft, comprising astonishingly cruel and indiscriminate acts of killing, maiming, and displacing Sudanese (and now South Sudanese) civilians. Equally astonishing, at least morally, is that these attacks occur without meaningful rebuke or threat from the international community.
No clear explanation of this failure to respond has been offered by those who support an “international responsibility to protect” such endangered civilians—nothing beyond the claim that political action at the United Nations Security Council is impracticable. But of course as these various proponents of “R2P” surely knew in September 2005 when the doctrine was unanimously approved by the UN General Assembly—and later by the Security Council itself—it offered no means of surmounting the political obstacles clearly represented by Permanent Members of the Security Council Russia and China. These obstacles are again conspicuously on display in the response of the two countries to Syria’s bloodbath—and recent use of chemical weapons—and to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
As this and previous reports on aerial attacks against civilians and humanitarians make clear, the consequences of unconstrained assaults on vulnerable populations—typically targeted on the basis of ethnicity—are immense. A recent dispatch from Radio Dabanga makes clear the view from the ground in Darfur:
Approximately 1,321 families from villages in South Darfur have arrived at camp Attash in Nyala over the past two weeks. A sheikh has noted that people are fleeing their homes “because government forces now avoid attacking rebel formations and instead turn their weapons and aircraft on civilians.” Sheikh Abdel Karim Abakar told Radio Dabanga on Thursday that the displaced come from the villages of Umm Daraba, Umm Gunja and Abu Jabra. He stressed they are all experiencing terrible humanitarian conditions. Abakar disclosed that government forces are using different types of weapons against civilians including aircrafts. He added that, on Wednesday in the village of Umm Daraba, more than 600 homes were torched and destroyed. [N.B.] “These crimes committed by the government are based on ethnic and tribal reasons,” Abakar said. “This is causing thousands to flee their villages and homes.” (“Sudan forces now targeting civilians,” camp leader says, (Radio Dabanga, NYALA (9 May 2013))
“These crimes committed by the government are based on ethnic and tribal reasons,” Abakar said. “This is causing thousands to flee their villages and homes.”
There is absolutely no reason to doubt the conclusions of Sheikh Abakar, no matter how embarrassing to previous assertions that genocide in Darfur either never was or has long since ceased to define human destruction and displacement.
Moreover, as Human Rights Watch has authoritatively reported, Khartoum is again increasingly taking sides in ethnic conflicts, most notably in South and Central Darfur (“Central Darfur” is a recent cartographic invention by Khartoum; it is made up of areas that were formerly parts of South Darfur or West Darfur). The conflict between the Salamat Arab tribal group and the al-Taisha Arab tribal group has been the most egregious example:
“Sudan: Satellite Images Confirm Villages Destroyed: ICC Suspect Involved In Attacks Remains At-Large”
(Human Rights Watch, June 19 [Nairobi], 2013)
Satellite images confirm the wholesale destruction of villages in Central Darfur in an attack in April 2013 by a militia leader sought by the International Criminal Court, Human Rights Watch said today. The images show the town of Abu Jeradil and surrounding villages in Central Darfur state almost completely burned down, Human Rights Watch said. Villagers who fled the area told Human Rights Watch in May that Sudanese government forces, including the militia leader Ali Kosheib [member of the al-Taisha tribe], had attacked the area. More than 42 villagers are believed to have been killed and 2,800 buildings destroyed.
“Satellite images show the total destruction of villages during the April attacks in Central Darfur,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “How can the Sudanese authorities claim there’s nothing they can do when their own security forces were involved and the war crimes suspect Ali Kosheib is on the loose?” Human Rights Watch analysis of satellite imagery found that more than 2,800 buildings were probably burned down in Abu Jeradil and four neighboring villages, which is 88 percent of all buildings in the area. The deliberate destruction of civilian property as well as structures and goods indispensible to the survival of the civilian population are war crimes, Human Rights Watch said. Community leaders from the Salamat Arab ethnic group who had fled to eastern Chad told Human Rights Watch that more than 42 civilians were killed and scores injured in Abu Jeradil, 30 kilometers south of Um Dukhun, on April 8 [2013]. More than 100 civilians were killed in what appear to have been coordinated attacks on dozens of Salamat-populated towns and villages in the area that began on April 5 and lasted for several days.
Salamat community leaders identified the attackers as ethnic Misseriya, Taisha, and Rizeigat Arabs, who arrived in dozens of government land cruisers. They said they fought back with rifles but were far outnumbered and outgunned. They said the attackers were armed with 106mm recoilless rifles, anti-aircraft weapons, heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, and other weapons…
The April attacks caused widespread destruction of civilian property and the mass displacement of more than 30,000 people to Chad, where they are awaiting humanitarian assistance amid the onset of the rainy season. The border area remains under threat from armed men in the area, making any attempt by the villagers to return home very dangerous. Sudan’s regular armed forces did not intervene to stop the fighting or protect civilians around Abu Jeradil, Human Rights Watch said. Sudanese authorities have on several occasions prevented the African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force in Darfur (UNAMID), which has a mandate to protect civilians, from accessing the area.
Although HRW does not make explicit Khartoum regime’s motives for pitting one Arab group against another, it is clearly the regime’s way of “re-paying” those who supported the earlier phases of the genocide, targeting—by means of Janjaweed militia—African tribal groups. Moreover, as Human Rights Watch Sudan researcher Jehanne Henry stressed in House testimony (June 19, 2013):
Inter-ethnic fighting in Darfur today should be understood as a consequence of Sudan’s support for certain ethnic groups to fight alongside the government, the so-called “Janjaweed” militia, and of failing to rein them in, disarm them, or provide any accountability for past serious crimes.
By the same token, Khartoum’s selective support for particularly powerful Arab groups is designed to ensure that they will not turn on the regime. This was true of Khartoum’s siding with the Northern Rizeigat against the Beni Hussein last year in North Darfur, especially in the area of the Jebel Amir gold mines (the Janjaweed have been drawn heavily from the Northern Rizeigat). And current fighting between the African Gimr and the Arab Beni Halba in South Darfur has also involved Khartoum militarily:
Dozens of people have been killed and dozens more wounded in renewed violence between the Gimr and Beni Halba tribes in South Darfur. The two tribes clashed last week in the state, breaking a fragile ceasefire agreement—the fourth within a short period. Speaking to Radio Dabanga from Nyala, Gimr spokesman Abkar Al Toum said the Beni Halba had support from the Central Reserve Forces (known as Abu Tira) and Border Guard forces when launching the most recent clashes, which were waged from Monday until 11:00am on Tuesday. Villages and homes were torched during the attacks, which took place along the border of the Katayla and Ed El Fursan localities, and affected Kabba, Butab Abu Bashir, Umm Gutiya, Kabo, Amud Al Sah, Ati Kena, and Ajuekheen. Underpinning his claim that the Beni Halba “had Presidential support in the guise of state Special Forces,” Al Toum asserts that the killings in Katayla were committed with government equipment… (“Sudanese government involvement” alleged in latest South Darfur tribal clashes,” Radio Dabanga [KATAYLA], 28 May 2013)
An ever more desperate regime is ready to resort to even the most brutally expedient means to ensure it survival; that this entails inflaming ethnic tensions in a land already badly rent by division and hatred, reflects unspeakably cruel calculation. Aerial military assaults figure centrally in this calculation.
III. Continuing violent hostility toward international humanitarian organizations in Darfur and greater Sudan
The context for Khartoum’s savage aerial campaigns in greater Sudan—collectively massive crimes against humanity—is a comparable assault on humanitarian access and capacity. As a result, starvation looms for many hundreds of thousands of human beings because there is no international relief access to Blue Nile or South Kordofan, and because access to eastern Sudan and Darfur is so deeply constrained. Khartoum has for more than two years denied all access to civilians in rebel-held areas of South Kordofan (especially the Nuba Mountains) and Blue Nile, fearing “another Darfur,” in the words of one senior NIF/NCP official. The regime would seem to be acting preemptively in eastern Sudan as well. Although very little reported, on June 1, 2012 Khartoum expelled a number of international relief organizations from eastern Sudan, one of the most food insecure and least visible regions in Sudan. As the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (UK) reported on June 7, 2011 (the number of “foreign aid groups” expelled was in fact seven):
Sudan is expelling four foreign aid groups from its restive eastern region, government and aid officials said on Friday, the latest restrictions on aid agencies in the violence-marred African country. A senior official in Khartoum said the four groups had been asked to stop all projects in the underdeveloped east, one of Sudan’s poorest regions …. “They didn’t implement the projects we asked them to do,” the official with the Humanitarian Affairs Commission told Reuters, declining to elaborate. He said the four included aid groups Goal of Ireland and the Swedish chapter of Save the Children. (Reuters [Khartoum], June 1, 2012)
Sudan Tribune reports that the Beja Congress, the oldest political party in eastern Sudan, “has warned that the government’s decision to suspend activities of seven* foreign aid groups is rendering the already impoverished region on “the verge of famine” (June 3, 2012).
The assault on humanitarian relief access in Darfur has been unrelenting for a decade; 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.
More recently, MSF has recently been physically attacked in North Darfur, as have the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and American Refugee Council (ARC):
The Darfur headquarters of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Tawila, North Darfur, was allegedly violently raided and looted “by pro-government militiamen” on Saturday morning. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that the militiamen opened fire on the compound with rifles, machine guns and grenades. “There were about 20 security guards in the compound at the time, but they could not prevent the militiamen from taking computers, mobile phones, medical supplies, and a vehicle belonging to the NGO.” (MSF headquarters in North Darfur plundered and looted, Radio Dabanga [Tawila, North Darfur], September 1, 2013)
The headquarters of the medical NGO Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Tawila was reportedly attacked on Tuesday, the second such attack on the compound in less than two days. A witness told Radio Dabanga that two militiamen opened fire on the headquarters at 11pm, seriously injuring two guards. However, the source said that the security situation has prevented Adam Hamid Ahmed and Adam Issa Said from being transferred to hospital in state capital El Fasher. The gunmen allegedly made off with a vehicle belonging to the NGO. As previously reported by Radio Dabanga, on Saturday, after threatening the security guards at gunpoint, militiamen managed to enter the building and took “computers, mobile phones, medical supplies, and a vehicle belonging to the NGO,” a source recounted. (Radio Dabanga [Tawila, North Darfur], September 5, 2013)
Six masked gunmen reportedly robbed the office of the American Refugee Committee (ARC) in the vicinity of the airport of Nyala, capital of South Darfur, at 2am on Saturday. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that the gang forced two guards to open the doors of the building at gunpoint. The gang then allegedly stole all of the international charity group’s computers, laptops, electronic equipment, and whatever else they could find of value…. (Masked gang plunder NGO’s office in South Darfur, Radio Dabanga [Nyala], August 25, 2013)
Eight members of staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross, including the organisation’s director for Nertiti locality in Central Darfur, were allegedly abducted “by pro-government militiamen” on the road from Nertiti to state capital Zalingei on Monday morning. A witness told Radio Dabanga that “two Red Cross vehicles carrying a total of eight people were stopped by militiamen at about 10[am] in the Hila Beeda area” and taken “to an unknown location.” He could not confirm the full names of all the abductees, but said that they include the Red Cross director for Nertiti locality Abubakar Mohamed Saleh, the drivers of two vehicles Habib Hamza and Salah and Red Cross workers Antar, Adam Ibrahim, Abdul Rahim Agen Ahmed, and another whose name has not yet been established. (Red Cross workers abducted in [formerly West] Darfur, Radio Dabanga [Zalingei, West Darfur], August 26, 2013)
On July 4, 2013 violent conflict in Nyala, the largest city in Darfur and capital of South Darfur, resulted in the killing of two humanitarian workers for World Vision. Three other World Vision international workers were injured, and the database used for food distribution was destroyed. It was initially unclear whether the organization could continue its work, although in the event it has decided to persevere. But the stakes were enormous: according to UN OCHA, World Vision’s “food aid distribution program supports over 400,000 displaced people in camps across South Darfur” (OCHA Weekly Bulletin 28, July 14, 2013).
And again, humanitarian access is denied to all locations where Khartoum wishes there to be no INGO or UN agency presence, and UNAMID is powerless to secure access. The UN High Commission for Refugees recently discovered that its status as a UN agency makes no difference to Khartoum:
The Sudan government has expelled 20 members of staff of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), “compromising the ability of the refugee agency to effectively undertake its work in Darfur.” Agency spokesperson Melissa Fleming confirmed at a UN briefing in Geneva on Tuesday that “of the 37 UNHCR international staff based in Darfur, only 17 currently have valid permits to continue their work.” Fleming confirmed: “Permits in the other 20 cases have not been renewed, despite extended follow-up by UNHCR with the relevant government authorities, forcing us to scale down our operations. “This has particularly affected our work in North Darfur. None of our international staff based in El Fasher have been granted permits to return, with the last remaining staff having been asked to leave at short notice in early July. The result is that for over a month, UNHCR has been unable to effectively undertake protection and assistance activities for displaced persons in North Darfur,” Fleming said. (Radio Dabanga, Darfur relief operations hampered as 20 UNHCR staff expelled [Geneva/El Fasher], August 6, 2013)
Here we should also recall how longstanding Khartoum’s hostility to international nongovernmental humanitarian organizations (INGOs) has been, beginning almost with the conflict itself in early 2003. Most consequentially, in March 2009 Khartoum expelled from Darfur thirteen of the world’s finest INGOs, including two MSF national sections, the International Rescue Committee, Oxfam/UK, and Save the Children/US, along with eight others. In 2011 Khartoum expelled Médecins du Monde, the only medical relief organization providing assistance in the populous and deeply endangered Jebel Marra region of central Darfur. Many other organizations have faced intolerable abuse, obstruction, harassment, and violence at the hands of the regime’s security forces and have withdrawn as a consequence.
International response to these outrageous and completely unjustified actions has been weak, diffident, and expedient. It is hardly surprising that the regime at this point is completely inured to the perfunctory international condemnations of its ongoing and systematic bombing attacks, which have been continuous for ten years in Darfur and for over two years in South Kordofan and Blue Nile. There seems to be no willingness to accept the argument, developed in the original version of this report, that continuous, widespread, and deliberate aerial attacks on civilians and humanitarians constitute crimes against humanity as defined by the Rome Statute that serves as the basis for the International Criminal Court.
The UN Panel of Experts on Darfur—once a powerful investigative body that provided key information about Khartoum’s aerial attacks and its disguising of military aircraft to look like humanitarian aircraft—has now been reduced to a heavily politicized, unmotivated, and largely useless reporting body (see my April 17, 2012 comparison of performance by the new “Panel of Experts” and by previous Panels, http://www.sudanreeves.org/?p=3058). The reports of violations of UNSC Resolution 1591—prohibiting all offensive military flights in Darfur, i.e., all military flights—are inconsequential and figure in no significant way in the reports on Darfur and UNAMID by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The failure of the Secretariat to lead in any meaningful way on Darfur is yet another shameful disgrace to the world body, the more so given Ban’s promise to make it a signature issue of his tenure in office.
Meanwhile, the violence continues to explode in ways increasingly reminiscent of the early years of the genocide Ban promised to end. Herewith an example of a highly coordinated ground attack by Khartoum’s militia proxies:
A group of 2,000 militiamen torched and “entirely burned” the village of Abu Jabra on Monday, killing and injuring “dozens” of its residents, forcing hundreds more to flee to El Salam and Girayda camps. Abu Jabra is located 20km from the town of Girayda. Several witnesses told Radio Dabanga that about 2,000 armed pro-government militiamen, mounted on horses and camels stormed Abu Jabra from three directions. A first group was led by Abdul Younis and his son Omar; they came from Dukuma and Tawil. The second group, led by Abdullah Abu Noba and Jeddou Suleiman, came from Umm Dawban, while the third group came from Dito. Sources said the gunmen commandeered a commercial truck, pillaged the entire village before torching “everything they came across, including houses and the market.” (South Darfur village torched by “2,000”—”dozens dead,” Radio Dabanga, ABU JABRA, South Darfur, May 8, 2013)
UNAMID was of course denied access to this atrocity crime, and we hear about such an event only because of Radio Dabanga. Indeed, UNAMID is increasingly operating from “fall back” positions, as suggested by a Radio Dabanga dispatch of June 27, 2013:
The coordinator of Zalingei camps in Central Darfur told Radio Dabanga that UNAMID patrols have fully stopped at the camps since January 2013. “This was preceded by withdrawal of the community police from the camps in July 2012,” he explained. “UNAMID is contributing to the National Congress Party (NCP) decisions by providing false reports and helping the NCP in the regional and international arena,” he said. He accused the mission of “not performing” the duty it has been assigned by the Security Council and the United Nations. “We predict that a major disaster might occur in the Darfur camps if the Mission remains here without performing the tasks related to the protection of the displaced.”
IV. Aircraft and munitions in use in Darfur and greater Sudan
Satellite photography from the Satellite Sentinel Project has confirmed the presence in Sudan of new Sukhoi Su-24/5 (“Fencer”) supersonic precision bombers, designed for ground attacks. SSP also cites news reports indicating that Khartoum has purchased twelve of these fearsome offensive military aircraft from Belarus. This represents a substantial augmentation of SAF air resources, and compensates for the numerous losses of aircraft to rebel ground-fire over the past several years. The Su-24 also greatly expands the potential range of attack by Khartoum. This profligate military expenditure comes even as the Sudanese economy continues to implode, with a pending removal of fuel subsidies that seems guaranteed to renew protest by citizens already squeezed by runaway inflation (the real rate is over 50 percent according to most observers), affecting not only fuel costs but the cost of basic foodstuffs.
Nor are these the only military aircraft Khartoum is reported to have acquired recently; Sudan Tribune reported (August 19, 2013):
Sudan and Russia sealed two agreements since 2011 for the sale of two dozen Mi-24 attack helicopters and 14 MI-8 transport helicopters, a Russian newspaper reported today. The first batch of the shipment was delivered in 2012 in accordance with a contract between two countries a year earlier and the second one was scheduled for delivery this year per a second agreement, Vedomosti Business Daily quoted two aviation sources as saying. An analyst surveyed by Vedomosti put the value of the contract to be between $150 – $200 million which includes maintenance and certain upgrades to the helicopters…
In a related issue, a source close to Russia’s agency for defense sales known as Rosoboronexport, said that Sudan is also negotiating the purchase of 18 former Indian Su-30K fighters that are stored in an aircraft repair plant in Belarus.
Aerial attacks on civilians and humanitarians—whether in Darfur, South Kordofan, Blue Nile or South Sudan—continue to take three primary forms. Antonov “bombers” are the mainstay: retrofitted Russian cargo planes flying at very high altitudes without true bomb-sighting mechanisms, from which crude barrel bombs are simply rolled out the cargo bay. As I have noted previously, they are notoriously inaccurate, and useless for true military purposes, even with some improved targeting ability. Their purpose is civilian terror and destruction, and for this they are superbly effective. Because Antonov “bombers” are so inaccurate, their use in any area with a civilian presence is ipso facto “indiscriminate,” and such attacks have been recorded as confirmed in the data spreadsheet on this basis.
[The targeting of sites in western South Sudan has also been chronicled in cartographic form by by SAS’s Gramizzi and Tubiana, “Forgotten Darfur: Old Tactics and New Players,” p. 60.]
V. Khartoum’s disguising of military aircraft
There have also long been reports of SAF Antonovs being painted “UN white” in Darfur, and including the UN logo—a violation of international law forcefully condemned by previous UN Panels of Experts on Darfur. Such efforts at disguise put humanitarian aircraft of the same type at extraordinary risk from rebel groundfire. The practice is of longstanding, widely and authoritatively documented, and yet Khartoum has received no rebuke or sanction from the UN Security Council sanctions committee charged with assessing violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1591 (March 2005). Human Rights Watch put the matter trenchantly in a report citing the findings of the UN Panel of Experts [ ]:
[Sudan] Government forces have used military aircraft painted white—the color used by UN and AMIS forces—for reconnaissance, supply operations, and attacks. At a distance, the aircraft resemble United Nations and AMIS planes and Mi-8 helicopters; sometimes they even have UN markings. Use of these white aircraft for military purposes is a violation of international humanitarian law, specifically the improper use of the United Nations emblem, and, when simulating the protected status of peacekeeping forces and humanitarian operations to conduct attacks, the prohibition against perfidy. Use of these planes puts genuine UN, humanitarian, and AMIS flights at risk because rebels might mistake them for legitimate military targets. People in desperate need of aid may flee from humanitarian flights if they cannot distinguish them from government military aircraft….
The UN Panel of Experts said, “the extensive use of white aircraft by the Government of the Sudan, including the use of white Antonov aircraft in some of the 66 aerial attacks catalogued by the Panel between September 2006 and July 2007, constitutes a serious obstruction to the work of AMIS and the United Nations. In one instance the Panel found that the Government of the Sudan had used a white Antonov aircraft with ‘UN’ markings in offensive military overflights.” (Human Rights Watch, Chaos by Design: Peacekeeping Challenges for AMIS and UNAMID, 10 September 2007)
In September 2008 the Sudan Tribune reported a particularly brazen military reconnaissance use of a disguised aircraft:
A white helicopter not marked with the UN emblem or any identifiable markings was seen Monday flying over a southern area of North Darfur state, where the majority of villages are controlled by the rebel Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) faction led by Abdel Wahid Al-Nur… Rebels from both SLA and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) have already demonstrated their ability to down helicopters in multiple confirmed instances. A helicopter of the hybrid peacekeeping force was shot at in western Darfur on August 11 [2008] and another was damaged by gunfire on September 14 [2008] as it was on its way to Shangil Tobaya from Tawila town, about 37 km before Shangil Tobaya UNAMID base camp. In this instance on Monday, the helicopter appears to have been scouting an area southeast of Kabkabiya.
According to the UN-African Union peacekeeping mission (UNAMID), the aircraft flew over the eastern part of Sortoni UNAMID Base Camp, then up to Samra, Bessi and Aramba villages. The helicopter came from east of UNAMID Sortoni Base Camp and flew back towards the east where it had came from. About 40 minutes later, the same flight came back from the same direction, flew over Tui village and continued towards Kabkabiya.
Responding to this and other violations of international law by Khartoum, the European Union could muster no more than a perfunctory condemnation of Khartoum’s endangering UN, UNAMID, and humanitarian personnel:
The European Union condemned on Tuesday the Sudanese military’s use of white aircraft in strife-torn Darfur, calling it a deliberate attempt to create confusion with UN planes. “The European Union calls on the Sudanese authorities to put an immediate end to the military operations which started a few days ago in Darfur,” the bloc’s French presidency said in a statement. “It condemns the use of white aircraft in these operations, which is deliberately intended to create confusion with United Nations aircraft,” it said, calling on all parties to abide by international law. (Agence France-Presse [Brussels], September 23, 2008)
There is only one “party” to the Darfur conflict that has military aircraft, or aircraft of any kind, and the events at issue are hardly the occasion for calling on “all parties” to abide by international law. This simply dilutes whatever force, rhetorical or otherwise, this statement might have had. Given such tepid, indeed equivocal criticism, it is hardly surprising that the EU has also been so weak in condemning the ongoing bombing of civilians in Darfur, as well as the relentless aerial campaigns against the people of South Kordofan and Blue Nile that began in summer 2011. Even the bombing of the Yida refugee camp in South Sudan by the regime’s aircraft—witnessed by humanitarians as well as reporters for Reuters and the BBC—prompted no decisive response from the EU (other refugee sites were bombed as well). As a consequence, Khartoum continues to bomb the sovereign territory of South Sudan as well as disputed border areas (see pages 9 – 12 in June 5, 2012 update). The most recent attack occurred on September 8, 2013—just days after a summit in Khartoum between Presidents Omar al-Bashir and Salva Kiir:
The Sudanese Armed Forces on Saturday killed two people when they bombed a South Sudanese army position close to the town of Jau, which lies in a buffer zone along the common border, South Sudan’s army said. “The SAF carried out the bombing with MiG-29 fighter jets. They dropped two bombs on our defensive position in Jau yesterday,” said James Kong Chuol, a major general commanding a division of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army close to the border. “An SPLA soldier and his wife lost their lives. Six other people including a four-year-old girl were injured.” (Agence France-Presse [Juba], September 8, 2013)
An earlier attack on Jau (July 2013)—reportedly wounding nine people, seven seriously—was reported by Radio Tamazuj (July 5, 2013), partner organization to Radio Dabanga.
Helicopter gunships are infamous in Darfur, but have been deployed in South Kordofan and Blue Nile as well. They, too, are fearsome weapons of civilian destruction and terror (Khartoum deploys primarily Russian-built Mi-17 and Mi-32 gunships). Early in the campaign in South Kordofan, a Sudanese church source reported that Nuba people were being hunted “like animals” by helicopter gunships. Acquisition of two dozen Mi-24 attack helicopters from Russia is an ominous sign of future intentions.
Military jets, especially Russian Sukhoi Su-25s and MiG-29s, as well as Chinese A-5 Fantans, have all been reported frequently in the aerial attacks on Darfur, South Kordofan, Blue Nile, and South Sudan. They will soon be joined by Sukhoi Su-24 (“Fencer”) precision bombers.
Khartoum has also added to its aerial arsenal by using advanced, long-range Chinese Wei-Shi missiles as well as indiscriminate cluster munitions. In a 2012 report (“‘We can run away from bombs, but not from hunger’: Sudan’s Refugees in South Sudan,” June 2012, page 11), Amnesty International reports on the basis of forensic evidence:
China has also been one of the main suppliers of conventional arms to the SAF. Amnesty International has identified the use of Chinese-manufactured 302mm Weishi multiple-launch rockets in ground bombardments in the area of Kauda [Nuba Mountains] in late 2011 and early 2012, which have been used indiscriminately in civilian areas.
VI. The near-term future for Darfur and greater Sudan: The Abyei Crisis
The looming event in greater Sudan, one that may change the tenor of fighting entirely, is the Abyei referendum scheduled for next month (October 2013). There are essentially two possibilities, since the African Union mediators have exhausted their capacity to create wiggle room or to back away from an agreement authored by these mediators (chaired by South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki) and endorsed by the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC). (A) The referendum is held as stipulated in the AU plan, which will see the Dinka Ngok prevail in declaring for union with South Sudan; Khartoum, in turn, will likely use this as a casus belli and seize Abyei militarily, risking all-out war. Or (B) the referendum will not be held because the African Union doesn’t have the stomach to confront Khartoum and the regime certainly has the power to make participating in the referendum unacceptably dangerous—or Khartoum may simply refuse to accept the results, demanding “further negotiations” of the sort that the AU has at times hinted it wishes.
Khartoum’s intransigence should lead to a referral to the UN Security Council—if the African Union has the will, or at least the expedient desire, to hand off an “African problem” to the international community, though it will be without an “African solution.” Khartoum likely sees this as the most paralyzing outcome, since neither China nor Russia will allow meaningful action to be taken by the Council. This may well lead to an explosive reaction in Juba and those who have championed the cause of the Dinka Ngok in Abyei; the likelihood of resumed hostilities between Sudan and South Sudan will increase dramatically. These basic realities seem distasteful to international diplomats and hence have gone largely unmentioned.
In Darfur, war between South Sudan and Sudan would likely result in Khartoum’s expelling all international humanitarian nongovernmental organizations as well as UN agencies. There is no logic to such expulsions other than Khartoum’s willingness to find a solution to its “Darfur problem,” even if this entails even broader human destruction. The regime calculates that international efforts concerning greater Sudan will be focused on ending North/South violence, and Darfur will be (in the infamous phrase of the Obama administration) “de-coupled” from broader efforts to secure peace in the region.
Military attacks may actually diminish in Darfur, as Khartoum’s overstretched SAF is forced to re-deploy aerial assets to confront the challenges that will appear not only in Blue Nile and South Kordofan, but all along the North/South border. It would seem most likely that this is the eventuality that Khartoum had in mind in purchasing the Su-24/5s, given their ground attack precision, largely pointless in Darfur given the nature of rebel tactics.
But aerial bombardment will have done its job; its role in the slow-moving genocide will be over when the displaced—still overwhelmingly non-Arab or African—have no access to their lands and no humanitarian relief sources for food, clean water, primary medical care, and sanitation. Khartoum will declare that the regime’s preposterous “Humanitarian Affairs Commission” is fully in charge and up to the task—yet another gross lie, meant to effect a final solution to the Darfur problem.
VII. Sources—January 2012 to the present
Details for Radio Dabanga dispatches subsequent to May 2012 accompany each citation in the current update and are not included in this bibliography. Many bibliographic citations appear only in the January 12, 2012 and June 5, 2012 updates:
- July 15, 2011 (update to report)
- October 15, 2011 (update to report)
- January 12, 2012 (update to report)
- June 5, 2012 (update to report, with final updating of data spreadsheet | see June-5-2012-data-spreadsheet-FINAL).
The most extensive bibliography of sources appears in the original May 6, 2011 report
January 2012 – the present
AFP. Sudan denies killing 16 villages in South Kordofan bombing. 14 January 2012.
AFP. S. Sudan accuses Khartoum of air strikes. 1 March 2012.
AFP. US denounces Sudanese air strikes in South Sudan. 1 March 2012.
AFP. Sudan will not bomb South – foreign ministry. 28 March 2012.
AFP. Rare air strike in Abyei injured one: UN. 7 April 2012.
AFP. Air strikes, artillery bombardment on Sudan-South Sudan border. 10 April 2012.
AFP. Fighting rages on Sudan-South Sudan border. 11 April 2012.
AFP. Sudanese air raid kills civilians in South Sudan border city. 14 April 2012.
AFP. Sudan parliament brands Juba government “enemy.” 16 April 2012.
AFP. Sudan warplanes bomb South Sudan in border conflict. 26 April 2012.
AFP. Top peacekeeper says his men tough enough in Sudan’s Darfur. 5 July 2013.
AFP. Militia Behind Deadly Darfur peacekeeper ambush: rebels. 14 July 2013.
AFP. UN-AU: Report of Air Raids in Sudan’s Darfur Khartoum. 9 August 2012.
AFP. Two people killed when SAF aircraft bomb a South Sudanese army position close to the town of Jau. 8 September 2013.
Africa Confidential. UN clash over Beijing bullets claim. 13 April 2012.
African Center for Justice and Peace Studies. Sudan Human Rights Monitor, December 2011 January 2012. 23 March 2012.
All Africa. South Sudan: Sudan Jets Bomb Oil Wells, Cause Serious Damages. 5 March 2012.
All Africa. Sudan: Khartoum Plane Bombs Unity, Upper Nile States. 7 March 2012.
All Africa. Uganda: SAF Bombs SPLA in Jau, Arms LRA, Ambaroro, Rizeigat. 20 March 2012.
All Africa. South Sudan: Juba Summit On Course Despite Sudanese Attacks On South Sudan Border. 28 March 2012.
All Africa. Sudan: Unity State Destruction After Alleged SAF Bombardment. 12 April 2012.
All Africa. South Sudan: SAF Air Raid Kills Five in Bentiu, Extends Bombing to Warrap State. 15 April 2012.
All Africa. Sudan: Air Force Plane Overflies Juba City, Launches Fresh Bombing of Warguet. 23 May 2012.
Al Jazeera. Sudanese jets attack oil pipeline. 6 April 2012.
Amnesty International. Sudan: Southern Kordofan Citizens Tell of Air Strike Horror. 30 August 2011.
Amnesty International. Sudan: End bombings and allow humanitarian access into conflict regions. 16 February 2012.
Amnesty International. ‘We can run away from bombs, but not from hunger’: Sudan’s refugees in South Sudan. June 2012.
Associated Press (AP). Sudan Bible School Bombing: United States Condemns Attack. 3 February 2012.
- UN confirms 16 deaths in Sudan bombings. 25 April 2012.
AP. UN: Darfur relief blocked when Sudan cut off visas. 6 August 2013.
BBC. South Sudan: UN condemns refugee camp air raid. 24 January 2012.
BBC. Thousands of Sudanese “Flee to South Sudan.” 2 June 2012.
Bloomberg. Sudan Air Strikes On Darfur Villages Leave 10 Dead, UN says. 23 May 2011.
Flint, Julie. The Nuba Mountains War isn’t going away. 2 August 2011. (The Daily Star)
HRW. Sudan, Oil, and Human Rights. 25 November 2003.
Human Rights Watch (HRW). Chaos by Design: Peacekeeping Challenges for AMIS and UNAMID. 10 September 2007.
HRW. Sudan: Blue Nile Civilians Describe Attacks, Abuses. 23 April 2012.
HRW. Sudan: Crisis Conditions in Southern Kordofan. 4 May 2012.
HRW. Sudan: Cluster Bomb found in Conflict Zone. 25 May 2012.
HRW. Sudan: Satellite Images Confirm Villages Destroyed: ICC Suspect Involved In Attacks Remains At-Large. 19 June 2013.
HRW. Jehanne Henry, Testimony before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, U.S. House of Representatives. 19 June 2013.
IRIN. Sudan: Blue Nile hospital struggles to treat shrapnel wounds. 12 October 2011.
IRIN. South Sudan: Teresa Nyakouth, “He was still holding his shoes when he died.” 27 April 2012.
John Ashworth, email to author from Juba, South Sudan. 10 November 2011.
Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF). 100,000 People left without essential healthcare in Sudan’s Jebel Si in North Darfur State. 22 May 2012.
MSF. South Sudan: Nowhere to settle for 30,000 new refugees. 4 June 2012.
Norwegian People’s Aid. 15 people killed in bombing in South Sudan. 23 May 2012.
OCHA. Sudan: Weekly Humanitarian Bulletin, 9-15 January 2012. 15 January 2012.
OCHA. Sudan: Weekly Humanitarian Bulletin, 16-22 January. 22 January 2012.
OCHA. Sudan: Weekly Humanitarian Bulletin, 23-29 January. 29 January 2012.
OCHA. Weekly Humanitarian Bulletin: Sudan, 30 April – 6 May 2012. 6 May 2012.
OCHA. Since the beginning of 2013, more than 300,000 people have been forced to flee their homes. 20 May 2013
OCHA. Weekly Bulletin 28, 14 July 2013.
Pan African News Agency (PANA). AU declares UNAMID hybrid peace-keeping mission, worthy of emulation in future peacekeeping missions in Africa. 20 March 2013.
Public Broadcasting System (PBS) (U.S.). Transcript of statement by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry [on Syria], 26 August 2013
[Radio Dabanga reports used in this update appear as edited texts, with both date and dateline.]
Radio Dabanga. Air Strikes in South Kordofan. 2 January 2012.
Radio Dabanga. Air strikes in South Kordofan and Blue Nile state. 7 February 2012.
Radio Dabanga. Bomb explodes in North Darfur. 16 February 2012.
Radio Dabanga. Heavy shelling forces villagers out of homes in North Darfur. 15 March 2012.
Radio Dabanga. Shelling in Jebel Marra enters a third day. 29 March 2012.
Radio Dabanga. Government bombs Mukjar in Central Darfur. 18 April 2012.
Radio Dabanga. 18 women and 9 children killed in air strike in Jebel Marra, Darfur. 28 April 2012.
Radio Dabanga. SLM-AW accuses Sudanese army of bombing two villages. 30 April 2012.
Radio Dabanga. Sudanese army kills three in air strikes. 30 April 2012.
Radio Dabanga. SFR withdraws from Gereida. 9 May 2012.
Radio Dabanga. Two injured in air strikes in South Darfur. 10 May 2012.
Radio Dabanga. Child killed in bombing in South Kordofan. 13 May 2012.
Radio Dabanga. Man killed in SAF strikes in Tawila. 15 May 2012.
Radio Dabanga. SAF increasing Antonov planes taking off from El Fasher. 15 May 2012.
Radio Dabanga. Peacekeepers denied access to air strike locations. 18 May 2012.
Radio Netherlands Worldwide. Sudan: Fear and Hunger in Border Region Between Sudans. 17 February 2012.
[ all analyses by Eric Reeves are available at www.sudanreeves.org ]
Reeves, Eric. Passive in the face of Sudan’s atrocities. 9 February 2011. (Washington Post)
Reeves, Eric. How Many Internally Displaced Persons Are There in Darfur? 28 April 2011. (Dissent Magazine)
Reeves, Eric. Genocide in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan. 22 June 2011. Dissent.
Reeves, Eric. Full-scale War Looms as Khartoum Bombs Civilians in South Sudan. 11 November 2011. (Sudan Tribune)
Reeves, Eric. Humanitarian Obstruction as a Crime Against Humanity: The Example of Sudan. 17 December 2011.
Reeves, Eric. Sudan Oil Crisis: Extortion and misappropriation are not “negotiations.” 30 January 2012. (Sudan Tribune)
Reeves, Eric. Comparison of performance by the New and Previous “UN Panel of Experts.” 17 April 2012 (Sudan Tribune)
Reeves, Eric. Scandalous International Hypocrisy on Sudan. 23 April 2012.
Reeves, Eric. Sudan and South Sudan on the Brink of Catastrophic War. 24 April 2012. (Dissent)
Reeves, Eric. Key Report on Darfur by UN Panel of Experts Consigned to Oblivion. 17 April 2013 (Sudan Tribune)
Reeves, Eric. “Where is Heglig?”—A brief addendum. 27 April 2012.
Refugees International. Darfur: Time to Uphold the Arms Embargo. 24 January 2008.
Reuters. Sudan carries out another air strike in Darfur: UN. 18 May 2011.
Reuters. Sudan leader offers peace to rebels, hotspots. 9 July 2011.
Reuters. Aircraft bomb South Sudan refugee camp – UN. 24 January 2012.
Reuters. South Sudan blames Khartoum for bombing refugee camp. 24 January 2012.
Reuters. S. Sudan says Khartoum bombed two oil wells. 1 March 2012.
Reuters. S. Sudan says Sudan bombs oil fields in border region. 27 March 2012.
Reuters. UN reports air strike in Sudan’s Darfur region. 3 April 2012.
Reuters. Sudan bombs disputed oil town, South Sudan says. 14 April 2012.
Reuters. South Sudan says troops bombed during flashpoint pullout. 21 April 2012.
Reuters. Sudan market bombing a “declaration of war”: South. 23 April 2012.
Reuters. In South Sudan borderlands oil brings bombs, not blessings. 27 April 2012.
Reuters. Sudan orders aid groups out of poor eastern region. 1 June 2012.
Reuters. UN panel: “Sudan violating sanctions with Darfur air strikes.” 4 March 2013.
SAPA. Sudan bombs South Sudan state capital. 14 April 2012.
Satellite Sentinel Project. Satellites Reveal Major Movement of Sudan Armed Forces in Embattled Capital of South Kordofan. 6 July 2011.
Satellite Sentinel Project. Radius of Operations: Sudan Increases Air Attack Capacity. 11 November 2011.
Satellite Sentinel Project. Impact: Indiscriminate Bombardment by an SAF Antonov, South Kordofan, Sudan. 15 March 2012.
Satellite Sentinel Project. Sudan Adds Precision Bomber to Arsenal. 27 August 2013.
Sudan Catholic Radio Network. Mendi Mayor Laments Nonstop Airstrikes. 26 March 2012.
Small Arms Survey. The Sudan Armed Forces and Allied Forces. November 2010.
Small Arms Survey (Geneva). “Forgotten Darfur: Old Tactics and New Players,” Claudio Gramizzi and Jérôme Tubiana. 9 July 2012.
Sudan Catholic Radio Network. Mendi Mayor Laments Nonstop Airstrikes. 26 March 2012.
Sudan Tribune. 10 civilians killed during air strikes in North Darfur – UNAMID. 23 May 2011.
Sudan Tribune. UNMIS report on the human rights situation during the violence in Sudan’s Southern Kordofan. June 2011.
Sudan Tribune. Sudan says West plotting to “clone” Darfur in South Kordofan. 14 August 2011.
Sudan Tribune. Sudan’s air forces reportedly kill civilians in South Kordofan. 14 January 2012.
Sudan Tribune. Sudan’s air forces bomb oilfields in Unity State. 26 March 2012.
Sudan Tribune. Eastern Sudan “on the verge of famine” due to ban on aid groups. 3 June 2012.
Sudan Tribune. Russia agrees to sell attack helicopters to Sudan: report. 19 August 2013.
Sudan Tribune. Will Abyei be a dagger in South Sudan-Sudan relations? (Luka Biong). 10 September 2013.
The Independent. Khartoum accused of new wave of Darfur-style ethnic cleansing. 14 June 2011.
The Independent. Sudan air raids force women and children to run to the hills.15 July 2011.
The Independent. In a Sudanese field, cluster bomb evidence proves just how deadly this war had become. 24 May 2012.
The New York Times. In Sudan’s Nuba Mountains, Government Rocket Attacks Sow Fear, Witnesses Say. 13 March 2012.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees. South Sudan: UNHCR expands aid operations in Yida as population passes 35,000. 25 May 2012
UN Security Council. Security Council resolution 2046 (2012) [on the situation in Sudan and South Sudan]. 24 May 2012.
- The Sudan Resolutions – 1591. 2005.
Sudan Humanitarian Snapshot. 30 April 2012.
U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Remarks by Ambassador Susan E. Rice. 16 April 2012.
Wall Street Journal. Sudan Fighting Spreads to New Fronts, Claims Lives. 18 April 2012.
Wall Street Journal. On the Front Lines in Sudan. 20 April 2012.
Wall Street Journal. Fighting Flares Anew in Sudanese Oil Patch. 23 April 2012.
Wall Street Journal. China Presses Oil-Rich Sudans to Cooperate. 24 April 2012.
Wall Street Journal. Sudan Bombs South Sudan. June 2012.
WHO. Severe Acute Malnutrition. September 2006.