This sixteenth installment of Darfur: Radio Dabanga News Digest has as its primary context the evident decision by the Security Council to re-authorize the UN/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) without changes, specifically with no withdrawal from West Darfur or locations under discussion in South and North Darfur. This was the recommendation of the Secretary General in his May 26, 2015 report to the Security Council on Darfur and UNAMID. A vote is likely in two weeks.
The report compiled for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon seems to reflect a belated but significant re-thinking of the need for transparency and frankness in characterizing realities in Darfur. Encouragingly, it does not skirt the larger issues, provides a useful over view of what it calls “inter-communal” violence (primarily “inter-tribal” violence), and presents a picture of UNAMID that is both more honest, and thus necessarily discouraging in many respects. On the other hand, there does seem to have been a serious effort to improve the performance of the Mission, with some impressive achievements to its credit. Facilitating talks to end “inter-communal violence” seems an especially important part of the Mission as now conceived—an essential development.
It is still far from an adequate source of security for civilians and humanitarians, and its reporting ability is limited by a host of factors, including denial of access by the Khartoum regime and its proxy local officials. And what is clear from a great many reports not referred to in the Secretary General’s report is that the humanitarian and security situations have continued to deteriorate in ways that are not considered. Here Radio Dabanga remains an indispensible resource.
The current Digest looks at the most revealing dispatches from Radio Dabanga for the past week, and also includes as Appendices: [1] a “bibliography of violence” covering the past six months in West Darfur (culled from last week’s Digest), and [2] key excerpts from the lengthy May 26, 2015 report by the Secretary General (over 11,000 words).
[For previous (weekly) Radio Dabanga Digests, see:
Darfur: Radio Dabanga Digest, Number 1 | http://wp.me/p45rOG-1CD
Darfur: Radio Dabanga Digest, Number 2 | http://wp.me/p45rOG-1De
Darfur: Radio Dabanga Digest, Number 3 | http://wp.me/p45rOG-1Dt
Darfur: Radio Dabanga Digest, Number 4 | http://wp.me/p45rOG-1Ei
Darfur: Radio Dabanga Digest, Number 5 | http://wp.me/p45rOG-1EL
Darfur: Radio Dabanga Digest, Number 6 | http://wp.me/p45rOG-1Fp
Darfur: Radio Dabanga Digest, Number 7 | http://wp.me/p45rOG-1FL
Darfur: Radio Dabanga Digest, Number 8 | http://wp.me/s45rOG-6452
Darfur: Radio Dabanga Digest, Number 9 | http://wp.me/p45rOG-1Gi
Darfur: Radio Dabanga Digest, Number 10 | http://wp.me/p45rOG-1Gt
Darfur: Radio Dabanga Digest, Number 11 | http://wp.me/p45rOG-1Hq
Darfur: Radio Dabanga Digest, Number 12 | http://wp.me/p45rOG-1HY
Darfur: Radio Dabanga Digest, Number 13 | http://wp.me/p45rOG-1Ia
Darfur: Radio Dabanga Digest, Number 14 | http://wp.me/p45rOG-1II
Darfur: Radio Dabanga Digest, Number 15 | http://wp.me/p45rOG-1Ji
Darfur: Radio Dabanga Digest, Number 16 | http://wp.me/p45rOG-1JU — and below
(NB: A useful and quite recent administrative map of Darfur appears here.)
Eric Reeves, 14 June 2015
UNAMID’s future in the face of growing hostility from Khartoum
While re-authorization of UNAMID without change will represent an important stand by the Security Council in resisting Khartoum’s demands—notably, opposition to re-authorization by Russia and China was apparently only modestly energetic—we should not forget that the regime is on record as having said they wish to see the present 17,000 uniformed personnel in Darfur reduced to 2,000 by the end of the year—and this comes this after previous reductions in the size of the originally authorized UNAMID: over 10,000 personnel have been deployed out of Darfur, with more reductions in the offing. Some of the previous reductions—e.g., the reduction of the original 19 Formed Police Units (FPU) to 13—cannot help but have serious consequences for the functioning of UNAMID as a protective force. Particularly in camp situations, FPU can be highly effective, if properly equipped and deployed. Some of the reductions—e.g., the firing of more than 200 native Darfuri translators—seem extraordinarily unwise.
All of these reductions are described as “streamlining,” “reconfiguring,” “increasing efficiency,” or with other terms that disguise the true nature of what has already been done by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping, Hervé Ladsous, with the approval of the Security Council in its last re-authorization resolution (August 2014). Their “do more with less” motto for UNAMID has already compromised the Mission’s effectiveness, even as remaining personnel are showing signs of becoming somewhat more determined to be effective.
Khartoum’s response to a re-authorized Mission with no change in mandate
What we may sure of is that a Security Council re-authorization of UNAMID without a change in mandate or terms of deployment will greatly anger the Khartoum regime, something certainly well known by uniformed personnel on the ground. The Secretary General’s report highlights, for example, that on 26 April, “the National Intelligence and Security Services refused to allow an emergency medical evacuation of an injured Ethiopian peacekeeper to proceed, by air, from Mukjar to Nyala, citing security concerns. The peacekeeper, who had been injured in an accident, died the same day” (§26).
[All emphases in all quoted material, whether in bold or bold underline, have been added; all editorial comments are in italics and blue, with my initials following—ER]
For the reporting period, the Secretary General notes:
During the reporting period, 60 incidents and hostile acts against UNAMID and its personnel were recorded throughout Darfur, compared to 46 in the previous period. These included armed attacks and carjacking (9 incidents), robbery/road banditry (18 incidents) and office break-in/burglary/theft (33 incidents). (§17)
A highly alarming attack on UNAMID personnel near Kass, South Darfur figures prominently in the report and is excerpted in Appendix 2, along with other key findings. And while the Secretary General’s report notes that “UNAMID continued to experience restrictions of movement, access denials and denial of security clearances for its patrols and other activities” (§25), we may be sure that such challenges will increase significantly in the coming months unless serious international pressure is brought to bear on Khartoum.
The implications for humanitarian work are commensurately ominous:
The worsening security environment in parts of Darfur continued to have significant implications for the safety and security of humanitarian personnel and assets. Carjackings, lootings and general banditry reduce the ability of humanitarian actors to provide assistance, and/or increase the costs of doing so, creating an untenable situation. In most areas of Darfur, United Nations agencies rely heavily on UNAMID for escorts, area security and logistical capacity as a means of mitigating security risks and operating constraints. (§22)
Among the most notable incidents was one that occurred on 10 March, when an unknown armed group attacked a convoy of 19 World Food Programme logistics trucks escorted by UNAMID in Neni village, Northern Darfur. A UNAMID national staff driver was severely injured and evacuated to El Fasher. During the incident, UNAMID troops escorting the convoy exchanged fire with the assailants who subsequently escaped with three vehicles, one contracted fuel tanker and some food items. Only the three vehicles were recovered. On 12 May, a group of armed men carjacked a World Food Programme car in Um Dukhun, Central Darfur. (§24)
During the reporting period, the Government of the Sudan refused clearance for [UNAMID] 68 sorties. (§27)
Access denial has other implications for humanitarian assistance, as highlighted at another moment in the Secretary General’s report:
In addition, local authorities in Zalingei turned down a request by the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department to conduct monitoring visits on projects in deep-field locations. This is the third time this year that local authorities have denied donors access to monitor their projects in Central Darfur. Such denials hinder efforts by aid organizations in Darfur to mobilize resources, thereby contributing to broader funding challenges. At the time of reporting, only $280 million of the $1,035 million required to meet humanitarian needs across the Sudan in 2015 had been provided (27 per cent). (§30)
[This is a highly worrisome mid-year shortfall, given donor fatigue and international concentration on South Sudan, and again portends acute, life-threatening food shortages—ER]
A child receiving a MUAC (Middle Upper-arm Circumference) malnutrition assessment
Such explicit connection of cause and effect is something new in the Secretary General’s reports on Darfur/UNAMID. But this is exactly on the mark: in addition to a general donor fatigue that has grown as the catastrophe in Darfur moves into its thirteen year, many donors and donor countries are wary of funding projects for which there is no oversight. This is especially important since 97 percent of relief workers in Darfur are Sudanese nationals and subject to intense scrutiny and severe punishment for offering “too much” information. Representatives of the EU are just the sort of monitors needed for deep-field projects, and this explains precisely why they are denied access, at the behest of Khartoum’s security services (primarily Military Intelligence and the National Intelligence and Security Services [NISS].
UNAMID, like International Nongovernmental Organizations (INGOs), is also hamstrung my bureaucratic obstacles constantly thrown up by Khartoum:
[C]hallenges resulting from the denial or delayed issuance of visas continue to have an impact on the ability of the Mission to implement the mandate, particularly through gaps in the deployment of personnel appointed to fill existing and sometimes key vacancies. (§31)
The fate of humanitarian assistance in Darfur
In considering the present and future state of humanitarian relief in Darfur, issues of security and access necessarily come first. Nominally, providing security to humanitarians has always been a primary part of UNAMID’s mandate. This is obscured by the dismaying disingenuousness of Permanent Security Council Members from the United Kingdom, France, and the U.S. I highlighted last week in particular the comments of Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant of the UK, which held the rotating presidency of the Security Council for the month of August 2014 when the last re-authorization resolution was passed:
“The resolution prioritizes protection of civilians and humanitarian efforts in UNAMID’s work and requests enhanced human rights reporting from the Mission…” “The resolution requests comprehensive and wide-ranging recommendations on the future mandate, configuration, composition, and exit strategy of UNAMID for next February, and expresses the Council’s clear intention to take prompt action on those recommendations. And we want to use this opportunity to make any necessary changes to improve the working of UNAMID.”
Again, let’s be clear here: protection of civilians and humanitarians was always the primary feature of UNAMID’s mandate under the initial authorizing Security Council Resolution (1769). Section 15 (i)—in words that are announced immediately following the invocation of Chapter 7 authority—declares that UNAMID is mandated to “protect its personnel, facilities, installations and equipment, and to ensure the security and freedom of movement of its own personnel and humanitarian workers.” Nothing in the August 2014 resolution gives more meaningful “priority” to the protection of the “security and freedom of movement of … humanitarian workers.” To suggest otherwise is to attempt to boost humanitarian protection by merely rhetorical means.
Mark Lyall Grant, UK Ambassador to the UN
The excerpts above and in Appendix 2 provide ample evidence that rhetoric alone is not enough to protect humanitarians, relief delivery, or free access to those most in need.
I. Darfur: An update on the week’s news concerning humanitarian conditions
WATER: AN INCREASINGLY SCARCE COMMODITY THROUGHOUT SUDAN
Government militias control Karnoi, Um Baru, Kutum water sources in North Darfur | February 8, 2015 | Karnoi / Um Baru / Kutum [North Darfur]
[This dispatch comes from February, but reveals particularly clearly a problem that is rapidly growing throughout Darfur with ominous implications—ER]
Government and allied militia forces are continuing their air and ground attacks on Karnoi, Um Baru, and Kutum in North Darfur. Militiamen are reportedly in control of all the water sources in the three localities.
Seven people, including five children, were shot dead in an attack on a well in Um Baru locality, North Darfur, on Saturday. “Militia troops in about 80 vehicles attacked the area of the Jumat Allah Tahir well in Um Baru,” Mohamed Ahmed Minawi Digeish, independent MP for Karnoi and Um Baru localities, told Dabanga. “Abdelrasoul Daoud Khamis Ishag, Idris Murda Deby, and five children aged between 8 and 12 were shot dead by elements of a government militia in the neighbouring sand hills.” He added that the militiamen stole thousands of camels, cows and sheep from … the area of the Jumat Allah Tahir well.
Water sources
“Until now, the people of 63 villages were displaced by the attacks. 25 people were killed, 22 wounded, and 38 are missing,” the MP reported. “Eight villages burned to ashes, and 55 other villages were plundered in the ongoing attacks on civilians in the three localities.” He added that “millions” in cash was stolen, as well as about 10,000 camels, 8,230 sheep and goats, and 5,736 cows. “The government militia troops are now in control of all the main water sources in the three localities. They confiscate all livestock their owners take to the reservoirs of Umbar, Orschi, Abu Gara, and Uma Shiri, or the wells of Ba’ashim, Hosh, Junat Allah Tahir, Anka, Amarei, and Meza,” Digeish noted.
Water outages in the capitals of North Darfur and Sudan | June 11, 2015 | El Fasher / Khartoum
The people in the North Darfur capital of El Fasher are suffering from an acute water crisis. The provision of drinking water is disrupted too in some southern Khartoum districts. “Not a single drop of water flows from the taps,” a resident of El Fasher told Radio Dabanga. He complained that the price of a barrel of water has risen from SDG7 ($1.20) to SDG20 ($3.40) or even SDG30 ($5) in the more remote districts. He demanded from the Sudanese and North Darfur authorities “to find a radical solution for the water outages which recur every year.”
Khartoum
The residents of El Azhari district in southern Khartoum complain of drinking water outages since three day. “We now have to buy out water at the commercial market, for SDG40 ($6.70) a barrel,” an angry resident of El Azhari district told Radio Dabanga. Last week, dozens of women in El Kalakla Sanga’at district blocked the main road to the centre of Khartoum, in protest against the disruption of water services for more than ten days.
[Years of the regime’s failing to invest in infrastructure—even the most basic infrastructure required for the delivery of adequate clean water—are now all too apparent in too many quarters. And there is no capital available for the much needed capital projects—ER]
Severe water crisis in South Darfur’s capital | June 10, 2015 | Nyala
People in Nyala are facing severe water outages since more than three weeks, after the pumps broke down at 15 out of the 18 wells providing drinking water to the million[-person] city. “The price of a barrel of water on the market has risen from SDG5 ($0.85) to SDG 20 ($3.50),” an angry resident told Radio Dabanga from Nyala. “The Water Corporation of Nyala locality has already raised the monthly water fees to SDG50 ($8.50), the highest tariff on drinking water in Sudan, under the pretext of improving water services,” he said. “However, the situation has even worsened.” An official of the Nyala locality’s Water Corporation informed reporters on Tuesday that the current water provision does not exceed five percent of the daily demand, estimated at 45,000 cubic metres. “The water pumps, operating day and night, became overheated and broke down,” he explained.
[It is difficult to imagine that the broken pumps are truly adequate, even when working properly, for a city the size of Nyala—the largest in Darfur—ER]
Drinking water disruptions continue in Sudan’s capital | June 12, 2015 | Omdurman
On Wednesday, the residents of Abu Sid in southern Omdurman closed off the entrance to Khartoum, in protest against the repeated disruptions of drinking water supply to their area for more than a year.
Residents of Khartoum demonstrated against water outages in their neighbourhoods this week, too. The people living in square 6 of Abu Sid prevented the vehicles coming from El Shigla, Abu Sid, Murabat and Salha from entering Khartoum through El Fitehab bridge. The protesters explained their cause, saying they have to buy a barrel of water for SDG50 ($8). The high price results in a shortage of water among the families, causing children to endure health problems. Last week, dozens of women in El Kalakla Sanga’at district blocked the main road to the centre of Khartoum. The residents of El Azhari district in southern Khartoum also complained to Radio Dabanga about drinking water outages since several days on Thursday.
Shortage of oil among fuel stations
Khartoum also experiences a crisis in diesoline. Dozens of vehicles queue in long lines before the fuel stations. Some motorcycle drivers have confirmed the lack of diesoline in the majority of the fuel pumps in Sudan’s capital. A few said that they now buy diesoline from the black market for prices that range between SDG20 and 25 ($3.30-4.15).
[There could be no clearer indications of the past failure to spend on necessary urban infrastructure, or the current foreign exchange currency (Forex) crisis. The Central Bank of Sudan simply has no hard currency with which to buy adequate supplies of refined petroleum products, including automotive fuel and cooking fuel. Reports of fuel shortages, as well as bread shortages (for slack of imported wheat), are becoming increasingly common—and the civil population is becoming commensurately angrier. The economy is failing on all fronts, and the ingredients for a civil insurrection even greater than the one we witnessed in September 2013 are all present—ER]
FOOD SUPPLIES, DISTRIBUTION
WFP voucher programme “severely underfunded’ | June 7, 2015 | Khartoum
The funding for cash and voucher assistance by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) is facing a severe shortfall. WFP estimates the extent of this funding shortfall at almost $24.8 million, including $18.4 million in transfer value for the next six months. A complete break in funding is anticipated from July onwards, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan stated in its weekly bulletin last week. In response, WFP has already halted a number of expansion plans and will likely cut rations in some locations for the month of June. If no urgent funds are mobilised however, WFP may have to further disrupt the voucher distribution cycle with more extensive ration cuts or even complete suspension of the programme. This puts almost 500,000 people, mostly displaced, at risk of receiving no voucher assistance from September onwards. WFP is urgently requesting donors to make available any additional funds to prevent closure of the programme, OCHA reported.
From the May 26, 2015 report of the Secretary General on UNAMID and Darfur:
§52. During the reporting period, UNAMID provided 67 armed escorts (against 173 in the last reporting period) to facilitate delivery of humanitarian assistance and assessment and monitoring missions in different parts of Darfur.
[This is an ominous decline: as the rainy season is almost upon parts of Darfur, these deliveries—and escorts—should be increasing, not decreasing in number—ER]
PRIMARY MEDICAL CARE
South Darfur maternal mortality rate highest in Sudan | June 11, 2015 | Khartoum
The maternal mortality rate in Sudan last year amounted to 216 deaths per 100,000 births… Siham El Amin Habiballah, the director of the National Programme for Reproductive Health at the federal Ministry of Health said that the highest mortality rate in the country was registered in South Darfur, with 334 deaths [per 100,000 births] in 2014… She said that Sudan is still recording the highest rates of maternal mortality in the region, despite the efforts made to reduce the figures.
From the May 26, 2015 report of the Secretary General on UNAMID and Darfur:
§49. Darfur State experienced some of the highest fatality rates in a continuing measles outbreak, which by the time of reporting had reached 32 localities across the country, illustrating the region’s heightened vulnerability to public health emergencies.
[This is a problem that will not be confined to measles: the people of Darfur in too many cases are excessively vulnerably to disease—because of malnutrition, lack of clean water, absence of adequate vaccination rates for childhood diseases, and a failing primary health care system—ER]
HUMANITARIAN SECURITY
Ransom demanded for abducted aid staff in North Darfur | June 12, 2015 | Kutum
The pro-government militiamen who have abducted an employee of the Irish GOAL organisation and one other man in Kutum town have demanded a ransom for their release. Abdallah Mustafa Abdallah, a fuel merchant, and Ibrahim Adam Abdelshakur, working for the Irish aid organisation, were abducted by militiamen on 12 May and 3 June respectively. After the ransom was announced, the victims’ relatives told Radio Dabanga that they have decided not to pay a single penny to the abductors. They repeatedly commit acts of abduction for money, a relative said, and the families will not contribute to the militiamen exercising their criminal acts. Both Mustafa Abdallah and Abdelshakur were taken from within Kutum town in North Darfur, towards an unknown destination.
IMPACT OF CONTINUING ECONOMIC IMPLOSION THROUGHOUT SUDAN
Shortage of fuel, transport fees doubled in Khartoum, Sudan | June 11, 2015 | Khartoum
Bus drivers in Khartoum complain about a lack of fuel at most petrol stations in the city, while residents of the Sudanese capital suffer from a sudden increase of the transport fees. “People have to queue again to obtain some petrol or diesel,” a bus driver told Radio Dabanga from the Sudanese capital. “A number of petrol stations are closed already.”
An angry bus passenger reported to Radio Dabanga from Karkar bus station in Khartoum, that the transport fees were more than doubled last week. “The bus owners raised the fees from SDG2 ($0.35) to SDG5 ($0.85) on the lines from El Sawra Sabreen in Omdurman to central Khartoum, and from Haj Yousef in Khartoum North to Mayo in southern Khartoum.” He added that the fees for a seat in a minibus from central Khartoum to El Kalakla in southwest Khartoum or to Omdurman increased from SDG3 to SDG6 ($1).” “President Al Bashir, in his inauguration speech on 2 June, promised us that the new government would not be greedy,” he said. “Yet, the same evening, our frustration was fed by the news about the rise of transportation fees.”
[The increase in transportation costs for a great many Sudanese, along with increases in the prices of cooking fuel and bread, pushes the real inflation rate for working Sudanese to well over 50 percent—ER]
Confiscations
He further reported that the authorities of Jebel Aulia locality in southern Khartoum confiscated the working gear of tea sellers and street vendors in El Azhari and El Ingaz districts. “They were told that their tools will be returned if they pay what the authorities call an added fee, of SDG100 ($17). “The tea sellers and street vendors pay already SDG100 each month for their permits,” he explained. “They are desperate, as most of them are single mothers and widows, and youngsters who cannot find a decent job.”
[Those in a position to use the authority of the regime to extort money from the most vulnerable no doubt sense that they may not have this authority much longer—ER]
Protesters against sale of schools convicted in Port Sudan | June 11, 2015 | Port Sudan
The Port Sudan Criminal Court convicted five people for undermining the public order and illegal gathering on Wednesday. They were held in May last year, during street protests against plans by the Red Sea state authorities to sell four historical schools in the city centre for investment purposes.
[The “investments” are all made by, and will benefit only, the wealthy political cronies of the regime; but their days, too, are numbered—ER]
Four of the protesters were sentenced with a fine of SDG300 ($50) or two months imprisonment, while a fifth was convicted to 25 lashes. Jaafar Abdelgader, chairman of the People’s Committee for the Defence of Schools in Port Sudan told Radio Dabanga that they will appeal against “the unfair verdict.” He said that the People’s Committee has prepared a petition, signed by the members and the parents of students of the four schools, to be submitted to the new Red Sea governor, demanding the schools to be restored “so that the students can return to their classes in the neighbourhood.”
II. Violence against civilians in Darfur reported during the last week
AERIAL BOMBING ATTACKS
Sudanese Air Force drops barrel bombs on Darfur’s Jebel Marra | June 11, 2015 | Rokoro
Hundreds of people fled their villages in northern Jebel Marra on Tuesday during bombardments west of Rokoro. On Wednesday, an Antonov bombed the area of Tabra, Tawila locality, in North Darfur. In a press release on Wednesday, the Sudan Liberation Movement, led by Abdel Wahid El Nur (SLM-AW) reported that the Sudanese Air Force dropped seven barrel bombs on the area at about 5am the previous day.
Hundreds of villagers sought refuge in the mountains, and dozens of cattle were killed. The spokesman for the SLM-AW, Mustafa Tambour, also accused the government forces of planting mines in the area, “after their failed attempts to progress towards Rokoro, and their defeat at three fronts south and west of Rokoro. Tambour warned the people in the area not to approach any unidentified object, as it may be a piece of unexploded ordnance (UXO). He appealed to the UN to “take immediate action to protect civilians from aerial bombardments on villages and the planting of mines.” Sources in Tawila locality reported bombardments by an Antonov on the areas around Tabra village on Wednesday. A number of livestock were killed.
RAPE
Woman, girl gang-raped for hours in East Jebel Marra, Darfur | June 10, 2015 | East Jebel Marra
A woman and a girl (14) were gang-raped in East Jebel Marra on Tuesday afternoon. A relative of the victims told Radio Dabanga that a group of gunmen riding on camels ambushed the two women, while they were collecting straw in the area of Sharafa. “They seized them, and raped them alternately for four consecutive hours,” she said. “When the two had not returned to Sharafa village by sunset, a team was formed to search for them. They found the victims, in a very bad mental and physical condition, in one of the valleys nearby.”
Five women gang-raped in North Darfur’s Tawila | June 7, 2015 | Tawila Locality
A group of armed herders raped five young women for some six hours in Tawila locality on Friday. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a relative of one of the victims said that the women were collecting straw in the area of Um Bejee, 15 km north of Shangil Tobaya, when the herders attacked them. “At about 8 am, the herders seized the women at gunpoint, and took them to one of the valleys nearby, where they repeatedly raped them. They only released them after Friday prayers.” She added that the incident was reported to the police of Shangil Tobaya and UNAMID. “Yet no action was undertaken to help the victims or persecute the perpetrators.”
Video: women and girls say were gang-raped in Golo, Darfur | June 9, 2015 | Golo
Dozens of women and girls claim they were gang-raped by Sudanese government forces in Golo, Central Darfur. Golo is located west of the Jebel Marra mountains, an isolated area, preventing victims to receive medical treatment. Below [is] a verbatim [transcript] of the video posted on 4 June, with witnesses’ accounts. Khadija is one of the women and girls France24 [interviewed] who claim they were gang-raped when government-backed forces entered the town of Golo. Scattered around a mountainside, they all told similar stories…
Troops passed by their homes, often violating them often in front of the rest of their families. Khadija sleeps now out in the open with her ten children: “The children were with me. One man was aiming his gun at me when another man beat and raped me. My husband was beaten and held at gunpoint nearby.”
Few of the women have received medical treatment because the [Jebel] Marra mountains are so cut off due to the government blocking access for NGOs. Munira is another alleged victim. She says her 11-year old daughter, Moasa, was also raped when militiamen invaded their home. So brutal was the experience that Manira thinks she broke her rib was not sure whether her unborn baby was still alive. “The men asked after they raped us: ‘don’t you think Arabs are strong?’ [Racial animus, the use of hateful racial epithets, racist convictions about Arab superiority have all been hallmarks of rape used as a weapon of war for more than twelve years—ER] I was raped on the bed and my daughter was raped on the ground.” Most victims appear to have been raped in their homes. Some tried to seek sanctuary at the mosque, but further atrocities even took place there, including against very young girls, according to another alleged rape victim, Sulamein.
“Some people called for help. The attackers went and held the men at gunpoint. They took the girl in a nearby hut, used as a kitchen for the mosque, and raped her. When they finished the rape, they dragged the girl from the hut. She was screaming. And they stuffed a piece of cloth in her mouth (like this) the girl was chocked, and she could not scream. By then many people had fled the mosque.” Sulamein’s testimony of further rape taking place at the mosque, including that of a young girl, has been corroborated by other alleged victims France24 spoke to.
Tabit
Radio Dabanga reported on 2 November last year, that army troops conducted house-to-house searches in the village, robbed the residents of their belongings, severely beat them, and raped women and girls. During the two nights, the soldiers detained the men of Tabit en masse, threatened and abused them throughout the nights, while others continued raping. At least 221 women and girls were allegedly raped in Tabit over a 36-hour period. Human Rights Watch (HRW) described the situation in Tabit, in a report issued on 11 February 2015, as being like “living in an open prison.” Since the attacks, Sudanese government officials, military commanders, and traditional leaders have threatened, intimidated, beaten, detained, and tortured residents of Tabit to prevent them from speaking out, the report stated.
Women are constantly forced to run a gauntlet of threats of sexual violence, one that extends further and further from camps for the displaced as deforestation continues rapidly.
VIOLENCE DIRECTED AGAINST FARMERS AND DISPLACED PERSONS BY ARAB MILITIAS
Three dead, nine injured in Darfur attacks | June 9, 2015 | Darfur
In various gunmen attacks in South and North Darfur over the weekend, three people were killed. Nine others sustained various injuries. In Dereig camp, near Nyala, capital of South Darfur, a displaced man was shot dead, and four others were injured on Saturday. A camp sheikh told Radio Dabanga that at about 9 pm, during the Champions League football match… “They opened fire at the spectators, killing Salaheldin Abdallah Mohamed (25) instantly, and wounding four others, among them two basic school students,” he said. Another man was killed near El Kawkab Sport Club in El Wadi district in Nyala. The commissioner of Nyala locality, El Sunni Mohamed Ahmed, downplayed the attacks, attributing them to the football match. [Truly unspeakable callousness—ER]
In the area of Joghana in South Darfur Gireida locality, a militiaman stabbed secondary school student Abakar El Tom Ibrahim.
A resident of Rwanda camp for the displaced in Tawila locality, North Darfur, was shot dead on Sunday. Omda Mukhtar Bosh reported to Radio Dabanga that three militiamen opened fire on Adam Ali Nimir while he was tending his farmland in the area of Shakshoko, west of Tawila town. “He died on the spot.” Bosh said that the militiamen have threatened to kill anyone in the locality, who goes out to work on their farm. “They said that all the land outside the towns and villages are pastures.”
This appropriation of farmland as pasturage for nomadic Arabic groups, now typically heavily armed, is one of the most dangerous features of conflict in Darfur: restoring lands to their rightful owners is essential for any meaningful peace, but instead such land appropriation as described near Tawila only increases—ER]
On Monday, a group of gunmen hijacked a pick-up truck, carrying four passengers, on the Zamzam-Tabit road in North Darfur. One of the victims told Radio Dabanga that armed men riding on camels… “stopped us at gunpoint, and ordered us to disembark, after which they beat us severely with their whips. They then robbed us of our money and mobile telephones, took the car, and fled.
RSF militiamen kill man, injure three in South Darfur’s Gireida | June 7, 2015 | Gireida, South Darfur
A man was shot dead, and three others were injured in an attack by members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Gireida on Saturday. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a relative of the victims reported that three RSF militiamen attempted to snatch the mobile telephone from Ahmed Abdelkareem Hamed Mohamed, when he was standing in front of his family home in Gireida on Saturday evening. “Mohamed resisted, took his knife from his pocket, and stabbed one of them. They shot him dead in response. His parents and a visiting relative who ran to the door to see what was happening, were shot too, and sustained bullet wounds.”
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are now Khartoum’s militia of choice; they are heavily armed, provided with very substantial transport capabilities, and enjoy open celebration by the regime.
Four herders abducted in North Darfur’s Tawila | June 10, 2015 | Tawila Locality
The militiamen, who stole large numbers of livestock near Tabit in Tawila locality on Monday, have abducted four herders too. “After the second militia attack on herders in the area north of Tabit on Monday, we went out to see if we could help,” a livestock owner told Radio Dabanga from Tabit. “We found three injured herdsmen, who told us that four others had been taken by those Janjaweed to an unknown destination.” On Monday, group of gunmen, believed to belong to the militia of Badur Abu Kineish, arrived at the area in seven vehicles, and stole 2,000 head of cattle and 2,00 sheep and goats at gunpoint.
FIRES, POSSIBLE ARSON
Seven children still missing after North Darfur village fire | June 8, 2015 | Tawila Locality
Ten of the 17 children, who went missing after a large fire broke out in Koto village, Tawila locality, three days ago, have been found. “They had fled the inferno by hiding in the bushes near the village,” a villager reported to Radio Dabanga on Sunday. “We are still searching for the remaining seven children.” More than 400 families are living in the open, after they lost everything they owned in the fire last Friday, he said. “The entire village burned to ashes.” He appealed to the North Darfur state authorities and relief organisation to provide assistance to the victims “as soon as possible.”
Displaced persons are typically helpless against fires in the close quarters of the camps, especially in the dry season and with declining access to water sources.
[I usually edit out such painfully earnest pleas, but they are in virtually all interviews with victims; there is virtually no chance that they will be heard by those in positions of authority—ER]
III. Broader signs of corruption and decay in Darfur
“Less than 50 percent of Darfur localities have police”: UN | June 9, 2015 | New York
A mapping conducted by the UN-AU peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) indicates that out of 65 administrative localities, only 19 have formal courts. There are police stations in 29 localities. In his report to the UN Security Council, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon states that the lack of police forces “seriously undermines the ability of Darfur’s rule of law institutions to contribute to combating criminality and impunity.” Prosecutors deployed to various localities across Darfur have been trained by UNAMID. “Lack of office space, equipment, and accommodation remains an issue impacting the effective discharge of their duties,” the secretary-general stated.
This is the context for an indisputable conclusion in the Secretary General’s May 26 report:
§12. Violence committed by organized criminals taking advantage of the overall law and order and security vacuum remained a significant concern for the population in Darfur… Most of the crimes were perpetrated by Arab militia and unidentified armed groups.
[Although the “armed groups” are described as “unidentified,” a tremendous amount of evidence suggests that these groups are also of primarily of Arab makeup—ER]
Rebellion in Darfur grew out of many features of decades of marginalization and lack of political power, as well as Khartoum’s increasingly inflammatory campaign to arm Arab militia groups in the years preceding the outbreak of war, even as the weapons of many Africans, even within the police, were being confiscated. But Khartoum’s allowing for a total breakdown in the judiciary in Darfur was of enormous importance in triggering violent conflict; and the co-opting of most police forces ensured that justice would disappear and the law of the land would become the “law of the gun.” Khartoum is directly responsible for the unconscionable neglect of Darfur and for putting in place so many ingredients of the conflagration.
Growing repression in Sudan: often an appeal to hardline Islamists
In addition to the continuing censorship stranglehold that the regime maintains on all print publications, there are signs of increasing repression in other quarters. Attacks on Christians are always a way to appeal to the hardline Islamists not in the National Congress Party, and at least temporarily secure increased political support from a powerful constituency:
South Sudanese priests moved to Kober prison | June 10, 2015 | Khartoum
Two South Sudanese pastors facing criminal charges in Sudan have been moved to a high security prison. Their relatives are not allowed to visit them anymore. Rev. Yat Michael Ruot and Rev. David Yein Reith of the South Sudanese Evangelical Presbyterian Church were previously detained at a low security prison in Omdurman. Their relatives and pastors from their church last saw them there on 3 June, Christian Today reported on Tuesday. When their families returned the next day, they were refused to visit them. The Sudanese authorities confirmed two days later, that the men were transferred to Kober Prison in North Khartoum. No one has been allowed to visit them at Kober Prison. There is speculation that the lockdown was ordered by the National Intelligence and Security Service.
During a visit to Khartoum, Rev. Ruot was detained by security officers on 21 December, after he had been preaching that morning at the Sudanese Presbyterian Evangelical Church in Khartoum North. Rev. Reith, also visiting Khartoum, was detained on 11 January, when he responded to summons to report to an office of the security service. It appears that his detention was linked to a letter he delivered to the Religious Affairs Office in Khartoum inquiring about Rev. Ruot’s whereabouts. Both were held incommunicado until 1 March, when they were charged of espionage, offending Islam, and undermining the constitutional order. Two of the charges carry the death penalty or life imprisonment.
Director of Sudanese Comboni school detained in Omdurman | June 8, 2015 | Omdurman
Security officers in Omdurman detained the director of a Comboni School in Omdurman’s El Sawra district 58 this morning, during a sit-in organised by a number of parents in front of the school. They protested against the confiscation of the school premises by the authorities. “The security agents ordered the parents to leave the place, and detained the director of the school, Ishag Andrawes Mandi,” one of the parents reported to Radio Dabanga… Mandi explained that the legal advisor of the Catholic Institution had produced documents confirming that the school was a Comboni school, and convinced the Khartoum state Minister of Education of the importance and legal rights of the school.
Tea sellers arrested in Sudan for not wearing stockings | June 10, 2015 | El Gezira
2 tea sellers were held in Hag Abdallah, El Gezira South locality, on Sunday, on charges of not wearing stockings. [And thus in violation of Sudan’s version of sharia—ER] “At 8 am, the women were taken to the police station,” a listener reported to Radio Dabanga from Hag Abdallah. “Six hours later, they were brought before a judge of the Hag Abdallah Court. The judge, however, postponed the hearing session to Thursday, because the complainants did not turn up,” he said.
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APPENDIX 1: Reports on violence in West Darfur over past six months
Violence in West Darfur will continue to define the prospects of return for most Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad. Of the twelve camps along the Chad/Darfur border, eleven are directly or nearly directly across the border from West Darfur. Only the most northernmost camp, Oure Cassoni is more than 60 kilometers from the West Darfur border. And insofar as West Darfur seems to be the candidate of choice for abandonment by UNAMID—and thus the international community—it is important to look closely at what we know about prevailing levels of violence and insecurity, especially for humanitarians. Certainly Darfur refugees in eastern Chad know the security situation in the Darfur they fled extremely well, and their views are often conveyed by way of Radio Dabanga.
Sudanese refugees in Chad refuse voluntary return | May 22, 2015 | Khartoum / Gaga Camp
Sudan, Chad and the United Nations High Commissioners for Refugees held a joint meeting in Khartoum to discuss the return of Sudanese refugees residing in twelve camps in eastern Chad. Babiker Ahmad Digna, the State Minister of Interior, confirmed his government’s commitment to achieve sustainable voluntary repatriation of Sudanese refugees in Chad. “It’s the best solution to their problems.”
The Sudanese refugees in the camps in eastern Chad [some 370,000 according to UN figures—ER] refused the government’s claims on voluntary repatriation and described the situation in Darfur as “more dangerous than when they fled to Chad.” Yassin Yahya, an activist in camp Gaga, told Radio Dabanga that the dream of returning home still entices all refugees, but the serious conditions prevailing now in Darfur cannot allow this.
An entirely different view is taken by Khartoum, which wants nothing more than to shut down UNAMID, along with the displaced persons camps in West Darfur, whatever the implications for the security of Darfur. An “election” speech by President Omar al-Bashir reveals the terms in which the regime would have the people of Darfur, even those in violence-wracked North Darfur, see the security situation:
“Darfur does not need UNAMID protection”: Al Bashir | April 9, 2015 | El Fasher, North Darfur
Concluding his electoral campaign in the five states of Darfur, President Omar Al Bashir told supporters in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, on Wednesday that the Darfuris do not need to be protected by foreign peacekeepers. “Do you need someone to tell you how to find reconciliation between yourselves? Do you need UNAMID? Do you need the African Union? Do you need the UN?” Al Bashir asked hundreds of supporters. “Despite the rebels’ claim that Darfur is marginalised, they continuously impede the government’s efforts to build schools and dig wells. [There have never been such “government efforts”—indeed, the lack of them is precisely what led to the rebellion.] Instead they are trading the cause of Darfur, following a foreign agenda.” [Of course none is specified—ER] He said that the rebels will soon be eliminated.
[Al-Bashir first made this claim in 2004—eleven years ago—and has stuck doggedly with it—here in a Reuters dispatch (February 24, 2010): “‘Now the war is finished in Darfur … We must start fighting the war for development,’ Bashir told his supporters at the rally in [North Darfur],” where the violence is currently most extreme–ER]
What is most worrisome is Khartoum’s willingness to act on the basis of al-Bashir’s ruthlessly misleading characterization of the situation on the ground throughout Darfur, including West Darfur:
Sudan plans to disband camps in “secure” West Darfur | March 22, 2015 | El Geneina
The Sudanese government plans to dismantle the camps for the displaced in West Darfur, according to the Governor. Governor Haidar Galokuma told the Sudanese Centre for Press Services, owned by the security apparatus, on Thursday that his government intends to dismantle the camps in West Darfur, as part of its plans to return the displaced to their villages of origin. The West Darfur camps for the displaced are not needed anymore, he explained, as “an unprecedented secure and stable situation is prevailing in the state.”
Darfuris, unsurprisingly have a very different view:
Sheikhs in the camps described Galokuma’s statements as “lies and deceptive,” referring to recent attacks on displaced at the Azirni, Kongok, Kereinik, and Um Tajuk camps.
APPENDIX 1: Instances of violence in West Darfur reported by Radio Dabanga
There has been an effort to play down the extent of violence in West Darfur—the reason for a compromise proposal mooted in the effort to secure UNAMID re-authorization: such a “compromise” would have seen all UNAMID forces withdraw from all of West Darfur. But if the violence is not presently of the sort we see in North Darfur, there is no reason to believe that the region is immune from further upsurges of the sort we saw in early 2008. Any assessment of violence and insecurity on the ground in West Darfur must be far more comprehensive that what has been reported by UNAMID. From Radio Dabanga, dispatches of the past half year:
Sudanese-Chadian troops torture villagers in West Darfur | April 27, 2015 | Sirba Locality
“Government militiamen” attack displaced in West Darfur | January 4, 2015 | Kereinik
Man abducted for ransom in West Darfur | May 19, 2015 | Kereinik Locality, West Darfur
Militiamen threaten to torch West Darfur camp | April 17, 2015 | Kereinik, West Darfur
One killed, five injured in Darfur robbery raids | June 4, 2015 | Tawila / Sirba, West Darfur
Militiamen kill farmers, destroy crops in Darfur | March 10, 2015 | Mershing / Wadi Salih
Gunmen kill man, injure two, torch market in Darfur | December 9, 2014 | Darfur
Displaced molested by militiamen in West Darfur’s Sirba | May 3, 2015 | Sirba Locality
West Darfur displaced tortured by military intelligence | April 22, 2015 | Sirba Locality
Darfur’s militiamen beat women, shoot man near camps | April 21, 2015| Nyala / Kendebe
One dead, another injured in Central and West Darfur attacks | June 1, 2015 | Niertiti / Murnei
Two dead in East and West Darfur shootings | March 5, 2015 | Ed Daein / Garsila, West Darfur
Displaced people in West Darfur beaten or kidnapped by militiamen | May 15, 2015 | Sirba
One killed in El Geneina-Zalingei road robbery, Darfur | February 20, 2015 | El Geneina
Guards, militia members kill three in Darfur | February 20, 2015 | Ed Daein / El Fasher / Mukjar
Three killed by herders, militiamen in Darfur | December 19, 2014 | Darfur
West Darfur farmers despair militant herders | December 12, 2014 | Kereinik, West Darfur
West Darfur residents flee as herders threaten to attack | December 5, 2014 | Kereinik
Herders’ attacks on West Darfur villages continue | December 4, 2014 | West Darfur
West Darfur security agents beat up electoral candidate | April 2, 2015 | Sirba Locality
Man killed in gunmen’s attack on West Darfur village | January 23, 2015 | Kereinik, West Darfur
Two dead in East and West Darfur shootings | March 5, 2015 | Ed Daein / Garsila, West Darfur
Displaced people in West Darfur beaten or kidnapped by militiamen | May 15, 2015 | Sirba and El Geneina, West Darfur
One killed in El Geneina-Zalingei road robbery, Darfur | February 20, 2015 | El Geneina and Sirba, West Darfur
Guards, militia members kill three in Darfur | February 20, 2015 | Ed Daein / El Fasher / Mukjar
Three killed by herders, militiamen in Darfur | December 19, 2014 | Darfur
West Darfur farmers despair militant herders | December 12, 2014 | Kereinik, West Darfur
West Darfur residents flee as herders threaten to attack | December 5, 2014 | Kereinik
Herders’ attacks on West Darfur villages continue | December 4, 2014 | West Darfur
West Darfur security agents beat up electoral candidate | April 2, 2015 | Sirba Locality
Man killed in gunmen’s attack on West Darfur village | January 23, 2015 | Kereinik, West Darfur
Arms, ammo stolen in attack on West Darfur police station | March 5, 2015 | Kereinik
SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
Women, girl gang-raped in West Darfur’s Sirba | April 30, 2015 | Sirba Locality, West Darfur
West Darfur child killed in savage rape | February 19, 2015 | El Geneina, West Darfur
Displaced girl raped, “two men arrested” in West Darfur | May 8, 2015 | Sirba, West Darfur
A displaced girl of twelve years old was raped by five men in Sirba locality | May 8, 2015 | Sirba
Woman raped in El Geneina locality, West Darfur | December 7, 2014 | El Geneina Locality
Two raped near displaced camp in West Darfur | December 19, 2014 | Kereinik, West Darfur
Upsurge of attacks in Central Darfur, rape attempt in West Darfur | December 26, 2014 | Mukjar / El Geneina, West Darfur
VIOLENCE IN THE FORM OF FIRES (SOME CLEARLY ARSON)
17 children missing after fire breaks out in North Darfur village | June 5, 2015 |Tawila
Inferno destroys 45 houses in Abu Suruj camp, West Darfur | February 8, 2015 | Sirba Locality
Inferno at West Darfur’s Kerendig camp | March 1, 2015 | Kerendig Camp, West Darfur
Fires break out in various parts of Darfur | May 28, 2015 | Darfur, West Darfur
Sheikh dies in West Darfur camp fire | February 24, 2015 | Kendebe Camp, West Darfur
Fire destroys homes in West Darfur camp | December 10, 2014 | Sirba Locality, West Darfur
[Were UNAMID to withdraw from West Darfur, dismal as its reporting record has been, we may be sure that arson will never be investigated or prosecuted; the regime calculates that it will be easy to empty camps for the displaced: simply burn them to the ground if people refuse to leave—ER]
VIOLENCE AGAINST DARFURI YOUTHS, A NUMBER FROM WEST DARFUR
Darfuri students in Sudan “in dangerous situation” | May 19, 2015 | Omdurman
Seventeen wounded in second attack on students in Khartoum | May 13, 2015 | Khartoum
Two Darfuri students detained, five wounded in Khartoum | May 28, 2015 | Khartoum
APPENDIX 2: Key excerpts from the report of the UN Secretary General (May 26, 2015)
§4. On 1 April, UNAMID received reports of aerial bombardments taking place in Rowata village in Central Darfur in support of a Sudanese Armed Forces ground attack against SLA/AW positions. A UNAMID verification patrol dispatched to the area on 6 April was able to confirm the dropping of 10 bombs that killed 14 civilians, including 5 children, injured 18 others and destroyed 15 houses. While the verification patrol was in the village, the team witnessed another aerial bombardment on the same day, consisting of five bombs close to where they were standing, damaging a UNAMID vehicle. One civilian was killed and three others were injured during the concurrent bombardment.
§5. UNAMID received reports of Government aerial bombardment in support of that Rapid Support Forces attack. The bombing reportedly resulted in the killing of 15 civilians and the wounding of 17 others in the nearby village of El Tomat.
[Despite the numerous confirmations by UNAMID of bombing attacks against civilians—here in their very presence—the Security Council refuses to take action, even as each of these attacks is a war crime and is a gross violation of the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 1591 (March 2005). Russia and China, permanent members of the Security Council, would veto any sanctions regime or indeed any form of punitive action. As a consequence permanent members France, the UK, the U.S.—as well as other rotating nations on the Council—refuse even to offer a resolution with tough measures against Khartoum, and thereby compel Russia and/or China to exercise their vetoes and reveal just what savagery they are willing to defend. Unsurprisingly, such aerial attacks have continued unabated for more than 12 years—ER]
§18. On 23 April, approximately 40 unidentified armed men attacked UNAMID troops protecting a water point in Kass. UNAMID forces responded robustly and repelled the attack, killing four attackers and injuring one, in the ensuing exchange of fire. During the incident, two peacekeepers sustained injuries and two UNAMID vehicles were taken by the armed men. The Mission troops pursued the attackers and successfully recovered the vehicles. The bodies of the four militiamen killed were handed over to the Government of the Sudan Police Commissioner and Sudanese Armed Forces Military Commander, who visited the team site later in the evening.
§19. The following morning, approximately 150 unidentified armed men were observed on horses moving towards the Kass team site, upon which the UNAMID Quick Reaction Force was dispatched from Nyala to the Kass team site for reinforcement. The Quick Reaction Force was attacked near the team site and returned fire. Four peacekeepers were injured in the attack. After a 20-minute firefight, Government forces intervened and the fighting ceased. After this second incident, UNAMID engaged the Government of the Sudan at both the local and national levels, urging it to conduct a swift and thorough investigation to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.
However, in the following days, Government officials accused UNAMID of killing defenceless Sudanese citizens in Kass, claiming that a number of them had been killed inside the UNAMID camp in violation of the status-of-forces agreement and their rules of engagement. [The Khartoum regime has long been utterly shameless in its mendacity—ER] Following these accusations, a large number of armed men gathered and surrounded the Kass team site, threatening UNAMID and requesting the payment of diya for persons killed during the attacks on the Mission. They dispersed on 27 April.
[Cleary in direct response to UNAMID’s actions, Khartoum took steps also described in the Secretary General’s report—ER]
§26. Local authorities also imposed bureaucratic impediments, particularly in relation to the provision of administrative authorizations, thus hindering the conduct of some specific mandated tasks. Subsequent to the incidents of 23 and 24 April in Kass, Southern Darfur, UNAMID resupply convoys travelling from Nyala were denied access to the Kass team site by Government authorities on 25, 26, 27 and 28 April before finally being granted passage on 29 April.
§21. On 13 May, Sudanese Armed Forces military intelligence personnel fired warning shots at a UNAMID helicopter that reportedly flew over their camp in Muhajeria, Eastern Darfur. Military intelligence personnel subsequently advised the Mission to avoid flying over their sites in the future.
This extraordinary action—firing on a helicopter that could only have been piloted by someone part of a UN-authorized peacekeeping mission—is accepted as the apparent cost of maintaining a presence in Darfur. If the UN Security Council cannot condemn, in the strongest possible terms, this attack, it will have yet again proved that it is not merely dysfunctional, but is morally and politically corrupt—ER]
§15. An increasing trend of sexual and gender-based violence targeting women and children was also recorded during the reporting period. In most of the incidents, the victims were engaged in livelihood activities, while the perpetrators were not arrested.
On 9 March, a female internally displaced person returning from farming activities was raped by an unknown man near Tawila, Northern Darfur. In the same locality, two other girls were raped on 17 March by two armed men. On 13 April, a female internally displaced person from Rwanda camp near Tawila was beaten and raped by two unidentified men dressed in military uniform. In a similar incident, armed Arab men, on 15 April, attempted to rape four Massalit female internally displaced persons near Sisi camp. A male internally displaced person intervened and, in the process, one perpetrator was injured. A group of armed Arab men besieged the camp and claimed compensation of SDG 5,000 for the treatment of the injured perpetrator.
Lack of confidence among the victims and their families in the Government’s capacity to conduct proper investigations, the absence of Government police in some areas, fear of retribution and the social stigma attached to being subjected to sexual violence continued to cause under-reporting of cases of sexual and gender-based violence.
[This is the most substantial and accurate account of sexual violence in Darfur that has appeared in a report from the Secretary General in a number of years. It is particularly notable that the report speaks of “An increasing trend of sexual and gender-based violence targeting women and children”—ER]
§27. During the reporting period, the Government of the Sudan refused clearance for 68 sorties…
On 30 April, Government authorities informed the Mission that it would no longer be allowed to operate direct flights from team sites in Southern Darfur to headquarters in El Fasher, and that all flights would have to proceed through Nyala.
These restrictions have had a significant impact on UNAMID operations, causing delays in troop rotations, resupply operations, the movement of civilian personnel and increased costs, as additional flights had to be added to sector operations.
[The actions detailed here are egregious violations of the Status of Forces Agreement signed by Khartoum and UNAMID in February 2008—ER]
§29. While it has been possible to provide basic assistance to tens of thousands of newly displaced people, previously reported challenges in terms of partial or delayed humanitarian access remain unresolved, as evidenced by the continued inability of humanitarian actors to reach areas in Central Darfur reported to be worst affected by Government operations against armed groups. With the exception of Guldo, the authorities continued to deny access to other locations in Jebel Marra, despite reports from local officials and humanitarian partners of growing needs and tens of thousands of displaced people.
[The imposition of what is in effect a humanitarian embargo on nearly all of Jebel Marra began shortly after UNAMID’s deployment; this brutally cruel denial of relief assistance to hundreds of thousands of people is arguably a crime against humanity—ER]
§34. No tangible progress has been made with regard to the direct negotiations between the Government of the Sudan and the non-signatories armed movements of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, despite efforts by the African Union High Level Implementation Panel, the Joint Chief Mediator and the Special Envoy for the Sudan and South Sudan. The direct talks have been suspended since late November 2014.
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki leads the “African Union High Level Implementation Panel”—“implementing what? A 2009 Darfur peace plan (“A Roadmap for Peace in Darfur”) that gained no traction and no longer exists in any sense
[Khartoum has no intention of “making progress” in any of the negotiations in which is involved. The strategy of creating multiple forums for different conflicts has served it well, as has the hopelessly incompetent and diplomatically corrupt Thabo Mbeki, head of the “African Union High Level Implementation Panel.” Officials of the Khartoum regime have made clear in minutes leaked from very high-level meetings that they feel they have Mbeki in their pocket—indeed, one official suggested a large, off-the-books pay-off to Mbeki from an offshore Islamic funding source (see minutes of August 31, 2014 meeting, as well as those of the June 3, 2014 meeting and the September 10, 2014 meeting—ER]
§44. The total number of patrols conducted by the UNAMID military force during the period under review decreased compared to the previous period, owing to the access denials imposed by Government forces.
§55. Of the 118 cases [of human rights violations], 55 cases involving 134 victims were allegedly perpetrated by the Government of the Sudan security forces and proxy entities. The remaining 63 cases, with 118 victims, were attributed to unidentified armed men, often described by the victims as “armed Arab men.”
[Such a breakdown of human rights violations is entirely representative in its characterization of the actors responsible for the brutal violence in Darfur; past experience strongly suggests that no one will be held accountable in any of these cases—ER]
§88. I call on the Government to immediately investigate the use of cluster munitions in Northern Darfur, which are prohibited under international law and pose a particular threat to the civilian population.
An unexploded cluster bomb dropped in the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan; these weapons are hideously indiscriminate when used near civilians, which is to say virtually everywhere they are dropped by the Khartoum regime’s air force.
[As Human Rights Watch has very recently and authoritatively reported, Khartoum’s military forces have used cluster munitions (bombs) in South Kordofan. Their use in North Darfur has also been authoritatively established, as reflected in the language of the Secretary General: the phrasing is not “possible use” but “use of cluster munitions”—ER]
§90. Given the current situation in Darfur and the progress made towards implementing the strategic priorities of UNAMID and in addressing the main challenges identified by the review, I recommend that the Security Council consider extending the mandate of the Mission for 12 months until 30 June 2016, without modification.
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“The victims [of the Holocaust] perished not only because of the killers, but also because of the apathy of the bystanders. What astonished us after the torment, after the tempest, was not that so many killers killed so many victims, but that so few cared about us at all.”
[Elie Wiesel, “Why were there so few?”]