The Future of Darfur
Eric Reeves | November 15, 2018 | https://wp.me/p45rOG-2jx
What will “security” look like in Darfur in the “fully serviced residential communities” into which camps for the displaced are being “converted”? The primary military force on the ground will remain the Rapid Support Forces, and their brutal, rapacious character will not change:
Rapid Support Forces’ “reprisal attack” on South Darfur market – civilians killed, beaten, robbed | Radio Dabanga, November 14, 2018 | DERIBAT
At least five civilians were reportedly killed by government troops and dozens were injured in an attack by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on civilians at the weekly Deribat market in East Jebel Marra, South Darfur on Monday.
The motive behind the RSF attack appeared to be a reprisal on civilians after an ambush by the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW) on Sunday in the area of Jawa,10 kilometres south of Deribat, in which 17 government troops were reportedly killed and an RSF vehicle was destroyed.
Witnesses from Deribat told Radio Dabanga that the militia, after withdrawing from Jawa, attacked the market and opened fire, killing five people and injuring dozens.
Witnesses confirmed that the government militia forces also attacked the market, where they beat shoppers and traders and looted their goods. Witnesses confirmed that the government forces also shelled south and west of Deribat with heavy weapons, wounding seven civilians. Witnesses described the situation in the area and other parts of East Jebel Marra as tense.
As reported by Radio Dabanga last week, the commander of the RSF, Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan (also known as Hemeti), vowed to eliminate the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW) led by Abdel Wahid Nur in Jebel Marra in three months. The demand came in a statement following Hemeti’s recent visit to Zamzam camp for displaced people in North Darfur. On Monday the general coordination of displaced people and refugee camps called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) judges to include Hemeti on the list of those wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and to bring him to justice.
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We know all too well the response of the UN to Khartoum’s dismantling of camps for displaced persons, including that of current UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Gwi-Yeop Son, who spoke recently of the “significant improvement in security situation in Darfur” (Sudan Tribune, September 4, 2018)
But UN mendacity has always been the signature response to the ongoing catastrophe:
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, “…credible and considerable progress in helping resolve this Darfur situation”—assessment of July 2, 2007
Rodolphe Adada, former head of UNAMID, “What you have is security issues more now. Banditry, localised issues….I have achieved results” in Darfur”—assessment of August 2009
Ibrahim Gambari, former head of UNAMID, “I am gratified to note that barely 31 months on, all the set goals and objectives have largely been met. The Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) was signed in July 2011”–assessment of September 2012 (UN Forum | Sept 15, 2012)
[The Doha Document for Peace in Darfur has been a gross failure and an obstacle to a meaningful end to conflict in Darfur—ER]
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Photographs and human rights reports from Darfur suggest a different reality:
RSF victim of 2017
Another civilian victim from 2017
Life as lived by millions of Darfuris
The epidemic of sexual violence against non-Arab/African Darfuris continues unabated
Darfuris have attempted to quantify genocidal morality, even if the UN and the rest of the world is content with the UN figure of April 2008
International news media have done a terrible job of reporting on Darfur’s realities (New York Times, February 2012); there was no reporting by the NYT on the events of the following years (see immediately below)
A measure of Khartoum’s contempt for the lives of non-Arab/African civilians: the use of chemical weapons in Jebel Marra in the 2016 campaign (reported by Amnesty International)
The UN is now trying to reduce the number of IDPs in Darfur to match the preposterous figure promulgated by Khartoum–with no explanation
Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad have become virtually invisible–a population of over 300,000 human beings, according to the UN High Commission for Refugees
Darfur’s realities seen from a perspective other than the UN’s…