November 23 2006 at 11:46AM
Khartoum - Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir told Britain and the United Nations that he still rejects the deployment of UN troops in war-torn Darfur, the state-run Suna news agency reported Thursday.
The agency said Beshir spoke by phone with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and British Prime Minister Tony Blair late on Wednesday.
Beshir "stressed Sudan's rejection of any UN forces or UN command for the African Union (AU) forces in Darfur," SUNA said.
The discussions looked at how the UN could assist AU forces on the ground, it added.
The UN Security Council in August adopted a resolution calling for the deployment of 20 000 UN peacekeepers to replace an ill-equipped and under-funded AU contingent in Sudan's troubled western region.
Beshir consistently opposed such a plan, but Annan said last week that Sudan had accepted a "hybrid force" comprising forces from both the UN and the AU.
Khartoum denied it had accepted a deal for a joint AU-UN command and said it would only tolerate assistance to AU forces from UN technical units.
Blair warned on Wednesday that this compromise solution could be Khartoum's last chance to avoid sanctions.
"If the government (of Sudan) does not seize this opportunity then we will have to look at tougher measures," he said.
Annan said on Wednesday he was awaiting a letter from Beshir clariying Sudan's position on the proposal for a joint AU-UN peacekeeping operation.
The war in Darfur erupted in February 2003 when rebels from minority tribes took up arms to demand an equal share of national resources, prompting a heavy-handed crackdown from government forces and a proxy militia called the Janjaweed.
At least 200 000 people have since died from the combined effects of fighting, famine and disease, according to the UN. Some sources say the toll is much higher.
- Sapa-AFP
Showing posts with label Darfur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Darfur. Show all posts
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Monday, November 20, 2006
Darfur 'genocide crosses to Chad'
Chad's government has accused Sudan of "exporting the genocide" in Darfur across the border.
It says there have been "numerous victims" of recent clashes between Arabs and non-Arab groups just across the border from Darfur.
Earlier, a minister said that more than 100 people had been killed in separate clashes in south-eastern Chad.
Eastern Chad and Darfur have a similar ethnic make-up and the two governments have swapped charges of backing rebels.
Chad's government called for UN peacekeepers to be deployed along the border area.
"There is a genocide overflowing from Sudan's region of Darfur," it said about the clashes in the Dar Sila area.
Earlier, National Administration Minister Ahmat Mahamat Bachir said several villages had been burned in last week's violence in Salamat.
He said Arabs had organised attacks on local Kibet villages but that the situation was now under control.
There has been an ongoing dispute between the Arab and the Kibet communities over land issues and water resources.
The BBC's Stephanie Hancock in Chad says there is a general pattern of conflict in the east of the country between Arabs, both from Sudan and Chad, and non-Arab groups.
In April, Chad rebels reached the capital, N'Djamena, before being repulsed.
Sudan denied claims it had backed Chad's rebels, while Chad denied supporting the black African rebels in Darfur.
Some two million people have been displaced in Darfur and at least 200,000 are estimated to have died in the three-and-a-half year conflict.
Sudan's government says it is disarming Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, who have been accused of carrying out genocide on its behalf.
Khartoum also denies claims of genocide.
It says there have been "numerous victims" of recent clashes between Arabs and non-Arab groups just across the border from Darfur.
Earlier, a minister said that more than 100 people had been killed in separate clashes in south-eastern Chad.
Eastern Chad and Darfur have a similar ethnic make-up and the two governments have swapped charges of backing rebels.
Chad's government called for UN peacekeepers to be deployed along the border area.
"There is a genocide overflowing from Sudan's region of Darfur," it said about the clashes in the Dar Sila area.
Earlier, National Administration Minister Ahmat Mahamat Bachir said several villages had been burned in last week's violence in Salamat.
He said Arabs had organised attacks on local Kibet villages but that the situation was now under control.
There has been an ongoing dispute between the Arab and the Kibet communities over land issues and water resources.
The BBC's Stephanie Hancock in Chad says there is a general pattern of conflict in the east of the country between Arabs, both from Sudan and Chad, and non-Arab groups.
In April, Chad rebels reached the capital, N'Djamena, before being repulsed.
Sudan denied claims it had backed Chad's rebels, while Chad denied supporting the black African rebels in Darfur.
Some two million people have been displaced in Darfur and at least 200,000 are estimated to have died in the three-and-a-half year conflict.
Sudan's government says it is disarming Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, who have been accused of carrying out genocide on its behalf.
Khartoum also denies claims of genocide.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Darfur militias 'kill children'
Militias backing Sudan's government have killed at least 63 people in attacks in Darfur in the past week, African peacekeepers say.
At least 27 of the victims are thought to be children under the age of 12.
The attacks were carried on camps for the displaced in the rebel stronghold of Jebel Moon, in West Darfur.
The government says it is disarming the Janjaweed militia but a BBC correspondent in Sudan says all the evidence points to the exact opposite.
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged the Sudanese government to restrain the militias following the attacks.
Terrified
Militia wearing government uniforms, on camels and horseback, swept into eight villages and camps in Jebel Moon on 29 October.
The African Union (AU) investigation team has just returned from the area to make its report.
The area is a stronghold of the National Redemption Front (NRF) alliance, one of the Darfur rebel group which refused to sign up to a peace deal in May.
"The government have begun mobilising the Janjaweed widely, especially in West Darfur, because they want to clear the area and move north along the border and defeat us," said the NRF's Bahr Idriss Abu Garda.
The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Darfur says that all along the long border with Chad, villagers are fleeing terrified as the Janjaweed aggressively take up positions in key towns.
Three years ago, at the start of the Darfur crisis, the Janjaweed cleared hundreds of villages, displacing more than two million people.
With morale in the Sudanese army reported to be low, Khartoum seems to have turned once again to their most brutal of allies, our correspondent says.
Some 200,000 people have died in Darfur, with the Arab Janjaweed accused of ethnic cleansing against black Africans.
Sudan's government says the scale of the problems has been exaggerated and resists plans for the United Nations to take over the peacekeeping force from the AU.
At least 27 of the victims are thought to be children under the age of 12.
The attacks were carried on camps for the displaced in the rebel stronghold of Jebel Moon, in West Darfur.
The government says it is disarming the Janjaweed militia but a BBC correspondent in Sudan says all the evidence points to the exact opposite.
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged the Sudanese government to restrain the militias following the attacks.
Terrified
Militia wearing government uniforms, on camels and horseback, swept into eight villages and camps in Jebel Moon on 29 October.
The African Union (AU) investigation team has just returned from the area to make its report.
The area is a stronghold of the National Redemption Front (NRF) alliance, one of the Darfur rebel group which refused to sign up to a peace deal in May.
"The government have begun mobilising the Janjaweed widely, especially in West Darfur, because they want to clear the area and move north along the border and defeat us," said the NRF's Bahr Idriss Abu Garda.
The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Darfur says that all along the long border with Chad, villagers are fleeing terrified as the Janjaweed aggressively take up positions in key towns.
Three years ago, at the start of the Darfur crisis, the Janjaweed cleared hundreds of villages, displacing more than two million people.
With morale in the Sudanese army reported to be low, Khartoum seems to have turned once again to their most brutal of allies, our correspondent says.
Some 200,000 people have died in Darfur, with the Arab Janjaweed accused of ethnic cleansing against black Africans.
Sudan's government says the scale of the problems has been exaggerated and resists plans for the United Nations to take over the peacekeeping force from the AU.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Stop the genocide
Our position: It would be outrageous for the U.N. not to intervene in Darfur.
Posted October 30, 2006
The government of Sudan is widely believed to be behind the genocide in the country's Darfur region that has claimed more than 200,000 lives and driven millions from their homes. Yet even with a new surge in violence, the United Nations is still waiting for permission from that same government to deploy a peacekeeping force to stop the killing. No wonder some critics of the United Nations consider it worthless.
It's way past time for the U.N. Security Council to dispatch the peacekeepers, whether or not Sudan's leaders agree.
U.N. intervention in a country against its wishes should be reserved for exceptional cases. But genocide more than meets that standard.
For three years, Arab militias backed by Sudan's government have looted, burned, raped and murdered their way through black African villages in Darfur to suppress a rebellion in the region. Two years ago, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell correctly labeled it genocide. A recent report from the United Nations itself concluded, "Government knowledge, if not complicity, in the attacks is almost certain."
A 7,000-troop African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur has been unable to stop the violence. That force lacks the manpower, equipment and mandate.
Now, amid recent gains by the rebels, Sudan's government is vowing a new offensive to crush them. Last week, the government kicked out the United Nations' top envoy in the country. And Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, also threatened to expel humanitarian relief groups and foreign media from Darfur. Hundreds of thousands more lives are in peril.
The Security Council passed a resolution in late August calling for a 22,000-troop U.N. peacekeeping force to replace the smaller African Union force in Darfur. Ideally, African and Arab countries would supply the manpower.
The presence of U.S. and European troops in yet another Muslim country could ignite opposition that would hamper a peacekeeping mission. But the United States and its European allies can work through NATO to provide logistical support for the U.N. force and take other steps to assist it, such as establishing a no-fly zone over Darfur.
If the United States and other council members are committed to ending the nightmare in Darfur, they will apply all their diplomatic leverage to overcoming opposition to intervention from China and other apologists for Sudan.
A little more than a decade ago, the United Nations failed to stop a genocidal rampage in Rwanda that left hundreds of thousands of people dead. A U.N. refusal to intervene in Darfur would deal another crushing blow to its credibility, and confirm the harshest views of its critics.
Posted October 30, 2006
The government of Sudan is widely believed to be behind the genocide in the country's Darfur region that has claimed more than 200,000 lives and driven millions from their homes. Yet even with a new surge in violence, the United Nations is still waiting for permission from that same government to deploy a peacekeeping force to stop the killing. No wonder some critics of the United Nations consider it worthless.
It's way past time for the U.N. Security Council to dispatch the peacekeepers, whether or not Sudan's leaders agree.
U.N. intervention in a country against its wishes should be reserved for exceptional cases. But genocide more than meets that standard.
For three years, Arab militias backed by Sudan's government have looted, burned, raped and murdered their way through black African villages in Darfur to suppress a rebellion in the region. Two years ago, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell correctly labeled it genocide. A recent report from the United Nations itself concluded, "Government knowledge, if not complicity, in the attacks is almost certain."
A 7,000-troop African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur has been unable to stop the violence. That force lacks the manpower, equipment and mandate.
Now, amid recent gains by the rebels, Sudan's government is vowing a new offensive to crush them. Last week, the government kicked out the United Nations' top envoy in the country. And Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, also threatened to expel humanitarian relief groups and foreign media from Darfur. Hundreds of thousands more lives are in peril.
The Security Council passed a resolution in late August calling for a 22,000-troop U.N. peacekeeping force to replace the smaller African Union force in Darfur. Ideally, African and Arab countries would supply the manpower.
The presence of U.S. and European troops in yet another Muslim country could ignite opposition that would hamper a peacekeeping mission. But the United States and its European allies can work through NATO to provide logistical support for the U.N. force and take other steps to assist it, such as establishing a no-fly zone over Darfur.
If the United States and other council members are committed to ending the nightmare in Darfur, they will apply all their diplomatic leverage to overcoming opposition to intervention from China and other apologists for Sudan.
A little more than a decade ago, the United Nations failed to stop a genocidal rampage in Rwanda that left hundreds of thousands of people dead. A U.N. refusal to intervene in Darfur would deal another crushing blow to its credibility, and confirm the harshest views of its critics.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Darfur's silent killer
I have not eaten now for over 48 hours due to sickness and diarrhoea. It has left me feeling exhausted and extremely grumpy - those around me would confirm this in an instant. I have been taking antibiotics and drinking plenty of water and flat cola, none of which seems to be having any positive effect with my stomach still feeling like it holds bubbling toxic lava.
It has been a more than unpleasant past two days, yet as much as I have complained, I feel I am in no position to do so.
Chronic sickness and diarrhoea is a common problem in Darfur, especially in the camps for IDPs (internally displaced people).
Aid workers here speculate that in some camps as many as one in five children suffer from sickness and diarrhoea at any one time. They focus on the children because for them diarrhoea in these conditions can be a very serious problem.
It means children are left even more weak and vulnerable than they would be usually - what little nutrition they are getting, their meagre bodies are not absorbing.
In Camp Al-Salaam, just outside Nyala, South Darfur, eight children were reported to have died from chronic diarrhoea within the last month.
On a recent visit to Camp Otash, also on the outskirts of Nyala, the dangers of diarrhoea became only too apparent.
I came across a little boy named Hawa Abdullah. Hawa (pictured here) is six years old but could well pass for much younger. When I met him his wrists were, without exaggeration, as thin as my thumb. His skin hung off his arms, so flaccid it seemed as though he had no muscle at all.
The mass of flies swarming around his face didn't bother him. He barely moved, could barely breathe and was so exhausted he could hardly keep his eyes from shutting. His body just hung in his mother's arms.
His sickness meant he was severely malnourished. He had been eating - not much, but enough to keep a child of his age alive. The problem was that everything was going straight through him.
Had he not been found by aid workers, I have no doubt he would now be dead.
"I wonder how many other Hawas there are out there?" one aid worker remarked to me as the boy was taken off for further treatment.
Of the 2.5 million people uprooted by the conflict in Darfur around 700,000 are estimated to be children. But any speculation of the percentage with sickness and diarrhoea would be nothing but a wild guess.
Bugging me right now isn't just how many children are ill, but also how many will get the treatment they need to survive.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Sudan denies directing Janjaweed
Sudan's government has rejected new allegations that it is giving direct support and orders to the Janjaweed Arab militia in the Darfur region.
A Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman told the BBC his government was instead working hard to try to disarm them.
Earlier, a UK asylum seeker known as Ali, who said he was in the Janjaweed, told the BBC he saw ministers giving orders at their training camps.
Ali said he took part in village raids after bombings by Sudan's air force.
He said the majority of casualties were civilians and that he had witnessed Janjaweed fighters raping women.
Khartoum has always denied any links to the Janjaweed, who have been accused of war crimes against civilians in Darfur.
More than two million people have fled their homes during the three-year conflict and more than 200,000 are estimated to have died.
Asylum
Sudanese government spokesman Ali al-Sadek told the BBC's Arabic Service that he believed the former Janjaweed fighter made his allegations on the BBC television programme Newsnight because he is claiming political asylum in the UK.
"I think this is a pretext that weakens everything he alleged," Mr Sadek said.
The spokesman also said the interior minister mentioned by Ali was not Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hussein - although Mr Hussein held the post until 2005.
Mr Al-Sadek reiterated the Sudanese government's denial of aiding any militias in Darfur, adding that the government was cooperating with the United Nations.
"We are seeking to seize the weapons of this bandit militia. We are exerting efforts alongside the UN and many other organisations in order to establish security and peace."
"Ali"
The former fighter, Ali, said the men who had trained them were wearing the uniforms of the Sudanese military, adding that Mr Hussein was a "regular visitor".
"The Janjaweed don't make decisions. The orders always come from the government," he said.
"They gave us orders, and they say that after we are trained they will give us guns and ammunition."
Hilary Benn, a British government minister who visited Darfur on Monday, said the man's evidence was "clearly very serious".
Mr Benn urged him to speak to investigators from the International Criminal Court.
Smoking gun?
Meanwhile the Aegis Trust, which campaigns against genocide, has revealed details of a letter it believes is genuine and it says provides evidence of a systematic campaign to drive Africans from Darfur.
The US State Department is reported to have considerable doubts about its authenticity.
The copy of the letter, which has been seen by the BBC, is dated 16 August 2004 and is translated from Arabic.
Aegis Trust say they obtained it from a US Marines captain serving as an adviser to the African Union mission in Darfur.
It is signed by a Janjaweed commander and describes orders from Sudan's president to "change the demography of Darfur".
"We confirm that directives have been issued - to change the demography of Darfur and make it void of tribes of African origin - to kill, burn all farms, confiscate the belongings of tribes of African origin, forcibly displace them from Darfur, and kill their intellectuals and the youth, because they can join the fight with the rebels," the letter says.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Student organizes drive to save Darfur
August 31, 2006
The Darfur genocide has been a horrifying reality in Sudan that has called SMU student, Denver Nicks, to action. Nicks has created a committee through Students For A Better Society that will attempt to raise awareness about the Darfur situation and help stop the genocide.
The conflict in Darfur began in 2003 after the Sudanese government used armed militias to begin a scorched earth campaign, as well as militia attacks that have led to countless human rights violations.
The situation is only worsening thanks to state-sponsored violence, lack of humanitarian aid, famine, starvation, disease and a program of systematic rape of African women.
With more than 3.5 million people starving, 2.5 million displaced due to the extreme violence, and more than 400.000 dead, one SMU student has decided to take a stand.
Nicks first became involved with the Darfur genocide when a friend from another university began a campaign and sparked Nicks’ interest. His involvement began by simply wearing his “Save Darfur” t-shirts and bracelet, but Nicks wanted to take a more hands-on approach. The grim situation made him want to take the campaign to the SMU student body to raise more awareness for the cause.
This summer Nicks attended a conference in Washington D.C. on student activism in Darfur, which furthered his drive to become more closely involved with the campaign to end the genocide.
Nicks will conduct a meeting on Thursday, Aug. 31, at 5 p.m. in Hughes-Trigg Portico E to discuss the plans for the anti-genocide committee. His main objective is to raise campus awareness about the genocide in Darfur through the sale of t-shirts and fundraising. The money from fundraising will go either to the cause of raising more awareness about Darfur, or to the International Rescue Committee Fund to assist Darfur directly.
Another huge goal of the committee will be to pressure political leaders to take a stand and assist with genocide relief.
“In the state of Texas the political leaders have very low scores when it comes to assisting with the Darfur genocide. We hope to pressure them to do more to help,” stated Nicks.
All of the Texas state representatives and senators have a grade of C or below on their assistance with the Darfur genocide. Sen. John Cornyn ranks the lowest with a grade of F, while the majority of representatives have a scored a D. (www.darfurscore.org/grades/texas).
Nicks encourages anyone who is appalled by genocide and wishes to assist with the effort to attend the meeting.
“I am so excited about the campaign and anyone who is not down with genocide is more than welcome to join,” Nicks stated.
Fore more information please contact Denver Nicks at dnicks@smu.edu
U.N. peacekeeping force for Darfur
Press Release
| For Immediate Release August 31, 2006 | Contact: | Jeff Kovick, 202-478-6147, Jeff@savedarfur.org |
Save Darfur Coalition Applauds UN Vote on Peacekeepers,
Urges Swift International Action to Deploy Forces
“We must turn words on paper into boots on the ground”
Washington, DC – The Save Darfur Coalition today maintained cautious optimism following the United Nations Security Council decision to authorize a U.N. peacekeeping force for Darfur, Sudan. The 12-0-3 vote is a clear demonstration of the international community’s will to end the genocide in Darfur. The international community, however, must now overcome the Government of Sudan’s objections to the U.N. peacekeeping force before the desperately needed troops can be deployed.
“While we applaud the hard work that has gone into passing this resolution, the United States and other Security Council member nations must now turn their attention to making sure that this newly authorized peacekeeping force is actually deployed, and deployed soon,” said David Rubenstein of the Save Darfur Coalition.
The peacekeeping mission will function under a similarly worded mandate to current U.N. peacekeeping mission in south Sudan, and is authorized to take “all necessary means” to protect civilians from attack and ensure the unfettered continuation of the peace process as agreed to in the Darfur Peace Agreement. The U.N. mission in Darfur would comprise up to 22,600 military and police personnel.
“Only the actual presence of these peacekeepers will provide the security the people of Darfur so desperately need,” continued Rubenstein. “We must turn words on paper into boots on the ground.”
The United Nations will solicit troops from contributing countries for the Darfur UNMIS force with deployment slated to begin no later than October 1, 2006. Gaining the permission of the Government of Sudan remains a significant hurdle to that timetable, however, one which will take a marked increase in international pressure to overcome. A recent attempt by President Bush to coax Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir’s cooperation fell flat when President Bashir first refused to meet with President Bush’s envoy, Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer. He then rejected Bush’s offer after finally agreeing to meet with Frazer two days later. President Bush’s message to President Bashir included an offer to honor him with a meeting in September if Bashir agreed to the U.N. force.
Since 2003, the Sudanese government-sponsored genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan has killed over 400,000 men, women, and children, forced 2.5 million Darfurians to flee their homes, and left more than 3.5 million individuals reliant on humanitarian aid. Within the last few months, the rates of both systematic rape of Darfuri women and fatal violence against humanitarian aid workers have increased dramatically.
On September 17, the Save Darfur Coalition will join individuals around the world in calling for the immediate deployment of the U.N. peacekeeping force to Darfur. In New York City’s Central Park, “Save Darfur Now: Voices to End Genocide” will be the centerpiece event in a global day of action (www.dayfordarfur.org). In New York, multi-platinum, award winning duo Big & Rich will be joined by rock group O.A.R. in a rally in the East Meadow of Central Park. Additional events will be held in Paris, London, Abuja, and numerous other cities globally. The New York rally will coincide with the 61st meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in the city. The Save Darfur Coalition will be announcing additional speakers and performers for “Save Darfur Now: Voices to End Genocide” (www.savedarfur.org/now) in the coming weeks.
The Save Darfur Coalition comprises 175 human rights, humanitarian, and faith-based organizations united in support of stronger action to end the ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudan.
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