Darfur rebel group confirms leader killed

Dec 26, 2011

Johannesburg - The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), the main rebel group in Darfur, has confirmed that its leader was killed by the Sudanese military and vowed revenge, according to a statement carried by local media on Monday.

While the Sudanese army had said the rebel leader Khalil Ibrahim was killed in battle as he was trying to sneak into South Sudan last week, JEM countered that he was killed in an airstrike and charged that foreign powers were involved in the attack.

'This indicates a collusion and conspiracy by some quarters in the regional and international milieu with the regime of genocide in Khartoum,' JEM was quoted as saying by the Sudan Tribune daily.

'By this plot, Khartoum opened the door for political murders,' according to a spokesman for the group, which pulled out of a peace deal with the government last year.

Ibrahim reportedly returned from Libya this year, after the downfall of the Moamer Gaddafi's regime, from whom JEM allegedly received support. Newly independent South Sudan is also accused by Khartoum of aiding the rebels.

According to reports and video footage circulating online, police in Khartoum dispersed supporters of JEM who tried to pay condolences at the house of Ibrahim's family on the outskirts of the Sudanese capital.

It was unclear who would replace the rebel leader at the helm of the group, which he helped found in 2000.

In the conflict in Darfur, ongoing since 2003, some 300,000 people have died according to the UN, though Khartoum says the figure is lower.

Source: Monsters and Critics.
Link: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/africa/news/article_1682725.php/Darfur-rebel-group-confirms-leader-killed.

Alliance of rebel factions agrees to Darfur peace deal

Mon, 03 Jan 2011

Doha, Qatar - An alliance of Darfuri rebel factions agreed on Monday to a final peace settlement with the Sudanese government.

"We submitted a letter yesterday after we confirmed that we accept the proposals made by the mediation and we believe it represents a solution to meet the aspirations of the people of Darfur," Tijani Cisse, chairman of the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM), said in the Qatari capital Doha.

The apparent agreement comes after nearly two years of talks between Khartoum and various rebel groups, with the support of the African Union and the Arab League.

Without giving details of the agreement, a statement by the movement said that they agreed on the points put forth by the Qatar mediators. LJM said they are now waiting for the final peace document to sign it.

A spokesperson for Darfur's largest rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), said yesterday that they received the text of the agreement and would hand their position to mediators before the end of the week, according to the Sudan Tribune.

The announcement comes just days after Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir threatened his side would quit the talks in Qatar if there an agreement could not be reached within 24 hours, a deadline that expired on Friday.

His remarks were immediately deplored by mediators and by the JEM.

The talks were aimed at bringing a definitive end to the long conflict in the restive western Sudanese region, which began in 2003 when the predominantly black African tribes took up arms against what they called decades of neglect by the Arab government in Khartoum.

According to United Nations estimates, more than 300,000 people have died and almost 3 million been displaced as a consequence of the conflict. Khartoum says only 10,000 people have died.

Fighting had died down, but during the course of 2010 clashes between government forces, JEM and other rebel groups have begun to pick up again.

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against al-Bashir, accusing him of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide carried out in the province.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360556,agrees-darfur-peace-deal.html.

Sudanese President al-Bashir threatens walkout from Darfur talks

Thu, 30 Dec 2010

Nairobi/Khartoum - Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Thursday threatened his side would quit the talks in Qatar aimed at ending the Darfur conflict if there is no agreement by the end of 2010 on Friday.

His remarks reported by the online edition of the Sudan Tribune were immediately deplored by mediators and by the other side in the Darfur talks, the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

"If we reach an agreement tomorrow, praise be to God," al-Bashir said. "But if there is no agreement, we will withdraw our negotiating team.

"The negotiation and dialogue will be inside Darfur and with the Darfur people. We will not negotiate with any person who carries a gun and claims that he is a leader of an armed faction," he said.

The warning comes after nearly two years of talks in Doha with the support of the African Union and the Arab League to try to end the conflict in region in western Sudan between the predominantly black African ethnic population and Arab militias.

The chief negotiator in Doha, Djibril Bassole, said he regretted al-Bashir's remarks, calling them a threat to the peace process.

Ahmed Hussein, spokesman for JEM, the largest rebel group in Darfur, called al-Bashir's comments a "serious blow to the peace efforts."

By United Nations estimates, more than 300,000 people have been killed in the conflict since 2003. In the meantime the International Court of Justice has issued an arrest warrant against al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360146,threatens-walkout-darfur-talks.html.

Two Egyptian UN peacekeepers killed in Sudan's Darfur

New York - A UN-African Union peacekeeping convoy in Sudan's Darfur region was ambushed by unidentified armed men on Friday, resulting in two UN troops from Egypt killed, the UN said.

The UN said the armed men opened fire indiscriminately at the convoy of three UN vehicles and 20 military personnel in Edd al Fursan, in southern Darfur. The attackers fled after UN troops returned fire.

The attack seriously injured three UN peacekeepers, who were taken to a hospital of the UN-African Mission in Darfur in Nyala and were reported in stable condition.

The deaths of the two Egyptian troops brought to 24 the total of UN peacekeepers killed in Darfur since January 2008 when the mission was deployed.

The UN envoy to the region expressed "outrage" at the cowardly attacks against the peace mission. The UN called on the Sudanese government to identify, capture and swiftly bring the attackers before justice.

Gunmen kill 5 peacekeepers in Darfur attacks

CAIRO (AP) — Gunmen killed five Rwandan soldiers in a series of attacks on the international peacekeeping force in Darfur, a spokesman for the mission said, marking a swift upsurge in violence in the western Sudanese region.

The attacks on Friday and Saturday targeted peacekeepers from the United Nations-African Union force, which deployed nearly two years ago to protect civilians and improve security in Darfur.

Fighting between rebels and Sudanese government forces began there in 2003, killing up to 300,000 people and driving 2.7 million from their homes. The government says those figures are exaggerated.

That violence has largely subsided, but the two attacks on peacekeepers demonstrate how vulnerable the under-funded and ill-equipped UNAMID force remains, as banditry and kidnappings of foreign aid workers continue to plague efforts to stabilize the vast desert region.

In Saturday's attack, assailants approached the gate of a camp for people displaced by the conflict and shot at peacekeepers distributing water, said UNAMID spokesman Kemal Saiki. That attack took place about 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of el-Fasher, the capital of northern Darfur.

In the other attack, which took place Friday near a market and a government checkpoint, gunmen fired on a convoy of Rwandan peacekeepers escorting a water tanker near the northern town of Saraf Umra. The force fired back, wounding an assailant, but the attackers escaped, Saiki said.

The attackers' motives are unclear, but they might have been trying to steal the troops' vehicles, he said.

"We are urging the authorities to spare no effort to conduct an inquiry and bring those (responsible) to justice," Saiki said.

The attacks bring to 22 the number of peacekeepers killed since the joint force deployed in January 2008.

The most deadly attack occurred in July 2008 when at least 200 assailants on horseback and in SUVs mounted with guns ambushed a police and military patrol, killing seven peacekeepers and wounding 22.

Violence has decreased in recent months in Darfur. The fighting began with a rebellion by ethnic African tribes accusing the Arab-dominated government of neglect. It quickly escalated into a frenzy of bloodshed with the intervention of a pro-government militia that has been accused of atrocities.

Qatar minister hopeful for Darfur peace

Doha - Qatar, which hosts talks between the government of Sudan and rebels from its western Darfur region, has expressed hope that a peace deal can be reached soon between the warring sides, media reports said Sunday. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed bin Abdullah al- Mahmoud was quoted by Qatar's news agency as saying a recent round of talks with non-governmental groups helped create a roadmap for a process leading to a negotiated settlement.

"What we heard from them about peace, makes us optimistic about the future," he said, adding that if the government and rebels tried, a deal was possible next year.

Qatar has taken a leading role in negotiations, along with the African Union and the United Nations.

Over 300,000 people have been killed and around 2 million displaced in fighting in Darfur since 2003, according to the UN.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/295743,qatar-minister-hopeful-for-darfur-peace.html.

Sudan calls for all sides to resume Darfur talks

2009-11-15

Aide to Sudan's Beshir says no one person should have right of veto over possible peace deal.

PARIS - An aide to Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir on Saturday called for all sides to take part in talks aimed at ending the Darfur conflict, which are due to resume in Qatar.

Ghazi Salaheddine told reporters at the Sudanese embassy in Paris that no one person should have a right of veto over a possible peace deal -- a reference to a former rebel leader currently in exile in the French capital.

Abdel Wahid Mohammed Nur, the ex-leader of the Sudanese Liberation Army, is refusing to take part in discussions due to resume in Doha in a few days.

In February an agreement was struck between the Darfuri rebel Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudanese government, which opened the way to a prisoner exchange and eventual peace conference.

Salaheddine also said he had had talks with high-ranking French officials with a view to improving and strengthening relations between Sudan and France.

The question of Beshir's presence at an Africa-France summit in Egypt next year was not discussed, he said.

The Sudanese leader is the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over allegations of war crimes in Darfur.

Critics say the ICC warrant singles out weak states like Sudan, while taking a hypocritical stance towards countries like the US and Israel by ignoring worse atrocities committed by them, and by not charging American and Israeli officials with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Darfur conflict erupted in February 2003, when rebels took up arms against the government in Khartoum and its allies.

Over the last six years, the rebels have fractured into multiple movements, fraying rebel groups, banditry, flip-flopping militias and the war has widened into overlapping tribal conflicts.

The United Nations says up to 300,000 people have died from the combined effects of war, famine and disease and more than 2.7 million fled their homes.

Many of the rebels enjoy direct and indirect foreign support that helped fuel the conflict, with some critics pointing the finger at France, which has a military presence in neighboring Chad – also accused of arming the Sudanese rebels.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=35692.

Sudan seeks progress on Darfur talks

Sun Nov 15, 2009

An aide to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has invited a former rebel leader to take part in peace talks aimed at ending the six-year conflict in Darfur.

Ghazi Salaheddine told reporters on Saturday at the Sudanese Embassy in Paris that no one should have a right of veto over a possible peace deal.

However, Abdel Wahid Mohammed Nur, the ex-leader of the Sudanese Liberation Army currently in exile in the French capital, is refusing to take part in the discussions.

In February, Darfur's most active rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement, signed an agreement with the Sudanese government in Qatar that paved the way for broader peace talks over the conflict in Darfur.

The deal calls for an end to attacks on the over two million people who are in refugee camps and an exchange of prisoners.

The Doha mediated talks are scheduled to resume in a few days.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/111299.html.

Sudan to begin closing Darfur camps in 2010

Nairobi (Earth Times - dpa) ­- The Sudanese government plans to start closing down camps for the displaced population in the war-torn region of Darfur next year, a senior official said Wednesday. Some 20,000 housing units are being constructed to accommodate the homeless in the towns of El-Fasher, El-Geneina and Nyala, Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Hasabu Abdel-Rahman told the UN- sponsored Miraya FM radio.

He said the displaced people will have the choice of returning to their village if they do not want to move to the new housing complexes.

Darfur rebel groups criticized the move, calling it a cover by the government to commit further crimes against the Darfur people.

"The government wants to send our people back to the same places they fled from so that they can get killed again under the eyes of the world," Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur, leader of Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), told the Sudan Tribune.

The Darfur Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), the biggest rebel group in Darfur, appealed to the international community to pressure Khartoum to drop the plan.

"This is clearly and unequivocally a war crime what they are trying to do. They are taking advantage of the world easing pressure on them," said JEM spokesperson Ahmed Hussein said.

He said the government intended to cover up "a new crime ... similar to the one in Kalma camp" - a reference to August 2008 when government forces killed dozens of refugees while searching for rebels.

Some 2.5 million people are living in refugee camps in Darfur.

The UN says up to 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million fled their homes since ethnic minority rebels in the region first rose up against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum in February 2003.

LRA attacks Darfuri refugee camp in Sudan

Sun Oct 25, 2009

Ugandan rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army have attacked a camp for Darfur displaced persons in south Sudan, killing at least five people and wounding several others.

A Sudanese army spokesman confirmed on Saturday that the attack happened in Western Bahr al-Ghazal state, which has a long border with Darfur.

"The attack happened on the 21st (of October) ... targeting the displaced people from Darfur in a camp," the Reuters news agency quoted Kuol Diem Kuol as saying.

Military sources said three police guarding the camp and two Darfuris were killed in the attack.

The attackers from the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) also abducted a number of people in the region during the ambush.

The LRA rebels, in desperate need of supplies, often raid southern Sudanese border villages.

The LRA became active in northern Uganda in 1988 and is categorized as one of the most brutal guerrilla movements in the world.

It is currently engaged in an armed rebellion against Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and some other African governments in what is now one of Africa's longest-running conflicts.

The movement, led by its ruthless leader Joseph Kony, is spread out in Congo, south Sudan, and the Central African Republic.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/109547.html.

Irish, Ugandan aid workers freed in Darfur

KHARTOUM, Sudan – A Sudanese government official says two foreign aid workers held hostage for more than three months in the Darfur region have been released by their captors.

Sudan's state minister for humanitarian affairs, Abdel-Baqi al-Jailani, says the Irish and Ugandan women freed Saturday morning are in good health and are having medical checkups at a hospital in northern Darfur.

Al-Jailani told The Associated Press that no ransom was paid to the kidnappers, who seized the two women at gunpoint on July 3.

The Irish woman, Sharon Commins, and her Ugandan colleague, Hilda Kuwuki, work for Irish humanitarian aid agency GOAL.

Indonesia sends police to conflict area in Sudan's Darfur

October 15, 2009

Indonesian police headquarters will send 140 personnel from Formed Police Unit to take part in establishing law and order in the conflict areas of Darfur in Sudan, the Kompas.com reported here on Thursday.

The police, who joined in FPU 2 Group, would replace Indonesian police group of FPU 1 whose service in Sudan was to end. The FPU 2Group would serve one year in the conflict-ridden area.

"We expect that, like the FPU 1, the FPU 2 Group would be successful in carrying out its task. We also expect that the situation in Darfur would be improving so that the FPU 2 would be our last mission sent to Sudan," Indonesian police Chief General Bambang Hendarso Danuri said on the sidelines of a ceremony to depart those police.

Bambang added that the FPU 2 Group would set out for Sudan on Friday this week.

According to Bambang, the FPU 1 Group police mission, 127 personnel altogether, in Sudan received excellent appreciation from Sudan government for demonstrating an outstanding performance in carrying out their tasks.

Sudanese ambassador to Indonesia Ibrahim Busyra Muhammad Ali who attended the ceremony said that the sending of Indonesian police to his country would improve relationship between the two countries. He said that the security condition in his country has been gradually improving.

Earlier reports said that 300,000 people have been killed in the ethnic conflict in Darfur since 2003.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/6784648.html.

Darfur female refugees raped in Chad

2009-10-01

Thousands of Sudanese girls face 'systematic rape' by local Chad villagers, Chadian army.

LIBREVILLE - Tens of thousands of women who fled unrest in Darfur face the daily threat or rape and violence in refugee camps in neighboring Chad, Amnesty International said Wednesday.

"Darfuri refugee women and girls face high levels of rape and other violence on a daily basis both inside and outside refugee camps in eastern Chad, despite the presence of UN security forces, said the Amnesty International report.

The report said that over the past six years more than 142,000 women and girls have fled insecurity and widespread human rights violations in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region, seeking safety and protection in neighboring eastern Chad.

Instead they have found "pervasive and systematic rape," blamed in part on local villagers and soldiers of the Chadian national army which is supposed to protect them.

"The rape that countless women and girls experienced in Darfur continues to haunt them in eastern Chad," said Tawanda Hondora, deputy director of Amnesty International’s Africa program.

The number of victims is uncertain because women rarely choose to report the crime because of negative social consequences, Amnesty said in the report compiled after a research mission was sent to the area between April 25 and May 13.

Most rapes take place outside the string of camps for refugees along the east Chadian border with Darfur but women and girls are also victims of attacks inside the camps.

The violence is taking place under the noses of a special detachment of the Chadian police supported by the UN who have specific responsibility for security in and around the camps, Amnesty said.

The perpetrators are rarely brought to justice, even when victims file official complaints, because of a "deeply-entrenched culture of impunity ... especially when it comes to rape and violence against women," Tawanda Hondora said.

Amnesty said immediate, effective steps need to be taken by both the Chadian government and the international community to address the problem.

The Darfur conflict erupted in February 2003, when rebels took up arms against the government in Khartoum and its allies.

Over the last six years, the rebels have fractured into multiple movements, fraying rebel groups, banditry, flip-flopping militias and the war has widened into overlapping tribal conflicts.

The United Nations says up to 300,000 people have died from the combined effects of war, famine and disease and more than 2.7 million fled their homes.

Many of the rebels enjoy direct and indirect foreign support that helped fuel the conflict, with some critics pointing the finger at France, which has a military presence in neighboring Chad – also accused of arming the Sudanese rebels. France had been accused of involvement in the genocide in Rwanda, but Paris denied responsibility, conceding only that ‘political’ errors were made.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=34646.

Two Kenyan soldiers injured in attack in Sudan's Darfur: UNAMID

September 29, 2009

A Nigerian peacekeeper has been killed and two Kenyans seriously injured in an attack in Sudan's restive western region of Darfur.

The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) confirmed the recent attack on a convoy carrying UNAMID civilian and military personnel by six to eight armed men in El Geneina.

UNAMID said in a statement issued on Tuesday that the incident took place on Monday evening on the road from the UNAMID super camp in El Geneina and the city in Darfur.

"The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) strongly condemns the attack on a convoy carrying UNAMID civilian and military personnel by six to eight armed men in El Geneina on the evening of Monday at around 1845 hours that caused the death of one peacekeeper," the statement said.

According to initial reports, the men opened fire without warning on the convoy, which comprised three vehicles, and stole one of the vehicles.

Three military personnel were injured and taken to the El Genenia hospital, and subsequently evacuated by helicopter to the UNAMID hospital in Nyala, more than 300 km from El Geneina.

"One of the peacekeepers succumbed to his injuries shortly afterwards. A total of five UNAMID national and international civilian staff members, two non-UNAMID personnel, 13 military troops and four military police were involved in the incident," it said.

The mission appealed to the Sudanese authorities to speedily investigate this wanton incident to bring the perpetrators to justice.

UNAMID emphasized that peacekeepers are in Darfur to assist in restoring peace and stability to the region, noting that any attack on peacekeepers was an attack on peace itself.

"Targeting UN personnel can potentially have negative consequences for the peace process," the statement said.

Since the inception of UNAMID in January 2008, 14 military personnel and three civilian police have been killed as a result of hostile attacks.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90855/6773085.html.

Darfur Peacekeepers to Increase Patrols After Spate of Attacks

September 17, 2009
By Maram Mazen

Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The joint United Nations and African Union peacekeeping mission in Sudan’s Darfur region said it will increase patrols, after a spate of attacks on humanitarian workers.

In the latest incident, gunmen carjacked two trucks carrying food from the UN World Food Program and briefly detained their drivers in south Darfur, the mission, known as UNAMID, said in an e-mailed statement late yesterday. The stolen items were not recovered, it said.

“In spite of the relative calm in the mission area, banditry and other attacks against UNAMID staff may increase,” the statement said. “UNAMID will therefore intensify its patrols.”

Bandits regularly target aid workers in Darfur, where a six-year-old conflict between the government and rebel groups has created the world’s largest humanitarian operation. Unidentified gunmen kidnapped two civilians working for UNAMID on Aug. 29 and are asking for a ransom.

Low-level fighting in Darfur escalated in 2003 when rebels took up arms against the government in Khartoum, accusing it of neglecting the region. The UN says 300,000 people have died in the conflict, while the government puts the death toll at 10,000.

Source: Bloomberg.
Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=aeUtg4xp8TZA.

China-donated primary school put to use in Darfur

KHARTOUM: A primary school donated to the Darfur region by the Chinese embassy in Sudan was completed and put to use on Saturday.

Located in Nyala, capital of South Darfur state, the school has 32 classrooms, six teachers' offices, 600 sets of chairs and desks, and a small football pitch.

Chinese Ambassador to Sudan Li Chengwen, Deputy Governor of South Darfur state Abdel Aziz Adam al-Hilu and hundreds of children studying in the school attended the opening ceremony held in the school's playground.

Al-Hilu called the school the best gift the local people have ever received and praised the Chinese people as the true friends of the Sudanese people.

He said even before the school was finished, some anxious teachers and students began to have classes there.

The school was constructed by the engineering troops of the Chinese peacekeeping forces in Darfur. After getting the go-ahead from the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), the troops used their spare time to build the school, which is deemed as the top-class school in South Darfur state in terms of the standard of construction and equipment.

Al-Hilu also said 54 primary schools donated by the Chinese government to South Darfur State are being completed and put to use one after another and will surely play an important role in promoting the local cultural and social development.

New military chief of joint African Union-UN force in Darfur begins work

The new force commander of the joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping operation in Darfur formally assumed his duties on Tuesday in the troubled western Sudanese region, Farhan Haq, the associate spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, told reporters.

Rwandan Lieutenant General Patrick Nyamvumba arrived in Darfur on Aug. 24 and has spent the past week meeting peacekeeping troops and civilian staff serving with the mission, which is known as UNAMID, Haq said.

Lt. Gen. Nyamvumba, 42, was appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and AU Commission Chairperson Jean Ping in July to succeed Gen. Martin Luther Agwai of Nigeria, who had served as force commander of UNAMID since its inception at the start of last year.

The new force commander has extensive leadership and operational experience, and most recently served as the chief of logistics in the Rwandan defense forces.

When it reaches full deployment, UNAMID should have more than 19,500 military personnel spread across Darfur, a remote and arid region that is bigger in size than Iraq. It is expecting to reach 97 percent of its deployment numbers by the end of this year.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90856/6745920.html.

War in Sudan's Darfur 'is over'

The six-year war between forces loyal to Sudan's government and rebels in Darfur has effectively ended, the UN's military commander in the region says.

General Martin Agwai, who is leaving his post this week, said the vicious fighting of earlier years had subsided as rebel groups split into factions.

He says the region now suffers more from low-level disputes and banditry.

The UN says 300,000 people have died in Darfur, but the Sudanese government puts the figure at 10,000.

Almost three million people are said to have been displaced by the fighting.

Oppression claims

Gen Agwai, who commands thousands of troops from the UN and African Union, said the region now suffered more from "security issues" than full-blown conflict.

"Banditry, localized issues, people trying to resolve issues over water and land at a local level. But real war as such, I think we are over that," he said.

Similar comments from other officials have drawn derision from Western campaigners and some diplomats, who see them as an attempt to play down continuing violence in the region.

Gen Agwai said only one rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem), posed a real threat.

Jem signed a peace deal with Khartoum in February, which paved the way for peace talks held in Egypt last month.

The war broke out in the arid and impoverished region early in 2003 when rebel groups including Jem attacked government targets, accusing Khartoum of oppressing black Africans in favor of Arabs.

Pro-government militiamen hit back with brutal force, which the US says was a genocide.

Khartoum denies supporting the militias, but the international court in The Hague has issued an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir accusing him of war crimes.

Source: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8224424.stm.

Sudan: Officials From Joint African Union-UN Mission Bid Farewell to Darfur

The head of the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur and its military chief are meeting with colleagues and local government officials as they wrap up their tours of duty in the strife-torn Sudanese region.

Over the last two days, AU-UN Joint Special Representative Rodolphe Adada visited Nyala town in South Darfur, and El Geneina and Zalingei in West Darfur, where he met with staff from the mission, known as UNAMID, and members of the UN country team.

Mr. Adada, whose leaves his post on 31 August, also paid a courtesy call on the Deputy Wali, or Governor, of South Darfur, Dr. Farah Mustaph. The success of this mission is nothing but a great testimony to the persistent, strategic and charismatic leadership you have shown throughout the service in Darfur.

Also yesterday, the mission held a farewell ceremony in El Fasher stadium to honor its outgoing Force Commander, General Martin Luther Agwai, who will be succeeded by Lieutenant General Patrick Nyamvumba.

In his remarks to the gathering, Mr. Adada recalled that General Agwai arrived in the mission at a time when UNAMID did not exist and when doubts about its deployment were a common belief.

"The success of this mission is nothing but a great testimony to the persistent, strategic and charismatic leadership you have shown throughout the service in Darfur you have been the voice of truth, credibility and reason within this mission," said the UNAMID chief.

General Agwai highlighted the achievements made so far, including progress in the deployment of UNAMID forces in Darfur, as well as the challenges facing the operation, including the lack of critical equipment.

The outgoing Force Commander also acknowledged efforts made by the AU, UN, UNAMID and the humanitarian community in protecting civilians in Darfur, which has been beset by conflict and displacement for the past six years.

"I believe we have made remarkable progress, but still need to do more," he said.

Meanwhile, UNAMID reported today that the main group of the first Jordanian Formed Police Unit (FPU) consisting of 100 officers arrived in El Fasher today to begin work with the mission, while a second group consisting of 180 officers will arrive tomorrow.

These officers were preceded, on 19 August, by an advance party of 20 Jordanian police advisers tasked with assisting in the preparations of the facilities earmarked for the Unit at UNAMID and the coordination of the logistics of the contingent's owned equipment (COE).

FPUs are comprised of police officers who have received specialized training in high-risk operations. Their main task is the protection of civilians, including through conducting community policing, especially in camps housing internally displaced persons (IDPs). They also assist UN agencies in the delivery of humanitarian aid in Darfur.

The Jordanian FPU is the fifth such unit to be deployed, after the Bangladeshi, Indonesian, Nepalese and Nigerian, out of the 19 such units mandated by the Security Council when it established UNAMID in 2007.

On the security front, UNAMID said that incidents of carjacking were reported in North and South Darfur and banditry activities in North Darfur.

A UNAMID vehicle was carjacked on 24 August by two armed men in El Fasher, where the mission is headquartered. On the same day, a vehicle belonging to a UN agency was carjacked near Al Salaam IDP camp in Nyala by three armed men in civilian clothing.

In addition, a house occupied by UNAMID police in El Fasher was broken into yesterday by unknown persons who stole two personal computers, a digital camera and a music system.

Source: allAfrica.
Link: http://allafrica.com/stories/200908260002.html.

UN-AU mediator suggests resumption of Darfur peace talks in August

The joint mediator of the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU), Djibril Bassole, said on Wednesday that he had put forward to the parties of the conflict in the western Sudanese region of Darfur to resume the peace talks in August in Doha, capital of Qatar.

"I have provided a proposal to hold the next round of negotiations in August. We hope that can be achieved, and we are seeking a broad participation by the armed (rebel) movements in Darfur," Bassole told reporters following a meeting with Ghazi Salah al-Din, the chief negotiator of the Sudanese government on the Darfur issue.

Bassole said that his mediating team was having constant contacts with Abdul Wahid Mohammed Nour, the leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement, one of the major armed movements in Darfur, saying "Abdul Wahid is still refusing to hold dialogue (with the government), but I am still optimistic about the possibility of his participation in the negotiations."

The joint mediator stressed the importance for the armed movements in Darfur to unite their positions, and the importance to reach a comprehensive cease-fire before entering into the new round of negotiations.

Commenting on the requirement of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) to limit the negotiations to the Sudanese government and the movement only, Bassole said "We will continue the discussion with (the JEM leader) Khalil Ibrahim to convince him that the lasting peace will only be realized through the participation of all movements."

Ghazi Salah al-Din, on his part, stressed the Sudanese government's readiness to resume the negotiations with the Darfur rebels movements on the date to be determined by the joint mediator.

While seeking a resumption of the Darfur peace talks, the international mediator also said that it will be meaningless to start the next round of talks when the Darfur rebel groups, whose number has mounted to more than two dozens, insist on their own positions without reaching a united one.

The JEM, which has the most powerful military strength among the Darfur rebel movements, requires the release of hundreds of its elements detained by Khartoum, and an exclusion of other rebel groups from the upcoming negotiations.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90856/6702029.html.