The Christian Science Monitor newspaper (US)
16 March 2009
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0316/p04s01-woaf.html
CAIRO - The kidnapping of three Western aid workers in Sudan's Darfur region marks a significant escalation of insecurity for relief agencies deployed in the conflict-ridden area.
Canadian nurse Laura Archer, Italian doctor Mauro D'Ascanio, and French coordinator Raphaël Meunier, as well as their Sudanese watchman Sharif Mohamadin, all working for Médecins Sans Frontières, or Doctors Without Borders, were safely released Saturday by unknown gunmen after three days in captivity.
A rebel leader and analysts say the kidnapping and recent expulsion of 13 aid groups are part of a government strategy to scare away remaining aid workers and break up camps housing Sudanese civilians who have fled the war.
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Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Sudan Plans to 'Nationalize' Aid Effort, Exclude NGOs
Bloomberg News
16 March 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=a.bQHkWUHK_U&refer=canada
KHARTOUM - Sudan plans to take over all humanitarian aid work in the country within a year and foreign non-governmental organizations may have to leave, an official at the presidency said.
“If the Sudanese government is doing the job, then automatically there will be no reason for these NGOs to exist in the country,” Osman Nafie, head of the political department at the presidency, said in a telephone interview from the capital, Khartoum. “We will say ‘Thank you. You did your job.’”
President Umar al-Bashir outlined his plan for what he called the “Sudanization” of humanitarian relief in a speech at a rally today on the outskirts of Khartoum, Nafie said. The decision doesn’t apply to the United Nations or the International Committee of the Red Cross, Nafie said.
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16 March 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=a.bQHkWUHK_U&refer=canada
KHARTOUM - Sudan plans to take over all humanitarian aid work in the country within a year and foreign non-governmental organizations may have to leave, an official at the presidency said.
“If the Sudanese government is doing the job, then automatically there will be no reason for these NGOs to exist in the country,” Osman Nafie, head of the political department at the presidency, said in a telephone interview from the capital, Khartoum. “We will say ‘Thank you. You did your job.’”
President Umar al-Bashir outlined his plan for what he called the “Sudanization” of humanitarian relief in a speech at a rally today on the outskirts of Khartoum, Nafie said. The decision doesn’t apply to the United Nations or the International Committee of the Red Cross, Nafie said.
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Three Aid Workers Abducted in Sudan's Darfur Region Are Freed
Bloomberg News
14 March 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aXAKV7JRsx7U
KHARTOUM - hree Western aid workers were released three days after their abduction in Sudan’s Darfur region, the government and their organization said.
“They have been released,” Mutrif Siddig, undersecretary at the Sudanese foreign ministry, said today in a telephone interview from the capital, Khartoum. “We have negotiated. We have settled this issue, and we hope that it will not be repeated.”
Siddig refused to say if a ransom had been paid.
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14 March 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aXAKV7JRsx7U
KHARTOUM - hree Western aid workers were released three days after their abduction in Sudan’s Darfur region, the government and their organization said.
“They have been released,” Mutrif Siddig, undersecretary at the Sudanese foreign ministry, said today in a telephone interview from the capital, Khartoum. “We have negotiated. We have settled this issue, and we hope that it will not be repeated.”
Siddig refused to say if a ransom had been paid.
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'I just sit there. Nobody talks to me'
The Globe and Mail newspaper (Canada)
13 March 2009
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090313.ABDELRAZIKLIFE13/TPStory/?query=sudan
KHARTOUM -- Late at night, from the quiet guardhouse at the Canadian embassy in Sudan's dusty capital, Khartoum, Abousfian Abdelrazik makes a call. He asks if the person on the line will be coming to see him. He sounds desperate.
More than 10 months into his unusual stay at the high-walled embassy, Mr. Abdelrazik's contact with the outside world has been reduced to small talk with embassy staff and strangers in the waiting room and increasingly occasional visits from some members of his extended family still living in Sudan.
The phone call to this Canadian journalist in Khartoum is short. Mr. Abdelrazik is told the previously planned visit will have to be cancelled. He sounds disappointed. Few people have shown interest in his life; he has few threads left to hang on to.
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13 March 2009
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090313.ABDELRAZIKLIFE13/TPStory/?query=sudan
KHARTOUM -- Late at night, from the quiet guardhouse at the Canadian embassy in Sudan's dusty capital, Khartoum, Abousfian Abdelrazik makes a call. He asks if the person on the line will be coming to see him. He sounds desperate.
More than 10 months into his unusual stay at the high-walled embassy, Mr. Abdelrazik's contact with the outside world has been reduced to small talk with embassy staff and strangers in the waiting room and increasingly occasional visits from some members of his extended family still living in Sudan.
The phone call to this Canadian journalist in Khartoum is short. Mr. Abdelrazik is told the previously planned visit will have to be cancelled. He sounds disappointed. Few people have shown interest in his life; he has few threads left to hang on to.
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Sudan Says It's Negotiating with Kidnappers
Bloomberg News
13 March 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aqx.hfpCinHc
KHARTOUM -The Sudanese government says it is negotiating with a group of armed men who are holding three Western aid workers hostage in the conflict-ridden Darfur region.
“We think it is done by a group who has asked for a ransom, and we are negotiating with them,” Ali Yousif, the Foreign Ministry’s director general of protocol, said today by telephone from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. He refused to give any details about the ransom and said the government wouldn’t take any military action that endangered the hostages’ lives.
Aid agency Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, yesterday said it was evacuating almost all its staff from Sudan after a Canadian nurse, an Italian doctor and a French coordinator working for its Belgian branch were kidnapped March 11 from their residential compound in northern Darfur. Today, Fabienne de Leval, deputy general-director of MSF-Belgium, said the evacuations would be out of Darfur only.
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13 March 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aqx.hfpCinHc
KHARTOUM -The Sudanese government says it is negotiating with a group of armed men who are holding three Western aid workers hostage in the conflict-ridden Darfur region.
“We think it is done by a group who has asked for a ransom, and we are negotiating with them,” Ali Yousif, the Foreign Ministry’s director general of protocol, said today by telephone from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. He refused to give any details about the ransom and said the government wouldn’t take any military action that endangered the hostages’ lives.
Aid agency Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, yesterday said it was evacuating almost all its staff from Sudan after a Canadian nurse, an Italian doctor and a French coordinator working for its Belgian branch were kidnapped March 11 from their residential compound in northern Darfur. Today, Fabienne de Leval, deputy general-director of MSF-Belgium, said the evacuations would be out of Darfur only.
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MSF Evacuates Aid Workers From Sudan After Abductions
Bloomberg News
12 March 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=arKobYjZudMg
KHARTOUM -- Médecins Sans Fronti‘eres/Doctors Without Borders said it was evacuating almost all its staff from Sudan after three workers of its Belgian branch were kidnapped yesterday in Darfur, in the western part of the country.
“We’re evacuating out of Khartoum to the countries of residence,” said Fabienne de Leval, deputy general-director of MSF-Belgium. “We will be leaving a skeleton team” to try to resolve the kidnappings, she said by telephone from Brussels.
Unidentified gunmen kidnapped a Canadian nurse, an Italian doctor and a French coordinator working for MSF-Belgium yesterday in north Darfur. Two Sudanese colleagues were freed after being held briefly. The kidnappers have demanded a ransom, the state-controlled Sudan Media Centre reported, without citing anyone. MSF has received no ransom demands, de Leval said.
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12 March 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=arKobYjZudMg
KHARTOUM -- Médecins Sans Fronti‘eres/Doctors Without Borders said it was evacuating almost all its staff from Sudan after three workers of its Belgian branch were kidnapped yesterday in Darfur, in the western part of the country.
“We’re evacuating out of Khartoum to the countries of residence,” said Fabienne de Leval, deputy general-director of MSF-Belgium. “We will be leaving a skeleton team” to try to resolve the kidnappings, she said by telephone from Brussels.
Unidentified gunmen kidnapped a Canadian nurse, an Italian doctor and a French coordinator working for MSF-Belgium yesterday in north Darfur. Two Sudanese colleagues were freed after being held briefly. The kidnappers have demanded a ransom, the state-controlled Sudan Media Centre reported, without citing anyone. MSF has received no ransom demands, de Leval said.
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Millions of Darfuris at greater risk with aid groups' removal
The Christian Science Monitor newspaper (US)
11 March 2009
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0311/p10s01-woaf.html
Sudan's expulsion of more than a dozen international aid groups not only puts the lives of at least 1 million displaced Darfuris at risk of starvation, it could also set off a series of regional conflicts.
The world's largest humanitarian aid effort is being cut in half overnight. With the biggest groups, such as Doctors Without Borders, Care International, and Oxfam leaving, Darfur watchers expect an exodus of hundreds of thousands of Darfuris from camps in Sudan for havens in neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic. But there's also a rising risk of more armed conflict within Sudan.
Rebel groups fighting with the Khartoum government see an opportunity to recruit more fighters from the current camps, as the hungary turn to them for food and water. And aid groups that have acted as important community bridge builders in fractious towns along the north-south Sudan divide, are leaving. Analysts say their removal threatens the four-year-old north-south peace agreement that ended Africa's longest civil war.
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11 March 2009
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0311/p10s01-woaf.html
Sudan's expulsion of more than a dozen international aid groups not only puts the lives of at least 1 million displaced Darfuris at risk of starvation, it could also set off a series of regional conflicts.
The world's largest humanitarian aid effort is being cut in half overnight. With the biggest groups, such as Doctors Without Borders, Care International, and Oxfam leaving, Darfur watchers expect an exodus of hundreds of thousands of Darfuris from camps in Sudan for havens in neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic. But there's also a rising risk of more armed conflict within Sudan.
Rebel groups fighting with the Khartoum government see an opportunity to recruit more fighters from the current camps, as the hungary turn to them for food and water. And aid groups that have acted as important community bridge builders in fractious towns along the north-south Sudan divide, are leaving. Analysts say their removal threatens the four-year-old north-south peace agreement that ended Africa's longest civil war.
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U.S. Embassy in Sudan Allows Some Staff to Leave
Bloomberg News
10 March 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aguskzytp9hk&refer=worldwide
KHARTOUM - The U.S. Embassy in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, said it’s allowing some staff to leave the country and warned its citizens of potential violence after the northeastern African nation’s leader was indicted for war crimes.
“The Department of State has authorized the departure of non-emergency personnel and family members at the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum until further notice,” the mission said in a warden message to U.S. citizens posted on its Web site. Spokeswoman Judith Ravin said by phone from Khartoum that “non-emergency personnel” would include anyone whose absence wouldn’t harm the functioning of the Embassy.
Sudan expelled 13 international aid agencies after the International Criminal Court indicted President Umar al-Bashir on March 4 on seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed by his government in its six-year-old counterinsurgency war in Darfur.
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10 March 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aguskzytp9hk&refer=worldwide
KHARTOUM - The U.S. Embassy in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, said it’s allowing some staff to leave the country and warned its citizens of potential violence after the northeastern African nation’s leader was indicted for war crimes.
“The Department of State has authorized the departure of non-emergency personnel and family members at the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum until further notice,” the mission said in a warden message to U.S. citizens posted on its Web site. Spokeswoman Judith Ravin said by phone from Khartoum that “non-emergency personnel” would include anyone whose absence wouldn’t harm the functioning of the Embassy.
Sudan expelled 13 international aid agencies after the International Criminal Court indicted President Umar al-Bashir on March 4 on seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed by his government in its six-year-old counterinsurgency war in Darfur.
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Sudan President Al-Bashir Sought Over Darfur
Bloomberg News
4 March 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aleFZcUY840M
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir over his alleged role in crimes against humanity and war crimes in the western region of Darfur.
Al-Bashir, the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the court, faces five counts of crimes against humanity, including responsibility for murder, rape and torture, and two counts of war crimes, court spokeswoman Laurence Blairon told a news conference at The Hague.
“The judges decided today that al-Bashir shall be arrested to stand trial for crimes committed against millions of civilians in Darfur,” ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told reporters. “His victims are the very civilians that he, as president, was supposed to protect.”
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4 March 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aleFZcUY840M
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir over his alleged role in crimes against humanity and war crimes in the western region of Darfur.
Al-Bashir, the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the court, faces five counts of crimes against humanity, including responsibility for murder, rape and torture, and two counts of war crimes, court spokeswoman Laurence Blairon told a news conference at The Hague.
“The judges decided today that al-Bashir shall be arrested to stand trial for crimes committed against millions of civilians in Darfur,” ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told reporters. “His victims are the very civilians that he, as president, was supposed to protect.”
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"They asked me why I was asking about arms. Then they said they wanted me to leave the country."
Reporters Without Borders
11 February 2009
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=30277
Canadian-Egyptian journalist Heba Aly, who worked in Khartoum for several international media from June 2008 was expelled by Sudanese authorities on 2 February 2009. One week after her removal, the latest incident in a long series, she spoke to Reporters Without Borders about her period in Sudan and about her untimely departure.
“The administrative harassment dealt out to this journalist during the six months she was in Sudan reminds us, if ever it was needed, that obtaining official accreditation in this country amounts to a veritable assault course and that practising journalism there is particularly difficult. Her expulsion is revealing about the government’s desire to strictly control news and the media. We urge the Sudanese authorities to stop using these absurd and pointless procedures”, said Jean-François Julliard, secretary general of Reporters Without Borders.
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11 February 2009
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=30277
Canadian-Egyptian journalist Heba Aly, who worked in Khartoum for several international media from June 2008 was expelled by Sudanese authorities on 2 February 2009. One week after her removal, the latest incident in a long series, she spoke to Reporters Without Borders about her period in Sudan and about her untimely departure.
“The administrative harassment dealt out to this journalist during the six months she was in Sudan reminds us, if ever it was needed, that obtaining official accreditation in this country amounts to a veritable assault course and that practising journalism there is particularly difficult. Her expulsion is revealing about the government’s desire to strictly control news and the media. We urge the Sudanese authorities to stop using these absurd and pointless procedures”, said Jean-François Julliard, secretary general of Reporters Without Borders.
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Canadian journalist recounts days leading to expulsion from Sudan
Sudan Tribune
8 February 2009
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article30114
Sudanese national security forces expelled a Canadian-Egyptian journalist, Heba Aly, just days after she made an inquiry about domestic arms production.
Heba Aly, a freelance reporter for several news organizations including the Bloomberg News; IRIN, the UN humanitarian news service; Public Radio International; and the Christian Science Monitor worked in Sudan since June 2008.
Speaking with Sudan Tribune, Aly recounted the difficulties she experienced as a foreign journalist and the fears she felt in the days leading up to her expulsion.
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8 February 2009
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article30114
Sudanese national security forces expelled a Canadian-Egyptian journalist, Heba Aly, just days after she made an inquiry about domestic arms production.
Heba Aly, a freelance reporter for several news organizations including the Bloomberg News; IRIN, the UN humanitarian news service; Public Radio International; and the Christian Science Monitor worked in Sudan since June 2008.
Speaking with Sudan Tribune, Aly recounted the difficulties she experienced as a foreign journalist and the fears she felt in the days leading up to her expulsion.
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Journalist told to leave Sudan
Public Radio International's "The World"
6 February 2009
http://www.theworld.org/node/24365
Anchor Marco Werman speaks with journalist Heba Aly, one of the few foreign journalists allowed to report from inside Sudan...until now. She was just told to leave the country. The International Criminal Court is deciding whether to charge Sudan's president with war crimes, and his government has launched a massive security crackdown.
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6 February 2009
http://www.theworld.org/node/24365
Anchor Marco Werman speaks with journalist Heba Aly, one of the few foreign journalists allowed to report from inside Sudan...until now. She was just told to leave the country. The International Criminal Court is deciding whether to charge Sudan's president with war crimes, and his government has launched a massive security crackdown.
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Expelled from Sudan
Global Post
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2 March 2009
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CAIRO — In 2005, a historic peace agreement ended more than two decades of civil war between north and south Sudan. It was Africa's longest civil war, killing some two million people, sending four million others fleeing and literally burning southern Sudan to the ground.
The long-awaited peace came with a vision for a new Sudan. A democratic Sudan. One where the Sudanese people would live with rights and freedoms, enshrined in a new constitution.
The leader of the rebel movement in the south, John Garang, was the man behind that dream. He died in a helicopter crash just a few months after the deal was signed. And his vision seems to be slipping further and further by the day.
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The leader of the rebel movement in the south, John Garang, was the man behind that dream. He died in a helicopter crash just a few months after the deal was signed. And his vision seems to be slipping further and further by the day.
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War Correspondence
Walrus Magazine
March 2009 issue
http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2009.03-heba-aly-war-correspondence-sudan/
The conflict between the Sudanese government, supported by militias collectively known as Janjaweed, and armed opposition groups in the country’s Darfur region has resulted in the deaths of more than 200,000 people and the displacement of close to three million people since 2003. Last year, the Canadian International Development Agency donated $1.5 million to relief efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Sudan. One vital initiative, given unreliable postal services and cellphone networks, involves tracking down and delivering messages to family members separated or cut off from one another by the war. Each month, the icrc in Sudan receives up to fifty tracing requests for missing persons and carries up to 2,000 messages in and out of the country.
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March 2009 issue
http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2009.03-heba-aly-war-correspondence-sudan/
The conflict between the Sudanese government, supported by militias collectively known as Janjaweed, and armed opposition groups in the country’s Darfur region has resulted in the deaths of more than 200,000 people and the displacement of close to three million people since 2003. Last year, the Canadian International Development Agency donated $1.5 million to relief efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Sudan. One vital initiative, given unreliable postal services and cellphone networks, involves tracking down and delivering messages to family members separated or cut off from one another by the war. Each month, the icrc in Sudan receives up to fifty tracing requests for missing persons and carries up to 2,000 messages in and out of the country.
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No Electricity
World Vision Report
Week of 14 February 2009
http://www.worldvisionreport.org/index.php?option=com_stories&id=329#
Have you ever spent an afternoon at home without turning on the TV, using the computer or opening the fridge? Have you ever thought about what life would be like without electricity? One and a half billion people around the world don’t have to wonder. That's how they live every day.
Among them are the people of a small village in northern Sudan. Reporter Heba Aly brings us this look at a day in their lives.
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To read my blog on this story, or hear the story while watching a slideshow, click here.
Week of 14 February 2009
http://www.worldvisionreport.org/index.php?option=com_stories&id=329#
Have you ever spent an afternoon at home without turning on the TV, using the computer or opening the fridge? Have you ever thought about what life would be like without electricity? One and a half billion people around the world don’t have to wonder. That's how they live every day.
Among them are the people of a small village in northern Sudan. Reporter Heba Aly brings us this look at a day in their lives.
Listen here
To read my blog on this story, or hear the story while watching a slideshow, click here.
Darfur Rebels Skeptical About Talks with Sudan's Government
Bloomberg News
10 February 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aCBWu5JUJbLY
KHARTOUM - The most powerful rebel group in Sudan’s Darfur region said it is skeptical about the success of peace negotiations with the government scheduled to begin today in Doha, Qatar.
“We have a lot of doubts that the other party is serious and coming in good faith,” Gebreil Ibrahim, economic adviser for the rebel Justice and Equality Movement, said yesterday in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, “There is a lot of barriers of trust between the two parties.”
Ibrahim met with Egyptian government officials before leaving for Doha for what is the first attempt to hold talks in almost 18 months.
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10 February 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aCBWu5JUJbLY
KHARTOUM - The most powerful rebel group in Sudan’s Darfur region said it is skeptical about the success of peace negotiations with the government scheduled to begin today in Doha, Qatar.
“We have a lot of doubts that the other party is serious and coming in good faith,” Gebreil Ibrahim, economic adviser for the rebel Justice and Equality Movement, said yesterday in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, “There is a lot of barriers of trust between the two parties.”
Ibrahim met with Egyptian government officials before leaving for Doha for what is the first attempt to hold talks in almost 18 months.
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Sudan: Darfur suffers "worst violence in a year"
UN Humanitarian News Service (IRIN East Africa)
28 January 2009
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=82616
KHARTOUM -The recent aerial bombardment by the Sudanese government and ground offensive against the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) marks the worst violence in Darfur in a year, an analyst said.
"Sudan is in a state of high tension at the moment, and we face a dangerous month ahead," Sudan expert Alex de Waal, said. "Parts of Darfur are again in flames, with the worst fighting in the region since the beginning of 2008."
The fighting, which started in mid-January around Muhajiriya in South Darfur, has forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes, with many heading north of the town, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
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28 January 2009
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=82616
KHARTOUM -The recent aerial bombardment by the Sudanese government and ground offensive against the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) marks the worst violence in Darfur in a year, an analyst said.
"Sudan is in a state of high tension at the moment, and we face a dangerous month ahead," Sudan expert Alex de Waal, said. "Parts of Darfur are again in flames, with the worst fighting in the region since the beginning of 2008."
The fighting, which started in mid-January around Muhajiriya in South Darfur, has forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes, with many heading north of the town, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
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Darfur Fighting Displaces Thousands of Sudanese, UN Agency Says
Bloomberg News
28 January 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a2y4tbBoRl_Q
KHARTOUM - More than 9,000 people have been displaced in Sudan’s Darfur region as a result of aerial bombing and fighting in the past two weeks, the United Nations said.
Sudanese government aircraft have been bombing rebel positions near the northern state capital of El-Fasher and the southern town of Muhajiriya for the past few days, the UN-led peacekeeping mission in Darfur, Unamid, said in statements. Ground battles between government forces and rebels from the Justice and Equality Movement have also taken place in both locations, it said.
“The security situation in Darfur remains tense,” Unamid said in an e-mailed statement today. “The Unamid camps in Gereda and Muhajiriya, South Darfur, continue to face an increase in the number of civilians seeking refuge as a result of recent clashes.”
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28 January 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a2y4tbBoRl_Q
KHARTOUM - More than 9,000 people have been displaced in Sudan’s Darfur region as a result of aerial bombing and fighting in the past two weeks, the United Nations said.
Sudanese government aircraft have been bombing rebel positions near the northern state capital of El-Fasher and the southern town of Muhajiriya for the past few days, the UN-led peacekeeping mission in Darfur, Unamid, said in statements. Ground battles between government forces and rebels from the Justice and Equality Movement have also taken place in both locations, it said.
“The security situation in Darfur remains tense,” Unamid said in an e-mailed statement today. “The Unamid camps in Gereda and Muhajiriya, South Darfur, continue to face an increase in the number of civilians seeking refuge as a result of recent clashes.”
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Darfur Rebels Claim Gains; Government Resumes Bombing
Bloomberg News
27 January 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=amzhEfepOj18
KHARTOUM - Rebels in Sudan’s western Darfur region said they have taken control of two southern towns while the United Nations reported that the government resumed aerial bombardments in the north.
The Justice and Equality Movement, the most powerful rebel faction in Darfur, said today its fighters captured the towns of Sheiria and Khazan Djedid after clashes with government forces 25 kilometers (15 miles) northeast of Muhajiriya, which the rebels occupied this month. The insurgents shot down a helicopter and destroyed 25 vehicles, a spokesman said.
“We control Sheiria and Khazan Djedid -- in the towns and all the surrounding areas,” Ahmed Mohamed Tugod, JEM’s chief negotiator, said by satellite phone from eastern Darfur. “Many people have been killed. We have some detainees.”
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27 January 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=amzhEfepOj18
KHARTOUM - Rebels in Sudan’s western Darfur region said they have taken control of two southern towns while the United Nations reported that the government resumed aerial bombardments in the north.
The Justice and Equality Movement, the most powerful rebel faction in Darfur, said today its fighters captured the towns of Sheiria and Khazan Djedid after clashes with government forces 25 kilometers (15 miles) northeast of Muhajiriya, which the rebels occupied this month. The insurgents shot down a helicopter and destroyed 25 vehicles, a spokesman said.
“We control Sheiria and Khazan Djedid -- in the towns and all the surrounding areas,” Ahmed Mohamed Tugod, JEM’s chief negotiator, said by satellite phone from eastern Darfur. “Many people have been killed. We have some detainees.”
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One Soldier's Story
Esprit de Corps military magazine
26 January 2009
Operation Safari: The challenges of being a military observer in Sudan
26 January 2009
Operation Safari: The challenges of being a military observer in Sudan
Darfur Clash May Have Killed 17, United Nations Says
Bloomberg News
26 January 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a6lS6QlBxcZA
KHARTOUM - At least 17 people may have died in Sudan’s western Darfur region earlier this month in a battle between rebels and fighters allied to the government, United Nations peacekeepers said.
A further 27 people were injured in clashes between the renegade Justice and Equality Movement and a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army led by Mini Minawi that took place near Muhajiriya on Jan. 15, Noureddine Mezni, spokesman for the United Nations-led mission in Darfur, or Unamid, said by phone yesterday. The figures were provided by an unidentified non- governmental organization and haven’t been confirmed, he said.
JEM spokesman El-Tahir El-Faki said those killed in Muhajiriya died as a result of a government aerial assault on the town nine days later and not on Jan. 15, when fighting with Minawi’s forces resulted in two deaths.
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26 January 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a6lS6QlBxcZA
KHARTOUM - At least 17 people may have died in Sudan’s western Darfur region earlier this month in a battle between rebels and fighters allied to the government, United Nations peacekeepers said.
A further 27 people were injured in clashes between the renegade Justice and Equality Movement and a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army led by Mini Minawi that took place near Muhajiriya on Jan. 15, Noureddine Mezni, spokesman for the United Nations-led mission in Darfur, or Unamid, said by phone yesterday. The figures were provided by an unidentified non- governmental organization and haven’t been confirmed, he said.
JEM spokesman El-Tahir El-Faki said those killed in Muhajiriya died as a result of a government aerial assault on the town nine days later and not on Jan. 15, when fighting with Minawi’s forces resulted in two deaths.
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Sudan Violated International Law in Attack on Darfur, UN Says
Bloomberg News
24 January 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ai7bVyfUg_ps
KHARTOUM - Sudanese security forces violated international human rights laws when they attacked a camp for displaced people in the Darfur region, the United Nations-led peacekeeping mission, UNAMID, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a report.
The National Intelligence and Security Service, police forces and Sudan Armed Forces “used lethal force in an unnecessary, disproportionate and therefore unlawful manner” when they opened fire on a crowd in Kalma camp in southern Darfur on Aug. 25, the report released yesterday said.
Security forces killed 32 civilians and injured at least 108, according to the report.
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24 January 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ai7bVyfUg_ps
KHARTOUM - Sudanese security forces violated international human rights laws when they attacked a camp for displaced people in the Darfur region, the United Nations-led peacekeeping mission, UNAMID, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a report.
The National Intelligence and Security Service, police forces and Sudan Armed Forces “used lethal force in an unnecessary, disproportionate and therefore unlawful manner” when they opened fire on a crowd in Kalma camp in southern Darfur on Aug. 25, the report released yesterday said.
Security forces killed 32 civilians and injured at least 108, according to the report.
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Sudan's "Barack Obama Salon"
Public Radio International's "The World"
22 January 2009
http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/24030
Reporter Heba Aly visits a barbershop near Khartoum, Sudan that's renamed itself the "Barak Obama Salon." Business is apparently booming.
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Click here for more pics and a script
22 January 2009
http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/24030
Reporter Heba Aly visits a barbershop near Khartoum, Sudan that's renamed itself the "Barak Obama Salon." Business is apparently booming.
Listen here
Click here for more pics and a script
Sudan: "Anything is possible" if ICC indicts president
UN Humanitarian News Service (IRIN East Africa)
22 January 2009
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=82508
KHARTOUM - The issuing of an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur – accusations the government rejects – would be an unprecedented event in the history of international justice. The court is expected to decide on the warrant in the coming weeks. What will be the ramifications in Sudan? Here are some possible outcomes being discussed by observers and analysts contacted by IRIN. As one western diplomat put it, "anything is possible".
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22 January 2009
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=82508
KHARTOUM - The issuing of an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur – accusations the government rejects – would be an unprecedented event in the history of international justice. The court is expected to decide on the warrant in the coming weeks. What will be the ramifications in Sudan? Here are some possible outcomes being discussed by observers and analysts contacted by IRIN. As one western diplomat put it, "anything is possible".
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Sudan Army Planning to Recapture Darfur Town, Rebel Group Says
Bloomberg News
22 January 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a7aghCKKJs0U
KHARTOUM - Sudan’s army is preparing to recapture the southern Darfur town of Muhajiriya, seized by rebel forces last week, after attacking the area for eight straight days, the renegade Justice and Equality Movement said.
“The Sudan government is trying to attack the area from four sides,” El-Tahir El-Faki, JEM’s London-based spokesman, said in a telephone interview today. “There will be a lot of fighting in the next few days. We don’t know when they will attack, but we know there is movement.”
JEM took control of Muhajiriya after a battle on Jan. 15 with former rebels who made peace with the government in 2006, the United Nations-led peacekeeping mission in Darfur, or Unamid, said on Jan. 18. The Sudanese Media Center late yesterday cited South Darfur Governor Ali Mahmoud as saying the army will retake the town “at any time.”
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22 January 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a7aghCKKJs0U
KHARTOUM - Sudan’s army is preparing to recapture the southern Darfur town of Muhajiriya, seized by rebel forces last week, after attacking the area for eight straight days, the renegade Justice and Equality Movement said.
“The Sudan government is trying to attack the area from four sides,” El-Tahir El-Faki, JEM’s London-based spokesman, said in a telephone interview today. “There will be a lot of fighting in the next few days. We don’t know when they will attack, but we know there is movement.”
JEM took control of Muhajiriya after a battle on Jan. 15 with former rebels who made peace with the government in 2006, the United Nations-led peacekeeping mission in Darfur, or Unamid, said on Jan. 18. The Sudanese Media Center late yesterday cited South Darfur Governor Ali Mahmoud as saying the army will retake the town “at any time.”
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UN Warns of Looming Battle Between Rebels in Sudan's Darfur
Bloomberg News
19 January 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=ad6QFpMU.7Do&refer=africa
KHARTOUM - The United Nations-led peacekeeping mission in Sudan’s western Darfur region yesterday said former rebels may attack a southern town, where 30,000 civilians are at risk.
This comes after a battle on Jan. 15 for control of the town of Muhajariya in South Darfur between a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army led by Minni Minawi and the Justice and Equality Movement, which is also fighting the Sudanese government.
A “catastrophic humanitarian situation” may develop if the fighting continues, Unamid said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. “Recent reports indicate that the SLA is regrouping for a counterattack to regain control of Muhajariya, which was their stronghold for a long time.”
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19 January 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=ad6QFpMU.7Do&refer=africa
KHARTOUM - The United Nations-led peacekeeping mission in Sudan’s western Darfur region yesterday said former rebels may attack a southern town, where 30,000 civilians are at risk.
This comes after a battle on Jan. 15 for control of the town of Muhajariya in South Darfur between a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army led by Minni Minawi and the Justice and Equality Movement, which is also fighting the Sudanese government.
A “catastrophic humanitarian situation” may develop if the fighting continues, Unamid said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. “Recent reports indicate that the SLA is regrouping for a counterattack to regain control of Muhajariya, which was their stronghold for a long time.”
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War crime charges rattle Sudan
The Christian Science Monitor newspaper (US)
16 January 2009
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0116/p07s01-woaf.html
KHARTOUM - The arrest late Wednesday night of veteran Sudanese opposition leader Hassan al-Turabi, days after he called on Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir to turn himself in to face war crimes charges, is an indication of what may lie ahead in the capital, Khartoum.
The mood here has been growing increasingly tense since July, when the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) sought an arrest warrant for Mr. Bashir on charges of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity for his role in the Darfur conflict, which has killed up to 300,000 people and displaced close to 3 million others, according to United Nations estimates.
People here have been bracing themselves for a number of possible outcomes if the court decides to grant the warrant, as expected, in late January or February. "Anything is possible," as one Western diplomat put it.
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16 January 2009
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0116/p07s01-woaf.html
KHARTOUM - The arrest late Wednesday night of veteran Sudanese opposition leader Hassan al-Turabi, days after he called on Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir to turn himself in to face war crimes charges, is an indication of what may lie ahead in the capital, Khartoum.
The mood here has been growing increasingly tense since July, when the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) sought an arrest warrant for Mr. Bashir on charges of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity for his role in the Darfur conflict, which has killed up to 300,000 people and displaced close to 3 million others, according to United Nations estimates.
People here have been bracing themselves for a number of possible outcomes if the court decides to grant the warrant, as expected, in late January or February. "Anything is possible," as one Western diplomat put it.
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Co-existence in Northern Sudan
World Vision Report
Week of 20 December 2008
http://www.worldvisionreport.org/index.php?option=com_stories&id=232
Sudan has become synonymous with war, due to the five-year conflict raging in Darfur. The UN estimates that 300,000 people have died and close to 2.5 million others have been displaced. The vast majority have been indigenous Africans.
Darfur's war is often portrayed as a racial one, pitting Arabs against Africans. But in northern parts of the country, many Sudanese are defying stereotypes. Heba Aly files this report from Dongola, a town in northern Sudan where Africans and Arabs have been living together harmoniously for decades.
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Read World Vision Report blog posting here
Week of 20 December 2008
http://www.worldvisionreport.org/index.php?option=com_stories&id=232
Sudan has become synonymous with war, due to the five-year conflict raging in Darfur. The UN estimates that 300,000 people have died and close to 2.5 million others have been displaced. The vast majority have been indigenous Africans.
Darfur's war is often portrayed as a racial one, pitting Arabs against Africans. But in northern parts of the country, many Sudanese are defying stereotypes. Heba Aly files this report from Dongola, a town in northern Sudan where Africans and Arabs have been living together harmoniously for decades.
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Read World Vision Report blog posting here
Sudan: IDPs in the cold as slum demolished
UN Humanitarian News Service (IRIN - East Africa)
4 December 2008
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81815
MANDELA - Thousands of people in a slum 20km south of Khartoum are living in makeshift shelters made of sticks and cloth after their homes were razed by the government.
Local officials said 4,000 homes were destroyed as part of a government plan to reorganise the Mandela settlement to make it more habitable. Another 6,000 are due to be demolished.
"When this is over, people will move back, build and live in peace," said Madut Wek, secretary to the local administrative unit, the Mandela popular committee, which is aligned to the government.
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4 December 2008
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81815
MANDELA - Thousands of people in a slum 20km south of Khartoum are living in makeshift shelters made of sticks and cloth after their homes were razed by the government.
Local officials said 4,000 homes were destroyed as part of a government plan to reorganise the Mandela settlement to make it more habitable. Another 6,000 are due to be demolished.
"When this is over, people will move back, build and live in peace," said Madut Wek, secretary to the local administrative unit, the Mandela popular committee, which is aligned to the government.
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United Nations Sends Team to Subdue Violence at Darfur
Bloomberg News
3 December 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aKU8m9kBqciM
KHARTOUM - The United Nations sent a team of armed peacekeepers to a camp for people displaced by war in Sudan’s western Darfur region to calm violence between residents and militia members.
A “quarrel” erupted on Dec. 1 between two so-called Janjaweed militiamen armed with a rifle and residents of the Hassa Hissa camp near the western Darfur town of Zalingei, the UN-led mission, known as Unamid, said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. One camp resident was injured, a militiaman was severely beaten and later died, while the surviving militiaman was taken into police custody, Unamid said.
“As a result of the incident, about 30 armed Janjaweed marched toward the camp today, shooting sporadically in the air,” Unamid said. The militia set ablaze five water pumps supplying the camp. Another camp resident received a minor injury during the second incident.
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3 December 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aKU8m9kBqciM
KHARTOUM - The United Nations sent a team of armed peacekeepers to a camp for people displaced by war in Sudan’s western Darfur region to calm violence between residents and militia members.
A “quarrel” erupted on Dec. 1 between two so-called Janjaweed militiamen armed with a rifle and residents of the Hassa Hissa camp near the western Darfur town of Zalingei, the UN-led mission, known as Unamid, said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. One camp resident was injured, a militiaman was severely beaten and later died, while the surviving militiaman was taken into police custody, Unamid said.
“As a result of the incident, about 30 armed Janjaweed marched toward the camp today, shooting sporadically in the air,” Unamid said. The militia set ablaze five water pumps supplying the camp. Another camp resident received a minor injury during the second incident.
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United Nations Darfur Force to Investigate Claims of Bombings
Bloomberg News
18 November 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aqexjv.McorI
KHARTOUM - The United Nations-led peace peacekeeping mission in Sudan's troubled Darfur region is investigating claims that the government has been bombing rebel positions in defiance of a newly announced ceasefire.
``I know definitely that there have been bombings,'' said Kemal Saiki, director of public information for the mission, known as Unamid. He called the information secondhand and said it came from various sources, not only rebels.
The claims of fresh attacks come less than a week after Sudan's President Umar al-Bashir declared and called for the disarmament of rebels in the country's western region to quell a conflict that has killed 300,000 people.
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18 November 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aqexjv.McorI
KHARTOUM - The United Nations-led peace peacekeeping mission in Sudan's troubled Darfur region is investigating claims that the government has been bombing rebel positions in defiance of a newly announced ceasefire.
``I know definitely that there have been bombings,'' said Kemal Saiki, director of public information for the mission, known as Unamid. He called the information secondhand and said it came from various sources, not only rebels.
The claims of fresh attacks come less than a week after Sudan's President Umar al-Bashir declared and called for the disarmament of rebels in the country's western region to quell a conflict that has killed 300,000 people.
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Tensions between Sudan's north and south
Public Radio International's "The World"
13 November 2008
http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/22544
Growing tensions between Sudan's north and south in Sudan could potentially plunge the country back into a north-south civil war. Heba Aly reports from southern Sudan.
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13 November 2008
http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/22544
Growing tensions between Sudan's north and south in Sudan could potentially plunge the country back into a north-south civil war. Heba Aly reports from southern Sudan.
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Sudan: Cautious optimism over Darfur ceasefire call
UN Humanitarian News Service (IRIN - East Africa)
13 November 2008
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81443
KHARTOUM - The Sudanese government’s announcement of a ceasefire in Darfur would not alone solve a crisis that has lasted nearly six years and left hundreds of thousands of people dead - but it offered a glimmer of hope, analysts said.
President Omar el-Bashir announced an "immediate, unconditional ceasefire" in Darfur on 12 November. He called for an immediate campaign to disarm militias accused of committing some of the worst atrocities during the conflict.
The pronouncements were among the recommendations of the Sudan People's Initiative, bringing together government, political opposition parties and civil society to brainstorm solutions to the crisis.
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13 November 2008
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81443
KHARTOUM - The Sudanese government’s announcement of a ceasefire in Darfur would not alone solve a crisis that has lasted nearly six years and left hundreds of thousands of people dead - but it offered a glimmer of hope, analysts said.
President Omar el-Bashir announced an "immediate, unconditional ceasefire" in Darfur on 12 November. He called for an immediate campaign to disarm militias accused of committing some of the worst atrocities during the conflict.
The pronouncements were among the recommendations of the Sudan People's Initiative, bringing together government, political opposition parties and civil society to brainstorm solutions to the crisis.
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Arms race, uneasy peace in Sudan
The Christian Science Monitor newspaper (US)
12 November 2008
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1112/p06s02-woaf.html
JUBA - Although the Arab-dominated government of Sudan and the semiautonomous region of Southern Sudan have been at peace for three years, there are signs that both sides are stepping up the pace of a cold war-style arms race.
In September, pirates off the coast of Somalia hijacked a shipment of Russian tanks reportedly destined for Southern Sudan. A month later Sudanese authorities seized an Ethiopian cargo plane they say was carrying ammunition and light armament in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. Later in October, Sudan recalled its ambassadors from Kenya and Ethiopia because the two nations were allegedly shipping arms to the south.
After a 21-year civil war, both the north and the south Sudan are not only reluctant to disarm, but reports indicate that both sides are actively preparing for the possibility of a renewed outbreak of fighting. Decades of conflict have left many in the north and the south unable to fully trust one another, leaving many analysts wondering if the current peace will endure.
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12 November 2008
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1112/p06s02-woaf.html
JUBA - Although the Arab-dominated government of Sudan and the semiautonomous region of Southern Sudan have been at peace for three years, there are signs that both sides are stepping up the pace of a cold war-style arms race.
In September, pirates off the coast of Somalia hijacked a shipment of Russian tanks reportedly destined for Southern Sudan. A month later Sudanese authorities seized an Ethiopian cargo plane they say was carrying ammunition and light armament in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. Later in October, Sudan recalled its ambassadors from Kenya and Ethiopia because the two nations were allegedly shipping arms to the south.
After a 21-year civil war, both the north and the south Sudan are not only reluctant to disarm, but reports indicate that both sides are actively preparing for the possibility of a renewed outbreak of fighting. Decades of conflict have left many in the north and the south unable to fully trust one another, leaving many analysts wondering if the current peace will endure.
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Sudanese President Calls for Cease-Fire in Darfur
Bloomberg News
13 November 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a25rHDDpogAw
KHARTOUM - - Sudan's President Umar al-Bashir declared an immediate cease-fire in Darfur and called for the disarmament of militias active in the western region to quell a conflict that has killed about 300,000 people.
``I hereby announce our immediate unconditional cease-fire between the Armed Forces and warring factions'' in Darfur, Bashir said in a speech today in the capital, Khartoum. He called on rebel groups to begin peace negotiations.
Bashir made the cease-fire announcement at the close of the Sudan People's Initiative, a forum of political parties and civil society organizations brought together to try to find a solution to the conflict in Darfur. Rebel groups boycotted the initiative, calling it a public-relations effort.
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13 November 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a25rHDDpogAw
KHARTOUM - - Sudan's President Umar al-Bashir declared an immediate cease-fire in Darfur and called for the disarmament of militias active in the western region to quell a conflict that has killed about 300,000 people.
``I hereby announce our immediate unconditional cease-fire between the Armed Forces and warring factions'' in Darfur, Bashir said in a speech today in the capital, Khartoum. He called on rebel groups to begin peace negotiations.
Bashir made the cease-fire announcement at the close of the Sudan People's Initiative, a forum of political parties and civil society organizations brought together to try to find a solution to the conflict in Darfur. Rebel groups boycotted the initiative, calling it a public-relations effort.
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Canadian Content in Sudan
Intercultures Magazine (Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs)
November 2008 issue
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/cfsi-icse/cil-cai/magazine/magazine-en.asp?txt=1-3&lv=1
JUBA – In a crowded United Nations conference room in a southwestern Sudanese town called Wau, an exchange of sorts took place between two men of very different worlds who had more in common than they might have thought.
At the front of the room was Constable Charles Obeng, a Canadian originally from Ghana, on Africa’s west coast. Seated among dozens of students was a young Sudanese man.
Obeng was a UN peacekeeper, deployed with five other members of the RCMP to help Sudan’s southern police force build its capacity after more than two decades of civil war between the Muslim north and the mostly animist south.
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November 2008 issue
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/cfsi-icse/cil-cai/magazine/magazine-en.asp?txt=1-3&lv=1
JUBA – In a crowded United Nations conference room in a southwestern Sudanese town called Wau, an exchange of sorts took place between two men of very different worlds who had more in common than they might have thought.
At the front of the room was Constable Charles Obeng, a Canadian originally from Ghana, on Africa’s west coast. Seated among dozens of students was a young Sudanese man.
Obeng was a UN peacekeeper, deployed with five other members of the RCMP to help Sudan’s southern police force build its capacity after more than two decades of civil war between the Muslim north and the mostly animist south.
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Sudan's Rebel JEM Movement May Negotiate Alone with Government
Bloomberg News
8 November 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aUIee10PrBkI
KHARTOUM - Sudan's rebel Justice and Equality Movement says it is ready to negotiate alone with the government if it can't reach a common stance with other rebel groups from the Darfur region.
If rebel groups ``fail to come to a common position, then JEM cannot wait,'' said Ahmed Hussain Adam, spokesman for the group commonly know as JEM, which has been waging a rebellion against Sudan's government for almost six years. ``Peace is our objective. We cannot wait while our people are suffering,'' he said in a telephone interview from Sweden.
The group's chairman, Khalil Ibrahim, and members of his top leadership met in Darfur on Nov. 6 with the Qatari state minister for foreign affairs to outline their criteria for accepting a Qatari-led initiative for peace. Qatar also offered to organize negotiations between the Sudanese government and other rebel factions.
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8 November 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aUIee10PrBkI
KHARTOUM - Sudan's rebel Justice and Equality Movement says it is ready to negotiate alone with the government if it can't reach a common stance with other rebel groups from the Darfur region.
If rebel groups ``fail to come to a common position, then JEM cannot wait,'' said Ahmed Hussain Adam, spokesman for the group commonly know as JEM, which has been waging a rebellion against Sudan's government for almost six years. ``Peace is our objective. We cannot wait while our people are suffering,'' he said in a telephone interview from Sweden.
The group's chairman, Khalil Ibrahim, and members of his top leadership met in Darfur on Nov. 6 with the Qatari state minister for foreign affairs to outline their criteria for accepting a Qatari-led initiative for peace. Qatar also offered to organize negotiations between the Sudanese government and other rebel factions.
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Sudan concerned over Obama stance
Public Radio International's "The World"
6 November 2008
http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/22357
People in Sudan have mixed feelings about an Obama presidency. There's pride that a man of African descent has reached the White House. But as Heba Aly reports from Khartoum, there's also concern about the president-elect's aggressive talk about Darfur.
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6 November 2008
http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/22357
People in Sudan have mixed feelings about an Obama presidency. There's pride that a man of African descent has reached the White House. But as Heba Aly reports from Khartoum, there's also concern about the president-elect's aggressive talk about Darfur.
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Sudan Makes Progress on Darfur UN Force Deployment, U.S. Says
Bloomberg News
3 November 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ad5MRC3nouP8
KHARTOUM - Sudan has made progress in easing the way for a quicker deployment of United Nations-led peacekeeping forces in the troubled Darfur region, the U.S.'s top diplomat for Africa said today.
The government has increasingly been providing entry visas for peacekeepers and has shown a ``greater flexibility'' to support their mission, Jendayi Frazer, assistant secretary of state for African affairs, told journalists in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
``There's been important progress, even since September,'' Frazer said after meetings with Salva Kiir, president of Southern Sudan, Vice President Ali Osman Taha and Foreign Minister Deng Alor. ``We've had about a new 700 or so both military and police units on the ground in Darfur.''
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3 November 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ad5MRC3nouP8
KHARTOUM - Sudan has made progress in easing the way for a quicker deployment of United Nations-led peacekeeping forces in the troubled Darfur region, the U.S.'s top diplomat for Africa said today.
The government has increasingly been providing entry visas for peacekeepers and has shown a ``greater flexibility'' to support their mission, Jendayi Frazer, assistant secretary of state for African affairs, told journalists in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
``There's been important progress, even since September,'' Frazer said after meetings with Salva Kiir, president of Southern Sudan, Vice President Ali Osman Taha and Foreign Minister Deng Alor. ``We've had about a new 700 or so both military and police units on the ground in Darfur.''
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UN Peacekeeper Killed, Another Wounded in Sudan's North Darfur
Bloomberg News
30 October 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a2x7BuNOs4IM
KHARTOUM - A South African soldier serving with the United Nations-led peacekeeping mission in Sudan's Darfur region was killed yesterday, bringing the death toll among the force's members to 11 since July, the UN said.
Gunmen yesterday attacked peacekeepers in the Kutum area of northern Darfur, Noureddine Mezni, spokesman of the UN-African Union mission, known as Unamid, said by phone from El-Fasher. One male soldier died of his injuries, while a female South African trooper was wounded, he said.
``With this South African soldier, we have now lost 11 peacekeepers since the beginning of the mission,'' Mezni said.
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30 October 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a2x7BuNOs4IM
KHARTOUM - A South African soldier serving with the United Nations-led peacekeeping mission in Sudan's Darfur region was killed yesterday, bringing the death toll among the force's members to 11 since July, the UN said.
Gunmen yesterday attacked peacekeepers in the Kutum area of northern Darfur, Noureddine Mezni, spokesman of the UN-African Union mission, known as Unamid, said by phone from El-Fasher. One male soldier died of his injuries, while a female South African trooper was wounded, he said.
``With this South African soldier, we have now lost 11 peacekeepers since the beginning of the mission,'' Mezni said.
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Will killing of oil workers harden China's Darfur policy?
The Christian Science Monitor newspaper (US)
29 October 2008
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1029/p04s01-woaf.html
KHARTOUM - At least three Chinese oil workers were killed by Darfur rebels Monday, according to the Sudanese government.
But the accused rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), which has been fighting the Sudanese government for close to six years in Darfur, said it had nothing to do with the incident, accusing the government of trying to distract the international community from its own crimes in Darfur.
Nine employees of the China National Petroleum Corp. were kidnapped on Oct. 18 while working at an oil field in the central Sudanese state of South Kordofan, which neighbors the troubled Darfur region and straddles the contested border between Sudan's north and south.
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29 October 2008
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1029/p04s01-woaf.html
KHARTOUM - At least three Chinese oil workers were killed by Darfur rebels Monday, according to the Sudanese government.
But the accused rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), which has been fighting the Sudanese government for close to six years in Darfur, said it had nothing to do with the incident, accusing the government of trying to distract the international community from its own crimes in Darfur.
Nine employees of the China National Petroleum Corp. were kidnapped on Oct. 18 while working at an oil field in the central Sudanese state of South Kordofan, which neighbors the troubled Darfur region and straddles the contested border between Sudan's north and south.
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Monday, March 16, 2009
Five Seized Chinese Petroleum Workers Killed in Sudan
Bloomberg News
27 October 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a7KUe2UFsHY0
KHARTOUM - Five Chinese oil workers kidnapped in central Sudan nine days ago have been shot dead, Sudan's Foreign Ministry said.
The five were among nine employees of China National Petroleum Corp. who were abducted on Oct. 18 while working at the Heglig oil field in South Kordofan state, Ali Sadig, a ministry spokesman, said by phone yesterday from Khartoum, the capital. Two workers escaped and were being treated for injuries, while the other two are still being held by their captors, he said.
``What happened was very unexpected,'' Sadig said. ``What is strange is that it happened at a time when the government, especially the army and the police, were not involved. There was no direct confrontation with the abductors.''
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27 October 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a7KUe2UFsHY0
KHARTOUM - Five Chinese oil workers kidnapped in central Sudan nine days ago have been shot dead, Sudan's Foreign Ministry said.
The five were among nine employees of China National Petroleum Corp. who were abducted on Oct. 18 while working at the Heglig oil field in South Kordofan state, Ali Sadig, a ministry spokesman, said by phone yesterday from Khartoum, the capital. Two workers escaped and were being treated for injuries, while the other two are still being held by their captors, he said.
``What happened was very unexpected,'' Sadig said. ``What is strange is that it happened at a time when the government, especially the army and the police, were not involved. There was no direct confrontation with the abductors.''
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Adam: "They shot me in the back"
UN Humanitarian News Service (IRIN - East Africa)
22 October 2008
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81055
ZAMZAM - Adam, who prefers to be known by this one name, is an internally displaced person (IDP) in an IDP camp in Zamzam, North Darfur. He fled there from his village of Um Hashaba in the same province in 2003, hoping finally to find safety. But last month, even this sanctuary was violated. He told IRIN what happened:
"Four vehicles entered the camp filled with men wearing police khaki uniforms. They didn't say a thing. They just entered and started shooting.
"They called to me. I started running. They shot me in the back before I got the chance to escape."
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22 October 2008
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81055
ZAMZAM - Adam, who prefers to be known by this one name, is an internally displaced person (IDP) in an IDP camp in Zamzam, North Darfur. He fled there from his village of Um Hashaba in the same province in 2003, hoping finally to find safety. But last month, even this sanctuary was violated. He told IRIN what happened:
"Four vehicles entered the camp filled with men wearing police khaki uniforms. They didn't say a thing. They just entered and started shooting.
"They called to me. I started running. They shot me in the back before I got the chance to escape."
Continue reading
Darfur Violence Displaces 1,000 People a Day, UN Chief Ban Says
Bloomberg News
22 October 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ah_VndMrWd1o
KHARTOUM - Fighting in Sudan's Darfur region is displacing 1,000 civilians a day and the United Nations-led peacekeeping force is unable to quell the violence, UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon said.
More than 230,000 civilians have fled their homes in 2008 due to violence in Darfur, where fighting between rebel and government troops has raged for almost six years, Ban said in his latest report to the UN Security Council, released yesterday. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, puts that number at 300,000.
The joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission, known as Unamid, is being hampered by the government through multiple customs checks, long delays at checkpoints and bureaucratic constraints in issuing visas, Ban said. The Sudanese armed forces threatened to shoot down UN aircraft that do not comply with flight timetables, he said.
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22 October 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ah_VndMrWd1o
KHARTOUM - Fighting in Sudan's Darfur region is displacing 1,000 civilians a day and the United Nations-led peacekeeping force is unable to quell the violence, UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon said.
More than 230,000 civilians have fled their homes in 2008 due to violence in Darfur, where fighting between rebel and government troops has raged for almost six years, Ban said in his latest report to the UN Security Council, released yesterday. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, puts that number at 300,000.
The joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission, known as Unamid, is being hampered by the government through multiple customs checks, long delays at checkpoints and bureaucratic constraints in issuing visas, Ban said. The Sudanese armed forces threatened to shoot down UN aircraft that do not comply with flight timetables, he said.
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Sudan: Plight of Darfur's displaced worse than ever
UN Humanitarian News Service (IRIN East Africa)
21 October 2008
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81028
TAWILA - As Sudan lobbies the international community for support in its fight to ward off looming charges of genocide against its president, arguing they would endanger the "great strides" the government is making towards peace, people displaced by more than five years of fighting in Darfur tell a different story.
"Since 2004 until today, there has been no resolution. The problems have only gotten worse," said a sheikh at a camp for displaced people in Tawila, 50km west of El-Fasher, state capital of North Darfur. At the beginning of the conflict, he told IRIN, attacks – if intense – were few and far between. "But now, weekly, there is a problem here. Weekly, janjaweed [government-sponsored militias], weapons, rape, looting."
The UN/African Union hybrid peacekeeping mission's base in Tawila is a prime example. A metre-wide gap in its barbed razor wire is a constant reminder of the day in May when the ruined town and the nearby camp that houses most of Tawila’s residents came under attack. Desperate residents forced their way onto the base's buffer zone, seeking the UN's protection.
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21 October 2008
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81028
TAWILA - As Sudan lobbies the international community for support in its fight to ward off looming charges of genocide against its president, arguing they would endanger the "great strides" the government is making towards peace, people displaced by more than five years of fighting in Darfur tell a different story.
"Since 2004 until today, there has been no resolution. The problems have only gotten worse," said a sheikh at a camp for displaced people in Tawila, 50km west of El-Fasher, state capital of North Darfur. At the beginning of the conflict, he told IRIN, attacks – if intense – were few and far between. "But now, weekly, there is a problem here. Weekly, janjaweed [government-sponsored militias], weapons, rape, looting."
The UN/African Union hybrid peacekeeping mission's base in Tawila is a prime example. A metre-wide gap in its barbed razor wire is a constant reminder of the day in May when the ruined town and the nearby camp that houses most of Tawila’s residents came under attack. Desperate residents forced their way onto the base's buffer zone, seeking the UN's protection.
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Darfur peacekeepers offer no protection - IDPs
UN Humanitarian News Service (IRIN East Africa)
20 October 2008
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80999
DALI - It is an ordinary morning at the water pump in Dali town, North Darfur. Children splash around in the water; women argue over whose turn is next. An armoured personnel carrier makes its way through the sand, six other UN vehicles following closely behind.
The convoy stops in this quiet clearing. Armed peacekeeping troops pour out of their trucks, forming a large circle around the water pump. Unarmed military and police approach the locals.
"What is the situation here? Any incidents in the last week?" Nepalese Maj. Prem Thapa, a military observer with the African Union/UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), asks one villager through a translator.
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20 October 2008
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80999
DALI - It is an ordinary morning at the water pump in Dali town, North Darfur. Children splash around in the water; women argue over whose turn is next. An armoured personnel carrier makes its way through the sand, six other UN vehicles following closely behind.
The convoy stops in this quiet clearing. Armed peacekeeping troops pour out of their trucks, forming a large circle around the water pump. Unarmed military and police approach the locals.
"What is the situation here? Any incidents in the last week?" Nepalese Maj. Prem Thapa, a military observer with the African Union/UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), asks one villager through a translator.
Continue reading
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