Tag: Darfur

Africa
darfur suspect

Sudan militia leader to face war crimes trial

Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a decision unanimously confirming charges against Sudanese militia leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman. Consequently, Abd-Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, was committed to trial before an ICC trial chamber. Abd-Al-Rahman was a top commander of the Janjaweed militia, and a senior leader in the tribal hierarchy of Wadi Salih locality, Central Darfur state. He is also a leader of the Popular Defense Forces, the more regularized successor to the Janjaweed. He is alleged to have led pro-government campaigns against Darfur rebel groups, ultimately displacing 40,000 and murdering 300 civilians.. (Photo via Radio Dabanga)

Africa
el Geneina

Hundred killed in new Darfur violence —again

Hundreds of armed militants launched repeated attacks on Abu Zar displaced persons camp outside El Geneina, capital of Sudan’s West Darfur state. The waves of attacks by presumed Arab militias on mostly Masalit camp residents claimed at least 100 lives and uprooted thousands, some across the border into neighboring Chad. Aid groups have suspended their operations, while a state of emergency has been declared across West Darfur. A similar series of attacks on camps around El Geneina in January left over 150 dead. Many accuse militias of stepping up attacks following the December withdrawal of a UN-African Union peacekeeping mission after 13 years on the ground in Darfur region. (Photo: Philip Kleinfeld/TNH)

Africa
Darfur

Hundreds killed in new Darfur violence

Just weeks after the UN Security Council voted unanimously to terminate the mandate of the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) in Darfur, a new outbreak of violence in the region has left hundreds dead and injured. At least 159 people died–including three aid workers–and tens of thousands were displaced following militia attacks on camps for those already displaced in West Darfur’s El Geneina in January. Dozens more lost their lives in South Darfur amid clashes between Arab Rizeigat and Fallata groups. During more than 13 years on the ground, UNAMID has often been criticized for failing to protect people. But many Dafuris protested against its withdrawal and have little faith in the Sudanese government, even with the old regime out the door. (Photo: UNAMID via UN News)

Africa
Sudan

Moment of truth for Sudan peace process

Sudan’s power-sharing government signed a peace deal with an alliance of rebel groups this week, sparking hopes of an end to decades of conflict in the country. The agreement will see rebels given government posts, power devolved to local regions, and displaced people offered a chance to return home. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok dedicated the deal—one of his main priorities following the ousting of Omar al-Bashir 14 months ago—to children born in refugee camps, while the UN commended an “historic achievement.” But there are reasons to be cautious. Two of Sudan’s main armed groups in Darfur and the southern states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan refused to sign. Abdul Wahid, leader of a faction of the holdout Sudan Liberation Movement, said the deal was “business as usual” and unlikely to address root causes of conflict. With Sudan’s economy in freefall, it’s also unclear how the transitional government will be able to afford the hundreds of millions of dollars needed to make it workable. Previous agreements in 2006 and 2011 came to little. However, with al-Bashir now out of the picture—perhaps soon facing the ICC—things could be different this time around. With violence rising in Darfur and in other parts of the country, there’s a lot riding on it.. (Map: Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection)

Africa
Sudan rebels

Troops to Darfur as war re-escalates

The Sudanese government is sending more forces to the restive Darfur region, following a new escalation in violence there. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said the troops are to protect people during the farming season. Dozens have been killed and several villages destroyed in Darfur over the past weeks, even as the UN Security Council discusses an “exit strategy” for the peacekeeping force. Ironically, efforts to instate the peace implementation process in Darfur may have contributed to the new surge in violence. With government encouragement, those displaced by the conflict finally started returning home in time for this year’s planting season. But this has led to new disputes between returnees and people who took over their lands in the intervening years. (Photo: Libya Observer)

Africa
darfur suspect

Darfur war crimes suspect transferred to Hague

Sudanese militia leader and war crimes suspect Ali Kushayb was arrested by authorities in the Central African Republic, and turned over to the International Criminal Court (ICC). His apprehension comes more than 13 years after an arrest warrant was issued for him, detailing 22 charges of crimes against humanity and 28 war crimes charges, including murder, rape and pillage. The warrant asserts that Kushayb commanded thousands of Janjaweed militia fighters from 2003-4, personally taking part in the rape and murder of civilians in villages during the Darfur conflict. (Photo via Radio Dabanga)

Africa
Nuba

Clashes threaten Sudan democratic transition

Recent inter-communal fighting in Darfur and Kassala State threatens Sudan’s fragile democratic transition, United Nations officials warn. The government has dispatched the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to South Darfur and Kassala states, with orders to act decisively “to secure the country, lives and property.” But the UN Panel of Experts on Sudan expressed grave concern about RSF fighters collaborating with perpetrators of the violence. Sudanese civil society groups are calling for RSF commanders responsible for human rights violations to be held legally accountable. (Photo: Nuba Reports)

North Africa
Sudan rebels

Internationalization of Libya war

A senior UN official charged at a press conference in Munich that numerous countries are violating the Libya arms embargo and must be held accountable. UN Deputy Special Representative to Libya Stephanie Williams said that “the arms embargo has become a joke.” The Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Khalifa Haftar, has been fighting with the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) for control of Tripoli since April of last year. Russia, Egypt and the UAE are supporting the LNA, while Turkey supports the GNA. Foreign powers are violating the arms embargo “by land, sea and air,” Williams said. A UN report also accuses Haftar of bringing in Sudanese rebels from Darfur to fight for the LNA, while Turkey is accused of importing Syrian rebels to fight for the GNA. (Photo: Libya Observer)

Africa
Darfur

New ethnic conflagration in Darfur

At least 40 were killed and some 30 injured in a new outbreak of inter-communal violence in Sudan’s Darfur region. The fighting erupted east of El-Geneina, capital of West Darfur state, reportedly sparked by the killing of an Arab man near Crendingue, a camp for displaced persons from the Masslit tribe. Most of the dead appear to be Masslit. Thousands more have fled across the border into Chad, fearing attack. Gunmen have reportedly prevented families of the victims from collecting the bodies. and continue to fire in the air. In Sudan’s ongoing pro-democracy revolution, many Massalit youth formed Resistance Committees, and established security patrols around the camp and neighboring villages. Many local Arabs, however, supported the former regime, fueling the current conflict. (Map: Wikipedia)

Africa
Darfur

Sudan to investigate Darfur war crimes

The state prosecutor of Sudan, Tagelsir al-Heber, announced the launch of an investigation into the crimes committed in the Darfur region under former President Omar al-Bashir. Al-Bashir has already been arrested by the Sudanese government for corruption and is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and grave rights violations committed in the Darfur region of Sudan as early as 2002. (Photo: Dabanga)

Africa

Darfur at issue in Sudan transition talks

A new agreement between Sudan’s opposition coalition, the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), and the ruling Transitional Military Council provides for power to be shared through a joint Sovereign Council. Among the FFC’s constituent groups are two armed rebel factions active in the conflicted Darfur region. After the new transition deal was announced, these two groups both issued statements denying Sudanese media reports that they had dropped out of the FFC—claims that may originate in a regime stratagem to remove the Darfur question from the opposition agenda. Having long receded from world headlines, the situation in Darfur is again escalating. Last month, the joint African Union-UN Mission in Darfur suspended the handover of camps for displaced civilians to the Sudanese military, due to new attacks in the region. Amnesty International, citing satellite imagery, charges that a new “scorched earth” campaign is underway in Darfur. (Photo: UN News)

Africa

Suit against French bank over Sudan atrocities

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed a district court’s dismissal of a class action lawsuit against French bank BNP Paribas over aiding atrocities in Sudan. The lawsuit was brought by 21 refugees from Sudan’s ethnic-cleansing campaigns Darfur and South Kordofan regions, alleging that the bank conspired with, and aided and abetted, the Sudanese regime. The plaintiffs’ complaint alleges that BNP processed thousands of illegal transactions through its New York offices, which financed weapons purchases and funded militias in a “well-documented genocidal campaign.” (Photo: Radio Dabanga)