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27, Ch. des Crêts-de-Pregny, 1218 Grand-Saconnex, Geneva (Switzerland) Tel: 0041 22 747 00 89
Fax: 0041 22 747 00 38 E-mail: info@darfurcentre.ch Webpage http://www.darfurcentre.ch
Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre
DRDC/PR/2007/01 Geneva, 03.01.2007
Assault against Humanitarian Workers in Darfur Continues
The Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre (DRDC) pays special tribute to outgoing UN Secretary
General Mr. Kofi Annan for his efforts to end the armed conflict in Darfur. His dedication to ending this
tragic situation played a decisive role in persuading the government of Sudan (GoS) to accept the
deployment of a hybrid African Union–United Nations (AU-UN) military force in the region. Persuading
Sudan to accept the deployment of a hybrid force was reached under difficult conditions and surrounded
by continuous resistance and uncertainty. However, it represents a substantial step in the long way toward
arresting violence in the region, protecting civilians and ending the reign of terror and impunity that
characterised the conflict in Darfur. We call on GoS to fully respect its commitment to the implementation
of the three-phase plan for the deployment of a hybrid AU-UN force as endorsed by the Addis Ababa highlevel
Consultation on the situation in Darfur of 16th November 2006 and the Communiqué of the 66th
meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council held in Abuja on 30th November 2006. For the sake of
peace in the Sudan, DRDC calls on GoS to demonstrate its commitment to ending violence in Darfur and
withdraw any reservation that it has placed on any phase of the AU-UN plan as stated in its letter to the
outgoing UN Secretary General of 23rd December 2006. Equally, DRDC calls on the international
community to extend generous human and material support to the planned hybrid AU-UN operation.
However, DRDC is gravely alarmed by the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in different parts of
Darfur. Renewed military operations including aerial bombardment of civilian areas during the last two
months have caused displacement of thousands of individuals. In yet another serious development violence
and insecurity have reached hitherto relatively peaceful urban areas. Civilians in the major towns of Darfur
such as El Fashir, El Ginnena, Nyala, Kutum, Zallengi and Maleit are no longer spared the Janjaweed
wrath. These major urban areas became the new scenes of wanton violence, killing of civilians, destruction
of property, looting, disorder and Janjaweed attacks, which have intensified since October 2006.
Violence and insecurity in Darfur as well as aggressive administrative measures introduced by GoS against
humanitarian organisations have had a serious impact on humanitarian relief work. It is to be appreciated
that many humanitarian relief agencies and aid workers are driven by courage to operate in Darfur under
dangerous conditions that are beyond internationally acceptable safety norms. In some areas of Darfur such
as Tawila in North Darfur and many parts of West Darfur State, all international aid agencies have already
evacuated their field stations or forced to relocate their staff. In the process they left behind countless IDPs
and other needy people without help. It is ironic that while violence and attacks generate more IDPs and
war-affected populations in Darfur, with the decreasing number of relief organisations, growing numbers
of needy people now compete for meagre life-saving relief material. Absence of relief agencies from
Darfur will also affect outflow of accurate information about the ongoing situation thus serves the strategy
of blackout in the region. This will inevitably increase the death toll among the IDPs and war-affected
populations. The current situation is a vivid reminder that the scorched-earth policy embraced by the
government and the Janjaweed since the beginning of the conflict in Darfur still continues in the region. It
is beholding upon the international community to find out an immediate end to this killing field.
It is to be reminded that violence and insecurity in Darfur have caused the death of at least eleven relief
workers between July and September 2006. In December 2006 alone about 400 aid workers had been
relocated because of insecurity in what is believed to be the largest monthly relocation of relief workers
since the humanitarian work started in Darfur in 2004. On 19th December 2006 armed gangs, largely
believed to be Janjaweed militiamen, simultaneously attacked the compounds of several aid organisations
in Gereida area, South Darfur State, in a government-controlled area under heavy army and Janjaweed
presence. They harassed the humanitarian staff, confiscated communication equipment, and stole vehicles,
money and personal belongings in what seems to be a closely coordinated military action. Two
international relief organisations Oxfam and Action Contre le Faim were forced to suspend their operations
in the region after they lost about 12 vehicles during the attack. That incident led to the immediate
relocation of 71 humanitarian workers thus depriving more than 130,000 IDPs and war-affected people in
the Gereida area from receiving adequate relief supplies. With the increase of violent attacks against aid
agencies’ compounds in urban areas in Darfur and the targeting of aid workers by militiamen it is expected
that more relief agencies will abandon the region in the coming months.
In a related incident the government of North Darfur State ordered the closure of the office run by the
national humanitarian organisation and DRDC partner Sudan Social Development Organisation (SUDO) in
El Fashir with immediate effect as of 18th December 2006. SUDO’s humanitarian activities in all sectors of
North Darfur State were suspended for an unknown period. These activities include potable water supply
and sanitation, provision of shelter, education, health and nutrition centres as well as food distribution
units. Between 300,000 – 400,000 IDPs and war-affected people in Darfur benefit from these services. On
17th December 2006 Mr. Khalil M. Bakhiet Tukras, Director of SUDO’s office in El Fasher was
summoned by the security forces and questioned, among other things, about his involvement in planning
the celebration of the International Human Rights Day which was to be organised by the UN Mission in
Sudan (UNMIS) in El Fasher primary schools. The security forces finally banned this celebration. Mr.
Tukras and two other SUDO staff members – Mr. Gaffar El Khalifa and Mr. Mohamed Abaker – are being
subjected to daily summon by the security forces since 17th December 2006. Every day they spend several
hours in custody of the security forces in El Fashir. This measure severely disturbs the lives of these
persons. No specific charges were brought against SUDO’s staff members before courts of law.
The closure of SUDO’s office in North Darfur State is the latest government assault in a series of similar
incidents observed in Sudan since February 2006 when GoS enacted the Organization of Humanitarian and
Voluntary Work Act. This new act has been used to curtail the work of NGOs in the country and to harass
and intimidate their members with particular bearing on the work of national humanitarian organisations.
The act brings national NGOs under tight control of the executive and security forces. National NGOs in
Sudan are no longer independent in implementing their mandates or securing funding from donor agencies.
The targeting of relief workers and organisations by provocation of violence or enactment of repressive
measures appears to be a calculated attempt to force UN agencies and independent humanitarian relief
organisations out of the country and put an end to their relief activities in Darfur. Such a tendency would
eventually cause starvation among the IDPs and war-affected populations, force them to disperse from
their relatively secure large gatherings and eventually fall easy prey to the Janjaweed militiamen.
DRDC calls upon all parties to the conflict in Darfur in particular GoS and the Janjaweed militia groups to
stop targeting humanitarian relief organisations and workers. All parties to the conflict in Darfur are
obliged to ensure the safety and personal security of all relief workers throughout the Darfur region.
DRDC further calls on GoS to end its aggressive administrative policy towards national and international
humanitarian organisations and accord them all the necessary assistance. It should respect its previous
commitments to facilitate access to Darfur and enable relief organisations to carry their work without
hindrances or threats. DRDC calls on GoS to lift the ban on SUDO’s office in El Fasher and any other
humanitarian relief organisations and allow them to conduct their activities without interference. DRDC
also calls on the GoS to allow SUDO’s staff members to pursue their normal lives without disturbance.
Please send your letters of protest to the following government officials or to the nearest Sudanese
diplomatic mission in your region:
H.E. Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin H.E. Mr. Kosti Manebi
Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister of Humanitarian Affairs
PO Box 873, Khartoum (Sudan) P.O. Box , Khartoum, (Sudan)
Fax No.: 00249 183 77 72 65 and 183 77 93 83 Fax No.: 00249 183 78 96 75
H.E. Dr. Abdelmoniem Osman Mohamed Taha H. E. Dr. Ibrahim Mirgani Ibrahim
Rapporteur Permanent Representative
Advisory Council for Human Rights Mission of Sudan to the UN Office
PO Box 302, Khartoum (Sudan) Avenue Blanc 47
Fax No.: 00 249 183 77 08 83 1202 Geneva (Switzerland)
Fax No.: 00 41 22 731 26 56
///Ends///

Sudan bombs rebel areas in Darfur after AU peacekeeper visit

Sudan bombs rebel areas in Darfur after AU peacekeeper visit

CAIRO, Egypt -- Sudanese forces bombed two rebel locations in Darfur just days after the head of the African Union's peacekeeping force visited the area to urge the rebels to join a cease-fire agreement, the AU said Sunday.
A Sudanese government aircraft on Friday bombed Anka and Um Rai in North Darfur province where Gen. Luke Aprezi had met on Wednesday with rebels, an AU statement said.
"When a bombing is made after I have visited an area, my credibility is involved," Aprezi told The Associated Press by telephone from Khartoum, Sudan's capital. "To that group, I don't have any credibility anymore."
Aprezi declined to provide details about the Sudanese strike, which jeopardizes efforts to bring additional groups into the cease-fire that a single rebel faction and the government signed in May 2006, the AU said.
The AU statement said Sudanese officials had given consent ahead of time for Aprezi to meet with the rebels. Sudanese officials were not immediately available for comment.
Efforts to broaden the Darfur Peace Agreement have failed and the United Nations and aid workers report that violence has increased since the signing.
Sudan's president agreed last week to accept U.N. support to strengthen the underfunded 7,000-strong AU peacekeeping force charged with monitoring the cease-fire in the troubled area approximately the size of France.
The first group of U.N. experts -- 43 military staff officers and 24 policemen -- have arrived in Sudan and will deploy to Darfur after a week of orientation, Aprezi said.
Conflict erupted in Darfur in February 2003 when the mostly African ethnic tribes rebelled against the Arab central government. Violence has claimed some 200,000 lives and forced 2.5 million people from their homes in this vast arid area.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
AU accuses Sudan of Darfur raid





Sudan's air force has carried out new bombing raids against two rebel areas of Darfur province, the African Union says.

The fresh attacks on Saturday threatened to de-rail a peace deal between Sudan and the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), the main rebel group, the AU said in a statement on Sunday.

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The bombings came just a day after African Union (AU) officials visited the area on Friday to secure their commitment to a ceasefire, Luke Aprezi, commander of a 7,000 strong AU force in Darfur said.

One rebel group confirmed the attack, but did not say much damage had been caused.

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"For the first time, I visited them [rebels] in the field in Um Rai [North Darfur] ... and I was able to get a ceasefire commitment from them," Aprezi said.

"Unfortunately [Sudan's army] went and bombed the area and it looks like I led them to the area to get bombed."

The meeting was held on Friday and he notified the government of it, he said.

Aprezi's AU force, hampered by lack of equipment and funds, has struggled to stem the violence in remote western Sudan.

Peace deal

A peace deal was signed between one of three negotiating rebel factions and the government in May.

Rival rebel groups rejected it, formed a new military alliance and renewed hostilities with the government.

A government army spokesman said there was no confirmation of this in Khartoum.

"Darfur commanders cannot undertake bombing operations without the knowledge of central command in Khartoum," the spokesman told Reuters news agency.

"But we in central command are completely committed to the ceasefire."

Following the new bombings, it was unclear if rebel groups would honour the ceasefire negotiated by Aprezi on Friday.

The fighting has driven 2.5 million people from their homes and killed an estimated 200,000.

Armed men detain South Darfur officials in refugee camp

Armed men detain South Darfur officials in refugee camp

Dec 31, 2006 (NYALA) — Armed men detained South Darfur officials who were visiting a displaced camp here. The armed elements said belonging to a Darfur rebel group, the state-run SUNA reported.
A delegation of the government of South Darfur State headed by acting Chairman of the state’s Legislative Council, Omar Adam Khatir, was Sunday subjected to a detention for two hours by a group of armed men at Draij camp in Nyala in South Darfur.
The delegation was on a visit to congratulate the displaced at the camp on Eid Al-Adha.
The armed group has detained the state’s officials and taken them to offices belonging to the group inside the IDPs camp. A prolonged discussion was conducted between the two parties on the objective the state’s officials to the camp, SUNA said.
The armed elements told the delegation that they belong to Sudan Liberation Movement, without determining to which faction.
After their release, the state’s delegation members continued their visit to the displaced people camp.
There are around 2.5 internally displaced persons in the different camps in darfur since the eruption of the fighting in 2003. Sudanese authorities are accused of hindering the aid workers activities and supporting a militia that spreading terror outside the camps.

AU says Sudan bombs Darfur rebels after commitment to ceasefire

AU says Sudan bombs Darfur rebels after commitment to ceasefire

Dec 30, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — The African Union condemned Sudanese government for bombing rebel positions in North Darfur after their commitment to ceasefire as result to AU efforts for peace in Sudan’s troubled region.
The Chairman of the Ceasefire Commission Maj Gen Luke Aprezi said that the Sudanese Antonov aircraft were bombing on Friday Anka and Um Rai in North Darfur where he had held meetings with the SLA commanders on Wednesday and obtained their commitment to a ceasefire.
According an African Union statement, the Sudanese government official in Darfur and Khartoum had gave their consent to the meeting and assured AMIS leadership not to attack rebel positions “unless attacked”.
This attack “has the potential to derail the current efforts to broaden the support base for the DPA process and make it more inclusive.” the AU statement said.
The Nigerian general urged the Sudanese government to stop such attacks because it dashes the fragile ceasefire in Darfur.
Sudan signed a peace agreement in May 2006 with a faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Minni Minawi, but the rest of the rebel groups reject the deal saying it does not meet their demands. Sudan accepted recently to open the talks with the hold out rebel groups in order to discuss these demands.
On Wednesday, the UN Security Council gave a cautious welcome to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir’s readiness to accept the deployment of a joint African Union-UN force in strife-torn Darfur.
(ST)
—
Below the text of the African Union Statement:
AFRICAN UNION
AFRICAN MISSION IN SUDAN
STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE CEASEFIRE COMMISSION
At Approximately 15.00 hours yesterday, Friday 29 December 2006, the Chairman of the Ceasefire Commission, Major General Luke Aprez,i was informed that Gos Antonov was bombing two locations, Anka and Um Rai, in North Darfur.
These localities are the places where he held a meeting with the SLA-NSF Commanders on Wednesday and obtained their commitment to a Ceasefire.
This attack by GoS is a seriously disturbing development, especially given that the GoS Representatives at the level of Darfur and Khartoum gave their consent to this meeting, and assured AMIS Leadership, not to attack unless attacked. It also has the potential to derail the current efforts to broaden the support base for the DPA process and make it more inclusive.
Consequently, the Chairman of the CFC calls on the GoS to desist from further bombardment as not to scuttle the fragile ceasefire.

Sudanese man heads home with a mission

Sudanese man heads home with a mission
He hopes to help rebuild a village
By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff December 29, 2006
Answering a challenge from village elders to help rebuild his native village in southern Sudan, Machar Nai will leave Boston on Sunday and travel to his homeland, bringing with him several thousand dollars and fresh ideas.
"I will go to the elders . . . they will decide where to best use the money," Nai said in an interview.
The funds could go toward equipment and supplies for the local medical clinic or school, said Nai, who became a US citizen in the fall and who lives in Somerville.
About $2,500 was raised by nurses and other staff at Brigham and Women's Hospital, where Nai, now in his 20s, works as a patient care assistant . Nurses learned that Nai was one of about 3,600 boys, known as the Lost Boys of Sudan, brought to the United States in 2001 after enduring hardships caused by a 1987 civil war.
Mary Lou Moore , a nurse administrator at the hospital, hired Nai in 2002. "In the interview, he sort of took me back gradually to what he had gone through, and I was amazed, enough to know that he has incredible courage and passion. We can teach skills, but can't give them hearts, and Machar has a very caring heart."
Five days a week, Nai works from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. as a bus driver in Woburn and then from 3 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. at the hospital. He says he has postponed his educational aspirations.
This way, he said, he can serve as a pipeline of income for his family and his village. Last year, he pooled his money with other Lost Boys to buy the village a grain-grinding machine.
It will take Nai almost five days to travel to Kolnyang , the small dusty village where he was born, and which he fled with hundreds of other male youths almost 19 years ago.
The hopes of the village, if not much of the southern region of the country, rests on the shoulders of men like Nai.
The civil war dispersed about 20,000 children from their villages. As refugees, Nai and the other children endured hunger, disease, and predatory animals on a 1,000-mile walk that ended at a UN camp in Kenya. Nai does not know his age, but believes he was about 8 when he fled.
When Nai returned in 2004 he reunited with his family, and saw the scars left on his village by the strife. He visited the hospital clinic and saw it had no electricity or basic supplies and that patients were jammed into small rooms.
The school lacked supplies and equipment. Nai said those images, along with the challenge from the elders, compelled him to return.
"It's a very big responsibility and I feel the pressure," said Nai, who will spend 11 weeks in Sudan, mostly in his village.
"Being here, I'm able to help my family, but what about all the other families that are there who don't have someone in my situation?" Nai said.
"Because of that, because I have the opportunity to make a difference, I will do it," he added.

Darfur SLM leader says hybrid force deployment not enough

Darfur SLM leader says hybrid force deployment not enough

Dec 25, 2006 (LONDON) — A Darfur rebel leader criticized deployment of AU-Un force in support of the existing African Unions forces. He said this step could be considered as “complaisance towards genocide in Darfur”.
Abdelwahid al-Nur the leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement, said that the deployment joint AU-UN force under the command pf the African Union is not a sufficient measure to re-establish security and to protect civilians in Darfur.
Al-Nur told Sudan Tribune by telephone that the current mandate of the AU force would not allow the protection of the civilians in Darfur. He added that their demand for international forces in Darfur is justified by the fact that UN resolution 1706 clearly stipulated the protection of Darfur people.
“We want a clear disposition stipulating the protection of the civilians and particularly women and children and internally displaced persons as it provided in article 9 of the UN Security Council resolution 1706.”
“Under Addis Ababa agreement the hybrid force’s mandate is toothless” Al Nur said.
The rebel leader expressed fears that Sudanese government would not implement the 16 and 30 November agreements on the hybrid force. He further urged the world to maintain pressure on Khartoum.
“The international community should be aware to Khartoum manipulations “There are more that 10 resolutions on Darfur but all of them are not implemented.” He also said that that Khartoum while manoeuvring with the international community continues to attack civilians.
He accused Sudanese government of carrying out more than 50 attacks against civilians this month. In deference to Khartoum’s opposition, the United Nations scaled back its plans — adopted in UN 1706 — to replace the African Union force of 7,000 troops in Darfur with the 20,000 U.N. force and, since early November, has been pushing to reinforce the existing AU force with smaller numbers of U.N. personnel as well as technical and financial assistance.
The strength of the peacekeeping force should be 17,000 and 3,000 police. However, the GoS representative indicated that he would need to consult with his government on this figure. A meeting would be held Tuesday 26 to discuss the number of the hybrid force.
Earlier in December, Natsios said Sudan could not "cherry-pick" the plan — accepting some elements but rejecting others — because nations would only contribute troops if Khartoum agreed to a contingent large enough to ensure their own self-protection.
Al-Nur renewed his call to the international community to support the reunification of the SLM. “Serious efforts are going on to achieve the full unity of the movement; and we need political, diplomatic and material support of the international community;” he stressed.
“We work seriously to realize the unity of the Darfurians and the Sudanese generally under the basis of citizenship and secular state;” he added.
Al Nur wished a Merry Christmas, and thanked the international community, the ONGs and the civil society organizations for their efforts for peace and the protection of Darfur people.
He also expressed a Marry Christmas to all the Sudanese Christians saying “we wish that 2007 would be a year of peace in Sudan.”



Statement from the Military Spokesman of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army.

To: The International Community and the Stakeholders of Darfur.

Confirming to the Statement issued by the General Commander of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army,Abdulgadir Abdurrahman Ibrahim (Gadora) on 11th of December
2006 that the Movement is united under the leadership of the chairman Abdul Wahid Mohamed Ahmed Elnour,hereby I would like to send special thanks and appreciation to the tireless efforts exerted so far by the following leaders, and off course all the leaders of SLM/A Secors,whose names I can not mention to unite the Movement.
The SLM/A General Commander of the Army (Gadora), The SLM/A deputy General commander of the Army Mohamed Adam Abdulsalaam (Tarrada),The General Secretary of the Movement Jarelnabi Abdulkarim Younis,The commander of the north sector Suleiman Ibrahim Maragan,The Commander of Eian Siro Sector Ali Haroun (Doud), the Commander of Jebel Moon Sector Ibrahim Mohammed Nasir The Commander of the western Sector Yousif Ahmed Yousif (Karrjakola). Their Thuraya phones are: - +8821621515486,+8821621206687,+8821621525586,+8821621197451,+8821633328844,+8821633351771,+8821655581052.Respectively.
Accordingly, we kindly appeal to the International Community and the entire Stakeholders in Darfur to give us the Political, Moral and material Support to foster SLM/A unity, under the leadership of his Historical chairman. Ours is a real people’s revolution, of all the people and always it will be.

Unity, Struggle, Victory.

Nimir Mohamed Abdulrahman(Jara).
The Military Spokesman of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army.

Sudan Liberation Movement

Sudan Liberation Movement
UK and N. Ireland Office

From the basic principle and goals of the Sudan liberation Movement under the founder and Chairman, Abdel Wahid Mohammed Nor. In darfur, and all the decent commanders
Sudan Liberation movement in the UK and N. Ireland announced its executive Office members whom are following.

1) Chairman Ibrahim Sidig Ismail
2) Deputy Chairman Abaker yunees
3) General secretary Alrabae Ezaldeen
4) Deputy secretary Adam hussain
5) Financial secretary Ismail Mohammed
6) Deputy Financial secretary Mussa Bahreldin
7) Media secretary Yahia Elbashir
8) Deputy Media secretary Anwar Bakar
9) Political secretary Nour eldin Zakria
10)Deputy Political Kalid Abuker
11)Organizing secretary Moutasem Bableir
12)Deputy Organizing Amir Adam
13)Social secretary Abdulazem Ahmed
14)Deputy Social Omer Adam Beki
15)Coulter secretary Mohamed Yagoub
16)Deputy Coulter Samir Adam
17)Woman and Chaild Hoda Ishag


The foundation of the Office in the UK and N. Ireland come under quality process to ensure again to the all people of SlM in the world. Who the Chairman of SLM Abdel Wahid Mohammed Nour with legal sprit to carry on the principle of Darfur and Sudan people under united democratic Sudan for all people of Sudan with full rights, and equality in justice and responsibilities.
Call all people of SLM members in all over the world to stand beside the founder and Chairman of the SLM and close the doors to the opportunistic, personal interested whom painting grey arid. Long live struggle our people in IDPs and refugee camps,


Greeting to our resistance heroes,

Yahia Elbashir

Media office and Spokesman of Sudan Liberation Movement in UK N.
Ireland

Issued in London
26 / 12 / 2006

Tel : 00447961608397

Email : Webmaster sudanslm.net

Ethiopia launched offensive against Somalia Islamists

Ethiopia launched offensive against Somalia Islamists

Dec 24, 2006 (MOGADISHU) — Ethiopia launched an attack Sunday on Somalia’s powerful Islamic movement, sending fighter jets across the border and bombarding several towns in a sharp escalation in the violence that threatens to engulf the volatile Horn of Africa in widespread violence.
Ethiopia confirmed the attacks, the first time it has acknowledged that its troops were fighting in Somalia, though witnesses have reported their presence for weeks.
The airstrikes hit the strategic town of Belet Weyne on the Ethiopian border and surrounding villages up to 12 miles away, said Sheik Mohamoud Ibrahim Suley, an official with Somalia’s Council of Islamic Courts. A resident of Belet Weyne - Ayanle Husein Abdi - said the strikes hit a strategic road and a recruiting center.
Ethiopia said it was acting to defend itself.
"After too much patience, the Ethiopian government has taken a self-defensive measure and has begun counterattacking the aggressive extremist forces," said Solomon Abebe, Ethiopia’s foreign affairs spokesman.
Abdi said that the planes hit an Islamic center where the Islamic officials in the region enrolled volunteers who wanted to join the war. Another witness, Said Abukar Sahal, said the strikes were targeting the roads and defenses of the Islamic militia.
The Council of Islamic Courts has vowed to drive out troops from neighboring Ethiopia, a largely Christian nation that is providing military support to Somalia’s U.N.-backed government.
Somalia has not had an effective government since warlords overthrew longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, plunging the country into chaos. The Islamic courts have steadily gained power since June, raising concerns about an emerging Taliban-style regime. The U.S. accuses the group of having ties to al-Qaida, which it denies.
Somalia’s government spokesman, Abdirahman Dinari, said from Baidoa that his forces have "inflicted massive casualties," although the claim could not be independently confirmed.
Last week, officials from the Somali government and the Islamic union said days of fighting killed hundreds of people.
The Ethiopian airstrikes on Sunday were the first against Somalia’s Islamic movement. Ethiopia and Somalia have fought two wars over their disputed border in the last 45 years. Islamic court leaders have repeatedly said they want to incorporate ethnic Somalis living in eastern Ethiopia, northeastern Kenya and Djibouti into a Greater Somalia.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has said his government has a legal and moral obligation to support and defend Somalia’s internationally recognized government. He has repeatedly accused the Islamic courts of backing ethnic Somali rebels fighting for independence from Ethiopia and has called such support an act of war.
As Sunday’s fighting wore on, the Islamic leadership in the capital, Mogadishu, began broadcasting patriotic songs about Somalia’s 1977 war with Ethiopia. Although the two countries view each other as enemies, Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf is a longtime ally of Ethiopia.
The militants, who want to govern Somalia according to Islamic law, invited foreign Muslims on Saturday to join their holy war against Ethiopian troops. Many fear the fighting could escalate into a regional battle.
"Muslims are brothers and help each other," said Sheik Yusuf Indahaadde, national security chairman for the Council of Islamic Courts. "We have a right to call our brothers and sisters to help us in this holy war."
The clashes could mean a major conflict in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia, which has one of the largest armies in the region, and its bitter rival, Eritrea, could use Somalia as the ground for a proxy war. Eritrea backs the Islamists.
In Kismayo, a strategic seaport captured by Islamic militia in September, residents saw several foreign Arab fighters disembarking from ships this week.
Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi vowed Saturday that his government will "defend the people it is responsible for and Somali sovereignty" and said the Islamic fighters should return to negotiations. Several rounds of talks, mediated by the Arab League, have failed to produce any lasting effect.
Thousands of Somalis have fled their homes as troops loyal to the two-year-old interim administration fought Islamic fighters who had advanced on Baidoa, about 140 miles northwest of Mogadishu. Islamic militiamen control Mogadishu along with most of southern Somalia.
Government officials said more than 600 Islamic fighters had been killed during four days of clashes. Islamic militiamen said they killed around 400 Ethiopians and government fighters. Neither claim could be independently confirmed.
(AP)

Darfur rebels say they shot down helicopters

Darfur rebels say they shot down helicopters

Cairo - Rebels in Sudan's western Darfur region said on Friday they had downed two helicopters and killed 13 Sudanese officers, and denied that 200 members of their movement had died in a government attack."The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and its allies categorically deny information put out by the the Sudanese army on Thursday," the rebel movement said in a statement received by AFP in Cairo.The group said that in fact "government forces and Janjaweed militiamen suffered heavy losses and fled towards the town of Kutum, leaving several dead behind them - including 13 officers of different ranks".On Thursday the Sudanese army said it had killed 200 rebels in repulsing a massive attack by rebels on Kutum in northern Darfur a day earlier, and said four of its soldiers had been killed and 20 wounded in the action.Friday's rebel statement also said the SLM/A had "shot down two military helicopters, destroyed seven military vehicles and seized 13 cars containing military equipment".The group said that in making its claims, Khartoum wanted to "disguise the series of defeats suffered recently by government forces and the Janjaweed" proxy militia.The SLM/A said that six of its members had been killed in the Kutum operation and 17 were wounded.The group belongs to the National Redemption Front (NRF), a coalition created by movements that did not sign the Abuja accord in May aimed at ending the conflict in Darfur where the United Nations says at least 200,000 people have died from the combined effect of war and famine in nearly four years.Wednesday's fighting came amid intensified efforts to reach an agreement on the deployment of UN peacekeepers in Darfur as Washington warned that Khartoum had until year's end to accept or face coercive action.The conflict erupted in February 2003 when ethnic minority rebels complaining of marginalisation launched an uprising which was fiercely repressed by government troops and its allied Janjaweed militia.A peace deal was signed in the Nigerian capital in May between the Khartoum government and the main rebel faction from the Sudan Liberation Movement, but the two other negotiating factions - including rebels who later formed the NRF - rejected the accord, which has failed to take hold.

Britain donates 40 mln pounds in Darfur aid

Britain donates 40 mln pounds in Darfur aid

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Britain will donate a further 40 million pounds to aid efforts in Darfur to help the world's largest aid operation suffering from daily attacks and government restrictions in Sudan's remote west.
Britain is the second largest donor to Darfur, where almost four years of conflict has forced 2.5 million to flee their homes and killed an estimated 200,000 in violence Washington calls genocide. Khartoum denies genocide.
"As we head towards the new year, it is of critical importance that the international community provides early and adequate finance to sustain the massive humanitarian response needed in Darfur," said Hilary Benn, the international development minister, in a statement on Thursday.
This week the United Nations launched an appeal for some $653 million (332 million pounds) in 2007 to fund emergency aid and development in Africa's largest country, torn apart by multiple civil wars.
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US finds difficulty in providing aid to Darfur
Jim Kouri

In 2003, a violent conflict in Darfur, Sudan, broke out between rebel groups and government troops and government-supported Arab militias. While few would dispute that many thousands of Darfur civilians have died, less consensus exists about the total number of deaths attributable to the crisis.
Estimates by the US Department of State and other parties report death tolls up to about 400,000 for varying populations and periods of time between February 2003 and August 2005.
The United States has been the largest donor of humanitarian aid to Darfur, obligating nearly $1 billion from October 2003 through September 2006, according to the Government Accountability Office.
Although more than 68 percent of this assistance consisted of food aid, US assistance has also supported other needs, such as water and sanitation, shelter, and health care. Since 2003, humanitarian organizations have made significant progress in increasing the number of people in Darfur receiving aid.
In addition, malnutrition and mortality rates in Darfur dropped, a trend that US and other officials attribute in part to humanitarian assistance efforts. However, the US Agency for International Development and the entities providing US humanitarian assistance have encountered several challenges that have hampered delivery of, or accountability for, humanitarian services in Darfur. These challenges include continued insecurity in Darfur; Sudanese government restrictions on access to communities in need; the timing of funding; and an incapacity to ensure monitoring of, and reporting on, US-funded programs.
The African Mission in Sudan, or AMIS, has taken several positive actions in Darfur to pursue its mandate, although some actions have been incomplete or inconsistent. For example, to monitor compliance with a 2004 cease-fire agreement — one mandate component — AMIS investigated alleged cease-fire violations and identified numerous violations; however, the resulting reports were not consistently reviewed at higher levels or made fully publicly available to identify those violating the agreement.
The US government, via private contractors, provided about $280 million from June 2004 through September 2006 to build and maintain 32 camps for AMIS forces in Darfur, according to the Department of State. Numerous challenges have been identified by African Union or US officials, among others, as negatively affecting AMIS's efforts in Darfur.
These challenges include inadequacies in AMIS's organization, management, and capacity, such as inconsistent interpretation of the AMIS mandate; its relatively small forces; limited or poorly allocated resources; and a lack of intelligence regarding, and cooperation from, the parties to the conflict.
A transition from AMIS to a UN peacekeeping operation is being considered, although the Sudanese government has rejected such a transition. A possible NATO-assisted review of AMIS operations has not been conducted. Meanwhile, insecurity and violence continue in Darfur.
Sources: US Department of State, United Nations, Government Accountability Office, US Congress
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police. He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country.

UN envoy kicks off Sudan mission

UN envoy kicks off Sudan mission

Khartoum - "Ahmadou Ould Abdallah is meeting Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Ali Karti and is due to meet President Omar al-Beshir later today," spokesperson Ali al-Sadek has said.Ould Abdallah, a Mauritanian UN official appointed by outgoing Secretary General Kofi Annan to negotiate with Khartoum, arrived in the Sudanese capital early on Wednesday.The UN under secretary general is expected to coordinate a three-phase UN plan to bolster the African Union contingent, which has failed to contain relentless violence in Darfur.The first two stages consist of technical and logistical assistance. The third, which aims at turning the African contingent into a "hybrid" AU-UN force, has yet to be approved by Beshir

Darfur: Adventist Relief Aid Reaches Internally Displaced

Darfur: Adventist Relief Aid Reaches Internally Displaced Sudanese

During a time of continued tension in Sudan's troubled Darfur region, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) continues to provide relief aid to desperate Internally Displaced Persons, or IDPs, in Darfur, Sudan. More than 2 million people have fled their homes to escape violence between alleged government-backed militia--known as "Janjaweed"--and rebel armies, seeking refuge in camps set up for those who have been displaced within their own country. Widespread rape, murder and looting have escalated, threatening the lives of thousands. At least 180,000 people have been killed in the three-year conflict. Tensions continue to increase in response to the peace treaty signed Friday, May 5, between the Sudanese government and the main rebel group. Two other rebel groups rejected the treaty. Many believe that the treaty did not do enough to protect IDPs. On May 8, United States President George W. Bush urged Sudan to allow United Nations peacekeepers into Darfur, a request that has previously been denied. He has also promised to ship urgently needed emergency food to starving families and urged the American people to further donate to humanitarian agencies working in the affected region. "ADRA's work in the Darfur region is challenging and at significant risk," Mario Ochoa, executive vice president, ADRA International, says. "But the agency exists to provide aid where it's needed the most. Darfur's IDPs, barely surviving in the face of violence, fear and deprivation, urgently need our expanded assistance." Working in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and other major government donors, ADRA is providing development and emergency relief aid for displaced families in Darfur and throughout war-torn Sudan. Projects include provision of emergency food aid, access to clean water, health care, and improved sanitation, as well as reaching community development goals through small enterprise development projects, agricultural initiatives, animal husbandry, women's literacy programs, and initiatives to aid in the return of displaced persons to their homes. To combat the effects of dehydration, ADRA has implemented a large water well drilling project of 21 new wells throughout Western Darfur, rehabilitated 85 damaged wells, established Community Water Committees, and conducted hygiene education/awareness training for more than 6,500 people. ADRA has also recently completed a second well drilling project, providing 19 new wells and repairing another 50. ADRA built 1,250 latrines for IDPs in Kirinding Camp, located in Western Darfur, along with an additional 2,250 in three refugee camps/towns south of Geneina, in Deleiji, Mukjar, and Um Dukum. ADRA will also commence operations in May to build 1,000 family pit latrines, and provide additional hygiene education for families. More than US$340,000 worth of supplies for IDPs, including blankets, plastic sheeting, water containers, clothing, farm tools, and seeds have supported 15,000 people stranded in a camp in Southwestern Darfur. In addition, ADRA has provided clothing for 1,200 women who are victims of gender-based violence, offering support for these and other vulnerable women to provide access to services and reporting on incidents of violence occurring within the camps where ADRA is working. ADRA has received project funding from several governmental donors, such as the Australian Government's overseas aid program (AUSAID), the European Community's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), the European Union, the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the Norwegian Development Agency (Norad), USAID, the U.S. Department of State, and the German Foreign Ministry. UNICEF, Bread for the World (Germany), Japan Platform, the International Council of Church Organizations (ICCO), and the Swedish Mission Council have also funded ADRA projects in Sudan. In addition, ADRA has been working in partnership with the International Office for Migration (IOM), UNICEF, and various other United Nations agencies. "ADRA's primary goal in Sudan is to improve living conditions of displaced explained. "The agency began work in Sudan in 1979 with a primary health care program based in Juba in Equatoria State, South Sudan. Since then, ADRA has broadened its scope to include food security, emergency relief, water resource development, and sanitation and community development. "Right now, we're appealing for donations to assist ADRA in continuing and expanding its critical work in the Darfur region. Hundreds of thousands of people are looking to agencies [such as] ADRA for relief from the crisis that threatens their lives," Ochoa said. For more information call 1.800.424.ADRA (2372) or visit www.adra.org.
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A new secretary-general, a new day on Darfur

A new secretary-general, a new day on Darfur

Ban Ki-moon has no more important mission at the U.N. than stopping the slaughter in western Sudan
"The suffering of the people of Darfur is simply unacceptable."
Those were South Korea's Ban Ki-moon's words Thursday in his first news conference after being sworn in to succeed Kofi Annan as the United Nations' secretary-general come January. They're not particularly exceptional words or meaningful words -- the world generally says the suffering is unacceptable yet continues to accept the suffering there -- but they're still important and hopeful words.
Why? Well, we'd like to believe that Ban will move heaven and earth and the hell unfolding in Darfur to end the U.N.'s acceptance of what the United Nations itself says is the world's worst humanitarian disaster, and the United States says is genocide. We also find it difficult to believe he could do worse than Annan has done since the killing and dislocation began in 2003.
Ban has a staggering to-do list at the U.N. He says he's a man on a mission and that mission could be dubbed "Operation Restore Trust" -- "trust in the organization and trust between member-states and the secretariat." That will take some doing after all the malfeasance and misfeasance in the $64 billion oil-for-food program for Iraq and U.N. procurement programs. Yet, important as they are, Ban's housekeeping chores pale next to the task of actually making the "unacceptable" actually unacceptable.
Darfur is a scandal of a different order -- an epic and moral scandal not only in terms of what's happening there, but also what hasn't happened in terms of the U.N. and the world's response to the death and dislocation in Darfur. The U.N. itself estimates that some 200,000 people have died and more than 2 million have been forced to flee their homes.
The incoming U.N. secretary-general said last week he plans to "make himself directly and personally engaged" in the search for a Darfur settlement. Excellent. The more engagement the better. As Ban recognizes, there's "no military solution" to the problem. His burden will be to find some way to overcome the Sudan government's objections to allowing U.N. forces into Darfur, where rebels and government-backed militias are fighting. The troops there now from the African Union are simply not up to the job.
In the end, saving Darfur would probably do more to make Ban Ki-moon's "Operation Restore Trust" a success than any institutional reforms he might put in place at U.N. headquarters. However belatedly, it would show the United Nations can be trusted to end mass genocide and a humanitarian catastrophe.

Special Guest Blogger: Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi Posts on Darfur for Human Rights Day

Special Guest Blogger: Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi Posts on Darfur for Human Rights Day

Fifty eight years ago, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, announcing the basic rights and fundamental freedoms to which every citizen of the world is entitled, and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, declaring genocide a crime under international law which the civilized world must prevent. This weekend, we mark these anniversaries with heavy hearts, reminded that we are bound to aid those who have been deprived of these very rights and protections.In the preamble to the Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations and its members pledged to achieve "the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms." Despite this pledge, we have seen an atrocity unfold before our very eyes in Darfur, yet we have taken little action to protect these sacrosanct rights. The lack of international action has allowed the Sudanese government to continue with what USAID and the United Nations have called an "ethnic cleansing," as the nightmare continues for our brothers and sisters in Darfur.Although the Declaration promises "the right to life, liberty, and security of person," hundreds of thousands of civilians have been murdered and more than 2.5 million people have been displaced into unprotected camps throughout Sudan or sent to refugee camps in neighboring Chad. The Declaration states that "no one shall be subjected to torture, or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment," yet hundreds of women are raped or sexually assaulted every week, with no force to protect them. The African Union, the only peacekeeping force in Sudan, does not have the manpower or the mandate to prevent these heinous acts from occurring. It is obvious that the Sudanese government has no intention of stopping its indiscriminate massacre of Darfuris. If we do not act, the people of Darfur will continue to suffer, without hope or end in sight.As we commemorate the 58th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Genocide Convention we must remember that with the crisis in Darfur, now is no time to celebrate. It is time to champion the rights of the Declaration not by words, but through our actions. We cannot stand idly by as the Sudanese government continues its systematic destruction of the people of Darfur. We are compelled by the conscience of the world to put an end to this humanitarian disaster and restore dignity and hope to the Darfuri. If we do not, we betray our commitment as the protector of human rights, and risk compromising the very nature of our own conscience. I join with you on this Weekend of Prayer for Darfur, and pray that our efforts will bring more attention to the worsening crises.
--Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi
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Rocking the Hawkeye State: Des Moines for Darfur
Des Moines for Darfur is a humanitarian and human rights organization that was established to raise local awareness about the genocide in Darfur. We interviewed Des Moines for Darfur founder Katy Flynn about their activities in the politically crucial state of Iowa. While Katy is new to activism, she has managed to build up one of the strongest Communities United to Save Darfur chapters in the country.
SDC: How did Des Moines for Darfur get started and have you done anything like this in the past?I had just assumed there was already a group here in Des Moines. I was shocked when I found out that not only was there no group in Des Moines, but there were only a handful of groups in the entire Midwest. I had never participated in any kind of activist or humanitarian group before, let alone started one. But I felt so deeply impassioned about the crisis that I was determined to do something. And I just assumed that there had to be others in our community that felt the same way. Someone just had to take the initiative to get us organized. A priority for me was not only to educate but empower the community to help stop the genocide. I was sick and tired of feeling sad and sorry and helpless. I wanted to act.I created a simple flyer on Word and started hanging them up around the community. I e-mailed everyone I knew about the newly formed group, got the word out to newspapers, public radio, posted it on several websites and spoke about it to anyone that would listen. A local publication caught wind of the new group when I posted the meeting on their on-line community calendar, and they wrote an article. I received an overwhelming response from that article. Several people offered to create and host a website, while others offered up their talent or connections for any purpose we might have. Now I have over 150 people signed-up on the e-mail distribution list. There clearly was a need for the group, just as I'd thought. It was simply just a matter of putting together a very basic framework and doing a bit of P.R. SDC: You organized a rally Global Day for Darfur rally in Des Moines at the state capitol. What was that experience like?I had never been to a rally, let alone organized one, so I really learned a lot in a short time period. It was a bit stressful but incredibly rewarding. Fortunately, there were some members of the group that had connections in the community and experience in rally organizing, so they were a huge asset. We were the only rally/event in the Midwest, which was a major reason why I decided we needed to have one in the first place. The highlight of the rally was seeing about twenty Darfurian refugees arrive with their signs and pictures. For me, their presence was what the rally was all about.SDC: How have you been so successful in getting media coverage for your events and activities? Do you have recommendations for other activists looking to get media coverage?From what I have been told, the media is looking to cover Darfur but they need something to talk about specifically within their community.I guess I have been both persistent and blessed. I make sure the press is aware of what we're doing, no matter how large or small. There has to be a story, though. Often the story is simply the fact that there is a group of average citizens with no activist background whatsoever, rallying together for a humanitarian crisis thousands of miles away.It isn't easy, however, to get coverage. For example, I thought our rally was quite successful and news worthy. We had over 200 people attend on the State Capitol steps. We had a terrific, diverse group of speakers. We blasted out press releases far and wide. Yet the coverage left something to be desired. It can be really frustrating when we feel like there is a story worth telling and then the headlines are about the recent high school football game. I guess worthy news is very relative. SDC: Iowa is a politically crucial state with the presidential caucuses coming up and the recent election of two new members of Congress. What plans do you have to educate these new members and the presidential candidates about Darfur and the actions they can take to end the genocide?We will definitely plan to meet with the newly elected officials. Our organization is also part of a larger coalition, the Progressive Coalition of Central Iowa, which is like having a bunch of hands linked around you to support you. Their mission is to "facilitate networking, build mutual support, carry out and support educational activities, do advocacy, and serve as a catalyst in establishing two-way communication with elected officials, community leaders and candidates for public office." We have just joined this coalition and I'm sure they will be a great asset for us. I would recommend joining a group like this, if you already have or are thinking of starting an activist group for Darfur.
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Manhattan Graphic Designers Unite Their Profession with Their Passion for Darfur Activism
Manhattan-based graphic designers Daniel Young and Mirko Ilic were recently featured in Business Wire for their latest Darfur poster project. The poster, which features the word Darfur as an acronym for six Nazi concentration camps, was designed, produced, and funded entirely by Young and Ilic. Web addresses for six prominent Darfur advocacy organizations, including the Save Darfur Coalition, appear at the bottom of the poster.
Ilic mentioned a personal motivation for the poster’s creation stating that, “Coming from Bosnia—ex-Yugoslavia—I know what civil war can do to people.” The two have endeavored to increase public knowledge of the crisis in Darfur by placing 1,000 posters in strategic locations around Manhattan. Young said their goal is to, “make Americans aware that a horrible disaster is taking place in Darfur and encourage them to help.” While the posters will not be appearing in other cities, they are available to download. Both designers hope that through this mass distribution of the poster, “people in other locations will be inspired to carry the burden in their communities.”
This Darfur poster, along with many other grass-roots projects around the country, has offered yet another avenue for educating the public about the genocide that has been ravaging Darfur since 2003. Young and Ilic serve as an excellent example of how activists can use their unique skills to inspire and motivate the public to take action on behalf of Darfur.
For more information or posters, please contact Daniel Young at 212-697-1264 or danielyoung@megapathdsl.net.
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Featured Local Group: Chicago Coalition to Save Darfur
The Chicago Coalition to Save Darfur currently has the most registered members of any of our groups and is growing each and every day. The organization was created to bring together the many different groups in the greater Chicago area working to end the genocide in Darfur. We interviewed Niki Antonakos and Susannah Cunningham about their previous efforts and the upcoming rally they are planning in Chicago this weekend.SDC: How did you get involved in Darfur activism?Susannah: I got involved while studying abroad in Egypt and stumbling upon a Sudanese Refugee center in Cairo near my university. Feeling completely ignorant I read up on Sudan, learning about the previous Southern conflict and the current one in Darfur. From their curiosity spiraled into anger over the audacious injustice of a modern genocide - surprising even myself. I got involved with student anti-genocide work in the fall of 2004 because I wanted to use my outrage productively and help in the only way that I could - by advocating professionally and making strategic noise. I founded a Darfur student group on Northwestern University's campus, joined STAND, and started working with SDC and Genocide Intervention Network from there. My involvement has snowballed since and sometimes I wondered how it even happened to this extent. And then I remember my conversations with my Sudanese friends in Cairo - how the conflicts we read about in the news have real effects on people's lives, homes, and families and I'm filled with the hope of peace for them and Darfurians that probably drove me to do all this. Niki: A colleague of mine in the Social Studies Department at my high school, Ken Kramer, came to school one day with green wristbands and asked us if we would like to join him in raising awareness of the ongoing genocide in Darfur. His action came from a question: how can I be teaching my students about the genocides of the 20th century and the role of bystanders in allowing them to happen, while I do the same while genocide is being perpetrated in Darfur? His question launched the department into a crusade to inform our community about the genocide. We held a day-long teach-in in May 2005, and the response from students and the community at large was a sense of urgency to do whatever possible to urge governments to take action to stop the genocide. With student leadership through our newly formed Amnesty International organization, we held a Run for Darfur, a film screening, letter/postcard writing campaigns, and a public rally with a mock refugee camp in our town’s center that we called CAMP Darfur. In the winter of 2006, one of those students and I began representing our school at the Chicago Coalition meetings.SDC: How have you recruited new members for the Save Darfur Chicago Coalition?By previous collaboration on events, word-of-mouth, targeted e-mails, introductions from friends and colleagues, etc. The various groups that make up the Coalition have worked hard within their communities. Most recently, just before the Global Day for Darfur on September 17, we realized the Save Darfur site could accommodate a group site for the Coalition. That site has allowed anyone in the Chicago area who is concerned with the genocide to join the group or simply to find ways of acting. SDC: What activities has your group undertaken?Numerous speaking events, city-wide conferences, cultural events. Among other events, our member organizations have hosted forums with local professors, Brian Steidle, and John Prendergast; they have rallied in support of State Senator Jacqueline Collins’s work on the Illinois divestment law; they have gathered at the Inner-city Muslim Action Network’s Community Café; university students sponsored a training session for high school aged activists with Mark Hanis; and most recently gathered at a Refugee Advocacy Forum and the opening of a National Geographic photo exhibit. Our largest event was the May 1st “Rally to Stop the Genocide in Darfur”, a sister event to the April 30 rallies. That day a few thousand people crowded Federal Plaza to hear speakers from human rights organizations, various faith groups, student organizations and local, state and national political figures.SDC: Please tell us about the event you are planning for Michigan Avenue on October 15th. How can Chicagoland area activists can get involved?The event is aimed at creating media around Chicago's thriving action on Darfur. Media has been our biggest challenge because we haven't focused on it and the May rally was unfortunately set on the same day as the mass immigration rallies in Chicago (which were organized after we received our permit). We're making a visual to create a platform for Chicago media to cover local Darfur action. And they seem pretty pumped to do so. Show up on Sunday at NU Law. Follow the signs and blue-shirted volunteers in front of the Law library. The visual involves citizens, dressed in UN-blue t-shirts, spanning the length of the Magnificent Mile (north Michigan Avenue), a dramatic eye-catching site meant to demonstrate wide-ranging popular support for the UN peacekeeping force that was authorized by the recent UN resolution. Following our demonstration, we will gather back at NU Law for a light dinner, breaking the fast in solidarity with the Darfuris, who are in the holy month of Ramadan.For more information, you can check our site.
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Communities United to Save Darfur: 200+ groups and growing!
Lindsey Petersen is the local organizing coordinator for the Save Darfur Coalition. Her job includes reaching out to our network of Communities United to Save Darfur groups that dot the United States (and increasingly the world). These 200+ local organizations are the backbone of our grassroots education and advocacy campaigns and have been at the vanguard of the movement to end the genocide in Darfur.
SDC: What sort of activities do Communities United to Save Darfur groups undertake in their local communities?
Communities United groups participate in a wide variety of activities, including holding meetings with their elected officials, collecting letters to go to the President, and holding an event to educate their community about Darfur. Groups have organized everything from a Yogathon for Darfur to hosting a forum where academics and refugees join together to discuss the ongoing genocide.
SDC: What advice do you offer group leaders who are trying to get a new group off the ground?
I think the key is just starting small by getting support from your family, friends, co-workers or fellow congregants at your house of worship and then spreading the word to your wider community. Holding a small event such as a dinner for Darfur, or showing our DVD to your social circle, is an easy way to get people interested in Darfur and raise awareness about the genocide. In my role at the coalition, I also help groups by connecting them with people who have successfully started groups in the past and who are happy to give advice on what they found worked best.
SDC: Can you share with us specific examples of remarkable achievements of local groups and their leaders over the past year?
Katy Flynn from Des Moines for Darfur started a group from scratch and within months had been on TV news, various radio stations, and has most recently held a successful Day for Darfur rally at the grounds of the state capitol in Iowa.
Beth Reilley of the Indiana Coalition to Save Darfur started out by collecting signatures for a petition at her local church and quickly was able to reach out to Methodist churches throughout Indiana. Beth's work on behalf of the people of Darfur has been so impressive that the CBS evening interviewed her for a piece on Darfur advocacy.
Another example is the Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur which successfully organized 12 busloads to our rally in NYC. This was a huge accomplishment that helped us to increase turnout for our historic rally.
It's truly amazing how much these groups are able to accomplish throughout the year. Many group leaders have no background in organizing or activism but they have been able to achieve amazing results.
SDC: If readers want to start their own local group, what should they do?
Anyone who wishes to start their own organization should register their group on the website and contact me with any initial questions or concerns. I would also encourage anyone with interest to sign up and be a part of our nationwide network of people working to end the genocide in Darfur.
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Prayers for Darfur
Due to the importance of the Global Day for Darfur and events across the country we decided to feature in our blog, prayers from religious communities around the world. These prayers were specially written for Darfur by Archbishop Desmond Tutu; the Archbishop of Canterbury; Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra, Chairman of the Interfaith Relations Committee of the Muslim Council of Britain; and the Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks of Great Britain. In their prayers, these leaders call upon people of faith to "pray for the people of Darfur who have been terrorized and forced from their homes – for those who have fled to refugee camps, and who still live in fear" and "for the children of Darfur, especially those who face a frightening world without one or both of their parents – may they be protected and comforted" (from Archbishop Tutu's prayer). They also "pray for those whose lives are lived on the margins of nations and who suffer from the wars that others fight around them…"for the warring factions, that they may see themselves under the gaze of God and under the gaze of those who suffer…for the work of peacekeepers, negotiators and the humanitarian organizations, that security may prevail" (from the Archbishop William's prayer). They ask God "to alleviate the oppression and end the atrocity and…that the killing stops, the bloodshed ends, that women and children are safe and healthy and happy…and "to give the people of Darfur back their homes, their families, their communities, their humanity, and their hope and dreams for the future" (from Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra's prayer). And finally they call upon God to "send peace to the people of Darfur…to hear the cry of the victims, the bereaved, the injured, and all those who live their days in fear…to rouse the hearts of the leaders of the world…and to put an end to the bloodshed, the violence, the rape, the starvation, and the terror, that has ravaged and endangered an entire population" (from Dr. Jonathan Sacks' prayer).
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George Clooney and Elie Wiesel Speak at the United Nations about the Worsening Situation in Darfur
Actor George Clooney and Nobel Peace Prize winner Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel appeared before the United Nations Security Council on Thursday to make an impassioned plea for immediate UN intervention in Sudan's Darfur region.This morning, Mr. Clooney and Mr. Wiesel appeared on The Today Show where they discussed the situation in Darfur and the “Save Darfur Now: Voices to Stop Genocide” rally in New York City this Sunday.
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Getting Arrested for Darfur
Posted on Wednesday, 09/13/06 - 11:06 am
I had never been arrested before. There are a few traffic tickets on my record, but nothing even close to an arrest. And so it was with some anxiety that I decided last Thursday to be arrested outside of the White House to protest the world’s collective failure to respond to the genocide in Darfur. It was the next step - something I was compelled to do by my frustration with the world’s inaction. Encouraged by my colleagues at the Save Darfur Coalition, and given tacit approval by my sympathetic parents, I joined 28 fellow Darfur activists and two co-workers on Saturday in an act of civil disobedience organized by Africa Action as part of the Ten Days of Action for Darfur.
The action itself was simple by design. We walked to the fence of the White House lawn and laid down on the sidewalk, while continuing to chant and hold signs with various pleas and statements: “Bush: Please Protect the People of Darfur” and “Send in the UN, Now.” After three warnings from the police, we were hand-cuffed one-by-one and led to a waiting police van for transport to the jail.
We were arrested to emphasize the urgency of the situation in Darfur: without the immediate intervention of the international community, Darfur may very well “collapse,” as UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland warned on Tuesday. By getting arrested, we hoped to dramatize this urgency and spur the Bush administration to do everything possible to end the suffering.
Our mild inconvenience does not compare to the suffering of the people in Darfur. But until that suffering comes to an end, it is critical that people all over the world continue to demand that their leaders push for security and justice for the people of Darfur.

Probes, Pressure Failing to Stop Darfur Killings

Probes, Pressure Failing to Stop Darfur KillingsUNITED NATIONS, Dec 15 (IPS) - Though pleased with the progress made in the International Criminal Court's (ICC) investigation of war crimes in Darfur, Sudan, rights groups say urgent action is required to end the impunity surrounding those responsible for the killings of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians. Many prominent rights groups, including the London-based Amnesty International and the New York-based Human Rights Watch, said they welcomed the ICC prosecutor's report to the U.N. Security Council Thursday, but said his success still depends on how Khartoum is dealt with by the world community. "We would like to see the prosecutor moving forward," said Richard Dicker, director of the International Justice Programme at the New York-based Human Rights Watch. "We don't expect the Sudanese government has the political will to carry out meaningful prosecution." In response to the ICC investigation, which was mandated by a Security Council resolution in March 2005, the Sudanese government is currently carrying out its own probe into the killings of civilians in Darfur. Between 200,000 and 400,000 people have died in Darfur since 2003, when rebels seeking greater autonomy took up arms against the government. Since then, millions of others have been uprooted from their traditional lands. In his report to the Security Council, chief ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he was almost ready to bring charges for some of the worst war crimes committed in Darfur during the past three years. "The evidence provides reasonable grounds to believe that the individuals identified have committed crimes against humanity and war crimes, including the crimes of persecution, torture, murder and rape," he said. In his briefing, Moreno-Ocampo, who is expected to request arrest warrants for 51 suspected perpetrators in February, criticised the probe being carried out by Sudanese authorities. Khartoum insists it is in the process of setting up courts, but the prosecutor said it does not appear to have done that. Moreno-Ocampo said his office had taken more than 100 formal witness statements and screened hundreds of potential witnesses since the start of its investigation. On Khartoum's intentions to try war criminals, Amnesty International said it was clear from the prosecutor's report there is "no full and effective cooperation by the government", and there must be "an immediate end to impunity" in Sudan to halt the deepening human rights crisis. The group demanded the government provide the prosecutor with "immediate, unrestricted, and safe access to all parts of Sudan" and prevent reprisals from against anyone assisting the prosecutor's investigations. Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have urged the ICC prosecutor to consider extending his investigation into war crimes that were started in Darfur, but were completed across the border in eastern Chad and the Central African Republic. Both Chad and the Central African Republic are parties to the treaty that established the world court in 2002 to prosecute individuals for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Considering the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the region, the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council has said it is ready to start its own investigation of abuses and killings of innocent civilians in Darfur. In response to international criticism, Khartoum has consistently denied that it is backing the Janjaweed militias and insists that the scale of the crisis has been exaggerated by Western powers. Rights groups say the violence has intensified in recent months despite the presence of 7,000 African Union troops, which continue to lack adequate resources. A recent Security Council resolution allows the U.N. to deploy its own peacekeepers, but the Sudanese government refuses to allow U.N. forces in Darfur. However, it has expressed its willingness to let the U.N. provide logistical support to a bigger AU force. Sudan has also rejected warnings of tougher action by the United States and Britain if it continued to block the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers. "Threats and blockades, and no-fly zones, would not solve the problem, but would increase suffering in Darfur," said Foreign Minister Lam Akol in a recent statement. Humanitarian groups in the region like Oxfam International note that the insecurity has led to the evacuation of 250 staff members from key locations across Darfur serving some 480,000 people. Aid workers are facing unprecedented difficulties at a time when humanitarian needs are rising fast, said a group of leading international aid agencies working in the conflict-stricken region. "If the deterioration is allowed to continue, the impact on civilians could be devastating. With new displacements and attacks, the presence of aid agencies is more important than ever. Yet every day brings one huge blow after another to aid efforts," said Paul Smith-Lomas, regional director for Oxfam. The group said recent months have seen a steady deterioration in agencies' ability to reach people in need. In November, one agency was unable to properly access 19 of its 22 programme locations, affecting 175,000 people. In Kalma camp in south Darfur, which shelters 90,000 people, agencies are losing one day's work a week due to rising violence inside the camp. Meanwhile, a U.S.-based group, Africa Action, released a major new report this week entitled "Leveraging New International Action on Darfur", laying out how the U.S. can use strategic diplomacy to engage key actors on Darfur and break the deadlock over the deployment of a U.N. force. The group also sent a letter to the U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan Andrew Natsios, signed by hundreds of leaders of religious congregations and denominations from around the country, demanding that the U.S. redouble its efforts to achieve an international peacekeeping force that can stop the violence and protect civilians in Darfur. "The international community is running out of options on Darfur," said Ann-Louise Colgan, director of policy analysis at Africa Action. "It is time for a new U.S. foreign policy strategy, which leverages U.S. relationships with key actors to advance the established goal of a U.N. peacekeeping force for Darfur. The Bush administration must marshal all of its diplomatic resources now." The religious leaders' letter, also sent to the White House today, calls for a comprehensive diplomatic offensive on Darfur from the U.S. to ensure the deployment of a peacekeeping force. It says "credibility of the U.S. on Darfur will be judged by the attainment of this goal." (END/2006)

Annan: Stop the suffering in

Annan: Stop the suffering in Darfur

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GENEVA -- His time at the helm of the world body nearing an end, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan stepped up his efforts Tuesday to force a halt to atrocities in Darfur, demanding the U.N. Human Rights Council send an independent team of investigators to the volatile Sudanese region.Annan, whose 10-year stewardship of the United Nations ends Dec. 31, was joined by top U.N. officials and agencies increasingly frustrated in their efforts to bring relief to people suffering from nearly four years of bloodshed."It is urgent that we take action to prevent further violations, including by bringing to account those responsible for the numerous crimes that have already been committed," Annan told the 47-nation council's emergency session on Darfur. The body is expected to decide Wednesday whether to pass a resolution, which would be nonbinding, but increase political pressure.The council, which replaced the widely discredited Human Rights Commission in June, has used its six previous sessions to pass eight resolutions denouncing Israeli treatment of Arabs. No other government has been accused of rights violations.
Annan said militias were attacking defenseless civilians in Darfur and that "large numbers of women" were being raped."I urge you to lose no time in sending a team of independent and universally respected experts to investigate the latest escalation of abuses," Annan said in a recorded video address opening the meeting.Annan stopped short of singling out the Sudanese government, but said the council should send "a clear and united message to warn all concerned, on behalf of the whole world, that the current situation is simply unacceptable and will not be allowed to continue."But Louise Arbour, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, cited "credible evidence" that the Sudanese military was responsible for ground attacks and aerial bombardments of civilians.The Sudanese government also is accused of unleashing the janjaweed militia to help its forces counter ethnic African groups who rebelled in 2003. More than 200,000 people have been killed and some 2.5 million people have fled their homes, according to U.N. estimates.Annan's outspoken humanitarian chief, Jan Egeland, warned that "several hundred thousand lives will be at risk" unless they are protected from militia attacks.This may be "the last opportunity for this council, the government of Sudan, the African Union and all of us to avert a humanitarian disaster of much larger proportions," Egeland told the council Tuesday, his last day on the job.However, the deputy governor of South Darfur, Farah Mustafa, said the situation was "ill-represented and distorted," and he accused Arbour of bias."The international media and the office of the high commissioner have coordinated pressure on the government (of Sudan) so that it (will) give its consent to international troops," Farah said. The council should instead support the existing peace agreements and the African Union troops, he added.Annan's comments, which were likely to be his last to the council as secretary-general, reflected his increasingly blunt criticism of the international community's failure to stop atrocities in Darfur and his disappointment with the council, which was created at his urging this year.With unusual candor, Annan said Saturday that the United Nations was falling short of its responsibility to protect human rights in Darfur.Annan commissioned highly critical reports of the U.N. role in the 1994 Rwanda genocide and the 1995 massacre of thousands of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica, which was supposed to be a U.N.-protected enclave. Both took place when Annan headed the U.N. peacekeeping department.At a U.N. summit in 2005, world leaders agreed to a proposal by Annan that there is a collective global responsibility to protect people from genocide, war crimes and ethnic cleansing. The Security Council adopted a resolution in April reaffirming the agreement.Annan has been pushing for that global responsibility to be exercised in Darfur, with U.N. peacekeepers on the ground and political pressure for a cease-fire.In one of the latest incidents of violence, two refugees were shot and killed Sunday by AU peacekeeping troops in a riot in the west Sudanese town of El-Geneina.The riot began during a funeral for 30 refugees slain Saturday by the janjaweed militia. The killings were the first time Darfur refugees had died at the hands of peacekeepers; a spokesman for the AU mission said troops fired in self-defense.A U.N. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said a government plane bombed a North Darfur village on Monday, killing eight members of one family."What has been happening in Darfur is a disgrace," Ireland's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Paul Kavanagh, told the council. "The whole of Africa knows it, as do decent people the world over."AP writers Bradley S. Klapper, Frank Jordans and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Alfred de Montesquiou in Khartoum, Sudan, contributed to this report.

Will South Africa Speak out on Darfur Today?

Will South Africa Speak out on Darfur Today?

By Michael Clough and Loubna Freih
Published in Business Day
South Africa’s willingness to stand up for international human rights is likely to be tested today. The United Nations (UN) Commission on Human Rights is set to vote on a European Union resolution calling for a strong response to the massive human rights abuses committed by the Sudanese government and its militias, the Janjaweed, in the western region of Darfur in Sudan. Tens of thousands of Darfurians have been raped and killed, and perhaps as many as 2-million have been displaced.
South Africa could use today’s vote to restate its claim to a leading role in the international debate on human rights. Instead, it appears to have decided to follow the African group consensus and vote for a no-action resolution. At its birth, postapartheid South Africa was a beacon of hope for human rights movement and oppressed groups all around the world. The perception that South Africa was going to be a new and different kind of nation gave it a special status in the world. Today, barely a decade later, South Africa appears to be abandoning the principles that gave it power and is in danger of becoming just another ordinary, middleweight regional actor. The most obvious example of this shift is the failure of President Thabo Mbeki and his government to provide the democratic movement in Zimbabwe with the kind of support that the anti-apartheid movement received in its struggle to end white rule. In fact, Mbeki is practising the strategy (constructive engagement) that he decried when it was practised by the Reagan administration in South Africa in the 1980s. But of equal cause for concern is the possibility that the Mbeki government may join other African governments to prevent the Commission on Human Rights from taking steps to address the egregious violations of human rights that are being committed in Darfur. Despite recent actions by the U.N. Security Council, the situation in Darfur remains critical. More than 2 million people are living like prisoners in towns and camps for the internally displaced. They are unable to return to their villages, unable even to leave these camps to collect firewood or water due to the continuing attacks, rape and assault by government-backed militia members and other forces. For the past two years, Sudanese government forces and government-backed ethnic militias have committed attacks of extraordinary brutality against civilians in Darfur. In response to the international outcry, the security council appointed an international commission of inquiry. Two weeks ago, in a historic move, the security council referred the situation of Darfur to the International Criminal Court. Because South Africa is not on the security council, it was not required to vote on the referral, but it is believed to have supported, at least tacitly, the action. Now, in Geneva, when it has a chance to take a public stand against the abuses in Darfur, it does not appear to be ready to speak out. Privately, some government officials have suggested that, for regional political reasons, South Africa must keep in close step with the African group’s position on human rights. But, with countries such as Libya, Zimbabwe and Sudan playing a leading role in the group, such a policy will ensure that South Africa will usually end up voting against human rights. If South Africa gives up its leading role in the worldwide struggle for justice, it will be a great loss for the world, for Africa and for South Africa. The world will lose a voice that is able to speak out credibly against the governments of great powers such as the United States and the United Kingdom when they fail to live up to the principles they espouse. Africa will lose the leader it so desperately needs if it is to realise its hopes of a political and economic rebirth. And South Africa stands to lose its special international status in the world, and the influence that it gained from that status. Clough is the advocacy director for Africa, and Freih the Geneva director, of Human Rights Watch.

Will South Africa Speak out on Darfur Today?

Will South Africa Speak out on Darfur Today?

By Michael Clough and Loubna Freih
Published in Business Day
South Africa’s willingness to stand up for international human rights is likely to be tested today. The United Nations (UN) Commission on Human Rights is set to vote on a European Union resolution calling for a strong response to the massive human rights abuses committed by the Sudanese government and its militias, the Janjaweed, in the western region of Darfur in Sudan. Tens of thousands of Darfurians have been raped and killed, and perhaps as many as 2-million have been displaced.
South Africa could use today’s vote to restate its claim to a leading role in the international debate on human rights. Instead, it appears to have decided to follow the African group consensus and vote for a no-action resolution. At its birth, postapartheid South Africa was a beacon of hope for human rights movement and oppressed groups all around the world. The perception that South Africa was going to be a new and different kind of nation gave it a special status in the world. Today, barely a decade later, South Africa appears to be abandoning the principles that gave it power and is in danger of becoming just another ordinary, middleweight regional actor. The most obvious example of this shift is the failure of President Thabo Mbeki and his government to provide the democratic movement in Zimbabwe with the kind of support that the anti-apartheid movement received in its struggle to end white rule. In fact, Mbeki is practising the strategy (constructive engagement) that he decried when it was practised by the Reagan administration in South Africa in the 1980s. But of equal cause for concern is the possibility that the Mbeki government may join other African governments to prevent the Commission on Human Rights from taking steps to address the egregious violations of human rights that are being committed in Darfur. Despite recent actions by the U.N. Security Council, the situation in Darfur remains critical. More than 2 million people are living like prisoners in towns and camps for the internally displaced. They are unable to return to their villages, unable even to leave these camps to collect firewood or water due to the continuing attacks, rape and assault by government-backed militia members and other forces. For the past two years, Sudanese government forces and government-backed ethnic militias have committed attacks of extraordinary brutality against civilians in Darfur. In response to the international outcry, the security council appointed an international commission of inquiry. Two weeks ago, in a historic move, the security council referred the situation of Darfur to the International Criminal Court. Because South Africa is not on the security council, it was not required to vote on the referral, but it is believed to have supported, at least tacitly, the action. Now, in Geneva, when it has a chance to take a public stand against the abuses in Darfur, it does not appear to be ready to speak out. Privately, some government officials have suggested that, for regional political reasons, South Africa must keep in close step with the African group’s position on human rights. But, with countries such as Libya, Zimbabwe and Sudan playing a leading role in the group, such a policy will ensure that South Africa will usually end up voting against human rights. If South Africa gives up its leading role in the worldwide struggle for justice, it will be a great loss for the world, for Africa and for South Africa. The world will lose a voice that is able to speak out credibly against the governments of great powers such as the United States and the United Kingdom when they fail to live up to the principles they espouse. Africa will lose the leader it so desperately needs if it is to realise its hopes of a political and economic rebirth. And South Africa stands to lose its special international status in the world, and the influence that it gained from that status. Clough is the advocacy director for Africa, and Freih the Geneva director, of Human Rights Watch.