Updated Genocide Emergency: Darfur and the Nuba mountains, April 2014

Due to confirmed reports of a military buildup and atrocities by the Sudanese Army in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, Genocide Watch issued a Genocide Emergency Alert for the area in 2011. The people of the Nuba Mountains in South Kordafan face genocide by the Government of Sudan.  The crisis there and in Darfur continue.  The murderous regime in Khartoum must go. 

Many people of the Nuba Mountains fought on the side of the southern Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Army (SPLA) during the twenty-year civil war. Now that South Sudan has voted for independence, they are afraid of massive retaliation by the northern government. They are stranded in “northern” Sudan but are ethnically considered “black Africans,” like the people of the south, by the Arab government in Khartoum.

As Alex de Waal, an expert on Sudan, wrote in 2006, “The counterinsurgency fought by the Government of Sudan against the rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in the Nuba Mountains of central Sudan during the early 1990’s was not only exceptionally violent, but also aimed at depopulating the area of civilians. Not only did the government aim to defeat the SPLA forces but they also intended a wholesale transformation of Nuba society in such a way that its prior identity was destroyed. The campaign was genocidal in intent and at one point, appeared to be on the brink of success… The conflict took on a distinct racial character. The war was notable for attacks on civilian targets with forced displacement, rape and killing.” (http://howgenocidesend.ssrc.org/de_Waal2/)

The people of the Nuba Mountains are again being dispossessed of their land and herded into displaced persons camps as they were in the 1990’s. They fear re-imposition of Sharia law by President al Bashir. In violation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the Sudanese Army invaded the oil-rich Abyei area of South Kordofan, driving out its Dinka inhabitants, in order to ensure northern victory when Abyei votes on whether to join Sudan or South Sudan. President Omar al-Bashir brazenly declared that Abyei belongs to Sudan.

In May elections, Abdel Aziz al Hila, a popular former commander of the SPLA was expected to win the election for Governor of South Kordafan. Instead Ahmed Haroun, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for atrocities perpetrated in Darfur, was declared the winner by Khartoum. The ICC has charged Haroun with 20 counts of crimes against humanity, including persecution, rape and torture, and 22 counts of war crimes, including attacks against the civilian population, destruction of property and outrage upon personal dignity. Haroun was reportedly nearly arrested by SPLA troops this week, but escaped and was immediately evacuated to Khartoum.

When Sudanese President Omar al Bashir was in Kadugli, the capital of South Kordafan, he announced, “If the people here [meaning those in the Nuba Mountains] refuse to honor the results of the [gubernatorial] election, then we will force them back into the mountains and prevent them from having food just as we did before.” Intentional deprivation of food is an act of genocide under Article 2(c) of the Genocide Convention. Open threats such as al-Bashir’s cannot be ignored. Al-Bashir is a serial genocidist with an arrest warrant for genocide in Darfur from the ICC.  He has again declared his intent to commit genocide.

Genocide Watch has received confirmed reports of a dramatic increase in the number of heavily armed Government of Sudan troops massing in the Nuba Mountains. According to sources on the ground, fighting between government troops and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army have exploded in the Nuba Mountains, at Umm Durein, Toladi, Angaruthu, and Kadugli. An unnamed source reported, “Abdul Aziz al-Hila is back fully in military uniform.” Another reliable source reported over satellite phone, “If Aziz goes down, the entire Nuba Mountains will erupt.”

The open announcement of genocidal intent by al Bashir and the militarization of the Nuba Mountain area are clear early warning signs of genocide and mass atrocities. We urge diplomats at the United Nations and in the African Union to undertake immediate diplomatic action to warn al-Bashir that genocide in Sudan will not be tolerated, and to arrest him and send him to be tried by the International Criminal Court.

Satellite images of burning villages in the Darfur region surfaced in 2013. Villagers told Human Rights Watch that Sudanese governmental forces and militias led by the notorious Janjaweed commander, Ali Kosheib, who is wanted by the ICC for war crimes, had attacked the area, which led to the deaths of 42 villagers and the destruction of 2,800 buildings (http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/06/18/sudan-satellite-images-confirm-villages-destroyed).

State sponsored genocide against the “Black African” population of Darfur is continuing today together with counter insurgency operations against rebel units active in the area.

There is clear evidence that the genocidal Khartoum regime intends to purge the Darfur region of all “black Africans” and all other non-Arabic tribes to quell the rebellion and repopulate the area with people aligned to the regime. A popular tactic is to utilize extensive indiscriminating aerial bombardment on settlements and villages. Many members of the Janjaweed militias have become regular troops in the Sudanese army.  They even “guard” the refugees they have driven out of their homes.

In North Darfur, the Janjaweed continue to loot, rape and kill remaining survivors. This allows the Khartoum regime to blame the militias, whom they supply and support, for the genocidal acts that are taking place on a regular basis in Darfur.

Reports by Eric Reeves indicate that a new rapid response force, that answers to Khartoum itself and not to local and political leaders is spreading terror among the civilians in villages and cities alike. There have even been reports that they do not fear local authorities, which resulted in the killing of a policeman in the El Salam camp in eastern Darfur (http://genocidewatch.net/2014/02/28/janjaweed-in-darfur-reconstituted-as-the-rapid-response-force/).

The hybrid peacekeeping operation UNAMID (UN/African Union Mission in Darfur) that was created through resolution 1729 has so far failed to protect civilians and humanitarian workers that are in immediate danger, even though the mission mandate allows the use of force under chapter VII of the UN charter.  Many humanitarian relief organizations have been expelled.

The violence is not exclusively against civilians and opposition factions.  AU and UN peacekeepers themselves have been targeted by militias, which have resulted in the deaths of 50 peacekeepers so far.

The UNAMID peacekeeping mission has been ineffective in protecting lives.  UNAMID has the mandate to protect civilians but often is afraid to do so outside of UNAMID controlled camps. The most prominent example of this cowardice occurred during a recent militia attack on an IDP (internal displaced person) camp near Khor Abeche in March 21, 2014.  Despite clear intelligence about an imminent attack on the camp, UNAMID peacekeepers did not interfere. Eyewitnesses present during the militia attack report that the assailants burned a sheikh alive, looted, injured residents, kidnapped local leaders, destroyed local water wells, homes and a hospital.  Critics of the UNAMID peacekeeping mission question the will of the UNAMID peacekeeping force to fulfill its mandate.

Genocide watch is again issuing a Genocide Emergency Alert for all of Sudan.

Sudan is at stage 9: Extermination.

• Al Bashir’s forces are currently conducting genocidal massacres in Sudan, especially in the Nuba Mountains, and the Blue Nile and Darfur regions.  Al Bashir’s genocidal forces are still unchecked in Sudan. The Sudanese armed forces work together with militias to hunt and kill “black Africans”.
• The Al Bashir regime is guided by the “Arab Gathering”, which has a genocidal vision of the future of Sudan in which violence against the non-Arabic population is legitimized.
• Sudan is well aware of the “international community’s” absence of political will to take forceful action to end Sudan’s genocidal policies, despite the presence in Darfur of UNAMID, a peacekeeping force with a chapter VII mandate granted by the UN Security Council.  This failure to act serves as a “green light” for the Khartoum regime’s genocidal acts.
• Genocide Watch calls upon countries that are states-parties to the Rome Treaty of the International Criminal Court to make sure that president Al Bashir, along with his associates from the ruling National congress party, are arrested the next time they venture outside of Sudan.
• More public awareness must be created about the genocide still underway in Sudan. There are currently few reliable journalists allowed into Sudan who could provide the world press with information about the genocides in Sudan.
• UNAMID’s mandate needs to be revised. A chapter VII mandate means that the peacekeepers have the authority to protect civilians, but reports indicate that the peacekeepers stand by and watch while innocents are slaughtered. Genocide Watch therefore urges radical changes in the UNAMID mission’s goals, along with provision of heavy weaponry and a NO FLY ZONE imposed by the air forces of major powers like the US, UK, and France over the Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile, and Darfur. Such a revised mandate will require troops and military and financial support from contributing states and especially the members of the UN Security Council. The political will of the US, UK, France, the UN, and NATO to intervene to stop the genocide in Sudan needs to be radically changed.

by

by