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No return in sight for Darfur refugees as problems continue to mount

By Ted Townsend
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

The Sudanese government-backed attacks on local rebel groups in Darfur have displaced many people and resulted in an alarming number of missing children. A steady flow of Sudanese refugees has arrived in neighboring Chad since the February 8th attacks, called the “worst violence in the region in months.”  They have joined the estimated 240,000 refugees already in Chad.

The attacks, carried out by local militia on horses, camels, and in trucks, were designed to eradicate Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel forces from the towns of Abu Surouj, Sirba and Seleia. While the Sudanese government claims the militia acted independently, residents say the militia was mobilized by the Sudanese army. Between twelve and thirty-thousand residents left their homes, fleeing to Chad and towns along the border.

The raids killed an estimated 100 civilians, a number the Sudanese government disputes, claiming many killed were rebels in civilian clothing.

The United Nations Refugee Agency and similar agencies have struggled to assist the refugees, many of whom are “destitute and terrified.” Aid teams are attempting to help provide basic needs, such as food and medicine, but other concerns have developed. Many children, especially boys ages 12 to 18, have gone missing. An initial UNICEF assessment showed 800 children unaccounted for. While that figure may actually be lower, the missing children and care of orphan children has become a high priority.

As aid agencies try to bring assistance to the region, those who have been displaced wonder when they can return. In the border town of Kondobe, many residents who expected to return are now revising their plans and trying to build makeshift homes for themselves. Many can still “hear shooting day and night.” The Sudanese government has also begun bombing emptied refugee camps.

A joint United Nations and African Union peacekeeping force is attempting to bring stability to the war-torn country. However, it has faced significant setbacks which include “stonewalling” from the Sudanese government.

For more information, please see:

Allafrica.com – Sudan: Hundreds of Children Mission after Darfur Attack – 14 February 2008

NY Times.com – Attacks Pushing Darfur Refugees into Chad,  – 11 February 2008

Reuters – Sudan bombs empty Darfur camp – rebels, – 18 February 2008

Reuters –Thousands of villagers flee after Darfur offensive, – 18 February 2008

BRIEF: Congo Trial at ICC Delayed

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga’s trial before the world’s first permanent war crimes court is likely to be delayed for more than two months in order to give defense attorneys more time to prepare.  Judges had been aiming to start the trial on March 31, however it is looking like a start date in June is more likely.  Two problems have contributed to the delay: disclosure of evidence to the defense and the involvement of victims in the trial.

Lubanga is charged with conscripting and using child soldiers to fight in the Congo conflict in 2002-2003.  Lubanga’s lawyer, Catherine Mabille, has said she has only received a fraction of the evidence she needs to prepare a defense.  Deputy prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said she plans to call 35 witnesses and has given the defense attorneys details of many of them. 

The trial of Lubanga will be the first appearance at an international war crimes court tribunal of victims as a third party in the proceedings.  The appeals chamber is still considering how many victims will be allowed to participate and the limitations of their role in the trial.

For more information, please see:

AP – Congo War Crimes Trial Likely Delayed – 13 February 2008

Reuters – First trial at permanent war crimes court delayed – 14 February 2008

Relief Web – Trial of DR Congo militia leader to be postponed to early June – 13 February 2008

Darfur Refugees Flee Into Chad

By Meryl White
Impunity Watch Reporter, Western and Central Africa

ABECHE, Chad – European Union military forces are presently being deployed to Eastern Chad.  By the end of the month, almost 4,000 troops are expected to be on the ground. The troops are needed to protect civilians and refugees from violence and insecurity that has spilled over from the Darfur, Sudan region. These troops will provide security, aid, and promote stability in the region.

On Monday, Nouradine Delwa Kassire Koumakoye, Chad’s Prime Minister, stated that Chad could not absorb any more refugees from the Darfur region. In the last few days, more than 12,000 refugees from Darfur have crossed the border.

In response, the government of Sudan has claimed that Chad is using the refugees from Darfur as a “trading” and “bargaining chip” in the growing dispute between the two nations.

Mohamed Ahmed al-Aghbash, Sudan’s Commissioner of Refugees told state news agency SUNA, that the “Chadian announcement violates the laws and charters of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.”

Presently, the UNHCR and its partner groups “were taking care of 240,000 Sudanese refugees in 12 camps in eastern Chad and some 50,000 from Central African Republic in the south of the country.”

For more information, please see:

BBC- EU Force Resumes Chad Deployment – 12 February 2008

Africa Reuters -Sudan condemns Chad threat on Darfur refugees – 12 February 2008

CNN – New Wave of Darfur Refugees Flee Into Chad – 12 February 2008

U.S. Aid Worker and Two German Film Makers Arrested in Niger for “Espionage and Terrorism”

By Meryl White

Impunity Watch Reporter, Central and Western Africa

NIGER DELTA, Nigeria- A U.S. aid worker, Judith Asuni, and two German film makers, Florian Alexander Opitz and Andy Lehmann, have been arrested in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta on charges of “espionage and terrorism.” The German nationals without a government clearance have been filming masked youths from the Ijaw region in the Niger Delta. The Germans were preparing a possible TV documentary about the string of violence in the oil rich region. The Germans were detained last week by the State Security Service.

Judith Asuni has lived in the Niger Delta for 36 years. The United States embassy has released the following statement, “All we know is that Judith Asuni is a peace worker who got funding from academics and international donor agencies to work for peace in Nigeria.” Asuni is in charge of an organization called Academic Associate Peace Work as organization that conducts mediations between the government and militant groups and encourages disarmament In the past, she has organized workshops with the Nigerian police on conflict management.

Asuni was arrested for giving assistance to the German filmmakers. Now all three suspects face accusations of carrying out an act of terrorism against the Nigerian government. Addo Mwazu stated, “The lady is suspected of espionage by exploiting the situation in the Niger Delta.” Other people believe that the arrests were a result of the Nigeria’s fear of the embarrassment following the worldwide release of the documentary.

While members of the government may be uncomfortable with the German filmmaker’s work, Port Harcourt journalist Ibiba Don Pedro believes that these filmmakers “are playing a crucial role in getting information out about the region’s problems.”

The U.S. embassy is presently in touch with Nigerian officials. Meanwhile, Germany’s ambassador to Nigeria has rejected the charges that the Germans are spies and terrorists. German officials insist that the two filmmakers are only journalists.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Nigeria arrests foreign ‘spies’ – 28 September 2007

VOA – American Peace Worker, 2 Germans Detained as ‘Spies’ in Nigeria’s Niger Delta – 29 September 2007

Afriquenligne – Germans arrested in Nigeria are not spies’ – 29 September 2007

ICC Prosecutor Demands Arrests in Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sudan – The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo is calling for the arrests of two men charged with war crimes in Darfur.  Warrants for Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmed Haroun and Janjaweed leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abad al-Rahman were issued by the ICC in April.   Sudan’s government has continued to assert that it is not bound by the ICC decisions.

Both men are wanted by the ICC on 51 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes.  Ahmed Haroun was a minister responsible for the Darfur portfolio in 2003 and 2004 and allegedly was responsible for organizing and funding the Janjaweed militia.  As the minister for humanitarian affairs, he currently has authority of the displaced persons camps and control over the flow of humanitarian aid.  Mr. Ocampo has said that “there can be no solution     to the crisis in Darfur while Mr. Haroun remained free.”  Ali Muhammad Ali Abad al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, is accused of ordering the torture and mass rape of civilians during attacks on villages in west Darfur.

Ministers from 26 countries have been invited to attend a meeting on Friday chaired by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and African Union Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare.  The meeting is intended to discuss mobilizing support for new political negotiations, deployment of a 26,000 UN-AU force, and expansion of humanitarian assistance.  Mr. Ocampo urged the international community to remind Sudan’s government of its duty to arrest those charged.  “I am concerned that silence by most states and international organizations on the subject of the arrest warrant has been understood in Khartoum as a weakening of international resolve in support of the law, and in support of the arrest…It is time to break the silence.”

Political talks are set to begin in Libya next month between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebels to discuss peace and to speed up deployment of peacekeepers to the region.   The arrest warrants are not on the agenda for those talks.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Prosecutor demands Sudan arrests – 21 September 2007

AFP – ICC prosecutor presses for arrest of Darfur war crimes suspects – 21 September 2007

Sudan Tribune – ICC Prosecutor urges world to be on side of Darfur victims – 21 September 2007

The Canadian Press – Prosecutors want arrest of alleged war criminals atop Darfur agenda – 21 September 2007