Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KHARTOUM1110
2006-05-11 10:29:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Khartoum
Cable title:  

West Darfur - Assaults Targeting Aid Agencies

Tags:  EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI KAWC SU 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO1006
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1110/01 1311029
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 111029Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2719
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KHARTOUM 001110 

SIPDIS

AIDAC
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

STATE FOR AF/SPG, PRM, AND ALSO PASS USAID/W
USAID FOR DCHA SUDAN TEAM, AF/EA, DCHA
NAIROBI FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA, USAID/REDSO, AND FAS
USMISSION UN ROME
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH
NAIROBI FOR SFO
NSC FOR JMELINE, NSC/AFRICA FOR SHORTLEY
USUN FOR TMALY
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI KAWC SU
SUBJECT: West Darfur - Assaults Targeting Aid Agencies
Intensify


-------
Summary
-------

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KHARTOUM 001110

SIPDIS

AIDAC
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

STATE FOR AF/SPG, PRM, AND ALSO PASS USAID/W
USAID FOR DCHA SUDAN TEAM, AF/EA, DCHA
NAIROBI FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA, USAID/REDSO, AND FAS
USMISSION UN ROME
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH
NAIROBI FOR SFO
NSC FOR JMELINE, NSC/AFRICA FOR SHORTLEY
USUN FOR TMALY
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI KAWC SU
SUBJECT: West Darfur - Assaults Targeting Aid Agencies
Intensify


--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (U) Over the past several weeks, a spate of attacks
targeting aid agencies in West Darfur has left a number
of non-government organizations (NGOs) searching for
options to counter the region's mounting security
threats. Even before these recent attacks, humanitarian
emergency relief programs were limited by the lawlessness
that grips much of the state. Over the past month, armed
individuals abducted NGO staff and vehicles, forcibly
entered aid agency compounds in search of cash and
commodities, and physically attacked humanitarian
workers. Most alarming to the U.N. and NGOs are the
assaults that have take place in broad daylight in the
West Darfur State capital of El Geneina. Relief agencies
have brought their concerns to the governor of West
Darfur and the police chief in El Geneina hoping to see
an improvement in security provided by local officials.
However, some agencies are prepared to consider
suspending their operations in El Geneina and other parts
of West Darfur if the rash of attacks against the
humanitarian community does not cease. Aid agencies fear
that unless the situation is brought under control soon,
it is only a matter of time before staff are seriously
injured or killed during an violent criminal act. End
Summary.

--------------
Assaults on Aid Agencies on the Rise
--------------


2. (U) The past four weeks have witnessed a surge in
attacks targeting humanitarian agencies in West Darfur.
Although security for aid agencies has been a long-
running problem in parts of West Darfur, the frequency of
aggression towards aid groups in and near the city of El
Geneina has surged since mid-April. A new twist is the
willingness and ability of armed groups to target aid

groups during daylight hours in or near El Geneina where,
in theory, Sudan's Government of National Unity (GNU)
maintains a strong security apparatus. The ease with
which armed elements can force their way into aid agency
compounds or carry out carjackings in the middle of the
city in broad daylight alarms international humanitarian
organizations working in the area.


3. (U) On April 16 at 0200, three armed men wearing
military uniforms entered a compound in El Geneina where
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) parks
some of its vehicles. The ICRC guards thwarted the
attempted theft of vehicles by alerting other staff
members of the attack via radio. The bandits fled after
hearing the alert.


4. (U) On April 18 at 1540, a group of armed men ambushed
a convoy of four vehicles belonging to Catholic Relief
Services (CRS) on a road 8 km north of El Geneina. They
successfully stopped the first CRS vehicle in the convoy,
but drivers in the other three vehicles witnessed the
attack and managed to escape. The gunmen forced CRS
staff to drive a great distance north of El Geneina where
they then evicted the CRS personnel from the vehicle,
abandoning them far from any major population center.
The CRS staff made their way to a nearby town where they
were assisted by African Union troops to return to safely
to El Geneina.


5. (U) On April 19 at 0400 in El Geneina, six armed men
in police uniforms forced their way into the residence of
a security guard employed by the UN and stole a number of
valuables.


6. (U) On April 20 at 2020 in El Geneina, five armed men
allegedly in uniforms indicative of membership in the
Popular Defense Force (PDF) carjacked a vehicle belong to
the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP). They forced the
driver from the vehicle at gunpoint and made off with the
car.

KHARTOUM 00001110 002 OF 003




7. (U) On April 28 at 1320 in El Geneina, armed robbers
forced their way into the compound belonging to the
Italian NGO COSV. They first threatened and then beat
staff demanding that they turn over all cash and
valuables in the office. This incident particularly
disturbed the humanitarian community as it took place
during the middle of the day.


8. (U) On May 2 at 1330 at Ardamata camp for internally
displaced persons (IDPs) at the edge of El Geneina, seven
gunmen (four in military uniforms) ambushed a vehicle
belonging to Save the Children-U.S. (SC-US). They forced
their way into the vehicle with three SC-US staff still
inside and drove away from the city. After traveling for
approximately 62 km, the gunmen forced the SC-US staff
out of the vehicle after robbing them of all
communication gear, cash, and other valuables. The SC-US
employees returned safely to El Geneina after a long
journey on foot and by donkey cart.

--------------
Reaction to the Latest Wave of Attacks
--------------


9. (SBU) The U.N. and NGOs have only been able to
speculate on the identity and motives of the gunmen
perpetrating these attacks on the humanitarian community.
Groups that are likely involved include: Chadian
opposition fighters, Arab militias, Darfurian rebels,
ordinary bandits, and government soldiers and security
personnel. Certainly the volatility, instability, and
lawlessness of the border area between Darfur and Chad
contributes to an environment where all of these groups
can operate without impunity. The continuing demands of
conflict require regular inputs of cash, vehicles, and
communications gear which are often relatively easily
obtained from aid agencies working in the area.


10. (U) Aid agencies recently met with the chief of
police in El Geneina and the chief of the government's
Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) for West Darfur. Some
agencies warned the authorities in El Geneina that they
would withdraw their staff and suspend programs in the
greater El Geneina area if security conditions continued
to degenerate. In response to concerns of the
humanitarian groups, the police in El Geneina scheduled
more patrols and established additional static
checkpoints around the city.


11. (U) NGOs presented this issue to U.N. Under Secretary
General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland during his
visit to Darfur on May 8. (Note: During a May 9 donor
briefing - covered septel - Egeland stated that eight of
25 serious security events in Darfur involving the U.N.
and NGOs in the past month had occurred in El Geneina
town. End note.) Relief organizations working in West
Darfur also debriefed U.N. Special Representative to the
Secretary General for Sudan Jan Pronk and the donor

SIPDIS
community, seeking support in efforts to pressure the
government to enhance security in El Geneina.

--------------
Comment
--------------


12. (SBU) Violence targeted at international relief
agencies in West Darfur is nothing new. Most of northern
West Darfur has been inaccessible to U.N. agencies and
NGOs since late 2005 due to violence or potential for
violence. However, the recent increase in attacks
against relief agencies in El Geneina and surrounding
areas has alarmed NGOs, especially since the assailants
have proven themselves able to commit violent offenses
against aid agencies in the middle of the city during
daytime hours. Several NGOs stated their readiness to
suspend operations in El Geneina if local authorities
fail to react to this problem and put effective measures
in place to reduce the threat posed by criminal activity
in West Darfur. Maintenance of a relatively secure

KHARTOUM 00001110 003 OF 003


environment where aid agencies can implement their
programs in support of war-affected populations is
certainly within the best interest of state and local
government authorities. If significant numbers of aid
agencies suspend humanitarian operations in West Darfur,
local officials lack the necessary capacity to provide
essential services to the state's large conflict-affected
population.

HUME