West Darfur - Assaults Targeting Aid Agencies

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