DARFUR: CIVILIANS SHOT BY AMIS IN El GENEINA

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 002836 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV MOPS PHUM PREF AU UN SU SUBJECT: DARFUR: CIVILIANS SHOT BY AMIS IN El GENEINA REF: KHARTOUM 02826 ¶1. AMIS contacts report that on the morning of December 10, mourners gathered at the burial of 15 people killed during the Sirba incident (reftel) assaulted members of an AMIS patrol observing the event. Shortly thereafter, the same mob burned down the El Geneina Civilian Police (CIVPOL) station. AMIS ordered the patrol and all other AMIS staff back to the camp in anticipation of further unrest. ¶2. At approximately 10:30 a.m., AMIS activated the camp alarm when troops observed men armed with machine guns and RPGs to the west of the camp. A group of about 100 people then approached the base on the north side; the Sector Commander approached them to attempt to calm the situation down. They assaulted him and took his Thuraya phone. At 11:40 a.m., the gunmen attacked the AMIS camp with RPGs and AK-47 fire; while most shots were fired overhead, some rounds impacted inside the camp. ¶3. According to AMIS contacts, the mob on the north side threw rocks at the soldiers and attempted to penetrate the concertina wire. The AMIS protection force troops shot two protesters, killing one and injuring one. A second protestor was killed when he attempted to take a weapon from one of the AMIS soldiers and the weapon discharged. The mob dispersed after the three men fell. Firing continued until 12:20 p.m., when three truckloads of Sudanese Armed Forces troops arrived to disperse the remaining demonstrators. At 1:00 p.m., the AMIS protection force physician arrived and administered medical attention to the wounded man, who had been shot in the shoulder. ¶4. At 2:00 p.m., Fursha tribal leaders from the Sirba region and other civil authorities visited the camp and expressed their support for AMIS. They could not identify the two dead, but stated that the wounded man was from El Fasher. HUME