SLM ON CHAD BORDER CLASH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NDJAMENA 001232 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF, D, DRL, PRM, INR; LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICAWATCHERS; GENEVA FOR CAMPBELL E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/12/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREF PREL MOPS CD SU SUBJECT: SLM ON CHAD BORDER CLASH REF: KHARTOUM 2469 NDJAMENA 00001232 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Poloff John O'Leary, Reason 1.4 (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. Adam Shogar, the Sudanese Liberation Movement,s N,Djamena representative, told Poloff in a 10/12 meeting that the SLM had beaten Sudanese government forces in Darfur in a battle on 10/07 near the Chadian border, inflicting heavy casualties and capturing many soldiers and a great deal of materiel. Shogar had no hope that the Darfur peace process would terminate the fighting in the province because Bashir was not serious about finding a lasting peace. The SLM would welcome UN troops to Darfur. He said that his group does not recruit in the refugee camps, though other groups might. Shogar himself is still under Chadian government orders to leave Chad, pursuant to the Chad/Sudan border agreement. End Comment. ¶2. (SBU) Poloff met with Adam Shogar, spokesman for the Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM),on October 12 at Shogar,s residence in N,Djamena. Topics discussed included the October 7 fighting in Darfur near the Chad border, the state of the SLM, and SLM,s view of prospects for the Darfur peace process. ¶3. (SBU) According to Shogar, the fighting on Saturday 10/07 took place near the village of Kariyari, 15 KM east of a dam on Wadi Hawar near the Chad border in territory controlled by the SLM. At no time, according to him, did the fighting spill over into Chad, although Sudanese government soldiers did flee across the border. ¶4. (C) Shogar stated that approximately 4,000 soldiers of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) moved into an SLM area "liberated" since 2004 and set up camp approximately 5 KM east of the dam. On the morning of 10/07, he said, elements of the SAF began moving east. SLM intelligence was aware of the movement, and SLM and Justice and Equity Movement (JEM) fighters prepared accordingly. Approximately 10 KM east of the SAF camp, the SLM/JEM attacked. According to Shogar, the combined rebel units "crushed" the advancing SAF forces, killing about 375 and capturing more than 400 including a brigadier general, a colonel, and three captains. The captured remain in SLM custody but will be turned over to the ICRC in the near future. The SLM/JEM also captured approximately 70 Toyota Land Cruisers and 40 "big trucks", including mounted automatic weapons, according to Shogar; and another 150 SAF vehicles probably were destroyed. He said more than 100 SAF soldiers fled into Chad and surrendered to Chadian authorities. Surviving SAF forces have since abandoned their camp near the dam and left the SLM-controlled area. ¶5. (C) The SLM/JEM, according to Shogar, suffered 13 dead and 40 wounded; no SLM/JEM were captured. He said the SLM motivation for engaging the SAF was simply to defend their territory against an invading force that was preparing to attack them. ¶6. (C) Shogar stated that morale was "very high" among SLM fighters. They have been able to capture their weapons, ammunition, and vehicles from Sudanese government forces. Local villagers of extended family on both sides of the Chad/Sudan border, he said, have been sharing food received from NGO,s with them. Lately, however, food has become a problem; and fuel, vehicle spare parts, uniforms, and boots are in short supply. Shogar stated that the SLM also needs medicines to treat malaria and diarrhea. The SLM,s own medical teams are able to dress wounds at the front, and the group takes its more severely wounded to an ICRC medical team for operations. ¶7. (SBU) According to Shogar, the SLM does not and never has received supplies from the Chadian government. The Chad/Sudan border agreement, which prohibits either country from allowing supplies to reach the other,s rebels, is making it more difficult to operate. ¶8. (C) The SLM does not recruit in refugee camps, Shogar said, though he could not vouch for other rebel groups. SLM fighters do go to the camps to visit relatives, but he stressed that they always return to the ranks. He himself has visited the camps, often at the behest of refugee officials, to mediate conflicts between the camp residents and the local population. He noted that the refugees had no complaints about shortages of food, water, or fuel and that health services seemed to be adequate. He did not believe that the camps with which he was familiar (Touloum and Iriba) NDJAMENA 00001232 002.2 OF 002 faced any serious threat from the Sudan side of the border. ¶9. (C) According to Shogar, the SLM is a member of the National Redemption Front (NRF) along with the JEM and the Federal Democratic Alliance. The NRF is open to any faction opposed to Sudanese President Bashir and his current government. The Front has one of two aims, he said: either make an agreement with the Government of Sudan which guarantees the rights of the people of Darfur, e.g., power and wealth sharing; or, remove Bashir from power. Shogar confided that he himself would like to rule Sudan. Absent that, he would like to participate in a coalition that would rule in peace, benevolence, and justice. ¶10. (C) The NRF is trying to unify the Darfur rebel factions into a single, cohesive military and political organization, Shogar said. A meeting scheduled for August 25 among the various groups to promote this idea, however, had to be postponed in the face of the Chad/Sudan border agreement. The NRF is trying to reschedule. ¶11. (C) Shogar did not see any hope for the Darfur peace process as represented by the Darfur Peace Agreement signed between the GOS and the Minni Minawi faction. Bashir,s fall offensive in Darfur amounts to a declaration of war, he said, and the members of the NRF are now willing to attack government troops wherever they may be in Darfur. Shogar insisted that the SLM had no current contact with the Khartoum government, though he could not speak for his NRF partners. He also stated that his group had no official contact with the late John Garang,s Sudan People,s Liberation Army but acknowledged that unofficial contacts may be occurring. ¶12. (C) According to Shogar, Bashir and his government simply are "not interested", "not serious". If Bashir truly wanted peace, he would not have sent his army on the attack in Darfur these past few weeks, Shogar continued. To progress in the peace process, talks would have to begin again, virtually from scratch; Bashir would have to demonstrate that he was serious about negotiating with the rebels; imbalances in power and wealth sharing would have to be redressed; and the talks would have to take place in a neutral venue. (Comment. Shogar did not elaborate on how Bashir could establish his bona fides. End comment.) ¶13. (C) Shogar expressed contempt for Minni Minawi, calling him "Janjaweed II". According to him, Minni has lost both his credibility and his territory in Darfur. Five times, Shogar said, Minni,s forces attacked the SLM since the Peace Agreement; and each time the SLM has "crushed" Minni. Seventy percent of Minni,s fighters have now joined the SLM, Shogar continued, demonstrating their disdain for Minni,s alliance with Bashir. ¶14. (C) The SLM would welcome a United Nations peace keeping force that brought stability and protection to Darfur, according to Shogar, but not one which sought to &impose the May 58 peace agreement on the remaining rebel factions. ¶15. (C) Shogar concluded by noting that he was still under government order to leave Chad. He had been able to delay his departure due to an illness requiring medical attention in N,Djamena, but time was running out. His car is packed, and he is ready to leave within the week. The Chadian government is giving him a pass to the Darfur border. He bemoaned the fact, however, that six fellow SLM members currently outside Chad and Sudan who had planned to join him in N,Djamena for the return to Darfur were not being allowed into Chad due to the Chad/Sudan border agreement. ¶16. (SBU) Comment. Although it does appear that the SLM/JEM prevailed in Saturday,s fighting, some of Shogar,s claims pertaining to numbers of troops, casualties, and captured materiel may be exaggerated. End comment. ¶17. (U) Tripoli minimize considered. TAMLYN