Ceasefire Commission, July 4-11

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001112

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TAGS: PREL PGOV KPKO AU CD SU

SUBJECT: Ceasefire Commission, July 4-11


1. (SBU) Summary: Brigadier General Rurangwa continued to chair the
Ceasefire Commission (CFC) from July 4 to 11. Several meetings
focused on concerns about appropriate representation on the CFC at
both the headquarters and the military group site (MGS) level. The
new force commander of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS),
Martin Luther Agwai, arrived on July 9. While he visited with
members of the First Chamber, regular CFC meetings were cancelled
that day. End Summary.

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July 4, First Chamber
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2. (SBU) Col. Seck, the team leader of the investigation of the
vehicular incident in Labado on May 30, said that its field work was
almost complete and that the team needed one last visit to
Muhajeriya and Labado. The Chairman consented. No other business
was concluded during the meeting. Members were eager to adjourn to
prepare for the celebration of Rwandan Liberation Day at camp Zam
Zam.

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July 4, Second Chamber
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3. (SBU) Members reviewed the investigation report on the April 10
attack on a water escort patrol from MGS Sortony that led to the
death of one Rwandan protection force soldier, the wounding of three
other soldiers and two local children, and the theft of an AMIS
vehicle and generator. The investigation, which was undertaken by
the Sector 4 AMIS staff, cited "overwhelming evidence linking the
attack to SLA/Abdulsahif."


4. (SBU) Sudan Liberation Army (SLA)/Non-Signatories Faction (NSF)
representative Col. Abdou Abdulla Ismail contested the report,
saying that it gave too much weight to the testimony of Arab nomads.
He questioned why the investigation was carried out by the Sector
Headquarters acting as a "Sub-CFC" when no such entity existed under
the N'djamena Ceasefire Agreement. He accused AMIS of not
interviewing an important witness - the commander who instigated the
attack. He said the commander had acted alone and without
instructions from SLA/Abdulshafi. The US representative asked
whether SLA/Abdulshafi would issue a statement to that effect.
Abdou replied that he only acted as a liaison with AMIS and had no
authority to speak for the SLA/Abdulshafi leadership. (Comment:
Abdou is more aligned with SLA/Abdulwahid than with other
non-signatory factions. End Comment.)


5. (SBU) The CFC Chairman retorted that had the witness been so
important, the faction representative accompanying the investigation
team should not have signed the report and returned to El Fasher.
This assertion provoked Abdou to question yet again why SLA
non-signatory representatives were not allowed to deploy to the
group sites. He accused AMIS of continuing to prevent deployment
of non-signatories--in violation of the N'djamena Ceasefire--at the
behest of the Sudanese Government.

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July 9, First Chamber
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6. (SBU) Incoming Force Commander Gen. Martin Luther Agwai addressed
the First Chamber. Agwai said that he was not sure what role he
played -- AMIS Force Commander, Commander of the Heavy Support
Package or Commander of the Hybrid -- and felt he had a steep
learning curve ahead of him. He stressed the importance of teamwork
in the CFC, respect for one another, flexibility, and innovation,
and added that "it is important to go by the agreement but not be
slaves to it." Agwai concluded that with transparent and honest
effort, peace would come. (Comment: Agwai has already shown he is
different from previous force commanders. By July 18, he will have
visited every group site in Darfur for briefings from his
commanders. End Comment.)

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July 11, First Chamber
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7. (SBU) Col. Seck announced that the team had flown to Muhajeriya
over the weekend and had concluded its witness interviews. The CFC
Chairman asked that the final report be provided on Monday July 16.


8. (SBU) Col. Mohamed Adam Abdallah said that he had not been paid
his Monthly Subsistence Allowance (MSA). He said the problem was
that his group does not recognize the political leader of SLA/Free
Will but still abides by the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) and
deserves the MSA. Several members reminded Abdallah that MSAs were

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not a product of the DPA and that they were designed only to help
representatives re-establish themselves at AMIS sites.

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July 11, Second Chamber
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9. (SBU) Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) representative General
Mohamed Bashier said that he would be absent from the CFC for the
next two weeks to support his movement during the talks in Tripoli
July 21-23. He said that SLA/NSF representative Abdou was going to
announce the same intention but was absent for the meeting. Bashier
said that JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim's talks with AU Envoy Salim
Ahmed Salim had been successful and that the July 21-23 talks would
examine the DPA and address JEM's chief objections. He did not know
who would represent the SLA non-signatories in Tripoli. There was
still no agreed-upon leadership or common negotiating agenda among
the factions, according to Bashier.


10. (SBU) Bashier said that the Sudanese Government continues to
undermine the movements. He said a new faction had split from
Gibril Abdulkareem and the National Movement for Reform and
Development (NMRD) and had signed a ceasefire agreement July 6 with
the Government for which it received four Land Cruisers (two in El
Geneina and two in Misteria). Bashier indicated that the new group,
led by Mohamed Ahmed al-Bishara and augmented by Government forces,
was masquerading as JEM.

FERNANDEZ