Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07KHARTOUM1596
2007-10-10 16:00:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Khartoum
Cable title:  

SUDAN, AU IMPLICATED IN SOUTH DARFUR ATTACK

Tags:  PREL PGOV MOPS KPKO UN AU SU 
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DE RUEHKH #1596/01 2831600
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 101600Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8806
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA IMMEDIATE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KHARTOUM 001596 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF A/S FRAZER, AF S/E NATSIOS, AND AF/SPG
NSC FOR PITTMAN AND HUDSON
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/09/2012
TAGS: PREL PGOV MOPS KPKO UN AU SU
SUBJECT: SUDAN, AU IMPLICATED IN SOUTH DARFUR ATTACK

REF: KHARTOUM 01587

Classified By: CDA Alberto Fernandez, Reason: Sections 1.4 (b) and (d)

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

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KHARTOUM 001596

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF A/S FRAZER, AF S/E NATSIOS, AND AF/SPG
NSC FOR PITTMAN AND HUDSON
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/09/2012
TAGS: PREL PGOV MOPS KPKO UN AU SU
SUBJECT: SUDAN, AU IMPLICATED IN SOUTH DARFUR ATTACK

REF: KHARTOUM 01587

Classified By: CDA Alberto Fernandez, Reason: Sections 1.4 (b) and (d)

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


1. (U) Please see para. 10 for an action request.


2. (C) A Sudanese Government representative, the UN, and the
SLM have reported that AMIS requested SAF intervention in
Muhajeria, South Darfur, precipitating an attack that has
left at least 30 civilians dead and an equal number missing.
SLM officials predict that the violence, raging in South
Darfur since late August, will next spread to Dar Salam. The
NCP is blaming the Muhajeria attack on "tribal clashes" while
providing few details, and the AU has not issued an official
statement on the incident. While the whereabouts of SLM
chairman Minni Minawi are unknown--even to his closest
aides--SLM leaders have requested that the U.S. issue a
statement demanding an end to the violence and calling for an
independent investigation. A transfer of the existing
resentment in Darfur toward UNAMID, through both forces'
association with Joint Special Representative Adada and AMIS
Force Commander Agwai, will severely impact the deployment of
the hybrid force. The attack also threatens the upcoming
Darfur peace negotiations by underlining the decline of the
SLM, the DPA's sole signatory which controls Muhajeria, and
discouraging other rebel groups to participate in the peace
process. Please see para. 9 for an SLM statement on the
attack. End summary.

--------------
AMIS Requested SAF Action
--------------


3. (C) The Sudanese Government and the AU Mission in Sudan
(AMIS) are implicated in the attack on Muhajeria, South
Darfur that began October 8, according to one Government
official, the UN, and the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM)
(reftel). Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Mutriff Siddiq told CDA Fernandez on October 9 that AMIS
requested the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) take action in

Muhajeria. A UN official reported to Poloff on October 10
that the SAF spokesman confirmed that Government forces had
taken action in Muhajeria in response to a request from AMIS,
which feared a repeat of the September 28 attack on its camp
near Haskanita, South Darfur.


4. (C) Representatives of the SLM, meeting with CDA Fernandez
on October 10, made the same assertion, saying that the
Government was using Arab tribes in the area, which is
controlled by the SLM per the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA),
to perpetrate the violence. The attack came on three fronts,
according to the SLM: 1) Arab militias on camels, 2)
Janjaweed fighters on horses, and 3) Government forces. The
SLM questioned the justification for an attack on Muhajeria
itself because SLM and DPA non-signatory forces are located
outside of the town. One SLM cadre speculated that the
Government is attempting to scare the international community
to disrupt the deployment of the UN-AU Mission in Darfur
(UNAMID). Despite repeated attempts by the SLM leadership to
seek detailed information from the National Congress Party
(NCP)--including calls to Presidential Assistant Nafie Ali
Nafie--the Government's response is limited to blaming
"small, tribal clashes" for the violence.

--------------
AMIS/UNAMID Credibility in Danger
--------------


5. (C) The AU gave the "green light" to the Sudanese
Government, said the SLM representatives, because it feared a
repeat of the September 28 attack on the AMIS camp near
Haskanita, South Darfur. The SLM leaders predicted that the
Government offensive would soon spread to nearby Dar Salam.
Noting that the UN Security Council had condemned the attack
on the AMIS camp near Haskanita, the SLM requested that the
U.S. issue a statement warning Sudan against an expansion of
the violence and calling for an impartial investigation into
the attack.


6. (C) While the media has quoted AU Force Commander Martin
Luther Agwai as confirming aerial bombing in the area, the AU
has not issued an official statement on the incident. CDA

KHARTOUM 00001596 002 OF 003


Fernandez said that the incident further damages AMIS'
credibility in Darfur and endangers Joint Special
Representative Rudolphe Adada and Agwai's ability to command
the force. "Agwai is going to be a victim of the
Government," concurred one SLM Leader. He added that the
AU's refusal to discuss the matter with the SLM signified
that "AMIS is condemning itself."

--------------
SLM "Chained" to DPA
--------------


7. (C) Due to the lack of financial resources, the SLM lacks
any leverage on the NCP, said the movement's representatives.
"The SLM is chained to the DPA," commented one leader, "and
the NCP thinks of the DPA as a gift. It's been like leading
a chicken to the lion's den. Robert Zoellick disarmed us."
Another SLM leader said that as the Government continued to
violate the DPA, the non-signatories had no incentive for
participating in the peace process.


8. (C) Reports place the number of dead in Muhajeria between
30 and 50, with approximately an equal number missing. AMIS
headquarters reported on October 10 that the fatalities
include seven individuals who were beheaded in front of the
town's mosque. Civilians fled the area to seek refuge near
the AMIS Military Group Site, which is providing water to the
displaced population, though supplies are running low. The
UN evacuated the two international non-governmental
organizations operating in Muhajeria.

--------------
SLM Statement
--------------


9. (SBU) The SLM presented CDA Fernandez with the following
statement, which they had delivered to the AU on October 10
(Note: While the statement is signed by Minawi, SLM leaders
admitted to Poloff that his whereabouts are unknown and the
letter was in fact "signed on his behalf." End note.):

(Begin Text)

On October 8, 2007, the Sudan government forces
(SAF/Janjaweed) launched unprovoked and well-planned attacks
on Mahajiria town targeting SLM/A forces and innocent
civilians (including children, women and disabled and elderly
people). Women were reported to be raped. Helicopters and
Antinof war planes were also used. As the result many people
were killed, the town is looted, and houses were burnt and
civilians were miserably displaced. It was even reported
that some of these civilian victims were dragged out of
mosques where they sought refuge.

This attack came only after a week of Haskanita tragedy. The
SLM/A believes that this attacks is part of GoS grand plan of
totally undermining the Dafrur Peace Agreement (DPA). It
clearly demonstrates the lack of any political commitment
from the side of the government towards the DPA. The attack
was carefully planed and launched. The GoS has been sending
many signals indicating its intentions. It was reported that
the government had approached the AU to offer "protection"
for the AU forces in Mahajiria. If that was true then SLM/A
want such truth to be known fully to the public. Further
more if this story is true then the question is why the
government has flatly rejected suggestion by the SLM/A of
conducting joint patrolling for the safety of the AU
operation and that of humanitarian organizations?

The SLM/A sees this ceasefire violation as a dangers recipe
for aggravating the already volatile security situation and
may possibly jeopardize the efforts for the yet to be started
Tripoli talks.

The SLM/A calls for the AU to immediately dispatch the CFC to
the scene and help in rescuing civilian victims and conduct
investigation.

The SLM/A also calls on the international community to
condemn this violation in no uncertain terms, put pressure on
the government to stop the attack and heed to the
implementation of the DPA. International community should
expedite an early, speedy, and unhindered deployment of the
Hybrid Force.

The UNSC should take all the necessary steps and appropriate

KHARTOUM 00001596 003 OF 003


measures to enlist the perpetrators and bring them to the ICC.

Finally the SLM/A asserts its full commitment and believe in
the DPA and reiterate to go with it at any cost.

Minni Minawi
Chairman
Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A)
Khartoum,
Sudan

(End Text)

--------------
Comment and Action Request
--------------


10. (C) If the SAF are involved in the attack on Muhajeria,
it would constitute the most significant Government violation
of the DPA since the signing of the agreement. If AMIS
requested Government intervention, it calls into question the
credibility not just of AMIS but, by association, of the
nascent UNAMID force. The attack on the AMIS group site in
Haskanita, which was widely attributed to DPA non-signatory
rebels, was a blatant signal that resentment toward AMIS runs
deep in Darfur. An expansion of this resentment to UNAMID
would severely impact the deployment of the hybrid force, by
discouraging troop contributors and endangering its mission.
The Muhajeria attack also threatens the political
negotiations scheduled to begin in Libya on October 27 by
underlining the decline of the DPA's sole signatory and
discouraging other rebel groups to participate in the peace
process. Post requests that the Department issue a statement
demanding an end to the violence in South Darfur--to set a
marker for the expansion of the conflict--and calling for a
full investigation of recent events. End comment.
FERNANDEZ