Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07KHARTOUM582
2007-04-16 05:54:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Khartoum
Cable title:  

DEPUTY SECRETARY'S VISIT TO EL FASHER, NORTH DARFUR

Tags:  OVIP NEGROPONTE JOHN PREL MOPS PINR KPKO UN 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO6230
OO RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKH #0582/01 1060554
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 160554Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6837
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHNJ/AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA IMMEDIATE 0094
RUEHNK/AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT IMMEDIATE 0023
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI IMMEDIATE 0129
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KHARTOUM 000582 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF A/S FRAZER, AF/SE NATSIOS AND IO
SILVERBERG, NSC FOR PITTMAN AND SHORTLEY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/15/2017
TAGS: OVIP NEGROPONTE JOHN PREL MOPS PINR KPKO UN
AU-1, SU
SUBJECT: DEPUTY SECRETARY'S VISIT TO EL FASHER, NORTH DARFUR


KHARTOUM 00000582 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: CDA C. HUME, REASON: SECTION 1.4 (B) AND (D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KHARTOUM 000582

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF A/S FRAZER, AF/SE NATSIOS AND IO
SILVERBERG, NSC FOR PITTMAN AND SHORTLEY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/15/2017
TAGS: OVIP NEGROPONTE JOHN PREL MOPS PINR KPKO UN
AU-1, SU
SUBJECT: DEPUTY SECRETARY'S VISIT TO EL FASHER, NORTH DARFUR


KHARTOUM 00000582 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: CDA C. HUME, REASON: SECTION 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (C) Summary: On April 14, Deputy Secretary Negroponte
travelled to El Fasher, the capital of the state of North
Darfur. During his day-long visit, the Deputy Secretary met
with U.S. military observers, UN personnel, IDP camp
representatives, an African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS)
Colonel, the AMIS force commander and the wali of North
Darfur (septel). The Deputy Secretary's discussions centered
on the humanitarian, political and security situation in
Darfur.

--------------
MEETING WITH US MILOBS
--------------


2. (C) The Deputy Secretary met with two of the fourteen U.S.
military observers currently assigned to AMIS camps in
Darfur. The military observers described a generally
succesful working relationsip with protection force patrols,
evacuations, investigations and the ceasefire commissions. In
response to the Deputy Secretary's request for a security
assessment, the observers described the situation on the
ground as volatile, with a serious lack of discipline among
rebel movements. All sides are violating the DPA, they said,
pointing to the recent incidents in Umm Baru and Sortoni as
examples. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have been sidelined
during the past several months, in contrast to last year's
more frequent clashes with rebel groups.

--------------
UNMIS: ACCESS STILL LIMITED
--------------


3. (C) In a follow-on briefing with United Nations Mission in
Sudan (UNMIS) and Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Assistance (OCHA) officials, the Deputy Secretary asked for
an update on progress implementing the recent humanitarian
access communique. Annamaria Laurini, UNMIS Head of Office,
El Fasher, said that while it was too soon to make a real
judgement, North Darfur had seen some slight improvements in

access issues, while South and West Darfur had not. In North
Darfur there had been a significant decrease in the number of
NGO staff who were experiencing problems, she said, but those
who were still without permits were all from the same
organization (IRC). The conflict with Chad and the Arab
tribal fighting in the south have also limited access to many
vulnerable areas, she added, as have rebel groups who have
prevented Sudanese government troops from coming into
hard-to-reach areas. The Deputy Secretary asked how the
international community could press the rebel groups to
cooperate on access issues with the Sudanese governent.
Laurini said that the AU/UN mediation team must be given a
chance to succeed, and that the rebels need strong leadership
figures on the gound.

--------------
IDPS: NEED SECURITY AS WELL AS FOOD
--------------


4. (C) In a visit to the El Salaam IDP camp, the Deputy
Secretary met with the camp coordinator and a group of umdas

SIPDIS
(traditional village heads). The camp coordinator noted that
the camp had almost doubled in size during the past eight
months because of fighting in northern areas of the state.
The Deputy Secretary then asked to hear from the umdas
themselves. The head umda's secretary began by thanking the
donor community for food contributions, but said that what
was really needed was security. He specifically mentioned the
need for UN peacekeeping forces to assist the AU troops,
saying that those who rejected the UN were criminals.


5. (C) The deputy umda from the village of Jebel Si described
in detail the Janjaweed attacks which destroyed his village
last year, and said that the AU is not enough to resolve the
problems in Darfur. The Deputy Secretary assured the group
that the American people were aware of the tragic situation
in Darfur, and said that the US government was committed to
continuing humanitarian assitance for as long as necessary.
The Deputy Secretary described the efforts underway to
improve the security situation for Darfurians and to create a
hybrid AU/UN peacekeeping force which would be comprised of
mostly African forces operating under UN standards. The

KHARTOUM 00000582 002.2 OF 003


Deputy Secretary highlighted the importance he personally
attached to the issue, citing this as a reason for making his
trip to Sudan a priority so early in his tenure.

--------------
AMIS: MORE FORCES, EQUIPMENT
--------------


6. (C) At the Sector 1 AMIS battalion headquarters in Zam
Zam, the Deputy Secretary met with Rwandan sector commander
Colonel E.K. Gasana who briefed him on AMIS operations in the
area. Colonel Gasana also underscored the precarious nature
of the security situation in Darfur. He desribed the
difficulty of his mandate, which is to patrol with one
batallion an area of over nine thousand square kilometers. He
cited numerous operational challenges, including the presence
of four armed groups in the area, lack of proper observation
towers in the camps, troops who had not received salaries in
more than four months and lack of communication resources.
When asked by the Deputy Secretary to describe what he needed
to be more effective, the colonel listed more forces and
equipment relevant to the operating environment.


7. (C) In a subsequent meeting with AMIS Force Commander
Major General Luke Aprezi, the Deputy Secretary asked how the
proposed heavy support package would be of use to the AU
mission. Aprezi described the heavy support package as mostly
logistics, while the hybrid force would be the phase that
would actually empower AMIS since it would triple the number
of batallions in each sector. Aprezi said that AMIS currently
does not dominate the ground in the way it should, and so
cannot see, and thus name, those who are committing ceasefire
violations. Aprezi said that while AMIS presence on the
ground has prevented people from carrying out "genocidal"
acts, its current incarnation is insufficient. Aprezi also
added that in the past month, he had lost nine men. (Note:
Another AMIS civpol advisor was killed the evening of April
14 behind the El Fasher headquarters; the assailants'
identity is unknown. End note.)


8. (C) The Deputy Secretary asked Aprezi whether there had
been better identification of ceasefire violators since AMIS
deployed to Darfur. Aprezi said that proving guilt is
difficult, and raised an August 2006 incident in which AMIS
vehicles were hijacked and because of the lack of checkpoints
it was impossible to track the attackers. The Deputy
Secretary asked Aprezi to comment on the Sudanese

SIPDIS
government's objection to including attack helicopters in the
heavy support package. Aprezi said that the Sudanese
government incorrectly believed that the helicopters would be
used against them rather than in support of peacekeeping
operations.


9. (C) In reference to the command arrangement for a hybrid
force, the Deputy Secretary pointed out that the USG wouldn't
adjust its own position to the point where the forces would
lose their effectiveness. Aprezi agreed, but noted that that
there are no facilities for the currently deployed UN troops.
UN security standards exceeded those of the AU, he said, and
there still was no agreement on security conditions for
living quarters. When asked about the timeline for AMIS camp
expansion in order to accomodate new troops once a hybrid
force is deployed, Aprezi said it depended on PAE capacity's
to build. When asked for an AU opinion on any command
relationship with a hybrid force, Aprezi said that this
hadn't been discussed. He said that while the Sudanese
government's position was clear, the position of the AU/UN
still is not. No new force commander will come in until both
parties agree on what they want, he said.


10. (C) Participants:

The Deputy Secretary
Jendayi E. Frazer, A/S for African Affairs
Cameron Hume, Charge d,Affairs
Bobby Pittman, Senior Director for Africa, National Security
Council
Roberto Powers, Deputy Chief of Mission
Colonel Dennis Giddens, DoD advisor
Lt. Col. Joe Bovy, Defense Liaison Office
Mike Holshey, Regional Affairs Office
Bill Garvelink, USAID advisor
Erna Kerst, USAID Mission Director

KHARTOUM 00000582 003.2 OF 003


Gustavo Delgado, D staff
Ted Wittenstein, D staff
Nina Behrens, interpreter
Ronda Capeles, Executive Secretariat
Oumar M'bareck, USAID
Jennifer Larson (notetaker)

Other:
Ken Jones, U.S. MilOb

Cliff Kinnebrew, U.S. MilOb

Annamaria Laurini, UNMIS Head of Office, El Fasher

Willie Harrison, UNMIS Security Coordinator

Paul Thomas, OCHA, El Fasher

Jane Lewis, Camp Coordinator, El Salaam IDP camp

Colonel E.K. Gasana, Sector Commander, Zam Zam (Rwanda)

Major General Luke Aprezi, AMIS Force Commander (Nigeria)
HUME