DARFUR ARAB REBEL LEADER STILL VOWS HE'S RETURNING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001360 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR A/S FRAZER, S/E WILLIAMSON, AND AF/SPG NSC FOR PITTMAN AND HUDSON ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/03/2018 TAGS: ASEC PGOV PREL KPKO UN AU SU SUBJECT: DARFUR ARAB REBEL LEADER STILL VOWS HE'S RETURNING TO THE FIELD REF: KHARTOUM 892 Classified By: CDA Alberto M. Fernandez, Reason: Section 1.4 (b) and (d ) ¶1. (C) On September 3, Arab-rebel leader Anwar Khatir told poloff that "within days" he would return to Darfur to resume his activities. (Note: Khatir has been described by leading Darfur experts such as Julie Flint as "Darfur's emerging Arab leader." After the GoS jailed and tortured him and several family members in late 2007, Khatir signed a deal with the GoS West Darfur intelligence chief in early 2008. Since then, Khatir has been in Khartoum waiting for the implementation of his deal with the GoS and "re-organizing his movement." End Note.) ¶2. (C) Khatir began by saying that the attack on Kalma camp exemplifies the brutal and heartless nature of the regime. As in previous meetings, he repeated that the GOS has not implemented the agreement he signed and that it was used to deceive him and "put him in a cage in Khartoum." Khatir then stated that his movement, the Sudan Revolutionary Front, is the only group representing the marginalized and exploited Arabs of Darfur. ¶3. (C) Khatir said that by the end of the week he would travel to Zalingei to strengthen his movement's military coordination with the Sudan Liberation Movement of Abdul Wahid Nur (SLA/AW). Khatir named SLA/AW commanders Muhammad Ahmed, "Mujib," and "Tarada" as three prominent leaders with whom he has spoken and coordinated over the last several months. Khatir said that despite the media's portrayal of the Darfur conflict as between Africans and Arabs, "the Fur and Arabs have lived together for a long time and we will work together to overthrow this government." ¶4. (C) Poloff gently noted that some seasoned Darfur observers have dismissed his movement as insignificant, especially since the GoS released him and brought him to Khartoum. (NOTE: CHD's Theo Murphy recently told poloff that Khatir lacks a significant political and military base, and that attention from Western scholars such as Julie Flint have "created the fiction of Anwar Khatir.") Khatir grew upset at this observation and immediately stated that the well-known anti-Khartoum Arab movement Al-Jund Al-Mazloom ("the oppressed soldiers") can "be at my disposal at any time." He claimed that at any minute he could call up 2,500 Arabs who would attack government positions. Khatir stated that in all there are "tens of thousands of Arabs that could join my forces." Khatir stated that he is in close communication with his field commanders Hassan Adam and Abdullah Adam and that he will soon mobilize his force and prove his critics wrong. Poloff argued that more violence is not the solution to the ongoing Darfur crisis, and that Khatir should work through the political process to make his voice heard. Poloff also reminded Khatir, that he had yet to deliver a previously-promised written copy of the much-discussed agreement between his movement and the GoS. ¶5. (C) As in past meetings, Khatir requested U.S. support for his fighters, transportation within and outside of Sudan, and for media training, "as I need to get this message out about the exploited Arabs in Darfur." Khatir stated that as the Arab tribes are already armed, they just need "simple material support for food and water." Poloff responded that the U.S. realizes that Darfur's Arabs, like many of Darfur's tribes, have been exploited, mistreated, and often targeted by the GoS, but clearly stated that the U.S. will not provide any financial or material support to him or his movement. Khatir then abruptly ended the meeting, saying that a nearby hotel employee was an intelligence operative and that he was in danger of being discovered. ¶6. (C) COMMENT: For months, Khatir's message has been essentially unchanged as he has vowed that he will return to the field, requested U.S. support, and boasted about the numbers of men in his ranks. Khatir appeared particularly paranoid during the September 3 meeting, mentioning that the nearby lamp held a surveillance device and calling a hotel employee a spy. Khatir was also noticeably annoyed at learning that some observers discount his significance. Khatir is someone to watch, and he is right to note that Darfur's Arabs have been targeted, exploited, and marginalized alongside their African brothers. However, this KHARTOUM 00001360 002 OF 002 meeting (like several other previous ones) leaves one wondering how much influence "Darfur's emerging Arab leader" really has. FERNANDEZ