"EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF" - A NYALA SECURITY UPDATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000541 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/SPG, S/CRS, AF/C DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KPKO KSEC SOCI AU SU SUBJECT: "EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF" - A NYALA SECURITY UPDATE REF: KHARTOUM 503 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Discussions with United Nations and local representatives in Nyala, South Darfur, reveal a complex picture of security in this Darfur state, where attacks against humanitarians, intertribal fighting and banditry constitute the main threats to stability. END SUMMARY. TARGETED ATTACKS AGAINST HUMANITARIANS -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In an April 6 meeting with Emboffs, United Nations Security Information and Operation Center Manager Will Mulders described a marked escalation in targeted attacks against humanitarian workers that has changed the picture of relative calm that previously characterized Nyala in comparison to West and North Darfur. He noted that violence against humanitarian workers spiked during March, with 20 incidents reported, compared to four in January and five in February. [NOTE: South Darfur has seen a rash of car-jackings on a scale similar to the instances of compound invasions seen in El Fasher during March, where there were nine break-ins in one week at the end of the month. END NOTE]. ¶3. (SBU) Acting Head of UNAMID Civil Affairs Katherine Reyes told Emboffs that the attempted car-jacking earlier in the week of a UNDP vehicle in downtown Nyala as it transported staff home from the office sent shockwaves through the humanitarian community, as it was out of the ordinary for this city. NOTE: Two armed car-jackers stopped the vehicle and demanded that the passengers get out. One female passenger, in shock, was unable to comply and the car-jackers beat her, dragged her from the car, and then proceeded to beat the other passengers who had exited the vehicle. The car-jackers could not manage to drive the vehicle, however, and they quickly abandoned the scene on foot. Two UNDP officers were subsequently medically evacuated to Khartoum. END NOTE]. ¶4. (SBU) Neither Mulders nor Reyes could give a specific reason for the increase in this type of violence in Nyala, but Reyes described a level of unease and tension throughout the city and said there seemed to be a trend toward "stepping on UNAMID's partners" occurring, whether they be international or national NGOs and other organizations. She added that tribal affiliations among the national NGOs were now deeply scrutinized by the GOS authorities, �0A;especially the HAC. TRIBAL FIGHTING -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Mulders considered increased intertribal fighting to be the second biggest threat to peace and security in Nyala. He recounted incidents of fighting since January in the Bulbul areas (approximately 23 km southwest of Nyala),where the Aballa Rizeigat had attacked the Tarjem over a series of cattle-rustling disputes. Both Arab tribes are pro-government and have provided fighters (janjaweed) for government militias. Disputes related to the return of the Tarjem to their land accounted for renewed fighting instigated by the Rizeigat on March 31-April 1, which left 14 Rizeigat dead. Mulders noted that as of April 6, GoS authorities had not permitted UNAMID into the area to investigate. ¶6. (SBU) Both Mulders and Reyes mentioned the insecurity caused in the Buram locality of South Darfur as a result of persistent fighting between the Habaniyya and the Salamat, also two rival Arab tribes. On April 3, the Salamat looted 1000 cattle from the Habaniya west of Buram. In what Mulders considered an unprecedented response, the Habaniyya retaliated on April 4 with the support of GoS police forces, which included six vehicles of up to 15 officers each. Seven police were reportedly killed in this fighting, and Khartoum police authorities have reportedly demanded a full investigation into the incident. Mulders reported that Buram authorities allegedly ordered the local police, all of the Habaniyya tribe, to join in the fighting against the Salamat. ¶7. (SBU) Reyes also described simmering tensions between the Dadjo and Fur tribes in Kalma IDP camp, which erupted in fighting inside the camp in January, allegedly due to interference on the part of Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) faction leader Abdulshafie, himself a Fur. According to Reyes, Dadjo members led a coalition of marginalized "minor" tribes in Kalma, a coalition that developed after the expulsion of the Zaghawa by Fur in fall 2007 and in response to Fur "domination" of the camp's population. Reyes said the Dadjo have enjoyed on-again, off-again GoS support. According to Bashir Muktar, the former Southern regional coordinator for SUDO (a prominent Sudanese tribal reconciliation NGO) and currently the lead engineer for the Nyala Water and Environmental Services Corporation, the Dadjo are currently cooperating with the GoS and reportedly have an agreement with government forces for their protection against the majority Fur. KHARTOUM 00000541 002 OF 002 BANDITRY AND REBEL ACTIVITY -------------- ¶8. (SBU) As in El Fasher/North Darfur, banditry remains a constant problem in Nyala/South Darfur, according to UN interlocutors. Mulders noted there had been more than 21 incidents of banditry in South Darfur in the first quarter of 2008. He cited Tortahan, northeast of Nyala, where the lack of law and order is so extreme that he recommended a UNAMID company be redeployed there from its base in Sarif Umra to try to keep the peace. During his two-day visit to Tortahan, Mulders said there had been five security incidents, each one involving a different player in the Darfur conflict: the GoS, Darfur Peace Agreement non-signatory groups, Zaghawa sub-tribes, and break-away factions of rebel/janjaweed leader Hameti who has repeatedly threatened to break his ties with the regime and join the rebels. ¶9. (SBU) Mulder said rebel activity in South Darfur is especially heavy north of Kass, where SLA/Abdulwahid forces have been car-jacking trucks and running them (with Justice and Equality Movement [JEM] assistance) to Bahai on the northern part of the Sudan-Chad border, where they are reportedly sold for $40,000 each and taken to Libya. Regarding fighting between rival SLA factions Free Will and Minni Minawi, Mulders reported the situation as currently calm although there were reports of significant fighting between the two groups in early March. Mulders said that SLA/Free Will has few resources and is in desperate need of vehicles. He reported allegations that the GoS is now arming Free Will, however. This "divide and conquer" tactic on the part of the GoS has infuriated SLA/Minni (who is himself part of the GoS),and Mulders predicted this tension will lead to more fighting between the factions in the near future. ¶10. (SBU) Both Reyes and Mulders noted that Arab tribal leader Hameti is not as powerful now as he once was in South Darfur. The Gos reportedly promised to integrate into the Sudanese Armed Forces 2500 of Hameti's fighters, 57 of whom were promised officer rank. Reyes and Mulders claimed he had little credibility left with the local populations for going back to the GoS but that the rebels, particularly JEM and SLA/Abdulwahid, had not yet written him off. COMMENT -------------- ¶11. (SBU) While there is insecurity in both El Fasher and Nyala, one difference between the two locations is the level of janjaweed activity. UN interlocutors in Nyala noted the drop in the number of South Darfur janjaweed attacks, while janjaweed activity is on the rise in El Fasher (reftel). Another difference may possibly be seen in the degree of command and control exercised by GoS police authorities. El Fasher's police force follows Khartoum's dictates closely. However the example Mulders cited about GoS police complicity with the Habaniyya tribe against the Salamat - and the subsequent inquiry from Khartoum headquarters - shows a possible breakdown in the chain of command. The most significant aspect of insecurity in South Darfur, however, is the increasing lawlessness that is spread by rebel forces preying on humanitarian operations and the anarchy of war and violence by all against all. ¶13. (U) Tripoli minimize considered. FERNANDEZ