UNAMID TO BE GRANTED ACCESS TO KORMA IN WAKE OF ATTACKS ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001095 NSC FOR MGAVIN, LETIM DEPT PASS TO USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MOPS PGOV PHUM PINR PREF KPKO AU SU SUBJECT: UNAMID TO BE GRANTED ACCESS TO KORMA IN WAKE OF ATTACKS ON SLA/AW REF: KHARTOUM 1077 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) continues to be denied access to the town of Korma following clashes between the Government of Sudan (GOS) and Sudan Liberation Army/Abdul Wahid (SLA/AW) faction there on September 17-18. UNAMID's most recent attempt to visit Korma on September 24 was blocked by GOS authorities, who informed UNAMID that they were conducting military operations in the general area. UNAMID officials told poloffs the GOS has agreed to let them send a patrol to Korma on September 29. Information on the humanitarian and security situation in Korma is scattered and no verified data has been gathered, but Fur tribal leaders in Khartoum told poloffs that several dozen civilians were killed in the fighting, and over 6,000 families from Korma and surrounding villages have fled the area. Korma is now occupied by Arab militia forces, according to UN and rebel sources, while a large contingent of Chadian rebel troops has encamped in Ana Bagi. The GOS military offensive in Korma and the re-opening of the road between El Fasher and Kabkabiya have effectively driven a wedge between SLA/AW's areas of control, cutting off its Jebel Marra stronghold from positions further north in Korma, Ain Siro, and in Jebel Eissa in the far north; in light of the proposed SLA conference in East Jebel Marra later this month, the actions seem aimed at preventing many rebels from attending. END SUMMARY. -------------- UNAMID PATROL AGAIN DENIED ACCESS -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On September 24, UNAMID sources reported that a verification patrol (reftel) investigating the security and humanitarian situation in Korma was stopped and denied entry into Korma following clashes between the GOS and SLA/AW there on September 17-18. The UNAMID patrol was stopped at a GOS military check point about 500 meters from Korma. GOS authorities informed UNAMID that they were conducting operations in the general area and advised UNAMID to terminate the patrol. The patrol team observed GOS helicopters flying at low level. The team also observed that the village was deserted and some locals around Korma alleged that there were incidents of looting, killing and rape during the attack. UNAMID has not since attempted to send in another patrol to Korma, but has received GOS acquiescence to send one on September 29. -------------- ARAB MILITIA OCCUPIES DESERTED KORMA -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Given the lack of access, very limited information has emerged on civilian casualties or displacements from GOS attacks on Korma and the surrounding areas. UNAMID was unable to provide poloff with any casualty numbers, and its Humanitarian Liaison Office (HLO) reports that information from the humanitarian community is scattered and no verified data has been gathered. Fur tribal leaders based in Khartoum who spoke to Embassy contacts on the ground in Korma asserted that 38 civilians were killed during the GOS action. Abulgasim Seifeldin, a Darfuri Sudan people's Liberation Movement (SPLM) parliamentarian and father-in-law to SLA/AW Chairman Abdelwahid Al Nur, said that Korma has been emptied of people with up to 6,000 families fleeing the town and its surrounding villages. Ismail Musa, an SLA ally based in Khartoum, said the rebel fighters had withdrawn from Korma with their families, ceding control of Korma and its environs to the GOS. Musa said that the SLA/AW fighters would not plan a counterattack to re-take Korma as they were too weak and scattered to do so. ¶4. (SBU) On September 27, SLA/AW-aligned rebel commander Suleiman Marjan told emboff that a force of 160 "Technicals" (Note: Pickup trucks mounted with machine guns. End Note) belonging to government-allied Arab militia and Chadian armed opposition groups are now stationed in Korma. He further asserted that the GOS military apparatus is also building up a large force in Mellit to provide support for troops in Kutum, Korma and Fata Burno and possibly launch new attacks on SLA areas. UN Security Officer Frazer King confirmed to poloff the presence of Arab militia in Korma. He stated that a number of persons displaced from the area have turned up in Tawila and El Fasher, claiming that Arab militia forces raided and looted villages around Korma. He affirmed that a UN patrol will be granted access to Korma on September 29. Meanwhile, the Wali of North Darfur Osman Mohamed Yousif Kibir visited Korma on September 26, according to El Fasher area television reports. He noted that the GOS is working to enhance security in the area to enable IDPs to return to their homes. -------------- KHARTOUM 00001095 002 OF 002 POSSIBLE 1,000 CHADIAN TROOPS NEAR KUTUM -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Following UNAMID's observation of Chadian armed opposition groups moving away from the border areas into North Darfur (septel), UNDSS Officer King noted that there are believed to be over one thousand Chadian armed opposition troops in the area northwest of Kutum, centered around Ana Bagi. He stated that rumors are circulating that given the heavy losses sustained by Chadian rebels in their disastrous foray into Eastern Chad in May, the GOS has provided them swathes of land in North Darfur on which to settle, which has unnerved the local population. (NOTE: On Special Envoy Gration's September 13 visit to Ain Siro in North Darfur, local rebel commanders complained about the presence of Chadian rebels in their area of control, to be reported septel. END NOTE.) ¶6. (SBU) El Fasher area contacts told emboff that a GOS military officer, Major General Abdallah Daraj, was kidnapped by unknown assailants on September 22. He was traveling from El Fasher on the road to Nyala when he was abducted just east of Shangil Tobaya, according to reports. The kidnappers allegedly contacted the General's family on September 27 to demand a ransom. The North Darfur government has urged the family to cooperate and has apparently assured them it will pay the kidnappers the desired sum for the General's release. This information could not be verified through other sources. ¶7. (SBU) COMMENT: The attacks on Korma are significant in that they represent the first targeting of SLA/AW positions by the GOS in recent memory. Unlike the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) or the remnants of SLA/Unity, the posture of SLA/AW is purely defensive, and many SLA/AW commanders have also made agreements with Arab tribes and militias within their vicinity to ensure peace and stability. Now, the GOS military offensive in Korma and the re-opening of the road between El Fasher and Kabkabiya have effectively driven a wedge between SLA/AW's areas of control, cutting off its Jebel Marra stronghold from positions further north in Korma, Ain Siro, and in Jebel Eissa in the far north. In advance of the proposed SLA conference in East Jebel Marra later this month, such an action seems hardly coincidental, as would seem to prevent many rebels from attending. Perhaps the GOS believes that as long as the SLA/AW rebels remain weak and scattered, it can continue to consolidate areas of control in North Darfur. But without peace talks, a comprehensive solution for Darfur remains elusive. ASQUINO