• Janjaweed militia battle with Sudanese rebel forces and Chadian army
• Refugees described Janjaweed force attack 6am on Friday, Senette
• Sudanese rebel leaders say continuing to observe the ceasefire in Darfur
Key quote "The humanitarian situation is terrible so we are observing the ceasefire for our people to get help but there is a point where we can’t keep folding our arms and seeing things going from bad to worse," - Bahar Ibrahim, a spokesman for the Sudanese Liberation Movement/Army.
Story in full SUDANESE government-backed gunmen have clashed with Chadian army units after crossing the border to kill refugees who have fled the genocide in Darfur and sought sanctuary on land belonging to their western neighbour.
Janjaweed militiamen have fought gun battles with Sudanese rebel forces, who are attempting to protect the refugees, and with Chadian army soldiers inside Chad during the past two weeks. In one clash, four refugees were killed along with a number of Chadian soldiers and an unknown number of militia. The last incursion by the Janjaweed, an Arab militia backed by the Khartoum government, happened last Friday at Senette, just inside the Chadian border.
Yesterday, refugees camped at a wadi at Senette described how a large Janjaweed force rode into the nearby village on horseback at 6am on Friday, firing at people as they came out of their houses, and stealing livestock.
Some of the refugees had weapons and they returned fire with AK-47 rifles. The sound of the shooting attracted the attention of a Chadian army unit, whose members arrived in five vehicles and engaged the militia.
One man, Suleman Abdullah Ibrahim, said: "They were shooting at the Janjaweed. There was a lot of shooting and the Janjaweed rode away. Some of the Chadian soldiers were killed and some of them were wounded and some of the Janjaweed were killed too."
Members of the Sudanese rebels guarding the refugees said it was difficult to know how many Janjaweed were killed because the gunmen tied ropes around the feet of their dead and dragged them away behind their horses as they made their escape back over the border into Sudan.
UN aid agencies in the region have reported several cross-border incursions in recent days as the Janjaweed pursue the refugees into Chad.
Two weeks ago, major gun battles erupted in the area after Sudanese forces, backed by aircraft, attacked villages around the mountain of Djabal Moune, killing at least 200 people.
Eyewitnesses described seeing victims of the bombing blown apart by the force of the explosions. One man said he saw a woman set on fire by what appeared to be an inflammable liquid scattered by a bomb.
Refugees at Senette also described another attack on a village 20 miles inside Darfur last week, in which 13 people were killed, including a girl of ten who had been trying to keep the Janjaweed from stealing the cattle she was minding.
Zakaria Djimet Ibet, who found Fatouma Abdallah Adam’s body, said the Janjaweed rode into the village of Gardaya and shot a number of people, including the young girl.
"She was with her cattle. She refused to let the Janjaweed get her cattle so they shot her seven times. She tried to escape with her cattle but they shot her. They shot all over her body. When the Janjaweed left we came back and found her," he said.
The villagers attempted to fight back against the Janjaweed using swords and sticks, but they suffered casualties, he said.
Sudanese rebel leaders say they are continuing to observe the ceasefire in Darfur despite the repeated provocation. But yesterday Bahar Ibrahim, a spokesman for the Sudanese Liberation Movement/Army said that patience was wearing thin and the rebels would not stand by while the Sudanese government continued to wipe out the black African population of the region.
"The humanitarian situation is terrible so we are observing the ceasefire for our people to get help but there is a point where we can’t keep folding our arms and seeing things going from bad to worse," he said.
He said that the Janjaweed, whom he described as "the Sudanese government by proxy", was continuing to attack villages in Darfur, with gunmen killing nine people in Kobe last week before burning down the village.
He said more than a million people, displaced from their villages, remained inside Sudan, many in camps around the larger towns, too frightened to leave despite the appalling conditions.
"Malnutrition is rampant among the children but there is a fear that if they go out they will be attacked or the women raped and the children kidnapped. The children are really suffering," he said.
"Two weeks ago a large Janjaweed army came and attacked villages and people around Djabal Moune and some of the people ran to the mountain and some ran to the border. Some of the Janjaweed followed across the border," he said.
"The Sudanese air force came and gave air support. They were bombing with aircraft and they had helicopter gunships. Maybe 200 people died.
"Unless the ceasefire holds the situation will deteriorate and there will be no alternative but to go and to defend the villages. We are appealing to the international community to put in place the mechanisms to have peace in Darfur."
A little heavy before my first coffee...but, yes it's a horrible situation there. Last week I watched an interview with the Sudanese ambassador to Canada (?). I'll look for more on that (it was on the CBC)...it was ridiculous how he was saying "we are doing all we can..blah, blah" He denied that the government sent in planes to bomb the villages, then the Janjaweed came through on foot and cleaned up the rest (killing whomever was left alive after the bombing). The refugees have a different tale to tell. The interviewer was pretty hard on him and kept insisting that the gov did know what was going on and was assisting the Janjaweed.
Anyway, there's a crisis going on there that needs attention. Let's hope it doesn't get ignored like Rwanda.
See this story... ...the Sudanese gov is on the UN Human Rights Comm
Quote:
During the vote for African candidates, the U.S. walked out to protest Sudan being given a third term on the commission. Sudan's government is accused of human rights violations and ethnic cleansing in the western Darfur region
Also here is a bit from a CBC Radio show, The Current (April 28th, as far as I can figure). Lots of interesting links and audio (interviews) from the show...28 minutes. Have a listen.
The world has said never again to ethnic cleansing, mass murder and thousands of refugees in Africa -- but unfortunately it's a scenario that's playing out yet again.
It's how some characterize the current chaos in Sudan and it's being called the world's worst humanitarian disaster. A year ago two rebel groups -- the Sudanese Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement took up arms against the government. They say the western region of Darfur has been neglected, and that Sudanese Arab militias- known as the Janjaweed - have been systematically attacking the black, African people.
The government denies reports of atrocities and stories suggesting more than 10,000 people have been killed. But the worsening situation in Sudan hasn't gone unnoticed. Yesterday the US State Department held a joint press briefing with US AID on the crisis, the US AID Administrator Andrew Natsios, spoke about United States policy on Sudan.
The United Nations estimates as a result of the violence a million people are on the move. Some refugees are spilling into the neighbouring country of Chad. Clea Kahn is a Canadian aid worker heading a Doctors Without Borders mission in Chad. Ms. Kahn has been in Chad for more than six months and she joined us from the capital N'Djamena.
Human Rights Watch
Without adequate intervention in Sudan, there are fears the mayhem could grow even worse. Lesley Lefkow has lived in Sudan and just returned from her own fact-finding trip. She heard first-hand from refugees terrorized by the violence in Darfur. Ms. Lefkow is a researcher with the Sudan/Africa Division of Human Rights Watch. She joined us on the phone from her home in Amsterdam.
Sudan Ambassador
The Sudanese government recognizes there is a humanitarian problem in its south -- but it says there is an insurrection and it has a right to fight it. To give us the Sudanese government's position we were joined by Abd Elghani Awad El Karim. He's the Acting Sudanese Ambassador to Canada and he joined us from Ottawa.
__________________
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.--Hendrix
I got this on Thursday, through a newspaper (The Scotsman) mail-list, but it may be that it was reported on a bit later than when it happened, if that's what you're wondering.
I don't have time to follow up on your links just now, but I will later
cool...I haven't had time to get back to it myself, but I've seen a few docs lately on the Sudan.
I think there are people interested in getting the story out, but the audience is not being receptive enough to keep the momemtum going. I think we 'burnt out' on the Sudan (and Ethiopia) when we watched through the great famine some years ago. Then they faded from the spotlight. Bad things happen when the world's not watching, tho...and this is looking like another Rwanda, only this times it's the Arabs wiping out the black Africans.
I'm glad it seems to be back in the news and getting more attention from the UN.
__________________
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.--Hendrix
I think we 'burnt out' on the Sudan (and Ethiopia) when we watched through the great famine some years ago. Then they faded from the spotlight. Bad things happen when the world's not watching, tho...and this is looking like another Rwanda, only this times it's the Arabs wiping out the black Africans.
I'm glad it seems to be back in the news and getting more attention from the UN.
Yeah, I agree (on both parts).
In a lot of the famine struck countries, nothing new is really happening, nothing is changing, they're still in a famine or a civil war or whatever, so it isn't really 'news'. But then sometimes it comes back to the Western news when something 'new' and attention worthy (like it isn't all the time ) happens and then we realise these countries are still struggling. Then everyone feels sorry for them or whatever, then as it fades from the news we usually just forget or don't seem to care as much. I know I'm like that too. And I know I'm a cynic.
It's true, that's how it happens for most people. We can't keep our radar tuned to all the world's problems all the time. It's not that we are not compassionate enough, or there is not enough aid money to go around. I think all the resources we need would be there if we could stop the corruption in the various administrations that get their hands on aid money along the way. Too little reaches it's destination. There is not enough honor and integrity in the world. Too much greed and corruption.
__________________
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.--Hendrix
Yeah OK the 'don't seem to care' part is maybe a bit strong. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think we don't use enough effort to keep us aware of what's going on. Although of course, there is so much going on in the world it would be hard to keep ourselves aware of different situations around the world. But in an ideal situation we would.
And I agree with you that we can give the countries what they need, but politics and greed get in the way I'm kinda disappointed in the UN just now, they should have been more on the ball.
...the Sudanese gov is on the UN Human Rights Comm 
Have a listen.
Part 3 
It happens all the time, in government, media etc.
) happens and then we realise these countries are still struggling. Then everyone feels sorry for them or whatever, then as it fades from the news we usually just forget or don't seem to care as much. I know I'm like that too. And I know I'm a cynic. 
