This is a brief "heads up" post about the fight of the Tuareg for an independent state (Azawad) in the Sahel. You may have already read news articles about the takeover of the historic cities of Timbuktu (Tomboctou) and Gao in northern Mali by Tuareg militias. Just yesterday various news agencies were reporting about the wanton destruction of centuries-old historical mosques, mausoleums and sacred tombs, along with the theft of irreplaceable Medieval Islamic books, scripts, and historical documents by an alarmingly increasing number of radical Islamist militants and thieves who have swept into Timbuktu and Gao in the wake of the security vacum created by the March 22nd coup. I would hope that some of my fellow blog authors, friends and readers around the blogosphere will stay on top of this catastrophe taking place in what was once one of West Africa's stable democracies.
The above video clip is the German language version of a documentary program ARTE Reportage "Mali: Der Kampf der Tuareg" which aired last week on the French/German cultural TV network ARTE TV. This excellent documentary examines the situation in Timbuktu and across northern Mali just weeks before the rape and pillage of the cities of Timbuktu and Gao. It features interviews with leaders of the Tuareg militias and the MLNA. What is also interesting are the various scenes showing how the Salafist network Ansar Dine and AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) is grabbing control of the vast desert region in northern Mali (about the size of Spain) and setting up thier base and training camps. There is not a sign of Mali government soldiers, ECOWAS military observers, African Union troops, US Army and Marines, or CIA operatives within 500 miles of the place (albeit the CIA is definately in the neighborhood, no doubt about it).
I am posting this information today because the ARTE TV video program will only be available online for a limited time. The cable/satellite TV program is scheduled to air again on Saturday, July 6th at 10:30 A.M. CET. Unfortunately for my readers living outside of Europe the ARTE TV programs are available only in France and Germany__ but the program videos and text info on their website may be accessable from abroad. Nonetheless, it is a don't miss opportunity to learn about another side of this long-running conflict between the nomadic Tuareg and black African tribes (i.e. the Songhai people) who have settled in northern Mali for centuries vs. the government and people living in the south of the country at Bamako.
Draft Version: Part I From Somali blogger and Ph.D. candidate to presidential advisor in Mogadishu
Back in the early days of the blogosphere (2003-2005) when the total number of blogs in the world numbered around 7 million, African blog authors were at the forefront of the blogging movement working hard to educate readers about what life in Africa is really like. Social networking platforms i.e. Facebook with its 500 million+ users today were not on the horizon and Biz Stone, the founder and CEO of Twitter, was busy together with his small team of developers at Pyra Labs perfecting the online publishing software (Blogger) that was later bought out by Google. A lot has happened in the Sphere since then.
The majority of African blog authors in those early years were from Kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Ghana and handful of other countries spread around the vast continent. There were also a small number of blog authors who hailed from Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Somalia. Many of those early pioneering blog authors from Africa were members of the African Diaspora living, studying, and working abroad in Europe and North America where access to the latest computer technology, broadband Internet connections, and free software tools needed to publish online were readily available.
This short series of posts about Somalia that I am launching today is dedicated to two blog authors from those early days who did a great job in helping me and their many readers around the globe gain a better understanding of Somalia and the many issues and challenges the people face in that very troubled country.
The first author is Yvette Lopez, a Filipino humanitarian worker who spent a considerable amount of time in Hargeisa (Hargeysa), the capital of the generally peaceful, democratic, self-declared independent Republic of Somaliland, an incredible accomplishment when compared to the complete anarchy of central and southern Somalia since the breakup of the two regions in 1991. Yvette authored the very popular Inside Somaliland blog which was an outstanding work containing great stories and lots of photos about life in the region. Among her many accomplishments Yvette also helped pioneer the use and growth of blogs and social media among the youth of Somaliland.
To my knowledge there hasn’t been anything like Inside Somaliland published from within Somaliland since Yvette left to work on other projects in Africa (she was working in Sudan last I heard). Yvette Lopez was a favorite blog author for Ethan Zuckerman (Global Voices co-founder) and I am sure many other people around the globe. Her enthusiasm and strong belief in the chances for success driven by the ordinary people of northern Somalia (Somaliland) is sorely missed.
The second blog author, a man who wrote regularly about the politics and conflict(s) swirling around Somalia is Bill Ainashe, better known to his professional colleagues, friends, and family as ‘Mukhtar’ Ainashe. Bill, who fled the chaos and fighting in Somalia as a youth was educated in Europe (Norway) and the U.S.A. (he is/was a Ph.D. candidate at George Washington University in Washington DC). Bill also worked for the World Bank during his studies at GWU in Washington DC. He is married to a lovely Somali woman and they have two beautiful young daughters who are growing up in the Washington DC area.
NOTE: Now I know that this introduction is a bit long-winded and boring, but please bear with me a while longer ‘cause this is where the story gets interesting, especially in light of the recent bombings in Uganda by Somalia’s Al-Shabab militants and the recently concluded African Union Summit in Kampala. Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni (the Great Liberator) together with other AU leaders have called for a (massive) troop surge in Somalia to counter the growing terrorist threat posed by Al-Shabab to the region and all African countries. The idea of a troop surge for AMISOM* is ‘whack!’ for many people who have earnestly been following news about Somalia and the decision defies logic and reasoning offered by numerous Somalia experts around the world. Yet, the whole deal has received approval and backing from the Obama administration, the UK government and other members of the European Union, the United Nations, and other key governments and players inside and outside of the region. AMISOM* is the acronym for the African Union Mission to Somalia with the approval of the United Nations and various international bilateral partner countries to the AU.
Unfortunately, neither Yvette nor Mukhtar (Bill) have been writing and publishing to their personal blogs since 2006/2007 and their earlier work is no longer available online. The two have moved on to new challenges and opportunities but Mukhtar’s trajectory has been the most astonishing. You see, he went from a comfortable life in Washington DC living together with his wife and two kids to what many journalists have described as the Most Dangerous Place on Earth (Jeffrey Gettleman of the New York Times), Postcards from Hell (Elizabeth Dickinson at Foreign Policy magazine), and other demeaning labels however accurate they may be. Bill has gone from being an avid Africa blogger to being a close advisor to the (interim) President of Somalia Sheikh Sharif Sheik Ahmed , which if you ask me is a pretty big God---- big ass leap! Bill is in Mogadishu, living and working at the Villa Somalia, dodging bullets, RPG-launched grenades and mortar rounds in the Presidential Villa Mogadishu (or what’s left of it).
So that is where this story will begin, with news articles about Mukhtar ‘Bill’ Ainashe and other Somalis who were living relatively comfortable (and relatively safe) lives in America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East but have decided to return home to help save their country from the chaos and anarchy that has been branded with a red-hot iron into the world’s view of Somalia, Somalis, and failing states in Africa and elsewhere.
An excerpt from the Spiegel Online International feature article:
Somalia, which has been without a functioning government for almost two decades, serves as a warning for what could happen to other failed states. Rival Islamic militias battle for control of the capital, where the president, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, is in constant danger of his life. A visit to the worst place on the planet.
Dealers in the Somali capital Mogadishu are now selling cartridges for Kalashnikovs at 37 cents apiece. The price has dropped by almost half in recent weeks, probably because there is already a lot of ammunition in the city. Mukhtar Ainashe knows this. He steps on the gas and the large SUV he is driving shoots off.
Ainashe is an intellectual. He reads American philosophers like Thoreau and Emerson, he studied in Norway and, until recently, he made a good living working for the World Bank in Washington. He has a wife and two young children in the United States, and he has a passion for expensive watches. In fact, Ainashe is completely out of place in Africa's dirtiest war.
He drives the vehicle furiously across the unforgiving terrain, a former road now pockmarked with grenade craters. The SUV skids through the gravel and bounces along over rocks, its axles making cracking noises, past the ruins of bullet-riddled houses, which shimmer in the sun like the bleached bones of dead animals in the desert.
No Way to Stop
A "technical" -- a pickup truck typical of Somalia, with a machine gun mounted on the truck bed -- is visible in the rear-view mirror, also bouncing up and down on the rough road. It's manned by government fighters -- Ainashe's bodyguards. The driver of the technical can barely manage to keep up, driving as close to the rear bumper of the SUV as possible. Nevertheless, Ainashe cannot afford to slow down -- it would only make him a target for the Islamists' machine guns. Anyone who stops on this road dies.
The SUV circles "Kilometer 4," the notorious, often contested central roundabout where so many people have died. Then it passes the ruins of the parliament building, where the Islamists shoot at anything that moves. Finally, Ainashe reaches a driveway at the base of a hill.
Machine gun nests between battered walls protect the entrance. Ainashe maneuvers the SUV through a narrow alleyway, through checkpoints, around tank barricades, passing guards along the way. When he finally reaches the gate to the fortress at the top of the hill, he hears the guns of the president's forces, which kill people every day. Their task is to protect the five buildings inside the wall. Their enemies are less than a kilometer away, and they can be seen running and shooting.
Another article about Mukhtar Ainashe and his colleagues and associates who have decided to return to Somalia in recent years: The National (English newspaper published in Abu Dhabi, UAE) Appeal for Somalis to Return Home by Matt Brown – Dec. 20, 2009
And last but certainly not least, a fresh look inside Somaliland, which has recently completed free-and-fair democratic elections according to independent international elections observers but still cannot get any respect or official recognition by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and the folks running Turtle Bay.
Aljazeera.net English (Doha, Qatar) Inside Story: Somalia vs. Somaliland - June 24, 2010
A must-see half hour video about life in Somaliland compared to that in Somalia over the past 19 years.
END Part I: Part II to follow ASAP (Yep, the story gets even better folks.)
What is it really like to shake hands with the Devil? To be in a room together with a man who has been accused by very credible sources of launching a campaign of fear and terror against his own citizens that he has swore to serve and protect as their president? A person charged by the International Criminal Court in The Hague with war crimes and crimes against humanity___ atrocities against innocent civilians that include the order to militias and government troops to commit mass rape, torture, mutilation, and murder.
A leader who orders the bombing, shooting, and burning of innocent civilians in their villages using Chinese and Russian-built aircraft and munitions purchased with the revenues earned from precious oil reserves stolen from under the very feet of the same people being killed and driven from their lands. What do you do as a journalist or a ‘special envoy’ after shaking hands with a person like this___ wash your hands with bleach afterwards or will just a little soap and water do the trick?
BBC World News correspondent and program host Zeinab Badawi* had a chance to do just that___ to shake hands with a devil and stare evil directly in the face during her exclusive interview with Sudan’s President Lt. General Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir. The popular BBC News interview program HARDTalk has been on the road in Africa this month, airing a 3-part series from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Zeinab Badawi, born in the Sudan but raised and educated in England traveled to Khartoum recently to interview the Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir. It is the first interview granted to a Western news network since the ICC issued a warrant for his arrest on March 4, 2009. Check your local listings to view the half hour interview or watch the full interview at the HARDTalk and BBC News website (see links below). International viewers can watch the program on May 14th at the following times GMT: 0930, 1530, 2030 and 2230 hours.
Here are a few excerpts from the BBC HARDTalk interview with Sudan’s president: Sources: BBC News and Reuters
BASHIR on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the warrant for his arrest:
"The ICC ruling is fundamentally null and void," said Bashir. "For us the ICC's ruling is a political one," he added, saying of the ICC charges against him: "This is all lies."
"We do not recognise the court," he stated. "We refuse to negotiate with them, and we will not hand over anyone."
The ICC has issued arrest warrants for two senior Sudanese officials who Khartoum has refused to send to The Hague to stand trial."I challenge anybody to bring me evidence that proves the Sudanese armed forces attacked and killed citizens in Darfur," Bashir said.
Note: Toward the end of the interview President al-Bashir stated that if all the armies of the world stood before the gates of Khartoum, that he would not yield to the court. My analysis: We’ll see about that soon enough. *****
BASHIR on the war against rebel groups and the killing of innocent civilians:
"I assume full responsibility for what has happened to my citizens," Bashir said. "However, what has been reported to have happened in Darfur did not actually take place. What happened in Darfur was an insurgency.
"The state has the responsibility to fight the rebels. Any state in the world and any responsible government would fight those who raise arms against it."
“We have never fought against our citizens; we have never killed our citizens.” *****
BASHIR on UN estimates of casualties and refugees caused by the fighting in the Darfur region and Western media coverage of the conflict:
The UN estimates 300,000 people have died in Darfur's six-year conflict and millions more have been displaced.
But President Bashir said figures for casualties in Darfur were "less than one tenth of what has been reported".
"Any talk about crimes committed inside Darfur is a hostile and organised media propaganda to tarnish the reputation of the government and is a part of the declared war against our government," he added.
Note: I still cannot figure out why Omar al-Bahsir has not expelled all Western journalists and media crews from the country if he is so worried about ‘spies’ and ‘enemies of the state’. Does the President of Sudan need the Western news media in order to stay in power? Does the international news media help him execute his war against Sudan’s so-called enemies: the various rebel groups, the African tribes of Darfur and the African people of southern Sudan? *****
BASHIR on U.S. President Barack Obama, the U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration, and the new administration in Washington D.C.:
Sorry, I forgot exactly what he said but it was somewhat cautious, meaning he didn’t lash out with his normal condemnations of the U.S. You must either watch the HARDTalk program segment or view the online video to find out what was said. *****
Note*: Short Bio on BBC News presenter and program host Zeinab Badawi Zeinab Badawi, born 1959 in Sudan, is a graduate of Oxford University (politics, philosophy, and economics) and has a post-graduate degree in Middle East Studies from London University. She has worked in broadcasting for over two decades, worked as a co-anchor with Jon Snow at the UK’s Channel 4 News (1989-1998), and joined BBC 4 World News Today in 2005 as a presenter (anchor).
The BBC News HARDTalk interview reminded me of a story by Channel 4 News International Editor Lindsey Hilsum when she interviewed Omar al-Bashir shortly after his ascent to power following the 1989 coup d’état in Sudan (one of several in Sudan since independence). It was an interview that in terms echoes Hannah Arendts famous ‘Report on The Banality of Evil’ according to the New York Times columnist Robert Mackey (see his report at The New York Times below).
Excerpt from ‘The cartoon-watching, indicted war criminal’ by Lindsey Hilsum Channel 4 News (UK), April 3, 2009
As we arrived for our interview (1989), about 50 reporters and camera crews were trying to muscle in. The new head of protocol, faced with a horde of badly behaved journalists, decided that the whole thing was off and tried to throw us all out.
We were about to lose our exclusive. Eventually, everyone agreed to back off apart from one particularly pushy and obnoxious reporter, on whom, I confess, I used physical force. I kicked him so hard he limped away. We were ushered into the presence of the new Big Man.
Except he wasn’t a Big Man. He was a small man. I don’t mean physically, but in terms of character. He had no presence, no charisma, no charm, no magnetism.
He spoke mainly in banalities, promising to bring peace and democracy. After about 20 minutes, he indicated the interview was over by standing up, walking across the room, sitting down in front of the TV, and turning on the cartoons.
That was it. The new president of Sudan was watching Tom and Jerry. (Or whatever it was). Our audience was over.
When I interviewed al-Bashir again last year (2008), he seemed exactly the same - a dull, small man who sucked energy from the room. Not a monster, a figure of stature, a person to be reckoned with or to fear. In our interview he simply denied everything. It was like interviewing a blank wall.
When I compare the two interviews (BBC News HARDtalk May 2009 vs. Channel 4 News October 2008) I get this eerie feeling that I’ve seen and heard all of this before. Even the way that the Sudanese president dressed for each respective interview, a European-style sport jacket with no tie and an open shirt collar, was the same. Have a look at the Channel 4 News October 2008 report and compare President Omar al-Bashir’s answers to questions posed by Lindsey Hilsum to similar questions asked by Zeinab Badawi of the BBC News:
Channel 4 News interview with President Omar al-Bashir Khartoum, Sudan - October 17, 2008
Excerpts from the Channel 4 News interview with Sudan’s president:
LH: It's not just a question of peace but of justice. These allegations of genocide, war crimes against humanity, war crimes - the prosecutor quotes recorded and written and words of yours calling for forces to take no prisoners, and for a scorched earth campaign..
Bashir: These allegations are not correct. Everything is fabricated and made up. Anything saying that we ordered killing people is untrue. The sources used by the ICC prosecutor are all hostile; they are from the rebels who revolted against the state.
LH: You say the sources are rebel groups, but the atrocities are well documented. I've been there, I've seen the burnt villages, the women who have been raped, the thousands living in terror in the camps.
Bashir: It's true that many people are living in camps. After the rebels were defeated in the field, many entered the displaced people's camps. They are managing the camps, and they direct the people who meet visitors and dictate what they should say.
It's very normal for people to be displaced from areas of operations and to flee. The question is where did these people move to? They moved into places where there are Sudanese armed forces, police and security because they were sure that they would find safety there.
Is it rational for people to flee and look for security in the very place where they find the same forces that were carrying out mass murder and rape? When these people went to Nyala, El Fasher and Geneina, there were no humanitarian organisations or African Union or UN, rather there were Sudan Armed forces and police.
LH: There wasn't much protection for people in Kalma attacked by Sudanese forces in August. There's not much protection for women who run gauntlet of janjaweed whenever they go to look for firewood...
Bashir: When it comes to mass rape, there is no document or evidence, just accusations. Anything which claims these things are documented is untrue.
But if we are talking about Kalma, in Kalma there were arms inside the camp. The crime of murder was committed inside the camp. We agreed that the operation would be made in collaboration between government forces and UNAMID, but at the last moment the UNAMID mentioned that they had received orders not to be involved.
They knew when the forces moved because the informatiom had leaked. A number of citizens confronted the forces. Behind them, there were armed men and the shooting started from inside the camp. Some soliders when shot at, automatically retaliated and casualties occurred…
LH: I'm interested that you deny that there's been mass rape. Because this is something that not just the rebels are saying.
What we see is the UN, the Ministry of Health people, we see women turning up with evidence of rape at healthcare facilities. We see children with this. And they all tell the same story, that it's usually janjaweed, sometimes government of Sudan troops. Are you really denying this, are you really saying that women of Sudan are lying?
Bashir: The women inside the camps are under the influence of the rebels and some are even relatives of the rebels. That's why they make these claims.
Now there are scientific methods that can reveal who are the fathers of these children which are born. We are fully convinced that no rape took place. It might have happened at an individual level, but this is a normal crime that can happen in any country in the world. Mass rape does not exist.
LH: So you're going to take DNA of the janjaweed...?
Bashir: You can bring any accused, and take his DNA.
LH: They don't know who did it, individual, Just know the janjaweed[sic]
Bashir: These are all false allegations. It's not in the culture of the Darfurians. The Darfurian society does not have rape. It's not in the tradition.
LH: Do you have no pity?
Bashir: No-one has more compassion for their people than we do in Sudan. We have been fighting rebels and in any country where people raise arms against the government, they are to be fought.
In fact, people who fight now are classified as terrorists even those who are resisting foreign occupation like in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and so on.
If we had no mercy, those displaced people wouldn't have come to the government areas. They wouldn't have been received and cared for until the humanitarian organisations arrived.
End Excerpts____
The responses by Sudan’s president to the interviewers’ questions are an act, well coached and well rehearsed to show the international viewing audience that the President of Sudan, Lt. General Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir, is a peace-loving and caring man, a good leader of all Sudanese people and a devout Muslim. This gentle man wouldn’t hurt a fly let alone be guilty of the alleged crimes and atrocities contained in the ICC indictment and arrest warrant, the UN Security Council reports, and various other investigations by organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the U.S. government and the European Union.
Looks like all those hours sitting before the television watching Tom & Jerry cartoons and The Roadrunner may have really paid-off for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. He certainly knows how to handle journalists and appearances in the Western and international news media, that’s for sure. His many supporters back in Khartoum and elsewhere around the globe just eat this stuff up.
Who is going to tell the Sudanese president that all of that violence he has been watching in cartoons is just for entertainment, that what has been happening to his country for more than two decades is for real and that he is one of the main perpetrators of the death and destruction? Who will finally relieve President Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir from his nightmares and state of denial, and when will they finally do it? I wonder, I really do wonder how this story will end.
Al Jazeera News – English War crimes suspect heads Sudan post 05/08/09 Indicted war criminal Hamed Harun, former State Minsiter for Humanitarian Affairs, is appointed as new governor of oil-rich Kordofan State (southern Sudan) US envoy urges stronger Sudan ties 04/03/09 Profile on US Special Envoy for Sudan Scott Gration before first visit to Khartoum
Mark Fiore’s Animated Cartoon Website Mark Fiore’s Channel at YouTube.com Mark Fiore is a political cartoonist who according to the Wall Street Journal is “the guru of the form”. He works and publishes his animations from some undisclosed location in San Francisco. Mark’s animations are a regular feature at Salon.com and other online magazines and newspapers in the U.S.A. Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir just loves this guy.
According to updated reports from the New York Times, The Lede blog at the New York Times, and reports from Israel’s Haaretz Newspaper ‘the Israelis done it!’ The Pentagon and the White House have yet to (officially) comment on the incident but Israel’s outgoing president Ehud Olmert has more-or-less confirmed that it was the IAF in a speech he gave on Thursday (source: Haaretz Newspaper):
Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hinted on Thursday at Israel's suspected role in an air-strike that reportedly hit a convoy of arms smugglers as it drove through Sudan toward Egypt in January. "We operate everywhere where we can hit terror infrastructure - in close places, in places further away, everywhere where we can hit terror infrastructure, we hit them and we hit them in a way that increases deterrence," said Olmert, speaking at a conference in Herzliya.
End excerpt___
Time Magazine (TIME.com) has one of the best updated reports that I have read on the raid over Sudan. According to Time.com sources this is what really happened:
Israeli fighter-bombers, backed by unmanned drones, were responsible for a mid-January attack on a 23-truck convoy in the Sudanese desert carrying arms to Hamas militants, two highly-placed Israeli security sources revealed to TIME. The attack was a warning to Iran and other adversaries, showing Israel's intelligence capability and its willingness to mount operations far beyond its borders in order to defend itself from gathering threats.
The sources revealed exclusive details about the bold air attack on what they said was an Iranian weapons convoy, which had been transporting rockets and explosives destined for Gaza during the Israeli assault on the small Palestinian territory. They denied earlier news reports that U.S. aircraft had been involved in the attack on the arms convoy as it crossed at night through the Sudanese desert heading for Egypt's poorly guarded border. "The Americans were notified that Israel was going to conduct an air operation in Sudan, but they were not involved," a source said. He denied prior claims by a U.S. television network that a ship and a second convoy were destroyed. "There was only one raid, and it was a major operation," he said, adding that "dozens of aircraft" were used.
F-16 fighter-bombers carried out two runs on the convoy, while F-15 fighter planes circled overhead as a precaution in case hostile aircraft were scrambled from Khartoum or a nearby country. After the first bombing run, drones mounted with high-resolution cameras passed over the burning trucks. The video showed that the convoy had only been partially damaged, so the Israelis ordered a second pass with the F-16s. During the 1,750-mile (2800 km) journey to Sudan and back, the Israeli aircraft refueled in midair over the Red Sea.
The bombing raid came after an intelligence tip-off. In early January, at the height of Israel's assault on Gaza, Israel's foreign intelligence agency Mossad was told by an informant that Iran was planning a major delivery of 120 tons of arms and explosives to Gaza, including anti-tank rockets and Fajir rockets with a 25 mile range and a 45 kg warhead. With little time to plan the operation, naval vessels and helicopters were rushed to the Red Sea in case Israel had to rescue a downed pilot, and the plan was rushed through. "The Israelis had less than a week to pull this all together," a source said.
The Iranian shipment was bound for Port Sudan. From there, according to the security sources, the Iranians had organized a smuggler's convoy of 23 trucks that would take the weapons across Egypt's southern border and up into the Sinai. Hamas would then take charge of the weapons and smuggle them into Gaza through the tunnels unscathed by Israeli bombardments.
It was a route used occasionally by Hamas, but never before on such a large scale, sources said. "This was the first time that the Iranians had tried to send Hamas a shipment this big via Sudan — and it is probably the last," he said. Several Iranians were killed in the raid, along with Sudanese smugglers and drivers, the source claimed. "No doubt the Iranians are checking back to see who might have leaked this to the Israelis," he said.
End excerpt___
American government officials who asked to remain anonymous spoke with The New York Times earlier this week about the air raid in Sudan. Here is how the New York Times describes the incident:
Israeli warplanes bombed a convoy of trucks in Sudan in January that was believed to be carrying arms to be smuggled into Gaza, according to American officials.
Israeli officials refused to confirm or deny the attack, but intelligence analysts noted that the strike was consistent with other measures Israel had taken to secure its borders.
American officials said the airstrike took place as Israel sought to stop the flow of weapons to Gaza during the weeks it was fighting a war with Hamas there.
Two American officials who are privy to classified intelligence assessments said that Iran had been involved in the effort to smuggle weapons to Gaza. They also noted that there had been intelligence reports that an operative with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps had gone to Sudan to coordinate the effort.
But one former official said that the exact provenance of the arms that were being smuggled via Sudan was unclear.
Although the airstrike was carried out two months ago, it was not publicized until Sudanese officials said Thursday that a convoy of trucks in the remote eastern part of Sudan was bombed by what they called “American fighters,” killing dozens. The strikes were first reported on several Internet-based news sites, including CBSNews.com.
End excerpt____
AFRICOM, the new U.S. Africa Command (based in Germany), issued the following statement via their spokesman Vince Crawley (source: The New York Times)
Vince Crawley, a spokesman for the United States Africa Command, said American forces had not bombed Sudan. “The U.S. military has not conducted any airstrikes, fired any missiles or undertaken any combat operations in or around Sudan since October 2008, when U.S. Africa Command formally became responsible for U.S. military action in Africa,” he said.
The American officials who described the Israeli role declined to be identified because they were discussing classified information and were not authorized to speak for the Obama administration. One American military official said the January strike was one of a series of Israeli attacks against arms shipments bound for Gaza.
End excerpt____
If it is true that Iran sent operatives to Sudan to facilitate the smuggling of short-range missiles and sophisticated armor-piercing munitions to Hamas in Gaza, then Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and his regime have a helluva lot more to worry about than an ICC arrest warrant for his war crimes against the people of Darfur.
Why didn’t Sudan’s air force and navy detect and engage (intercept) the squadrons consisting of numerous Israeli fighters and bombers entering Sudan airspace. Was it cowardice (most likely) or did the Sudanese military simply not see these aircraft on their sophisticated new defense radar systems? What about the hundreds of Chinese and Russian military advisors running around the country, they must have seen something? Non? Nichts?
Spiegel Online International (Germany) Al-Bashir Arrest Warrant: Qatari Emir Warns of 'Chaos' in Sudan 03/28/09 Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine interviews the Emir of Qatar re: Sudan’s President al-Bashir and the ICC arrest warrant before the Arab League Summit in Doha
Al Jazeera News – English Jets 'bombed convoy in Sudan' 03/27/09 Note: the words “U.S. Jets” was dropped from the original headline of March 26th and the story has been updated (edited) Al Jazeera News Channel at YouTube (video) Note: see Al Jazeera MOBILE BULLETIN (video) - 0535GMT - 27 March 09
CBS News World Watch blog U.S. Accused Of Killing 39 In Sudan Strike by Dan Raviv 03/25/09 Note: this blog post at CBS News was the original breaking news story about the alleged U.S./Israeli air raid on the arms convoy in Sudan
The New York Times (USA) The Lede (the New York Times news blog) The Sudan Airstrike Mystery by Robert Mackey 03/26/09
It makes one wonder what exactly was being discussed this week in Cairo during the meeting between Egypt’s President Mubarak and Sudan’s President al-Bashir, the ICC arrest warrant or UFO’s dropping bombs over Sudan?
This is the kind of 'unconfirmed facts reporting' that can cause more violence to break out in a land that is already on the brink. I’d be interested in learning how the Sudanese state-run press and TV/radio news media is playing up the incident. Anybody out there have information about those reports?
The Pentagon via a spokesman for the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) was quick to refute the Al Jazeera report from March 26th, denying any involvement of U.S. aircraft or forces in the incident. This was followed by statements from Ambassador Mary Yates, the Deputy to the Commander of AFRICOM (General William E. Ward), in her meeting on Wednesday with African Union Commission Chairman Jean Ping and the AU Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Ramamra. Ambassador Yates made clear to the AU heads that there is no U.S. military role (at the moment) involving the ICC arrest warrant for Sudan President Omar Hassan al-Bashir (VOA News).
So again, everybody should back up a bit and make sure that we have the facts right about serious matters like this before we publish to our blogs, news websites, or whatever. That goes for blog authors and budding citizen journalists, and the journalists, anchors, and editors over at Al Jazeera and other mainstream news organizations. We don’t need to throw any more fuel on the fire that is already burning red hot around the National Congress Party (NCP) in Khartoum. Because at the end of the day, dancing in the streets wearing native headresses and brandishing spears and swords won't help you Omar Hassan al-Bashir.
Christmas Holidays 2008 in the eastern DR Congo. Ben Affleck, The Rolling Stones and the UNHCR present "Gimmie Shelter".
This Christmas holiday season be sure to remember that millions of people down in the Democratic Republic of Congo desperately need our help. Don't look away, don't forget about them. Please let's not forget about these people while we are enjoying this sacred holiday season in relative safety and peace together with our families and friends.
A Christmas wish from me this year?
An opportunity to head south in 2009-2010 to see if I can't lend a helping hand in removing some of this abysmal misery and danger from people in the DR Congo. That my own children understand what is happening there and why it is happening, and that they are inspired to help out in every way they can. That millions of us around the globe finally realize that 'Enough is Enough' and convince our political leaders and leaders of intergovernmental bodies (i.e. the UN, the AU) to bring an end to this decade-long humanitarian crisis in the eastern DR Congo.
Thank you for visiting Jewels in the Jungle this year, and a special thank you to all of my fellow blog authors and colleagues for your support. Merry Christmas 2008 and have a safe and happy holiday season. See you again in 2009, God willing.
Related articles and resources (updated Dec 30, 2008)
Goma Film Project LUMO - a documentary film about helping to heal the victims of sexual violence and mass rape filmed at the HEAL Africa hospital in Goma
As I bring my work at Jewels in the Jungle to a close this year, I never thought that I would be writing about the crisis in Darfur again. Ashamedly I belong to the millions of people around the world that have practically given up on a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Sudan’s western province. When I first started this blog back in 2004, peace in Sudan and the atrocities against innocent civilians in Darfur were themes that I tried to address again and again. But Darfur was too complex for many of us bloggers who at that time had little knowledge of the background to the long-running wars and atrocities that have plagued this African country since its independence in 1956. It was a subject better left to the experts, scholars, diplomats, and foreign correspondents of the world, many who have devoted their professional careers and lives to the study and resolution of such conflicts.
Two things happened last week that compelled me to want to speak out once again.
First, the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo submitted his long-awaited criminal indictment against the President of Sudan, Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir, requesting a warrant from the court’s judges for Bashir’s arrest. Of course such a request caused all Hell to break loose from the UN headquarters in New York City to the African Union and Arab League headquarters on the other side of the globe, as world leaders responded publicly in (feigned) shock to an indictment that they all knew was coming.
When the ICC Prosecutor’s indictment was read in public carried by news networks around the world, the people in the IDP camps of Darfur and Chad sent up cheers and hoots of joy that perhaps finally something was being done on their behalf to relieve the misery and suffering they have endured for over 5 years now. I certainly cheered while watching Mr. Moreno-Ocampo read the indictment summary at his press conference, backed by a black African female member of his very competent legal staff. The symbolism of that black & white duo in the press conference was very powerful and not lost on those of us who are even somewhat familiar with the complex ethnic and racial background to this abominable crisis.
I can imagine that the ICC prosecutor’s office is seeking international support for his move against al-Bashir and I want to say hear and now that I support this move by the honorable Mr. Moreno-Ocampo 150%. As a matter of fact I consider his action to be heroic in a world that has become increasingly cynical and downright despondent over the situation in Darfur and Abyei and all of the Sudan.
A second thing that occurred last week to help motivate me to write once again about this important subject is that my friend the editor-in-chief of the African Loft asked me to contribute to an online debate about the ICC indictment against the Sudanese president. The debate has only a dozen or so comments to date but it is quite civil and hopefully informative for all participants, and we have been joined by the Sudanese blogger Kizzie (I Have No Tribe, I’m Sudanese), a colleague and friend of the very popular blogger Drima of The Sudanese Thinker and editor for Sudan news at Global Voices Online. The debate at African Loft includes an interesting and civil exchange of opposing views on the ICC indictment between the honorable Mr. Oscar Blayton (a Washington DC area attorney) and “moi” (BRE).
So as I have stated the crisis in Darfur and the ICC indictment against Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir is very serious business, indeed. As I have always wished that this blog be a place of learning and sharing of ideas and opinions I shall waste no more of your valuable time with my own words. Below is a roundup of select news articles and reports about the ICC charges, the fallout over these charges against a standing head of state, and where all of this may be heading not only for the people of Darfur and all of Sudan, but for the whole damn(ed) world.
Jewels in the Jungle Global News Roundup for July 21, 2008 The International Criminal Court vs. Africa’s Top Dictator and Mass Murderer: Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmed Al Bashir
The Sudan Tribune The Accused One’s Profile by Ahmed Elzobier – 07/21/08 Note: this is one of the best ever editorials I have read at this independent Sudan-in-exile (Paris, I think) news site. Here is an excerpt from the witty Mr. Elzobier:
The accused one’s profile: “He is kind and generous, a true Sudanese coming from a poor family”, says one of his government officials. However, we also know that human nature is not innately cruel and only rare sociopaths can participate in atrocities without suffering lasting emotional harm as psychiatrist Robert Lifton noted.
The rhetoric: The media in Sudan is all about representing one opinion and one voice. A Cold War era propaganda machine, not really concerned about objectivity or neutrality, or finding the truth. It is only about serving the ruling political party’s objectives, and dissenting voices are anathema. Since the news was leaked last Thursday it has unleashed its propaganda strategy in its fullest form and everything seems to be at stake:
“We are targeted, our sovereignty has been violated. The president is a symbol of the country and this is a conspiracy against Sudan. This is similar to what happened in Iraq. Our judicial system is fair and just and this is a political and not a legal accusation. This has never happened before. This happens to us because we believe in Islam. Because they know the National Congress Party (NCP) is going to win the election. Because of our successes and economic progress.”
The role of China and Russia in the Darfur crisis AND the bloody twenty year long civil war that ravaged southern Sudan is no state secret. As a result of their staunch economic, military, and diplomatic support for the Khartoum regime the governments of China and Russia have come into even sharper focus this month. On the heals of the ICC Prosecutor’s charges against President Omar al-Bashir the million dollar question at the United Nations Security Council over the next weeks will be: “What will China and Russia do if the ICC indictment and warrant for arrest gets kicked back to us?”
That’s enough for today. I will add more to this post as the plot against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir thickens over the next days and weeks. Look for updates to this post on a regular basis.
The original Jewels in the Jungle blogroll is in the process of being updated after an eight year run. Please stay tuned for new additions to be added soon.
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