Abyei

I traveled last month to the Agok/ Abyei area (on the frontline of the North-South border). Under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the Abyei area got special status (because it was basically an unresolvable issue at the time). As soon as I landed I saw that the area felt distinctly different from other places that I have been in Sudan. The tension was palpable and there was talk from everyone in the town that people were just waiting for the other side to make the first move for the fighting to break out. Soldiers had moved their families out of the town, which is never a good sign... Then last week fighting erupted in Abyei destroying the town and displacing some 10's of thousands of people. NGO's (including my colleagues) were evacuated from the area leaving with nothing but what they had with them at the time they heard the first gunshots. The fighting here is especially worrying because of the importance of the area (OIL!, and their still as yet unresolved status under the CPA).

Enough! recently wrote a good factpiece about the importance of Abyei in ensuring that the CPA is implemented:
http://www.enoughproject.org/abyei

The BBC recently covered the story much better than I can:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7409967

Or watch the video coverage by Al Jazeera:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI12r8OOKug

Trouble in Khartoum

The latest news out of Khartoum this week. I'm glad right now that I'm in the South and away from the fighting. The conflict in Darfur is separate from the civil war in the South, but in order for peace to stick in South Sudan the conflict in Darfur must be resolved.

From Sudan Radio Service:
(http://www.sudanradio.org/news.php)

12 May 2008 – (Khartoum) – Seventeen Sudan Armed Forces soldiers are confirmed dead and more than 15 wounded in an attack by the Darfur anti-government group, the Justice and Equality Movement, on Saturday in Omdurman.

The number of JEM soldiers killed has not been confirmed. However, Sudan Television reports two commanders of the movement, convoy leader Mohammed Salih Jabra and the intelligence chief Mohammed Nouri-Din, were killed.

No specific information about the number of civilians killed or wounded is yet available.

Sudan Radio Service Khartoum bureau producer Nichola Mandil reports that on Sunday the Governor of Khartoum state, Dr. Abdelalim Al-Mutasi, announced that a curfew is being imposed in order to help security organs search for any JEM fighters who may still be in the capital. The curfew means people will be restricted to their homes from 5 p.m. until 10 a.m. the next day.

Mandil says despite the curfew, Khartoum itself is starting to return to normal, with only Omdurman still off-limits.

[Nichola Mandil]: “From eastern Sudan, Port Sudan and Kassala, people are coming to Khartoum by bus. From Gezira, Madeni and from El-Obeid the movement is fine. Only movement is restricted in Omdurman and also in some areas from Khartoum-North. But otherwise in different areas the markets are opened, but only to enter Omdurman is not possible at all and from Omdurman to enter Khartoum is not possible.”

Mandil quotes Governor Al-Mutasi asking citizens in the capital to respect the curfew and report what the governor called “suspicious movements.”

Meanwhile, Sudan Television is quoting sources within the Sudan Armed Forces as saying they will pay 250 million Sudanese pounds for any information that leads to the capture or death of JEM leader, Dr. Khalil Ibrahim.

On Sunday, Dr. Ibrahim told the BBC that he was in Khartoum and was headed to the Republican Palace in order to topple the Sudan government, but the Sudan Armed Forces says it has repulsed and chased the movement away from the capital. Early Monday morning there were some reports that Dr. Ibrahim has now been captured, but this could not be confirmed.

Some eyewitnesses in Khartoum told Sudan Radio Service on Sunday said that they saw many dead bodies lying on the streets in Omdurman and vehicles apparently belonging to JEM were destroyed and burning.

The eyewitnesses also said that they saw JEM soldiers moving all over Omdurman, especially around Suk Libya and even up to Suk Al-Shabi.

After returning from Saudi Arabia, President Omer Al-Bashir says that Sudan has cut diplomatic relations with Chad following the attack, blaming Chad for supporting and financing the anti-government group. Some alleged JEM soldiers who were captured appeared on Sudan Television saying they came from Chad.

However, Chad says it was not involved in the attacks. Speaking to Al-Jazeera television, the Chadian information minister called on the Sudanese government and all the Darfur movements to continue seeking a peaceful solution to the conflict.

But a peaceful solution seems further away than ever. Presidential Adviser Mustafa Osman Ismail says that peace talks between the national government and the Justice and Equality Movement would be suspended as a result of the attacks.

The attack on the capital had impact outside Darfur, as well. First Vice President of the Republic and President of the Government of Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, condemned the attacks and announced the SPLM would postpone its second national convention, which was supposed to start in Juba on Sunday.

The attack also garnered attention from outside the country. The United States government says it is very concerned by the outbreak of violence in Khartoum and is urging both sides to exercise restraint. And UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon also expressed concern about the fighting and called for an immediate ceasefire.

Massacre

A sad sad story from a part of the world that really doesn't need this infighting to continue. I won't write my own views on this sad event- as you can see in the later links the issue has become very politicized by both sides and speculations are running wild. I will just let you read what others have been writing...

http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article21839

http://www.gurtong.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2727&mode=threaded&pid=26396

http://www.gurtong.org/ResourceCenter/documents/Letters/BudiCommunity-Massacre-of-54-innocent-civilians-by-Toposa-at-Ngauro.asp

http://www.gurtong.org/ResourceCenter/documents/Letters/LauroMassacre.asp

Law and Order

Law and order in Sudan is nonexistent! In other countries if there is a car accident- it’s called an accident. There is insurance, police, courts, etc, etc. In Southern Sudan there is a 'take justice into your own hands approach', especially when it comes to the army. This makes it worse because they all have guns, are bored, underpaid and still trying to fight the war. Following an accident there is no justice for the victims or perpetrators. Someone else who is around remains responsible and anyone foolish enough to get in the way faces a sort of mob justice.
Two nights ago 5 soldiers showed up at our compound after beating up one of the drivers of a vehicle that we sent out in the field. They had gotten information about the plate number of the vehicle and decided to beat up the wrong guy based on this information. They were actually looking for a different vehicle that was also parked at our compound (how it got here is a long story…). They coincidentally happened to find it here and decided that since the driver had run away that they should take the owner of the car or the car itself. Of course based on no evidence except that they had guns and said so. In the dark night I had to tell five tall shadowy men with guns to leave our compound and to take the vehicle with them and sort it out in the morning. I heard that the punishment was for the owner of the car to pay $1000 for the hospital bills of the injured soldier.
The day after this I got another lesson on the lack of discipline and order among the army. There was a shooting in town when a soldier lost it and shot his friend and another person and in return he was shot himself. The army barrack is in the middle of town so those affected by internal fights are likely to be civilians. Even following the peace agreement, the rule of the gun is still the strongest rule of the land. No need to worry mom - things are fine and I am safe, I just needed to vent about my frustrations of living in such a violent gun ridden place.

Meeting the chiefs

Several tribes in this area are fighting heavily over cattle, so now the chiefs must get together to try and work things out. This is part of their tradition and culture since anyone can remember. So many things are intertwined with the stealing of another tribe's cattle that it’s hard to imagine it ever changing- although over time and with greater development and access to education I hope that it can.

Cattle here is the source of wealth, only more important because it determines who you can marry. Each woman is given a dowry of a certain number of cattle when she is married and the number of cattle that she is worth depends on many factors. Marrying off your daughter is a way of gaining wealth for your family. This means that the women don’t have much choice in who they marry- it depends on the man who can provide the largest dowry regardless of what the woman wants. Because of being a source of wealth daughters are treated as precious and are second in importance only to the cattle. The way a local told me, the household is ranked- first in importance is the man, then the cattle, then the wife- because she will bring you the children to get more cattle, then the daughter- because she will bring more cattle when she is married, and last the son who is only there to protect his sisters but has no real means to bring more wealth into the family (unless he steals some cattle of course).

During the war in Sudan many tribal conflicts such as these were exacerbated and politicized in order to gain allegiance to either side. Then when the guns flooded the area the whole idea of cattle rustling became a much deadlier game. Now people are being killed over cattle and no one really knows why they are fighting anymore. In essence there were several wars going on in Sudan at the same time- that between the North and the South and that between the South itself. Both need to be addressed in order to have a lasting peace and for the Comprehensive Peace Agreement to hold.

But at least we are speaking about peace, even if it only a short term fix to the problem of cattle rustling. The chiefs in the area come together to discuss how many cattle were raided from each side and what the way forward is from here. The Toposa chiefs come with their own mobile chairs that they carry with them at all times. The arrangement of seating is based on hierarchy with the elders also playing an important role in the discussions. Arguments arise on both sides, but hopefully through dialogue stolen cattle will be returned and an agreement not to steal each other’s cattle will be reached. As you can see, there were no women at this meeting as this kind of role is seen as “men’s talk”. I’m encouraging them to send some female representatives, but changing that role will not happen overnight… Sadly the women are all out doing all the work- collecting the water, the firewood, preparing the food, taking care of the children, etc… Sudan will still be far from a sustainable peace unless all members of the community are really involved- including the women.