Continuing Violations of Human Rights in South Kordofan and Blue Nile States: 24 August - 8 September 2011

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1 Continuing Violations of Human Rights in South Kordofan and Blue Nile States: 24 August - 8 September 2011 The success of South Sudan s January 2011 referendum and the peaceful separation of the North and South contrasts sharply with renewed violence in two of Sudan s contested three areas, Blue Nile and South Kordofan states. Recent patterns of violations in South Kordofan indicate that aerial assaults and arbitrary arrests and detentions continue despite the unilateral ceasefire announced by President Omar el Bashir in late August. Since fighting broke out in Blue Nile state on 1 September, the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) monitors have documented numerous cases of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detention, persecution of SPLM-N members and their families and what looks to be evidence of arming potential militias. ACJPS condemns these violations of fundamental rights and freedoms perpetrated against residents of South Kordofan and Blue Nile states and makes the following recommendations to the Government of Sudan, National Congress Party (NCP), Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement North (SPLMN-N), and the members of the international community in the interests of peace and stability in Sudan: The Government of Sudan and the SPLM-N should declare an immediate ceasefire and an end to hostilities. The Government of Sudan and the SPLM-N must also urgently allow humanitarian actors full access to provide services to the many victims of the conflicts in South Kordofan and Blue Nile. The Government of Sudan should immediately cease all aerial assaults. The persecution of the Nuba community in South Kordofan and persons suspected of affiliation with the SPLM-N must stop immediately. All persons detained in South Kordofan and Blue Nile should be charged with crimes or released. If they continue to be held in detention, they should be held in official prisons and should receive medical treatment, if necessary, and family visits. The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies is dedicated to promoting human rights and the rule of law in Sudan through ongoing monitoring of human rights violations in the country, promotion of legal reform and the understanding of legal challenges facing Sudan and national and international advocacy on these issues. To subscribe to our mailing list or for more information, please info@acjps.org. 1

2 The Government of Sudan should respect the framework agreement on political partnership between the NCP and SPLM-N and political and security arrangements in Blue Nile and South Kordofan, signed in Addis Ababa on 28 June. Any resolution to these conflicts should include strategies for addressing outstanding political and security issues such as the governance arrangements of the two states, the status of the SPLM-N as a political party and the status of the SPLM-N soldiers in both states. Noting the 13 th Periodic Report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, ACJPS calls on members of the international community to mandate an international inquiry into violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in South Kordofan. Agents of the ruling National Congress Party have perpetrated the large majority of the violations of human rights committed in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states. Members of the international community, particularly the African Union, UN Human Rights Council and UN Security Council should condemn these violations and send the message to perpetrators that they will be held accountable for crimes committed. In order to achieve sustainable peace and stability in Sudan, the parties should work towards full implementation of all components of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) including the determination of the future status of Abyei, demarcation of the border, the conduct of popular consultations in South Kordofan, and completion of the popular consultations in Blue Nile and the CPA mandated legal reform process in North Sudan. I. Background Although they sit solidly within Sudan geographically, significant portions of the population in South Kordofan and Blue Nile aligned themselves with the Sudanese People s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) during and after the war between the Government of Sudan and the SPLM that culminated in the signing of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The grievances articulated by the SPLM against the Government of Sudan including discrimination, intentional underdevelopment and political and economic marginalization, resonated with some of the communities in South Kordofan, particularly in the Nuba Mountains and in Southern Blue Nile, which led to significant representation of these communities from the two border states in the SPLA. Violent clashes between the SPLA and the government took place in both states during the late 1980s and 1990s. The Nuba community, in particular, experienced extreme suffering at the hands of the Government of Sudan in the early 1990s, during a government-sponsored counter-insurgency campaign aimed at depopulating the Nuba Mountains. 1 During the Naivasha peace talks, the SPLM initially argued for self-determination referenda in Blue Nile and South Kordofan and annexation of Abyei. 2 However the SPLM negotiating team only succeeded in securing a referendum for Abyei. In fact the status of the remaining two contested areas was so contentious that the relevant protocol was one of the last to be negotiated by the SPLM and NCP negotiating teams. Eventually Blue Nile and South Kordofan were dealt with together in a joint protocol to the CPA, signed in Naivasha in July 1 Alex De Waal, Averting Genocide in the Nuba Mountains," Social Science Research Council, 22 December 2006, (Accessed September 20, 2011) 2 International Crisis Group, Sudan: Towards an Incomplete Peace, 11 December,

3 2004. The protocol outlined power-sharing arrangements in the state governments, allocations of funds to war-affected areas, and the conduct of popular consultations in both states that would allow the populations to express their views on the CPA. 3 According to the Security Arrangements Protocol of the CPA, all SPLA, with the exception of those in the combined SPLA/SAF Joint Integrated Units (JIUs), were to redeploy out of Blue Nile and South Kordofan as soon as the JIUs were up and running. Following the death of John Garang in July 2005 and the related weakening of the New Sudan proponents within the SPLM, the party turned its attention inward to the South, leaving the status of the military and political futures of South Kordofan and Blue unresolved. The April 2010 elections did little to settle these remaining questions. The Southern Kordofan elections for state executive and assembly were delayed due to questions about the validity of the 2009 census data for the state. In Blue Nile, Malik Agar was the only SPLM candidate to win a northern state Governorship but the NCP won a majority in the state legislature and the election in the state increased tensions between NCP and SPLM supporters, with allegations of NCP rigging reported in the media and rumours of northern troop build-up in what some guessed was an attempt to forestall an SPLM victory. In March 2011, following the overwhelming Southern vote for secession in January, the SPLM northern sector official split off from the SPLM, forming the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N), headed by Governor Malik Agar with Abdelaziz Al Hilu as the Deputy Chairman and Yasir Arman has the Secretary General. The redeployment of SPLA out of the two areas never fully took place. And the popular consultations that were supposed to help shape the political future of the two areas were never fully understood by the population, despite the first steps of the consultations having taken place in Blue Nile in early The controversial South Kordofan state elections and the secession of South Sudan took place in this context of tension and uncertainty. II. A South Kordofan: Overview Fighting broke out between Sudan s Armed Forces (SAF) and the SPLM-N in the border state of South Kordofan in June 2011 following the conduct of previously delayed elections for Governor and State Assembly. Although the vote took place peacefully, the SPLM-N alleged that the National Congress Party (NCP) and the National Electoral Commission committed fraud during the tabulation process and announced that it would not recognize the outcome of the elections, nor would it participate in any government established by the elections. On 15 May, NCP candidate Ahmed Haroun was announced the winner of the Gubernatorial poll by a margin of just 6,000 votes. In late May the Government of Sudan demanded that all units of the SPLA in the territory of northern Sudan disarm or withdraw to South Sudan by June 1 st as per the provisions of the CPA. The SPLM and SPLA leadership argued that this provision did not apply to units comprised of persons from Blue Nile or South Kordofan as these soldiers were northern Sudanese and therefore belonged on the northern side of the border. On 5 June, the SAF s Reserve Forces entered Um Dorain, approximately 30 kilometers south of Kadugli, with approximately 21 tanks through the Al-Kuik checkpoint during the morning commute. 3 Protocol between the Government of Sudan (GoS) and the Sudan People s Liberation Movement (SPLM) on the Resolution of Conflict in Southern Kordofan/Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile States (26 May 2004). 3

4 Shooting began when the Reserve Forces attempted to disarm the SPLA troops at the 1956 border. 4 In the following days and weeks, violence spread throughout South Kordofan with government-sponsored militias attacking civilians and looting properties, the SAF conducting devastating aerial bombardments of densely populated Nuba areas resulting in massive displacement, and security agents conducting widespread arrests of persons suspected to have ties to the SPLM-N and/or the Nuba community. 5 African Union mediators announced on June 16 that the two parties had agreed to cease hostilities. On 28 June, the Sudanese government and the SPLM-N signed a framework agreement in Addis Ababa detailing political and security arrangements in South Kordofan and Blue Nile under the auspices of the AU High Implementation Panel led by former President Thabo Mbeki. However President Bashir quickly denounced the agreement saying that the government refused to negotiate with arms carriers. 6 Fighting between the parties and aerial bombardments continued in July and August. 7 In early August the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights published a preliminary report documenting alleged violations of human rights and international law in South Kordofan during the month of June. 8 The report found that violations allegedly committed by the SAF, the Popular Defense Forces, and the police may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. The OHCHR called for an independent inquiry into the alleged abuses to assign responsibility for the crimes committed. Despite the 23 August declaration of a unilateral ceasefire in South Kordofan by President Bashir during a surprise visit to Kadugli, ACJPS has found that rights violations, as documented below, continue with no end in sight. II. B. Extrajudicial Killings, Arrests, Torture, and Militia Activity El-Farshaya El-Farshaya is 30 km north of El-Dalang city and is populated by El-Sabi, El-Mandal, Dodro (Nuba tribes) and Arab El-Hawazma, Dar Bokhota, Miserya (Arab tribes) and the Barno, Falata and Hausa. 4 African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies, "On the Brink Again: Conflict and Ethnic Cleansing in South Kordofan," July 2011, (Accessed 20 September 2011). 5 Ibid. 6 "Sudanese president rejects framework agreement on South Kordofan, Blue Nile," Xinhuanet, 07 July 2011, (Accessed September 20, 2011) 7 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), South Kordofan Situation Report No. 15, 25 August 2011; Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), South Kordofan Situation Report No July Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "Thirteenth periodic report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Sudan: Preliminary report on violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Southern Kordofan from 5 to 30 June 2011," August

5 On 24 August 2011, the SPLM-N forces killed a Gamar Ali, a civilian who belongs to Dar Bokhota Arab tribe. On 25 August, Ali Babikir Ahmed (nickname: Abakaro), an SPLM-N affiliated civilian belonging to the El-Barno tribe was shot. A masked person shot him in a small hall where people congregate to watch television in El-Farshaya. Witnesses identified the perpetrator as a member of the government intelligence forces. Abakaro was taken to El-Dalang hospital for treatment. On 28 August 2011 at 03:00 pm, a group of NCP members murdered Mohamed Murad Wd El-Mak (the king of Ngimang one of the Nuba tribe branches) in El- Farshaya area. Citizens in the area also reported that SAF military intelligence launched a campaign of indiscriminate arrest and detention of Nuba after entering the areas of Jabel Hajar, El-Sabi and El-Mandal. ACJPS documented the arrest of 42 elderly members of the Nuba by SAF intelligence. Many of the youth from the village had already fled the area due to the aerial bombardment. Those arrested were taken away with their hands tied behind their backs and their eyes covered as women from local Arab tribes sang derogatory songs inciting violence. Youth members from the village had already been evacuated. ACJPS also documented the movement of significant military forces in the area. On Saturday the 30 th of August, new forces from SAF entered El-Dalang city. It is estimated that the force included approximately 40 military cars (Tatchers and Urals) and carried numerous different kinds of weapons such as Doshka, Submachine guns, Four-Machine guns, Klanket, Hooker, Katusha and other weapons. Abu Jebeha: On Monday, 29 August at 02:00 am, more than 200 SPLM-N politicians were arrested by the Battalion number 14 of SAF infantry in the Abu Jebeha area. Governor Ahmed Haroun, visited the area on 2 September 2011 with the Minister of Defence to meet with the area security committee in the SAF headquarters. Detainees are being held in the SAF General Command building and an abandoned ice factory near the General Command building. The army has refused to allow the families of the detainees to visit them in these makeshift detention facilities. Residents in the neighbourhood near the detention facilities report that they hear the detainees screaming during the night, making it very likely that the detainees are suffering torture. One SAF officer reported to ACJPS monitors that he received orders explaining that the detainees are SPLM-N sympathizers who leak SAF army movements to SPLM-N forces. ACJPS has been able to confirm that the following persons are being detained in these facilities, though the identities of many of the other detainees are unknown: Aisha El-Safi; Fatima Kajo; El-Sarih Borma; Mukhtar Abdul Rahman; Mukhtar El-Zuber; El-Hadi Manga. 5

6 Widespread arrests of SPLM-N sympathizers are ongoing. ACJPS received reports that the government recently transferred security agents from Khartoum to South Kordofan with the purpose of questioning the detainees from Abu-Jebeha. Areed On 7 September 2011 at 12:00 pm in Areed area 70 km South East from Abu-Jebeha Popular Defence Force (PDF) aligned members of the Awlad Hameed tribe shot a member of the Nuba community who carried tribal markings and was carrying a Garanet bomb. This led to an outbreak of violence in the area, which resulted in the death of 30 Nuba and 6 persons from Awlad Hameed tribe. ACJPS has received reports that PDF are distributing arms to NCP-affiliated Arab civilians in the Abu-Jebeha. An ACJPS monitor documented heavy PDF movements of troops who were chanting pro-islamic war slogan along roads in the city. Furthermore, injured Nuba people from Areed area were refused medical attention at Abu-Jebeha hospital. II. C. Aerial Bombardments, Displacement, and Possible Mass Graves IDPs interviewed by ACJPS have reported on-going bombing campaigns since 28 August in the in Toma, Abu El-Hassen, El-Fead and Um-Abdullah areas. ACJPS also documented displacement among El-Sabi and El-Mandal people, who were subjected to aerial bombardments. The IDPs interviewed noted that the government prevented all independent organizations from entering the area to provide humanitarian relief. The only relief supplies allowed in were from a supply convoy from the Sudanese Red Crescent, which was accompanied by PDF forces. ACJPS also received reports that the Sudanese Red Crescent has been involved in creating mass graves. An ACJPS monitor interviewed citizens who reported that the Director of the Red Crescent Mrikha El-Daw Mrikha supervised the burning of dead bodies in mass graves near Tolo School and that he is a close friend of Governor Ahmed Haroun. Local citizens reported that those whose bodies had been burned were killed during clashes in Kadugli and that the police headquarters accepted the burning of the dead bodies after receiving an official letter from the Red Crescent authorizing the burnings. III. A. Blue Nile: Overview On 28 and 29 August, just after President Bashir announced a unilateral ceasefire in South Kordofan, ACJPS monitors reported that the Government of Sudan moved significant military forces and heavy equipment into Blue Nile state. 9 On 1 September clashes broke out following a joint SAF/PDF attack on an SPLM-N convoy in Damazein. That same evening, an aircraft attacked the home of SPLM-N Governor of Blue Nile State, Malik Agar. 9 African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies, Sudan - Blue Nile Civilians at Risk, Peace Prospects Diminishing, September 3, 2011, (Accessed September 20, 2011) 11BlueNileCiviliansatRiskPeaceProspectsDiminishing.html. 6

7 On September 2, President Bashir declared a state of emergency in Blue Nile, suspending the application of the Interim Constitution in the state, sacking Governor Agar and replacing him with a military commander Major General Yahya Mohamed Khair. Fighting has continued in the weeks since with the UN reporting clashes in Damazein and in towns southeast and southwest of Damazein. The UN also reported the dropping of four bombs near Kurmuk on 12 September. 10 The fighting caused significant displacement. The UN recently quoted figures indicating that 115,000 people fled Damazein while 20,000 fled the west of the state. The UN also estimates that approximately 20,000 people fled into Ethiopia from Blue Nile. 11 On 12 September the National Assembly of Sudan endorsed the extension of the State of Emergency in Blue Nile and the government s military campaign against the SPLM-N. The Chairman of the National Assembly, Ismail al-haj Moussa claimed that the Assembly was calling on the government to continue its military campaign regardless of any talks. 12 On 20 September, President Bashir appointed Al Hadi Bushra the Acting Governor of Blue Nile. As in South Kordofan, the government campaign in Blue Nile includes arrests and harassment of persons suspected of affiliation with the SPLM-N. In the days following the outbreak of fighting in Blue Nile, the NCP declared the SPLM-N illegal and began closing down its offices and arresting its members throughout the country. ACJPS monitors have documented the commission of numerous human rights abuses including, but not limited to, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detentions, systematic targeting of civilians and perceived members of the SPLM-N political party and the arming of militias. III. B. Extrajudicial Killings: ACJPS monitors documented the extrajudicial killings of the following persons by joint forces of NISS and SAF: Abbas Giddo - Giddo was a vegetable seller. SAF detained and shot him when he attempted to escape. Awad Hijazi lives in El-Damazin. Mahgoub Abdul Azim lives in El-Damazin. III. C. Arbitrary Arrests and Detention Immediately after fighting broke out, makeshift detention camps were set-up to house soldiers and civilians suspected of affiliation with the SPLM-N in El-Damazin and El- Roseris. The government called on all SPLM-N members to gather at these detention centers. More than 100 SPLM-N members and their affiliates were arrested. On 3 September 2011, the following SPLM-N members were arrested from Roro El-Tadamon, 100km west of El- Damzein: 10 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), South Kordofan and Blue Nile Situation Report No. 18, 12 September 2011, (Accessed September 20, 2011) 11 Ibid. 12 Sudan s National Assembly Endorses Military Campaign in Blue Nile, Sudan Tribune, 13 September 2011, (Accessed 20 September 2011), 7

8 Abdul Rahman Obied; Abdallah Ismail; Mohamed Abdullah; Abbakar Adam; Obied Mohamed Eisa; Siddig El-Tom; Haydar Othman; Joma a Abdullah; Khamis Abdul Karim; Salih Yousif; Adam Mohamed Adam, from Agadi - Place of detention is unknown; Hafiz Mohamed Ibrahim; Mohamed Hassen Hussien; Ibrahim Abdullah; Sa ad, from El-Sirio city Place of detention is unknown; Obied Othman from El-Tadamon locality. The members of the state Ministry of Finance, part of the portfolio of the SPLM-N, were also immediately targeted as soon as the State of Emergency was declared in Blue Nile. On 3 September, the following government officials were detained: Hassen Abdul Mageed Director of the Crops Markets; Omer El-Shemi Vice Director; Abdul Aziz Sa ad Allah Finance Manager; Mobarak Mukhtar Makki Minister of Finance; Ramadan Yasin Director of Humanitarian Affairs it is not clear if he has been detained or killed. ACJPS also received unconfirmed reports that that the Oil Director Mohamed Suliman was killed. On 4 September, NISS arrested the following government officials and SPLM-N supporters in Blue Nile state. Abdullah Eisa lives in El-Daraga neighbourhood and works as the Director of the Lands Department in the state; Mohamed Abdul Gadir lives in El-Ryadh neighbourhood and works as the General Director in the Ministry of Social Welfare in the state; El-Daw Abbas was arrested from Hillat El-Hajar, northern El-Roseris, and lives in El-Janoobi neighbourhood in El-Roseris. Adam El-Fiel lives in El-Janoobi neighbourhood in El-Roseris; El-Daw Dafa a Allah lives in El-Janoobi neighbourhood in El-Roseris; Abdul Karim Ibrahim lives in El-Janoobi neighbourhood in El-Roseris; El-Daw Salih lives in El-Janoobi neighbourhood in El-Roseris; Hassen Hussein El-Sirio - 10 km Northern Damazin ; Yousif El-Hadi from El-Sirio Northern Damazin; Sho eb El-Hadi from El-Sirio Northern Damazin. III. D. Targeting of the families of SPLM Members: 8

9 Following the outbreak of fighting in Blue Nile, the SAF launched a campaign of intimidation and harassment against the family members of SPLM-N soldiers or politicians. An ACJPS monitor interviewed the daughter of an SPLM-N solider who was arrested after the outbreak of the clashes. She was ordered to call her father to surrender immediately or else she would not be released. Her house was also looted, along with many of the houses of SPLM-N members in the state. On 4 September 2011, some of the wives and daughters of SPLM-N members from the Bidos area 20 km Northern El-Roseris were arrested. Their names are: Ikram Salih; Asia Jah Allah; Zahra Sabit; Gisma El-Mogaddam; Fatma Jubara On 3 September, SAF officers opened fire on a car belonging to the Governor of El-Roseris, Skokr Allah. The governor s sister was seriously injured and his nephew, age 30, and two young female children died. III. E. Civilian Casualties: On the 7 September 2011, Abdul Rao of, a student in the Faculty of Engineering, his sister and mother were shot by SAF in El-Roseris. A six-year old girl in Dam was wounded and died from shots fired by SAF soldiers during a firefight. III.F. Militias and Arms Distribution: The NCP began an arming campaign of the Rofa a tribe in the Gely area on 6 September, mainly targeting youth. An ACJPS monitor met with a young man who was asked by the NCP to take a weapon. He refused the weapon. Some people interviewed by ACJPS monitors expressed fears that the government may begin systematic killings of the El-Angasana, El-Hamaj, El-Barta, El-Maban and El-Fonj (indigenous) tribes in order to make way for the Arab and Fallata tribes. The interviewees also expressed fears that the Fallata are being activated as a militia, as they are often sighted working openly as soldiers. Monitors in El-Roseris documented trucks patrolling the neighbourhood and transporting people from the Fallata tribe carrying their weapons during a military sweep. III.G. Looted Properties: NISS looted the house of SPLM-N leader Brigadier Mohamed Younis. The looters took a white Toyota Corolla (2008 model) with shaded windows. The Popular Defence Force (PDF) attacked and looted the ousted SPLM-N Governor Malik Agar s home and the Cultural Center. The SPLM-N headquarters in El-Roseris, FC Scotland and ECOM offices were looted by perpetrators wearing military uniforms. 9