(New York) — The government of Sudan is permitting abusive Janjaweed militia to maintain at least 16 camps in the western region of Darfur, Human Rights Watch said today. The U.N. Security Council set a deadline of Monday, August 30, for Khartoum to comply with its commitments to stop atrocities in Darfur.
Despite repeated government pledges to neutralize and disarm the Janjaweed, Human Rights Watch investigators in West and North Darfur were able to gather information on the militias’ extensive network of bases. Human Rights Watch said the U.N. Security Council must impose sanctions on Sudanese government officials for their failure to disarm and neutralize the Janjaweed militia, including those in the militia camps.
The Human Rights Watch mission to investigate recent abuses returned from Darfur on August 19.
“Throughout the time Khartoum was supposedly reining in the Janjaweed, these camps have been operating in plain sight,” said Peter Takirambudde, executive director of the Africa division of Human Rights Watch. “These Janjaweed camps should be immediately investigated by the U.N. and the African Union ceasefire monitors, then disbanded.”
Human Rights Watch said that any militia members found in the camps should be investigated for war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.
Five of the 16 camps, according to witnesses, are camps the Janjaweed share with the Sudanese government army. Even more ominous, the Sudanese government has incorporated members of the Janjaweed militia and its leaders into the police and the Sudanese army, including Islamist militia the Popular Defense Forces (PDF), which is under army jurisdiction.
The Sudanese government has disclaimed responsibility for arming the Arab nomadic ethnic groups in Darfur to fight against the two largely African rebel groups there. Khartoum denies responsibility for the actions of these ethnic militias that are known by their victims as “Janjaweed.” As Human Rights Watch has documented thoroughly, the Sudanese government has armed, recruited and supported the Janjaweed militias that have participated with government forces and government aircraft in campaigns attacking civilians and villages in Darfur since early 2003. These attacks constitute crimes against humanity and “ethnic cleansing.”
Human Rights Watch said the United States and other countries with satellite capacity should make available past and present satellite photographs of the locations of these Janjaweed camps to confirm their existence, and to search for other such militia installations.
“If the United Nations is serious about seeing the Janjaweed disarmed, they’ve got to know where these militias are based,” said Takirambudde. “Janjaweed and government forces take over villages they’ve driven people out of and from those bases continue their looting and killing.”
Human Rights Watch called on the U.N. Security Council to mandate the African Union to protect civilians in Darfur, consistent with the African Union Peace and Security Council’s July 27, 2004 Communiqué. The African Union has already fielded 100 ceasefire monitors pursuant to a ceasefire agreement signed in N’djamena, Chad on April 8 between the government and the two rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).
Human Rights Watch said that, as a logical part of their duties under the ceasefire agreement of April 8, the African Union ceasefire monitors should list the names and ranks of all individuals in those camps, and catalogue the weapons and other war materiel such as vehicles. This should form the basis for verifying that none of the individuals listed participates in any government law enforcement or other job in the future, and that the weapons are not used again.
Despite its many pledges to disarm the militia, the government has produced no list of Janjaweed militia who have been disarmed or serial numbers of confiscated weapons, for verification by the African Union ceasefire monitors or others, including U.N. officials.
Human Rights Watch urged the U.N. Security Council, which on July 30 set a deadline of 30 days for the Sudanese government to comply with its commitments, to impose sanctions on government officials for failure to disarm and neutralize the Janjaweed militias.
“The existence of these Janjaweed camps shows clearly that Khartoum is not at all serious about ending atrocities and providing security,” said Takirambudde. “The fact that there are still armed camps filled with killers terrorizing civilians in Darfur makes it impossible for people to go home.”
In its Resolution 1556, article 6, the Security Council “demands that the Government of Sudan fulfill its commitments to disarm the Janjaweed militias and apprehend and bring to justice Janjaweed leaders and their associates who have incited and carried out human rights and international humanitarian law violations and other atrocities.” (U.N. Security Council Resolution 1556, July 30, 2004)
“Real, targeted sanctions will bring home to Khartoum that the world will not let their ethnic cleansing in Darfur stand,” said Takirambudde.
Human Rights Watch said that the possible sanctions for the Security Council to consider include a Security Council arms embargo on sale or trade of weapons to the Sudanese government and an embargo on all oil transactions with Sudan.
The Sudanese government promised in four separate agreements outlined below in the past four months to “neutralize” and disarm the Janjaweed, but the Janjaweed camps described to Human Rights Watch apparently have not been touched. All were set up in the last 14 months since the armed conflict in Darfur began, the earliest in June 2003.
The heavily-armed camps, as described by witnesses, include three that were allegedly opened as late as July 2004, after the July 3 date when Sudanese President Omar El Bashir promised U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in a joint communiqué to “immediately start to disarm the Janjaweed and other armed outlaw groups.” These camps appear to have been established in the wake of the government offensive in South Darfur in June that violated the ceasefire agreement of April 8, 2004.
Several of the Janjaweed bases are located within kilometers of internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, such as those at Masry, Kutum and Um Sayala in North Darfur, and near Nyala in South Darfur. The displaced in government IDP camps have been targeted by Janjaweed and government soldiers for further rape, robbery, extortion and killings, according to testimonies of displaced persons. Human Rights Watch said that measures under discussion for protection of civilians contemplate identifying “safe areas,” to be secured by Sudan police forces that include members of the Janjaweed militias who may have been responsible for crimes against humanity now redeployed to protect the same civilians they forcibly and violently displaced. Real protection of civilians can only occur when the Janjaweed—believed to number some 20,000— are placed under guard instead of being used to guard more than one million internally displaced persons in 140 sites registered by the World Food Program.
Human Rights Watch called for restitution for the victims of the Janjaweed-Sudanese government attacks and looting. A sequential study of satellite images should establish movements in and out of the camps of vast quantities of stolen property, including furniture, vehicles and livestock.
“The livestock is many Darfurians’ livelihood,” said Takirambudde. “The theft and destruction of homes, furniture, vehicles, crops and livestock is absolutely devastating.”
Human Rights Watch said that no militia, army or police force has any business possessing, trading or warehousing such goods. All items in each Janjaweed camp should be inventoried and preserved under neutral control, for eventual return to their rightful owners.
NAMES AND DETAILS OF JANJAWEED CAMPS IN DARFUR
Listed below are the 16 camps (camp names are given by victims and rebels). Human Rights Watch noted that the list is not exhaustive and refers mainly to camps in West and North Darfur.
Other Janjaweed camps, not in the list below, that have been identified include Mistiriyah, the main base for Janjaweed militia leader Musa Hilal located outside Kebkabiya town, and new camps that have been established over the past three months, including at Saraf Omra in North Darfur; Mercoondi in South Darfur; and Um Dukhun, Buram, and Abugradil in West Darfur.
USTANI
Location: west of Serif Omra (also the location of an IDP camp), near Hashaba, on the road between Geneina and Kebkabiya, West Darfur
Opened: June 2003
Composition: Janjaweed commanders (very few fighters) and not less than 200 Sudanese government troops
Name of Janjaweed commander: Ahmed Jeladi
Structure: Houses and tents, airstrip for helicopter (only the Sudan government has helicopters and aircraft)
Notable for: First Janjaweed camp opened; Janjaweed headquarters for all North Darfur (Darfur was previously divided into North and South Darfur, and this headquarters has jurisdiction over the old North Darfur, including most of an area that is now West Darfur)
JEBEL KAYA
Location: 30 kilometers east of Geneina, between Geneina and Hashaba, West Darfur, in the mountains
Opened: June 2003
Composition: Janjaweed only, number unknown
Structure: airstrip for helicopter
Notable for: Janjaweed headquarters for West Darfur; livestock stolen in North and West Darfur kept here. Most Janjaweed camps are provided with sheep from this location, and the sheep are sometimes transported by helicopter to other camps.
GIRGIGIRGI
Location: 85 kilometers northeast of Geneina, West Darfur
Opened: September 2003
Composition: Janjaweed only, number unknown (this was the base of the now-deceased Janjaweed leader Shurkutallah)
Structure: old village, civilians driven out
DAMRA SHEIKH ABDEL BAGUI
Location: 10 kilometers west of Kutum (location of IDP camp), North Darfur
Opened: November 2003
Composition: Eighty Janjaweed; unknown number of Sudanese government and/or police
Names of Janjaweed commanders: Omda Adam Abdel Jalli, Jedou Adam Abdel Nabi
Structure: Tents
MASRY
Location: 7 kilometers southwest of Kutum (location of IDP camp), North Darfur
Opened: August 2003
Composition: Janjaweed and Sudanese government army troops, 500 altogether (majority Janjaweed)
Names of Janjaweed commanders (three brothers): Abdel Jabar Abdallah Gibrin, Georgi Abdallah Gibrin, Hassan Abdallah Gibrin
Structure: Old occupied village
Equipment: Well equipped, all types of weapons
MILLA (30 villages)
Location: 75 kilometers northeast of Kebkabiya, North Darfur
Composition: Janjaweed only, more than 300
Name of Janjaweed commander: Abdul Wahid (retired government army soldier)
Structure: occupied villages, civilians (Fur, Tunjur, Zaghawa) driven out
Equipment: six vehicles
UM SAYALA (Lumlum, Alku, Hilla Khater, El Haj Oulad Babay, Um Hamnoki villages) (Um Sayala is the location of an IDP camp)
Location: 20 kilometers east of Kutum, 5 kilometers west of Um Hiaye, North Darfur
Opened: late 2003
Composition: Janjaweed and Sudanese government army troops together totaling 300
Names of Janjaweed commanders: Yohanes Abdallah Jadallah (Itefat tribe), Illei Ahmed Taher (Jallul tribe), Abdelhazim Ibrahim Abdallah Jadallah (Itefat), Mohamad Saleh Ibrahim Abdallah
Structure: occupied villages, civilians (Tunjur, Mima) driven out
Notable for: More than one hundred villagers reportedly were killed when the camp was installed, sixty-nine in Lumlum alone.
Note: visited by African Union ceasefire monitors on July 11, 2004 (the government of
Sudan complained of an attack on their forces at Um Sayala on July 3, but the A.U. ceasefire monitors after investigation concluded that no such attack could be verified)
FUNU
Location: west of Kutum (location of IDP camp), West Darfur
Opened: January 2004
Composition: Janjaweed and Sudanese government army troops (separated by a wadi or seasonal riverbed)
Numbers: The number of Janjaweed varies but never less than 200; Sudanese government troops, 300.
Structures: No tents during the dry season, Janjaweed camp under the trees
Equipment: well equipped, most types of weapons the Sudanese government possesses (sometime brought by helicopter)
Notable for: Stolen livestock kept here
UM HEGLIG
Location: northeast of Mellit (east of Kutum; both locations of IDP camps), North Darfur
Opened: January 2004
Composition: Janjaweed only, number unknown but high rotation
KUMA
Location: 60 kilometers east of El Fasher, North Darfur
Composition: Janjaweed only, number unknown
Structure: camp installed outside the village of Kuma
ABU JIDAD
Location: 60 kilometers south of Karnoi, West Darfur
Opened: May 2004
Composition: Janjaweed only, no less than 500
Structure: Occupied farms (farmers cannot access their houses or fields)
Equipment: many weapons and five vehicles provided by the Sudanese government
ISHARAYA
Location: 75 kilometers south of Nyala, 3 kilometers north of Buram, South Darfur
Opened: May 15, 2004
Composition: Janjaweed only, number unknown
Structure: occupied farm villages, civilians (Binga, Mima, Kretch, some Masalit) driven out
Equipment: three or four cars and horses
KURGUE (15 villages), extension of Funu camp
Location: 85 kilometers west of Kutum, east of Funu camp, West Darfur
Opened: June 2004
Composition: Janjaweed only, about 200
Structure: old occupied villages (well, mosque), civilians (Fur, Zaghawa, Tunjur) driven out
Equipment: well equipped by Sudanese government; trucks, horses, and camels
ASSALAYA
Location: east of Nyala, 40 kilometers west of Ed Da’ein, 5 kilometers north of an Sudanese government army base, South Darfur
Opened: July 2004
Composition: Janjaweed and Sudanese government army troops, numbers unknown
Structure: airstrip for helicopter
Equipment: same as government army troops
RAZALLAH JAWAZAT
Location: east of Nyala, 8 kilometers west of Ed Da’ein, South Darfur
Opened: July 2004
Composition: Janjaweed only, 200
Structure: occupied villages, civilians (Borgo, Bergid, Sam Tama, Berti) driven out
Equipment: vehicles, horses, and some camels
TAISHA
Location: 17 kilometers east of Nyala (IDP camps in Intifida and Kalma, east of Nyala), west of Labadu, South Darfur
Opened: July 2004
Composition: Janjaweed only, number unknown
Structure: occupied villages, civilians (Dayo ethnic group) driven out
The Sudanese government promised to disarm and neutralize the Janjaweed—also referred to as “militias”—in the following agreements:
1. Agreement on Humanitarian Ceasefire on the Conflict in Darfur, April 8, 2004
Article 6: “The parties shall ensure that all armed groups under their control comply with this agreement. The Sudanese Government shall commit itself to neutralize the armed militias.”
2. Agreement Between the Government of Sudan, The Sudan Liberation Movement, and the Justice and Equality Movement, April 25, 2004
Article 4 (d): “the Government of Sudan shall ensure that armed militia are neutralized and disarmed in the framework of a programme to be determined”.
3. Joint Communiqué between the Government of Sudan and the United Nations, July 3, 2004
Article 3: On Security commits the government of Sudan to “Immediately start to disarm the Janjaweed and other armed outlaw groups.”
4. Darfur Plan of Action signed by the Government of Sudan and the U.N. Special Representative of the Secretary-General Jan Pronk, August 6, 2004
Article 4: Control and restrain activities by armed militias. “The Government of Sudan would identify and declare those militias over whom it has influence and instruct them to cease their activities forthwith and lay down their weapons”.
