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East/Subsaharan Africa
Sudanese Government Attacks Civilians (Again)
2003-06-11
EFL. This report came from an NGO site. I couldn't find any reports of this anywhere else. We've seen other reports lately of rebel activity, so I thought this would round out the picture.
At least 59 people were killed, 15 were injured, and ten children and six women abducted most likely to be sold into slavery when armed Sudanese government forces simultaneously attacked ten villages in Southern Sudan on May 22. The attacks happened in eastern Upper Nile in violation of internationally agreed ceasefire provisions.
I'm so shocked!
Government militia attacked the village of Longchok in eastern Upper Nile using a combination of rocket-propelled grenades, heavy machine guns and assault rifles, according to information received by the US NGO Servant’s Heart. The NGO reported that the troops were under the command of Second Lieutenant Mohammed Idris of the Sudanese regular army.
AKA John Smith...
Huts were set ablaze and many villagers were burned to death in their homes, including Presbyterian minister Jacob Gadet Manyiel, the region’s only Christian pastor. He was burned to death along with his wife and four children as government troops surrounded their home, threatening to shoot any family member attempting to escape the flames.
According to other reports, and to the four guys from Sudan I know personally, this is a common tactic.
The latest attacks are part of a continuing violation of current ceasefire agreements by the Sudanese government.
More details of additional government activity snipped.
The attacks on May 22 also violated a US-brokered agreement for the protection of civilians and non-combatants. However, even as the attacks were occurring, the Sudanese Foreign Minister was meeting in Washington with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, stating that a peace agreement was in sight. Last month during its six-monthly review of the Sudanese peace process, the US government disappointed many in the southern Sudanese community by failing to censure Sudan for its continued violations of the peace process. This failure occurred in the wake of a decision by the UN Human Rights Commission to upgrade Sudan’s human rights status and end the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Sudan.
I didn't understand this decision at the time, and I still don't. But then, I guess I'm expecting it to have some bearing on the actual situation in Sudan. ..
Both the Sudan government and the SPLA violate their agreements with seeming gleeful abandon. It'll be interesting to see if the Darfur rebellion continues growing. I think I've come to the conclusion that it'll be better for all concerned if Sudan is resolved into its component parts. Personally, I'd trade the whole thing in on a dog and shoot the dog.
Posted by:lkl

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