Sudan describes video on Janjaweed defectors as ‘fabrications’
March 3, 2009 (CAIRO) — The Sudanese government said that a series of videos showing defecting members of the notorious Janjaweed militias and soldiers speaking about attacks carried out in Darfur as well as their links with government officials were fabricated.
One of the alleged Janjaweed commanders shown by the name of Suleiman said that he met with Sudan 2nd Vice President Ali Osman Taha who came to Al-Fasher in North Darfur.
“He gave us instructions; just you bring to us your people, Arab people from there. I give you the weapons, the money, the horses, the camels and the uniform” he said.
Suleiman also claimed that Taha told them “We need only land. We don’t need the people here”.
Rights group and Western governments say the Sudanese government has used the Janjaweed as auxiliaries against Darfur rebels and civilians suspected of rebel sympathies. The government denies this and says the Janjaweed are outlaws.
Another Janjaweed soldier by the name of Ali said that they received the orders from Khartoum. He described killing children as young as five years old.
A senior army finance officer on the video said that money and salaries to the militias was distributed by Ahmed Haroun, state minister for humanitarian affairs who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“There is a promise to the Janjaweed beside the money they give them, they must take everything in the village” Suleiman said.
A Sudanese solider named Osman said that raping women and girls “is an order” and those who defy would be killed.
Suleiman acknowledged that rape was not ordered by the government “but they have all the information”.
The Sudanese ambassador to Cairo Abdel-Moniem Mabrouk said that the allegations by the defectors “are baseless”.
Mabrouk said that it was proved that these testimonies have been proved to be “a hoax” which is why “they were pulled from the internet”.
The Sudanese official further accused certain organization of paying some anonymous people to make these statements in order to “support the position of the International Criminal Court (ICC)”.
He criticized the Egyptian media for re-publishing the video saying that they should work to “ensure accuracy when receiving material from suspicious organizations that are closely linked to Western circles”.
Some observers in Khartoum have suggested that the move was correlated with worsening relations between Egypt and Sudan over the Gaza crisis. The Sudanese government attended an emergency summit in Qatar on the Gaza conflict which was boycotted by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Authority.
Cairo viewed the summit as a gathering of more radical voices working counter to its efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas movement which is in control of the Gaza strip.
Darfur, an arid area the size of France, has been ravaged by violence since 2003, when rebels took up arms, accusing Khartoum of ignoring the region.
The ICC issued arrest warrants for one Sudanese minister and a militia commander in connection with the Darfur war crimes.
Tomorrow the ICC judges will issue their decision on the application submitted last July by prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo in which he requested the issuance of an arrest warrant for Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir on three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder.
(ST)