Sudan accuses UNAMID of seeking to cover up South Darfur incident
April 29, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government has accused the hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) of seeking to cover up what it called the “heinous crime” committed by its troops in South Darfur town of Kass last week.
Tribal leaders in Kass insist that the armed group was going after stolen cattle when they encountered the peacekeepers patrol, while UNAMID stresses that its troops were only reacting to hostilities directed at them.
Sudan Tribune’s correspondent in South Darfur cited UNAMID patrol soldiers as saying that a group of gunmen tried to steal the vehicle they were riding on thus forcing the unit to engage them using firepower.
Sudan’s foreign ministry on Wednesday has expressed regret that UNAMID and its headquarters in Sudan, New York and Addis Ababa sought to criminalise the innocent victims instead of offering condolences to their families and the Sudanese government.
The ministry spokesperson, Ali al-Sadiq, in a statement released in Khartoum, described UNAMID’s reaction as an “attempt to cover up the heinous crime committed by its troops in Kass and the violation of its mandate and the international and humanitarian norms and laws”.
Both the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki Moon, and the head of the of the African Union commission, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, underscored the peacekeepers have been attacked by the armed gunmen, saying they returned fire in self-defence.
UNAMID acting chief Abiodun Bashua also rubbished the government’s claims stressing that his troops were only reacting to hostilities directed at them.
Sudan’s foreign ministry requested the UNAMID to admit its mistake and to offer an apology, stressing the government’s commitment to protect rights of its citizens.
It also renewed demands to the UNAMID’s headquarters in Addis Ababa and New York to take the necessary measures to capture the perpetrators and compensate families of the victims.
The statement said that UNAMID troops in Kass opened fire on Thursday on a group composed of 40 people who were not involved in the carjacking of the mission’s vehicle, saying two people were killed instantly and four others were taken to the mission’s camp where they have been “liquidated with cold blood”.
It added that thousands of the victims’ families had besieged the mission’s camp and threatened to break into it, demanding revenge for the victims and punishing of the perpetrators.
According to the statement, the local and regional authorities arrived at the incident scene on Friday to contain the situation and protect the UNAMID’s troops, saying the mission’s officials sent reinforcement to despite of its agreement with the state’s government not to do so.
“They [UNAMID troops] opened fire on the citizens and the security committee and the traditional administration leaders who were trying to calm the situation leading to the killing of a seventh citizen and injuring several others including women,” the statement reads.
It added the state government asked the tribesmen and the families of the victims to withdraw and end the siege on the camp, saying they responded to the government demand and left the scene.
“However, they insisted to besiege the camp again to retaliate for the killing of their sons if the UNAMID does not meet their demands including punishing the perpetrators and compensating the families of victims according to the local customs,” it added.
On Saturday, Bashua acknowledged the conflicting versions of the events in Kass, telling local UNAMID commander in South Darfur that a joint commission of inquiry needs to be formed.
He called for swift payment of blood money and damages so as to preserve the government’s credibility.
But the UNAMID commander said that no disbursement of funds can be made without thorough analysis of the claims and submitting it to the UN leadership in New York and awaiting a response.
He called on the governor to calm the people while they wait for New York to respond.
ATTEMPT TO CREATE DISSONANCE BETWEEN SUDAN & AU
Meanwhile, the member of the government investigation committee on the incident and head of the government side in the tripartite team tasked with developing UNAMID’s exit strategy from Darfur, Jamal al-sheikh, said the incident would not extend mission’s presence in the region even for a single day.
He said in a press conference Wednesday that Bashua’s claims that African peacekeepers are the ones who have been targeted is nothing but an attempt to drive a wedge between the government and the African Union in order to make the latter refuse to sign the mission’s exit decision.
Al-Sheikh accused unnamed persons, agencies and countries of having agenda and interests behind the continued presence of the mission in Sudan, stressing that the mission’s troops had fired first at tribesmen.
He said the UNAMID patrol killed four civilians hostages inside the mission’s camp without verifying their identity, pointing the criminal report showed the victims were shot all over their bodies.
The Sudanese diplomat also pointed that 7000 tribesmen demanded apprehending perpetrators and paying the blood money swiftly or they would otherwise break into the mission’s camp.
He denied accusations made by the UN chief that the government refused to evacuate a peacekeeper injured in the incident, stressing the Ethiopian blue helmet had fallen from watchtower.
Al-sheikh further accused the UN chief of distorting the facts.
(ST)