Victory and defeat in a battle do not constitute a loss of the war
By Mahmoud A. Suleiman
This article comes against the backdrop of the battle between the Janjaweed militia codenamed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) hired by the ruling regime of the National Congress Party (NCP) and the forces of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in the al-Nikhala area west of the city of Tulus in the south of Darfur on Sunday April 2015. The (NCP) regime claimed that the (JEM) forces lost the battle suffered defeat at the hands of its proxy Janjaweed militia codenamed (RSF). This followed by the regime’s propaganda machine through the public media devices exaggerating the enemy’s losses in astronomical figures in the form of the dead, captives and booty in the form of vehicles, military hardware. This followed by the celebratory dancing of the professional dancer, NCP President in his third term in office after the sham April elections. His Defence Minister Abdelrahim Muhammed Hussein and the Spy Chief Mohamed Atta beside him were happy and in a trance!
The Stocktaking of victories of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) forces on the government of the National Congress Party (NCP) regular army and proxy militias since the outbreak of the Revolution of the people of Sudan in Darfur in 2003, the balance of JEM is unparalleled by all measures .
The ruling regime’s media mouthpiece continued harping on lies and false victories by the official denier liar, Colonel Sawarmi Khalid Saad. This Sawarmi reminded the Sudanese people of the yelling Colonel Younis Mahmoud, nicknamed “The Barking Dog” the official spokesman of the Army of the putschist National Islamic Front (NIF) in the beginnings of their coup d’état. At the time, Yunus was attacking with insults and curses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states in support of the position of President Saddam Hussein during the invasion of the State of Kuwait on the 2d of August 1990.
ETHNIC CLEANSING OF DARFUR STUDENTS
Ethnic Cleansing campaign against students from Darfur in universities and higher institutes in Khartoum sparked following the battles that took place between the Janjaweed militias rapid support force along with the NISS security device and the rebel Justice and Equality Movement forces in South Darfur area of al-Nikhala on Sunday 26 April 2015. Those savage Islamist students attacked fellow students from Darfur using all kinds of weapons that included sticks, machetes and guns resulting in seriously wounding of scores of students and murdering one Darfuri student leader. Harassment, intimidation and all kinds of racial hatred and obscenities remained going on.. The campaign continued unabated at the sight and scenes of the security services and the police in full complicity with the aggressor and obviously without any attempt to deter or stop the Islamist gangsters from attacking the unarmed students’ from Darfur. Those crimes continued by the NCP affiliated students using Lethal weapons of sticks, batons, machetes and firearms, tear gas and as well as grenades and gas blasts.
Targeting of students from Darfur in the Sudanese universities by orders from the Security Agency chief Mohamed Atta continued unabated. Reports by the Darfuri Students Associations group leaders stressed that the outcome of the aggression of the students of the National Congress Party (NCP) and the security services militia violence resulted into more than 105 students from Darfur wounded and 88 detained. Political observers indicated that the situation is very similar to the aftermath of JEM attack, under the codenamed “Operation Long Arm” on the Sudanese Capital Khartoum in May 10, 2008. Targeting built on hatred and racism against the citizens of the capital their origin and background from the Darfur region.
Moreover, and as usual, the (NISS) authorities paraded a number of the (JEM) affiliated forces who have been captured in the battle in the TV Channels of the regime without taking into consideration the International Law of Prisoners Of War (POW) in addition to the International Humanitarian Law. The regime has subjected the POWs into intimidation, humiliation and torture. In contrast to this stands out the way the rebel JEM deals with the (POW) belonged to the NCP regime. The manner the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) deals with POWs it captured from among the NCP regime’s forces remains a place of appreciation for respecting the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) for (POW) and Third Geneva Convention that protects (POW) and detainees. Treatment of JEM for POWs remains unparalleled.
ACTUALITIES AND FACTS
The question of what happened on the ground at the battlefield in the southern Darfur locality of al-Nikhala, west of Tulus town, South Darfur State we try to get facts from independent sources. The actualities are contrary to what the (NCP) media outlets and affiliated agencies have promoted. Here we review some of that as follows:
1) Ambush: the Janjaweed militias, codenamed Rapid Support Force (RSF) allied to the National Congress Party (NCP) regime that waging proxy war against the people of Sudan in Darfur had set up an ambush for the movement’s mobile military unit in South Darfur near the town of Tulus and the surrounding areas. Regrettably, the JEM vanguard forces fell in the ambush trap, resulting in casualties.
2) Sleeper cells with JEM forces. The Rapid Support Force (RSF) militia managed setting up an ambush for the JEM troops at the forefront, based on intelligence information they already had, sourced from sleeper cells, maybe, within the Movement, analysts say.
3) NISS used Chemical Warfare. There is a plausible theory reported by some media that the notorious security apparatus the (NISS) has used nerve gas against the rebel JEM forces in the battlefield of al-Nikhala. Nerve gas such as Mustard Gas, Sarin ‘GB’ and other types that their use internationally prohibited as warfare weapons of mass-destruction through neurological damage and death to the fighters.
4) Statistics of loss and gain
a) The NISS Propaganda exaggerated JEM losses in the battle while minimising the RSF & NISS losses.
b) Minimisation of RSF & NISS loss
c) JEM Chairman, the Supreme Commander of the Movement Armed Forces, Dr. Gibril Ibrahim Muhammed admitted the loss of the battle not the War; without shying off from telling the facts with honesty and to say and demonstrate the realities on the ground.
I conclude this article, in spite of the remaining lot that need saying, by saying: “Sometimes losing a battle you find a new way to win the War”!
Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman is an author, columnist and a blogger. His blog is http://thussudan.wordpress.com/