Harassment of civilians reported in Shilluk Kingdom
NAIROBI, Oct 7, 2004 (IRIN) — Armed groups including the Sudanese national
army, military intelligence and various armed forces aligned to the
government have abused civilians on several occasions in southern Sudan,
the United States-funded Civilian Protection Monitoring Team (CPMT)
reported.
“There is an unmistakable pattern of looting of civilian livestock assets,
which coupled with harassment and intimidation of civilians, spell grave
humanitarian consequences for the IDP [internally displaced persons] in
Malakal [in Upper Nile State],” the CPMT said in a new report released on
Wednesday.
“The government must immediately end the insecurity being posed by its
allied forces in order to avert a humanitarian crisis in Malakal and
surrounding areas. The local population should be allowed to resume their
livelihoods and IDPs must feel safe to return to their homes and plant
their crops before the end of the current rainy season,” it added.
Malakal, the headquarters of Upper Nile, has an estimated 35,000 IDPs,
who, according to the CPMT, live under difficult humanitarian conditions.
The IDPs fled into the town to escape instability that has been
experienced in Shilluk Kingdom since the October 2003 defection of Lam
Akol from the government-allied SPLM-United [Sudan People’s Liberation
Movement break-away faction) to the SPLM/A [Sudan People’s Liberation
Movement/Army].
Lam Akol was a senior member of the SPLM/A before breaking away with
others to form the SPLM/A-Nasir in a rebellion that split the movement in
1991. He again broke away in 1995, becoming chairman of SPLM-United,
signed an agreement with the government in 1997 and served as its
transport minister for five years.
The CPMT report, which also carries reports of interviews with Sudanese
government officials, details confirmed arrests and harassment between
April and July in Malakal and nearby villages. The armed forces, it said,
“shot at, intimidated and threatened civilians in areas around Malakal,
causing fear among local residents and in most cases forcing them to
abandon their life-sustaining economic activities such as fishing,
collecting firewood and charcoal burning.”
“It is the responsibility of the government of Sudan to control members of
its army and other armed elements within its ranks, notably the South
Sudan Defense Forces, which is responsible for much of the destruction in
the Shilluk Kingdom,” it said. “The government must also ensure that its
military officials are trained to abide by the international laws
governing their conduct, and more specifically, the agreement between
government and SPLM/A to protect non-combatant civilians and civilian
facilities from military attack.”
According to the CPMT, government militias had also attacked villages on
the north banks of the White Nile, west of Malakal, during March-April and
killed at least one civilian. They also looted the villages.
“The government must ensure that the perpetrators of these attacks are
identified and punished,” it said.
Another investigation by the CPMT found that in July, armed men attacked
Tonga village in the same region, where an estimated 24 civilians have
been killed since March when the conflict in the Shilluk Kingdom
intensified. During the attack, 11 civilians were abducted, of whom, six
were killed. Some 32 head of cattle were looted.
“The government of Sudan is reminded of its own commitment to refrain from
targeting or intentionally attacking non-combatant civilians. [It] should
take all precautions feasible to avoid the incidental loss of life, injury
to civilians, and danger to public objects, as per the agreement [with the
SPLM/A],” Brig-Gen Frank J. Toney, CPMT’s program manager said in the
report.
The full report can be found at: http://www.cpmtsudan.org