Darfur's Deadly Peace
by Julie Flint
There were hopes that the Darfur Peace Agreement would see the beginning of the end of the suffering of its people. Journalist Julie Flint reports that, three months on, the opposite has been the case.
The attackers reached the North Darfur village of Dalil around midmorning, in cars and on camels, "shooting like Janjawid", according to one report. Nothing was spared, not even the village school. The assailants killed one child inside the school and shot dead eleven others - 10 more pupils and a teacher - as they ran away.
But the attackers were not Janjawid. They were members of the faction of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army that is led by Minni Minawi, the only rebel leader to have signed the Darfur Peace Agreement which many hoped would begin to end the suffering of Darfur. But the opposite has been the case. Minawi is not a popular figure in Darfur and the fact that he supports the peace agreement means that many Darfurians don't. Rather than make overtures to non-signatories, to widen support for the agreement, Minawi's forces have attacked their former comrades in the rebel movement - sometimes alone, sometimes hand-in-hand with government and Janjawid forces. Villages like Dalil have been targeted simply because they lie in areas where Minawi's writ does not run.
In the three months since the Darfur peace talks were concluded in Nigeria under the auspices of the African Union, the situation in Darfur has gone from 'real bad to catastrophic', in the words of the United Nations' humanitarian chief, Jan Egeland.
July was the deadliest month for aid workers since the conflict in Darfur began in 2003, with eight Sudanese relief workers killed in ambushes, beatings and lynchings. Fighting displaced almost 50,000 people and put another 250,000 beyond reach of aid. Malnutrition rates rose above the emergency threshold in some areas. Rape increased sharply, with 80 cases reported in one displaced camp which usually sees three or four a month.
Police raids in displaced camps increased in frequency and in intensity. Although ostensibly to clamp down on alcohol brewers, sellers and consumers, many displaced believe that local authorities are trying to force them back to their villages, where survival would be precarious at best. The police say: 'Now that the war is over, you should go back to where you were before!'
The International Rescue Committee, one of scores of NGOs which has seen its access dramatically reduced, appealed for 'more protection for us and the population we serve.' Since the peace agreement was signed on 5 May, the under-resourced and poorly supported African Union has reduced the scope of its efforts to protect civilians and is totally absent from three of Darfur's main displaced camps - Abu Shouk, Al Salaam and Kalma. Relief workers say it is essential that the AU be strengthened immediately to provide greater protection for civilians, and that a future UN peace operation prioritise protection.
One of the reasons for the deteriorating security is that almost nothing has been done to implement the peace agreement and make Darfurians believe that it can work for them. There has been no ceasefire, no verification and withdrawal of forces, no disarmament of the Janjawid.
The most visible sign of implementation has been the appointment of Minawi on 5 August to the position of Senior Assistant to President Omar Bashir, the fourth highest executive post in Sudan. But Minawi is part of the problem, not its solution.
Hopes of an improvement in the situation are pinned on two initiatives that should materialise in September. These are the first meetings of the preparatory committee for an all-Darfur dialogue that is designed to build popular support for, and involvement in, the peace agreement; and a rebel commanders' conference to be held under the auspices of the southern rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Army, most likely in the southern town of Rumbek, to try to reunite the warring factions and elect a new 'unity' leadership.
But Darfurians are not optimistic. Khadmalla Hassan was driven from her village, Legediba, by the Janjawid in July and now lives in Otash camp near Nyala. She had 25 cows, 10 goats and some donkeys. The Janjawid killed seven villagers, stole everything she owned, and even made her saddle up her donkeys for them to ride away. When asked about the future, she responds: "Only Allah knows. I may have to stay in this camp forever."
Amnesty Magazine, September/October 2006
