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April 4, 2008

Disparate bands now terrorize in Darfur, says church leader

by Fredrick Nzwili
Ecumenical News International

NYALA, Sudan — Relief organizations in Sudan’s western Darfur region face fresh threats from roaming armed militias belonging to new rebel groups without a known political agenda, who target vehicles in hijackings in which humanitarian workers are sometimes killed.

“Humanitarian groups are now becoming targets more than ever,” the Rev. Fred Nyabera, the executive director of the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa, told Ecumenical News International in Nyala, south Darfur. “They’re operating under stringent conditions, where they are exposed to the threat of armed factions and criminal elements.”

Nyabera is part of an international team of church representatives visiting Sudan from March 26-April 2, including the general secretary of the World Council of  Churches, the Rev. Samuel Kobia. The team is visiting Khartoum, Darfur, and the southern part of Sudan.

People associated with church-backed aid groups in the region say that in recent months the splinter rebel groups have become the new face of the Darfur conflict, which has shifted from the initial causes of fighting for rights, resources and development.

Darfur, a region in western Sudan about the size of France, has the world’s largest aid operation due to a conflict that experts from international organizations say has led to the deaths of more than 200,000 people and driven 2.5 million from their homes.

Humanitarian workers told the church delegation that Darfur was difficult and dangerous, but its desperate need for relief aid for displaced people makes them stay. Earlier, the conflict was characterized by the violent activities, including killing and raping, said to have been committed by the Janjaweed, a pro-government mainly-Arab militia whose name means “men on horseback.”

However, the Janjaweed is quietly disappearing and its place is being taken by bandits or and other militias, say people in the area. At first, there were three main rebel groups, but there are now believed to be as many as 25 militia groups.

In separate attacks earlier in March, bandits killed three World Food Program truck drivers. Then, on March 24, unidentified gunmen shot and killed the program's Mohamed Ali and injured his assistant on the main route to Nyala as they were trying to deliver humanitarian assistance.

“We hear of an increase in carjacking of humanitarian staff and killings of humanitarian personnel by these groups,” said Nyabera, while visiting Nyala in south Darfur as part of the WCC delegation.

“We are extremely shocked and saddened by these incidents. Drivers who are delivering WFP humanitarian assistance and our contracted trucking companies are facing daily acts of violence,” the WFP Sudan representative, Kenro Oshidari was quoted as saying in news agency reports from Sudan on March 25.

Several other organizations including Christian relief agencies have also had vehicles attacked by bandits during violent robberies.

Some people in Darfur said vehicles are sold off in neighboring Chad or Libya, while some are mounted with guns and used in the conflict. Others are dismantled and sold off as spare parts.

“Without solving these conflicts, there will be no just peace for anybody,” Sudanese church leaders said in a statement on March 26.

In May 2006, a peace agreement for Darfur was signed between the Sudanese government and the largest rebel group but two smaller rebel groupings rejected it.

“Pressure has to be put on those who signed, did not sign and those who have not implemented,” said Pastor Yesse Kubo of the Episcopal (Anglican) Church in Sudan.  He said he was optimistic peace would come to Darfur. But at the same time, a lot needs to be done, he added.

Some African church leaders say Darfur needs a political solution and a commitment from all parties involved. This would strengthen the resilience of the local people, who despite the violence still trade at a market in Nyala.