THE DETENTION OF SLA HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR SULIMAN JAMOUS

Folks,
When Zoellick, Frazer, et al wave the DPA in front of you, call Minni Minawi's signing of it a great success, and tell you just to shut up and pray that everybody else, esp. A bdul Wahid el Nur, signs on and we can then concentrate on the majestic unfolding of the DPA (a.k.a the Abuja Plan of Desperate Wishful Thinking), ask them to respond to this briefing from Julie Flint.
John






THE DETENTION OF SLA HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR SULIMAN JAMOUS
AND TORTURE OF ZAGHAWA CIVILIANS BY SLA/MM (updated)

On 20 May, 15 days after Minni Minawi signed the Darfur Peace Agreement, Suliman Jamous, the humanitarian coordinator of the Sudan Liberation Army and a critic of Minawi's abusive leadership of the SLA, was "arrested" in Bir Maza village in North Darfur as he supervised a relief distribution. Jamous, 61, has been missing without trace ever since and there are growing fears for his safety. Some of his guards who were arrested with him - but who have subsequently been released - say he was separated from them on the day of their arrest and taken to an unknown destination.

A group of neighbours and relatives who enquired about Jamous with the man they say led the attack on Bir Maza - Minawi's chief of staff, Commander Arko Suleiman Dhahia Domay - were themselves detained and tortured. Richard Lourens, the AU sector commander who saw some of the men after their release, has described injuries of burn marks and swollen jaws that the victims say were caused by pistol-whipping, ropes and cigarettes.

Minawi disputes the version of events given by the people of Bir Maza, members of his own Zaghawa tribe who recognized his forces. He claims that Bir Maza was attacked and villagers tortured by "Chadian mercenaries". He has said in private conversations with US officials that Jamous himself is a "Chadian mercenary", well-aware that anticipated spoiling tactics by Chad touch a very raw nerve with those who brought the DPA home. UN Security officers have contradicted Minawi's description of events in Bir Maza. In a report to UNMIS on their visit to Bir Maza, they say there was no attack on Bir Maza by Chadian mercenaries - rather by Minawi's own forces.

Jamous, an SLA reformer, facilitated the UN Commission of Inquiry and last year was chosen by the SLA to act as liaison with the International Criminal Court. He has been in the forefront of efforts by SLA reformists to limit the abuses of the SLA - specifically those of Minawi - and to forge a new unity based on a collegial, multi-tribal leadership.

After Jamous's "arrest", 15 villagers from Bir Maza sought an audience with Commander Suleiman, a close relative of Minawi, to enquire about him. Asked why they were interested in his fate, they responded: "Because he works in humanitarian affairs". One of the 15, a 50-year-old trader called Abdalla Ali Hassaballah, quotes Commander Suleiman as saying: "I can shoot Jamous and sodomize any of you". The 15, aged between 35 and 60, were stripped naked, put under the open sun and beaten. They say that shots were fired into the air around them "to terrorize" them. In a final humiliation, three of the 15 - Sidiq Jaber Adam, Bakhit Sharafeddine and Hamid Khater Sherif - were driven around Bir Maza naked on open trucks. Bakhit was taken to his house and displayed before his wives and children. When his family started gathering, shots were fired towards the women.

Minawi's men told the villagers: "We will force the peace on you!"

The 15 were then taken to Muzbat, administrative centre of Minawi's Zaghawa clan, the Awlad Digayn. They were detained for six days in a windowless, 4-by-5 meter cell which held 27 prisoners. When they asked why they were detained, they were told: "Your fault was attempting to see the commander." Thirteen have now been released. Before being released, they were told to perform waddu - the washing Moslems must do before praying or touching the Qoran. Then they were forced to swear an oath, on the Qoran, "not to disclose the secrets of the revolution."

Possessions stolen from them by SLA/MM include 53 barrels of petrol, one Land Cruiser, one Thuraya, three watches and two pairs of shoes.

In taped testimony, supported by photographs that clearly show fresh injuries including rope burns, beatings and cigarette burns, the men report that some of the prisoners with whom they were held have been imprisoned in Muzbat for as many as seven months - under torture and without medical treatment. They are aware of the danger of speaking out, but have said they want their story told.

There is extreme concern for Jamous's safety. He is an outspoken critic of Minawi's abuses - including the executions of scores, and possibly hundreds, of civilians and soldiers - and is on record as saying he will not give cover to any criminals in Darfur, whether government or rebel. There is also concern that his continued detention will lead to an inter-Zaghawa war in North Darfur. Khater Tor al Khalla, the first Zaghawa to join the SLA training camps in Jebel Marra in 2001, has warned he will do whatever is necessary to gain Jamous's release and safe return. Tor al Khalla has the support of hundreds of fighters and former fighters who left the SLA because of Minawi's abuses and the poor leadership of the rebel movement. Jamous's own Bideyat are also organizing to free him - by force, if necessary.

It is the second time in three months that Jamous has been detained on Minawi's orders. The first time was on 11 February after he met with Kofi Annan's special representative, Jan Pronk. A man in his early 30s - Isaac Sinin Osman - was killed in the artillery attack on the village where Jamous was at the time. Three others were seriously injured. Villagers were interrogated and beaten. Jamous was released after the energetic intervention of Jan Pronk.

This "arrest" followed attacks by Minawi's faction on three other internal critics - Jar al Nabi Abdul Karim (Zaghawa), Saleh Adam (Berti; cousin of Gen. Ibrahim Suleiman) and Suleiman Marajan (Meidop). Jar al Nabi succeeded in averting violence, but the two other attacks both resulted in deaths. Marajan was captured in a night raid and held for three weeks - in shackles for much of the time - in Malam al Hosh. Although Minawi claims publicly that he released Marajan, he has acknowledged privately that Marajan did indeed escape. (Details of the above available upon request.)

Jamous was born in 1945 in the Anka district, but grew up in Shigeig Caro in North Darfur. He graduated in mechanical engineering from Khartoum's Polytechnic University and later studied paper technology in Alexandria. Resident in Khartoum, he joined the National Islamic Front - despairing, like so many, of Sudan's traditional parties. When the NIF split in 1999, he sided with the Hassan Turabi faction for two reasons, both specific to Darfur: Turabi wanted the governors of Darfur's three states chosen by the states, not by Khartoum, and supported a decentralized economic policy. Jamous joined the SLA in 2003 on leaving Khartoum after a decade of on-off imprisonment by the NIF.

Julie Flint
Co-author, with Alex de Waal, of Darfur - A Short History of a Long War
6 June 2006

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