بيـان مـن الأمم المتحـدة والإتحـاد الإفـريقـي عـن مـذبحـة خـور أبشـي

JOINT STATEMENT BY


THE AFRICAN UNION MISSION IN THE SUDAN

AND

THE UNITED NATIONS MISSION IN THE SUDAN

ISSUED BY

AMB. BABA GANA KINGIBE AND MR JAN PRONK

ON
THE ATTACK AND DESTRUCTION OF KHOR ABECHE

ON 7 APRIL 2005 BY ARMED MILITIA

We learnt with utter shock and disbelief of the relentless day long attack on KHOR ABECHE by armed militia of the MISERIYYA tribe of NITEAGA. The over two hundred-strong force was on horseback and camel under the command of one NASIR AL TIJANI ADEL KAADIR. They were later reinforced by another group of 150, again coming from NITEAGA. They rampaged through the village, killing, burning and destroying everything in their paths and leaving in their wake total destruction with only the mosque and the school spared. This attack, the savagery of which has not been seen since the sacking of Hamada in January 2005, was apparently in retaliation for the alleged theft of 150 cattle whose tracks were supposedly traced to KHOR ABECHE village. AL TIJANI further claimed that the attack was also because the SLA, who controlled KHOR ABECHE, refused to surrender the bodies of two of his men who were killed on 9 March 2005 in an earlier failed attempt by the militia to destroy KHOR ABECHE.

We condemn this senseless and pre-meditated savage attack. The AFRICAN UNION had been engaged in discussions with the Wali of South Darfur and Mr. AL TIJANI on several occasions in the past on how to maintain the security situation in the area. Indeed, the AU had prepared to deploy its troops in NITEAGA and KHOR ABECHE since 3 April, to deter precisely this kind of attack, but was prevented from acting by what can only be inferred as deliberate official procrastination over the allocation of land for the troops’ accommodation.

The callous destruction of KHOR ABECHE by NASIR AL TIJANI and his lieutenants is in clear violation of not only the N’JDAMENA and ABUJA AGREEMENTS but also runs counter to numerous United Nations Security Council Resolutions, including Resolution 1591 which seeks to ensure that the perpetrators of such acts no longer enjoy impunity and are brought to justice. Indeed, pursuant to operative paragraph 3 (c) of UN SCR 1591, the name of NASIR AL TIJANI ABDUL KADIR and his identified collaborators will be passed on to the Committee established by the UN Security Council for that purpose.

In the meantime, we expect that Government authorities will also take appropriate action against AL TIJANI who had in their very presence, repeatedly threatened the destruction of KHOR ABECHE until he finally did so on the 7 April 2005.

It bears repeating that despite what happened, we urge all the parties to show restraint, not to retaliate and observe their obligations under the various agreements they signed and in view of the obligations that UN Security Council Resolutions 1591 and 1593 impose upon them.