By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, August 22 -- With Sudan blocking any outside investigation of human rights abuses in Southern Kordofan, over the weekend it allowed in certain UN humanitarian agencies -- so that they could meet with International Criminal Court indictee Ahmed Haroum.
With Haroun's razor thin election as governor condemned by a just-finalized report, Khartoum's goal in belatedly letting the UN agencies in appears, just as the granted request that the UN fly Haroun in a UN helicopter to Abyei, to be legitimating Haroun despite his ICC indictment.
Inner City Press asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's acting deputy spokesman Farhan Haq on Monday about Southern Kordofan and about Haroun's reported firing of 177 Nubans civil servants. On the latter, Haq typically had no answer, saying he would check with the UN Mission in South Sudan -- which has no jurisdiction -- or with undefined "political colleagues."
Perhaps this means UN official Haile Menkerios, who approved Haroun's two flights in UN helicopters, for "peacemaking" in Abyei that obviously didn't work. Haq also told Inner City Press to direct questions about killing in Darfur by government-aligned militias "to UNAMID." But that $1 billion UN - African Union mission has not responded to Inner City Press' questions:
I was just told to "ask UNAMID" about the following:
"A sheikh in Hamidiya refugee camp in Zalingei, West Darfur was allegedly shot dead on Saturday by gunmen loyal to the Sudanese government. Witnesses said that the perpetrators shot Sheikh Abbas Juma Barak twice in the chest by a creek between Zalingei town and Hamidiya refugee camp. The coordinator of the Zalingei camps [said]that camp leaders had informed the United Nations African Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) of the incident."
So, was UNAMID told about it? If not, has it sought any corrections? If so, what has UNAMID done? Also, just to confirm, does UNAMID deny it was informed of the following:
"Nine (9) gunmen riding horses are reported to have looted three (3) cars carrying goods and passengers on its way from Marchin to east of Jebel Marra in South Darfur on Monday. One of the passengers in the car [said] “The gunmen raped four (4) women at gunpoint in front of Nazerem in daylight in Ramadan.” The passengers in the car were also asked to empty the goods and subjected to beating by the armed men. The incident has been reported to the United Nations African Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)."
What does UNAMID say about this? Has it sought any correction? Or done anything?
Finally, for now, what is UNAMID's knowledge of any attack on any UN affiliated person earlier this month in or around Fur Baranga in West Darfur?
So far, the UN has denied the last of these three allegations; UNAMID denied even hearing about the second, and there has been no response on the first. We'll see.