VZCZCXRO1006
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1110/01 1311029
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 111029Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2719
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KHARTOUM 001110 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR AF/SPG, PRM, AND ALSO PASS USAID/W 
USAID FOR DCHA SUDAN TEAM, AF/EA, DCHA 
NAIROBI FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA, USAID/REDSO, AND FAS 
USMISSION UN ROME 
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH 
NAIROBI FOR SFO 
NSC FOR JMELINE, NSC/AFRICA FOR SHORTLEY 
USUN FOR TMALY 
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI KAWC SU
SUBJECT:  West Darfur - Assaults Targeting Aid Agencies 
Intensify 
 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (U) Over the past several weeks, a spate of attacks 
targeting aid agencies in West Darfur has left a number 
of non-government organizations (NGOs) searching for 
options to counter the region's mounting security 
threats.  Even before these recent attacks, humanitarian 
emergency relief programs were limited by the lawlessness 
that grips much of the state.  Over the past month, armed 
individuals abducted NGO staff and vehicles, forcibly 
entered aid agency compounds in search of cash and 
commodities, and physically attacked humanitarian 
workers.  Most alarming to the U.N. and NGOs are the 
assaults that have take place in broad daylight in the 
West Darfur State capital of El Geneina.  Relief agencies 
have brought their concerns to the governor of West 
Darfur and the police chief in El Geneina hoping to see 
an improvement in security provided by local officials. 
However, some agencies are prepared to consider 
suspending their operations in El Geneina and other parts 
of West Darfur if the rash of attacks against the 
humanitarian community does not cease.  Aid agencies fear 
that unless the situation is brought under control soon, 
it is only a matter of time before staff are seriously 
injured or killed during an violent criminal act.  End 
Summary. 
 
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Assaults on Aid Agencies on the Rise 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (U) The past four weeks have witnessed a surge in 
attacks targeting humanitarian agencies in West Darfur. 
Although security for aid agencies has been a long- 
running problem in parts of West Darfur, the frequency of 
aggression towards aid groups in and near the city of El 
Geneina has surged since mid-April.  A new twist is the 
willingness and ability of armed groups to target aid 
groups during daylight hours in or near El Geneina where, 
in theory, Sudan's Government of National Unity (GNU) 
maintains a strong security apparatus.  The ease with 
which armed elements can force their way into aid agency 
compounds or carry out carjackings in the middle of the 
city in broad daylight alarms international humanitarian 
organizations working in the area. 
 
¶3. (U) On April 16 at 0200, three armed men wearing 
military uniforms entered a compound in El Geneina where 
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) parks 
some of its vehicles.  The ICRC guards thwarted the 
attempted theft of vehicles by alerting other staff 
members of the attack via radio.  The bandits fled after 
hearing the alert. 
 
¶4. (U) On April 18 at 1540, a group of armed men ambushed 
a convoy of four vehicles belonging to Catholic Relief 
Services (CRS) on a road 8 km north of El Geneina.  They 
successfully stopped the first CRS vehicle in the convoy, 
but drivers in the other three vehicles witnessed the 
attack and managed to escape.  The gunmen forced CRS 
staff to drive a great distance north of El Geneina where 
they then evicted the CRS personnel from the vehicle, 
abandoning them far from any major population center. 
The CRS staff made their way to a nearby town where they 
were assisted by African Union troops to return to safely 
to El Geneina. 
 
¶5. (U) On April 19 at 0400 in El Geneina, six armed men 
in police uniforms forced their way into the residence of 
a security guard employed by the UN and stole a number of 
valuables. 
 
¶6. (U) On April 20 at 2020 in El Geneina, five armed men 
allegedly in uniforms indicative of membership in the 
Popular Defense Force (PDF) carjacked a vehicle belong to 
the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP).  They forced the 
driver from the vehicle at gunpoint and made off with the 
car. 
 
KHARTOUM 00001110  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶7. (U) On April 28 at 1320 in El Geneina, armed robbers 
forced their way into the compound belonging to the 
Italian NGO COSV.  They first threatened and then beat 
staff demanding that they turn over all cash and 
valuables in the office.  This incident particularly 
disturbed the humanitarian community as it took place 
during the middle of the day. 
 
¶8. (U) On May 2 at 1330 at Ardamata camp for internally 
displaced persons (IDPs) at the edge of El Geneina, seven 
gunmen (four in military uniforms) ambushed a vehicle 
belonging to Save the Children-U.S. (SC-US).  They forced 
their way into the vehicle with three SC-US staff still 
inside and drove away from the city.  After traveling for 
approximately 62 km, the gunmen forced the SC-US staff 
out of the vehicle after robbing them of all 
communication gear, cash, and other valuables.  The SC-US 
employees returned safely to El Geneina after a long 
journey on foot and by donkey cart. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Reaction to the Latest Wave of Attacks 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) The U.N. and NGOs have only been able to 
speculate on the identity and motives of the gunmen 
perpetrating these attacks on the humanitarian community. 
Groups that are likely involved include:  Chadian 
opposition fighters, Arab militias, Darfurian rebels, 
ordinary bandits, and government soldiers and security 
personnel.  Certainly the volatility, instability, and 
lawlessness of the border area between Darfur and Chad 
contributes to an environment where all of these groups 
can operate without impunity.  The continuing demands of 
conflict require regular inputs of cash, vehicles, and 
communications gear which are often relatively easily 
obtained from aid agencies working in the area. 
 
¶10. (U) Aid agencies recently met with the chief of 
police in El Geneina and the chief of the government's 
Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) for West Darfur.  Some 
agencies warned the authorities in El Geneina that they 
would withdraw their staff and suspend programs in the 
greater El Geneina area if security conditions continued 
to degenerate.  In response to concerns of the 
humanitarian groups, the police in El Geneina scheduled 
more patrols and established additional static 
checkpoints around the city. 
 
¶11. (U) NGOs presented this issue to U.N. Under Secretary 
General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland during his 
visit to Darfur on May 8.  (Note:  During a May 9 donor 
briefing - covered septel - Egeland stated that eight of 
25 serious security events in Darfur involving the U.N. 
and NGOs in the past month had occurred in El Geneina 
town.  End note.)  Relief organizations working in West 
Darfur also debriefed U.N. Special Representative to the 
Secretary General for Sudan Jan Pronk and the donor 
 
SIPDIS 
community, seeking support in efforts to pressure the 
government to enhance security in El Geneina. 
 
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Comment 
------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) Violence targeted at international relief 
agencies in West Darfur is nothing new.  Most of northern 
West Darfur has been inaccessible to U.N. agencies and 
NGOs since late 2005 due to violence or potential for 
violence.  However, the recent increase in attacks 
against relief agencies in El Geneina and surrounding 
areas has alarmed NGOs, especially since the assailants 
have proven themselves able to commit violent offenses 
against aid agencies in the middle of the city during 
daytime hours.  Several NGOs stated their readiness to 
suspend operations in El Geneina if local authorities 
fail to react to this problem and put effective measures 
in place to reduce the threat posed by criminal activity 
in West Darfur.  Maintenance of a relatively secure 
 
KHARTOUM 00001110  003 OF 003 
 
 
environment where aid agencies can implement their 
programs in support of war-affected populations is 
certainly within the best interest of state and local 
government authorities.  If significant numbers of aid 
agencies suspend humanitarian operations in West Darfur, 
local officials lack the necessary capacity to provide 
essential services to the state's large conflict-affected 
population. 
 
HUME