VZCZCXRO4213
RR RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHNJ #1071/01 2301015
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 181015Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4256
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0822

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NDJAMENA 001071 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF, AF/C, AF/SPG, D, DRL, DS/IP/ITA, 
DS/IP/AF, H, INR, INR/GGI, PRM, USAID/OTI AND USAID/W FOR 
DARFURRMT; LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICAWATCHERS; GENEVA FOR 
CAMPBELL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PHUM PREF CD SU
SUBJECT: INSECURITY IN GUEREDA 
 
REF: NDJAMENA 1028 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  The town of Guereda, a hub for services to 
five Sudanese refugee camps in Eastern Chad, has experienced 
escalating insecurity since July 2006.  In the most recent 
incident, the U.S.-funded NGO International Medical Corps 
(IMC) suffered a major theft and violent assault on national 
and expatriate staff.  During meeting with donors, NGO,s and 
UN agencies, the former Chadian Minister for Territorial 
Administration, Mahamat Ali Nassour, noted that Government of 
Chad resources had been tied up defending Chad,s territorial 
integrity from hostile forces in Sudan; but with the recent 
agreement renewing diplomatic ties with Sudan, the GOC would 
be better positioned to confront the "bandits" responsible 
for vehicle theft and other assaults in the East.  He also 
promised that recruitment in the refugee camps would cease. 
End Summary. 
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - 
ATTACK ON NGO IN GUEREDA 
- - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶2. (U) On August 4, 2006 the IMC compound in Guereda came 
under attack by seven bandits.  The incident occurred around 
1945 while most of the expatriate staff were eating dinner in 
the guesthouse dining room.  The IMC doctor walked outside 
and was confronted by three men dressed in military uniform. 
The men pointed guns at the doctor and forced him to lie on 
the ground while the other assailants went into the dining 
room and instructed the other staff members to do the same. 
One of the bandits asked for the finance director, by name, 
and then ordered him to open the safe while the others were 
held at gunpoint.  As this robbery was taking place, one of 
the female staff members was coming out of her room, and was 
grabbed by the assailants.  In response to her resistance, 
the assailants hit her in the head with one of their guns and 
forced her on the ground with the others.  The finance 
director asked the finance officer to open the safe, at which 
time the bandits absconded with approximately 50,000 USD, 
money that was to pay staff salaries.  After the bandits 
left, the staff members searched the compound and discovered 
that the individuals had entered the compound by removing the 
barbed wire from the surrounding wall.  The IMC staff 
immediately called the United Nations High Commission for 
Refugees (UNHCR) security to report the incident. 
 
¶3. (U) During the incident, three staff members were injured, 
one of them, the female staff member who was hit in the head, 
had to be medically evacuated to the French hospital in 
Abeche for a skull fracture.  IMC decided to down-size 
activities and reduce staff by sending eight expatriates to 
Abeche and leaving four in Guereda to ensure minimal 
activities on the ground.  The day after the incident, and 
only a few hours before the expatriates were to evacuate by 
road to Abeche, the local authorities arrived at the compound 
and individually questioned the finance director and finance 
officer.  A few hours later the Secretary General (SG) for 
Guereda arrived and demanded documents that authorized IMC to 
relocate and suspend operations.  The SG also asserted that 
IMC had evacuated the injured woman without his approval. 
The SG requested that the finance director and finance 
officer go to the police station to sign their statements. 
The whole relocation convoy moved to the police office in 
hopes that the papers could be signed and they could continue 
on to Abeche.  A few hours later the local authorities 
informed the staff members that the finance director was 
being questioned and that the finance officer still had to be 
re-interviewed.  IMC eventually decided to evacuate its staff 
members via an Airserv flight to Abeche. 
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
GOC OFFICIAL ADDRESSES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶4. (U) On August 10, at the request of the newly-arrived 
UNHCR Country Representative, the former Chadian Minister of 
Territorial Administration, Mahamat Ali Nassour, met with 
donors, NGO,s and UN agencies to discuss the security 
situation in Eastern Chad.  Nassour stated that the 
Government recognized the vulnerability of humanitarian 
workers in the east, but pointed out that the resumption of 
diplomatic ties with Sudan would change the security 
environment.  Chad would now be able to pursue the "bandits" 
across the border into Sudan.  Furthermore a new strategy was 
being devised to support humanitarian operations, including 
recruiting new gendarmes, providing better communication to 
 
NDJAMENA 00001071  002 OF 002 
 
 
security forces and procuring a small airplane to perform 
reconnaissance on the border.  The Minister admitted that 
enhanced security measures would require the international 
community's support. 
 
¶5. (U) Following Nassour's presentation, IMC Country Director 
Frederick Royce stated that IMC was under attack by the 
Chadian military, with the complicity of the local 
authorities and population.  We have more to fear from the 
authorities, he argued, than from other sources, and cannot 
look to them for assistance.  In response, the Minister 
acknowledged that certain individuals implicated in the 
attacks may have procured Chadian uniforms, but that they 
were not associated with the Chadian military.  He announced 
that a new Prefect had been named for Guereda and expressed 
his vew that this individual would be able to do a bettr 
job of ensuring security than his predecessor. He also 
stated that he hoped to send up to 75 aditional gendarmes to 
Guereda. 
 
¶6. (U) In otherexchanges, the International Committee of the 
Re Cross (ICRC) noted that local authorities often pessured 
organizations to hire their family members who were not 
qualified.  As a result, the issue of employment of local 
staff had become an irritant between NGO,s and the 
community.  Better communication between the Chadian 
authorities in N,djamena and local authorities concerning 
the roles and responsibilities of the humanitarian 
organizations and the host communities and local authorities 
was urgently needed.  The representative for the French 
cooperation agency noted that impunity was rampant: in most 
cases malefactors were known to the authorities, but were 
never apprehended.  He also pointed out that recruitment in 
the refugee camps and among the local population by members 
of Sudanese rebel movements opposing the signature of the 
Darfur Peace Accords was a serious problem.  In response to 
these comments, the Minister stated that "a blind eye may 
have been turned to this activity before, but it will not 
continue."   U.S. representative (DCM) noted the recent USG 
contribution to UNHCR to support enhanced security measures, 
and reiterated that without the cooperation of the Chadian 
authorities at the national and local level additional 
security measures would not be effective. 
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - 
UNHCR EXPRESSES CONCERN 
- - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶7. (U) UNHCR,s internal report on the security situation 
pointed out that the administration of Guereda was Zaghawa, 
and that a climate of complete impunity for Zaghawas existed 
in the town.  According to this report, the regime's primary 
interest in Guereda is keeping an eye on the Tama (given the 
close proximity of the Tama rebellion led by Mahamat Nour 
across the border).  Similarly the regime had no interest in 
putting an end to recent intra-Tama/Goran conflict which had 
left over 40 individuals dead (reftel).  The new Prefect 
named by Nassour is also Zaghawa and reported to be - like 
his predecessor - illiterate.  UNHCR field security officer 
Elias Forsung, who conducted an assessment of the security 
situation in Guereda, told Economic/Consular officer on 
August 10 that the recent attack against the IMC may in fact 
be an attempt to force the international community out of the 
area to more discreetly permit attacks against the Tama 
population. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment:  The presence of the Minister of 
Territorial Administration at a meeting with donors was 
widely welcomed as a good first step in raising awareness at 
the highest levels in the Chadian government of the need to 
take stronger measures to restore a measure of security for 
humanitarian workers in the east.  Nonetheless participants 
privately expressed concerns that assurances were one thing - 
results still needed to be seen.  Furthermore, the recent 
cabinet reshuffle, in which moved Nassour out of his position 
as Minister of Territorial Administration, may hinder efforts 
to augment security in the refugee camps. 
WALL