VZCZCXRO2881
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0081 0191354
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 191354Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5838
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000081 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV MOPS PREL AU SU UN
SUBJECT: DARFUR: GOV DIVIDED ON COMMANDERS CONFERENCE 
 
REF: KHARTOUM 0068 
 
¶1. (SBU) Two Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) fighter planes overflew El 
Fasher on January 15.  Several Darfur Peace Agreement non-signatory 
commanders, who were planning to attend a commanders conference in 
North Darfur in the coming days, have characterized the flyover as 
an attempt by the Sudanese government to intimidate them.  On 
January 16, the UN reported that government Anotovs conducted a 
bombing raid in North Darfur, targeting Anka, Birdik, and Um Rai - a 
potential site for the conference.  There were no human casualties 
reported, but some livestock was killed. 
 
¶2. (SBU) According to the UN Acting Head of Security in El Fasher, 
some rebel commanders began to move overland toward the potential 
conference site on January 18, and an EU observer to the Cease-fire 
Commission (CFC) reported that the African Union (AU) had begun 
planning to transport other commanders from pre-determined pick-up 
locations.  The AU air operation was not launched, however, because 
the Western Region Command of the Sudanese Armed Forces denied 
flight clearance, saying it had not been informed of the security 
guarantees issued by Khartoum on January 15 (reftel).  The AU Acting 
Head of Mission in Khartoum contacted Maghzoub al-Khalifa, the 
government's point person for the commanders conference, to request 
that clarification be issued to Sudanese military commanders in the 
field.  According to an EU staff officer, the AU Acting Head of 
Mission was told that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and al-Khalifa 
supported the conference but that Minister of Defense Abdul Rahim 
Mohammed Hussein opposed it and was out of the country.  The AU air 
mission requires eight hours of planning.  Pending clarification of 
the government position, the earliest movement would be January 21. 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) The January 16 CFC meeting addressed the overflight of El 
Fasher, and the Sudanese government representative denied that any 
aircraft had moved "in Darfur or Chad in the past two days." At an 
UN Mission to Sudan (UNMIS) briefing on January 18, a UN Department 
of Safety and Security (UNDSS) representative said that the Sudanese 
Government had said the aircraft were looking for missing vehicles. 
UNMIS also reported that the Government was transporting military 
personnel into the region through the El Fasher airport and then 
transferring them in the direction of El Geneina. (Note: 
Humanitarian organizations in El Geneina reported similar flyovers 
on January 16.  End note.) 
 
¶4. (SBU) Comment:  The SAF overflight and bombing of Um Rai indicate 
a fissure within the Sudanese Government on the conference of 
non-signatory commanders.  Regardless of the Government's moves, the 
rebels seem unphased and continue to express a desire to meet in the 
near future.  End comment. 
 
HUME