VZCZCXRO8752
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0901 1581651
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 071651Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7520
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000901 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/SPG, S/CRS 
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU 
NSC FOR PITTMAN AND SHORTLEY 
 
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPKO AU CD SU
 
SUBJECT: CFC TEAM VISITS MUHAJERIA AND HEARS SLA DEMANDS 
 
REF: KHARTOUM 0884 
 
¶1. (SBU) Members of the Force Headquarters Ceasefire Commission 
(CFC) flew to Muhajeria Military Group Site (MGS) June 5 to 
interview witnesses to the May 30 vehicle collision between the 
African Union Mission to Sudan (AMIS) and the Sudanese Liberation 
Army (SLA)/Minawi (reftel).  The team hoped to interview two of the 
uninjured passengers from the SLA vehicle about the collision and 
dispatched the CFC SLA representatives to retrieve them from a 
nearby village.  After waiting nearly three hours, the 
representatives returned empty-handed, saying that one of the SLA 
witnesses was on his way while the other was unavailable. 
 
¶2. (SBU) The team interviewed the driver of the vehicle behind the 
armored personnel carrier that had collided with the SLA vehicle. 
As instructed, he came prepared with a written statement and was 
then questioned by the investigating team.  He answered calmly and 
kept to the facts he remembered but also noted when he wasn't sure 
of some of his answers.  The illiterate SLA witness brought a 
statement that his legal advisor had written.  He claimed the APC 
driver had intended to hit the SLA vehicle but could not explain how 
he came to that conclusion. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The SLA representatives then introduced the local SLA legal 
advisor, Othman Mohamed Haroun and the Muhajeria ground commander, 
Ibrahim Hasan.  Haroun wanted to know who comprised the 
investigating team, which direction the report would go, the 
duration of the investigation and how the committee would provide 
compensation for the SLA deaths.  Haroun claimed that "under 
international law" the criminal - apparently the APC driver in his 
view - and the APC itself should be put into the custody of the 
police.  Haroun stressed that AMIS' vehicles would only be returned 
when his questions were answered.  The investigation team leader 
said that he would forward Haroun's concerns to the Deputy Force 
Commander.  Comment: While considering the collision "criminal," 
Haroun did not regard the shooting of the three AMIS soldiers and 
the seizure of 13 AMIS vehicles the same way.  End Comment. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Muhajeria Group Site Commander, Zambian LTC 
Kaumbasango, told S/CRS Poloff he was frustrated by the incident 
because it made AMIS look weak and could embolden the SLA to take 
more drastic action.  He said that an SLA soldier had driven one of 
the stolen AMIS vehicles to a small shop outside the MGS front gate, 
purchased something, and left.  Kaumbasango described this as an 
attempt to antagonize his soldiers.  He was puzzled about the SLA's 
motives.  Kaumbasango explained that the surrounding area was 
controlled by the Birgeit tribe, the Arab Maalia tribe, and the 
Sudanese Government.  Without AMIS, he said, the Zaghawa SLA would 
be wiped out by their neighbors.  He said his relations with the 
previous SLA commander had been cordial, but they had deteriorated 
after the arrival of the new commander from North Darfur two months 
earlier. 
 
FERNANDEZ