VZCZCXRO8249
PP RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1124/01 2091351
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 271351Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1435
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001124 
 
DEPT FOR AF/SPG, S/CRS, AF SE WILLIAMSON 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO SOCI AU UNSC SU
SUBJECT: DESERT ARAB SHEIKH COMPLAINS OF GOS INDIFFERENCE 
 
REF: (A) KHARTOUM 463 
(B) KHARTOUM 454 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: A North Kordofan desert Arab sheikh told poloff 
that Darfur insecurity has changed the way camels from the region 
are transported to Libya - by truck to avoid raids by the Justice 
and Equality Movement (JEM) and take advantage of empty trucks 
returning to Libya. He criticized JEM and other intolerant religious 
groups for possibly threatening the traditional Sudanese Sufi 
version of Islam and his tribe's traditional mediation role. He also 
criticized the government for ignoring his tribesmen by not 
providing government services such as medical and veterinarian care. 
End summary. 
 
CLOSER TRIBAL ECONOMIC TIES TO LIBYA 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) Nomadic desert Arab tribal Sheikh Abel Gadir, of the Ashraf 
tribe, described life for desert Arabs during a recent conversation 
with poloff.  Life for the Ashraf, who reside in the broad 
geographic area of the Libyan Desert that  extends into North 
Kordofan, North Darfur and the Northern State, traditionally 
revolved around tending camel herds and occasionally making the 
15-day trip to the Kufra Oasis in Libya where they sell camels to 
buy millet and dates.  (Note: Many of the Ashraf now live in towns 
such as Obeid and Nahud. End note.) 
 
¶3. (SBU) As an alternative to herding the camels to Libya, some 
herders have sought to rent Libyan trucks that  are returning to 
Libya after selling their goods in El-Fasher.  Gadir said that until 
recently, many tribesmen preferred to herd their camels rather than 
pay 1,000 Libyan dinars, the price to transport up to 15 three-year 
old camels by truck.  While cost was certainly part of the 
calculation, he said that many desert Arabs believed that the 
three-day trip by truck weakened young camels, which would then 
bring less than the usual 1,500 Libyan dinar price. 
 
¶4. (SBU) However, in the past year, the price of camel transport to 
Libya's Kufra oasis has softened as trucks coming from Libya stop in 
North Kordofan to sell their millet and dates rather than travel the 
longer and more dangerous journey to the North Darfur State capital, 
El Fasher.  To avoid transporting an empty truck back to Libya, the 
truckers have slashed their prices as much as half resulting in many 
tribesmen planning to sell their camels in Libya. Gadir said despite 
the lower transport prices he plans to continue herding camels 
overland, but that the recent May 10 Justice and Equality Movement 
(JEM) attack on Omdurman has made trucking camels to Libya even more 
attractive. 
 
DESERT TRIBES MOVED EAST TO AVOID RETREATING JEM 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Gadir said that shortly after the May 10 JEM attack on 
Omdurman, many desert Arabs encountered JEM attackers who were 
making their way west back toward the Tibesti Mountain Plateau in 
Chad.  He said that with the vehicles running out of fuel, the JEM 
fighters they encountered demanded the desert Arabs give them 
camels. He added that the JEM believed that traveling by camel made 
them less likely to be observed by patrolling Sudanese aircraft and, 
more significantly said Gadir, the camels could be milked for food 
and then easily sold for cash upon arrival in Chad.  Gadir said that 
his tribe is armed, but they wanted to avoid any needless conflict 
and therefore provided the camels to the JEM.  After initial 
encounters, he decided to avoid future JEM contact. "We gave them 
camels, and I specifically instructed my people not to follow them 
or to steal them back." Gadir said that to avoid any additional 
encounters with the JEM, many desert Arabs quickly traveled east 
hoping to avoid any fleeing JEM fighters. The downside to this, said 
Gadir, is that Kufra Oasis is now farther away, so herding camels to 
Kufra will take longer and increase their exposure to theft from any 
JEM stragglers. As a result, many tribesmen will probably transport 
their camels by truck, further cementing their economic ties to 
Libya. 
 
NOT A JEM SUPPORTER 
------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Asked whether his tribe supported JEM and their attack on 
Omdurman, Gadir said that while it's true that desert Arabs gave 
food to JEM fighters on their way to Omdurman, this was an act of 
hospitality rather overt support.  He said that the Ashraf tribe are 
traditional mediators in Sudanese desert society and pride 
themselves on maintaining good relations with all tribes including 
the Zaghawa.  He even claimed to have negotiated with "sultan" 
Mansur Dousa Deby, brother of Idriss Deby.  However, he said JEM and 
other groups that support less tolerant forms of Islam threaten his 
own tribe's traditional Sufi-based beliefs, and more importantly, 
 
KHARTOUM 00001124  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
their traditional mediation role.  Gadir expressed concern that this 
traditional role (as well as the Ashraf tribe's place in desert 
society) would be totally undermined if the young militant JEM 
ZaNhawa, along with the Bideiyat (closely related to the Zaghawa), 
are able to establish a separate "sultanate" under Chadian President 
Idriss Deby composed of parts of Chad and areBs of Kordofan. 
 
BUT CRITICAL OF THE GOVERNMENT 
------------------------------ 
 
¶7. (SBU) Asked if his tribesmen were reFruited to serve as janjaweed 
in Darfur, Gadir sidestepped the question by Biting his tribe's 
traHitional 2ole as mediators and the\ la-basted the government for 
doing nothing to dispel foreigner's negative impressions of the 
desert Arabs.  He complained that the government is leaving the 
desert Arabs ho take the blame for the killings in Darfur. He@added 
that the governZent has forgotten its commitment to the desert ArabsQ 
and needs to provide medical and veterinarian care. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) The Ashraf tribe is smaller than largJr Arab tribes such as 
the Kababish and Rizeigat, and many have now settled in towns in 
Kordofan such as Obeid and Nahud.  The Ashraf traditionally have had 
connections to tribes in Libya, and have always sold their camels in 
either Libya or Egypt.  The transition to transporting camels by 
truck also represents a change in the lifestyle of the AshraL, who 
now live in towns and are less likely to makJ th% journey with their 
caZels across the desert if trucks are available cheaply.  The 
sheikh's Fomplaint that his tribe@may lose its mediation role is 
somewhat overstated, as hhe Ashraf is a small tribe 7ith little 
i\fluence, but 4he complaint about government neglect is coZmon 
among all Arab tribes in Darfur and Kordofan, and shows how limited 
the regime's support is Rn these areas.  Ashraf, like all Arab 
tribes Rn these regions, have been recru)ted to serve as PDF 
(Popular Defense ForcJs) or "murahaleen" in the Sojth and 
"janjaweed" in Darfjr in the past, and by complaining to us about 
the government these tribes Pope to distance themselves from the 
regime.  This is likely why the sheikh sought us out, with the 
useful pretext of sharing some interesting st^ries about camel 
trading and encounters with JEM in the desert. 
 
FERNAND 
Z