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DE RUEHKH #1771/01 3461557
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O 111557Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2513
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 001771 
 
DEPT FOR AF A/S FRAZER, SE WILLIAMSON, AF/SPG, AF/C 
NSC FOR PITTMAN AND HUDSON 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PROP MCAP ASEC KPKO AU UNSC SU
SUBJECT: NEW JEM VIDEOS INTENDED TO DOCUMENT ITS STRENGTH AFTER 
OMDURMAN ATTACK AND THREATEN NEW ACTION 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) recently 
released three videos documenting a parade of several hundred armed 
men riding in more than 80 military vehicles.   Although the date of 
the footage cannot be authoritatively determined, the speeches and 
audio on the tape reference the first JEM attack on Omdurman and the 
ICC indictment against Bashir, indicating that the films were shot 
after the May 10 attack and the July 14 request for an ICC 
indictment against President Bashir.  In addition to displaying 
JEM's renewed strength following the Omdurman attack, there are 
multiple references throughout the videos to future attacks on 
Khartoum, the need for regime change, and JEM's alleged superiority 
to other rebel movements. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (U)  Within the last two weeks, JEM's website (www.sudanjem.com) 
published links to three of its new videos posted on Google video. 
(Note:  In August 2008, Sudan temporarily blocked access to the 
popular video sharing site youtube.com.  On November 30, a selection 
of the videos also was posted on YouTube by one user. According to 
this YouTube member, the videos were filmed in late July, 2008.  On 
December 11, JEM's website was not operational.  End Note.)  The 
three videos are entitled "Long Arm," a reference to JEM's code name 
for the May 10 attack on Omdurman. 
 
¶3.  (U)  The video begins with a hyper-dramatized overture (oddly 
reminiscent of the music from the Matrix movie) and a series of 
special effects.  The title "Justice and Equality Movement - Long 
Arm 2008" then appears on the screen first in English and then in 
Arabic.   The video then cuts to a mixture of footage of JEM leaders 
and military equipment. 
 
"THIS IS HOW WE ATTACKED THEM" 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
¶4.  (U)  The  video focuses primarily on a military parade with 
approximately twenty men marching in unison in the desert.  This is 
followed by footage of JEM vehicles driving through an urban area 
(ostensibly the outskirts of Omdurman in May 2008) with a crowd 
spontaneously cheering them on with screams of "God is Great" 
("Allahu Akbar").  The video then returns to the parade in the 
desert, and shows a sequence of six different JEM units, each with 
10-20 vehicles.  Most of the vehicles appear to be modified Land 
Cruiser "technicals," one-quarter of which are mounted with 
anti-aircraft or heavy machine guns.  The announcer (amplified by a 
public address system) declares that "the groups that are before you 
are a quick reaction force that will attack the cities.  They are an 
example of the soldiers that entered Omdurman.  As you see them, 
this is how we attacked." (Note:  The announcer's words do not 
appear to be a later dubbing, as his microphone picks up the 
peripheral sounds of honking, screaming men, etc.  End Note).  The 
announcer then praises the fighters saying "You are our heroes - you 
have become accustomed to these difficult circumstances." 
 
NUMBERS OF MEN AND VEHICLES USED IN ATTACK 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
¶5.  (U)  Following the announcer's initial remarks, a military 
commander presents himself to JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim and provides 
a summary of the number of men and vehicles used in the three fronts 
of the JEM attack on Omdurman.  (Note:  The commander does not use a 
microphone and the audio is not clear.  The commander initially 
appears to say that JEM employed over 500 vehicles in the attack, 
but then lists the three fronts as having 50, 202, and 44 vehicles. 
End Note). 
 
PRAISING JEM'S "HEROES" AND FOCUS ON WEAPONRY 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
¶6.  (U) Following the commander's presentation, the announcer then 
returns to the parade.  As the camera slowly pans across the "second 
unit" of fighters, the announcer comments, "These are the heroes 
that entered Khartoum in the daylight.  These are the people that 
have written history in the famous fight in Omdurman.  They are 
ready to change the government.  They have fought for seven years in 
the fight.  They showed to the world that there is no government." 
The announcer then comments on the fighters' weaponry including: 
SPG-9 (a Russian tripod-mounted man-portable, 73 millimetre calibre 
recoilless anti-aircraft gun,) a "doyshka," "garnov" and other 
weapons.  Pointing to one anti-aircraft gun, the announcer comments 
"this is what downed the government's airplane." 
 
"THIS IS ONLY A SMALL EXAMPLE OF OUR FORCE" 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
¶7.  (U)  For approximately the next 20 minutes, the other  two 
videos provide ongoing footage of four additional  military units. 
The announcer repeatedly states before the arrival of each unit, 
"This is only a select example of each unit and does not represent 
the whole unit." The announcer leads the units in cheers, saying 
that each unit has its own intelligence, air defense, and 
 
transportation divisions.  At one point the announcer comments, 
"these men will help deliver Bashir to the International Criminal 
Court."  Later in the film, the announcer then nonchalantly 
comments, "We will enter Khartoum a second time. Where are you, 
Bashir?" 
 
MOCKING OTHER MOVEMENTS AND PROMISING TO RETURN TO KHARTOUM 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
¶8.  (U)  The announcer then chastises other rebel movements (and 
perhaps the SPLM) by questioning, "Where are the other movements 
that claim they are fighting for the marginalized of Sudan?  Where 
are they?"  He then adds, "JEM is the only group that has a presence 
in the field. JEM is also the only group that has a real political 
program."  The announcer also leads the soldiers in rhyming cheers 
in Arabic throughout the movies including "Go forth, go forth - 
Khalil. We are your troops for change!" or "All our force, [will be] 
inside Khartoum!" 
 
ASSEMBLY OF FORCE AND FOCUS ON ETHNIC DIVERSITY OF JEM 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
¶9.  (U)  At the conclusion of the parade the camera pans across the 
field of vehicles appearing to be more than 80 in number with 
several hundred men.  Khalil Ibrahim, escorted by bodyguards, then 
walks in front of his men and a separate group of women. Ibrahim 
returns to his shaded VIP area and one commander delivers a speech 
focusing on the ethnic and geographic diversity within JEM (in order 
to dispel the view that much of JEM's strength is Zaghawa-based). 
"These fighters represent all of Sudan:  The Nuba Mountains, the 
Hadra region, Abyei, the North, and from all three Darfur states," 
says the commander.  Continuing, he names over twenty tribes that 
have members in JEM.  Another commander follows by addressing 
addressing Ibrahim:   "We do not come from a single tribe.  Your 
troops are disciplined, organized, and cultured.  They are 
engineers, lawyers, and the elite."  The video ends with another 
mixture of footage from Omdurman and its residents greeting JEM, 
images of JEM leadership, and the final credits attributed to "A JEM 
media presentation." 
 
OTHER VIDEOS 
- - - - - - - 
¶10.  (U)  Other videos also have been added to JEM's website in the 
last month.  In one video from JEM's "First Conference on IDPs and 
Refugees" in July 2008, Khalil Ibrahim reflects on the May 10 
attack, saying, "Our goals and yours are one.  We have taken your 
input. We did not hurt any innocent civilians [in the attack.]  The 
government knew we were coming and wasn't able to do anything about 
it.   We have learned many things from this attack.  We entered 
Khartoum and fought around Mogran point, around the U.S. Embassy, 
and close to the presidential palace.  God-willing the next trip 
will be the final one for us."  (Note:  In fact, fighting did not 
reach the U.S. Embassy or the presidential palace in Khartoum as the 
rebels did not quite make across the Nile bridges.  End Note.)  JEM 
Commander Suliman Sandal (at the same event in a video uploaded to 
YouTube on October 30, 2008) notes "Our troops are organized.  We 
have decided to take control of this country and to get rid of 
Bashir.  It is time for the young people from the IDP camps to join 
the movements.  We will certainly enter Khartoum another time." 
 
COMMENT: 
- - - - - 
¶11.  (SBU)  JEM is far ahead of other rebel movements in terms of 
its relatively sophisticated use of the media, Internet, and overall 
public communication strategy.  These videos set JEM even farther 
ahead, incorporating sophisticated editing and special effects, 
dramatic music, and footage from several different events and time 
periods.  It is notable that the Government of Sudan has also 
entered this online propaganda war.  In one video on YouTube a 
likely Government source (as some of the footage would have only 
been available to a government official) posted a video showing "The 
crimes of the Justice and Equality Movement in Omdurman with 
evidence of the Chadian support."  The video incorporates photos of 
"evidence" collected from the Omdurman attack and claims that JEM 
destroyed private property, historical buildings, mosques and 
wounded innocent civilians.  Although the medium of video gives 
added credibility to these dubious sources, these videos clearly 
manipulate images and distort facts. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Comment continued:  There is a wealth of information in 
the lengthy videos that may disprove GoS claims of a significantly 
weakened JEM.  If in fact the videos were taken after May 10, the 
fleet of vehicles, hundreds of men, and JEM's audacity in showing 
its assets, demonstrate that JEM still remains a powerful force. 
(Note:   JEM however could remove the detailed videos from its 
website given that they provide a wealth of information about JEM's 
operational capacity but it is more likely that they seek to portray 
 
themselves as stronger than they actually are. End Note.) 
 
¶13.  (U) Comment continued:  The timing of these videos' release is 
noteworthy.  Although it could take weeks to get footage from the 
field to the cities, and several more weeks for editing, this alone 
does not explain the lag in their release.  The release date of 
these videos corresponds with rumored JEM activity in South Kordofan 
during Eid al-Adha, possible negotiations between rebel groups and 
the government in Qatar, and the possibility of an ICC indictment 
against Bashir in the coming month.   The videos' motivational 
nature, show of military hardware, and criticism of other rebel 
movements are intended to project JEM's military strength and 
political goals within the context of all of the above. 
 
FERNANDEZ