VZCZCXRO6166
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKH #1095/01 2711729
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 281729Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4473
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001095 
 
NSC FOR MGAVIN, LETIM 
DEPT PASS TO USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: MOPS PGOV PHUM PINR PREF KPKO AU SU
SUBJECT: UNAMID TO BE GRANTED ACCESS TO KORMA IN WAKE OF ATTACKS ON 
SLA/AW 
 
REF: KHARTOUM 1077 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  The United Nations-African Union Mission in 
Darfur (UNAMID) continues to be denied access to the town of Korma 
following clashes between the Government of Sudan (GOS) and Sudan 
Liberation Army/Abdul Wahid (SLA/AW) faction there on September 
17-18.  UNAMID's most recent attempt to visit Korma on September 24 
was blocked by GOS authorities, who informed UNAMID that they were 
conducting military operations in the general area.  UNAMID 
officials told poloffs the GOS has agreed to let them send a patrol 
to Korma on September 29. Information on the humanitarian and 
security situation in Korma is scattered and no verified data has 
been gathered, but Fur tribal leaders in Khartoum told poloffs that 
several dozen civilians were killed in the fighting, and over 6,000 
families from Korma and surrounding villages have fled the area. 
Korma is now occupied by Arab militia forces, according to UN and 
rebel sources, while a large contingent of Chadian rebel troops has 
encamped in Ana Bagi. The GOS military offensive in Korma and the 
re-opening of the road between El Fasher and Kabkabiya have 
effectively driven a wedge between SLA/AW's areas of control, 
cutting off its Jebel Marra stronghold from positions further north 
in Korma, Ain Siro, and in Jebel Eissa in the far north; in light of 
the proposed SLA conference in East Jebel Marra later this month, 
the actions seem aimed at preventing many rebels from  attending. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------- 
UNAMID PATROL AGAIN DENIED ACCESS 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On September 24, UNAMID sources reported that a 
verification patrol (reftel) investigating the security and 
humanitarian situation in Korma was stopped and denied entry into 
Korma following clashes between the GOS and SLA/AW there on 
September 17-18. The UNAMID patrol was stopped at a GOS military 
check point about 500 meters from Korma. GOS authorities informed 
UNAMID that they were conducting operations in the general area and 
advised UNAMID to terminate the patrol. The patrol team observed GOS 
helicopters flying at low level. The team also observed that the 
village was deserted and some locals around Korma alleged that there 
were incidents of looting, killing and rape during the attack. 
UNAMID has not since attempted to send in another patrol to Korma, 
but has received GOS acquiescence to send one on September 29. 
 
------------------------------------ 
ARAB MILITIA OCCUPIES DESERTED KORMA 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) Given the lack of access, very limited information has 
emerged on civilian casualties or displacements from GOS attacks on 
Korma and the surrounding areas. UNAMID was unable to provide poloff 
with any casualty numbers, and its Humanitarian Liaison Office (HLO) 
reports that information from the humanitarian community is 
scattered and no verified data has been gathered. Fur tribal leaders 
based in Khartoum who spoke to Embassy contacts on the ground in 
Korma asserted that 38 civilians were killed during the GOS action. 
Abulgasim Seifeldin, a Darfuri Sudan people's Liberation Movement 
(SPLM) parliamentarian and father-in-law to SLA/AW Chairman 
Abdelwahid Al Nur, said that Korma has been emptied of people with 
up to 6,000 families fleeing the town and its surrounding villages. 
Ismail Musa, an SLA ally based in Khartoum, said the rebel fighters 
had withdrawn from Korma with their families, ceding control of 
Korma and its environs to the GOS. Musa said that the SLA/AW 
fighters would not plan a counterattack to re-take Korma as they 
were too weak and scattered to do so. 
 
¶4. (SBU) On September 27, SLA/AW-aligned rebel commander Suleiman 
Marjan told emboff that a force of 160 "Technicals" (Note: Pickup 
trucks mounted with machine guns. End Note) belonging to 
government-allied Arab militia and Chadian armed opposition groups 
are now stationed in Korma. He further asserted that the GOS 
military apparatus is also building up a large force in Mellit to 
provide support for troops in Kutum, Korma and Fata Burno and 
possibly launch new attacks on SLA areas. UN Security Officer Frazer 
King confirmed to poloff the presence of Arab militia in Korma. He 
stated that a number of persons displaced from the area have turned 
up in Tawila and El Fasher, claiming that Arab militia forces raided 
and looted villages around Korma. He affirmed that a UN patrol will 
be granted access to Korma on September 29. Meanwhile, the Wali of 
North Darfur Osman Mohamed Yousif Kibir visited Korma on September 
26, according to El Fasher area television reports. He noted that 
the GOS is working to enhance security in the area to enable IDPs to 
return to their homes. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
 
KHARTOUM 00001095  002 OF 002 
 
 
POSSIBLE 1,000 CHADIAN TROOPS NEAR KUTUM 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Following UNAMID's observation of Chadian armed opposition 
groups moving away from the border areas into North Darfur (septel), 
UNDSS Officer King noted that there are believed to be over one 
thousand Chadian armed opposition troops in the area northwest of 
Kutum, centered around Ana Bagi. He stated that rumors are 
circulating that given the heavy losses sustained by Chadian rebels 
in their disastrous foray into Eastern Chad in May, the GOS has 
provided them swathes of land in North Darfur on which to settle, 
which has unnerved the local population. (NOTE: On Special Envoy 
Gration's September 13 visit to Ain Siro in North Darfur, local 
rebel commanders complained about the presence of Chadian rebels in 
their area of control, to be reported septel. END NOTE.) 
 
¶6. (SBU) El Fasher area contacts told emboff that a GOS military 
officer, Major General Abdallah Daraj, was kidnapped by unknown 
assailants on September 22. He was traveling from El Fasher on the 
road to Nyala when he was abducted just east of Shangil Tobaya, 
according to reports. The kidnappers allegedly contacted the 
General's family on September 27 to demand a ransom. The North 
Darfur government has urged the family to cooperate and has 
apparently assured them it will pay the kidnappers the desired sum 
for the General's release. This information could not be verified 
through other sources. 
 
¶7. (SBU) COMMENT: The attacks on Korma are significant in that they 
represent the first targeting of SLA/AW positions by the GOS in 
recent memory. Unlike the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) or the 
remnants of SLA/Unity, the posture of SLA/AW is purely defensive, 
and many SLA/AW commanders have also made agreements with Arab 
tribes and militias within their vicinity to ensure peace and 
stability. Now, the GOS military offensive in Korma and the 
re-opening of the road between El Fasher and Kabkabiya have 
effectively driven a wedge between SLA/AW's areas of control, 
cutting off its Jebel Marra stronghold from positions further north 
in Korma, Ain Siro, and in Jebel Eissa in the far north. In advance 
of the proposed SLA conference in East Jebel Marra later this month, 
such an action seems hardly coincidental, as would seem to prevent 
many rebels from attending. Perhaps the GOS believes that as long as 
the SLA/AW rebels remain weak and scattered, it can continue to 
consolidate areas of control in North Darfur. But without peace 
talks, a comprehensive solution for Darfur remains elusive. 
 
ASQUINO