The raids on Haskanita was an attack on
African Union peacekeepers by rebel groups during the
Darfur conflict. The attacks took place on 30 September and early October 2007 near the town of
Haskanita in
South Darfur. Three rebel commanders were arrested for the attacks on warrants issued by the
International Criminal Court.
Background
The
Darfur conflict started in 2003 when two rebels groups took up arms against the
Sudanese government. The
Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and
Sudan Liberation Army
The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army ( ar, حركة تحرير السودان ''Ḥarakat Taḥrīr Al-Sūdān''; abbreviated SLM, SLA, or SLM/A) is a Sudanese rebel group active in Darfur, Sudan. It was founded as the Darfur Liberation FrontFl ...
(SLA) claimed that the government discriminated against black Africans in favor of Arabs. Local Arab
Janjaweed
The Janjaweed ( ar, جنجويد, Janjawīd, lit=mounted gunman; also transliterated ''Janjawid'') are a Sudanese Arab militia group that operate in Sudan, particularly Darfur, and eastern Chad. Using the United Nations definition, the Janjaweed ...
militias intervened on the side of the government. Following an initial ceasefire in 2004,
African Union
The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...
peacekeepers were deployed as the
African Union Mission in Sudan. (AMIS) AMIS established a base in Haskanita, in
Um Kadada District
Um Kadada is a district of North Darfur
North Darfur State ( ar, ولاية شمال دارفور Wilāyat Šamāl Dārfūr; ''Shamal Darfor'') is one of the wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states composing the Darfur region. ...
,
North Darfur province and 100 km northeast of Ed Daein.
In November 2006 the area around Haskanita was taken over from the SLA by the
National Redemption Front The National Redemption Front (NRF) is an alliance of opposition groups in Darfur, Sudan. According to their foundation declaration, the NRF consists of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a holdout faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army ...
- a splinter group from the JEM. Aid agencies suspended their operations in the neighbouring districts of Ed Daein and Adila.
First raid
On 30 September 2007 approximately 1,000 rebels attacked an
AMIS Amis may refer to:
* Amis (surname)
* Amis people (or ''Amis''), a tribe of Taiwanese aborigines
* Amis language, an indigenous language of Taiwan
* AMIS (ISP), an Internet service provider (ISP) in Slovenia and Croatia
* Amis et Amiles, an old ...
base, killing 10 peacekeepers, including seven from
Nigeria and one each from
Mali,
Senegal and
Botswana, and wounded many more. A further 50 personnel were initially unaccounted for, but later found. The attack occurred just after sunset, and came amid increasing tensions and violence between the separatist rebels and AMIS peacekeepers, who the rebels accused of bias towards the central government. Survivors said the rebels used heavy weaponry to attack the AMIS base, including rocket-propelled grenades and armored vehicles. Sudan's army and Darfur rebel movements initially blamed each other for the attack.
Second raid
The town of Haskanita was attacked again in early October, and most of it was set on fire. Following the attack, the town's mosque and school were some of the few buildings remaining intact. The ruins still act as a base for
African Union
The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...
forces, headquartering a full 800-strong battalion. Although it has yet to be confirmed, unnamed sources in
Khartoum claimed the fires were set by AU forces and
Janjaweed
The Janjaweed ( ar, جنجويد, Janjawīd, lit=mounted gunman; also transliterated ''Janjawid'') are a Sudanese Arab militia group that operate in Sudan, particularly Darfur, and eastern Chad. Using the United Nations definition, the Janjaweed ...
militia in retaliation for the attacks in late September.
International Criminal Court investigation
The
Darfur conflict had been referred by the
UN Security Council in 2005 to the
International Criminal Court and the Chief Prosecutor had opened an investigation into crimes related to the conflict.
In July 2008, the Chief Prosecutor said he knew who were the perpetrators of the Haskanita raids, and he was committed to prosecuting them. In November 2008, he requested arrest warrants for three rebel commanders from the
Justice and Equality Movement for these attacks. One of these —
Bahr Idriss Abu Garda — voluntarily surrendered to the court in May 2009. However, charges were dropped in February 2010 when judges ruled the prosecutor could not prove he had planned the attack.
[Sudan: Darfur rebel leaders surrender to Hague court]
'' BBC'', 16 June 2010 The other two commanders -
Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain
Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain ( ar, عبد الله باندا أباكر نورين), commonly referred to as Abdallah Banda (), was the Commander-in-Chief of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) Collective-Leadership, one of the components of ...
and
Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus
Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus, commonly referred to as Saleh Jerbo, was the Chief-of-Staff of the SLA-Unity. He was indicted by the International Criminal Court to be tried, together with Abdallah Banda, for three counts of war crimes allegedly comm ...
- surrendered to the court in June 2010 and were charged with three counts of
war crimes:
*
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
*
pillage
Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...
* Attacking
peacekeepers[
Banda led a splinter group from the Justice and Equality Movement and Jerbo led the Sudanese Liberation Army - Unity faction.][ Abu Garda led the United Resistance Front, another splinter group from the JEM.][See Bahr Idriss Abu Garda article for more information and sources.]
External links
Preliminary AU report on the September 30 attack
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haskanita Raids
War in Darfur
2007 in Sudan
Attacks in 2007
Battles in 2007