Darfur: extra judicial execution of 168 men

Between 5 and 7 March 2004, Sudanese 9. Abdallah Abdel Rahman military intelligence and armed forces 10. Mohammed Atim officers accompanied by members of the 11. Abaker Abaker armed militia, the Janjawid, arrested 168 12. Adam Yahya Adam people in 10 villages in Wadi Saleh 13. Issa Adam province, in Western Darfur state. All 14. Ishaq Adam Bilal those arrested belonged to the Fur, the 15. Siddig Abaker Ishaq largest ethnic group in Darfur. 16. Shayib Adam Abdel Mahmoud 17. Nouradin Mohamed Daoud The military intelligence officers detained those arrested in Deleij, 30 kilometres east People from Forgo of Garsila town in Wadi Saleh province. 1. Mohammed Mohammed Adam According to reports military intelligence 2. Abdel Mawla Musa and army officials claimed that they 3. Haroun Ahmed Haroun arrested the 168 men because they were 4. Mohammed Siddig Yusuf sympathizers of the armed opposition 5. Bakur Suleiman Abaker group the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), 6. Ibrahim Ahmed which has been at war with the 7. Mohammed Burma Hassan government since February 2003 over 8. Mohammed Issa Adam issues relating to discrimination and 9. Zakariya Abdel Mawla Abaker marginalisation. 10. Adam Mohammed Abu’l-Gasim 11. Adam Abdel Majid Mohammed The 168 men were then blindfolded and 12. Adam Adam Degaish (community taken in groups of about 40, on army leader) trucks to an area behind a hill near Deleij 13. Khalil Issa Tur village. They were then told to lie on the ground and shot by a force of about 45 People from Tairgo members of the military intelligence and 1. Idris Adam Ahmed the Janjawid. 2. Yaqub Adam Ahmed 3. Al-Faki Haroun Adam Issa Two of those shot lay wounded among the 4. Sharef Al-Din Saleh Musa bodies before escaping and giving 5. Sharef Al-Din Abaker Abdel Karim information to the outside world. 6. Mohammed Ibrahim Arman 7. Musa Tahir Ibrahim Among those killed are the following 131 8. Musa Mohammed Yahya men: 9. Jibril Musa Mohammed 10. Yahya Abdel Karim Abdallah People from Zaray village: 11. Adam Abdel Karim Mohammed 1. Al-Din Ahmed Abdel Rahman 12. Adam Mohammed Idris 2. Idris Ahmed Abdel Rahman 13. Adam Abdel Majid Mohammed 3. Ismail Mohammed Da’ud 14. Abdel Razeq Adam Abdel Majid 4. Abaker Mohammed Issa 15. Fadul Adam Hamid 5. Omer Adam Abdel Shafi 16. Issa Haroun Adam 6. Mohammed Ahmed Mohammed 17. Yaqub Mohammed Yaqub Khamis 7. Omer Siddig Abaker People from Kasikildo: 8. Mohammed Abaker Atim 1. Ishaq Ahmed Ishaq

2. Issa Haroun Ismail 1. Jiddo Khamis Abdel Karim (community 3. Nurain Idris Adam leader) 4. Abdel Mawla Haroun Ibrahim 2. Zakariya Abaker Adam (community 5. Mohamed Yahya Hussain leader) 6. Saleh Yunis Mohammed 3. Mohammed Adam Mohammed Baher 7. Haroun Mohammed Haroun Adam 4. Adam Musa Yusuf 8. Suleiman Ahmed Hassan 5. Hamza Hussain Ishaq 9. Mohammed Issa Haroun 6. Abdel Karim Hussain Ishaq 10. Idris Hassan Yahya 11. Musa Adam Abdel Mawla People from Sogo Village: 12. Abdel Mu’min Saleh 1. Faki Harun Abdel Rahman 13. Abaker Ismael Abdel Bashire 2. Yahya Abdel Karim Rizig 14. Musa Abdel Gadir 3. Musa Ahmed Yusuf 15. Mohammed Suleiman Abdel Shafi 4. Jibril Musa Ahmed (community leader) 5. Idris Adam Ahmed 16. Adam Abdel Rahman 6. Yaqub Adam Ahmed 17. Idris Mohamed Yahya Atim 7. Musa Al-Tahir Adam 8. Mohammed Ibrahim Nasour People from Mukger village: 9. Sharef Al-Din Abaker Yahya 1. Yahya Ahmed Zaroug 10. Sharef Saleh 2. Mohammed Omer Ahmed Zaroug (health worker) People from Masa Village: 1. Abdallah Adam Abdel Rahman People from Garcila town 2. Adam Yahya 1. Ismail Abdel Aziz (Sheikh) west 3. Abdallah Musa 2. Hassan (pensioner) 4. Al-Shaikh Ismail 5. Mohammed Suleiman (community People from Kirting Village: leader) 1. Hassan Ismail Da’ud 6. Adam Hussain Grola (community leader) 2. Al-Hadi Adam Abdel Karim 7. Ahmed Gantour (community leader) 3. Fadul Adam Hamid 8. Yahya Ahmed Zaroug (community 4. Adam Abdel Majid leader) 5. Abdel Razig Adam Abdel Karim 9. Mohammed Omer Ahmed Zaroug 6. Issa Haroun 7. Yaqub Mohammed Yaqub People from Um Jammaina Village: 8. Abdel Razig Abaker 1. Al-Shaikh Adam Abaker Rizig 9. Al-Haj Saleh Hassan 2. Mohammed Abaker Da’ud 10. Faki Saleh Abdel Karim 3. Mohammed Saleh 11. Mohamed Baher 4. Yahya Yaqub Ibrahim 12. Faki Ismail Suleiman 5. Adam Yaqub Ibrahim 13. Faki Adam Abdallah 6. Osman Yusif 14. Adam Abaker Issa 7. Adam Hussain 15. Faki Abdallah Kerry 8. Haroun Suleiman 9. Adam Saleh Ali People from Kuso Village: 1. Hussain Abdallah Gantour (community leader) from 2. Sayyid Abdallah Musa Artahala village 3. Mohamed Saleh 4. Ismail Adam Abdel Rahman Ishaq from Arwala 5. Musa Yusuf village 6. Abaker Hussain 7. Yaya Yusuf Baghid Altahir Ibrahim from Urdu village 8. Faki Yusif Tagalay 9. Ibrahim Adam Suleiman Ibrahim Suleiman from Deleij town 10. Ahmed Ishaq International law: People from Gaba Village: International law prohibits extrajudicial

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executions as a violation of the right to life. lack precision. Sometimes civilians have reported the presence of gun- The right to life is enshrined in ships, flying at low altitude and shelling international law under Article 6 of the villages and civilians. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which states that Over the past month hundreds of people “every human being has the inherent right have been killed and wounded, women to life. This right shall be protected by law. and children raped, entire villages burnt to No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his the ground by the Janjawid sometimes life.” accompanied by government troops. Scores of people from the Darfur region Article 4 of the African Charter on Human have been arrested. Some, notably the and Peoples’ Rights states that “human former United Nations humanitarian beings are inviolable. Every human being coordinator for Sudan, Mukesh Kapila, shall be entitled to respect for his life and have referred to the apparent systematic the integrity of his person. No one may be targeting of certain groups in the region as arbitrarily deprived of this right.” “ethnic cleansing”.

The Sudan government is a party to the On 31 March 2004 negotiations began in ICCPR and the African Charter and N’Djamena, Chad, on a ceasefire therefore bound by both. It therefore has agreement between the Sudan an obligation to investigate these killings government and the SLA and JEM. and ensure that those suspected to be Largely as a result of heavy pressure from responsible are brought to justice and tried the international community mainly the in accordance to international standards of USA, the EU and the AU that gathered as fair trial and justice. observers, a guarantee of free humanitarian access was agreed and a The conflict in Darfur: 45-day ceasefire was signed. On 12 April a ceasefire was supposed to come into Over the past few years hundreds of effect. However there were continued civilians in Darfur, western Sudan, mostly reports of attacks against civilians and from agricultural ethnic groups like the Fur, civilian property by the Janjawid and the Masalit and Zaghawa, have been killed or Sudanese . As of 13 April the UN wounded by armed nomadic groups that fact-finding mission headed by Bacre Waly later organised into the Janjawid militia. Ndiaye, head of the Office of the High Their homes have been burnt and herds Commissioner for Human Rights in New looted. The SLA and the JEM (Justice and York, to investigate the human rights Equality Movement) took up arms against situation in Darfur had still not been the government in February 2003, granted access to the region. because of what they perceived as the lack of government protection for their WRITE TO THE SUDAN GOVERNMENT: people and the marginalisation and - Expressing grave concern over the underdevelopment of the region. Since reports of extrajudicial execution then, the Sudan government appears to perpetrated by elements of the Sudanese have given free rein to the Janjawid to security services, the army and the carry out killings, abductions and Janjawid and calling on the government of destructions. More than 750,000 people Sudan to launch an immediate have fled from their burnt villages and independent investigation into the most have taken refuge in towns in Darfur, allegations of extra judicial execution of while more than 130,000 have crossed the 168 men in Wadi Saleh; border into Chad. - make the findings of the investigation public; There have been numerous reports of - ensure that both the perpetrators and aerial bombings of civilians and civilian those who ordered the killings are brought property by the Sudanese air force. to justice; Bombings usually consist of boxes filled -allow the deployment of international with metal shrapnel dropped from the back human rights monitors to Darfur to of Antonov planes. By their nature these investigate any such reports in the future.

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ACT NOW!

► Please send your appeals to:

•Lieutenant-General Omar Hassan al-Bashir President and Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces President's Palace PO Box 281 SUDAN Fax: + 24911 776603 / 777583 Salutation: Your Excellency

•Mr Ali Osman Mohamed Taha First Vice-President People’s Palace PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan Fax: + 249 11 771025/779977 Salutation: Dear Minister

•Mr Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin Minister of Justice and Attorney General Ministry of Justice, Khartoum, Sudan Fax: + 249 11 770883 Salutation: Dear Minister

•Mr Mustafa Osman Ismail Minister of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Foreign Affairs PO Box 873 Khartoum, Sudan Fax : + 249 11 779383 Salutation: Dear Minister

•Dr Yasir Sid Ahmed Advisory Council for Human Rights PO Box 302, Khartoum, Sudan Fax: + 249 11 779173/770883 Salutation: Dear Sir

•Major-General Suleiman Abdalla Adam Governor of Western Darfur State c/o People's Palace PO Box 281 Khartoum Fax: +249 11 776432/ 771651/ 783223 Salutation: Dear Sir

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► Please raise Amnesty International’s concerns with your own government. More information on the human rights situation in Darfur can be obtained on Amnesty International’s website: http://web.amnesty.org

Amnesty International AI Index: AFR 54 / 039 / 2004 April 2004 EXTERNAl