Human Rights Abuses in Sudan over the Month of May 20161 Overview During the month of May 2016, SUDO (UK)’s network of human rights monitors have reported and verified 75 incidents of human rights abuses across Sudan involving eight Sudanese states. Enclosed within the 75 reports pertaining to human rights abuses, SUDO (UK) has assessed that various forces under the direct authority of the Government of Sudan2 were responsible, as individual entities, for 41 instances of human rights abuses. A further 14 abuses were carried out by groups categorised by monitors as “pro-government militias”3, whilst 17 such abuses were recorded against militias labelled as Janjaweed. Three human rights abuses were perpetrated by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLM-N), and one abuse was registered against the following entities: a Salamat ethnic militia; the SPLM-Peace Wing headed by Daniel Kodi; and an unknown actor. It is worth stressing that at times multiple actors colluded in any one instance, hence why 78 perpetrators have been identified for 75 incidents. The 75 reports detail the following: the death of 33 civilians4 including 10 children; the serious injury of 87 civilians; the rape of 22 women including five minors (this number does not include the as yet unconfirmed reports of dozens of women raped in an incident recorded in South Darfur); the arrest of 35 civilians (two of which were subject to beatings, whilst another has been subject to rape alongside 12 detained women in Blue Nile); 45 counts of kidnap; five incidents of aerial bombardment utilising a minimum of 31 bombs including explosive bombs; eight direct attacks on civilian villages and/or towns; and 10 incidents pertaining to press freedom including six newspaper confiscations. 1 It is worth noting that the number of human rights abuses contained within this report certainly underestimate the total number of abuses and their effects on the civilian population. SUDO (UK) only uses information provided to it by the trusted SUDO (UK) network. 2 National Intelligence and Security Services (19); Military Intelligence (5); Sudanese Air Force (5); Rapid support Forces (5); Police (2); Border Guards (2); Sudanese Armed Forces (1); the Press and Publications Office (1); and the National Congress Party – Student Wing (1). 3 Militias that SUDO monitors have thus far been unable to define. They may be paramilitary forces controlled directly by the Government, such as the Rapid Support Forces, or they may have a more irregular relationship with the Government, for example similar to various Janjaweed militias. The pattern and nature of the attacks lead SUDO monitors, victims and eyewitnesses to conclude that they are Government affiliated in some form. 4 Excludes the death of two Police Officers, one member of the Border Guards and one member of a pro- government militia. Specific Incidents and Trends over the Month of May 2016 Border Guards Assault on Azernai, Nine Civilians Killed Nine civilians were killed and six injured whilst conducting Mughrib prayer, after an attack by the Border Guards on the residents of Azernai, West Darfur, on the 22nd May. The attack took place following an earlier incident in which two members of the Border Guards were stabbed causing one death and one serious injury during an altercation with a local trader. The trader in question immediately handed himself over to the police. Later that day the Border Guards mobilised in order to attack the police station holding the trader. During the assault one member of the police was killed, though the paramilitary unit were forced to withdraw following the intervention of the local Sudanese Armed Forces garrison. Following their withdrawal, the Border Guards returned to Azernai two hours later and began attacking the civilians in revenge for the death and injury of their number at the hands of the local trader. Nine civilians were killed and six were wounded during the assault. The next day an unknown gunman opened fire on mourners that had gathered in front of El-Geneina hospital to pay their respects to the deceased Azernai residents. The gunman killed a 13 year-old child and injured a further two civilians, one of which was aged just 9, before fleeing the scene with the assistance of a getaway vehicle. On the 24th May, Lieutenant Colonel Issa Hussein of the Border Guards arrived in Azernai accompanied by a number of troops. During which he threatened the residents into paying blood money for the deceased Border Guard soldier killed by the trader on the 22nd. Any refusal would result in the destruction of their village. In addition to the payment of blood money, the Masalit native administration further arranged to pay the cost of the medical treatment for the man injured during the same incident. This assault bears a striking resemblance to that of Mouli in January of this year in which militias described as “Janjaweed”, “pro-government” and “Border Guards” assaulted the town killing a number of civilians and destroying civilian homes. Again this incident was related to the death of a member of an armed group, and once again it was carried out in the form of a collective punishment against civilians. The repeated failure of the Sudanese authorities to protect civilians from militias that either are or were supportive of the Government, or are or were directly controlled by the Government or associated apparatus, is a clear indication over the increasing inability of the Government of Sudan to control the various militias throughout Darfur. SUDO (UK) is supportive of the Government’s desire to collect illegal weapons throughout Darfur, though the Government must go further and disarm, demobilise and reintegrate the various militias and paramilitary forces, including that of the Rapid Support Forces and the Border Guards. Seven Children Killed, Six Injured in Heiban Bombardments An incident of aerial bombardment conducted by the Sudanese Air Force in Heiban, South Kordofan, caused outcry throughout Sudan and internationally when, on the 1st May, six children were killed between the age of 4 and 12. Despite national and international condemnation, just three weeks later another aerial bombardment in Heiban led to the death of a 6 month-old baby and injured six civilians, including three children between the age of 4 and 15. For civilians in the Jebel Marra region in Darfur, as well as South Kordofan and Blue Nile, attacks like this are unfortunately all too regular. Aerial bombardments conducted by the Sudanese Air Force regularly fail to distinguish between civilian and military targets. There has been the establishment of a clear correlation regarding the manner of aerial bombardments and the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure. Several human rights organisations have established patterns of bombings in line with the agricultural cycle, whilst those same organisations have documented consistent bombardment of civilian targets where there is no legitimate military objective in sight. What happened in Heiban is unfortunately not unique. Children and civilians have died before, and they will continue to do so until both parties negotiate a peaceful end to the conflict. Continued Use of Torture and Rape on Demazin Detainees Once again SUDO (UK) monitors have reported testimony on human rights abuses perpetrated by Military Intelligence officials against civilian detainees in the Sudanese Armed Forces headquarters in Demazin. SUDO reports have traditionally focussed on the use of containers – some of which are toxic – that are used to detain civilians incommunicado for an indefinite amount of time. During their illegal detention beatings and other acts of physical torture including branding are utilised in order to obtain confessions from detainees or to provide retrospective punishment for either real or perceived offences. It is worth re-stating that monitors confirmed the death of Tarig Ali and the hospitalisation of Alitaa Younis during their detention at the hands of Military Intelligence in this location. There are furthermore other reports, as yet unconfirmed, concerning additional deaths. During May monitors received authoritative reports, which have since been verified, of the rape of 13 women during their detention inside the military garrison. The use of sexual violence by Military Intelligence officials was used to extract confessions concerning their alleged support and assistance of SPLM-N forces in one way or another. Likewise there were further reports of ongoing acts of torture against male detainees, of which one source stated that there were still some 150 detainees being held by Military Intelligence in appalling conditions with the high possibility that they are or will be tortured. SUDO (UK) condemns all usage of sexual violence, in addition to other means of torture, and calls for the Government of Sudan to order an independent and transparent investigation into the treatment of detainees within the Sudanese Armed Forces headquarters in Demazin as a matter of upmost urgency. Continued Attacks on Media Freedom During the month of May, monitors submitted 10 reports concerning attacks on media freedom in Sudan. These 10 reports included two arrests, six newspaper confiscations, three harassments, one opening of an investigation against a journalist, and one instance of forcing a journalist to cease his work. The National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) were responsible in eight reports, whilst the Press and Publications Office and the Police were responsible for one each, respectively. Al-Jareeda newspaper was confiscated three times in four days, forcing the newspaper’s management to convene a press conference to state their intention to cease publication. Fortunately, the newspaper has continued its publication, despite the harassment of the Sudanese authorities. Meanwhile, Al-Mustagilla newspaper was also confiscated two times in consecutive days. It is worth mentioning at this point that at no point did the NISS officers provide a reason for any of the confiscations.