The Massaleit and Other Black African Sudanese Face More Repression by Government Forces and Allied Arab militias (3/2/2003)

The Government of Sudan has continued to commit atrocities and other crimes against Massaleit, Fur, Tama and other black African Sudanese in western Sudan either directly through its armed forces or indirectly through Arab militias. The escalating human rights violations include murder of civilians, looting of property, and targeting refugees in neighboring countries.

In February 2003, the Sudanese security agents summarily executed Massaleit activists who were returning to their village (Kendry) from Geniena, the capital of West Darfur State. The Sudanese security agents pursued their victims in a vehicle as they left Geneina and later shot them dead. The names of the dead are:

1. Saleh Osman, a student.

2. Hamad Khamis, a peasant.

3. Abdalla Haroun, a peasant.

4. Yousif Ali Mohamad, a student

5. Adam Abdall Tagir

Because of fear of attacks and ambushes on roads, movement between villages and towns has been restricted, cutting off people from markets and other sources of livelihood. For example, the road connecting Geneina and Nyala towns has become almost impassable.

In the same month, the Sudanese security murdered Sharif Ishag Ibrahim, an active Massaleit member of the Sudanese parliament (al Maglis al Watani). He had fallen ill and the government decided to remove him to a hospital in Gaderif town in eastern Sudan, instead of treating him in one of the many hospitals in Khartoum. He was eliminated in a place far away from relatives and friends.

Moreover, the Sudanese government has targeted Massaleit and other black African refugees in neighboring countries. The Egyptian security has stepped up detentions and deportations of black African Sudanese refugees under the cover of cracking down on illegal migrants. The deportees are handed over by the Egyptian security to their Sudanese counterparts at the border port of Wadi Halfa. Since December 2002, the below listed persons from western Sudan have been deported by the Egyptian security and their fate in Sudan is unknown up till now.

1. Omer Osman, a Masaleit

2. Hamad Hussain, a Massaleit

3. Haroun Mohamed Adam, Massaleit.

4. Doctor Ahmed, a Tama

5. Soliman Hassan Arbab, a Tama

6. Adam Idris Ramadan, a Tama

7. Yahya Hassan Ishag, a Tama.

8. Osman Gumaa Hassan, a Tama

9. Ibrahim Alhaj, a Tama

Massaleit, Fur, Tama, Zaghawa, southerners and other black African Sudanese deported by the Egyptian authorities face eminent death, disappearance or torture. The Sudanese government frequently accuses refugees from these groups of supporting the Sudanese opposition abroad, particularly the SPLA, and human rights groups, such as the RMCE.

The black African Sudanese deportees are refugees wrongfully denied international protection by the UNHCR-Cairo office, which runs an ineffective and unfair refugee status determination system. The UNHCR-Cairo office rejected over ninety per cent of applicants for refugee status from western Sudan. Thus, these refugees were rendered illegal migrants and legally deportable. We and other human rights defenders have extensively described the state of civil war and generalized violence in western Sudan. The OAU Refugee Convention, which the UNHCR-Cairo office claims to take into account in determining refugee status claims, clearly defines persons who flee from such situations as refugees. Instead of protecting refugees in Cairo, the UNHCR has in practice legitimized some detentions and deportations.

We appeal to the international community to rescue black African Sudanese, inside and outside, who are targeted by their government. We also ask the United Nations agency responsible for refugee protection to respect its mandate and international refugee law.