Sudan: New Darfur Documents Ties Between Government and Janjaweed Militias Confirmed

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Sudan: New Darfur Documents
Ties Between Government and Janjaweed Militias Confirmed

(New York, July 20, 2004) – Sudan government documents 
incontrovertibly show that government officials directed recruitment, 
arming and other support to the ethnic militias known as the Janjaweed, 
Human Rights Watch said today. The government of Sudan has 
consistently denied recruiting and arming the Janjaweed militias, 
including during the recent visits of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell 
and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.  

Human Rights Watch said it had obtained confidential documents from the 
civilian administration in Darfur that implicate high-ranking government 
officials in a policy of militia support. 

“It’s absurd to distinguish between the Sudanese government forces and 
the militias—they are one,” said Peter Takirambudde, executive director 
of Human Rights Watch’s Africa Division. “These documents show that 
militia activity has not just been condoned, it’s been specifically supported 
by Sudan government officials.” 

Human Rights Watch said that Sudanese government forces and 
government-backed militias are responsible for crimes against humanity, 
war crimes and “ethnic cleansing” involving aerial and ground attacks on 
civilians of the same ethnicity as members of two rebel groups in Darfur. 
Thousands of civilians have been killed, hundreds of women and girls 
have been raped and more than one million people have been forcibly 
displaced from their homes and farms in Darfur.

In a series of official Arabic-language documents from government 
authorities in North and South Darfur dating from February and March 
2004, officials call for recruitment and military support, including 
“provisions and ammunition” to be delivered to known Janjaweed militia 
leaders, camps and “loyalist tribes.” 

A particularly damning February directive orders “all security units” in the 
area to tolerate the activities of known Janjaweed leader Musa Hilal in 
North Darfur. The document “highlights the importance of non-
interference so as not to question their authority” and authorizes security 
units in a North Darfur province to “overlook minor offenses by the 
fighters against civilians who are suspected members of the rebellion….” 

Another document calls for a plan for “resettlement operations of nomads 
in places from which the outlaws [rebels] withdrew.” This, along with 
recent government statements that displaced persons will be settled in 18 
“settlements” rather than in their original villages, raises concerns that the 
ethnic cleansing that has occurred will be consolidated and that people 
will be unable to return to their villages and lands. 

Human Rights Watch called for Sudan government officials implicated in 
the policy of militia support to be added to the U.N. sanctions list included 
as part of a pending U.N. resolution. It also called for international 
monitoring of the disarmament of the militia groups and the establishment 
of an international commission of inquiry into the abuses committed in 
Darfur by all parties to the conflict. 

“Sudan has launched a major public relations campaign aimed at buying 
more time for diplomatic initiatives to work,” said Takirambudde. “But at 
this point and with our new evidence, Khartoum has zero credibility. To 
date, the government of Sudan has only used more time to consolidate the 
ethnic cleansing in Darfur.” 

While the government has committed itself to disarming “outlawed” 
groups, including the rebel insurgency, it is unclear whether the 
government considers the Janjaweed militias it has supported as among 
the groups to be disarmed. There are increasing reports that Janjaweed 
militia members are being absorbed into the new police forces deployed 
by the government to “protect” civilians in Darfur. 

Human Rights Watch said that under no circumstances should Janjaweed 
members who have participated in attacks, murders and rapes of civilians 
in Darfur be included within the police and military forces the government 
is now using to protect the population.

Human Rights Watch called for an immediate, strongly worded U.N. 
resolution that sanctions Khartoum and government officials responsible 
for crimes against humanity. 

“The ambiguity in the government’s statements shows that independent 
monitoring of the disarmament process is crucial,” said Takirambudde. 
“The African Union and other international monitors must pay close 
attention to resettlement plans and ensure that militias are not only 
disarmed, but withdrawn entirely from the civilian areas they took over.” 

The documents showing Sudan government-Janjaweed ties are on file 
with Human Rights Watch. 

The briefing paper is available online at: 
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/07/19/darfur9096.htm