Sudan: Mali Militants On 200 Vehicles Arrive in Kutum, North Darfur - Sources

Kutum — Multiple sources assert that 200 Land Cruisers with Islamist militants from Mali fleeing the hostilities in their country have arrived in Kutum, North Darfur, in the past 10 days.
They told Radio Dabanga on Monday the groups are stationed in three different areas around Kutum, adding they are "inciting a state of fear and terror" among citizens.

The first group can be found just one kilometer north of camp Kassab for displaced, the second in Jebel Mari, seven or eight kilometers northeast of Kutum, and the third in Sijana, about 10 kilometers north of Kutum, sources affirm.

Upon arriving in Kutum, the militants' vehicles were covered with thick green tarps and they were carrying heavy artillery, eyewitnesses pointed out.

Some of the alleged Malian militants have "long beards, wear outfits resembling those found in Western Sahara and black shawls". Witnesses added a number of them speak French and most do not speak Arabic.

These groups go shopping at the Kutum market on a daily basis and use sign language to purchase goods, considering they do not speak the local language. They were last seen at the market on Monday and eyewitnesses claim they use Francs (savah), a currency mostly used in western African countries, while others use US dollars.

Displaced living in Kassab told Radio Dabanga they do not feel safe to leave the camp to collect firewood or to fetch water due to the presence of militants from Mali nearby.

Civilians are urging local and federal authorities to expel these groups from Sudan and keep them away from the country. They further urged the UN and international organizations to intervene.

"Syrian pilots, Malian fighters"

A Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) leader accused the Sudanese central government of using pilots from Syria and militants from Mali in Darfur, when speaking at a seminar in Cairo, Egypt.

According to Abubakar Hamid Nour, the Syrians are piloting Antonov airplanes and shelling Darfur.

He added that Khartoum has "succeeded" in distorting the reality of the conflict in Darfur, depicting it as a "war between the Arabs and the black" and that Darfur armed movements are anti-Islam.

Nour is also accusing the former Sudanese foreign minister Mustafa Osman Ismail of distorting facts and portraying an unrealistic image about the nature of the conflict in Darfur during previous tours in Arab countries.

from allAfrica/Radio Dabanga (Hilversum)
11 February 2013

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Mali: UN Blacklists MUJAO

Nouakchott — Security Council sanctions aim to put pressure on the Mali-based terror group.

The UN Security Council last Wednesday (December 5th) sanctioned al-Qaeda splinter group Movement for Tawhid and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO).

Under the resolution, "UN member states have to freeze the assets of groups and individuals on this black list, impose a ban on arms sales and a travel ban on all of its members," according to AFP.

The UN said that the MUJAO had seized heavy machine guns, rocket propelled grenades, explosives and other military equipment from Mali military arsenals since moving into the country.

"The MUJAO's leaders are known to be drug traffickers, involved in the drug trade in the Sahel," the UN statement added.

Following the passage of the UN resolution, MUJAO leaders Hamada Ould Mohamed Kheirou of Mauritania and Ahmed al-Talmasi of Algeria were put on international lists of known terrorists.

A source close to Kheirou's family spoke to Magharebia on December 9th.

"He belongs to the Tagounanet tribe in Lebeiratt, Trazra province, in southeast Mauritania. He joined al-Qaeda in 2003 when he left to fight against international forces in Iraq. He climbed the ladder in al-Qaeda until he became the head of the Sharia committee, and was later appointed as head of the judiciary council in Gao after MUJAO controlled the city," the source said under condition of anonymity.

According to analyst al-Mokhtar al-Salem, "the area of Lebeiratt - from where Ould Mohamed Kheirou hails - is also the home of the great Mauritanian scholar Lemjidry Ould Hob Allah, who brought Wahhabism to the East in the 19th century".

"The people around here don't think the resolution changed anything," journalist Osman Mohamed Osman said.

"The MUJAO hasn't denied its relations with al-Qaeda and its leaders realise that they have been a target for the hostility of all Western and regional forces since the formation of the group," journalist Osman Mohamed Osman said.

"Anyway, this resolution can be seen as important as far as the procedural and moral aspects only are concerned, as it's already known that regional countries weren't selling arms to MUJAO and weren't dealing amicably with their elements," Osman said.

The MUJAO first appeared after the kidnapping of three humanitarian workers at a Western Sahara refugee camp in October, 2011. AQIM and MUJAO are currently holding at least 13 foreign hostages, including the Algerian diplomats kidnapped in Gao.

from allAfrica/Magharebia
By Jemal Oumar, 10 December 2012

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