NGOs urge concerted action against civilian attacks

A group of leading international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on Friday called on the international and humanitarian communities to agree upon "clear and consistent disincentives" for warring parties who commit abuses against civilians and humanitarian aid agencies in Sudan.

"Precise benchmarks for action in both cases should be set and agreed upon by all the relevant international actors," according to the statement released by some 13 NGOs working in both north and south Sudan.

The NGOs urged the United Nations, European Union, the governments of the United States, European and other concerned countries, and all other NGOs to "relay a clear and consistent message to the Government of Sudan and other warring parties that any attacks against innocent civilians and humanitarian facilities are unacceptable."

The statement followed a government helicopter gunship attack on a relief centre at the village of Bieh, western Upper Nile (Wahdah State), on 20 February, in which at least 24 people were reportedly killed.

Following the attack on Bieh, which took place during a distribution of food aid to some 10,000 people, the US government announced it was suspending peace discussions with Khartoum until a satisfactory explanation was offered for the incident.

The US government, through its peace envoy, John Danforth, has been attempting to build confidence in the Sudanese peace process with four specific measures, including a proposal to deploy independent monitors to help protect civilians from attack.

The Sudanese government has asserted that the Bieh attack was a mistake which occurred in the context of escalated military action against oil extraction facilities by southern rebels, and that it would establish a commission of inquiry to investigate the incident.

"We deeply regret this appalling incident," the Associated Press agency (AP) on Thursday quoted presidential peace adviser Salah al-Din al-Atabani as saying. "Yet, as the US forces in Afghanistan know well, however much care is taken in war, civilians are inevitably the unintended victims of any conflict," he added.

According to Danforth, however, the Bieh helicopter gunship attack took place despite indications by the Sudanese government last week that it would accept an international mechanism to verify the protection of civilians in the Sudanese civil war.

The attack on Bieh, along with reports of similar attacks at other locations, were indicative of an increased level of abuse against civilians, with large movements of displaced people being observed by relief workers, according to Friday's NGO statement.

"Attacks against humanitarian facilities are also preventing assistance from reaching civilians and are contributing even more to their suffering," it said.

The NGO statement was signed by Save the Children UK, Oxfam GB, Christian Aid, CARE International, Tearfund, World Vision International, Catholic Relief Services, COSVI, CMA, NCA, VSF-Belgium, Dan-ChurchAid and IRC.

The US-based Human Rights Watch on Friday added to the international denunciation of the Bieh attack, describing it as a "major human rights violation" and calling on the Sudanese government to invite a team of international investigators to look into the incident.

"This is the latest and most deadly helicopter attack on civilians in Sudan’s 18-year civil war. It appears to have deliberately targeted civilians and humanitarian workers," said Sudan researcher Jemera Rone.

Following investigations, the government should take steps to bring to justice those responsible "all the way up the chain of command," Human Rights Watch stated. The government’s current offer, to appoint its own military to investigate, was "simply not adequate," it added.
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The recent escalation of hostilities in western Upper Nile appeared to be linked to the signing in January of a merger agreement between the two main rebel groups operating in southern Sudan: John Garang's Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army and the Sudan People's Defence Forces, led by Riek Machar, according to regional analysts.