Watchdog publicises attacks on civilians

The US-led Civilian Protection Monitoring Team [CPMT], set up to monitor and report on attacks against civilians and civilian facilities in Sudan, made its findings public on Wednesday with the launch of a website detailing attacks in two areas. The CPMT reported that forces from both the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and the government had launched attacks in the Pagak Malwal area of Eastern Upper Nile in March. "It is likely that some civilians were killed as a result of attacks undertaken by both parties," said the report, adding that an indeterminate number of civilians were also displaced as a result. In Wankai cattle camp, in Western Upper Nile, the SPLA had attacked and killed a "large number of civilians", possibly as high as 17, most of whom were women and children, the CPMT added. About 20 residents of Wankai were also wounded, it said. The CPMT resumed its work late last month after a disagreement between the government and the team, regarding its mandate, was resolved. Since early March, the government had denied the CPMT the necessary security clearances to conduct its investigations, accusing it of overstepping its mandate by also probing violations of the cessation of hostilities. Charles Bauman, Programme Manager for the CPMT, told IRIN the issue had been resolved through discussion but that there was "always the potential for running into problems on the ground". Last week, for example, the SPLA had objected to the CPMT's presence in a particular location, he said. "It's not necessarily done by design, although it could be. We're operating in areas where communications are difficult," he said. He added that the biggest obstacle to the team's operations at the moment was the rainy season, which resulted in some landing strips being too muddy for planes to land. The CPMT has 17 members on the ground, based in Khartoum and Rhumbek, who are undertaking ongoing investigations where allegations of attacks on civilians have been made. Each completed CPMT report is given to both sides for comment, after which it will be published on the website. Bauman told IRIN it was "extremely important" for the reports to be made public, to help bring pressure to bear on the parties to adhere to their agreement to protect civilians. [see www.cpmtsudan.org]