The raids on Haskanita were a series of attacks on African Union peacekeepers by rebel groups during the

Darfur conflict The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, was a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups ...

. The attacks took place on 30 September and early October 2007 near the town of Haskanita in

South Darfur South Darfur State ( Wilāyat Ǧanūb Dārfūr; Janob Darfor) is one of the States of Sudan, wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states that compose the Darfur, region of Darfur in western Sudan. Overview Prior to the creation of t ...

. Three rebel commanders were arrested for the attacks on warrants issued by the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

Background

The

started in 2003 when two rebels groups took up arms against the

Sudanese government The Government of Sudan is the federal provisional government created by the Constitution of Sudan having executive, parliamentary, and the judicial branches. Previously, a ''president'' was head of state, head of government, and commander-in ...

. The

Justice and Equality Movement The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM; , ') is an opposition group in Sudan founded by Khalil Ibrahim. Gibril Ibrahim has led the group since January 2012 after the death of Khalil, his brother, in December 2011. The JEM supported the removal ...

(JEM) and

Sudan Liberation Army The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army ( ''Ḥarakat Taḥrīr as-Sūdān''; abbreviated SLM, SLA, or SLM/A) is a Sudanese rebel group active in Darfur, Sudan. It was founded as the Darfur Liberation FrontFlint, Julie and De Waal, Alexander (20 ...

(SLA) claimed that the government discriminated against black Africans in favor of Arabs. Local Arab

Janjaweed The Janjaweed () are an Sudanese Arabs, Arab nomad militia group operating in the Sahel, Sahel region, specifically in Sudan, particularly in Darfur and eastern Chad. They have also been speculated to be active in Yemen. According to the United ...

militias intervened on the side of the government. Following an initial ceasefire in 2004,

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

peacekeepers were deployed as the

African Union Mission in Sudan The African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) was an African Union (AU) peacekeeping force operating primarily in the country's western region of Darfur to perform peacekeeping operations related to the Darfur conflict. It was founded in 2004, with ...

. (AMIS) AMIS established a base in Haskanita, in

Um Kadada District Um Kadada is a district of North Darfur state, Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to ...

North Darfur North Darfur State ( Wilāyat Šamāl Dārfūr; ''Shamal Darfor'') is one of the wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states composing the Darfur region. It has an area of 296,420 km2 and an estimated population of approximat ...

province and 100 km northeast of Ed Daein. In November 2006 the area around Haskanita was taken over from the SLA by the

National Redemption Front The National Redemption Front (NRF) is an alliance of opposition groups in Darfur, Sudan. According to their foundation declaration, the NRF consists of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a holdout faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army ...

- a splinter group from the JEM. Aid agencies suspended their operations in the neighbouring districts of Ed Daein and Adila.

First raid

On 30 September 2007 approximately 1,000 rebels attacked an AMIS base, killing 10 peacekeepers, including seven from

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

and one each from

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

and

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

, and wounded many more. A further 50 personnel were initially unaccounted for, but later found. The attack occurred just after sunset, and came amid increasing tensions and violence between the separatist rebels and AMIS peacekeepers, who the rebels accused of bias towards the central government. Survivors said the rebels used heavy weaponry to attack the AMIS base, including rocket-propelled grenades and armored vehicles. Sudan's army and Darfur rebel movements initially blamed each other for the attack.

Second raid

The town of Haskanita was attacked again in early October, and most of it was set on fire. Following the attack, the town's mosque and school were some of the few buildings remaining intact. The ruins still act as a base for

forces, headquartering a full 800-strong battalion. Although it has yet to be confirmed, unnamed sources in

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

claimed the fires were set by AU forces and

militia in retaliation for the attacks in late September.

International Criminal Court investigation

The

had been referred by the

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

in 2005 to the

and the Chief Prosecutor had opened an investigation into crimes related to the conflict. In July 2008, the Chief Prosecutor said he knew who were the perpetrators of the Haskanita raids, and he was committed to prosecuting them. In November 2008, he requested arrest warrants for three rebel commanders from the

for these attacks. One of these — Bahr Idriss Abu Garda — voluntarily surrendered to the court in May 2009. However, charges were dropped in February 2010 when judges ruled the prosecutor could not prove he had planned the attack.Sudan: Darfur rebel leaders surrender to Hague court
''

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

'', 16 June 2010 The other two commanders - Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain and Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus - surrendered to the court in June 2010 and were charged with three counts of

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

s: *

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

pillage Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...

* Attacking peacekeepers Banda led a splinter group from the

and Jerbo led the Sudanese Liberation Army - Unity faction. Abu Garda led the United Resistance Front, another splinter group from the JEM.See Bahr Idriss Abu Garda article for more information and sources.

External links

Preliminary AU report on the September 30 attack

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haskanita raids War in Darfur 2007 in Sudan Battles in 2007 Military raids September 2007 in Africa October 2007 in Africa Attacks on military installations in 2007 Foreign relations of the African Union Attacks on buildings and structures in Sudan