UN's Two Tales of Sudan "Simulated" Attack on Darfur Convoy, DRC Contrasted
By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, February 15, 2013 - The day before the UN Security Council
adopted its resolution on the Sudan Sanctions Panel of Experts, Inner City
Press published a leaked draft, including a paragraph
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/sudan1sancdraft021313.html> "condemning the
simulated attack by Sudanese army helicopters on a UNAMID patrol to which
the Panel of Experts arms expert was attached."
At the February 13 UN noon briefing, Inner City Press asked for more
information on this "simulated attack by Sudanese army helicopters on a
UNAMID patrol," since a search of the press releases on the UNAMID mission's
web site found no mention of it.
A day later, after the Council's vote, the UN sent the following to Inner
City Press:
Subject: Your question on UNAMID
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org
Date: Thu, Feb 14, 2013 at 12:41 PM
To: Matthew [dot] Lee [at] innercitypress.com
Regarding your question on a shooting incident last year in Darfur, the
UN-African Union Mission in Darfur has the following to say:
On 26 September 2012, two Sudanese Armed Forces helicopters flew at low
altitude over a UNAMID patrol that was returning from an assessment mission
to Thabit (North Darfur). The authorities claimed the aircraft mistook the
patrol for an armed movement convoy. The patrol, which was clearly
displaying UNAMID/United Nations insignia, returned to base safely.
The mission was a pre-planned verification patrol that a Panel of Experts
member availed himself of the opportunity to join.
UNAMID vigorously protested to Government military authorities in El Fasher
and Khartoum over the incident.
The incident is reflected in paragraph 31 of the Report of the
Secretary-General on UNAMID dated 16 October 2012.
Inner City Press went back to this report, and found this in Paragraph 31
<
http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2012/771> : "on 26
September, two Sudanese Armed Forces attack helicopters flew at low altitude
over a UNAMID patrol that was returning from an assessment mission near
Thabit. The authorities claimed that the aircraft mistook the patrol for an
armed movement convoy. The patrol returned to base safely. UNAMID protested
to the Government over the incident."
So UNAMID's October 2012 report to the Council did not mention that there
was a member of the Panel of Experts with the convoy; it did not mention
that patrol "was clearly displaying UNAMID/United Nations insignia," not the
"vigor" with which UNAMID now says it protested.
Since UNAMID never put out even a press release (when for example its
sister mission MONUSCO in the Congo on January 30 devoted a full press
release to denouncing a publication
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/un1fardc013013.html> by Inner City Press,
but then wouldn't point to a single factual mistake) leads one to question
how "vigorous" the protest was.
Stepping back, the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations under Herve
Ladsous <
http://www.innercitypress.com/ladsous2013starts012713.html>
appears to have little consistency. It has become under Ladsous, as at least
one DPKO whistleblower puts it, "pure politics." Watch this site.
Received on Fri Feb 15 2013 - 21:29:49 EST
