Washington, D.C. — The human rights group, Amnesty International released photographs Friday showing the Sudanese government continuing to deploy offensive military equipment in Darfur in what the group said was "breathtaking defiance" of both a United Nations arms embargo and peace agreements.
The photographs were sent to Amnesty and the International Peace Information Service in Belgium by eyewitnesses. They were taken at El Geneina airport in Darfur, near the border with Chad.
Amnesty said in a news release that one photograph shows Sudanese soldiers offloading containers from an Antonov freighter airplane. The company that owns the aircraft, Azza Transport, is under investigation by the UN for breaking the arms embargo. It is also the subject of sanctions imposed by the United States in May, for "transferring small arms, ammunition and artillery to Sudanese government forces and Janjaweed [Janjawid] militia in Darfur."
An Antonov was used in government bombing raids in early August in South Darfur, Amnesty added. One attack targeted the rebel Justice and Equality Movement.
Other photographs show Russian-supplied military helicopters at the airport. Russia signed an arms deal with the government of Sudan to supply attack helicopters in both 2005 and 2006. Amnesty said that local people in Darfur have reported that similar helicopters were used to bring in arms to government and Janjawid forces.
Amnesty also reported that members of the Janjawid - a notorious militia believed to be behind many of the gross human rights violations in the region - are being integrated into government forces, including the border guard and reserve police.
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Brian Wood, Amnesty International's arms control manager, called on the UN Security Council to take action to ensure the embargo is properly enforced.
The embargo was imposed on all parties involved in the conflict, including the Sudanese government, in March 2005. In July this year, the Security Council passed a resolution to strengthen an African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur with 26,000 peacekeepers in a hybrid United Nations-AU force.
Amnesty contends the resolution did not go far enough. "If weapons continue to flow into Darfur and peacekeepers are not given the power to disarm and demobilize all armed opposition groups and Janjawid militia, the ability of the new peacekeeping force to protect civilians will be severely impeded," said Erwin van der Borght, director of Amnesty's Africa program.
"For the peacekeeping operation in Darfur to have any chance of success, the UN Security Council must ensure that the arms embargo… is fully and effectively enforced and that peacekeepers are mandated to disarm or demobilize… Janjawid militia and Darfuri armed opposition groups," said van der Borght.
The conflict in Darfur has left an estimated 200,000 people dead and over two million displaced. The Sudanese government has long disputed these figures, claiming that only 9,000 people have died. The government has also denied charges that they continue to bring military equipment into Darfur or supply arms to the Janjawid.
