The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the National
Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) have forcibly relocated more than
25,000 Ingessana people from the Bao region in Blue Nile between April and
July. The relocations to other parts of the state are part of a deliberate
campaign of ethnic cleansing designed to weaken opposition to the SAF’s armed
offensive in the region. Blue Nile in Sudan’s south, along with neighbouring
state South Kordofan, has been subjected to a concerted SAF aerial and ground
assault since 2011.
The latest campaign of forced relocations began when
soldiers stormed Medyam Eljebel village on April 10, chasing residents from
their huts. Soldiers looted homes and burned the village to the ground. The
army then went from village to village, telling families to evacuate to areas
where they have no links or support networks. Similar incidents took place
throughout May and June. On July 2, SAF and NISS units forced residents of
Banat village onto trucks before dumping them in Abu Ramad, in Damazin locality.
Anyone who refuses to leave their village is deemed to be a
member of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) and faces
arrest. SPLM-N chairperson Malik Agar originates from the Ingessana Hills and
the entire Ingessana ethnic group are branded by the regime as rebel
supporters. In 2011-12, the Ingessana community was subjected to a targeted
campaign of bombing, scorched villages and large-scale arbitrary arrests. The
Sudan Democracy First Group (SDFG) says the new offensive is being rolled out
in stages to avoid scrutiny. It says the offensive reflects Sudan’s
institutionalised military practice of “meting out different forms of
collective punishment upon particular ethnic groups”.
The government is seeking to deny the SPLM-N public support
in areas where the rebels have made military gains. The Sudan People's
Liberation Army-North (the armed wing of the SPLM-N) has made big advances into
government-held territory. This brings it closer to key areas containing
mineral wealth, hydroelectric power and large-scale agricultural projects. The
abundant resources in the region have long been a source of conflict. Khartoum
controls the wealth generated by these resources while denying local investment
in basic development and infrastructure. The SDFG says the whole state is in
darkness at night aside from a few urban areas, despite the Roseris dam hydro
power plant in Blue Nile contributing 20% of Sudan’s national electricity grid.
The regime’s desperate need to maintain its grip on the resource-rich area amid
deepening economic crisis was a key factor in launching its war on Blue Nile in
2011.
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