Testimony of Brian Steidle before the House Committee on International Relations

(As always, thanks to you-know-who for linking to this.)

Testimony of Brian Steidle
Global Grassroots
Thursday, March 17, 2005
House Committee on International Relations

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today.

Three of the most important points that I wish to make today include:

1. the atrocities resulting in millions displaced and hundreds of thousands killed are ongoing today and must be addressed urgently before thousands more die;
2. these crimes against humanity result from a Government of Sudan-sponsored military operation that is systematically eliminating the black African population from all of Darfur;
3. this conflict can be resolved through weapons sanctions, a no-fly zone throughout Darfur and greater international support and an expanded mandate for the African Union (AU).

First, I offer some quick background.  I grew up living around the world as the son of a naval officer, now retired Admiral.  I graduated with a B.S. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University in 1999 and received a commission in the US Marine Corps as an infantry officer.  I completed my service with the USMC at the end of 2003 as a Captain.  In January 2004 I accepted a contract position with the Joint Military Commission in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan working on the North-South cease fire, now peace agreement.  Within seven months I worked my way up from a Team Leader to the Senior Operations Officer.  In September 2004, I was then invited to serve in Darfur as an unarmed military observer and U.S. representative with the African Union.  I was one of only three Americans serving with a coalition of African countries monitoring the cease fire between the two African rebel groups and the Government of Sudan of Sudan.  My military observer team was made up of representatives from the two rebel groups, the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), the Government of Sudan of Sudan, a Chadian mediator, a Team Leader and Assistant Team Leaders from the member countries of the African Union and either an EU or US  representative. Our mission was to report back on the violations of the cease fire agreement, such as an attack on villages, troop movements and military operations.  I was armed only with a pen and my reports were my ammunition.  After six months, my conscience would no longer allow me to stand by without taking further action, and I became convinced that I could be more effective by bringing the story of what I witnessed to the world.  I returned in early February 2005.

Atrocities of the most hideous nature are occurring today in Darfur. Every day we saw villages of up to 20,000 inhabitants burned to the ground with nothing left but ash frames. In my team’s area of operation, which was South Darfur, I estimate that nearly 75 percent of the villages had been decimated by the beginning of February. We witnessed scores of dead bodies providing evidence of torture - arms bound, ears cut off, eyes plucked out, males castrated and left to bleed to death, children beaten to a pulp, people locked in their huts before being burned alive, and apparent executions. We would interview women who had been gang raped during attacks and others that had been raped in their huts within the confines of the IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps. Many children had been killed or violently injured and many others ended up missing never to be seen again.

This February apparently saw a decrease in the overall violence in Darfur.  However, December 2004 and January 2005 represented some of the most violent months of the entire conflict.  These occurred after a similarly quiet lull in November.  I do not believe the current calm may necessarily be an indication that the conflict is ending. 

I have clear evidence that the atrocities committed in Darfur are the direct result of a Government of Sudan of Sudan military operation in collaboration with the “Janjaweed” Arab militias.  To begin, Government of Sudan officials and Arab militias come together in coordination to attack a village. Before these attacks occur, the cell phone systems are shut down by the Government of Sudan so that villagers cannot warn each other.  Helicopter gunships support the Arab militias on the ground by firing anti-personnel rockets at civilian targets. These rockets contain flashettes, or small nails with a stabilizing fin on the back.  Each gunship contains four rocket pods, each rocket pod contains about twenty rockets and each rocket contains about 500 of these flashettes.  These flashettes are used only to kill or maim people on the ground.  Flashette wounds look like shot-gun wounds.  One small child, I remember, looked as if his back had been shredded.  We were able to get him to a hospital, but we did not expect him to live.

On many occasions, when we would attempt to go investigate one of these attacks, we would find that the fuel for our helicopters was unavailable.  We would receive many explanations from the Sudanese fuel company – from “we are out of fuel” to “our fuel pumps are broken”.  At the same time, the Government of Sudan helicopters continued to fly and attack villages with no shortage of their own fuel. 

I have personally witnessed on many occasions Arab militias and Government of Sudan soldiers looting stores and huts, then setting these structures on fire. It is well known the Government of Sudan allows the Arab militias to keep the loot as a form of payment for their assistance in the attacks.

Those villagers that were able to escape alive, flocked to IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps, where they would scrounge for sticks and plastic bags to construct shelter from the sun and wind.  In even these desperate situations, the Government of Sudan would not give up its mission.  The Government of Sudan was also responsible for the bulldozing of a number of these IDP camps.  The Government of Sudan would first announce the need to relocate an IDP camp and assess the population of displaced people, often grossly underestimating the need.  A new camp would be built by the international aid organizations, and then the Government of Sudan would forcibly relocate the population, leaving hundreds to thousands without shelter.  They would bulldoze or drive over the camps with trucks, often without notice in the middle of the night, then gather up the remaining debris to burn.

The difference between the Government of Sudan and the rebel groups is that, for the majority of the time, the rebel groups target military and police positions, while the Government of Sudan targets civilians.  The purpose of the rebel attacks are to gain ammunition, weapons, logistical stores and to show the Government of Sudan that they are still a force with which to be reckoned.  I believe that one of the purposes of the Government of Sudan attacks is to kill or drive the African tribes from Darfur.

I believe this conflict can be resolved through international support for the AU.  More specifically, I believe weapons sanctions and a no-fly zone throughout Darfur are critical.  I have witnessed the effectiveness of the AU and believe they can stop the conflict with more support.  After a violent attack on the town of Labado (pop. 20,000), a Government of Sudan General told us that his mission was to continue clearing the route all the way to Khartoum, several hundred kilometers away. The next village in line was the village of Muhajeryia, with a population near 40,000.  The AU was able to place 35 soldiers into Muhajeryia to protect civilian contractors establishing a base camp for future deployment.  This alone was able to deter the Government of Sudan of Sudan with a force of a few thousand soldiers and Janjaweed from attacking.  Then the AU was able to deploy 70 more soldiers from the protection force and ten military observers to the burnt village of Labado. Within one week, approximately 3000 people returned to rebuild.  In addition, the AU was able to negotiate and have the Government of Sudan of Sudan withdraw their troops from the area. 

The AU can secure and protect all villages in Darfur with the following support:

1. an expanded mandate to protect civilians and ensure secure routes for humanitarian aid access,
2. advanced logistics and communication support,
3. an increase in protection force troops in the tens of thousands on the ground.

We cannot fail the men, women and children of Darfur.  We must stop the ongoing genocide.