Darfur refugees dream of return

When Ahmed Yusuf Ahmed heard that Omar al-Bashir had been overthrown he was initially exultant. "I thought it was the best news I had heard in my life," says Ahmed, who fled his native Darfur in 2003.

Sudan has been in a state of political unrest since protests triggered by an economic crisis started in December last year and spread across the country demanding an end to Bashir’s three decades of authoritarian rule. On 11 April, the military ousted al-Bashir and established a Transitional Military Council (TMC).

Ahmed was 16 years old when Janjaweed paramilitary forces hired by Bashir’s government to crush a local insurgency burned his village in the Karnoi area, killed his father and stole his family’s cattle. He lived in a refugee camp in Chad for 10 years, and then applied for asylum in Jordan, where – like most refugees who are not allowed to work – he struggles to make ends meet.

According to UN estimates, Bashir’s counter-insurgency campaign in Darfur has killed at least 300 000 people and displaced over 2.7 million since 2003. For their alleged role in the atrocities, al-Bashir and other top officials have been indicted for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court between 2009 and 2010.

Muted reaction to Bashirʹs overthrow

Although Bashir’s fall was received with exhilaration, Ahmed was cautious. He knew the generals who removed him were closely associated with the old regime. The military council that took over was headed by lieutenant general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who was the military intelligence officer coordinating military actions in Darfur between 2003 and 2005. The council’s most prominent member was General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemeti, the leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Hemeti’s forces were formally established by Bashir’s government in 2013, but grew out of the dreaded Janjaweed militias mobilised to fight against insurgencies in Darfur and other marginalised areas throughout Sudan in the early 2000s. RSF mercenaries have received support from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to fight in Yemen as part of the Saudi-led coalition, and have been deployed to repress demonstrations throughout Sudan to protect Bashir’s government.

After the establishment of the TMC, mass protests continued to demand a transition to civilian rule, forcing the military to enter negotiations with the main pro-democracy coalition. Talks were suspended several times and strained by a violent crackdown on 3 June which, according to the opposition-linked Doctors’ Central Committee, left 128 people dead. But on 17 July, the military council and pro-democracy leaders announced they had reached a power-sharing deal amid growing pressure from the United States, the African Union and Arab allies.A month later, Sudan’s governing military council and pro-democracy leaders signed the final power-sharing agreement. The two sides agreed on a constitutional declaration that established a joint civilian-military transitional council expected to take over in September and rule Sudan for the next three years until elections are held.

Donʹt trust the generals

The agreement prompted celebrations in the streets of Sudan’s capital Khartoum, which filled with music, honking car horns and fluttering Sudanese flags. But for the Darfuri refugees who fled violence and persecution, reactions were much more cautious and restrained.

The deal had been signed by generals who were involved in the brutal counter-insurgency campaign in Darfur. "Hemeti’s hands are full of blood," says Ahmed, who thinks the general should be charged for alleged crimes in Darfur, as well as for violence used against protesters. For refugees, the brutal crackdown on 3 June proved these generals cannot be trusted to uphold any kind of agreement.

Although no charges have yet been brought against Mohamed Hamdan "Hemeti" Dagolo, rights groups have denounced serious human rights abuses committed by his forces. A Human Rights Watch report published in 2015 described the RSF as "men with no mercy", and accused the forces led by Hemeti of repeatedly attacking villages, burning and looting homes, and beating, raping and killing civilians in Darfur.

In June, Amnesty International said there was "disturbing new evidence" showing that the RSF and allied militias continue to commit serious human rights violations and war crimes in Darfur, which in the past year have included the "destruction of at least 45 villages, unlawful killings and sexual violence". Ongoing violence documented by rights organisations indicates it is still unsafe for refugees to return to Darfur.

The power-sharing deal was signed by pro-democracy leader Ahmed al-Rabie and by Hemeti, who pledged to abide by its terms. But Darfuri refugees are very sceptical about the generals’ commitment to a transition to civilian rule. "I don’t believe the military council will ever give away their power. They are responsible for genocide. And if they left the government they would have to face justice," says Ahmed.

Immunity from prosecution

One of the most contentious issues in the power-sharing agreement was the possibility of giving military generals immunity from prosecution. The final deal established that their immunity could not be lifted without approval from the majority of legislators. For Ahmed, this means that justice and accountability for crimes committed in Darfur or against protesters cannot be ensured.

Since the old regime remains entrenched, refugees say it is still too risky for them to return to Sudan. "The National Intelligence and Security Services are still there, the RSF continue to act above the law, using lethal force, humiliating people," says Suliman Baldo, a senior researcher with the Enough Project.

With security forces and national intelligence still intact, anyone who sought asylum abroad might be vulnerable to arbitrary arrest upon return. In December 2015, Jordanian authorities rounded up hundreds of Sudanese refugees who took part in protests against what they saw as discrimination in provision of humanitarian assistance.

[embed:render:embedded:node:36368]Forced to board planes, hundreds were deported back to Sudan, where some were allegedly arrested and tortured upon arrival in Khartoum. For Baldo, this is a risk that refugees returning to Sudan will continue to face. "The system hasn’t changed. Those who persecuted them are still holding the stick, the whip and the gun against civilians in the country," he says.

Apart from concerns with safety, many Darfuri refugees say they have nothing to go back to. "I lost my house, my cattle, my land, everything I owned," says Abdul (*), a Darfuri refugee who spent several years in a camp for the internally displaced before seeking asylum in Jordan in 2010. "I lost my relatives as well. Who will bring them back?"

The issue of restitution

For refugees, one of the most pressing issues is restoration of lands seized by militias or left behind during the conflict and occupied by new settlers. "I don’t see how there can be restitution for the hundreds of thousands of farms violently appropriated by militias, the RSF, the Janjaweed. How do you get those farms back to their rightful owners?" asks Eric Reeves, a senior fellow at Harvard University. "The situation in Darfur will not change any time soon. It’s a very long project of rebuilding and restitution," he adds.

For now, Darfuri refugees in Jordan say it is still too dangerous to return. Civil resistance brought down a dictator, but elements of the old regime have remained in power. Some of the generals now leading the sovereign council were involved in the atrocities that forced refugees to flee Darfur, and will continue to enjoy impunity.

"I dream of going back to Sudan," says Ahmed. "But knowing that the regime is still the same makes me think it won’t be possible in the near future."

Marta Vidal

© Qantara.de 2019

(*) Last name withheld to protect identity