- Oct 14, 1999
- 11,999
- 308
- 126
The country is predominately a black nation but within the past decade an Islamic-based government has solidified dominance over most of the populations centers. Furthermore, the government quietly supports a force of mercenaries - the Janjawid/Jinjaweit - to carry out their dirty work of killing the non-aligned blacks. The Darfur region, being mostly rural and poor, is especially victimized by the attacks by the mercenaries whom have executed the inhabitants of whole villages. Those that survive the attacks are forced by the government to live in tent-slum cities. Add to it that the government regularly forces the relocation of the refugees; they leave immediately or face the law under penalty of certain death. By last count the displaced people now number over 4 million souls. In just the last two years alone the African Union and United Nations observers have confirmed 600,000 have been forced into tent cities and 3,000 have been killed.
The Darfur region is subject to a truce that the government has once again put aside. The truce was that the government would no longer use their air transports as military bombers against civilian population centers, a promise that has been broken at least twice in the last week. Two insurgency forces, collectively referred to as the Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM), have aligned to fight the government. The stronger of the two, the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA), is led by Mini Arkoi Minawi and has releaed public statements to the effect he wants to "create a united, democratic Sudan." Only problem is Minawi is no angel and Washington doesn't want him to win. The smaller force, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), has close ties with the same Chadian rebellion that has given Libya fits for decades. Its safe to say the legitimate pro-Libyan government of Chad is working with the Sudanese government to stamp out the problem.
The SLA is becoming a real force to reckon with in the Sudan. They are more able to defend themselves against both the Jangaweed and government forces alike. Its actually a recent phenomenon that the SLA has even been on the offensive against both forces. However, if Mini Arkoi Minawi wins control we can be certain the next genocide in the Sudan will be Muslims and a civil war will envelope the northern corner of the African continent. The JEM militia is politically too weak to become a meaningful threat to the government.
The main threat to these rebel groups is the Jangaweed and so any outside help should be squarely aimed at this threat. Sudan offers a staging zone for the spread of Islamic regimes into central Africa. Since these regimes tend to support internationally know terrorist groups they make it very easy to justify their containment. The U.S. is spread too thin to justify direct miltary involvement, therefore its probably the best interest of the U.S. to seek an outside force that can bring stability to the region.
Perhaps its best to lease the African Union (AU) forces a flexibily mix of rugged jet-fighter planes (i.e. export version F-16s), self-propelled anti-aircraft guns (dual use anti-air and defense suppression), fast infantry vehicles, complimentary support vehicles, helicopter gunships, and advisors on how to make the force work efficiently. The U.S. would be able to stay out of direct conflict by arming the AU, which the U.S. would prefer to become a region force for stabilizing the African continent. The U.S. would be obliged to supply intelligence against the Jangaweed, and if need be even the Sudanese government itself.
The Sudanese air forces consist of a dozen MiG-29, a pair of MiG-23, another dozen MiG-21, perhaps a further two dozen Chinese fighters based on the MiG-19. Few of them are operational at any one time, hence the need to bombard with transport planes. The air force largely relies on its force of Mi-24 helicopters, which happen to be vulnerable to medium-caliber (12.7mm to 14.5mm) anti-aircraft guns. Self-propelled anti-aircraft guns are available from both American and European partners and their introduction to AU would not cause any strategic imbalance on the continent. Arming the AU with sophisticated self-defenses like Stinger missiles is a very bad idea just in case the missiles fell into the wrong hands. Also, since their fighter planes lack anything more sophisticated than Chinese copies of the AA-2 Atoll, there is no real need to supply anything but older Sidewinders to the AU.
The Sudanese army and Jangaweed combined number over 100,000. They lack effective offensive armor, being mostly limited to Type 59/T-55 tanks from China, Russia, and Poland. They do have some M-60's and Type 62's, but both kinds have suffered twenty years of neglect. The most plentiful, the Type 59's, are a joke when it comes to realistic miltary value. What they do possess in large quantity are armoured cars, rocket launchers, and infantry vehicles. Russia sold them their fast and rugged BTR-80's within the past two years, too. Luckily, again, most of their non-recently obtained equipment has suffered twenty or more years of poor maintenance. The SLA has pummelled the government forces largely by using inepensive anti-tank rockets and speedy pickups to beat quick getaways. The AU will not enjoy the ability to melt into the general population like the rebels, therefore they will need a way to defend themselves against this potent ground force. Helicopter gunships and fast infantry vehicles offer the most flexibility. These two options are also least likely to destabilize the region as opposed to supplying sophisticated missile systems for armor and artillery suppression.
The AU is there. Its willing to do the job. They need equipment. Is it time to lend them a hand?
The Darfur region is subject to a truce that the government has once again put aside. The truce was that the government would no longer use their air transports as military bombers against civilian population centers, a promise that has been broken at least twice in the last week. Two insurgency forces, collectively referred to as the Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM), have aligned to fight the government. The stronger of the two, the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA), is led by Mini Arkoi Minawi and has releaed public statements to the effect he wants to "create a united, democratic Sudan." Only problem is Minawi is no angel and Washington doesn't want him to win. The smaller force, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), has close ties with the same Chadian rebellion that has given Libya fits for decades. Its safe to say the legitimate pro-Libyan government of Chad is working with the Sudanese government to stamp out the problem.
The SLA is becoming a real force to reckon with in the Sudan. They are more able to defend themselves against both the Jangaweed and government forces alike. Its actually a recent phenomenon that the SLA has even been on the offensive against both forces. However, if Mini Arkoi Minawi wins control we can be certain the next genocide in the Sudan will be Muslims and a civil war will envelope the northern corner of the African continent. The JEM militia is politically too weak to become a meaningful threat to the government.
The main threat to these rebel groups is the Jangaweed and so any outside help should be squarely aimed at this threat. Sudan offers a staging zone for the spread of Islamic regimes into central Africa. Since these regimes tend to support internationally know terrorist groups they make it very easy to justify their containment. The U.S. is spread too thin to justify direct miltary involvement, therefore its probably the best interest of the U.S. to seek an outside force that can bring stability to the region.
Perhaps its best to lease the African Union (AU) forces a flexibily mix of rugged jet-fighter planes (i.e. export version F-16s), self-propelled anti-aircraft guns (dual use anti-air and defense suppression), fast infantry vehicles, complimentary support vehicles, helicopter gunships, and advisors on how to make the force work efficiently. The U.S. would be able to stay out of direct conflict by arming the AU, which the U.S. would prefer to become a region force for stabilizing the African continent. The U.S. would be obliged to supply intelligence against the Jangaweed, and if need be even the Sudanese government itself.
The Sudanese air forces consist of a dozen MiG-29, a pair of MiG-23, another dozen MiG-21, perhaps a further two dozen Chinese fighters based on the MiG-19. Few of them are operational at any one time, hence the need to bombard with transport planes. The air force largely relies on its force of Mi-24 helicopters, which happen to be vulnerable to medium-caliber (12.7mm to 14.5mm) anti-aircraft guns. Self-propelled anti-aircraft guns are available from both American and European partners and their introduction to AU would not cause any strategic imbalance on the continent. Arming the AU with sophisticated self-defenses like Stinger missiles is a very bad idea just in case the missiles fell into the wrong hands. Also, since their fighter planes lack anything more sophisticated than Chinese copies of the AA-2 Atoll, there is no real need to supply anything but older Sidewinders to the AU.
The Sudanese army and Jangaweed combined number over 100,000. They lack effective offensive armor, being mostly limited to Type 59/T-55 tanks from China, Russia, and Poland. They do have some M-60's and Type 62's, but both kinds have suffered twenty years of neglect. The most plentiful, the Type 59's, are a joke when it comes to realistic miltary value. What they do possess in large quantity are armoured cars, rocket launchers, and infantry vehicles. Russia sold them their fast and rugged BTR-80's within the past two years, too. Luckily, again, most of their non-recently obtained equipment has suffered twenty or more years of poor maintenance. The SLA has pummelled the government forces largely by using inepensive anti-tank rockets and speedy pickups to beat quick getaways. The AU will not enjoy the ability to melt into the general population like the rebels, therefore they will need a way to defend themselves against this potent ground force. Helicopter gunships and fast infantry vehicles offer the most flexibility. These two options are also least likely to destabilize the region as opposed to supplying sophisticated missile systems for armor and artillery suppression.
The AU is there. Its willing to do the job. They need equipment. Is it time to lend them a hand?
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