YouTube: WikiRebels - The Documentary (Parts 1 - 4)

News just in from Channel 4, UK:

In the last few moments the Wikileak's founder Julian Assange has walked out of Westminster Crown Court [London] where he was granted bail earlier.

"Justice is not yet dead," he said.

Thanking his legal team and the rest but truth to the say it was a cautious statement and short. And more memorable for the number of flash bulb explosions than for what he said.

He is now on his way to his mansion arrest in Norfolk [England].

Andy Davies will have the details tonight.

Read more:
http://www.channel4.com/news/wikileaks-julian-assange-freed-on-bail

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YouTube: WikiRebels - The Documentary (Parts 1 - 4)

The following in-depth must-see video report regarding WikiLeaks contains four parts. Click on YouTube logo on video to read transcript at YouTube.



Extract from YouTube - "WikiRebels - The Documentary (1/4)":

zerwas2ky | December 09, 2010 | 913 likes, 11 dislikes -
Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhTfOL9_HBE&feature=&p=6D8EE2E0B836F096&index=0&playnext=1

From the description:

"Exclusive rough-cut of first in-depth documentary on WikiLeaks and the people behind it!

From summer 2010 until now, Swedish Television has been following the secretive media network WikiLeaks and its enigmatic Editor-in-Chief Julian Assange.

Reporters Jesper Huor and Bosse Lindquist have traveled to key countries where WikiLeaks operates, interviewing top members, such as Assange, new Spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnsson, as well as people like Daniel Domscheit-Berg who now is starting his own version - Openleaks.org!

Where is the secretive organization heading? Stronger than ever, or broken by the US? Who is Assange: champion of freedom, spy or rapist? What are his objectives? What are the consequences for the internet?"

© svt

To date, the video has had 134,904 views.
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Further Reading



Photo: Wikileaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange arrives at Westminster magistrates court inside a prison van with tinted windows. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
Source: Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/15/1
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In Kenya, Bloggers React To WikiLeaks Cables
by Global Voices for Global Voices December 15, 2010
http://www.groundreport.com/World/In-Kenya-Bloggers-React-To-WikiLeaks-Cables/2932089
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1. Video: Justice for Julian: Assange to walk free, Swedish appeal rejected RT Zimbabwe: Regime Change - Unmasking Franchise Owners‎ - AllAfrica.com Julian Assange: Courageous Hero or Terrorist?‎ - FinalCall.com News Aljazeera.net - UPI.com all 7895 news articles »

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2. WikiLeaks confirms Russian tanks aboard hijacked ship were bound ... ‎ Herald Scotland - 4 days ago Washington encouraged the delivery of weapons to South Sudan even though it was the main guarantor of the 2005 peace agreement. The WikiLeaks revelations ... Leaked Cables Detail Kenya's Role in Arming South Sudan‎ - Voice of America Cables Suggest U.S. Knew Of Sudan Arms Shipments‎ - NPR Leaked cables claim Kenya sent tanks to South Sudan‎ - Daily Nation GlobalPost - Safety at Sea all 258 news articles »

3. WikiLeaks, Rashaida and Egypt ‎ Awate - Burhan Ali - 1 day ago WikiLeaks cables concerning Eritrea and its ruling ... My trip which started from Asmera took us a month to reach Sudan. ...

4. Future crimes: Are WikiLeaks, piracy and malware related? ‎ SC Magazine US - 1 day ago Now, the diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks (love em or hate em) definitively show ....Hypothetically, if one were looking for friends of Sudan with ...

5. Yemen key transit hub for Hamas arms: leaked memos ‎ AFP - Paul Handley - 7 Dec 2010 ... arms flowing to the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and the Gaza Strip via Sudan, according to US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks on Tuesday. ... US used Israel intelligence to stifle arms trade: WikiLeaks‎ - The Hindu US works to stop arms flow to Islamists - paper‎ - Reuters Africa WikiLeaks: US Worked Discreetly to Block Supply of Iranian, Syrian ...‎ - Naharnet The Israel Project (press release) all 49 news articles »

   
   

6. What Raila knew about Sudan weapons ‎ The Standard - Biketi Kikechi - 6 days ago WikiLeaks cables claim Ranneberger wrote saying he discussed the tank ... told him the Government was committed to assisting the South Sudan and that there ... Video: Raila dismisses Wikileaks as diplomatic gossip ntvkenya WikiLeaks reveals political plots after 2007 poll‎ - Capital FM US cable: Kenya risks new violence without reforms‎ - Bloomberg AllAfrica.com all 278 news articles »

7. Sudanese voters in Nashville may give their war-torn homeland its ... ‎ Nashville Scene - Brantley Hargrove - 2 hours ago The vote will determine whether South Sudan, their former home, .... Among the diplomatic cables recently released by WikiLeaks was a notice that a shipment ... Video: South Sudan: Festivities in south mark one-month countdown to referendum France 24 South Sudan is subjected into Big Brother USA bullying‎ - Sudan Tribune Uncertainty abounds as southern Sudan prepares to vote‎ - Montreal Gazette Memphis Commercial Appeal all 234 news articles »

   
   

8. Wikileaks reveals Egypt Nile fear ‎ BBC News - Will Ross - 3 Dec 2010 Cairo's Almasry Alyoum newspaper published the cable, one of thousands being released by Wikileaks. Southern Sudan is due to vote in a referendum on ... Egypt wanted Sudan referendum delayed‎ - Bikya Masr EXCLUSIVE: Egypt requested delay for Sudan referendum‎ - Borglobe Egypt says south Sudan secession looks inevitable‎ - Reuters Africa Sudan Tribune - Middle East Online all 202 news articles »

9. Foreign relations: Objectives of 'crucial state' remain frustrated ‎ Financial Times - Heba Saleh - 22 hours ago In keeping with Egyptian policy favouring a united Sudan is the revelation that Cairo asked the US in... On other issues, WikiLeaks is even more prosaic. ...

10. WikiLeaks: Should the US recall Ranneberger? ‎ The Standard - 2 days ago QUESTION: Following the WikiLeaks reports should US envoy Michael ... which has been pushing for peace in Southern Sudan has on the other hand been ...

Kenya: Wiki-leaked cables claim nation sent tanks to South Sudan

Kenya: Wiki-leaked cables claim nation sent tanks to South Sudan
Source: The Nation (Kenya) - Reprinted at www.afrika.no
Date: Thursday, 09 December 2010

Nairobi (Kenya) — The mystery surrounding Russian-made tanks that the government denied were destined for South Sudan last year has been unravelled by a secret diplomatic cable.

A 2009 cable released by whistleblowing site WikiLeaks says a senior State Department official produced satellite images that appeared to show that the tanks unloaded in Kenya were trans-shipped to South Sudan.

The evidence contradicted claims by Kenyan officials that the hardware imported from Ukraine was intended for the Kenyan military.

A bill of lading and manifest of the hijacked MV Faina, which was seen by the Nation when the ship was released by pirates showed that its cargo consisted of more than 812 tonnes of ammunition in addition to 33 T-72 tanks from Ukraine.

Other weapons on the ship included unpacked spare parts for the T-72 tanks, Soviet-made anti-aircraft guns and rocket propelled grenades.

The Chief of General Staff, Gen Jeremiah Kianga, laid claim to the cargo insisting that the tanks and assorted arms belonged to the Kenyan military after pirates released the vessel they had captured off the coast of Somalia after ransom was reportedly paid.

However, satellite photos released by Wikileaks show that the T-72 tanks' actual destination was in South Sudan. The photos, the cable says, were presented by a US deputy assistant secretary of state, Vann Van Diepen, during talks in the Ukrainian capital in September 2009.

The Ukrainian side is said in the document to have repeatedly insisted at the talks that the weapons were intended for the government of Kenya.

The Ukrainians stuck to that position even when Mr Van Diepen presented a copy of a contract that listed the actual recipient as the government of South Sudan.

A Ukrainian official "questioned the authenticity of the contract, and asked if the US had any better evidence," states the cable marked "secret."

The document dated November 9, 2009, was published on the website of London's Guardian on Monday but a search of WikiLeaks' own site on Tuesday did not reveal a link to the cable.

"Van Diepen, regretting that the GOU [government of Ukraine] had forced him to do so, showed the Ukrainians cleared satellite imagery of T-72 tanks unloaded in Kenya, transferred to railyards for onward shipment, and finally in South Sudan," the Guardian's version of the cable states. "This led to a commotion on the Ukrainian side."

Mr Van Diepen then warned that "there was nothing for Ukraine to gain from lying and a lot to lose."

He told the Ukrainians that the US would have to consider imposing sanctions as a result of the arms transfer to South Sudan in violation of international agreements. "A factor in US deliberations would be whether the GOU told the truth," the document added.

The Ukrainian side still "asserted that Ukraine only had a relationship with Kenya, and did not have a relationship with South Sudan," the cable continued. "Ukraine could not be held responsible for the actions of a third country."

The Ukrainians however did promise to "study this situation in the light of a partner relationship so that the US knows that Ukraine is a reliable partner," the cable said.

The document gives no indication of whether the United States raised the matter with the Kenyan government. Such a discussion might be recounted in US Nairobi embassy cables that WikiLeaks indicates it has obtained but has not yet released.

A ship carrying the weapons reached Mombasa in February 2009 after a $3.2 million ransom was paid to Somali pirates who had hijacked it five months earlier.

Source: The Nation (Kenya)

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WikiLeaks documents roil Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa

Christian Science Monitor - Scott Baldauf - ‎53 minutes ago‎

Embarrassing US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks have put leaders in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa in the hot seat. View of the WikiLeaks homepage ...

US 'aware of' S Sudan arms deal

BBC News - ‎1 hour ago‎

The US government has been aware of Kenyan arms shipments to Southern Sudan for years, the latest diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks reveal. ...

Pirates' Catch Exposed Route of Arms in a Tense Sudan

New York Times - Jeffrey Gettleman, Michael R. Gordon - ‎7 hours ago‎

The Faina was escorted into the port of Mombasa, Kenya, in February 2009 after Somali pirates were paid $3.2 million. Its cargo included 32 Soviet-era tanks ...

How US raised storm over Sudan tankers

Capital FM - Michael Mumo, Judie Kaberia - ‎Dec 8, 2010‎

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 8 - The purchase of military equipment from Ukraine caused a storm from the American government, ...

A Discreet Deal for the War in Sudan

Spiegel Online - Horand Knaup - ‎37 minutes ago‎

AP US dispatches have cleared up one of the most baffling weapons affairs of the recent past. In 2008, pirates hijacked a ship full of tanks ...

Wikileaks: Raila's secret list

The Standard - Cyrus Ombati - ‎4 hours ago‎

Cables released by whistle-blower Julian Assange revealed the names of people Prime Minister Raila Odinga wanted appointed in top Government ...

Wikileaks: US incensed by Ukraine's arms exports

RIA Novosti - Gary Hershorn - ‎20 hours ago‎

The United States is fighting a constant battle to stop the flow of arms from Ukraine and other East European countries to terrorist in the Middle East, ...

WikiLeaks: US official accuses Ukraine of lying about arms sales to Sudan

Kyiv Post - ‎21 hours ago‎

The US had satellite imagery that proved Ukraine lied about shipping arms to South Sudan. AP The US had satellite imagery that proved Ukraine lied about ...

Sudan: Leaked Cables Claim Nation Sent Tanks to South Sudan

AllAfrica.com - Kevin Kelly, Patrick Mayoyo - ‎Dec 7, 2010‎

Nairobi — The mystery surrounding Russian-made tanks that the government denied were destined for South Sudan last year has been unravelled by a secret ...

New York Times: Pirates' catch exposed route of arms in Sudan conflict

Kyiv Post - ‎8 hours ago‎

KENYA, Mombasa : A Kenyan military officer stands guard over Soviet made T-72 tanks at Mombasa port which have just been offloaded from the MV faina ship on ...

New Sudan war would cost Kenya, region

New Sudan war would cost Kenya, region
Source: AFP / www.capitalfm.co.ke
Date: Thursday, 25 November 2010

(Khartoum, Sudan, Nov 25) - A return to civil war in the event that south Sudan votes for independence would cost the country, the region and international community more than 100 billion dollars, a study published on Thursday warned.

Aegis Trust, an NGO, and three research centres including the Institute for Security Studies, based in South Africa, drew up four post-referendum scenarios, ranging from peace to a resumption of full-scale war between north and south Sudan.

In the case of a 10-year conflict of medium intensity, the losses for Sudan would amount to at least 52.1 billion dollars (39 billion euros), on top of about 29 billion dollars for neighbouring Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, the study estimated.

The impact on the international community would top 30 billion dollars in terms of peacekeeping missions and humanitarian aid.

"This report demonstrates the high cost of conflict. It implies that domestic, regional and international parties should be asking: 'Are we doing enough to avoid a war that might cost over 100 billion dollars and ruin countless lives?'" said Matthew Bell of London-based Frontier Economics.

The study calculated Sudan's losses in case of war on the basis of an annual 2.2-percent decline in Gross Domestic Product.

It would cost Ethiopia and Kenya more than one billion dollars a year in terms of forecast growth, the researchers said, warning that war would also damage Egypt, Sudan's northern neighbour and the region's leading economy.

The impact could be even heavier in the event of full-scale war that would disrupt the oil production of Africa's largest country, which has reserves of more than six billion barrels.

Khartoum and the former southern rebels signed a peace deal in 2005 after more than two decades of war. A central element of that accord is an independence referendum for the south scheduled for January. Since July, the two sides have been negotiating on key post-vote issues.

Chief among those crucial to a peaceful transition in case of partition is the sharing of oil resources.

Oil revenues make up the Sudanese government's main source of foreign currency earnings, while southern Sudan depends on oil for as much as 98 percent of its budget.

Most of Sudan's reserves are concentrated in the south but can only be exported through a pipeline passing through the north on the way to Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

An oil-sharing formula would benefit both the north and south, whereas an interruption in production and exports would damage the whole country.

"Reaching some level of agreement before the referendum is important not only because both economies need uninterrupted revenue, but also to sustain the confidence of oil companies in their existing investments," the International Crisis Group said this week.

In case of peace and healthy ties between north and south Sudan as well improved security in Darfur, Sudan's growth would steady at an annual 6.2 percent for five years and even reach nine percent from 2016, the study said.

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Report On The Cost Of A Possible Return To War In Sudan
Source: SRS (Sudan Radio Service) - www.sudanradio.org
Date: Thursday, 25 November 2010

(Nairobi, Kenya) – A report published by a coalition of European and African economic and political think-tanks on Thursday says a return to war in Sudan would cost Sudan, the region and the international community about 100 billion US dollars.

The report which comes amid fears that the referendum could trigger an escalation of violence attempts to analyze the economic cost of war to the region.

Mathew Bell an Associate Director of the London based, Frontier Economics spoke to SRS in Nairobi during the launch of the report.

[Mathew Bell]: “The report is an attempt to do with economic analysis of what the cost of war to Sudan and the region and the international community could be. It very explicitly sets aside the very real and important human costs of death and suffering that would result in war but to take a financial perspective as a way of adding to the debate around the cost of war. The headline itself looks like it would cost in excess of about a hundred billion dollars to the combination of Sudan the region and the international community should war break out. That figure breaks down into about 50 billion dollar cost to the Sudanese economy itself. About a 25 billion dollar cost to the regional economy including Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda. And about a 25 to 30 billion dollar cost to the international community in the form of peace keeping in the form of humanitarian intervention.”

Mathew Bell recognizes the difficulties in measuring the costs of potential future conflict in the report. He explains the different scenarios.

[Mathew Bell]: “Because of the uncertainties of what may happen because nobody can be sure about what the outcome is going to be, we have looked at different potential scenarios; we have tried to come up with a range of figures. And the 100 billion dollar that we have been quoting is towards the bottom end of that range. And the Low, medium and high conflict scenarios are different levels of conflict from a low level civil war situation, to a very serious situation to a very serious full blown civil war that might involve some of the regional players as well, or ways of how to characterize different points in the spectrum of costs. What we don’t comment on at all is what the likelihood of different scenarios would be. But we want to give a range of potential costs.”

According to the report the evidence suggests that the net impact of conflict would be significantly negative. Sudan would lose about 50 billion USD from its GDP, the neighboring countries would lose 25 billion USD of GDP and the international community would lose 30 billion USD in peacekeeping and humanitarian costs.

The report by the European and African economic and political think-tanks on the cost of war in Sudan was launched in Nairobi on Thursday.

UK to fund relocation of ICC witnesses

UK to fund relocation of ICC witnesses
Source: Capital FM - www.capitalfm.co.ke
Author: Anthony Kagiri
Date: Friday, 26 November 2010

THE HAGUE, Nov 26 - Britain has donated Sh25.3 million to a special fund of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for relocations of witnesses at risk from Kenya.

A statement posted on the ICC website on Friday said the money would be given to countries willing to host the witnesses but are not in a position to finance such support.

It also seeks to foster regional solutions for the relocation of witnesses at risk, thereby reducing the impact of transfers on their life.

"This donation constitutes an important gesture towards the victims and witnesses of post-election violence in Kenya, and towards international justice and the common fight against impunity," the statement said.

The court added that the witness protection programme should help encourage witnesses to be more confident in contributing to the investigation, assisting the goal of accountability that the victims and others have been campaigning for.

"Using such arrangements, the court also seeks to galvanise cooperation partners into strengthening national capacity to protect witnesses in such regional states."

The court is investigating the deadly 2008 post election violence that led to over 1,333 deaths and displacement of over 600,000 people. ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo has said he will be presenting cases against six individuals to the ICC judges by end of next month.

The grant comes in the wake of controversy surrounding the housing of the witnesses by the State-run Kenya National Commission on Human rights with two of its witnesses saying that they were bribed by the commission to implicate Eldoret North MP William Ruto. This was preceded by claims that some suspects had attempted to compromise witnesses and investigators.

However in the statement, the court said it remains concerned about continuing reports of witness intimidation and official interference.

"Those who attempt to subvert the search for justice should be aware that they also could find themselves accountable for their actions in The Hague," said the statement.

The cooperation agreement was signed by Paul Arkwright, the Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, to the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Registrar of the Court, Silvana Arbia.

Before signing the Understanding, the Registrar noted that "by making a substantial donation to the Special Fund, the United Kingdom stands as an example to other States' willingness to support victims and witnesses who are at risk on account of their interaction with the Court".

The Ambassador stated that "The UK supports the court's work, with the Kenyan Government, to promote justice for the many victims of the post-election violence.

As the court was getting the assistance Kenya reiterated its commitment to fully cooperating with the International Criminal Court to facilitate its mandate in the country.

Internal Security Minister George Saitoti who is the chairman of the Cabinet sub-committee coordinating ICC matters outlined key steps the State has taken to facilitate the court's work including appointing a designated judge to facilitate the recording of statement from Provincial Commissioners and Police chiefs. Others include facilitating the establishment of an ICC office in the country, handing over of documents, reports and minutes and the gazetting of regulations or the implementation of the International Crimes Act.

"The Office of Prosecutor has continually expressed satisfaction with the level of the government's cooperation," he said.

The court's statement vindicated Prof Saitoti's view saying: "We welcome the Kenyan Government's cooperation with the Court on this case."

Sudan's north accuses south of aiding Darfur rebels

ACCORDING to the below copied report from Reuters, Abdel Wahid Al-Nur, leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), one of Darfur's main rebel groups, will visit the southern Sudan capital Juba in the coming days, his spokesman said, and other rebel leaders have visited or reside there.

Mandour al-Mahdi, a senior official from the northern National Congress Party, told Reuters that the Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) had moved its forces to the south to receive training.

"If you are accommodating these forces in the south, you are supplying these forces with weapons, logistics, petrol and cars ... we think that this is a declaration of war against the north of the country," Mahdi said.

Reportedly, earlier this month the north accidentally bombed the south while fighting the JEM near the north-south border.

Full story below.

Sudan's north accuses south of aiding rebels
Source: Reuters - af.reuters.com
Date: Wednesday, 24 November 2010 12:19pm GMT

(Khartoum, Sudan) - Sudan's north said on Wednesday the semi-autonomous south of the country had declared war by supporting anti-government rebels from Darfur, just weeks ahead of a referendum on southern independence.

Sudan's north-south civil war ended in 2005 with a peace deal that shared wealth and power, enshrined democratic transformation and allowed southerners to vote in a January 9 plebiscite which most expect to result in secession.

Sudan's separate rebellion in Darfur -- which is part of the north -- began in early 2003 and numerous truces have failed to stem violence there. The International Criminal Court has indicted President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes there.

"If you are accommodating these forces in the south, you are supplying these forces with weapons, logistics, petrol and cars ... we think that this is a declaration of war against the north of the country," Mandour al-Mahdi, a senior official from the northern National Congress Party, told Reuters.

Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur, leader of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), one of Darfur's main rebel groups, will visit the southern capital Juba in the coming days, his spokesman said, and other rebel leaders have visited or reside there.

Mahdi said the Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) had moved its forces to the south to receive training. Earlier this month the north accidentally bombed the south while fighting the JEM near the north-south border.

South Sudan's army was not immediately available for comment but denies aiding rebels from Darfur. The south has in the past hosted unity talks between the fractious rebels to try to help move the Darfur peace process forward. If the south separates, Darfur will remain part of the north.

The dispute marks a low point in north-south relations which have been tense in the build up to the plebiscite. Talks on resolving the status of the disputed Abyei region are deadlocked and little progress has been made on defining citizenship, the border or other post-referendum issues.

Mahdi said the south's support for Darfur rebels was affecting talks covering security arrangements after the referendum.

"They should expel these forces out of south Sudan ... overall I hope that we reach a settlement of this issue so as not to affect the referendum," he said.

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Officials: Sudan bombing won't renew conflict
Source: The Associated Press (AP) / www.guardian.co.uk
Author: Maggie Flick
Date: Saturday, 13 November 2010

(Malakal, S. Sudan) - A bombing on the disputed north-south border of Sudan heightened concerns of renewed conflict in the region, but a Southern Sudan army official says the attack was aimed at rebels, not the south, and observers doubt this one incident would lead to anything more serious.

Sudan has been high on the U.S. foreign policy agenda, with top officials working to ensure a January referendum that could split Africa's biggest country into two is held on time. They are also working to avoid renewed conflict between north and south Sudan, who more than five years ago ended a decades-long war.

The borders of Northern Bahr Gazal and Southern Darfur, where the bombing occurred, are in dispute and the 2005 peace deal required the border between Southern Sudan and the north be demarcated. That exercise, however, has also been fraught with delays.

Col. Philip Aguer, spokesman for the Sudan People's Liberation Army, which protects oil-rich Southern Sudan, said Saturday that north Sudan's military bombed a disputed north-south border area but the attack was not meant for the south.

Both parts of Sudan are allowed to keep separate armies under a 2005 peace deal that ended their 21-year war.

Aguer said north Sudan military officers consulted with their southern counterparts through a joint military panel after the Friday bombing by an Antonov plane and determined the bombs were launched in the north, but landed in Southern Sudan territory close by. The panel, called the Joint Defense Board, is part of the 2005 peace deal and is meant to help avoid misunderstandings between the armies of the north and the south.

"The bomb fell in our territory by mistake and the SAF (Sudan Armed Forces) admitted it was not intentional," said Aguer. He said the bombing took place in Northern Bahr Gazal State, located in the southwest of the country and part of Southern Sudan, but would not give a precise location. Aguer said there were casualties but declined to give details.

The top U.N. official in Southern Sudan, David Gressly, said casualties are in the single digits and a U.N. team is going to the area to assess the situation

Lazaro Sumbeiywo, the Kenyan retired general who mediated the 2005 peace deal, said that since signing the agreement, north and south had only fought once, in 2008, in a dispute over the oil-rich area of Abyei.

Sumbeiywo declined to comment on the Friday incident but said when he went to assess the general situation in Southern Sudan two weeks ago, he did not find the semiautonomous region tense.

"In the sense that both parties need each other. The south has the oil and the north has the pipeline. How do you kill the conveyor and expect to get anything?" Sumbeiywo told The Associated Press.

The Obama administration, however, is worried conflict may be renewed because of the referendum on Southern Sudan's independence scheduled for January.

Officials have said the White House holds at least three meetings a week on Sudan in an effort to avoid a new outbreak of violence and President Barack Obama gets a daily briefings on the situation.

Last weekend, Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, met with Sudanese leaders and presented them with a proposal from the Obama administration to remove Sudan from the terrorist list. The proposal is in addition to one made in September offering a range of incentives, including possible restoration of full diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Sudan.

The U.S. offers follow conflicting statements from members of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's government that they may or may not recognize the referendum's results. It is widely expected that Southerners will vote in favor of separation come January.

Southerners fought a two-decade civil war against the Muslim, northern-dominated central government in which 2 million people died and more than a million headed north to escape the fighting. The independence referendum will be the culmination of the six-year transitional period that was part of the 2005 peace deal that ended that 20-year north-south conflict.

Aguer said that the north's military said they were targeting members of the Justice and Equality Movement rebel group, which has bases in Southern Darfur state bordering Northern Bahr Gazal. JEM is the most powerful of the Darfur rebel groups and has been fighting a rebellion in western Sudan's since 2003.

Several other rebel groups in the region have signed peace deals with the Sudanese government, but JEM remains one of the holdout groups.

On Thursday, the government's news agency reported that Sudan's intelligence chief called on Southern Sudan to arrest Darfur rebels hiding in the semiautonomous region. The agency also reported that National Security and Intelligence Service chief Lt. Gen. Mohammed Atta Almawla said some Darfur rebel leaders were in Northern Bahr Gazal state and two main towns in Southern Sudan. The report did not say which group the rebels belonged to.