SURVIVORS' RIGHTS INTERNATIONAL | Sudan Alert News3282

A video tape – captured on a Sudanese battlefield – has provided the first graphic evidence of a dramatic escalation in a civil war which has already cost two million lives.

It shows government forces firing ballistic missiles against the rebel SPLA – who are fighting to prevent an Islamic culture being imposed on the entire country.

What's more, the rebels say the weapons are bought with revenue from oil companies, who are developing oilfields in the south of Sudan.

From Sudan, Julie Flint has this report:

Pictures we were never meant to see — the unseen face of Africa's longest war, a war that is now entering a new and more bloody phase.

This footage reveals that since oil began flowing, a once weak and demoralised government army has become one of the best equipped in Africa.

But nobody dreamed that oil was buying ballistic missiles like this. We obtained this unique footage and showed it to the defence analyst Paul Beaver.

Paul Beaver, Defence analyst:
"I have never heard of a short range tactical ballistic missile being used in the war in Sudan. I think this is the first time that I have certainly seen any evidence of it whatsoever. And it does mark an escalation. If it is what I think it is, then it is the first time we have seen an Iranian missile in Sudan. With a range of about 110 kilometres it is a very indiscriminate weapon and has an error of about one to two kilometres."

Five months ago, Channel Four documented the scorched earth tactics being used to clear southern Sudan for exploration by international oil companies. We warned then that oil was paying for bigger and better weapons.

Paul Beaver, Defence analyst:
"Up until now we have only had anecdotal evidence that oil money has been used to fund big projects, like buying weapons. I can't really see how they are going to have funded buying a short range tactical ballistic missile any other way than by in some way bartering oil."

This young man was one of two government cameramen who filmed this offensive. He died on the battlefield and his tapes were seized by the rebels of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army. They show a concentration of fire one American expert has likened to Vietnam.

Malik Agar is the SPLA Commander who turned back the government offensive. He says eight missiles were fired, half of them near military positions.

Malik Agar, SPLA Commander:
"It is a very devastating weapon. Even in terms of sound itself, it is very effective, very scaring. Before oil, the whole fighting was between two weak opponents, literally between two weak opponents."

That is no longer the case. This is a new and more powerful army. The government says oil is paying to develop the south, not to destroy it. But no matter how damaged the film, this missile launch suggests otherwise. The Sudanese Charge d'Affaires in Nairobi denied that his government has acquired and is using missiles in the war in the south.

Ahmed Dirdiery, Sudanese Charge d'Affaires in Nairobi:
"This is not true. It is totally baseless, simply because there is no target in this war to be targeted by missiles. The targets are mainly troops, but they are not having any fixed installations to be targeted by missiles."

For the last three years, government troops and militia have been systematically clearing oil rich areas of southern Sudan. Despite growing condemnation of the government's scorched earth tactics, British companies supply much of the hardware for the oil industry, and do much of the intelligence work. This region in the south-east of the country is the latest area to be opened and cleared for oil.

Diane de Guzman, Human rights consultant:
"We had heard rumours that there was going to be oil production now in that area. There is already one area of wells that are producing, but we were hearing that there might be new surveys as well. And no sooner had we heard this information, than we began to see villages that came under attack and large numbers of people being displaced. We were seeing government militias chasing these people into the bush as they run, women and children being shot at as they flee for their lives to areas of safety."

These government troops went into battle armed to the teeth, their morale sky high. But the offensive ended in tragedy for them. The SPLA says hundreds died and most of their weapons were captured.

Malik Agar, SPLA Commander:
"We captured tanks, we captured trucks, we captured weapons in quantities that could make us defend ourselves for some time."

Oil is arming both sides in this stale-mated war. It is perpetuating a human tragedy so vast that the world no longer takes notice.

Diane de Guzman, Human rights consultant:
"A missile – you are not going to hear it coming, and when you finally do it will be too late and you will be in its path; I think it is terrifying. No-one is going to be able to protect themselves, not the civilians, not the agencies working on the ground. When I saw this, it just adds a terrifying new dimension to what we going to all have to deal with in South Sudan."

The companies investing in Sudanese oil talk of development and, through development, peace. But in these badlands from where the oil originates, that hope has died.

You can watch this programme at: http://www.channel4news.co.uk/home/20010823/4sudan.ram

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