Janjaweed-Chadian rebel coordination

Human Rights Watch found evidence of coordination between Janjaweed militias and Muhammad Nour's RDL rebels, and there is circumstantial and other evidence that not just the Janjaweed but the RDL receive material and other support from Sudanese government forces. A video reportedly aired late last year on Al Jazeera Television showed RDL leader Muhammad Nour parading new weapons and vehicles, in the company of a mid-level Janjaweed commander, leutenant Hamid Dawai. RDL rebels have several bases in West Darfur around Geneina, where Janjaweed militias and RDL rebels are said to occupy nearly adjacent camps (and where the Sudanese government has a substantial military presence), and in southern West Darfur. They have also reportedly been spotted in West Darfur in the company of government of Sudan army-sponsored Popular Defense Force militias.

Eyewitness testimony suggests a military intelligence link between RDL rebels and Janjaweed militias. Local officials report RDL forces visited Modoyna on December 16, 2005, and spent the night there peacefully. When the RDL left Modoyna on December 17, an RDL rebel warned a member of the local self defense force that the Janjaweed planned a raid against Modoyna for the next day. As predicted, a Janjaweed militia attacked Modoyna the next day, December 18.

A coordinated RDL-Janjaweed attack took place on December 16, 2005, in Borota. The RDL rebels, who wore red bandanas marked with the letters “RDL” and drove vehicles bearing the same marking, controlled Borota for two hours before withdrawing. The same night Janjaweed militias raided six villages in the vicinity.