Report on a raid at Gebel Uweinat in February 2008

On the 2/18/2008 as we approached the mouth of Karkur Talh from the north in two 4-wheel drive vehicles, our party, consisting of the tour operator, an Egyptian army officer in civilian clothes, a mechanic and myself suddenly noticed a white Jeep at close quarters. Shortly after, we spotted another two jeeps which must have just departed from the mountain valley before our arrival. Not paying much attention to this traffic, our camp was set up at N 21 57.800 + E 25 06.469 in the late morning.

Our intention was to stay at this camp for a couple of days to search for rock art however, the project came to a sudden end when at noon, shortly after we had finished our lunch, a pickup with a heavy machine gun of NATO origin mounted on its cabin roof approached the site. Five men partly dressed in army gear and equipped with machine guns, jumped off and pushed us away from our cars to nearby rocks. They checked our possessions thoroughly and, soon after, loaded these into their car. Intending to drive us away in our own vehicles, the “soldiers” tried in vain to get our two 4WDs moving. Eventually our mechanic got the cars started and it was decreed that we were to drive these ourselves, whilst “soldiers” placed in the front passenger´s seats held us at gun point.

Moving a few kilometres to the north the convoy stopped at the line of acacia trees, which mark the wadi bed. Here we were forced to leave our vehicles and to slowly walk away. All of the sudden from behind us, we heard the unmistakeable metallic clicking sounds of the machine gun safety mechanisms being released. Believing that we were to be killed on the spot, all four of us were close to crying but continued walking foreward. After a minute we were ordered to stop. I turned around and saw the “soldiers” cutting acacia trees and laoding the trunks on the cars. Later, when asking about the reasons for our arrest, we were accused of having penetrated into Sudanese territory unlawfully (indeed, our camp in Karkur Talh had been set up on Sudanese soil). Disclosing their identity, the “soldiers” informed us that they belonged to a unit of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA). Our impression was that this unit is probably one based in Darfur that opposes the central government in Khartoum.

After the sad destruction of the acacia trees we continued our journey to the East-South-East. Here, there was a slight chance of escape as the heavily armed pickup was travelling way ahead most of the time. At one point whilst on the move, the tour operator, a muscular, well trained individual, prepared to overpower the guard. However, sitting in the back, I managed to convince him to forget about such a risky action for the sake of our comrades in the second car.

After 1½ hour´s drive the four of us were abandoned in the vicinity of a cluster of rocks. We were frightened as we were only left in possession of our tents and sleeping bags; with water and food for two days. (Later, when most of our equipment was returned to us, we found out that we had been dropped on Sudanese territory about 55 kilometres distance from our camp site in Karkur Talh.) No sooner than we had organized ourselves, a storm arose. The landscape vanished behind clouds of dust and we could hardly chew down our food.

Next day (in the early morning of 2/19/08) a heavily armed militia, comprising of our original abductors plus new faces, approached our tents and interrogated us again. We were suspected of being spies intending to collect intelligence about Western Sudan. In the course of the inquiries we were promised that all confiscated items would be returned to us. When the men left, we got caught in a storm again. Dust and drifting sands prevented us from estimating the distance to Gebel Uweinat and to the Libyan military post at Ain Dua, the only possible place to escape to, which, most probably, lay 50 to 90 kilometres to the west.

Moore´s notes, pp. 54+56 (in German)

Shortly before darkness the militia paid us another visit. Surprisingly, this time they had come without guns. They said that they had informed their head quarters in the south about our arrest.

Moore´s notes, pp. 57+60

Moore´s notes, p. 61

Next day (2/20/08) we were waiting in vain for the SLA-militia. After the wind had calmed, we climbed a nearby rock and, to our amazement, noticed five white vehicles passing by at a distance of about 2 kilometres. Suspecting that the SLA had abandoned us, we prepared for an emergency march to Ain Dua. The granite masses of Gebel Uweinat rising in the west did not appear to be further away than 5-6 hours by walk. We guessed we could make it.

Moore´s notes, pp. 62+63

We were about to start our emergency hike, when a pickup approached us. We were ordered to mount the car. Its driver, accompanied by two guards, took off for the south. We travelled at extremely high speed. After about 150 kilometres the car came to an uprupt stop. Gearbox damage. Fortunately the vehicle had not overturned. To my astonishment, our Egyptian mechanic succeeded in performing a makeshift repair. Later that day we reached a military camp situated on Shaw´s 1935 route, about 195 kilometres South-southwest of Gebel Uweinat. The camp which consists of a watch tower, a few mobile homes & stone houses, a motor well, a generator and four trees, serves as customs facilities for trucks on their way to and from Libya.

Moore´s notes, pp. 66+67

For dinner a Bedouin offered us mutton roasted over an open fire. He told us that, years ago, even females and their children had been living at the remote place. The four of us were accomodated in a cell for five days. Several times per day we were interrogated by friendly SLA-officers. They too assured us that we soon get our possessions back.

Moore´s notes, pp. 64+68

While waiting for a decision, our mechanic tried to render something useful to the camp. He repared the generator and a couple of military vehicles. In the absence of a trained mechanic at the camp, his skills were much appreciated, generating several invitations to stay for ever. One day during our stay at this remote outpost, a convoy of trucks was cleared through customs.

Moore´s notes, pp. 69+70

We learned, that officers had been sent back north to a border camp, 5 to 10 kilometres away from where they had abandoned us on the first night to retrieve our stolen items. Later, a wallet still full of money and business cards, my GPS and my video camera were handed back.

Moore´s notes, p. 72

Finally, we were released and driven back to our cars waiting for us at the “border camp” 200 kilometres to the north, which we reached accompanied by SLA-officers on 2/27/08 during a sandstorm. Much to our dismay, we found that one of our cars had been dismanteled and the other stripped off its battery, generator and most of its tools. Our gasoline was also gone. It occurred to me something of a miracle when, shortly after, our mechanic managed to get the latter car ready to start.

Moore´s notes, p. 74

While we tried to get organized, the officers searched the camp. More and more of our possessions surfaced. Soon satellite phone, camera and knife were handed back to me. Eventually, I was asked how much money was still missing. “1.200 USD”, I replied. To my astonishment, each officer opened his purse and donated money, until the outstanding amount was settled. We received 400 litres of gasoline and a metal rope to pull the dismatled vehicle across the desert. Soldiers gave us half of a freshly disembowelled waddan (mountain sheep) as provisions for the road. Then, in the early morning of 2/28/08, we left for the Egyptian-Sudanese border. We were acompanied by two heavily armed SLA-pickups.

picture 1: heavily armed SLA-pickup (photo by P. Moore)

At N 22 00,388 + E 25 46,375 we crossed into Egypt. In the vicinity of Gebel Kamil the SLA-pickups returned.

Picture 2: departing from SLA-soldiers in the vicinity of G. Kamil (photo by P. Moore)

Moore´s notes, pp. 75+78

It took us another day to reach the Dakhla-Bir Terfawi road. When we arrived at Mut/Dakhla, it was decided not to inform the Egyptian authorities about the incident as everybody wanted to avoid lengthy interrogations and, possibly, a delay of several days.

At the beginning of May, more than two months after the raid, I received a call from the desert. One of the officers wanted to know if I was ok. His concern added a wonderful touch of humanity to the incident.

Lucerne, Switzerland 6/20/2008