Sudan SPLM chief expresses sympathy with eastern rebellion
ASMARA, June 22 (AFP) — The chief of southern Sudan’s ex-rebel movement has expressed sympathy with armed dissidents who launched their first offensive against government troops in eastern Sudan’s Red Sea state at the weekend.
On a visit to Eritrea, which Sudan accuses of backing the Eastern Front rebellion, John Garang also said he sympathized with inhabitants of the western Darfur region who complain of marginalization by Khartoum.
“We sympathize with the Darfur and eastern Sudan question, and hence a special seat has been reserved for them,” Eritrea’s state-run news agency ERINA quoted John Garang as saying in a meeting with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki.
Garang, the leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) which signed a peace deal with Khartoum in January, appeared to refer to meetings on drafting an interim constitution being held in the Sudanese capital.
Members of the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA), a coalition of dissident Sudanese factions inked a weekend deal with the government to come under the umbrella of the SPLM/A-Khartoum pact and take part in those talks.
However, the Eastern Front, made up of groups that are technically members of the NDA but not part of the agreement, are now battling the government south of Port Sudan on the Red Sea.
The fighting has sparked fears that a new Darfur-type conflict will open up in Sudan amid peace talks in Nigeria involving the government and western rebels and the implementation of the Khartoum-SPLM/A agreement.
In his meeting with Isaias on Tuesday, Garang pledged to work to end unrest in the various parts of the vast African country.
“We shall work to ensure a comprehensive peace in the Sudan,” he said, according to ERINA.
Garang is traditionally close to Isaias and the relationship caused deep rifts in relations between Asmara and Khartoum during the long-running north-south civil war.
Eritrea’s hosting of Eastern Front offices, as well as those of Darfur rebel groups, have contributed to a worsening of relations in recent months.
Sudan has repeatedly accused Eritrea of backing numerous Sudanese rebel factions while Asmara claims Khartoum is engaged in persecuting its nationals in Sudan.