Darfur rebel SLM rejects Sudan’s tripartite force proposal

Jan 16, 2006 (CAIRO) — Darfur’s main rebel group on Monday rejected Khartoum’s offer to deploy joint forces alongside African Union (AU) troops to curb the violence in the war-torn region of western Sudan.

“The Sudan Liberation Movement rejects the Sudanese government’s proposal… and insists on the deployment of an international force,” the rebel group said in a statement.

The Sudanese foreign ministry had said that it proposed during a meeting in Addis Ababa of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council the deployment of a tripartite force comprising troops from the government, the rebel movements and the AU.

The move by Khartoum came after it rejected a proposal by the United Nations to send its own troops to Darfur to replace an AU contingent which has struggled to quell the bloodshed.

Sudan has expressed its satisfaction with the performance of AU peacekeepers and urged the international community to come forward with the funds for the contingent to continue its mission.

Up to 300,000 people have died and 2.4 million have been displaced since Darfur rebels complaining of marginalisation by Khartoum launched an uprising which was brutally repressed by government forces and their proxy militias.

(ST/AFP)