Darfur rebel groups reject Sudan as President of African Union

Jan 20, 2006 (N’DJAMENA) — Sudan’s two main rebel groups fighting in the western Darfur region announced Friday that they would unite politically and militarily, establishing a new united group for their negotiations with the government.

Leaders from the Sudanese Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement – who have fought each other in the past – said they would form a new group, the Allied Revolutionary Forces of Western Sudan.

The agreement was signed by Khalil Ibrahim of the Justice and Equality Movement, while Khamis Abdalla Abakar and Mini Arko Minawi represented the Sudanese Liberation Movement. All three men announced the decision in N’djamena, Chad. The two groups pledged to stop fighting each other in July 2005.

The leaders also said they were opposed to the nomination of Sudanese President Omar El-Bashir to the presidency of the African Union. They said they would walk out of AU-sponsored peace talks, currently being held in Abuja, Nigeria, if African leaders elect El-Bashir to the AU presidency.

“We oppose El-Bashir to be the next African Union president because he cannot be both the judge and a party of the conflict,” Ibrahim said. “If he becomes president of the AU, he will have the conflict of Darfur to deal with.”

Minawi added that since government-backed militias in Darfur had been accused of genocide, El-Bashir should be excluded from becoming the president because he could be charged with war crimes.

Darfur’s crisis began in February 2003 when African rebels rose up against the Arab-dominated government, claiming discrimination in the distribution of scarce resources in the large, arid region.

Bloodshed ensued when pro-government militias attacked Darfur villages. The United Nations has called Darfur the world’s worst humanitarian crisis and said it has claimed 70,000 lives and 1.5 million are now homeless after having fled their homes since February 2003.

(ST/AP)