UN, AU concerned over army-militia attack on Darfur rebels
July 28, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — United Nations special envy and African Union special envoy said concerned on attack in West Darfur carried out by the Sudanese army and Janjaweed militia against holdout Darfur rebels.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sudan, Jan Pronk, and the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission in the Sudan, Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe, are deeply concerned about the fighting that erupted today in Jebel Moon (West Darfur) involving, according to African Union reports, a combined operation by the Janjaweed militia and the Government Armed Forces against forces believed to be of the non-signatories to the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA).
The special envoys of the UN and the AU didn’t specify the attacked group, but a dissident SLM force from Minawi faction is expected to be in the area.
In a joint press statement, they recalled that any attack on any party to the Darfur conflict is either a breach of the DPA or a violation of previous agreements concluded on the basis of the N’Djamena Ceasefire Agreement.
“They are particularly concerned about the fate of the civilian population in the area” said the statement. They call on “the parties involved in the fighting to abide by what has been agreed and to guarantee the safety of the civilians”.
This is typical of the kind of incidents which should normally be investigated by the Ceasefire Commission and the Joint Commission. But the refusal of the DPA signatories to have all inclusive Commissions makes prompt and thorough investigations difficult.
The special representatives therefore appealed to all the parties to the still ongoing conflict in Darfur to cooperate with any mechanism that is put in place to facilitate fair investigations of such incidents.
After the signing of the DPA in May, the Sudanese government and the SLM Minawi-faction formed a de facto alliance to impose their peace pact on the ground and to get ride of troubling holdout factions.
With the normalization of relations with Chad, Sudanese government intends to encircle the rebel groups who had ties with N’djamena like Justice and Equality Movement or the newly formed National Redemption Front (NRF).
The NRF is constituted mainly from the Zaggawa ethnic group and the Massalite, while the SLM-Abdelwahid al-Nur represents the large Fur tribe which has small armed elements. Also al-Nur refuses any alliance with the JEM because of its Islamist orientations.
Khartoum beliefs that fighting against NRF will dissuade dissident group from Minawi to join it and in the same time will realize material conditions for political settlement with the SLM Nur faction.
In this order, analysts predict more violence in the coming stage particularly after the integration of the SLM Minawi faction in the federal government. The rejection of the UN force with a mandate under Chapter seven will permit to the ruling National Congress Party to realize its “peace in Darfur”.
(ST)