Darfur NRF to discuss political structure in Chad

Feb 6, 2007 (N’DJAMENA) — A Darfur holdout rebel group is expected to meet next week in the Chadian capital to strengthen political structure of the movement.

Leaders of the rebel National Redemption Front (NRF) will meet next Monday 12 February in Chad to discuss a number of issues most importantly the NRF’s structure and political and military coordination.

The meeting will be attended by Dr Khalil Ibrahim, Sharif Harir, Ahmad Ibrahim Dirayj and Khamis Abdallah Abakar. The meeting aims to study the restructuring of the NRF to create an entity and set up offices and to discuss political and military coordination between NRF factions.

The question of the leadership of the NRF seems would be avoided as Ahmed Dirij and Khalil Ibrahim both are pretending of the chairmanship of the group.

Ahmed Dirij is from the Fur tribe, the largest ethnic group in Darfur, but he has no real base among the Fur. He just has a political legitimacy. Ibrahim is the leader of the Justice and Equality Movement and belongs to Zaggawa ethnic group, which is a small Ethnic group.

The NRF for the time being is dominated by the JEM cadre.

The NRF is created in Asmara Eritrea on 30 June 2006. The membership of the front is composed from Sudan. Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Sudan Federal Democratic Alliance (SFDA); and a faction of Sudan Liberation Movement/ Army (SLM/ A) led by Khamis Abdallah Abakar.

Initially the NRF was created to regroup all the holdout groups, but two factions of the SLM led by Abdelwahil al-Nur and Ahmed Abdelshafi refused to join the group.

(ST)