SPLM hit out at ‘military solution’ in western Darfur
CAIRO, Feb 10 (AFP) — The rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) on Tuesday slammed what it called Khartoum’s bid to impose a “military solution” in the western Darfur region, saying it had learned nothing from 20 years of civil war in the south.
SPLA spokesman Yasser Arman told AFP by telephone that his movement condemned “the strategy of the Sudanese government favouring a military solution in Darfur.”
“The Sudanese government has learned nothing from its experiences in southern Sudan. It continues to try to resolve problems via military solutions. That which did not succeed in the south will not succeed in Darfur,” he said.
He was reacting to an announcement on Monday by Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir that the army had crushed a year-old rebellion in Darfur — a claim rejected by one of three rebel groups active in the region.
Asked whether he believed there was any truth to Beshir’s announcement, Arman, who said he was speaking to AFP from Asmara, the capital of neighboring Eritrea, said the SPLA had no links with the rebels in Darfur.
Authorities in Khartoum have repeatedly accused the SPLA and Eritrea of supporting the Darfur rebellion.
“The problem in Darfur is a political problem. The government must opt for a political, peaceful and just solution,” the SPLA spokesman said.
Some 3,000 people have been killed and another 670,000 displaced within Sudan itself by the war in Darfur, pitting government troops and their Arab militia allies against rebels drawn mainly from the area’s non-Arab minorities.
Another 100,000 Sudanese are estimated to have fled across the border into Chad because of the rebellion that erupted a year ago over the government’s alleged economic neglect of the Darfur region.
The rebels there have demanded the start of political negotiations with Khartoum, akin to Kenyan-mediated peace talks between the Sudanese government and the SPLA, which are due to resume on February 17.
Although Khartoum and the SPLA have reached a deal to split Sudan’s wealth, particularly oil revenues, the two sides remain deadlocked on several key areas, including power sharing and the future status of three disputed regions.
The civil war in Sudan, Africa’s largest nation, erupted in 1983 between the south, where most observe traditional African religions and Christianity, and the Muslim, Arabized north.
The conflict and war-related famine and disease have claimed at least 1.5 million lives and displaced an estimated four million people, mostly in the south.
Asked if the situation in Darfur would affect talks between the government and the SPLA, Arman replied: “We are ready to resume negotiations, but a global solution requires the government to opt for peace in all of Sudan.”