Darfur rebel group condemns Sudan’s abduction of its members
December 30, 2007 (LONDON) — The Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) said on Sunday that the Sudanese government arrested six of their representatives at the African Union (AU) Ceasefire Commission.
The AU issued a statement confirming the incident and said that Khartoum is in “violation of the N’Djamena Ceasefire Agreement of 2004”.
In accordance with a ceasefire agreement brokered by the African Union between Sudanese government and the two main rebel groups in 2004, there are two representatives of JEM and the SLA. The commission is based El-Fasher and the delegates are under the protection of the AU.
Ahmed Hussein Adam, the spokesperson of the JEM, speaking to Sudan Tribune by phone from London condemned the kidnapping and described it as an “act of piracy”.
The AU said that it tried to prevent the arrest with no success.
“Despite the relentless efforts of AMIS leadership to prevent the arrest, Government authorities stormed the premise housing the JEM representative at 03:00” the AU said.
Adam said that AU asked JEM for a 48 hour timeframe before they take any response so they can resolve the matter.
The JEM official said that the event “is clear example of how Khartoum is blocking peaceful resolution and the deployment of peacekeeping force in Darfur”.
“This is an act of aggression not only against JEM but also against the AU and UN. The Sudanese government doesn’t really care about the AU” he added.
It is not clear what prompted the arrest but JEM has been intensifying its military campaign against Sudanese forces in Darfur.
Yesterday the rebel group said it has taken full control of control over Silaiaa garrison at the outskirt of El-Geneina, a key town in Darfur.
But the Sudanese government denied the claim.
The new United Nations peacekeeping force for Darfur in Sudan is due to start its operations on Monday.
The force, UNAMID, replaces the African Union observer mission in the western region to become the world’s largest peacekeeping force with 26,000 troops.
(ST)