Sudan points fingers at France & Libya for rebel deadly attack
May 17, 2008 (KHARTOUM) — A senior Sudanese official today accused an “international power” of helping a Darfur rebel group in its attack on the capital.
The Sudanese defense minister Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein told the state radio that the country helped Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) fighters avoid government troops by providing them with satellite intelligence.
JEM fighters mounted an assault on the Sudanese capital that took the government and international community by surprise. However the Sudanese government repulsed the attack and accused Chad of backing JEM in its attempt.
Hussein said that there was a “minute by minute communication between the international power and the rebels on their way to Khartoum so that they can go around areas with a presence of the armed forces”.
The Sudanese official declined to name the country that assisted the rebels but he was likely referring to France.
France has a long-term military presence in Chad, one of its former colonies, giving the government intelligence and logistic support.
Khartoum has been furious at France for hosting leader of Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur and has persistently demanded that he be expelled.
Last March French President Nicolas Sarkozy condemned what he called the “deliberate and disproportionate” use of force by Sudan in the killing of a French soldier serving with European Union forces in Chad (EUFOR).
The defense ministry in Paris said the soldiers who strayed across the border encountered a Sudanese checkpoint and quickly declared their identity, but were fired on without warning.
The Sudanese government has strongly opposed the French backed initiative for deployment of the 3,700-strong EUFOR mission being deployed in eastern Chad to protect refugees displaced by violence in neighboring Sudan’s Darfur region.
The top military official said that Sudan air force was unable to strike the incoming rebel column because of the satellite intelligence provided to JEM.
He also said that some of the rebel captives confessed to receiving information on the route to be taken “via satellite”.
Hussein also accused a regional bank of funding the operation believed by many to be Libyan owned.
However the manager of the Libyan Sahel-Saharan bank in Sudan Mahmoud Hassan who spoke to the daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat denied any involvement in the rebel attack. He also said that he was not officially notified by Khartoum of any allegations.
Hassan said that Sudan is the second biggest stakeholder in the bank and that they will cooperate with any investigations conducted by Khartoum.
The Sudanese defense minister hailed the performance of the army and said that they have done all what they can with the current capabilities.
Hussein along with many top security officials came under heavy criticism for failing to stop the rebel infiltration into the capital despite advance intelligence information on their advance.
This week the Sudanese defense minister told lawmakers this week that he is prepared to resign if negligence is proven.
He also blamed US sanctions for hindering the development of the Sudanese army.
“We are using fighter jets dating back to the Second World War” he said and pointed out that the air force is lacking surveillance and reconnaissance planes.
(ST)