Sudan’s security agency says forces ready for final showdown with rebels

December 10, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The director of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), Mohamed Atta al-Mawla Abbas, underscored the readiness of the armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militias to crush rebellion in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

Abbas’s remarks come a day after similar assertions made by defence minister Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein before parliament in which he said that the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) is capable of stopping infiltration carried out by rebels in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, as well as defeat the insurgency.

SAF accused the Sudan people Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) over the past few days of trying to sneak into some of its positions in South Kordofan. But the rebel group denies the claims and says that SAF are attacking their positions.

The escalation of military operations between the two sides comes in conjunction with the African Union’s mediation’s announcement of suspension of the 9th round of talks between the Sudanese government and the SPLM-N on the Two Areas in Addis Ababa.

The government has been fighting SPLM-N in Blue Nile and South Kordofan since 2011 and Darfur rebels since 2003.

The spy chief said at the graduation of two RSF divisions in Khartoum on Wednesday that the uniformed forces are ready to for the final showdown with rebels to end the insurgency once and for all.

He criticised the SPLM-N calls for annulment of Islamic Shar’ia law in South Kordofan and Blue Nile and asked “Do the people of South Kordofan reject Shar’ia law?”

Abbas pointed out that Sudan’s desire for peace was misinterpreted by the other side in reference to the SPLM-N.

“Our sons will demonstrate that they are able to kill the insurgency and stop political auctions and trading platforms in the name of the citizens,” he said.

The NISS chief said that questioning RSF integrity by some was intended to undermine the morale of regular troops and prevent their forward progress to eradicate the rebels.

This year the NISS arrested National Umma Party (NUP) leader al-Sadiq al-Mahdi and the head of the Sudanese Congress Party (ScoP), Ibrahim al-Sheikh, after denouncing the RSF government militia and accusing its members of committing abuses against civilians in conflict zones.

(ST)