Darfur breakaway faction complains about slow implementation of peace deal
February 17, 2017 (EL-FASHER) – A splinter faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement Abdel-Wahid al-Nur (SLM-AW) has complained about the slow pace of implementation of the peace agreement signed with the government last year.
In exclusive statements to Sudan Tribune on Friday, Zourgi criticised the slow implementation of the agreement signed between them and the government.
“We have no representation in the civil service according to what we agreed upon. Also, the security arrangement item hasn’t been completed as required because some fighters were integrated [into the Sudanese army] as non-commissioned officers while others have not been promoed,” he said.
Last May, the Security Arrangement Commission at Darfur’s Regional Authority said the procedures to integrate 145 fighters from Zourgi’s faction have begun in El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.
Zourgi added that the security, political and development items of the agreement are underway, pointing to the lack of funding for the development projects in areas of his faction’s presence in North Darfur.
“Until now, some development projects that have not been implemented for reasons that are not known to us and we are facing mounting pressures from our fighters” he said.
He called upon the state and federal governments to intervene immediately to fulfil the agreement, praising the support rendered by President Omer al-Bashir to lay the foundations for peace in the country.
Qatar brokered the Darfur peace negotiations which resulted in the signing of the DDPD by the Sudanese government and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) in July 2011.
However, three rebel movements including SLM-MM led by Minnawi Minnawi, Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) led by Gibril Ibrahim and SLM-AW led by Abdel-Wahid al-Nur didn’t join the deal.
JEM and SLM-MM, who are part of the African Union-mediated peace talks, call for opening the document for negotiations, saying some issues were ignored or not fairly treated, but Khartoum rejects such request.
SLM-AW, however, is not part of the peace talks. It rejects negotiating a peace agreement with Khartoum government unless the government militias are disarmed and displaced civilians return to their original areas.
UN agencies estimate that over 300,000 people were killed in Darfur conflict since 2003, and over 2.5 million were displaced.
(ST)