Prominent Darfur rebel commander joins SLM-MM

September 3, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudan Liberation Movement led by Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) Sunday said the field commander Abbas Ahmed Aseel (aka Jebel Moon) has joined the Movement.

In a statement seen by Sudan Tribune Sunday, the SLM-MM described Moon’s accession to the Movement as “important step towards unifying the armed forces which seek to topple the regime of the genocide and ethnic cleansing”.

It added the SLM-MM is exerting every possible effort to unify the armed resistance to confront the dictatorial regime, accusing the government of throwing the country into deep crises.

The statement called on the armed groups and the political forces to join efforts to overthrow the regime and lift the country out of the miserable reality.

A leader of a former Darfur armed group told Sudan Tribune on the condition of anonymity that Moon is a prominent field commander, saying he led several battles against the government forces and used to control a number of areas in Darfur.

He added that Moon had defected from the SLM-MM and joined the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) before he split and established his own movement.

The Sudanese army has been fighting a group of armed movements in Darfur since 2003.

UN agencies estimate that over 300,000 people were killed in the conflict and over 2.5 million were displaced.

(ST)