UN, AU condemn Darfur rebel groups clashes

By MOHAMED OSMAN

KHARTOUM? Sudan, June 7, 2005 (AP) — The United Nations condemned an upsurge in clashes between two Darfur rebel groups Tuesday, saying civilians were being caught in the crossfire in 2002 as the rebels fought for territory just days before peace talks were to begin.

A rebel of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), fighting Sudanese troops, mans a post in the northern part of the western Sudanese Darfur. (AFP).

A day earlier, the International Criminal Court said it had begun investigating alleged war crimes in Darfur. Sudanese officials have opposed the court, which has a list of 51 potential suspects, apparently including Sudanese government officials, militiamen allied to the government and rebels.

On a visit to India Tuesday, Sudan’s foreign minister played down the legal steps taken by the court as “still preliminary.”

SUDAN WON’T CONFRONT UN OVER DARFUR CRIMES

“It is not part of our agenda to confront the (U.N.) Security Council,” Mustafa Osman Ismail said at a news conference. “Nobody should be exempted from justice. Anyone who commits crimes in Darfur should be brought to justice.”

Sudan has said it would try Darfur suspects in its own courts. Tuesday, Ismail said a special court was being set up to investigate all abuses.

While Ismail was conciliatory, ruling party politburo member Kamal Obeid questioned the timing of the court’s announcement, saying it could be seen as anti-government and prompt the rebels to harden their positions going into peace talks.

“We have always warned that some of the moves taken by the U.N. Security Council and other organizations would send wrong signals at the wrong time,” Obied told the AP in Khartoum.

Darfur’s crisis erupted in 2003 when rebels took up arms because of what they considered years of state neglect and discrimination against Sudanese of African origin. The government is accused of responding with a scorched earth counterinsurgency campaign using Arab militia known as the Janjaweed as its proxies, touching off a humanitarian disaster in which more than 180,000 people have died and some 2 million have been displaced.

UNACCEPTABLE, IRRESPONSIBLE ACTS

Fighting has been reported before between the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement, which both oppose the government but draw support from different bases and differ on their visions of the region’s future.

African Union peacekeepers in Darfur observed a serious upsurge beginning Friday, when the Sudan Liberation Army attacked Justice and Equality Movement positions in South Darfur state with mortar bombs that killed 11 people and wounded 17, according to an AU statement Monday. The African Union said the two sides were fighting “for control of territory.”

“These actions of the rebel movements, especially the relentless pursuit and attacks on JEM elements by the SLA with heavy civilian collateral damage, are unacceptable and condemned in the strongest terms,” the African Union said.

In a statement Monday, Jan Pronk, the special U.N. representative on Darfur, called the fighting “irresponsible.” He also expressed disappointment the fighting was taking place when the international community and the African Union were struggling to ensure the success of a long-delayed round of Darfur peace talks set to open Friday in Abuja, Nigeria.

Pronk called for a cease-fire and urged the rebels to stick to their agreement to attend the Abuja talks.

A government delegation led by Majzoub Khalifa was expected to leave for Abuja on Wednesday.