Sudan says Darfur rebel groups full of foreigners

Oct 11, 2005 (KHARTOUM) — A Sudanese official said that Darfur rebel groups were suffering from a rise of foreign bodies coming from abroad, and that there was clear evidence that most of the fighters within the ranks of these two movements were foreigners.

The managing director of the AU bureau in the Foreign Ministry Ambassador Siraj Eddin Hamid, affirmed that the releasing of the kidnapped AU soldiers after a move made by the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) is clear evidence that the rebel movements in Darfur do not completely control the situation in the regions where they exist.

The Sudanese official didn’t give more indications on the nationality of these foreigners, but it seems as he want to mention Chad indirectly.

Siraj Eddin added that the Darfur issue need to be put in its right framework because of the huge differences between the internal Darfur forces and the number of armed foreign participation in stirring incitement in Darfur.

He said “If things are not clear I imagine that it would be necessary to solve the situation in Darfur based on the fact that it is suffering from foreign military interference”.

The Ambassador said further that this was what explained the division within every movement and the differences of their stances towards the AU forces and the Sudanese army.

(ST)