Rebel group in west Sudan say frees 42 prisoners
KHARTOUM, Oct 11 (Reuters) – A rebel group in western Sudan, which took up arms against the government accusing it of marginalising the poor region, said on Saturday it had released 42 prisoners in line with a truce agreement.
Ahmed Gido, spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), said this was the group’s first major release of prisoners since signing a ceasefire in September with the Sudanese government in Abeche, a town in neighbouring Chad.
“As part of the Abeche agreement, the SLM has released 42 prisoners,” Gido told Reuters.
He said 41 soldiers and a regional tribal mayor were handed over in North Darfur state from where they were taken to al-Fashir, which is 800 km (500 miles) southwest of Khartoum.
Government officials have said they had already released dozens of captured rebels.
The truce between the two sides, signed on September 3, called for a halt to hostilities, the release of all prisoners and an agreement to hold peace talks again after an initial 45-day ceasefire period.
Gido said the rebel group was holding a conference to discuss the next stage of negotiations with the government.
The SLM has released some individual prisoners in the past, including a captured general who was freed in July before the government and SLM signed the truce. The general’s release followed talks between the captive’s tribe and the rebels.
Major General Mazjoub Rahma, the government’s representative on a three-way committee to monitor the ceasefire, was quoted by the government-owned daily al-Anbaa on Saturday as saying the releases showed the commitment of both sides to the Abeche deal.
The SLA emerged as a fighting force in February, accusing the government of marginalising the poor and arid western Darfur region of Sudan. The Sudanese government is currently also engaged in peace talks to end a 20-year civil war with another rebel group, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), which has been seeking greater autonomy for the south of the country.