Sudan’s western rebels fear being wiped out after peace deal in south

CAIRO, Oct 23 (AFP) — The rebel Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) in western Sudan voiced fears Thursday it will be wiped out by government troops once Khartoum signs an agreement ending its 20-year war with rebels in the south.

The government is “negotiating with the south because of pressure from the international community and military pressure in the south, in the west and in the east” of Sudan, SLM secretary general Mani Arkoi Minawi told AFP by telephone from his base in the western region of Darfur.

Minawi said a peace accord with the southern Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) “will be a way for the government to regroup to suppress the other marginalized areas, including the west and our movement in particular.”

The government and the SPLA are holding negotiations in Kenya on a definitive peace agreement, which could be clinched before the end of December, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said during a visit to Kenya Wednesday.

“We want a comprehensive peace for all of Sudan — north, east, west and south,” Minawi said when asked about the Kenya talks. “The government and the south do not represent all of Sudan. There are many neglected regions.”

Pressed on what his movement’s position would be if Khartoum and the SPLA pressed ahead with a separate settlement, he said: “We will represent an obstacle to the achievement of such a peace.

“We do not believe that the government is working for a comprehensive settlement.”

The conflict between the SLM and government troops in Darfur, a semi-desert region bordering Chad, has left some 3,000 dead so far this year, according to UN estimates. Another 400,000 people have been displaced.

The rebels complain that the central government has neglected the economic needs of the region, which is home to several indigenous minorities.