Darfur rebel JEM commanders back peace deal
May 18, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — South Darfur province commanders from the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) said here Thursday they fully supported the Darfur peace agreement (DPA) , which was signed in Nigeria’s capital Abuja on May 5.
In a letter to African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Alpha Oumar Konare and chief mediator for the Darfur peace talks, Salim Ahmed Salim, they expressed belief that the peace agreement “has satisfied the aspirations of our people of Darfur.”
“Therefore we have chosen to fully support the DPA and ready to implement its political, military, humanitarian and security requirements and arrangements, and to sign this document anytime anywhere we requested to do so,” the letter quoted Abdullrahiem Adam Abdullrahiem Abu Reeshah, JEM secretary for South Darfur, as saying.
“We believe that war is only a means that leads eventually to peace, and not a goal in itself.”
On Tuesday, the AU urged Sudan’s holdout rebels to sign the peace deal to end Darfur’s three-year civil war.
In a communique released after the 51st meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council, the pan-African body urged Abdel Wahid Mohammed al-Nur, leader of a splinter faction of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), and Khalil Ibrahim of the rebel JEM to sign the peace agreement by May 31.
The communique said the AU would push the United Nations Security Council to take action against the two smaller rebel groups if they did not meet the new May 31 deadline. The action shall include a travel ban, asset freeze and weapons embargo.
On May 5, only one of the three Darfur rebel factions signed the peace deal with Khartoum to end fighting that has killed tens of thousands of people. The faction led by Minni Arcua Minnawi is the biggest SLM/A faction.
The two holdout groups demand additional commitments from the government on power-sharing, security arrangement and compensation for the victims.
(Xinhua/ST)