Al-Qaida deputy Al-Zawahiri calls for holy war in Darfur
June 9, 2006 (DOHA) — Ayman al-Zawahiri, the second-in-command in the terrorist al Qaida Organization, has criticised the Sudanese government for allowing United Nations force to enter in Darfur, however he called Muslims to defend Datfur against the UN force.
In a videotape broadcasted by Qatari Al-Jazeera satellite TV on 9 June, Al-Zawahiri launched a harsh attack on the Sudanese government because it approved the entry of international forces in Darfur, which, according to Al-Zawahiri, paves the way for dividing and partitioning the county.
“As for Sudan, the Crusader Security Council decided to send military experts to Darfur in preparation for occupying and separating it. “The defeatist Sudanese government is joining the Crusader America in dividing up Sudan to stay in power. Therefore, I urge every Muslim, everyone who has a grain of faith in his heart for Sudan, and everyone who wants to defend his Islam in Darfur to stop this Crusader-Zionist scheme to occupy the land of Islam. The disagreement with the Khartoum government should not be a justification for the Crusaders and Jews to have control over Muslims’ countries”, Al-Zawahiri said.
Last April, Bin Laden called “upon the mujahedeen (holy warriors) and their supporters in Sudan and its surroundings – including the Arabian Peninsula – to prepare to lead a prolonged war against the crusader robbers in western Sudan.”
Bin Laden has no any direct links with Arab militias involved in the Darfur conflict, but his appeal, in an audiotape broadcast on Sunday 23 April, could inspire violent resistance to any U.N. military mission there.
Bin Laden resided in Sudan between 1991 and 1996, building his militant network and investing in roads and farming projects for the Islamist government there, until U.S. and Saudi pressure prompted Khartoum to expel him. Afghanistan was his next haven.
The Islamist regime, has vehemently opposed plans by the United Nations to take over security from a contingent of African Union peacekeepers who have failed to quell the Darfur bloodshed.
(ST)