SLM detains 2 rebel leaders for their rejection of Darfur peace deal
June 9, 2006 (LONDON) — A Darfur rebel faction who signed a peace agreement with the Sudanese government arrested and tortured two rebel leaders for their opposition to the peace deal.
According to Amnesty International the Sudan Liberation Army of Minni Minawi detains Commander Suleiman Jamous formerly SLM humanitarian coordinator since 20 May because he is opposed to the Darfur Peace Agreement signed on 5 May between the SLM Minawi and the Sudanese government in Abuja.
Suleiman Jamous has been held incommunicado in North Darfur by another leader of another group the rebel group. Others rebels held by the same faction in the past have been tortured or killed.
A member of Suleiman Jamous’s group, Issa Ali Hassabullah, is still detained and has reportedly been tortured. UN and African Union monitors have been unable to gain access and Amnesty International said gravely concerned for the men’s safety.
Suleiman Jamous has often spoken out against the increasingly dictatorial behaviour of the SLA’s leaders. As the SLA “humanitarian coordinator” he was in charge of distributing food aid in SLA-controlled areas. He was seized on the night of 20 May by members of the SLA faction led by Minni Minawi.
Other SLA factions and most of those displaced by Janjaweed militias have opposed the DPA, because they do not believe it will give them compensation and security to return home. The men who seized Suleiman Jamous reportedly told him to sign the DPA.
Issa Ali Hassaballah was seized on 22 May when he went to Bir Maza with 16 civilians to ask Mini Minawi to release Suleiman Jamous. They were reportedly tortured by being beaten and whipped while bound. Three were apparently paraded round Bir Maza in an open truck. Later Bir Maza came under attack by another SLA faction and detainees were moved to an unknown place. All the Zaghawa civilians except Issa Ali Hassaballah were released on 29 May.
The African Union received testimonies from those who were tortured and took photographs of their torture. They travelled to Muzbat where Suleiman Jamous was thought to be detained but neither they nor the UN human rights monitors were able to gain access to him, although Mini Minawi, in a telephone conversation with Amnesty International, promised that access could be granted. He is now believed to have been moved to Abu Gamra, another remote SLA base.
(ST)