Sudan summons Eritrean envoy on Darfur rebel attack
July 5, 2005 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan has summoned the Eritrean ambassador to ask why Eritrea is playing host to a Darfur rebel alliance that attacked a town, the Sudanese foreign minister said on Wednesday.
The National Redemption Front (NRF) is an alliance of Darfur rebels and political parties who reject a May 5 peace deal. It was formed in the Eritrean capital Asmara last week and attacked Hamrat al-Sheikh, 200 km (120 miles) from Khartoum, on Monday.
“If they form a movement in Asmara and come and fight against Sudan and we have asked Asmara to mediate in problems in the east then that does not augur well for peace,” Foreign Minister Lam Akol told Reuters.
He said he had summoned the Eritrean ambassador, Issa Ahmed Issa, on Tuesday to send a message to Asmara asking for clarification as to why they were “hosting” the rebel alliance.
The rebel leadership is based in the Eritrean capital Asmara, with the knowledge of the government.
Eritrean-Sudanese relations have substantially warmed in recent months and Asmara sent an ambassador to Khartoum in June. Asmara is mediating in talks intended to end a simmering decade-old conflict in Sudan’s arid east.
Previously the two countries had no diplomatic relations because an array of Sudanese opposition parties and military movements had a presence on Eritrean territory, and Khartoum accused Asmara of running training camps for rebels.
Most of the opposition groups have since either signed agreements with Khartoum or are in peace negotiations.
ERITREAN MEDIATION
But Eritrea’s hosting of the new rebel alliance has raised a question over its ability to mediate neutrally, Akol said.
“This is why we are seeking clarification so we can get an answer to that question — we told them we need an immediate answer,” he added. The Eritrean embassy in Khartoum declined to immediately comment.
Monday’s attack in North Kordofan, which neighbours Darfur, forced a hasty response from Sudan’s armed forces, who despatched bombers to repulse the offensive.
The NRF said an April 2004 humanitarian ceasefire was dead, the first time a rebel group has openly denounced the truce, although it has been largely ignored by all parties.
Sudanese presidential adviser Majzoub al-Khalifa on Wednesday also accused its western neighbour Chad of supporting the NRF, in comments carried in state-owned press.
Chad has played host to many of the rebel commanders involved in Monday’s attack. Sudan has also been home to Chadian insurgents bent on overthrowing President Idriss Deby.
More than three years of rape, murder and pillage in Darfur has killed tens of thousands and forced more than 2.5 million from their homes.
Washington calls the violence genocide, a charge Khartoum rejects, but the International Criminal Court is investigating alleged war crimes in the vast remote region.
The African Union-mediated Darfur deal was signed by only one of three rebel negotiating factions and has been rejected by tens of thousands of Darfuris in miserable camps.
Critics say it gives little compensation to war victims, few guarantees of implementation and the process of disarming pro-government militias is opaque.
(Reuters)