Rebel Beja group vows to continue military operations against government

By Sudanese opposition Democratic Unionist Party

KHARTOUM, Nov. 20, 2003 — The Beja Congress [representing eastern Sudan’s non-Arab, nomadic Beja tribes, which is active in eastern Sudan, has announced that it will continue its military escalation against the government. It pointed out that the return of its leader, Umar Muhammad Tahir, to Khartoum made things easier for the congress in terms of armed struggle.

In Asmara [Eritrea], a member of the Beja Congress Central Committee, Salah Barkawin, commented on Tahir’s return and said: “Tahir went [to Khartoum] because of pressures by the organization’s leaders to prevent him from armed operations in eastern Sudan.”

Salah added that the return of Tahir to Khartoum would not be a blow to armed operations.

In Khartoum, the opposition Beja Congress said there was no link between Tahir and the faction he leads. In a statement issued yesterday, it reiterated that the Beja Congress was striving to regain its rights, after the authorities banned its activities last month.

BBC Monitoring Middle East