Sudanese government accuses Eritrea, opposition of supporting Darfur rebels
KHARTOUM, Dec 29 (AFP) — The Sudanese government has accused neighbouring Eritrea, southern rebels and the opposition Popular Congress Party (PCP) of backing rebels in the west of the country, a press report said Monday.
Khartoum dailies quoted national security chief Major General Salah Abdallah telling newspaper editors Sunday that Asmara had moved arms through airports held by the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in south Sudan to an airport held by the Darfur rebels in West Darfur State.
Abdallah said the government had strong evidence of support being offered by the SPLA to the Darfur rebels of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), naming an SPLA official, John Masa, as coordinator of arms supplies to Darfur.
He also said the Darfur rebels underwent military training organised by the Eritrean authorities in Sudanese opposition camps inside Eritrea as well as in areas held by Colonel John Garang’s SPLA in southern Sudan.
According to the official Al Anbaa daily, Abdallah also told editors that SLM official Mani Arkoi Manawe was residing in Nigeria “before he was sent by John Garang to Darfur” to lead the rebellion.
The security chief said the government also had “concrete” evidence the Islamist opposition Popular Congress Party (PCP) led by Hassan al-Turabi was helping the Darfur rebels.
He said Turabi had instructed Ali al-Haj Mohamed, a senior PCP official in self-imposed exile in Europe, to back the Darfur rebels “even if he had to quit the Popular Congress”.
Abdallah said the government had names of PCP officials supporting the Darfur rebels, including Ahmed Bushra, PCP secretary in West Darfur State.
He said PCP officials and followers took part in a conference recently held by the rebels in North Darfur State, and in another conference in Khartoum held by the Justice and Equality Movement, which he said were both monitored by security forces.
Also speaking at the briefing was Defence Minister Major General Bekri Hassan Salih, who said the revolt should be resolved peacefully, but stressed that the government was “capable of resolving the rebellion in a short period of time” by force.
Salih added the activities of the rebels “are confined to only five” of the 23 localities of the three states of the Darfur region.
The rebellion launched by the SLM earlier this year has already cost some 3,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
The war pits government troops and their Arab militia allies against rebels drawn mainly from the region’s non-Arab minorities. The government blames the rebels for the breakdown of a truce concluded with the help of neighbouring Chad.