Sudanese president says war against outlaws is government priority

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Dec 31, 2003 (AP) — President Omar el-Bashir has threatened to wage war against western insurgent groups after a large-scale attack earlier this week, a dramatic shift in the government’s earlier policy of dialogue and negotiation to resolve the conflict.

El-Bashir spoke in Khartoum on Tuesday to thousands of citizens from Kulbus, a city in Darfur province that was attacked Sunday by rebels from the Sudan Liberation Army. The army said it repulsed the attack, inflicting heavy but unspecified losses on the assailants.

“Our priority from now on is to eliminate the rebellion, and any outlaw element is our target,” el-Bashir said in a speech broadcast Wednesday on state-run television. “We will use the army, the police, the mujahedeen, the horsemen to get rid of the rebellion.”

The SLA rebels have been battling government troops and government-backed militias since February, demanding a greater share in power and better services for the region, as well as military control.

“What good are they seeking for region when they displace the citizens and destroy property and establishment?” the president asked in his speech.

According to the government and United Nations, more than 600,000 people have been displaced due to the violence in the area. The U.N. said some 70,000 more have crossed the border into neighboring Chad, and around 3,000 civilians have been killed.

A Sept. 3 cease-fire brokered by Chad was to have been formalized earlier this month in Ndjamena, Chad, but talks broke down over “unacceptable demands” from the rebels, mediators said.

Until Tuesday, the government had said it remained committed to dialogue. But the scale of Sunday’s attack seemed to have forced the change in policy.

“It was a historic battle in which even women took part, going into the trenches carrying ammunition for the troops,” said Sulieman Abdallah, governor of Western Darfur state, in a speech at the same event Tuesday. “We in the state of Western Darfur are determined to eradicate the rebellion in the area.”

Earlier this week, the government accused neighboring Eritrea and the opposition Popular National Congress party of providing assistance and backing the rebellion in Darfur.

The opposition party has not condemned the SLA, but has said it has nothing to do with events there.