SLM rebels reject African role in Darfur peace process
April 9, 2007 (ROMA) — Darfur rebel group said today it rejects any role of the African Union in the resolution of Darfur crisis. The rebels further accused the African body of partiality.
The different factions of the Sudan Liberation Movement announced Monday their rejection of any role of the African Union in the resolution of Darfur crisis. Also, they suspend cooperation with the AU mission in Sudan and its troops.
SLM factions said Sudanese military planes bombed on Monday April 9, the site of a meeting of SLM military commanders. “This site is only known to the AU”, said ??Esameldin Elhag the SLM spokeperson. The statement accused the AU troops of providing Sudanese authorities military information about their sites and the movement of the rebel troops.
Accusing the AU of lack of impartiality, the rebel statement said the African body failed to denounce the repetitive attacks carried by the government forces and its militias. Also according to the rebels the AU failed to monitor the ceasefire “violated recurrently by Sudanese government” or to protect Darfur civilians.
The rebels pointed out that Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, Alpha Oumar Konare, backed the position of the Sudanese government opposing the UN resolution 1706.
On April 7, Konare said that Darfur peacekeepers would be African with an African command and that the UN’s participation would be limited to the fields of administration, funding, as well as technical and logistical support. While the resolution 1706 speaks about the deployment of UN troops in Darfur.
The SLM factions demand that AU forces should ask for prior permission before circulation in the territories controlled by its troops. They also prohibit flight of AU planes over their positions.
According to a tripartite understanding reached in Addis Ababa on November 16, peace talks between Sudan and Darfur rebel groups opposed to Abuja peace deal of May 5, 2006, should be mediated by the AU and the UN.
But the different holdout rebel groups expressed reserve over the role of the AU in this mediation. The mistrust between the non-signatories rebels and the AU started after their rejection to sign Darfur peace deal. Since the rebels suspicious over the role of the AU in Darfur.
(ST)