Sudan complains to UN about Eritrea helping rebels

KHARTOUM, Jan 6 (Reuters) – Sudan has complained to the U.N. Security Council that Eritrea is arming and training rebels in western Sudan, the official Sudan News Agency said on Tuesday.

“The Sudan government on Monday presented to the security council and the secretary-general of the United Nations an official complaint against Eritrea for its instigation of, support for and financing of the outlaws in the Darfur region,” the agency said.

Two main rebel groups launched a revolt in the remote western Darfur region of Africa’s largest country last February, accusing Khartoum of marginalising the poor, arid area.

The news agency quoted Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail as saying Eritrea was unhappy that Sudan’s other conflict — its 20-year civil war with rebels in the south — was nearing a peace deal, so it had begun to support the rebellion in Darfur.

“Eritrea contacted the outlaws, set up training camps for them and supported them with arms,” the minister added.

He did not say why he thought Eritrea, which borders the northeastern corner of Sudan, would want to prolong the conflict in the south or how it was transporting arms to the west.

The border between the two has been closed since October 2002, when Sudan accused Eritrea of backing rebels on its territory. Eritrea later accused Sudan of backing Islamic insurgents in western Eritrea.

Last week Eritrea denied backing the rebels in Darfur and said Sudan was only trying to hide deep internal problems and attempts to export “terrorism”.

Sudan has begun legal proceedings against the western rebels under anti-terror laws and will try to have leaders extradited from abroad to prosecute them for crimes against the state.

The government and the separate southern rebels agreed at peace talks in Kenya on Monday on how to share the oil-producing country’s wealth when their civil war ends.