Rebel JEM requests AU and UN to condemn Darfur’s attack
September 12, 2007 (LONDON) — The Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) requested the African Union and the United Nations to clearly condemn the Sudanese army attack against its positions in Haskanita in northern Darfur.
Ahmed Hussein Adam, the JEM spokesperson, told Sudan Tribune that the international community and particularly the AU and UN should denounce Khartoum military escalation in Darfur and to point out its clear responsibility in this new escalation of violence in the region.
Ahmed wondered who the African Union only expresses concern over Sudan’s army breaches of the on going peace process “While it condemn our group easily every time we retaliate to Khartoum attacks.”
The AU and the UN slammed the JEM at the end of last month when a joint JEM and SLA –unity faction force attacked a police base in the town of Wad Banda in Kordofan region on 29 August.
The rebel spokesperson also urged the EU, the UK and the US to denounce Khartoum aggression against their position. He further said that Sudan’s government is hindering international community efforts to bring peace in Darfur and they should stand firm against that.
Khartoum signed a joint communiqué with the United Nations last week that included pledges to cease hostilities in Darfur, prepare for the arrival of a 26,000-strong joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission, and lay the foundations for peace talks in Libya on Oct. 27.
Ahmed, however reiterated JEM commitment to the on going peace process stressing that the joint mediation has to at in neutral party.
Also, he urged the mediators to meet the non signatory movements to discuss substantial procedural issues related to the forthcoming peace talks with Khartoum. He reminded that they agreed in Arusha meeting earlier last August to hold consultations on these issues.
“They fixed the date and the place of the peace talks without consultations with any rebel group and we didn’t object that but things can’t continue like that” Ahmed underlined.
The JEM leader; Khalil Ibrahim, told Radio France Internationale (RFI) on Tuesday that government attacks may endanger Darfur political process and the scheduled peace talks in Libya.
Yesterday the visiting British Foreign Office Minister for Africa ,Mark Malloch Brown, has warned that the ongoing violence in Darfur region threatens to undermine peace talks planned for October between Khartoum and rebel groups.
Also, frustrations are growing among hold out rebel groups which consider that AU-UN mediation is more inclined to manage the Sudanese government. While the founder of the Sudan Liberation Movement, Abdelwahid al-Nur rejects the whole ongoing process demanding deployment of international peacekeepers and the protection of Darfur civilians before political process.
(ST)