SPLA rebels criticizes government for targeting civilians in western Sudan
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 29, 2004 (AP) — Southern Sudanese rebels condemned the country’s government on Thursday for targeting civilians while fighting an insurgency in western Sudan.
In a sign of deteriorating relations between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, or SPLA, and the government, the southern rebels also accused President Omar el-Bashir’s administration of stalling at peace talks aimed at ending a 21-year civil war in southern Sudan.
The SPLA is not involved in insurgency in the western Darfur province. But rebel spokesman Yasir Arman told The Associated Press that “we condemn in the strongest terms the indiscriminate bombardment of innocent civilians in Darfur by the … government and the continuous violation of human rights by the government army and militias against the inhabitants of Darfur.”
Sudanese officials were not immediately available for comment, but have repeatedly denied allegations the military is targeting civilians in Darfur.
Two rebel groups — the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement — have been fighting government forces in Darfur since early last year.
Aid groups say the violence has forced more than 600,000 people to flee their homes, with an estimated 95,000 civilians heading to the relative safety of neighboring Chad. The rebels and refugees accuse the government of deliberately bombing villages and using militias to ransack towns and villages.
Thursday, Arman urged the government to find a peaceful solution to the western rebellion, rather than try and crush it through force.
The SPLA, Sudan’s largest rebel group, has been holding talks with the government since July 2002 in an effort to end the southern rebellion.
Last year, the warring parties agreed on wealth-sharing and what to do with their forces during a six-year transition, causing many to hope that they would reach a comprehensive peace deal early this year.
But the SPLA is “increasingly getting the strong impression that government does not want to focus on the peace process and only wants to buy time,” Arman said.
In recent weeks, the talks bogged down as the two sides disagreed over how to settle the remaining issues, like the administration of three disputed areas in central Sudan and the rebels’ representation in a transitional administration.
The talks, which are being held in Kenya, were suspended Jan. 26 so that the government’s top negotiator could participate in the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. Negotiations are set to resume Feb. 17.
Analysts say U.S. pressure has been a major factor pushing the warring parties toward a peace agreement, and Arman said a deal could have been reached if the negotiations had continued.
“The government leadership thinks if they buy time toward the American elections, the American administration will not focus on the Sudan peace process,” he said.
The SPLA has been fighting since 1983 to win a larger slice of the nation’s wealth and greater political representation for the impoverished south.