Sudanese rebel JEM “completely destroyed” – defence minister

Sudanese rebel JEM “completely destroyed” – defence minister
262 words
19 May 2008
07:41 pm GMT
BBC Monitoring Newsfile
English
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Sudanese Defence Minister Lt-Gen Abd-al-Rahim Muhammad Husayn today said that Chad had assisted the Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movement, JEM, to obtain equipment and logistics needed to stage the recent attack on Omdurman.

Speaking to Sudan state TV as a guest on the Al-Khat al-Sakhin, or Hot Line, programme broadcast “live” at 1700 gmt, Husayn said, “In fact, in this affair, Chad was the launch-pad of the treacherous aggression, the ground for training and preparation, and a refuge for these movements through which all logistical support for the operation was provided”.
The studio interview ran for 55 minutes.

When asked whether there was another power behind Chad, Husayn said, “Certainly, because the least such an operation could have cost is 100m dollars. Now, how can such a movement find 100m dollars in such a short time?”

He added that during the interrogation of some detained attackers, “it became clear that regional and international powers were behind this”.
He also said that “these powers provided technical support through satellites so that they could evade our armed forces from Northern Darfur, across Northern Kurdufan, parts of Northern State until they arrived on the outskirts of Omdurman”.

Husayn declined to name any specific countries, but insisted that the evidence he had was “categorical and absolutely unequivocal”.
Husayn said JEM had been “completely destroyed” and “only Khalil [Ibrahim] and his brother had escaped”, adding that “his whereabouts are presently unknown”.