Sudanese man mistaken for a wanted Darfur rebel leader

May 19, 2008 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese authorities arrested a man at the Khartoum airport today who resembled a Darfur rebel leader being chased after leading a rebel assault on the capital.

The daily Al-Rayaam said that a female officer at the airport suspected the man named Adam as who looked like the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) chief Khalil Ibrahim, as he was going through pre-boarding screening.

The officer notified airport security which stopped Adam and asked him to present his id which showed that he was part of an unidentified government militia.

Ibrahim has a $250,000 price on his head after the attack on Khartoum, in which more than 200 people were killed. Sudanese forces are hunting for him in Darfur with little success so far.

The JEM leader spoke to Sudan Tribune last Saturday from an undisclosed location in Darfur and said that he is among his forces and vowed to launch another attack on Khartoum to change the regime.

(ST)