France rejects accusations of supporting rebel attack on Sudan capital

May 20, 2008 (KHARTOUM) — The French embassy in Khartoum released a statement dismissing allegations that it provided assistance to Darfur rebel attack on the Sudanese capital.

The embassy said that it “noticed a number of remarks that contained explicit or implicit allegations of our involvement in the JEM assault on Omdurman. We strongly dismiss these accusations”.

Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) fighters mounted an assault on the Sudanese capital that took the government and international community by surprise. However the Sudanese government repulsed the attack and accused Chad of backing JEM in its attempt.

However senior Sudanese officials became more outspoken about other countries involvement in the attack besides Chad believed to be Libya and France.

The Sudanese defense minister implied France’s involvement in JEM attack by saying that a Western country guided the fighters through the satellite which helped them avoid government troops on their way to the capital.

The speaker of the Sudanese national assembly Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Taher said that his government intends to reveal the names of countries that provided the support for the rebel offensive.

The Sudanese presidential adviser Mustafa Ismail echoed Al-Tahir accusations in a press conference in Doha Qatar and said that weapons used by JEM are “very advanced” and not available in Chad “which means that other countries supplied it to them”.

However Ismail declined to name these countries.

The French embassy said that it “firmly condemn the attack [JEM] which is unjustified” and called on Darfur warring parties “to exercise self restraint and respect international humanitarian law”.

The statement also called for a resumption of peace talks and speeding the deployment of the Darfur peacekeeping force.

France has a long-term military presence in Chad, one of its former colonies, giving the government intelligence and logistic support.

Khartoum has been furious at France for hosting leader of Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur and has persistently demanded that he be expelled.

Last March French President Nicolas Sarkozy condemned what he called the “deliberate and disproportionate” use of force by Sudan in the killing of a French soldier serving with European Union forces in Chad (EUFOR).

The defense ministry in Paris said the soldiers who strayed across the border encountered a Sudanese checkpoint and quickly declared their identity, but were fired on without warning.

The Sudanese government has strongly opposed the French backed initiative for deployment of the 3,700-strong EUFOR mission being deployed in eastern Chad to protect refugees displaced by violence in neighboring Sudan’s Darfur region.

(ST)