Sudanese detain MP suspected of aiding Darfur rebels

KHARTOUM, March 17 (AFP) — A Sudanese MP has been arrested in the troubled western Darfur region on suspicion of assisting the rebels and undermining the peace process, a report said.

The Sudan Media Centre, which is close to the government, reported from Nyala, capital of South Darfur State, that an unnamed member of parliament held regular meetings in his house with elements connected to “the outlaws” and unidentified foreigners.

It said the authorities also monitored activities by the deputy “mostly focused on undermining and opposing efforts exerted by the government for achieving peace in Darfur.”

It said sophisticated electronic equipment, including bugging devices, was seized during the raid on the MP’s house and that it would be examined by experts from Khartoum.

It added that authorities had started legal proceedings to lift the deputy’s immunity, but did not give his identity or say when he was detained.

Meanwhile, two leading Darfur rebels were reported to have pledged to lay down their arms and renounce violence in response to a general amnesty declared by President Omar al-Beshir.

The official Al Anbaa daily named one of the two rebels as Adam Suleiman Mustafa who was quoted as saying the presidential amnesty was “a positive step for building confidence between the government and the armed groups.”

He said the rebels took up arms to demand better health and education services but “some Darfur politicians threw demands related to power and partisan interests into the Darfur problem.”

In another development, the North Darfur State governor announced that 30 percent of the 400,000 people displaced in his state have returned to their home villages in Taweilah, Korma and Kutum.

Osman Yusuf Kibir was Wednesday cited by the independent Akhbar Al Youm daily as saying teams from his state and West Darfur State were in Chad to arrange for the repatriation of about 15,000 refugees.

Kibir said the authorities were in control throughout his state, including the border areas of Tina and that the refugee camps were free of epidemics.

The rebellion led by the Sudan Liberation Movement and other groups erupted in February last year over charges that the central government had neglected the development of the impoverished region neighboring Chad.