JEM rebels freeze peace talks with Sudanese government

May 2, 2010 (LONDON) – The rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) suspended today its participation in the peace process brokered by the AU-UN mediation and hosted in the Qatari capital, Doha.

Sudanese army and JEM clashed for more than forty times in the restive region of Darfur since the signing of a framework agreement in Doha on February 23. The deal also included a ceasefire the parties had to finalize before March 15 with the signing of a peace agreement.

However, the discussions between the two parties had never started as JEM had been opposed to parallel talks with another group established in Doha gathering different factions, the Liberation and Equality Movement (LJM).

“JEM has decided to freeze its participation in the Doha Peace Process,” said JEM official spokesperson in a statement released on Sunday. Ahmed Hussein Adam said the decision has been taken following “continuous aerial and ground assaults” on JEM forces.

“The Doha mediation has been informed of this decision and JEM will take necessary action if the government assault on innocent people is repeated.”

The Sudanese army in different statements confirmed the clashes and accused JEM of breaking the deal. However, the army in its latest statement said JEM had to gather its fighters in four locations in West Darfur. But Ahmed denied such agreement saying they had only signed a ceasefire declaration and the agreement had to be finalized after.

“The Sudanese army ended its commitment to the ceasefire to control more positions on the ground before to sign a ceasefire agreement,” he said.

“They chose the military option, and we have no other choice,” he reaffirmed.

Last week the rebels spoke about military buildup in the region warning it had been preparing a large scale attack.

The hybrid peacekeeping mission said on Sunday the “security situation in the region has become tenser” after fighting between the Sudanese army and JEM rebels in Jebel Moon, West Darfur.

(ST)