Sudan suggests Libya will not expel Darfur JEM leader

May 27, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government appeared resigned to the presence of a Darfur rebel leader in Libya despite attempts to have him evicted.

Khalil Ibrahim, the head of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel group fighting in Darfur was banned from entering Chad last week and had his passports destroyed in a major blow to his movement which has used the country as a base for its troops and a transit point for its officials over the last few years.

After regional intervention Ibrahim was sent back to Tripoli amid uncertainty about his future given a request by Khartoum the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) for his extradition in relation to his May 2008 attack on Sudan’s twin capital city of Omdurman.

Khartoum dispatched a number of its officials to Tripoli over the last week and several phone calls were exchanged between Bashir and Gaddafi in an apparent bid to have the latter oust the rebel chief.

Last week, the Sudanese government said it has sent letters to all the neighboring countries urging them not to receive the rebel leader on the grounds that the existence of JEM leader on their territories “will not to contribute to termination of the war in Darfur”.

Khartoum further said that it is “waiting for a positive stride from Libya to help realizing peace in Darfur by putting pressure on Khalil Ibrahim to leave directly for Doha and resume the negotiation toward completing the peace process in the region”.

But today Sudan’s State Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Karti told official news agency (SUNA) that Ibrahim’s presence in Libya is driven by a desire on Tripoli’s part to benefit from its ties with JEM for dialogue.

He also said that JEM leader arrest warrant is not sent to individual states but to the INTERPOL to deal with it.

Karti further stressed that Libya has justifications made for this position and that there is a chance to benefit from its relationship with the Darfur crisis and an opportunity to open a dialogue with those involved, and expressed the hope that it will succeed to Libya in this effort.

He said that the demands of the people of Darfur are peace, development and stability and said that whoever undertakes this mission on behalf of the people of Darfur “must work effectively to achieve their interests and demands”.

JEM is one of two rebel groups that took up arms against Sudan’s government in 2003, accusing it of neglecting the remote western region of Darfur and marginalizing its population. The group suspended peace talks with the government, accusing it of breaking a ceasefire and failing to honor an initial peace deal signed in Qatari capital Doha in February.

Recent fighting erupted in Darfur between JEM and government troops has left little hope of renewing a Qatari-sponsored peace process. The Darfur rebels urged the U.N. chief and joint chief mediator to facilitate the return of its leader to Darfur, saying current situation would impede efforts for peace.

Today the top Darfur negotiator from Khartoum’s side Ghazi Salah Al-Deen Al-Attabani told reporters yesterday that his government is no longer interested in negotiating with JEM and that they will instead pursue prosecution of its leaders.

(ST)