SLM’s Al-Nur and Minniawi establish joint alliance body
June 26, 2011 (KHARTOUM) — The two main factions of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) Sunday announced the establishment of a joint political and military mechanism chaired by Abdel Wahid Al-Nur and Minni Minnawi.
On 14 May, Al-Nur and Minnawi signed an alliance pact and pledged to work together to overthrow the Khartoum based government led by the National Congress Party (NCP).
The rapprochement took place as Khartoum intensified attacks on their positions in Darfur as part of the “peace strategy” against the rebels who are not part of Doha process.
The news Alliance of Sudan Liberation Movement and Army (SLM/A) is co-shared by Abdel Wahid Al-Nur and Minni Minnawi who are presented as “the supreme authority” in a statement defining the joint mechanism of the rebel alliance.
The new structure adopted on 24 June in Kampala, according to a statement signed by Al-Nur and Minnawi, also establishes a joint military command and an executive board headed by the deputies of the two leaders.
Abdel Wahid Al-Nur told Sudan Tribune the establishment of this joint mechanism is another step to achieve the reunification of the SLM. He added that the movement is conducting contacts with other political forces in Eastern Sudan and Kordofan with the spirit of the “New Beginning”, a manifest adopted by the group aiming to topple down the NCP government in Khartoum.
The platform also call on the Sudanese political forces to join the SLM, to rally or coordinate with it to overthrow the government.
Three rebel factions reintegrated the group led by the SLM founder in May. Two others are expected to join soon the rebel movement.
Minnawi’s split in 2005 and the signing of Abuja peace agreement led to the fragmentation of Darfur largest rebel group. Efforts exerted by the different peace mediators after 2006 failed to reunite them.
However in 2010, the Liberation and Justice Movement(LJM) led El-Tijani El-Sissi gathered a dozen of splinter factions from the SLM and the Justice and Equality Movement . they are expected to sign a peace agreement next July.
(ST)