Darfur rebel leader recounts ordeal of ‘political detention’ in Libya
September 13, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The leader of Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Khalil Ibrahim, has divulged further details on the period when he was stuck in Libya and his perilous journey back into Sudan’s western region.
Speaking in an interview with the Netherlands-based Radio Dabanga, the rebel leader likened his situation back then to that of a “political detainee,” adding that he was only allowed to go to Friday prayer escorted by Libyan security agents and then returns to the same heavily-guarded hotel.
The high-profile rebel leader managed to flee Libya and cross into Darfur despite the Sudanese government’s frantic efforts to prevent his return. He told Sudan Tribune on Sunday that he had arrived safe and sound among his troops in Darfur after he left Tripoli more than two weeks ago.
Ibrahim was forced to go to Libya in mid-2010 after his erstwhile allies in Chad refused to secure his entry following a thaw in the long-strained ties between Khartoum and Ndjamena.
In reaction to Libya’s provision of sanctuary to Ibrahim, Sudan exerted both diplomatic and security efforts to prevent him from returning to Darfur.
The Sudanese government closed its borders with Libya in early June and, when the uprising against Qaddafi started, moved to provide military support to the National Transitional Council (NTC) which last month ousted Al-Qaddafi after he stayed 41 years in power.
Ibrahim revealed that the Sudanese National intelligence and Security Services (NISS) had sought to arrest him on a number of occasions.
According to him, NISS agents had succeeded in infiltrating the hotel but JEM’s security agents managed to foil their attempt.
He said that the Sudanese intelligence were ready to carry out their mission the day NTC rebels reached Tripoli but his men forestalled the attempt and evacuated him from the hotel.
Ibrahim further revealed he fled from Libya through the Sahara, crossing 4,500 km into Darfur.
He added that his journey was beset by constant shelling all the way from Libya into Darfur, and that the Sudanese government had mined points of crossings in the desert road.
JEM leader called on other rebel groups in the country, including the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North and the Sudan Liberation Movement of Abdul Wahid Nur and Manni Minnawi, to cooperate in order to topple the regime of president Al-Bashir and the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in Khartoum.
He said that he holds out his hand to all the Sudanese people, their political and civil forces to work in tandem to change the system of governance in Sudan. Ibrahim added that his group is willing to offer any concession to achieve that end.
JEM refused to sign a peace deal the Sudanese government signed in July in the Qatari capital of Doha with the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM), another Darfur rebel group, in an effort to reach a settlement to the nine year-conflict in the western region.
Ibrahim said he is not interested in any position and would prefer to go back to Darfur to herd camels after Al-Bashir’s government is gone. He also called on all countries to support efforts to change the regime in Sudan.
In Khartoum, the NCP has downplayed the effect of Ibrahim’s return and his call for a coalition between opposition forces and rebel groups to overthrow the government.
The head of the NCP’s political sector Qutbi Al-Mahdi told reporters in Khartoum on Tuesday that both the opposition and rebel forces had been trying to overthrow the government but to no avail.
He said that his party would remain steadfast in the face of these challenges which target Sudan as a country not his party as a ruler.
(ST)