Nafie says West targeting Sudan via east

March 15, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s presidential assistant, Nafie Ali Nafie, has accused unnamed Western countries of seeking to target Sudan through its eastern region, promising that their wait for the end will be long.

Eastern Sudan is one of the least developed parts of the country. It was the scene of an armed conflict between the government and ethnic rebels accusing it of marginalizing the region. However, the conflict ended in October 2006 with the signing of the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement which was brokered by the government of neighboring Eritrea.

Recently, there have been warnings of an explosive security situation in the region. A UN official warned in December last year that Eastern Sudan is a “volcano waiting to erupt”, citing an alleged military buildup by rebel fighters of Al-Beja ethnic group on the borders with Eritrea.

But Nafie, who also serves as a vice-president of the ruling National Congress Party, on Thursday said that external forces were trying to use eastern Sudan as a mean to target the government. The Sudanese official made his accusation while addressing a public rally in Al-Dalta North locality in Kassala, one of the three states that make up eastern Sudan.

Nafie told the crowd that the people of eastern Sudan are overwhelmingly supportive of the government in Khartoum except “a minority group representing the West which is dwindling economically and seeks help from China to save it.”

He went on to say that the Sudanese government is not intimidated by threats of financial pressure, adding that the country is now blessed with reserves of gold in many parts of the country.

“The east is festering and will rise against the evil collaborators and mercenaries” he said. According to Nafie, Sudan is being targeted by the West because it chose to hold on to its religious values of Islam.

(ST)