Khartoum signs a peace deal with a Darfur breakaway faction
March 18, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government signed an agreement with a breakaway faction from Sudan’s Liberation Movement of Abdel Wahid Nur (SLM-AW) called “Darfur Front for Injustice Rebuttal”.
The group will be integrated into the armed forces and other regular forces according to the regulations of the Sudanese Armed forces (SAF).
Omer also announced in a press conference yesterday that they are in contact with a number of armed groups in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile saying that a series of agreements with them will be signed soon.
He pointed out that the strength of this SLM-AW dissident group stems from its sincere desire and intention to enter into peace as well as its deep understanding of the challenges ahead.
For its part, the dissident group said it became convinced that the leader of the (SLA- AW) Abdel Wahid Nur doesn’t have a true and genuine will to arrive at a peaceful solution for the Darfur crisis, adding that the SLM-AW has fallen prey to foreign powers and turned into a racist movement.
They also stated that their understandings with the government has addressed the root causes of the crisis and offered the adequate solutions.
But sources told Sudan Tribune that the dissident group has nothing to do with the SLM-AW though they acknowledged that there is some kind of understanding between them because they are stationed in Jebel Marra which is the stronghold of the SLM-AW.
They further said that this particular faction is active in kidnapping foreign workers for ransom and that all the group members belong to the pro-government Arab tribes.
The same source claimed that all group members are part of the government Border Patrol Forces and are still in the Sudanese government’s payroll, describing this agreement as a “political drama” aimed at weakening rebels’ movements.
(ST)