Dabajo named as leader of former Darfur rebel group
May 25, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The former rebel Justice and Equality Movement-Sudan (JEM-Sudan) announced on Saturday that its general commander Bakheit Abdallah Abdel-Karim (Dabajo) has been chosen as a new reader of the group.
The late leader of the group Mohamed Bashar was killed near the border between Chad and Sudan on 12 May after the signing of a peace deal with the Sudanese government on 6 April in Doha.
A leading member of the group Nahar Osman told Sudan Tribune that the decision was taken during a meeting held by the leadership last Thursday in Darfur. He added that Dabajo did not take part in the reunion but he accepted the decision.
He reiterated that a general conference will be held within 60 days to designate a new leader.
“The meeting also reaffirmed the movement’s commitment to the signed peace agreement and we will send very soon an advance delegation to Khartoum to prepare for the implementation of the accord”, he added.
Dabajo, who is a relative of rebel leader Minni Miinawi, had been relieved from his position as JEM general commander on 9 August 2012. But one month later he and other rebel commanders announced their dissidence and elected Mohamed Bashar leader of their faction.
State minister at the Sudanese presidency Amin Hassan Omer who heads a committee tasked with the implementation of peace in Darfur, reiterated the commitment of his government to the peace agreement signed with former rebels .
He also announced Dabajo’s appointment as JEM-Sudan chairman.
Osman disclosed they will participate in an extraordinary meeting of the international follow-up committee for the implementation of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) to be held in the Qatar capital on 28 May.
The international committee which is chaired by Qatar and includes UN Security Council countries, African Union, Arab League, Burkina Faso and Chad will discuss the killing of Bashar and its impact on the efforts to bring peace in Darfur.
(ST)