International meeting on killing of JEM’s Bashar to be held in Doha
May 28, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The head of the Darfur Peace Follow-up Office, Amin Hassan Omer, has disclosed that an international meeting will be held in Doha next week to shape a position on the “assassination” of the leaders of Justice and Equality Movement led by Mohamed Bashar (JEM-Bashar) which signed a peace agreement with Sudan’s government last April.
JEM-Bashar broke away with the historical group in September 2012 and negotiated a peace agreement with the Sudanese government on the basis of Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD).
Omer, who was speaking at a media forum on the future of peace agreements in Darfur, said that the international follow-up committee for the implementation of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) will hold an expanded meeting in Doha next week, including Sudan’s government, the Liberation and Justice Movement, (LJM), JEM Bashar, African Union, Arab League, Burikna Faso Chad Qatar, Egypt and UN five permanent members as well as UNAMID.
He added that the task of the extraordinary meeting is to “take a stand on the physical elimination of the JEM-Bashar leaders inside the Chadian territory”, considering the act as a challenge for the international community which sponsored the agreement.
He further said that it “should be condemned and hostages must be released”.
The leader of JEM-Bashar, Mohamed Bashar, and his deputy, Suleiman Arko, were both killed by fighters of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) led by Gibril Ibrahim on May 12 near the Chadian-Sudanese border.
JEM says a military confrontation took place between the two sides inside Darfur, while JEM-Bashar insists that its leaders were attacked inside Chadian territory just four kilometres from the Sudanese border.
Amin further said that they are engaging in daily contacts with armed groups wishing to join the DDPD, mentioning that standard for determining group’s weight, impact on peace, and military strength on the ground is put by the international mechanism which includes Qatar and international partners.
He pledged to exert intensive efforts with the international community to put pressure on JEM to release members of JEM-Bashar who were captured in the attack of 12 May.
The head of Darfur Regional Authority (DRA), El-Tijani Sissi, for his part, warned of the tribal disputes and the spread of arms in Darfur, saying they represent a serious threat to peace and social coexistence in Darfur.
(ST)