Sudan accuses Eritrea of involvement in Darfur crisis

ADDIS ABABA, July 31 (AFP) — The Sudanese government on Saturday accused Eritrea of aggravating the crisis in its western Darfur region by training rebel fighters and by pressurizing their leadership not to engaged in a serious peace dialogue with Khartoum.

“The Eritrean government has been and is training Sudan’s young Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) fighters to boost their military might and to directly involve themselves in political leadership decision-making,” Sudanese ambassador to Ethiopia and African Union (AU) Osman Elsayed Fad Elsayed charged in Addis Ababa on Saturday.

“Quite recently, the Eritrean government pressurized the rebel leadership not to fly to Addis Ababa to attend the July 15 peace talks, when the United States had already sent an aircraft to pick them up,” Elsayed told a press conference in the Ethiopian capital.

Elsayed said the Sudanese government has presented documented evidence to the United Nations and African Union of Eritrea’s involvement in the Darfur crisis and has requested the two bodies to take appropriate measures against Eritrea.

The SLM/A and the main southern Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) rebels — members of the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA), held a conference in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, mid-July, as part of a long-running series of negotiations aimed at ending Africa’s longest civil war.

The JEM has not joined the NDA, but also attended the conference, where the two Darfur rebel groups urged that the talks between them and Khartoum be moved to another venue, because of the closeness between the Ethiopian and Sudanese governments.