Darfur rebels accuse Qatar of supporting government military campaign

February 11, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – A Darfur rebel group accused Qatar of supporting attacks carried out by the Sudanese government troops which displaced over 36,000 civilians in the western Sudan region according to the UN agencies.

The humanitarian official in the Sudan Liberation Movement- Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) Yahia Sadam Tuesday issued a statement accusing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militiamen of forcing 200,000 people to flee their villages, burned 45 villages and killed 120 people.

Sadam claimed that Qatari authorities have a role in the implementation of this “genocide” saying their petro-dollars are “a contributing factor”.

He further accused the Qatar Charity (QC)organisation of channelling this support to the Sudanese troops, adding that the director of this humanitarian group in Darfur lives inside the barracks of the Sudanese army in Nyala, capital of South Darfur state.

QC is “building housing complexes in remote and isolated areas to harbour and train extremists groups to destabilise security and stability in Africa and some Arab countries,” he said.

He added that to achieve this terrorist enterprise, the State of Qatar supports the “scorched earth policy” carried out by the Sudanese troops.

The rebel official went further to say that the QC director in Darfur travels with Sudanese military planes to inspect abandoned villages and meet the RSF militiamen, seeking to know their needs to settle permanently in these areas.

The rebel groups say the Sudanese government recruits militiamen from Arab nomadic tribes in Chad, Mali, Niger and Central African Republic.

Qatar hosted a two-year process aiming to end Darfur conflict. Since the signing of Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, the oil and gas rich country is funding recovery and development projects in the western Sudan region.

Two weeks ago, another rebel group, SLM-Abdel Wahid al-Nur, said that the Sudanese military campaign on the rebel held positions in the mountainous area of Jebel Marra aims to prepare the ground for the establishment of camps for terrorist groups in the region.

Last month a group of UN independent experts pointed that the troubled Darfur region may be “potentially fertile ground” for African jihadist groups in Africa.

(ST)