Ex-Janjaweed leader threatens to sabotage Sudan elections

February 26, 2015 (NYALA) – The Sudanese Revolutionary Awakening Council (SRAC) led by the Darfurian Arab Mahameed clan chief, Musa Hilal, has announced it will boycott the general elections scheduled for April.

The spokesperson of SRAC, Ahmed Mohamed Abakar, told Afia Darfur Radio that agreements signed between them and the government to resolve the crisis in Darfur have not been implemented.

He pointed to the agreement of Hilal and the Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir during the Um Jaras conference last year besides the former’s agreement with the presidential assistant Ibrahim Ghandour on 12 January in West Darfur state.

Hilal for long time blamed the central government for failing to fulfil the promises made during the first years of the counter insurgency military campaign in Darfur where he fought alongside the government.

He was further angered by the government’s support for North Darfur governor Osman Kibir. Hilal demands since 2013 the removal of the governor and accuses him of instigating conflicts between his tribe (Mahameed clan) and several African ethic groups in the state.

Abakar threatened to sabotage the elections process if the government of Khartoum doesn’t implement those agreements by March 10, warning members of elections committees against exposing themselves to danger.

The spokesperson urged SRAC’s political and military bases besides its affiliates and sleeping cells to abide by the directive and boycott the elections, pointing that SRAC will not guarantee the safety of the ballot boxes.

He stressed the need to immediately implement the decision to boycott elections.

Hilal, became notorious as Janjaweed leader, after eruption of simmering conflicts in Darfur. He stands accused by many human rights groups of leading a terror campaign against the African tribes in Darfur.

But he has denied any wrongdoing and told Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a videotaped interview in 2005, that he only recruited militias on behalf of Sudan’s central government.

The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when an ethnic minority rose up against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum, which then was accused of enlisting the Janjaweed militia group to help crush the rebellion.

In April 2006 the UN Security Council imposed financial and travel ban against Hilal for obstructing peace in Darfur. The then US president George Bush issued an executive order enforcing similar sanctions on them.

In January 2008, the Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir appointed Hilal as a special advisor for the Ministry of Federal Affairs in Sudan.

In mid-2013, however, Hilal returned to North Darfur, where his fighters launched widespread attacks on government forces and allied militias.

Last year, Hilal’s troops seized control of western localities in North Darfur state including Saraf Omra, Kutum, Kabkabiya, Al-Seraif, and El Waha.

The tribal chief announced the establishment of administrations in these localities, naming his forces the SRAC.

(ST)