SLM rebels prepare to hold general conference for reform and reunification
August 14, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – A group of former members of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement – Abdel Wahid al-Nur (SLM-AW) announced the formation of a transitional council to prepare a general congress before the end of the year.
The group said they selected 15 members to lead their action and to prepare for the general congress. Also, they tasked Nimir Mohamed Abdel-Rahman with the leadership of the TCSLM. While Mohamed Adam Abdel Salam aka Tarada is appointed as TCSLA chief of general staff and Mohamed Salih Rizgalla as head of external relations committee.
Speaking to Sudan Tribune on Friday, Abdel-Rahman said their move aims mainly to “reform the group and to strengthen the resistance of Sudanese people against the regime”. He also said they plan to hold the general conference inside the Sudan before the end of December.
Abdel Rahman who was the SLM-AW spokesperson pointed that al-Nur sacked him and others including the deputy chairman Abu Elgasim Imam on 9 June 2014
“It should be clear that we are not splinters because divisions weakened our struggle and distorted our image” he said, stressing that “even Abdel Wahid will be invited to participate in the congress which will be inclusive and gather all the leading members of the group”.
The TCSLM expressed its willingness to work with the rebel umbrella Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) and the opposition forces to build a secular, liberal and democratic Sudan.
On 20 February 2015, the SLM-Minni Minnawi signed a strategic alliance agreement with Abdel-Rahman aiming to pave the way for the reunification of the historical SLM. Earlier, this year, rebel fighters led by Tarada carried out joint military operations with the SLM-MM in North Darfur.
SLM-AW’S REACTION
The SLM-AW office in Kampala issued a statement distancing itself from the TCSLM and said they do not represent the movement. Also, it stressed that the Movement’s office backs the legitimate leadership.
The statement further said that those who are behind the TCSLM have been relieved from the group “for overriding the statute and orientations of the Movement”.
The SLM-AW leader sacked Imam and Abdel Rahman after meeting in Kampala with a Sudanese businessman and member of the ruling National Congress Party who tried to convince the rebel groups to negotiate a peace agreement with the government.
(ST)