Brawl breaks out between Darfur groups over Sissi’s legitimacy

August 26, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – A launch ceremony for Phase II of development projects in Darfur region turned into a brawl on Wednesday between the members of two parties signatory of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) over the legitimacy of Darfur Regional Authority (DRA).

Eyewitnesses told Sudan Tribune that, members of the Liberation and Justice Party (LJP), led by Bahar Idriss Abu Garda broke into a hall of Rotana Hotel in Khartoum where the DRA organized a ceremony for the attribution of 620 projects to different companies tasked with its implementation in presence of foreign diplomat and government officials.

One of the protesters in a loud voice expressed his rejection of the event and forced a DRA minister presenting the projects to stop his speech.

After what LJP members and the supporters of DRA chairman Tijani al-Sissi started to fight in the podium among cheers hostile to the inauguration by the intruders.

The fight is seen as a new escalation in the power struggle between the two factions of the former Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) that signed the Doha framework agreement in July 2011.

Last March just before the election, LJM split into two political parties: National Liberation and Justice Movement (NLJP) led by Tijani al-Sissi and LJP of Abu Garda.

Since, Abu Garda and the other signatory of the DDPD, Justice and Equality Movement -Dabajo (JEM-Dabajo) have accused Sissi of controlling the regional authority and demand to reshuffle the DRA cabinet.

Commenting on the fight , the head of Darfur peace implementation office Amin Hassan Omer, condemned the move and described it as “unacceptable behaviour”.

Omer further said the incident is a “messy and uncivilized” and is not worthy of those who pretend acting for the interest of Darfur people.

He wondered why the JLP supporters behave in such a way as the government finalized consultations with the peace partners before to announce in the upcoming days the formation of the DRA new cabinet and legislative body .

From his side, Abu Garda retorted saying they reject the DRA legitimacy, adding that al-Sissi has no longer the right to implement any project before to restructure the regional body.

In a separate move, JEM Dabajo issued a statement on Wednesday announcing their rejection of the inauguration of new development projects, pointing that these projects were not discussed by the recovery and rehabilitation committee and not approved by the DRA cabinet.

Le group’s spokesperson Ahmed Adam Abdel Majid warned they are considering to suspend their participation in the regional body as a result of the unilateral management of the DRA affairs by its chairman.

LJP and JEM-Dabajo recently accused al-Sissi of ignoring certain areas in the implementation of the development projects . Also, accused him and his team mainly from the Fur and Massalit tribe of corruption.

Sissi refuses to reply to these accusations but recently he met with the speaker of the National Assembly Ibrahim Ahmed Omer and pledged to brief the parliament about the implementation of the projects and to refute all the accusations directed against him.

(ST)