Sudan army says 18 Darfur rebels surrender

KHARTOUM, Aug 23 (Reuters) – Fighters from two Darfur rebel groups surrendered to Sudanese authorities in Northern Darfur state and said foreign intelligence forces were supporting rebel leaders, Sudan’s armed forces spokesman said on Monday.

“Eighteen rebels from the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) gave themselves up today in the morning in El-Fasher to the Northern Darfur state authorities and handed in their arms,” Mohamed Bashir Suleiman told Reuters.

He said the governor of Northern Darfur, Osman Kebir, and military and security leaders greeted them, and Kebir set the rebels free as part of a general amnesty for armed men in Darfur.

“They said the rebel leaders had exploited them and Darfur for their personal issues,” said Suleiman.

“They said foreign intelligence forces used to meet rebel leaders in hotels outside of Sudan and give them money,” he added. He did not say which countries.

The rebels were not immediately available to comment.

Sudan has accused neighbour Eritrea, where rebel groups have offices, and Israel of involvement in the rebellion in Darfur, which erupted in February last year.

The revolt ignited years of low-level conflict between Arab nomadic tribes and African farming communities in remote Darfur over scarce resources. Rebels accuse Khartoum of arming Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, to loot and burn non-Arab villages in a campaign of ethnic cleansing.

Khartoum denies the charge saying the Janjaweed are outlaws. The U.N. says the fighting has displaced more than one million people with about 200,000 refugees in neighbouring Chad.

Sudan has less than two weeks to prove to the U.N. Security Council it is making progress to secure Darfur, an area the size of France, or face possible sanctions.