Darfur’s governor says western rebels were behind coup attempt

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER, Associated Press Writer

EL GENEINA, Sudan, Sep 26, 2004 (AP) — West Darfur’s governor on Sunday linked an alleged coup attempt against the national government to a rebellion in western Sudan, saying the same group was behind both insurrections.

Gen. Suleiman Abdullah Adam’s comments came as Sudanese soldiers were out in force in the capital, Khartoum, after what the government said was a foiled coup plot on Friday.

The government has accused the opposition Popular Congress of instigating the alleged plot, the third such attempt blamed on the party this year.

The party, which is led by the former parliamentary speaker Hassan Turabi, has denied any involvement in the alleged attempted coups.

Adam told reporters that Darfur’s Justice and Equality Movement rebel movement was the armed wing of the Popular Congress.

“The Justice and Equality Movement is the military commanders of the Popular National Congress,” Adam said, using an old name for the opposition party. “It is well-known that they come here and take weapons.”

A deputy secretary general of the Popular Congress, Ali al-Haj Mohammed, denied this weekend that his group was involved in insurrection, saying it does advocate violence although it wishes to see the removal of the government.

In Darfur, the rebel movement “is seeking international intervention to escalate the situation and overthrow the government,” Adam said.

The Justice and Equality Movement is one of two non-Arab Darfur rebel groups that took up arms against the government in February 2003.

Since then, the conflict has killed more than 50,000 people and displaced 1.4 million others, in what the United Nations says is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The United States and others call it a genocidal campaign by Sudan’s government and allegedly allied Arab militia.