Sudan supports Darfur federal rule, local laws

KHARTOUM, Oct 3 (Reuters) – Sudan’s president said on Sunday he backs federal rule for the country’s troubled Darfur region where inhabitants would be ruled by tribal law and not the country’s central law.

Omar Hassan al-Bashir said the local law would be applied over the region where rebels accuse the government of supporting Arab militias they say have attacked and burnt villages, raped, killed and driven people from their land.

The revolt broke out in early 2003 following many years of low-level fighting between Arab nomads and African farming communities. The United Nations says the conflict has killed up to 50,000 people.

“There will be support for federal rule,” Bashir told reporters at a meeting at government offices in Khartoum. “Dealing with them (tribal leaders) will be through local tribal law,” he said.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail last month raised the idea of transforming Africa’s largest country into a federal system with considerable autonomy granted to its states.

Sudan aims to “empower the local population” by allowing the tribal leadership to govern using traditional laws, another official said.

Sudan was reverting to more local rule, which was abolished by a previous president, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Najeeb Abdul Wahab, told Reuters by telephone from Khartoum.

Abdul Wahab said the final status of Darfur would be decided at talks between the government and Darfur’s two main rebel groups, due to restart this month in Abuja.

The United States has labelled the violence in Darfur genocide, blaming killings on Khartoum and the Arab militias, known as Janjaweed.

The U.N. Security Council has threatened Sudan with possible sanctions if it fails to stop the violence, which has continued despite a ceasefire agreed between the government and rebels in Chad in April.

(Additional reporting from Cairo)