Darfur rebel SLA declares truce with Khartoum over

CAIRO, Nov 24 (AFP) — One of the two main rebel groups in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region said on Wednesday that it considered truce agreements it signed with the Khartoum government effectively over and warned i t would resume fighting.

A member of Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) walks with his rifle at Ashma village 30 km (19 miles) from Nyala, south Darfur, October 6, 2004. (Reuters).

“All the agreements signed in Abuja and Ndjamena have broken down,” Mahjoub Hussein, spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), told AFP by telephone from London.

He declared agreements on a cessation of hostilities signed in Ndjamena last year and a security protocol in Abuja signed earlier this month null and void, saying the government had failed to honour the accords.

The SLM has decided to resume fighting to overthrow the government of Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir, he said. “All the war now is starting again. We are ready for everything.”

Both sides in the 21-month-old Darfur conflict have repeatedly accused the other of violating the ceasefire.

The fighting began in February 2003 when rebels launched an insurrection to protest at what they allege is the political and economic marginalisation of black Africans by the Arab-led government.

Khartoum’s response was to unleash the Arab Janjaweed, who have been blamed by Western officials and aid workers for killings, rape and widespread violations of human rights.

Since the fighting began more than 70 000 people have been killed or have died from hunger and disease in the area, according to the United Nations, and another 1 .5 million displaced.