KHARTOUM: Sudan’s defence minister, who is wanted for alleged war crimes in Darfur, yesterday said that improving relations with South Sudan will help to “end” a decade-old rebellion in the western region.
“The implementation of the cooperation agreements with South Sudan will affect security in Darfur,” Defence Minister Abdelrahim Mohammed Hussein said in a national security briefing to parliament.
“It will give us a chance to surround the insurgents and help us to end the rebellion.”
Ethnic minority rebels in Darfur rose up against the Arab-dominated Khartoum government in 2003.
While the worst of the violence has long passed, rebel-government battles continue but instability has been complicated by inter-Arab fighting, kidnappings, carjackings and other crimes, many of them suspected to be the work of government-linked militia and paramilitary groups.
Hussein said government troops expect to move soon against rebels who have made a rare occupation of two towns in South Darfur.
The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has confirmed that insurgents on Saturday “attacked and seized” Muhagiriya and Labado, about 100km east of the South Darfur state capital Nyala.
Peacekeepers also reported “several possible air strikes” in the area and said thousands of civilians had sought protection around UNAMID bases.
In February, a United Nations panel of experts reported that, despite government denials, “aerial bombardment continues to be used on civilian areas and/or to indiscriminately affect civilians” in Darfur, violating UN resolutions.
An extended rebel occupation of an area is unusual as they normally stage hit-and-run attacks.
“Now our troops are 25 kilometres from Muhagiriya and in the coming days there will be good news. I expect today or tomorrow there will be contact between our troops and theirs,” Hussein said.
“We are preparing for our battle with the rebels.”
Abdullah Moursal, spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Army’s Minni Minnawi faction, confirmed his forces still held the towns yesterday. He called it a “strategic area” and said the rebels were preparing for “the second step” which he did not specify.
The defence minister said rebels were able to take over Muhagiriya and Labado because the military has since February been securing convoys of fuel and goods to the state capital.
“Yesterday the last convoy arrived in Nyala,” he said.
There have been fuel shortages in the town for about three weeks, and prices of food are high, a Nyala resident said.
The Hague-based International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Hussein’s arrest in March last year on 13 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes.
South Sudan became independent from the north two years ago following a near-unanimous referendum vote for separation after a 1983-2005 civil war. AFP
