Chad President ‘interfering in Sudanese affairs’: Rebels

The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), the Sudan Liberation Movement, led by Minni Minawi (SLM-MM) and the Liberation Movement for Justice under the command of Ali Karbino (LMJ-K) have denounced the “interference” of Chadian President, Idris Deby, in the conflicts in Darfur and his support for the government of President Omar Al Bashir. In late October, President Deby hosted a two-day conference on Darfur in Um Jaras in Chad. The conference was attended by Dr Tijani Sese, chairperson of the Darfur Regional Authority, the head of the Darfur Peace Follow-up Office, Dr Amin Hassan Omar, other members of the Sudanese government, as well as a number of prominent leaders of the Zaghawa tribe. During the conference, Deby allegedly announced his intention “to launch a fierce war on the non-signatory armed movements to the Doha document”. In a joint statement, the JEM, SLM-MM and LMJ-K appealed to the UN Security Council and the African Union to condemn “this clear interference in the affairs of Sudan”, accusing Deby of being involved in “the ethnic cleansing and genocide in Darfur”. Therefore, the movements state, they call on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the role of the Chadian President in the war in Darfur, stating that he is “an accomplice of Al Bashir”. In 2008 the ICC indicted the Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur. The armed movements appealed to civil society and human rights organisations to cooperate with them in revealing ”the role of the Chadian President”. They called on the opposition forces to condemn the interference of the Chadian President in the affairs of Sudan as well as “his efforts to keep Al Bashir in power”. File photo: Chadian President Idris Deby (UN) Related: Non-signatory armed movements may join Darfur peace process: Sese (1 November 2013)