Darfur rebel group not party to peace negotiations

Mohamed Bashir, chief negotiator of the Sudan Liberation Movement faction under the leadership of Minni Minawi (SLM-MM) said that his movement did not take part in yesterday’s negotiations about security arrangements in Darfur because it took place via videoconferencing.

He stressed that the security arrangements in Darfur are very important to the SLM-MM, and therefore meetings with all parties concerned should be conducted directly, not through videoconferencing.

The SLM-MM is in contact with the South Sudanese mediation team, the Sudanese government, and international partners to reach a solution that leads to real peace, he said. The rebel movement will abide by the ceasefire extension agreed upon by the Sudan Revolutionary Front (RSF) rebel alliance in February 2019.

In 2006, Minni Minawi split from the Sudan Liberation Movement, co-founded by Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW), to form his own faction. Both factions joined the RSF since its establishment in 2011.

Recently, the SLM-MM withdrew from the SRF alliance. After the breakaway, in mid-May, Minawi formed a new rebel alliance under the same name ‘Sudan Revolutionary Front’. He claimed that the mainstream SRF ignored his constant demands for structural reform within the group. The Justice and Equality Movement faction led by Bakheet Abdelkarim (aka Dabajo) has joined Minnawi's new alliance.

Clashes erupted between government forces and rebels in south-west Jebel Marra yesterday. The Sudanese army accused the SLM-AW and the Revolutionary Awakening Council, founded by former janjaweed Musa Hilal, of starting the fight.

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