Former rebels demand integration into Sudan forces, North Darfur

The Justice and Equality Movement Sudan (JEM-Sudan), signatory of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, announced that three battalions of 1,250 soldiers are stationed at Golo area, west of El Fasher, in North Darfur. They are waiting for their integration into the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), police, and security forces. Bakhit Abdallah Abdel Karim (known as Dabjo), the head of the former rebel JEM-Sudan, arrived in Khartoum to consult Sudan’s First Vice-President Bakri Hassan Saleh about the difficulties facing the implementation of the former rebel forces into the Sudanese units. The movement is also known as JEM-Bashar, referring to its late leader, Mohamed Bashar. The spokesman for the JEM-Sudan, Sadig Yousif Zakaria, told Radio Dabanga that this batch of soldiers has been awaiting their implementation for a month now. “There are difficulties facing the implementation, such as logistic, non-military support, and non-preparation of their camps.” He demanded via Radio Dabanga that the government follows the integration as agreed upon in the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, which the movement signed in April 2013. In the document, JEM-Sudan and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) agreed with the government upon laying down their arms and integration into the Sudanese forces in an attempt to achieve peace in Darfur. File photo: The Justice and Equality Movement gathering men, before the breakaway of JEM-Bashar in 2012. Related: JEM-Sudan resumes Darfur peace protocol (28 January 2014)