JEM: Sudan Army will fail to recapture Abu Karshola

The leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has scorned the hubris of the Sudanese Minister of Defence soon retaking the South Kordofan town of Abu Karshola and “purging the area of rebel forces”. Dr Jibril Ibrahim called Sudanese Defence Minister Abdel Rahim Hussein “the best the revolution has seen”.Speaking to Radio Dabanga, Dr Ibrahim said that every now and again Hussein uses the entire budget of his Ministry to facilitate the task of the resistance forces. Rebels then defeat the government forces in Darfur and Kordofan battles, and capture all of their equipment.During his visit on Wednesday to Obeid, the North Kordofan capital, Hussein announced that the army has started to enforce its plans to retake control of the areas captured by the SRF rebel coalition and defeat them. He also reaffirmed the ability and strength of his forces to crush the rebels, Sudan News Agency reported. Abu Karshola has been in rebel hands for about three weeks.However, Dr Ibrahim who is also vice-president of the SRF, said: “Hussein thinks any plans he may have to retake Abu Karshola are good and he is secure about. We are also secure, because we are more than certain he will fail; it is a plan for defeat, not victory, and the facts will prove our point.”“Hussein cannot recapture Abu Karshola and he cannot protect any town. However he will mantain that he can defend Khartoum.”Discussion of the recent attacks by SRF forces in North and South Kordofan was on Thursday’s agenda the Council of Defence and National Security (CDNS), which is presided over by President Omar Al Bashir himself.Its members discussed reports about the security situation in various regions. They were briefed about measures taken by the army to repel this offensive. The meeting concluded that “the army is able to defend the country and to defeat the rebel groups”.National Consensus ForcesSpeaking to Radio Dabanga, the spokesman for the National Consensus Forces (NCF) Kamal Omar, demanded that Khartoum transfer power to a transitional government because it has failed to maintain peace, stability and unity. “It has become isolated and it must go!”The NCF is a coalition of Sudanese opposition parties who aim to remove the National Congress Party (NCP) from power.Omar said it is now the duty of the regime to hand over power to a transitional government because the issues of Sudan will not be solved on the basis of religious slogans and mobilisation for war, but rather, they will be resolved through political dialogue.“The system is not intellectually qualified to launch religious slogans, which should rather be applied to the President first. The corrupt should be punished.”The Sudanese who were born into the current political climate tend to accept restrictions on human rights and press freedom, and live according to war policy, he said. This is because it is the only life they know, said Omar.National Umma PartyThe leader of the opposition National Umma Party (NUP) Mariam Sadiq Al Mahdi told Radio Dabanga how the government continuously accuses the opposition of supporting the SRF and of being their accomplices. She said these accusations will not solve the problems of Sudan, as this type of speech “poisons the atmosphere”.The NCP came to power with a coup d’état and has failed to maintain the unity of the country, she said. Instead, “it promoted political injustice, destroyed the economy, tore the fabric of society and spawned poverty and war.”She demanded that the NCP recognise its failure saying: “Our national responsibility as a party requires us to be understanding with those who take up arms, in order to preserve the unity of the country.”Al Mahid said that NCP members should be held accountable for all the damage it has done, as justice is an essential to stability in Sudan.File photo: Sudanese Defence Minister Abdel Rahim Hussein (Sudan Tribune)