Khalil Ibrahim: I was under house arrest

The JEM leader, who has returned to Darfur, says he was treated like a political prisoner in Tripoli

Dr. Khalil Ibrahim, head of Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) told Radio Dabanga on Monday that he was treated like a political prisoner in Libya through out his stay in the country since May 2010.“I was in a room in Tripoli for more than a year. I was not allowed to move around or talk with anyone. I wasn’t allowed to step out except for the Friday prayers. And that too, I was accompanied by security guards,” he said in an interview.

About his escape from Tripoli, he said that the Sudanese security services and the intelligence forces had been seeking to kidnap him.

“They had surrounded my hotel and were about to carry out their mission to arrest me when the JEM troops came to my rescue. They were faster than the Sudanese troops and led me out,” the leader said.

Khalil Ibrahim said that his evacuation plan involved cutting across 4,500 kilometers of the Saharan desert in order to reach Darfur. “JEM forces were equipped very well to handle the tough, winding roads in the deserts,” he said.

He added that his escape also included surviving continued aerial bombardment by the Sudanese air force within Libya and inside Sudan as well as dodging land mines laid to target him.

He assured that the forces in his movement had returned to their positions in Darfur to its full strength.

‘Let’s join forces’

On the other hand, Khalil Ibrahim also called for the Sudan People’s Liberation Moverment-North (SPLM-N), Sudan Liberation Movement – Abdul Wahid (SLM-AW), Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) and all other resistance movements as well as marginalized forces in Sudan to cooperate and work together towards toppling president Omar Al-Bashir’s regime in Khartoum.

He appealed for a political and civil regime change and said that his group was ready to make all the concessions possible to make this happen.

“I do not want any other position. I prefer be a camel herder in Darfur after overthrowing the Bashir government. I would like to call on all countries to support the efforts of everyone in the Sudan,” he said.

‘Khalil’s return makes no difference’

Meanwhile, Amin Hassan Omar, head of the government delegation at the Doha negotiations played down the importance of the JEM leader to Darfur. He asked for those involved not to personalize the crisis and said that Ibrahim’s return will not affect the ongoing peace building measures.

Amin Hassan Omar said that the government of Sudan and the Liberation and Justice Movement were the approving authorities in the province who could issue a general amnesty. “We are the ones who can ensure security on the ground by carrying out the completion of the Doha peace agreement,” he said in a press conference.

In a joint press conference with the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) leader Dr Tijani Sese at the conclusion of the follow-up committee on Doha peace talks, Omar said that the implementation will begin in two weeks.