‘Sudan Armed Forces will liberate North Darfur soon’: Vice-President

The Second Vice-President of Sudan, Hassabo Mohamed Abdel Rahman, announced “good news within the coming days” for the North Darfur localities that were recently “attacked, destroyed and burnt by rebels”. Following his return from his inspection tour to Darfur, Abdel Rahman said that he held several meetings with the government of North Darfur, the security, and military authorities, during which a number of military and security measures were taken, the Sudan News Agency (SUNA) reported on Tuesday. The Second Vice-President stated that the Sudan Armed Forces are determined to recapture the localities of Alliet Jarelnabi, El Taweisha, Kalamindo, and Saraf Omra. He noted that the Sudanese army is capable of “teaching the rebels at these localities an unforgettable lesson”, and stressed that the current “dry season” will not pass without liberating all the areas “defiled by the rebels”. He denounced the “barbaric acts carried out by the armed movements against the citizens of these localities, the burning of houses, destruction of the infrastructures and the terrorizing of citizens, which led to displacement of more than 350,000 civilians”, SUNA concluded. Joint resistance forces The “Darfur joint resistance forces” claimed control over Alliet Jarelnabi, El Taweisha, Kalamindo localities in the eastern part of North Darfur on 5 March. The joint forces consist of troops of the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahid El Nur (SLM-AW), the SLM faction under the command of Minni Minawi (SLM-MM), and the Liberation Movement for Justice, led by Taher Hajar (LMJ-TH) and commanded in the field by Ali Karbino. Tens of thousands of people were displaced. The rebels have been accused of plundering houses, shops, and markets of several places in the localities. Musa Hilal On 7 March, Saraf Omra locality was attacked by militias loyal to Musa Hilal. Hilal’s name appears on top of the list of those who committed atrocities in Darfur since violence erupted there in 2003. Hilal has been accused of leading Janjaweed forces, consisting predominantly of Arab militias, in a state-sponsored campaign to cleanse parts of Darfur of non-Arab farmers, and of being among those most responsible for the deaths of more than 200,000 people and the displacement of another 2.7 million in Darfur. He is subject to travel and financial sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council in 2006. In the same year the US government blocked him from having any financial dealings in the USA. File photo: Darfur village on fire (bashirwatch.org) Related:27,000 displaced by rebel attacks in North Darfur (9 March 2014) Sudanese high-level meeting ‘to restore order’ in North Darfur (9 March 2014) Musa Hilal’s militias plunder, burn, take control of North Darfur’s Saraf Omra (9 March 2014) ‘Joint rebel forces take control of Um Saouna in North Darfur’: spokesman (9 March 2014)