Sudan launches demobilisation for ex-rebels in Darfur

The Sudan Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission launched the demobilisation exercise for combatants belonging to different former rebel groups in Darfur on Wednesday. The same day, the spokesman for the former rebel Justice and Equality Movement-Sudan (JEM-Sudan) has denied reports that leader Bakhit Abdallah Abdel Karim is removed from his position. ‘The month-long exercise includes more than 500 ex-combatants from the JEM-Sudan and 200 former combatants that signed the Darfur Peace Agreement – the Sudan Liberation Army-Mustafa Terab, the SLA-Mother Wing, and the JEM-Peace Wing,’ the UN-AU peacekeeping Mission in Darfur (Unamid) said in a press release on Wednesday. The process in El Fasher, North Darfur, began with a briefing on the reintegration procedure, verification of administrative documents and a medical screening. The participants are also given a cash payment in local currency as well as food rations for three months. The event was attended by the State Minster in the Presidency, Fadul Abdalla Fadul and the Head of the Darfur Unit, General (Rtd) Abdallah Mohamed Abdel, amongst others. North Darfur’s deputy governor Adam Mohamed Hamid Nahla called on Darfur’s ex-combatants to fight tribalism and racism within their communities. Qatari ambassador Rashid El Noaymi added that his government is committed to the implementation of ongoing projects in the region. Unamid Deputy Force Commander Major General Balla Keita called the launch “a significant milestone” and reiterated the peacekeepers’ commitment to support the peace process in Darfur and the implementation of the signed agreements. “We hope that the ongoing demobilisation exercise will serve as a key driver for ongoing mediation efforts,” he said. ‘JEM-Sudan sacks Dabajo’: member A member of the JEM-Sudan announced that leader Bakhit Abdallah Abdel Karim (known as Dabajo) was sacked after an extraordinary meeting in Um Baru locality in North Darfur. Yazid Dafalla Rashash claimed that members of the DDPD signatory appointed the movement’s secretary for Darfur, Abdelrahman Ibrahim Banat, in the place of Bakhit Dabajo. Rashash added that the sacking of Dabajo came in the backdrop of “his non-compliance with the JEM-Sudan’s constitution, a neglect of the military, violating the movement’s statute, and ignoring demands of the people of Darfur”. However, the media secretary and spokesman for the movement Sadig Yousif Zakaria strongly denied this and said that the movement has not held any extraordinary conference at Um Baru. He said in a statement on Wednesday that any talk about that conference is “just a plot to disrupt the peace process and distract the ongoing peace and stability in Darfur”.The disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration programme is part of security arrangements included in the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) which was first signed by the Liberation and Justice Movement and the Sudanese government in 2011. The JEM-Sudan signed the DDPD in April 2013 and thereby agreed to disarm, demobilise, and reintegrate into the Sudanese military. It was not until August this year that the integration of about 1,350 former combatants of the breakaway faction into the Sudanese forces was launched in North Darfur. File photo: Rebels in Darfur (Jan-Joseph Stok) Related: JEM-Sudan accuses Darfur Authority of blocking power-sharing (31 October 2014) Darfur ex-rebels integrate into Sudanese army (15 September 2014)