Two JEM rebels killed in West Darfur after TPC meeting

In West Darfur, two leaders of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) were killed, and six others were wounded, in an ambush carried out by gunmen in Kondobe village in Sirba locality on Saturday evening.

The two dead have been named as Adam Hamid, second in command of Jebel Moon locality, and Mahdi Abdelshafi.

Mutasim Saleh, the official spokesman for the movement, said in a statement that armed men on horseback ambushed the JEM delegation returning from Khartoum, where it had been attending the first meeting of the new Transitional Partners Council (TPC).

He strongly condemned the ambush, describing it as ‘‘treacherous’’.

They said the attack was targeting the peace process and confirmed that they will work with the concerned authorities to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice, as well as guard the peace process from what they described as the ‘‘mischief of meddlers’’.

The TPC held its first session at the Republican Palace in Khartoum on December 17, following fierce criticism of its formation, to clarify working regulations according to amendments made to the Constitutional Document under the Juba Peace Agreement, signed on October 3.

Hafiz Ismail, economist and political analyst, explained in an interview with Radio Dabanga on Saturday that the idea of a partners council has its roots in the Juba peace talks between the government and the rebel movements.

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