Army, Darfur rebels offer differing views on Border Guard militia

The armed forces denied that the border guards threaten security in the Darfur region. During a press conference at the state information agency, army spokesman Col. Al Sawarmi Khaled Saad affirmed that the border guards “is a military unit which is fully belongs to the Armed Forces and are subjected to the Civil and Military Laws,” according to the state news agency SUNA. He said they are unrelated to the Janjaweed. The official spokesman disclosed that an Armed Forces fact-finding committee met with the security committees in the Darfur states and “achieved the conclusion that such claims were false and baseless.” His comments follow a report that the South Darfur state security committee had considered the border guards to be the biggest security threat next to the rebels.

Col. Al Sawarmi noted that the border guards “are under the command of the Armed Forces and do not belong to a certain tribe.” He described the allegations against the paramilitary forces as designed to instigate “tribal sedition.” These statements relate to reported involvement of elements of the border guards in various inter-Arab tribal conflict.

Also speaking on this issue, an official in the Liberation and Justice Movement led by Dr. Tigani Sese said that the border guards are part of the Janjaweed militia, despite the government denial. LJM Spokesman Abdullah Mursal spoke to Radio Dabanga in this regard from Doha. He also accused the government of going to war and escalating military operations in Darfur as part of its new strategy toward the region. He noted that the movement of government troops and aircraft is contrary to the ceasefire agreement signed with the government.