LJM rebels accuse Sudan of seizing UN copter, Russians accuse rebels

A Darfuri rebel movement yesterday blamed the Sudanese government for the detention of a helicopter traveling under UN contract, while the Russian Foreign Ministry blamed rebels for the capture of the aircraft and disappearance of its Russian pilot.  The aircraft was transporting Liberation and Justice Movement field commanders to Nyala for transfer to the peace negotiations in Doha, Qatar. The helicopter, passengers and all but one of the crew were later released, but there are conflicting reports as to who detained the copter in the first place. It could have been the government, rebels or a militia.The incident began Monday when the helicopter disappeared while flying from Jebel Marra to Nyala, South Darfur. The copter was carrying four Russians and five Sudanese nationals, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. The Russian ministry blamed insurgents for the disappearance of the craft, as did Russia’s special envoy to Sudan, Mikhail Margelov. “For now it seems probable that the helicopter was captured by one of the armed groups” in Darfur, said Margelov over Russian Radio Echo, according to Agence France-Presse. However, today the company that owns the helicopter, UTAir, said in a statement that Sudanese authorities were responsible for detention of the helicopter, the official news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Ibrahim Gambari, the chief of the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), yesterday asserted that the landing spot “seems as if it was a place not fully in control of the government.” In remarks to media at the United Nations in New York, Gambari said that early Tuesday UNAMID re-established contact with three of the four crew and an international staff member. The men were at a Sudanese government location south of Menawashi in South Darfur, he said. This suggests that the Russian captain disappeared sometime Monday or during the night Monday-Tuesday.

The spokesman of the Liberation and Justice Movement, Abdallah Mursal, told Radio Dabanga yesterday that the UNAMID aircraft was carrying a number of field commanders of the Liberation and Justice Movement, including Jibril Tik. It landed by mistake near a camp for the Sudanese army east of Jebel Marra. He said the aircraft was supposed to have landed at another point to pick up a number of other LJM commanders for transport to Doha, but rainy conditions forced the captain to land the aircraft 15 kilometres from the specified location. Mursal appealed to the Sudanese government to release the aircraft and the field commanders and allow them access to the Doha talks. Later yesterday Gambari announced “Fortunately we’ve retrieved the helicopter that went missing; and we sent another helicopter to retrieve both helicopters and they’re back in Fasher with everybody except the captain, the Russian. Three LJM members also returned and Qataris.”

The Qatari government is hosting the peace process and aiding with the mediation, so it may have had personnel on board to escort the rebel leaders. Mursal said that fifteen field commanders of the Liberation Movement and Justice arrived in the Qatari capital Doha on Tuesday to participate in negotiations on the topic of security arrangements. Discussion of this dossier has yet to begin at Doha. Mursal said that up to 35 field commanders are supposed to arrive to Doha to participate in negotiating the file on security arrangements.