CAIRO, 8 June 2005 — The two main rebel groups in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur expressed regret yesterday at recent clashes that left several civilians dead and highlighted their differences ahead of crucial talks with Khartoum. “We are deeply sorry and we extend our apology to the Darfurian people,” Abdel Wahed Mohammed Ahmed Nur, the head of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army, told AFP.
The African Union’s mission in Sudan reported Monday that clashes between the SLA and its smaller rival, the Justice and Equality Movement, had left 11 people dead and 17 wounded last week. “There were incidents in two places, in Labado and Graida. It was a problem between individuals from the two groups and other people, unfortunately, were also killed,” Nur said.
He declined to elaborate on the number of dead or the exact circumstances in which they died. “The situation is now under control. We ordered all our troops to respect the ceasefire and such actions will not be repeated.”
A senior JEM member also deplored the clashes. “These were very unfortunate incidents and they are over. It was not the first time, but this time they went too far,” Abdullahi El-Tom told AFP.
The AU mission accused the SLM/A of relentlessly targeting JEM rebels in the three Darfur states and said both groups were intensifying military operations to control the territory. Mahjoub Hussein, an SLM/A spokesman in London, admitted that the rebel organizations were jockeying for power on the ground ahead of the crunch peace talks in Abuja on Friday.
“There is nothing serious between the two movements. Before, there used to be cooperation between the two movements and now things are very different,” he told AFP. “The SLM/A is a big organization, 100 times bigger than JEM and since the talks in Abuja are approaching, this is a good time to consolidate our positions,” he added.
