{"id":20059712,"date":"2023-11-17T12:00:01","date_gmt":"2023-11-17T11:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/?p=20059712"},"modified":"2024-04-15T20:42:34","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15T18:42:34","slug":"armed-movements-renounce-neutrality-in-sudan-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/en\/all-news\/article\/armed-movements-renounce-neutrality-in-sudan-war","title":{"rendered":"Darfur armed movements renounce neutrality in Sudan war"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Sudan Liberation Movement under leadership of Minni Arko Minawi (SLM-MM), and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) led by Jibril Ibrahim, have announced their renunciation of the neutrality pledged in the October 2020 Juba Peace Agreement, and their preparedness \u201cto participate in military operations on all fronts without hesitation\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SLM-MM and the JEM say they will abandon the neutrality pledged as part of the Juba Peace Agreement, and enter the fray in support of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), who have been fighting a civil war against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since mid-April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After meeting with leaders of European countries and organisations, ambassadors, and decision-makers, Minni Minawi, head of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-MM) and governor of the Darfur region, told a news conference in Port Sudan yesterday that 50 members of the Darfur Joint Protection Force<\/a> of the armed rebel movements in Darfur have been killed while securing convoys, markets, banks, and roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minawi said he realised the importance of abandoning neutrality after having been confirmed that \u201cthe goal of the war is to divide Sudan\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He reiterated his condemnation of the cold-blooded assassination of the governor of West Darfur, the mutilation of his body, and the killing and rape of people in Central Darfur camps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rebel leader referred to the systematic killing in the captured towns of Zalingei, El Geneina, Kutum, and Tawila, in a manner he described as \u201cselective\u201d and accused the RSF of \u201cliquidating community activists and leaders and supplying weapons to the parties to the civil wars in South Darfur\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Foreign agenda\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JEM leader Jibril Ibrahim told the press conference that his organisation \u201ctook a position of neutrality at the beginning of the war in order to mediate\u201d, however he accused the RSF of \u201cseeking to fragment and divide the country in partnership with foreign militias and mercenaries,\u201d accusing them of \u201cimplementing a foreign agenda\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The abandonment of neutrality by the rebel movements is \u201ca position long awaited by the Sudanese people,\u201d he said. \u201cWe took the principle of neutrality in order to mediate,\u201d he said at the press conference. \u201cWe also needed to catch our breath before returning to fight again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are not neutral in human rights, the killing of civilians and the violation of symptoms, what happened in Sudan cannot be watched,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stressed their commitment to defending the unity of Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rebel movements also accused Chad of supporting the RSF, and \u201csupplying it with military equipment and mercenaries by opening its territory and airspace.\u201d Ibrahim further accused other countries in the region, which he did not name, of supporting the RSF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No agreement with RSF<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jibril Ibrahim flatly denied claims yesterday by RSF Second-in-Command Abdelrahim Dagalo that an agreement has been made with the RSF to create any joint force to secure Darfur. He described Dagalo\u2019s statement published by the RSF on their electronic platforms as \u201cconfusion\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe cannot agree with those having with blood on their hands, and are accused of violating human rights,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe war has harmed the people of Sudan,” he said. \u201cIt is necessary to work together to stop the war, and seek a peaceful solution through well-known platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n