Sudanese FM says SLA-Minnawi's rebel Suleiman Jamous had face covered during transfer by UN officials

Excerpt from unsourced Sudan Tribune article (Khartoum) dated June 25, 2006 - Sudan summons UN envoy to explain logistical help to rebel leader:

Foreign ministry spokesman Jamal Mohamed Ibrahim said that UN envoy Jan Pronk had been summoned to give an explanation Monday of the alleged helicopter ride given to the Darfur rebel leader.

The foreign ministry said Suleiman Jamous, a dissident member from the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM)-Minawi, was taken Saturday from the main Darfur town of Al-Fasher to South Kordofan state on a UN helicopter flight.

On 20 May, Jamous, who was the former SLM-Minawi humanitarian coordinator, had been arrested and tortured by his group for opposition to the Darfur Peace Agreement.

He was released to the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) from Muzbat on 22 June 2006. He was taken to Al Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, where he remained under UN protection. UN human rights monitors were allowed to visit him on 14 June 2006.

According to a humanitarian source, Jamous was appreciated by the UN and ONGs aid workers in Darfur for his good collaboration and competence.

"It was clear that the act was planned to take place behind the back of the Sudanese authorities," a statement issued late Saturday said.

Ibrahim said the rebel leader had his face covered during the transfer, in what he said was a clear indication that the UN officials travelling on the same flight were attempting to hide the man from the authorities.

The foreign ministry said it considered the incident "a flagrant violation of the country’s sovereignty and a violation of the agreement under which the UN operates in Sudan."

UN spokesperson Radhia Achouri said she could not confirm that the rebel leader had indeed travelled on a UN flight and refused to comment on Khartoum’s reaction.

The holdout SLM led by Abdelwahid al-Nur condemned the UN suspension, saying Khartoum was determined to continue killing the people Darfur.

"By suspending the UN mission in Darfur, the government of Sudan is preparing to finalize the last chapter of its genocidal policy in the absence of the direct supervision of the international community," the faction’s spokesperson Jaffer Monro charged in a press statement.

He called on the world body to expedite the deployment of UN peacekeepers.

June 26 2006 Belfast Telegraph - Sudan pulls plug on UN operations in war-torn Darfur - "He was picked up by the UN helicopter between el-Fasher and Musbat," Mr Ibrahim said, referring to areas in North Darfur. "The authorities were not consulted, no permission was asked for, and it was clear negligence," he said, adding it was a "flagrant violation" of the sovereignty of Sudan.