"JEM was founded not for engaging in peace agreements, it was founded to change the government in Sudan, and it will continue to do so." - JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim, 31 March 2010 (Source: SRS)- - -
Sudan, Darfur rebels exchange blame over ceasefire
From Reuters (Khartoum) Mon Apr 5, 2010 10:15am EDT - extract:
The insurgent Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) told Reuters that Sudan's army bombed its positions in Darfur, close to the Chad border, from midnight through Monday morning, wounding six civilians and killing their livestock.Sudan army denies attacking rebels in Darfur
Sudan's army denied launching any attacks on JEM and a senior government official accused the rebels of seizing new territory in the remote western region, against the terms of the same agreement.
"The bombing started at midnight and continued this morning ... These people (the government) are not interested in finding a political solution to the problem," said JEM spokesman Ahmed Hussein Adam, speaking from Qatar by phone.
Adam said government planes bombed JEM positions around the North Darfur areas of Abu Hamra, Furawiya and Jabel Moun.
He said the rebel force was "considering its position" over future talks but there were no immediate plans to walk out of negotiations.
Sudan dismissed JEM's accusations. "The Sudanese Army is committed to the ceasefire it has signed with JEM. It has not bombed any JEM positions," an army spokesman told Reuters.
Khartoum's main Darfur negotiator Ghazi Salaheddin said JEM has been looking to take more territory.
"They (JEM) have been fanning out in the area and trying to establish themselves in Kulbus and Jabel Moun which is a violation of the ceasefire declaration," Salaheddin told reporters in Khartoum.
Darfur's under-equipped joint U.N./African Union UNAMID peacekeeping force said it could not confirm whether any fighting took place. "We are not present in the area so we can not confirm," UNAMID spokesman Noureddine Mezni told Reuters.
(Reporting by Andrew Heavens and Khaled Abdelaziz; Editing by Matthew Jones)
From AFP, Monday, 05 April 2010 - extract:
"Ten civilians were wounded," said Adam, who is in the Qatari capital, Doha, where representatives of the Sudanese government and the JEM are holding peace talks.
The attacks were a "violation of the ceasefire," said Adam about a truce struck between the two sides in February. He also charged that the government "was not serious about the peace process."
An army spokesman dismissed Adam's account as "completely inaccurate."
"We did not conduct any attacks. And JEM is not supposed to have a presence in the areas where he says we attacked," Sawarimi Khaled Saed said.
"If that is the case, it would constitute a violation of the February agreement," he said.
