Darfur Peace and Development

April 25, 2009 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudanese senior presidential assistant Minni Minnawi said today that the humanitarian situation in Darfur has worsened since the government expelled more than a dozen aid groups from the region.

Sudanese former rebel Minni Minnawi, the head of the only Darfur rebel faction to have made peace with Khartoum, speaks during a Sudanese peace conference in Khartoum (AFP)

Minnawi, who also heads a faction Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), in an interview with the Qatar based Al-Jazeera TV demanded the expelled groups be allowed to return.

The ex-rebel leader who signed a peace accord with Khartoum said that negotiations are underway to bring the groups back or find substitutes. However he did not elaborate.

Sudan accused the groups of collaborating with the International Criminal Court (ICC) which has issued an arrest warrant for president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir.

The Darfur figure called for a resolution to the issue of the relief groups in light of deteriorating conditions. He also described the security situation in Darfur as “stable and calm”.

Minnawi said that the real problem is the border issue between Sudan and Chad saying that his movement is on the ground in Darfur while Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) is in Chad.

Last February both JEM and Khartoum signed a goodwill agreement in the Qatari capital, pledging to negotiate a peaceful settlement to the six-year conflict in the western Sudan region of Darfur but a date for the full blown talks has not been fixed yet.

But JEM suspended its participation in the Doha peace process a month later saying they will not return until Khartoum rescind its expulsion order.

Minnawi has expressed unhappiness about not being consulted on the Doha talks and accused the Qataris of working with other international players to make JEM the only power in Darfur.

The SLM chief criticized the government saying that they have not paid the compensation in accordance with the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) he signed in Abuja three years ago.

In the past Minnawi have expressed frustration with implementation of the DPA saying the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) is deliberately stalling it.

UN experts estimate some 300,000 people have died and 2.5 million driven from their homes. Sudan blames the Western media for exaggerating the conflict and puts the death toll at 10,000.

(ST)