|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
Divisions intensify as families join rebels 22 October 2006, The Sunday Telegraph THE MAN who governs the war-torn state of North Darfur has revealed that some of his own family are now supporting rebel groups fighting against the Sudanese authorities, writes Gethin Chamberlain. In a rare interview, Osman Yusuf Kiber, Wali of North Darfur, said the conflict had become so complex that families were being torn apart by divided loyalties. The conflict in Darfur is often explained as a clash between black African farmers and government-backed Arab nomads. But Mr Kiber said it reflected more complex divisions in Darfuri society. "My own village has been destroyed,'' he told The Sunday Telegraph. "It was burned by rebels. My brothers and relatives have been killed.'' Despite that personal tragedy and the divisions the conflict had caused within his own family, he said he believed the Sudanese government was right to continue its campaign against those who had refused to sign up to the Darfur Peace Agreement. "It is a war,'' he said. "So if that [Sudanese air raids] has happened it is because the government has a duty to defend its people.'' Mr Kiber said that only when both sides were prepared to negotiate would there be an end to the killing. Even then, the legacy of the conflict would long outlive the fighting: "There is a local social problem because if families are split there will be personal enmities.'' The solution, he said, lay reverting to traditional tribal systems for resolving disputes. "It is difficult for the international community or the government to solve - people themselves must do it.'' He opposed any intervention by the UN and called for the African Union to be given more resources to build up its own Darfur mission - a view that has been echoed by the Sudanese government in recent days. Britain, like the United States, is convinced that a UN force is needed. But the Sudanese presidential adviser, Ghazi Atabani, rejected the prospect. "UN troops would be targeted and become an instrument of instability.'' The Sudanese government has been wrong-footed by pressure to back down. Nigeria's president, Olusegun Obasanjo, is pressing President Omar al-Bashir to compromise. But Khartoum has been taken aback by the criticism from such an unexpected source, and claims that those involved have been bought off by the West. "African countries can change their views and positions very quickly, depending on the incentives they get,'' Mr Atabani said.
|
|
Related links
|
|
