Khalil Ibrahim, powerful Darfur rebel leader, reported killed in Sudan
https://dervishcom.blogspot.com/2011/12/khalil-ibrahim-powerful-darfur-rebel.html
NAIROBI – Sudanese armed forces said Sunday that they had killed an influential rebel leader in Darfur, Khalil Ibrahim, who once mounted a offensive that threatened Sudan’s capital.
If true, Ibrahim’s death would represent a major setback to the eight-year-old rebellion in Sudan’s western region, and to the Justice and Equality Movement, which Ibrahim founded several years ago and developed into the most organized rebel force in Darfur.
The group refused to sign an African Union peace pact last year in Doha that was designed to create a blueprint for a cease-fire and for sharing of wealth and power, as well as compensation for hundreds of thousands of displaced people in Darfur.
Other smaller rebel groups and the Khartoum government signed the deal. But without the backing of Ibrahim’s organization, it lacked credibility. Sporadic fighting has continued in Darfur, even with the presence of a United Nations and African Union peacekeeping operation.
On Sunday, Sudan's Information Minister told reporters that Ibrahim was among 30 people were killed in the clashes. According to a Sudanese army statement, Ibrahim and several associates were killed in Wad Banda, about 440 miles west of Khartoum in the North Kordofan state, which borders Darfur. While some officials said Ibrahim died from his wounds sometime after the clashes, the army statement implied that he was killed on the battlefield.
"The armed forces clashed in a direct confrontation with Khalil Ibrahim's rebel forces, and were able to eliminate Khalil Ibrahim, who died with a group of commanders," Al-Sawarmi Khalid, a military spokesman, told state television. Arab television networks reported that Ibrahim’s family confirmed his death.
According to the United Nations, at least 300,000 people have been killed and 2.7 million driven from their homes in Darfur since 2003. The conflict pitted an ethnic African rebel insurgency against the Arab-dominated central government in Khartoum and its proxy tribal militias, known as the janjaweed, who are widely considered responsible for much of the killing and displacement. The International Criminal Court in the Hague issued an arrest want for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for his alleged role in committing crimes against humanity in Darfur.
Ibrahim, believed to be in his 50s, had served in Bashir’s government before defecting. In 2008, hundreds of his fighters swept across Sudan’s western desert and attacked Khartoum’s outskirts, killing more than 200 people and sending shock waves across the capital.
Hunted by Sudanese forces, Ibrahim sought refuge in neighboring Libya under the protection of the late Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, who was ousted from power and killed earlier this year. Ibrahim is believed to have returned to Sudan after Gaddafi’s death.
Last month, JEM and other Darfur insurgent groups declared that they had formed an alliance with rebels in two other regions to topple Bashir’s government.
On Sunday, the Sudan Media Center, a quasi-governmental body, quoted Sudan's interior minister as saying that Ibrahim’s death was "a message to all rebels and those carrying arms” to come “to the negotiating table to resolve issues and reach a peaceful resolution for the best interest of the country.”
If true, Ibrahim’s death would represent a major setback to the eight-year-old rebellion in Sudan’s western region, and to the Justice and Equality Movement, which Ibrahim founded several years ago and developed into the most organized rebel force in Darfur.
The group refused to sign an African Union peace pact last year in Doha that was designed to create a blueprint for a cease-fire and for sharing of wealth and power, as well as compensation for hundreds of thousands of displaced people in Darfur.
Other smaller rebel groups and the Khartoum government signed the deal. But without the backing of Ibrahim’s organization, it lacked credibility. Sporadic fighting has continued in Darfur, even with the presence of a United Nations and African Union peacekeeping operation.
On Sunday, Sudan's Information Minister told reporters that Ibrahim was among 30 people were killed in the clashes. According to a Sudanese army statement, Ibrahim and several associates were killed in Wad Banda, about 440 miles west of Khartoum in the North Kordofan state, which borders Darfur. While some officials said Ibrahim died from his wounds sometime after the clashes, the army statement implied that he was killed on the battlefield.
"The armed forces clashed in a direct confrontation with Khalil Ibrahim's rebel forces, and were able to eliminate Khalil Ibrahim, who died with a group of commanders," Al-Sawarmi Khalid, a military spokesman, told state television. Arab television networks reported that Ibrahim’s family confirmed his death.
According to the United Nations, at least 300,000 people have been killed and 2.7 million driven from their homes in Darfur since 2003. The conflict pitted an ethnic African rebel insurgency against the Arab-dominated central government in Khartoum and its proxy tribal militias, known as the janjaweed, who are widely considered responsible for much of the killing and displacement. The International Criminal Court in the Hague issued an arrest want for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for his alleged role in committing crimes against humanity in Darfur.
Ibrahim, believed to be in his 50s, had served in Bashir’s government before defecting. In 2008, hundreds of his fighters swept across Sudan’s western desert and attacked Khartoum’s outskirts, killing more than 200 people and sending shock waves across the capital.
Hunted by Sudanese forces, Ibrahim sought refuge in neighboring Libya under the protection of the late Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, who was ousted from power and killed earlier this year. Ibrahim is believed to have returned to Sudan after Gaddafi’s death.
Last month, JEM and other Darfur insurgent groups declared that they had formed an alliance with rebels in two other regions to topple Bashir’s government.
On Sunday, the Sudan Media Center, a quasi-governmental body, quoted Sudan's interior minister as saying that Ibrahim’s death was "a message to all rebels and those carrying arms” to come “to the negotiating table to resolve issues and reach a peaceful resolution for the best interest of the country.”
