PORT SUDAN

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19 Sep

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The demobilised forces of the Sudanese Beja Congress and Eastern Front decided to withdraw their confidence from three of the Front’s leaders, including the Assistant of the President Musa Mohamed Ahmed, Amna Dirar, and Mabrouk Mubarak Salim, for their negligence to the demobilised combatants.

The Eastern Front, including the Beja Congress, signed the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement (ESPA) with the Sudanese government in October 2006. The ESPA stipulates the integration of former Beja Congress fighters into civil and military services, which has not been implemented so far.

Omar Hashem, the chairman of the Committee of Beja Congress Ex-Combatants in the Red Sea Stateandnbsp;and the Eastern Front, accused the three leaders of carrying out the agenda of the ruling National Congress Party, “in order to serve their own issues and personal interests”. Hashem explained that the committee sat with Musa Mohamed Ahmed during his visit to Port Sudan last week. “But the presidential assistant does not have the ability to handle the issues of the Beja Congress and the people of eastern Sudan through official central of state channels. The meeting concluded that Musa Ahmed is unable to confront the President, or the eastern Sudan Governors, on these issues.” He stressed the diseases and hunger “that caused the deaths of a lot of people”.

Hashem added that they will organise a mass mobilisation campaign to withdraw confidence from Musa Ahmed, Amna Dirar, and Mabrouk Mubarak Salim. He accused the Red Sea state of exercising control over resources, without performing its duty towards the demobilised forces, while the Commission of Reintegration and Demobilisation’s funds go to the state treasury and staff salaries. Hashem finally asked the donors who deal with this Commission to reconsider the funds, and to deal directly with the ex-combatants.

On 31 August,andnbsp;two demobilised Beja Congress combatants attempted to commit suicide inside the Red Sea State’s government premises in Port Sudan, in protest against the state government’s negligence of their living conditions.

File photo: Musa Mohamed Ahmed, former Beja Congress leader, now Assistant to

Arabic Forum