Country Hands Over Two Rebels to Chad – Timan Erdimi

24 May 2011

Khartoum — Sudanese government handed two leading members of the Chadian armed opposition to Ndjamena two days before a tripartite summit in Khartoum gathering President Idriss Deby and Central African President François Bozizé with President Omer Al-Bashir.

After supporting oppositions groups for more than five years, Chad and Sudan restored bilateral relations in January 2010 and formed a joint force to patrol the border. In February of the same year, President Deby, made a landmark visit to Khartoum for the inauguration of Bashir’s new presidential term.

Before a visit to participate in a regional summit in Chad, Bashir expelled three senior Chadian rebel leaders including Timan Erdimi, Mahamat Nouri and Adouma Hassaballa. Deby had already in May 2010 barred the return of the rebel leader Khalil Ibrahim to Ndjamena.

in October 2010 Sudanese security service organized several flights to transport Chadian rebels who accept to return voluntarily to Ndjamena. Also those who preferred to stay in Sudan had to register at the security services providing their addresses and phone numbers.

“The Sudanese government is currently conducting a raid to arrest political and military leaders of the Union of Resistance Forces (UFR) who are in Sudan” before a visit of President Deby to Khartoum, said the leader of the rebel coalition Timan Erdimi.

Timan told Sudan Tribune that Sudanese security services since 21 May arrested several members of the rebel movement including two UFR leading members, Adoum Erdimi, who resides in Khartoum and the deputy chief of Staff, Colonel Daoud Ali Bouyeneou, who is based in El-Fasher, capital of North Darfur state.

He further accused Khartoum of handing over the arrested rebels to Ndjamena where they are subjected to torture and cruel treatment.

“Information at our disposal suggests that they were transferred to N’Djamena, and they suffered inhuman and despicable body treatments.”

The rebel leader who is based in a Gulf country since his forced departure called upon human rights groups to campaign for their release saying that their life is at risk.

He expressed fears that Khartoum might continue to hand over the remaining Chadian rebels to Ndjamena adding that Sudanese authorities obstruct their efforts to obtain the status of refugees from the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Sudan.

The tripartite summit held on Monday 23 agreed to establish a consultative mechanism of the three countries to deal with security issues, enhance the peaceful co-existence among joint tribes and encourage voluntary return of refugees.

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