Former rebel leader appointed governor of restive Darfur region

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) – A former rebel leader, Mini Arki Minawi, has been named governor of Darfur region, as part of the peace deal signed in south Sudan a year ago.

Darfur, a region the size of France, is composed of five states and has been the scene of unrest since 2003.

One of the first persons to lead a rebellion there was Mini Arko Minawi, who hailed from the same region. He led the Sudan Liberation Army/ Front (SLA/F). After the ouster of the autocratic government of Omar Bashir (1989-2019), a new peace deal was reached.

The current interim government, led by former African Union expert, Dr Abdulla Hamdouk, concluded a broad-based peace deal that incorporated all dozen major rebel movements including Minawi’s SLA/F.

The deal outlines power sharing during the interim period that ends in two years and sets the road for an elected government.

The official Sudan news agency, SUNA, said Prime Minister Hamdouk on Sunday issued a statement naming Minawi Governor of Darfur Region.

It said the decision was based on the provisions of the Constitutional Document of the transitional period and Juba agreement on peace in Sudan, signed between the government of the Sudan and the rebel movements, now known as “armed struggle movements”.

The appointment also puts an end to wide discontent that the government was dragging its feet on implementation of the peace agreement. 

The region of Darfur has, however, remained volatile with constant community clashes between nomads and farmers, thus placing a huge challenge before the new governor who will run the region and work to unite the different ethnic and tribal groups which the federal government failed to do so far.

-0- PANA MO/VAO 2May2021