bounty money for darfur rebel

May 14, 2008

        The Government of Sudan has pledged a 246 million dollar bounty for whom ever helps in arresting the leader of the Justice and Equality Movement, Ibrahim Khalil. The JEM leader is said to be on the run and has vowed to fight the Sudanese government across the country.

         Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy finds this pledge ridiculous. The money the government will provide for capture of Khalil could provide aid and development for Darfur. This is wasteful of Khartoum and we call on the international community to probe Sudan on this issue. This chaos is a result of the inaction by the UN, the US, and the rest of the international community. Although they have been active in talk, their reluctance to take action is allowing the Sudanese government to prolong the genocide in Darfur. We believe the situation in Darfur has worsened as a result of the failed implementation of the UN Resolution 1769 that was passed in July 2007 and the U.S. initiation to normalize ties with Khartoum. We urge the US, the UN, and the rest of the international community to fully deploy the 26,000 troops, to provide helicopters, and financial support for the UNAMID mission in Darfur.