VZCZCXRO2549
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1057 1841524
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 031524Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7798
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 001057 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/SPG, S/CRS 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
NSC FOR PITTMAN AND SHORTLEY 
 
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPKO AU CD SU
 
SUBJECT: JEM REPOSITIONS ITS FORCES, BUT IS READY FOR PEACE 
 
Reftel: Khartoum 01053 
 
¶1. (SBU) According to African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) and 
Sudanese Government sources, Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) 
forces are moving southward from Um Kedada to reclaim land held by 
the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM)/Minawi.  Cease-fire Commission 
JEM representative General Mohamed Bashir confirmed the movement of 
his forces on July 6, stressing to S/CRS Poloff that the land was 
not the SLM's.  He said that JEM would not provoke a fight with the 
SLM or the Government but "expects anything." 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Bashir did not specify the size of his forces but did note 
that Government troops had been sent toward JEM territory from 
al-Tuweisha (reftel) and El Fasher.  He said JEM knew of thirty-four 
heavily-armed vehicles that had headed south from El Fasher in the 
last two days.  (Note: Government forces from El Fasher may have 
also been sent to deal with former National Redemption Front (NRF) 
forces led by Ali Karbino, which according to AMIS reporting has 
wrested control of Dar el-Salaam from SLA-Minawi.  End note.) 
 
¶3. (SBU) Bashir said that while JEM coordinated its movements with 
other non-signatories--he considered them "all SLA"--only JEM had a 
unified negotiating agenda.  He expressed hope that the 
non-signatories would rally under SLM/Abdulwahid, but stressed that 
he meant the group rather than Abdulwahid al-Nur himself.  He said 
that Abdulwahid had changed after Abuja and no longer represented 
the people. 
 
¶4. (U) JEM was aware of the UN/AU roadmap, according to Bashir, but 
stressed that there was still "nothing on the ground" to show for 
it.  He said that the lack of a peace dividend had caused many 
rebels to defect from their movements.  Bashir said that he had 
heard there would be a UN-sponsored meeting in August but said that 
the rainy season would make it difficult for some to attend it.  He 
wondered whether the international community intended to delay the 
peace process. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Bashir attested that the Sudanese Government was acting in 
bad faith with regard to the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) and would 
likely do so in future peace negotiations.  It was clear to him that 
the Government had done little under the DPA rubric to provide 
incentives for peace.  However, in anticipation of a peace 
conference, he stressed the importance of the international 
community demonstrating that there is "hope on the horizon."  "It is 
very difficult for our fighters to stay somewhere between peace and 
war," said Bashir. 
 
FERNANDEZ