VZCZCXRO5289
RR RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHEG #3419 3401308
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061308Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7655
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS CAIRO 003419 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KPKO UNSC MASS PINR EG SU
SUBJECT: DARFUR: CAIRO-BASED SLM/A-UNION FRONT SPLINTERS 
AFTER SIRTE 
 
REF: CAIRO 2093 
 
¶1. (SBU) In a December 4 meeting at his request, Youssef 
Hassan Youssef Abdallah of the Sudan Liberation 
Movement/Army-Union Front (SLM/A-UF) told us that the 
leadership of the SLM/A-UF had divided due to the conference 
of Darfur rebels in Sirte, Libya, which began in late 
October.  Mohamed Abdullah Abdul Khaleq, Coordinator of the 
SLM/A-UF High Command Council, and Zobeir Abdul Haqq Mohamed, 
SLM/A-UF Political Affairs Officer - who joined Youssef in a 
meeting with us in July - had decided to align with Abdullah 
Yehia's SLM/Unity group, said Youssef, and thus has been 
"expelled" from the SLM/A-UF.  Ahmed Hassan Mohamed (nickname 
"Digdol") joined Youssef at this meeting in their place. 
 
¶2. (SBU) According to Youssef, the Libyans "held" him in 
Sirte for six weeks to "encourage" him to join his former 
colleagues and ally with SLM/Unity. Youssef did not do so, he 
said, because his Fur constituency does not trust the Zaghawa 
who make up the base of SLM/Unity's support.  He added that 
Yehia and SLM/Unity had previously proven untrustworthy by 
breaking away from Minni Minawi's SLM and adherence to the 
Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA). Youssef charged that Yehia is 
merely a figurehead on top of Osman Al Bushra, the "real 
power" of SLM/Unity and a "Libyan stooge."  Youssef claimed 
that the SLM/A-UF supports rebel unity in general but wants 
to ensure that the Fur are represented in proportion to their 
percentage of the population in Darfur, charging that the 
Zaghawa is over-represented by rebel commanders. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Youssef was planning to travel to the U.S. at the 
invitation of the SLM/A-UF Denver, Colorado office - headed 
by Faisal Adam Daoud, possibly an American citizen - and 
potentially in coordination with Save Darfur, and also 
planned to travel to Asmara.  He was also expecting an 
invitation from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) 
to a potential second round of the ongoing rebel unification 
talks in Juba, though such an invitation had not yet come. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Comment: Although Youssef presents his group as an 
important faction in Darfur, this split seems to have further 
marginalized a group that was already of secondary 
importance.  We can only assume that Youssef no longer 
commands the loyalty of all of the 1500 to 2000 "fighters" 
that he previously claimed (reftel).  End comment. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Bio note: Youssef was noticeably twitching during 
the meeting while listening to our comments and questions, 
behavior that he did not exhibit during the July meeting. 
End bio note. 
RICCIARDONE