A Sudanese anti-terrorist court has convicted and sentenced to death two senior members of a Darfur rebel group and six others for their role in an attack on the capital three months ago, court officials and a lawyer said on Sunday.
Defence lawyer Kamal al-Jazouli said the eight convicted include Abdel Aziz Ushar, a senior commander in the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), and a half-brother of the group’s leader, Khalil Ibrahim.
Ushar was arrested days after the daring May 10 attack by the JEM on the outskirts of Khartoum, where more than 200 people were killed.
It was the closest Darfur rebels have ever come to the capital, hundreds of kilometres from their base in the far west of the country. The attack shocked the government, challenged for the first time by a Darfur rebel group at the center of its power.
The conflict in Darfur erupted in 2003 when ethnic Africans in western Sudan took up arms against the central government in Khartoum, accusing it of marginalisation and monopolising resources.
As many as 300 000 people have been killed and 2,5-million displaced since the violence began. Until the attack on the capital, the conflict was mostly confined to Darfur.
Al-Jazouli said he has a week to appeal the verdict. He said he has also challenged the constitutionality of the anti-terrorist courts. The special courts were set up in June, following the attack, and have since sentenced 38 people to death.
The dozen charges against the defendants included waging war against the state and the illicit use of weapons. Another 20 await a verdict on Wednesday in the same case.
Hundreds of Darfurians were arrested after the attack, and it remains unclear how many remain behind bars.
The JEM had emerged as the most effective rebel group in challenging the government, but the movement has suffered several setbacks since the daring attack. A number of its leaders, including Ushar, were arrested or slain.
Government troops have also moved into the northern Darfur region following the attack and in the past week overran a base for the JEM and other rebel factions.
Two rebel factions confirmed that government troops have taken over a number of rebel-held areas in the far north along the border with Libya.
The government had no immediate comment on the claims.
Suleiman Sandal, a senior JEM commander in Darfur, confirmed that Atrun and other areas in the far north are now occupied by government troops, but vowed to reclaim them. He also vowed revenge if the death sentences against Ushar and others were carried out.
”We swore if they go ahead with the execution, we will exact vengeance from anyone who performs it,” Sandal said in a satellite phone interview. — Sapa-AP