CAIRO: A court in Khartoum handed death sentences to six members of the leading Darfur rebel group on Tuesday, including a top commander, of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). This, according to the group's attorney. The Sudan's government forces killed the group's leader last December, and this trial is seen as further gutting the JEM's operational capacity. “The judge ruled to execute six of the accused and sentenced the seventh to 10 years in prison because he is elderly, 73 years-old,” said Tohany Abdelrahim, JEM's attorney. The charges included terrorism, illegally carrying arms and murder, she said. Ibrahim al-Maz, a senior member of the rebel group, was among those sentenced to death. JEM spokesman, Gibreel Adam Bilal, called the decision an injustice. This was considered by most observers as a show-trial, with the verdict determined and ready before proceedings began. The conflict in Darfur has raged since mostly-African rebels took up arms there in 2003, accusing the central government of neglecting the region and favoring Arab tribes. In 2008, JEM launched a daring attack on Khartoum and Omdurman, having driven hundreds of miles across the scorching desert in armed vehicles. A dramatic gunfight took place in the streets, which is highly-unusual for Khartoum, with the rebel forces only being stopped at the gates of the presidential palace. International efforts to broker a peace deal have failed. The Sudan's government signed a Qatar-sponsored peace deal with an umbrella organization of smaller rebel groups last year, but major factions were disinterested. The Sudan's president, Omar Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide, regarding his response to the uprising led by JEM in Darfur. Darfur is a province in the west of the Sudan, on the borders of Chad and Libya. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/JebnD Tags: Darfur Rebels, Death Sentences, JEM, Khartoum, Omar Bashir, Sudan Section: International, Latest News, Sudan
