Addis Ababa, 13 May 2013: The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has learnt, with great shock, about the ambush and killing, on 12 May 2013, at the border between Chad and Sudan, of the leader of the Justice and Equality Movement-Sudan (JEM-S), Commander Mohamed Bashar, his deputy, Suleiman Arko Dahiya, and many other members of the JEM-S, who were heading to Darfur on a peace mission. The Chairperson of the Commission wishes to recall that Mohamed Bashar and his Movement had embraced peace by signing an agreement with the Government of Sudan, on 6 April 2013, in Doha, Qatar.

The Chairperson of the Commission condemns, in the strongest possible terms, this cowardly act, aimed at dissuading the hold out groups in Darfur from joining the peace process. She urges the Government of Sudan, with the support of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice. In the meantime, she urges restraint on the part of the JEM-Bashar followers in order to allow the law to take its full course. She expresses the AU’s heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased.

The Chairperson of the Commission, once again, urges the hold-out movements from Darfur to emulate JEM-S and join the peace process in the interest of peace and stability in Darfur.

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