DARFUR REBELS IN EGYPT ROUND-UP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 001647 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, AF/SPG E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/29/2018 TAGS: PREL PINR PHUM EG SU SUBJECT: DARFUR REBELS IN EGYPT ROUND-UP REF: A. CAIRO 977 ¶B. CAIRO 607 ¶C. CAIRO 151 ¶D. 2007 CAIRO 3419 ¶E. 2007 CAIRO 2711 Classified by Minister Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs William R. Stewart for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Since the GOE expelled prominent representatives of the relatively active and well-organized Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) after the JEM attack on Khartoum in May 2008, the Darfur rebels remaining in Cairo seem a less active bunch. The most prominent remaining group seems to be the Sudanese Liberation Movement/Army - Abdulwahid Nour wing. We have also met other SLM/A splinter groups and a group claiming to represent "Arab tribes" from Darfur, and continue to seek further contacts. We provide the following summary of and bio notes on the Darfur rebel representatives with whom we are in contact in Egypt. End summary. Sudanese Liberation Movement/Army - Abdulwahid Nour Wing -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) The SLM/A-Nour seems to have the largest representation in Cairo of the remaining Darfur rebel groups. Idris Mohamed Arbab was the head of the Cairo office until he left to open the SLM/A-Nour office in Israel in early 2008; his replacement Abdallah Ibrahim Mohamed Ahmed has yet to arrive. The current leadership is represented by Alaa Eldin Ibrahim, Political Secretary, and Abdullah Ali, Media Secretary, both in their late 20's or early 30's; we have also met twelve others presented as SLM/A-Nour. Ibrahim is married with children who reside in Egypt, and works in a tourism company (NFI) arranging tour programs. Ali is not married and seems to have no other employment. They appear to be in steady contact with SLM/A-Nour leaders in Sudan and abroad, taking instructions and relaying messages. ¶3. (C) Ibrahim and Ali say that SLM/A-Nour operations in Egypt revolve around maintaining contact with other rebel factions and organizing activities outside of Sudan. In addition, they claim to provide assistance for the large and often poor Sudanese community in Cairo. Their office is in the impoverished Imbaba neighborhood of Cairo, where many poor Sudanese live. ¶4. (C) Ibrahim said that the operating environment for the SLM/A-Nour in Egypt has not changed since the JEM attack on Khartoum. However, Hafez Hamouda, Strategic Advisor to Nour who was temporarily in Cairo at the time, was deported. Youssef Hassan Youssef Abdullah of the SLM/A-UF (see below) claimed Hamouda was deported because of his public statements criticizing the GOE's support for the GOS, but Hamouda's wife Maha, who lives in Cairo, opined that the deportation was also in response to the SLM/A-Nour opening an office in Israel (ref A). Additionally, Ibrahim and Ali say that Egyptian State Security summoned them three times between early May and late July to meet with Police Officer "Salah" (NFI),who warned the SLM/A-Nour not to issue any public statements from Cairo without his approval. Conversely, they have no contact with the Egyptian MFA to discuss political issues but would welcome such a dialog. Sudanese Liberation Movement/Army - Union Front -------------- -- ¶5. (C) SLM/A-UF is the one-man show of Youssef Hassan Youssef Abdullah, though we have also met an Ahmed Hassan Mohamed whose function was unclear. Two others, Mohamed Abdullah Abdul Khaleq, formerly Coordinator of the SLM/A-UF High Command Council, and Zobeir Abdul Haqq Mohamed, formerly SLM/A-UF Political Affairs Officer, reportedly left the SLM/A-UF to align with Abdullah Yehia's SLM/Unity group in fall 2007 (ref D). Youssef himself was originally part of SLM/A-Nour, but formed this splinter group in 2006 in order to "unify all the SLM/A groups." Youssef is in his mid-40's, is married with children, is from the Fur tribe, and seems to have no other employment besides his political activities. Youssef face twitches when he listens, a habit we first noticed after he claimed to have been held by Libyan authorities for several weeks after the fall 2007 Sirte conference (ref D). ¶6. (C) Youssef says that SLM/A-UF works in Egypt to take advantage of a functioning international telecommunications network. He goes back and forth to Darfur occasionally, he says, always through Asmara, since he has "decent" relations with the Eritreans but poor relations with Chad and Libya. Youssef claims to command the allegiance of the Fur in West CAIRO 00001647 002 OF 002 Jebel El Marra in Darfur, and coordinates with rebels in East Jebel El Marra, though some of those are loyal to Abdulwahid Nour. Youssef gave the names and telephone numbers for "commanders in the field" as Abdalla Adam in Cono Mountain (24991541501) and Ismail Ogor in Dege Village (249121172933) (ref C). ¶7. (C) Although the Egyptian government "stepped back" from the SLM/A-UF since the JEM attack on Khartoum, Youssef says that an Egyptian intelligence officer (NFI) since contacted him to hint that the SLM/A-UF should publicly condemn the attack. Youssef refused, he said, because such a statement would hurt the rebel cause. Youssef plans to travel to Darfur "soon" and is focusing on "building capacity" for SLM/A-UF leaders so they can take leadership positions in Darfur after any peace is achieved. He is also planning to visit the U.S. at the invitation of Faisal Adam Daoud, a family member and supporter in Denver, Colorado, reportedly to increase funding and support for his group. Democratic Popular Front -------------- ¶8. (C) The DPF claims to represent the interests of "Arab tribes" in Darfur (NFI),is (or at least was) part of the umbrella United Revolutionary Forces Front (URFF) and is possibly ex-Janjaweed. The leadership consists of Siddique Ander, President, and Osama Mohamed El Hassan, Secretary General, both in their early 30's; we know of only one other DPF member, a Mr. Elahi Ahmed (NFI). Ander is married and seems to have other (unspecified) employment besides his DPF work. El Hassan in not married but has relatives in Egypt; the well-known Sudanese singer Zeituna who lives in Egypt is his aunt. The DPF leadership does not seem to take instructions from others either in Sudan or abroad, and are reluctant to answer questions about their background or support in Sudan. ¶9. (C) Ander and El Hassan say that the DPF works in Egypt to "serve all of Sudan," by assisting the Sudanese community in Egypt with their needs. They do not discuss DPF military activities in Sudan, though do not deny them; for instance, they "could not rule out" military resistance to the population census in Darfur in spring 2008 (ref B). According to an August 13, 2007 Reuters story that quoted El Hassan, the DPF Army kidnapped 12 Sudanese soldiers in Darfur in an attempt to force the Sudanese government to cease using militias to counter Darfur rebels (ref E). Ander and El Hassan have repeatedly asked for the USG to recognize the DPF as an "important player" in Darfur and to include them in relevant discussions, and claim that a Mr. Jalal Adeela (Egyptian phone numbers: 2-016-257-9785, 267939731) is the DPF representative in Philadelphia. ¶10. (C) El Hassan said that the operating environment for the DPF in Egypt has not changed since the JEM attack on Khartoum. The DPF continues to have no contact with either Egyptian security or political organs, he said, and wants to increase its political, media, and cultural activities from Cairo. SCOBEY