Khalil Ibrahim - Darfur Conflict

Darfur Conflict

On 5 March 2002, Dr. Ibrahim claimed credit for initiating a government revolt. This apparent claim of the landmark attack on Golo, actually carried out by the Sudan Liberation Army, was mocked by the SLA and the JEM was forced to back away from their announcement. Regardless, the JEM and the anti-government SLA formed a loose alliance in prosecuting the Darfur conflict.

In May 2006, the JEM rejected the Abuja peace process, which was accepted by the faction of the SLA led by Minni Minnawi, but rejected by the smaller SLA factions. On 30 June 2006, Ibrahim, Khamis Abdalla, the leader of an SLM faction, Dr Sharif Harir and Ahmed Ibrahim, co-leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (Sudan), founded the National Redemption Front rebel group in Asmara, Eritrea but which is based in Chad.

Ibrahim lived in exile in Libya from May 2010 to September 2011, when the Libyan civil war compelled him to flee across the Sahara and return to Darfur. The Sudanese government and diplomatic sources accused Ibrahim's group of rebels in Libya of fighting as mercenaries for Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi during the war, charges to which Ibrahim never responded.