Military Periscope :: Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)

Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)

Group Name:

Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

Location/Area of Operation:

The Darfur region of western Sudan and border areas of eastern Chad

Stated Purpose:

The JEM opposes the central government of Sudan, based in Khartoum, as well as local Janjaweed militia, who are primarily nomadic Arabized Africans. The JEM demands an end to what it sees as the economic and political marginalization of the Darfur region.

Strength:

Unknown. The group likely has fewer resources after several years of conflict.

External Aid and Links:

The JEM has not received significant assistance from foreign sources, but it appears to have received some support from Chad, as captured rebels have been found with Chadian identification and arms.

The Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/SPLM) -- based in southern Sudan -- contributed to the western insurgency in its early stages, providing training, arms and logistics support to the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), co-located with JEM in Darfur. This support was reportedly withdrawn after the success of the 2005 Naivasha peace process.

Activities:

The JEM has battled Sudanese-backed forces and attacked government-controlled sites, stealing cattle and livestock in the process.

Overview:

In 1989, Omar al-Bashir overthrew the government of Sadiq al-Mahdi, with the backing of the National Islamic Front’s Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi. Gen. Bashir became president, prime minister and head of the armed forces. His military junta banned non-religious groups, such as trade unions and political parties, and purged 78,000 government and security forces members. A new penal code in 1991 implemented sharia law, though southern states were supposedly exempt from its implementation.

In 1999, Turabi introduced a bill into the national assembly that would have reduced the powers of the presidency. Bashir responded quickly, dissolving the assembly and declaring a state of emergency. He purged Turabi's supporters from the government as well. The African Muslims from Darfur who were forced out during this confrontation later founded JEM.

JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim Mohamed further exacerbated tensions between regions when he published "The Black Book: Imbalance of Power and Wealth in the Sudan," which accused Arabs of having a disproportionate representation at the top levels of the government’s administration.

The Darfur region includes three major ethnic groups -- Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa. The JEM is largely comprised of two sub-groups of the Zaghawa -- the Bideyat and Kobe. Members of the third sub-group, Wagi, more commonly belong to the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA), another rebel group in Darfur.

In February of 2003, the SLA and JEM launched an insurgency against the government of Sudan, accusing it of marginalizing the African farmers in the region in favor of nomadic Arabs.

Tension over land is not new to the area,. The nomadic Arabized groups have vied with the sedentary Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa over land use for years. Fur, Masalit and other African farmers (also referred to as Zurga) frequently contested with Beni Hussein nomads from Kabkabiya (North Darfur) and Beni Halba (South Darfur) for control of territory.

The government in Sudan mobilized militias, but it has denied direct links to the Janjaweed, who have been accused of ethnic cleansing against the local tribes. Refugees from Darfur, however, claim that after air raids by government aircraft, the Janjaweed would ride into villages on horses and camels, slaughtering, raping and stealing whatever they found. Then-U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said that he concluded that genocide had been committed in Darfur and that the government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bore responsibility for that. Genocide may still be occurring, Powell told the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in September of 2004.

In June 2006, three rebel groups -- including the JEM and a faction of the SLA -- joined forces to form the National Redemption Front. The front opposed a May 2006 peace agreement between Khartoum and the other major SLA faction. That alliance later dissolved and the JEM split into factions, largely along ethnic lines. Those breakaway groups National Movement for Reform and Development, JEM Peace Wing, Field Revolutionary Command and Popular Forces Troops.

Despite the limited peace treaty in 2006, violence in Darfur escalated. Bashir repeatedly delayed the deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force, which was authorized by U.N. Security Council Resolution 1706. This allowed conditions in Darfur as well as eastern Chad and northern Central African Republic to decline significantly, according to U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland. Many aid groups withdrew from the region, leaving humanitarian assistance at its lowest level since 2003, according to Egeland.

The African Union and new hybrid A.U.-U.N. peacekeeping forces deployed to Darfur have been largely ineffective, failing to provide security for refugees and villagers. The peacekeepers have generally been seen as unwilling or unable to use force against militias, bandits and other criminal elements.

Group Chronology:

1955

The first protracted rebellion in Sudan was launched by the Anya-Nya Movement. This group achieved limited autonomy for the south in 1972.

1983

March: Gen. Numayri imposed Islamic law, sparking another rebellion in the south. Southern-based troops in Bor, Janglei Province, formed the Southern People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), the armed unit headed by John Garang le Maboir.

1986

Sadiq al-Mahdi began proliferating small arms -- contributing to instability in the western part of the country -- under a policy that armed Muraheleen militia in Darfur and Kordofan regions. The Muraheleen later became the Janjaweed.

2003

February: JEM and SLA rebels launched their fight against the Khartoum government.

April: The rebellion gained intensity when rebels attacked El-Fashir, the North Darfur capital, destroying Sudanese military aircraft and helicopters, looting fuel and munitions facilities and capturing a Sudanese air force officer. The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) emerged shortly thereafter as an independent militant group.

Nov. 14: JEM reported it had defeated Sudanese government forces in Western Darfur, in a battle that began on Nov. 11. JEM fighters claimed credit for downing a government helicopter and capturing numerous military supplies.

2004

April 5: The JEM announced it was withdrawing from peace negotiations because Chadian authorities refused to grant entry visas for its delegation.

April 9: The Sudanese government agreed with the JEM and SLA on a 45-day cease-fire to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered to several hundred thousand people affected by the fighting. The deal included an agreement to release prisoners of war and other detainees arrested as a result of the 14-month-old conflict. The parties also promised to stop laying mines and committing acts of sabotage.

May 25: The U.N. Security Council condemned attacks on civilians in Darfur and called for Khartoum to prevent the Janjaweed from attacking the black African population.

July 23: Both houses of the U.S. Congress, in concurrent resolutions, declared the mass killing of civilians in Darfur to be genocide. Such resolutions do not have the force of law.

2005
July: The government of Sudan, the Sudan Liberation Movement and JEM signed a 17-point framework agreement to provide for shared wealth and power in a political settlement for Darfur.

Sept. 20: Nomadic tribesman attacked a rebel stronghold in Jebel Marra, Darfur, resulting in the deaths of 30 tribesmen and a dozen rebels.

Nov. 18: The African Union accused Sudan of launching a new ground and air offensive in Darfur.

2007
February: The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) asked pre-trial judges to issue summonses for Ahmed Haroun, a former state interior minister, and suspected Janjaweed militia commander Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-al-Rahman, aka Ali Kushayb.

March: Darfur rebel groups in eastern Chad suggested that the move by the ICC in the Hague to bring war-crimes charges against Janjaweed leaders could split the Arab militia leaders from the government and help foster a pan-Darfurian opposition army. The rebels were concerned that there could be more defections out of fear that the Sudanese government may betray Janjaweed commanders to the ICC.

July 1: The chairman of JEM, Khalil Ibrahim Mohamed, relieved the movement’s commanding officer, Abdalla Banda Abbaker, saying the job required someone who could handle the group's expanded military capabilities.

July 8: The African Union envoy to Sudan, Salim Ahmed Salim, met JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim Mohamed near the border with Chad in order to rejuvenate the Darfur peace process.

2007
July 31: The U.N. authorized a force of 26,000 peacekeepers in an attempt to end more than four years of violence in Darfur. The mission would be the largest in the organization’s history. The U.N. was due to take command from a force of about 7,000 African Union peacekeepers on Dec. 31.

Aug. 1: Members of the JEM and other rebels captured the town of Adila, where Sudanese troops were posted to protect the only railway link from Darfur to Khartoum.

Oct. 23: JEM and several other Darfur rebel groups announced a boycott of peace talks set for the end of October in Libya. JEM said the African Union-U.N. team had no clear proposal and that JEM would not join an effort that included multiple forces that enjoyed only limited support.

Dec. 2007: JEM attacked and seized control of Sirba, Seleia and Abu Suruj in West Darfur.

2008
February: The government of Sudan launched a major military campaign with air and Janjaweed support aimed at reasserting control over the towns JEM seized in late 2007 and early 2008.

Feb. 8: A government attack on JEM-controlled Abu Suruj, Sirba and Seleia caused numerous deaths and displaced thousands of civilians.

Feb. 18: The government and Janjaweed militia attacked JEM and SLA positions in Aro Sharow, Kandare and Kurlungo. Fighting continued through the end of February. As a result of the violence, 70 civilians were killed, 13,000 sought refuge in Chad and 20,000 were reportedly trapped in Jebel Moon.

May 10: In a major escalation, JEM sent a stream of more than 150 armed pick-up trucks towards Khartoum with the intent of showing it had the power to threaten the heretofore safe city. Most of the fighting took place in the city of Omdurman, in the capital area west of the Nile river.

The government reported that more than 400 rebels and 100 security personnel were killed. JEM claimed to have damaged the Wadi Saidna Air Force base, 10 miles north of Khartoum. Government troops were able to head off many of JEM’s forces in Kordofan, 75 miles west of the capital. Several of JEM’s top officials were killed but JEM’s leader, Khalil Ibrahim, reportedly escaped. As a result of the attack, the government embarked on a sweep of the capital and rounded up many JEM operatives or sympathizers.

July 29: Eight members of JEM who were captured following the May 2008 attack on Khartoum were sentenced to death by a special Sudanese counter-terrorism court.

Aug. 18: The U.N.’s special representative for Sudan told the U.N. Security Council that the prospects for implementing the 2005 comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) were fragile despite progress in several areas. The report noted that the security situation remained “precarious” as a result of continued fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in the disputed town of Abyei and the JEM attack on Omdurman.

Nov. 12: President al-Bashir, under scrutiny by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, announced a cease-fire in Darfur. JEM rejected the announcement as a publicity stunt.

Nov. 18: After stating in early November that it would boycott peace talks, JEM signaled that it would send representatives to a peace conference in Doha, Qatar. The government of Sudan also announced a new cease-fire as part of the Doha peace negotiations.

Last Updated:

December 2008