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February 06, 2008 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan’s top military official broke down in tears at the opening of a conference by the ‘martyr’s organization’.
- Abdelrahim M. Hussein
Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein recounted the sacrifices of martyrs since the 1989 coup that brought President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir to power.
“They [martyrs] have perished while fighting for a cause and defending values” Hussein told the attendees at the conference.
Hussein was addressing the top leaders in the departments making up the ‘martyr’s organization’. The latter was formed in 1992 at the height of the civil war between the north and south.
The organization was established to serve the families of fallen soldiers as well as veterans.
“How would our situation be if one the martyrs’ families complained to the God almighty against us because we have not fulfilled our obligation towards their wives and children?” Hussein said before sobbing.
The Al-Intibaha paper daily in Sudan said that the defence minister had to cut short his speech because of the “emotional breakdown”.
Some Sudanese speaking to Sudan Tribune mocked Hussein by saying that his weeping was related to the defeat of Chadian rebels in their attempt to seize power last weekend. Chad along with France and US accused Sudan of supporting the Chadian rebels.
Some unsubstantiated reports said that Hussein along with Salah Gosh, the head of Sudan’s National Security and Intelligence Service have orchestrated the rebels offensive against Chadian president Idriss Deby.
Some 1,000-1,500 insurgents equipped with pickup trucks mounted with machine guns arrived on the city’s outskirts Friday after a three-day push across the desert from Chad’s eastern border with Sudan. They entered the city early Saturday, reportedly trapping President Idriss Deby in his palace.
However the rebels appeared to have been pushed back by resisting government forces on Sunday.
(ST)
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