By Dennis Otim

25^th April 2011: The head of Sudan’s delegation to Darfur peace talks Amin Hasan Umar has accused President Museveni’s government of working to undermine negotiations with rebel movements that are currently underway in the Arab Gulf state of Qatar.

Speaking to The Sudan Tribune newspaper on recently, Umar said that Kampala is hosting members of Darfur rebel groups particularly the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) to coordinate on next steps. He added that JEM is meeting in Uganda with other political powers to get support for its fighters on the ground.  Amin Hasan Umar further said that Uganda does not even hide its hostility towards his country.

JEM and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) are the two main groups negotiating with Khartoum though the former has suspended participation in protest against the presidential decree to hold a referendum on Darfur administrative status.

Diplomatic relations between Uganda and Sudan have been on the rocks for a while now over President Museveni support for South Sudan’s secession and his warning to President Omar Hassan al-Bashir not to visit because of its obligation to execute the arrest warrant against him issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Uganda has also in the recent past claimed that Sudan had refused to grant visas to its police officers serving as part of the peacekeeping mission in Darfur.  END.  Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.