Darfuri al-Haj Adam Youssef named Sudan vice-president
14 September 2011
Last updated at 08:01 ET
Bashir pictured in August 2011″ />President Omar al-Bashir‘s government says the extent of the conflict in Darfur has been exaggerated
Sudan’s president has named a politician from Darfur, Adam Youssef, as his vice-president, the state-run Suna news agency says.
One of Sudan’s two vice-presidency roles became vacant in July when Salva Kiir gave up the position to lead newly independent South Sudan.
Mr Youssef comes from one of Darfur’s Arab ethnic groups and recently joined President Omar al-Bashir‘s party.
Mr Bashir denies accusations of war crimes in the western Darfur region.
The UN says some 300,000 people have died during Darfur’s eight-year conflict between black African rebel groups and Arab militias in Darfur.
The government says this figure has been exaggerated and the true figure of deaths from the conflict is 12,000.
‘No different’
Some rebel groups in Darfur have rejected the appointment of Mr Youssef as symbolic.
“He is part of the Arabisation of Darfur. He won’t make a difference,” el-Tahir el-Faki, a senior official in the Justice and Equality Movement
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14912701
Category: South Sudan News
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