Suliman Arcua Minnawi ( ar, سليمان أركو مناوي), known as "Minni Minnawi" (; born December 12, 1968 in Furawiyya,
North Darfur
North Darfur State ( ar, ولاية شمال دارفور Wilāyat Šamāl Dārfūr; ''Shamal Darfor'') is one of the wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states composing the Darfur region. It has an area of 296,420 km2 and a ...
), is a
Sudanese politician who was the leader of the largest faction of the
Sudanese Liberation Army
The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army ( ar, حركة تحرير السودان ''Ḥarakat Taḥrīr Al-Sūdān''; abbreviated SLM, SLA, or SLM/A) is a Sudanese rebel group active in Darfur, Sudan. It was founded as the Darfur Liberation FrontFlint ...
. A former educator, Minnawi was the Secretary of Sudan Liberation Army leader, Abdul Wahid Nur, before the organisation split in 2004.
Minnawi signed a treaty, known as the
Darfur Peace Agreement, with the
Khartoum
Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
government in May 2006. Nevertheless, in July 2006, fighting broke out around the North
Darfur town of Korma, resulting in the deaths of at least 80 people.
In the same year, Minnawi was appointed the top Sudanese official in the Darfur region, as chairman of the
Transitional Darfur Regional Authority, and was technically the fourth ranking member of the Presidency, as
Senior Assistant to the
President of the Republic.
On September 14, 2006, in defiance of Khartoum's opposition, Minnawi supported the
new UN peacekeeping force detailed in
UNSC Resolution 1706, which was designed to protect the Sudanese people. Minnawi opposed the Sudan government's genocidal agenda, which was exercised by Bashir against the Zaghawa, and other Black African citizens, for which crimes Bashir was later indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In December 2010, after repeated complaints of non-compliance by the
National Congress Party with the peace accords, the Sudan Liberation Movement withdrew from the
Darfur Peace Agreement. Minnawi resigned as Senior Assistant to the President of Sudan and as Chairperson of the Transitional Darfur Regional Authority, to merge his faction, SLM/MM, with the other resistance defense forces in Darfur, including SLM/AW, Abdul Wahid, in resisting attacks by the Sudanese Armed Forces, and its militia, on citizens in rebel-held areas. In 2011, SLM/MM joined the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) opposed to the Khartoum Government.
In May 2021, Minni Minnawi was appointed governor of the
Darfur Regional Government
The Darfur Regional Government is an administrative body for the Darfur region of the Republic of Sudan.
A Transitional Darfur Regional Authority was established in April 2007 under the terms of the 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement signed in May 2 ...
. He was inaugurated on 10 August.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minnawi, Minni
1968 births
Living people
People from North Darfur
Zaghawa people
People of the War in Darfur
Sudanese rebels