The Tunis Agreement

As the conflict between the liberation fronts in the country continued, the Arab League of Nations called on for a meeting to unite the fronts. To hinder the presence of EPLF in the meeting and isolate the front from the Arab Countries, the ELF leadership started to maneuver ploys against EPLF. Despite the hideous efforts of the ELF leadership, EPLF firmly asserted its stance on the issue of unity of the fronts and participated in the agreement.

In the meeting, the front headed by Osman Saleh Sabe, a splinter group from EPLF known as Maekelai Bayto and the front called Sewerawi Shemagle headed by Osaman Ajeb participated in the meeting held in the capital city of Tunisia, Tunis, on March 23, 1981. An agreement was reached among the fronts to stop the armed conflict, campaigns of blackmailing against each other, and to aim all weapons against one common enemy, to step up efforts made for unity of the fronts and a mutual committee was elected to follow up the implementation of the resolutions ratified in the Tunis Agreement. The dominance of the ELF leadership in the agreement resulted the failure of the agreement which further led to the continuation of the civil war among the fronts until the ELF was completely abolished from the field.

Dismantlement of the ELF

The main cause for the dismantlement of the ELF is the competition and conflict among the leadership, in addition to the lacking of a firm base and vision. The only thing that was keeping the front alive was that the individuals in the leadership were afraid that the dismantlement of the front will result the strengthening of EPLF. Later, the front was completely abolished from the field defeated in the war it instigated, and the few members who fled to Sudan were forced to surrender to the Sudanese government.  However, some members of the front started to reorganize against the leadership, particularly Abdella Idris who led to further splitting up of the front.

To be continued…