Ailing Darfur rebel allowed to leave

The Sudanese government has agreed to allow ailing Darfur rebel leader Suleiman Jamous to travel abroad for treatment, the United Nations said.

Jamous is the Sudan Liberation Army’s humanitarian coordinator.

The United Nations had moved him to a U.N. hospital near Darfur more than a year ago without informing officials in Khartoum, the capital. Sudan has called him a criminal and has said it would arrest him if he left U.N. care.

But a U.N. spokeswoman said the Sudanese government told the world body that Jamous, who needs a stomach biopsy, was free to leave for treatment abroad and could return to Darfur on condition that he not fight.