Month: December 2022

The commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Vice-President of the Sovereignty Council, Gen Mohamed ‘Hemeti’ Dagalo arrived in Nyala, capital of South Darfur yesterday, where he held a closed meeting with the South Darfur Security Committee, concerning about the attacks on a number of villages in Beleil, south-east of the state capital last week. Hemeti also witnessed the concussion of the eight-day conference of the RSF.

Hemeti is accompanied by El Hadi Idris, rebel leader and member of the Sovereignty Council, representatives of the military, intelligence, police, and the public prosecution.

On Wednesday evening, Hemeti met with a number of Darfur Administration leaders in Khartoum, and told them he would bring those involved in the recent violence to justice. He pledged not to take sides with any party. He further called on all “to ignore the claims of some who want to divide the people into ‘blacks’ and ‘Arabs’”.

On Wednesday and again on Friday last week, more than 10 villages in Beleil, populated by farmers of the Daju tribe, were attacked by large groups of ‘Arab’ gunmen. Some of them allegedly were wearing uniforms of the RSF and driving in RSF vehicles.

On Tuesday, Hemeti visited the South Sudan capital of Juba, accompanied by Gen Ahmed Mufaddal, Director of the General Intelligence Service (GIS), Maj Mohamed Ali Sabeer, Head of Military Intelligence, and Maj El Kheir Abdallah, Head of the RSF Intelligence Department, he met with Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of South Sudan, and a number of state officials.

RSF conference

The official Sudan News Agency (SUNA) reports that after the conclusion of the eight-day conference of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Nyala today, the commander of the Darfur sectors of the RSF and Chairman of the Conference, Maj Gen Abdullah Abkar said in press statements, that the conference, which included eight sectors in addition to the Peace Shield Forces, “aimed to upgrade performance to support the projects of peace, development, security and peace promotion,” as well as assistance in establishing security and voluntary return and securing the agricultural season.

He pointed out that during the conference, the performance of the agricultural season was evaluated and the negative aspects that accompanied it were studied in order to be avoided in the future.

Abkar added that ways of how to secure the western borders with the Central African Republic were also discussed, where important observations were raised in this respect. He said that periodic annual conferences would be held in all states of Darfur to evaluate performance of security situations, praising the good coordination, twinning, and participation in security restoration among the leaders of the RSF, the Armed Forces, the Police, and the General Intelligence Service.

Source: Radio Dabanga

On the executed copy of the framework agreement signed in Sudan on December 5, there were some blank signature lines assigned to political forces that were not present but efforts are underway to bring them on board.

A spokesman for the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), which represents a coalition of pro-democracy political and civil society groups, told Al-Jazeera TV that they are working at a minimum on getting most non-signatories to join.

This is believed to include the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party, Nasserite party, Sudan Liberation Movement and Army (SLA/SLM), the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) along with other trade unions and professional forces.

Would this lead to wider political consensus?

Jaafar Hassan, an FFC official, said that dialogue with JEM leader Gibril Ibrahim and SLM/SLA chairman Minni Minawi is continuing “because we are aware of the importance of their presence” as signatories to the Juba peace agreement.

However, he cautioned that Mohamed al-Amin Terik, a tribal leader in Eastern Sudan who has been leading a semi-revolt, will not be invited to sign the agreement because they are only interested in political forces though they can be consulted in drafting the final agreement as a voice of the societal forces.

On what basis were the signatories determined?

The FFC declared that the ongoing political process only includes those who worked to thwart the October 25th military coup which removed the civilian-led government dominated by the FFC.

This includes political parties, professionals & trade union bodies, civil society, armed movements and resistance committees. All these forces will participate in picking the prime minister and the chair of the Sovereignty Council.

Shihab al-Tayyib, another FFC official explained that they want to preserve the Juba peace agreement while also reforming it and as such these movements had to be included.

On the other hand, figures such as the Secretary-General of the pro-coup National Consensus Forces (NCF) Mubarak Ardol and the head of a faction of the Umma Party Mubarak al-Fadil were deemed to be proponents of partnership with the military and therefore they aren’t welcome, al-Tayyib said.

Ardol has tweeted accusing architects of the framework agreement of seeking to sideline and marginalize them and refusing their input in the process.

Al-Hilu warms up to the agreement

The Sudan People Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) faction led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu who has been stubbornly a holdout even after the ouster of Bashir, told Al-Jarida newspaper in Khartoum: “The settlement now underway in Khartoum is an opportunity to end the coup, return the military to the barracks, and open the way for building a new Sudan”.

Is there a chance to improve political consensus?

Political experts say that it is imperative that designers of the agreement work on expanding the list of signatories and at the same time those opposed to it should seek to bolster the chances of political consensus and achieve the goal of democratic transformation.

The “Solidarity for Democracy and Social Justice” movement said in a statement attributed to the head of the political bureau al-Mahboub Abdel-Salam that it supports the agreement despite its failure to absorb important vital forces in a path towards a multi-intellectually, culturally and integrated Sudanese political society.

It stressed that the success of the transition depends on accommodating the widest possible Sudanese spectrum.

The signatories groups say they are optimistic about the groups of the Juba peace agreement that refuse to join them. They believe that the dynamic generated by the agreement will drive them to jamb on board and join the second phase of the political process.

However, some FFC leaders believe that al-Burhan might seek to use the intransigence of the two holdout groups to get more concessions from them with regard to the security reforms.

Al-Burhan publicly called on Minnawi and Ibrahim to join the framework agreement saying their concerns about the peace agreement can be discussed within the framework of the process.

Several months ago Minnawi brushed aside the idea of forming a transitional civilian government saying this approach aims to exclude them from participating in the next government.

He said that, as an armed group, they have no civil society or technocrats they can propose to take part in the government that would be formed according to the draft transitional constitution.

Source: Sudan Tribune