Sudan signs historical agreement with armed movements to end 17-year civil war
In a step that culminated in success under the auspices of
the United Arab Emirates in bringing peace to Arab countries, the Sudanese
government on Monday, August 31, signed a historic agreement with armed
movements and alliances in the Darfur region, which included ending the merger
and demobilization processes of the armed movements as part of the procedures,
although the terms of the security arrangement were numerous. It was signed in
Juba in the presence of Sudanese Sovereignty Council Chairman Lieutenant
General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, and a
high-ranking delegation from Khartoum in order to end nearly 17 years of civil war
in Sudan.
Peace agreement
More than a year ago, the transitional government that was
in power in Sudan prioritized negotiating with the rebels to reach peace in the
regions that have been witnessing years of conflict that erupted during the
rule of former President Omar al-Bashir, who had been in power for three
decades until his ouster in April 2019 following mass protests that lasted for
months.
On Monday, August 31, the Sudanese government signed the
peace agreement with armed movements and alliances in the Darfur region under
the auspices of the UAE, in an important step on the road to achieving the goal
of the country's transitional leadership to solve the multiple and deep-rooted
civil conflicts.
The armed groups that signed the agreement include the
Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) led by
Minni Minnawi, both from the Darfur region, and the Sudan People's Liberation
Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Malik Agar in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
The peace agreement included autonomy for the Blue Nile and
South Kordofan regions, with the resources and income of the two regions
divided 60% for the federal authority and 40% for the local authority, in
addition to 25% of the cabinet seats and the same in the legislature and 3% for
the Sudanese Revolutionary Front. The transitional period in Sudan was also
extended for an additional 39 months starting from the date of signing the
agreement, while ending the merger and demobilization processes of the armed
movements was included as part of the many security arrangements.
The transitional period in Sudan began in the second half of
2019, a few months after Bashir’s regime was ousted in the wake of a popular
revolution in April of the same year. It was scheduled to last 39 months from
that date.
Hamdok had met South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit
and his deputy, Riek Machar, before heading to meet with Sudanese Sovereignty
Council Vice President Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and a number of senior officials.
Hamdok said that “the Sudanese government stressed its complete openness to the
agreement with the factions of Abdelaziz al-Hilu and Abdul Wahid al-Nur, who
will not sign the Juba peace agreement.”
Signatories
Four rebel movements formally signed the peace agreement
with the Sudanese government after ten months of negotiations. The four
movements had gathered under an alliance called the Sudanese Revolutionary
Front Alliance, which first saw light in 2011. They were fighting the
government in seven of the country’s 18 states, namely the five states of
Darfur and the states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
Sudan Liberation Movement
The Sudan Liberation Movement was established in 2002. In
February 2003, it issued its first political statement, in which it announced
that it was fighting the central government to end political and economic
marginalization and that its main goal was to liberate all of Sudan from the
grip of Bashir’s central authority. The movement was led in the beginning by
Nur, while Minnawi assumed the position of secretary-general of the movement, which
also included individuals belonging to African tribes in the Darfur region,
namely the Zaghawa, Fur and Masalit tribes.
In February 2003, the movement carried out its most famous
military operation when it attacked the largest city in the Darfur region,
Al-Fashir, the capital of North Darfur State. Meanwhile, the International
Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants against Bashir on charges of genocide,
ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
In 2006, after the start of peace negotiations between the
government and the movement, a split occurred in the Sudan Liberation Movement,
as Nur refused to negotiate, while Minnawi joined the process. In the same
year, he signed a peace agreement in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, and became a
deputy to Bashir. The movement then became two movements: the Sudan Liberation
Army led by Minnawi and the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Nur's wing.
Justice and Equality Movement
The JEM was founded in 2001 by Khalil Ibrahim, who was known
for his affiliation with the Islamist movement that supported Bashir in his
coup against the then-elected government in 1989. Ibrahim was a minister during
Bashir's rule and was also one of the leaders of the Popular Defense Forces
that consisted of volunteers and fought alongside the army during the war
between North and South Sudan before South Sudan gained independence. The JEM had
said that its motive was the political and economic marginalization of the
region.
In May 2008, the JEM attacked the Sudanese capital in an
incident that was the first in the history of Sudan, as no rebel movement had
previously traveled all the distance from Darfur to the capital, while the
movement’s forces had traveled about 3,000 kilometers without any clash between
them and the government forces. They entered the city of Omdurman and reached
the bridge linking Khartoum and Omdurman, west of the Nile, only about three
kilometers from the Republican Palace, Bashir’s headquarters at the time.
Ibrahim was killed in December 2011 following an air strike
by the Sudanese army. In 2012, the movement chose his brother, economist
Gabriel Ibrahim, to lead the movement.
Transitional Revolutionary Council
The Transitional Revolutionary Council was formed in 2012
and included a group of dissidents from the three previous Darfur movements and
was headed by Al-Hadi Idris, who was a member of the Nur’s Sudan Liberation
Movement before splitting from it and establishing the Transitional
Revolutionary Council.
Sudan People's Liberation Movement
The Sudan People's Liberation Movement was fighting the
government in the South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions alongside South Sudan
before the latter became an independent country in 2011. With the secession of
South Sudan following a referendum held under a peace agreement signed in 2005
that ended 22 years of civil war, the SPLM returned to fighting in the regions
of South Kordofan and Blue Nile. In 2017, it split into two movements: the
Sudan People's Liberation Movement led by Hilu's wing and the other belonging
to Agar's wing. The two wings negotiated in Juba, but Hilu's wing withdrew from
the negotiations, while Agar's wing remained.
Rejections
On the other hand, two large movements in Sudan rejected the
agreement signed by the armed movements with the government to end the war that
has lasted for nearly 17 years. Nur’s movement continued fighting in Darfur and
did not enter into negotiations with the government.
Meanwhile, Hilu’s wing of the SPLM, which is fighting in
South Kordofan and Blue Nile, was the second movement to refuse entering the
peace negotiations and signing the agreement, as it suspended negotiations with
the government a few days ago, objecting to Dagalo, who heads the Rapid Support
Forces, heading the government’s delegation.
