Sudan reaches peace through Emirates

Mustafa Kamel

The government of Sudan and rebel groups in the western Darfur region initialed an historic peace agreement on August 31 under sponsorship from the United Arab Emirates.

The agreement is viewed as a successful political move by the UAE. It will guarantee the integration of the rebel groups in Darfur into regular security forces, among other measures.

Details

The agreement was signed in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, and in the presence of the Head of Sudan’s Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

It ends decades of fighting between the Sudanese army and rebel groups in Darfur. Two of Darfur’s rebel groups refused to sign the agreement which ends 17 years of fighting.

Road to peace

Negotiations with rebels have always been a top priority for the Sudanese interim government.

The government works to bring about peace in areas full of tension under former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir who ruled Sudan for 30 years and was only deposed in April 2019.

The agreement makes the Blue Nile and South Kordofan autonomous areas.

It distributes economic and financial resources among the two regions. Sixty percent of these resources will be given to the federal government of Sudan, whereas 40% will be given to local authorities in the two regions.

The agreement also specifies 25% of cabinet and legislative council seats for the two regions. It also specifies three seats inside the Sovereign Council for the members of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front.

The agreement extends the transitional period in Sudan to 39 months as of the date of its signing, September 1.

The transitional period started in April 2019, soon after the downfall of the Omar al-Bashir regime. It should have lasted for 39 months since that date.

The agreement gives the militias and militant movement active in the two regions 39 months to integrate themselves into regular security forces or disband themselves.