Sudan signs historical agreement with armed movements to end 17-year civil war

Mustafa Kamel

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.Sudan signs historical agreement with armed movements to end 17-year civil war

Mustafa Kamel

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.