Sudan on the brink of abyss: Bloody clashes in Khartoum, experts confirm time for negotiations is over

Mahmoud Mohammadi

Late last year, the Sudanese parties signed the Framework Agreement between the civil and military components in Sudan.

It was expected that the Framework Agreement would constitute a starting point for a transitional phase and would serve as a political agreement that would put an end to the crisis raging in Sudan since 2019, specifically since the fall of the Omar al-Bashir regime.

The Framework Agreement set a clear roadmap and a specific timetable for its implementation through several stages, the first of which is the handover of power to civilians, the formation of a government, the development of a new constitution, and the dismantling of the remnants of the terrorist Brotherhood and its old regime.

The most important and dangerous clause of the Framework Agreement was the army’s complete distancing from politics and the merging of the Sudanese army, led by Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo Hemedti, under the name of the Sudanese Armed Forces.

The Framework Agreement seemed satisfactory to all parties in Sudan, as it constituted the lever that would lead Sudan out of crises to a major economic breakthrough and a stable political scene.

Military parties and the beginning of the crisis

However, there were doubts and fears about the possibility of implementing some provisions, especially with regard to the agreement regarding the unification of the army and the RSF, as the two parties are now dreaming of the presidential chair, in light of the domination of the army over the joints of the state and its vision that it is more deserving and qualified than the political parties to lead the country.

Now, verbal skirmishes and heated statements have evolved into bloody battles that have claimed dozens of lives and material losses in the billions. No voice in Khartoum is louder than the sounds of gunshots and artillery tremors.

The move brought the crisis between the army and the RSF back to square one and disregarded the Framework Agreement, destroying with it the hopes of the Sudanese for stability and economic renaissance, or at the very least a way out of a state of collapse and disintegration.

The clashes between the armed parties affected all parts of Khartoum, and even the airport and air base of the city of Merowe were not spared from the armed clashes with the participation of military aircraft, tanks and various armored military units.

These violent clashes bring the differences between the two parties to an unprecedented point of security tension, which illustrates the depth of the crisis between the Sudanese parties that has been going on for several years.

Khartoum’s streets are empty

Meanwhile, former Information Minister Faisal Saleh said that the official government media in Sudan is completely absent from the scene and does not have the ability to move, while Sudanese television is far from any direct coverage of the events.

He explained that there were bombings in the vicinity of the TV building, so the broadcast was interrupted for a while, meaning foreign channels and social media were resorted to by observers to see the developments in Sudan.

Regarding the situation on the ground, Saleh told the Reference that the areas in central Khartoum that witnessed clashes are completely devoid of people, and there is no movement in the streets, with only military equipment and armored vehicles in most of the streets of the capital.

Meanwhile, Rashid Mutasim, a researcher at the Khartoum Center for Dialogue, said that Khartoum is witnessing violent battles, and the Sudanese people hoped that matters would not reach the use of weapons.

Time for negotiations is over

Mutasim explained that the Sudanese state is greatly suffering economically and politically, and the Sudanese army has the ability and expertise to control matters in Khartoum and all of Sudan, while the Rapid Support Forces are mainly members of the Sudanese army.

He pointed out to the Reference that there is a national consensus to support the armed forces, and under these circumstances everyone abandons his affiliations and supports the armed forces. He added that whatever the differences with the armed forces, this is the right time to support the armed forces to unify Sudan again, restore peace and security, and stop fighting.

Mutasim expects that there will be no negotiations between the parties, and now there is a battle that must be resolved, with either victory or defeat, as the state has two heads, which is rejected by the Sudanese people. The presence of a national army that follows a certain line and the presence of other militias that walk another line is completely rejected by all of Sudan.