Khartoum
\nSudan\u2019s military and civilian leaders signed Monday an initial deal aimed at ending a deep crisis caused by last year\u2019s military coup, prompting sceptical protesters to cry betrayal.
\nArmy chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized power in October 2021, derailing a rocky transition to civilian rule that began after the 2019 ouster of veteran autocrat Omar al-Bashir.
\nThe past year has seen near-weekly protests and a crackdown that pro-democracy medics say has killed at least 121, a spiralling economic crisis exacerbated by donors slashing funding, and a resurgence of ethnic violence in several remote regions.
\nDivisions among civilian groups have deepened since the coup, with some urging a deal with the military while others insist on \u201cno partnership, no negotiation\u201d.
\nThe deal was signed by Burhan, paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and multiple civilian groups, most notably the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) — the main civilian faction that was ousted in the coup.
\nAs the key players put pens to paper, hundreds of citizens rallied in Khartoum to protest against the deal.
\n\u201cThe settlement is betrayal\u201d and the FFC \u201csold our blood,\u201d demonstrators cried.
\n\u201cWe reject this deal as it overlooked street demands for justice for the people killed since the coup,\u201d said one of those protesters, Mohamed Ali.
\nIf the deal plays out as planned, the civilian signatories will agree on a prime minister who will steer the country through a 24-month transition.<\/p>\n
– Thorny issues ahead –
\n\u201cThe ceremony today is a culmination of the sustained efforts of Sudanese stakeholders over the past year to find a solution to the political crisis and restore constitutional order,\u201d said UN special representative Volker Perthes.
\nThe initial deal was described as \u201cwelcome\u201d by the United States, Britain, Norway, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — all key players in Sudan — in a joint statement by the US State Department.
\nDuring the signing ceremony, Dagalo reiterated the military\u2019s purported commitment to exit the political scene, saying \u201cit is essential to build a sustainable democratic regime\u201d.
\nOther signatories included the Islamist Popular Congress Party, a faction of the Democratic Unionist Party and some ex-rebel groups who signed a 2020 peace deal.
\nThe agreement — based on a proposal by the Sudanese Bar Association — was negotiated in the presence of officials from the UN, Western diplomats as well as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to the FFC.
\nPerthes urged Sudanese factions to \u201cimmediately\u201d start the second phase to resolve the outstanding issues and reach a comprehensive deal.
\nHowever, that part is far thornier, with observers questioning whether the military would be willing to give up economic interests — as stipulated — and wider powers that it views as its privileged domain.
\nPhase one of the deal \u201cis a very low level commitment on Burhan\u2019s part… allowing him to survive\u201d politically, said Kholood Khair founder of the Confluence Advisory, a Khartoum-based think-tank.
\nBut the signatories will likely face \u201ca real political crisis as they start talking in earnest about security sector reforms, transitional justice (and) financial accountability,\u201d she added.
\nMonday\u2019s signing comes months after Burhan pledged that the military would step aside and make way for factions to agree on a civilian government.
\nSome of the former rebels who signed peace deals with Sudan in 2020 also voiced their opposition to Monday\u2019s agreement.
\nMohamed Zakaraia, spokesman for former rebel group the Justice and Equality Movement, told AFP that it \u201cwill bring about dire consequences and further complicate the political scene\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Khartoum Sudan\u2019s military and civilian leaders signed Monday an initial deal aimed at ending a deep crisis caused by last year\u2019s military coup, prompting sceptical protesters to cry betrayal. Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized power in October 2021, derailing a rocky transition to civilian rule that began after the 2019 ouster of veteran autocrat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299476,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-299443","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n