Signing of Sudan’s political agreement postponed again due to military differences
April 5, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – The Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) has announced the postponement of the signing of the final political agreement, which was scheduled for Thursday, due to stalled talks on reforming the security and military sectors.
Disagreements between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over command, control of the integrated forces and years of integration led to the postponement of the signing of the final agreement from the first of April to the sixth, and now no date has been.
The signing of the final political agreement was postponed “due to the resumption of joint talks between the military parties regarding the technical aspects of security and military reform measures,” said the FFC in a statement on Wednesday.
“While negotiations between the military have made progress in several areas, an agreement on the latter issue still needs to be finalized,” added the FFC in a statement to mark the anniversary of the 6th of April popular uprising that toppled the Nimeiri regime in 1985.
Yasir Arman, a leading figure of the pro-democracy coalition confirmed the indefinite postponement of the signing ceremony.
“Tomorrow, we will not sign the agreement, and the remnants (supporters of the former regime) will not be able to destroy the political process,” said Arman.
“The military-technical committees have only one remaining point to address, which is related to command and control. The public will be informed of the events within hours,” he added.
The drafting committee resolved on Tuesday the pending issues. The civilian-military committee agreed to form an eight-member Sovereign Council and the transitional parliament will be composed of 300 members.
Two sources in the army and the FFC confirmed to Sudan Tribune that the military-technical committees agreed in Tuesday’s meeting on the command structures of the forces, but they have not yet agreed on who will lead it.
The army believes that its commander-in-chief should head the joint command, while the RSF is pushing for the civilian head of state to take the helm. However, the army rejects this proposal because it would mean maintaining the RSF relatively separate from the army.
َA-Burhan reiterates commitùent.
The head of the Sovereign Council and commander in Chief of the Sudanese army, Abel Fattah al-Burhan on Wednesday reiterated his commitment to the political process to restore the civilian government.
“The signing of the political agreement has been postponed with the intention of setting solid frameworks that maintain the momentum and vigour of the revolution,” he said in a statement to mark the anniversary of the April uprising.
“The parties are now working hard to complete discussions on the remaining issues,” he stressed.
(ST)