Former PM Hamdok calls for Sudanese unity to end war
October 23, 2023 (ADDIS ABABA) – Former Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok called on Monday for unity among the Sudanese to find a sustainable solution to the ongoing conflict in the country.
Hamdok made his call at the opening session of a three-day meeting held in Addis Ababa to create a united Democratic Civilian Front to end the war in Sudan.
In a short speech, the former head of the transitional cabinet referred to the suffering of the Sudanese due to the ongoing war, stressing the need to combine efforts to end this war, provide humanitarian assistance, and achieve comprehensive peace.
“We are gathered here today to initiate the process of finding sustainable solutions to the disaster that is afflicting our country,” he said.
“This preparatory meeting is the beginning of a broader process that paves the way for the involvement of all national forces that oppose war and advocate for peace and a democratic transition,” he added.
Hamdok, who resigned in January 2022 after one month of a deal signed with the military leaders who had toppled his cabinet, moved to the UAE where he focused on regional issues and distanced himself from the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) that brought him to power.
However, after the outbreak of war, he issued several calls to end the fighting, conducted a series of meetings with the regional and international actors urging them to put the needed pressure on the two warring parties to cease hostilities.
On Monday, he reiterated his appeal to the regional and international community to step up their efforts to stop the violence and address the humanitarian crisis in Sudan.
Nearly 100 delegates from Sudanese civil society groups, neighborhood resistance committees, women’s organizations, trade unions, political parties, alongside religious and traditional leaders, have convened to take part in the meeting to establish a Democratic Civilian Front to end the war.
Several speakers during the inaugural session emphasized that this meeting to create a united civil front to halt the war has been initiated by the coordination of the Al Haj Yousif resistance committee.
Besides the FFC groups, the meeting is attended by the Republican Party; the Justice and Equality Movement Sandal faction; the General Command of retired army officers; a priest representing the Christian community, the Coalition of Civilian Forces in Eastern Sudan; and several civil society groups and figures.
The preparatory meeting is expected to set up preparatory committees for the founding meeting to take place next month. The participants will also consider ways to reach out to more groups to join them in this endeavor to end the devastating war, mobilize international humanitarian aid, and restore democratic transition.
Over 9,000 Sudanese have been killed and nearly six million have been displaced due to the armed clashes in Khartoum, Darfur, and Kordofan regions.
(ST)