Rival peace plans fracture Sudan’s pro-army coalition
September 4, 2026 (KHARTOUM) – When Sudan’s army chief offered his political allies a fresh path to peace this week, he instead exposed the fault lines threatening to tear them apart.
The Democratic Bloc, an uneasy wartime alliance of former rebels and traditional civilian parties formed to back the military against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, has fractured over competing visions for ending the country’s devastating conflict.
At the heart of the dispute is a stark choice between an internal, military-sponsored initiative launched by Sovereign Council leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and an externally backed process marshalled by the international Quintet group.
The dilemma has split the bloc along its traditional seams, pitting former insurgent commanders who want an international umbrella against political traditionalists and armed factions leaning toward an army-managed process.
Coalition sources told Sudan Tribune that several armed groups favour engaging immediately with Burhan’s internal talks, betting a domestic track offers the fastest route to a settlement. Civilian parties within the alliance, however, are clinging to regional and international mediation, fearing an army-run process will allow generals to dictate the political landscape.
The rift cuts to the core of Sudan’s broader diplomatic quagmire, where rival mediation tracks often compete rather than converge, complicating efforts by international envoys trying to herd divided factions toward a single negotiating table.
Long before Burhan announced his initiative, the 36-member bloc wrestled with conflicting ambitions. The coalition brought together seasoned political dynasties from central and eastern Sudan alongside battle-hardened Darfuri guerrilla commanders, bound mostly by a common foe and a shared desire for leverage in post-war arrangements.
A senior bloc leader, speaking to Sudan Tribune on condition of anonymity, described the discord as the natural friction of a broad tent rather than a fatal blow.
The leader downplayed fears of an imminent collapse, arguing that the appetite for cohesion still outweighs the impulse to fracture.
“I do not believe the bloc will struggle to formulate a unified position on the dialogue process, especially since its core stance remains firmly in favour of an intra-Sudanese dialogue inside the country,” the official told Sudan Tribune.
Yet formal consensus remains out of reach. Coalition spokesperson Nidal Hashem told Sudan Tribune that the bloc’s political committee adjourned on Sunday without reaching a unified position, opting instead to recommend an internal workshop to navigate procedural hurdles and debate dialogue formats.
Other coalition figures are attempting to straddle the divide. Mohamed Zakaria, spokesperson for the Justice and Equality Movement, told Sudan Tribune that the alliance welcomes the principle of an all-inclusive national dialogue, regardless of origin, while insisting that civilian forces must help steer any preparatory arrangements.
Zakaria added in his remarks to Sudan Tribune that existing frameworks could be expanded to ensure wider regional representation, arguing that while external bodies can lay the groundwork, the participants themselves must decide who will manage the talks.
Despite calls for patience, the divide on the ground is hardening into distinct, rival camps.
Ahmed Sharaf al-Din, a strategic analyst who studies armed movements, told Sudan Tribune that Burhan’s initiative acted as an accelerant, formalizing an ideological and tactical split.
On one side stands Darfur governor Minni Minnawi, whose faction has formally engaged in preparatory talks organized by the Quintet group in Addis Ababa. Minnawi views international mediation as an essential safeguard for preserving the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement and shielding his faction’s political and military foothold in Darfur from domestic military whims.
In a recent interview with media outlet Ofuq Jadeed, Minnawi made his scepticism of a purely local, technocratic process clear, scoffing at proposals to hand steering committees to non-partisan figures.
“No independent has ever governed a country,” Minnawi said, insisting that political actors must own the process while foreign powers guarantee its enforcement.
On the other side stands a conservative faction that includes JEM leader Gibril Ibrahim, Democratic Unionist figure Jaafar al-Mirghani, and eastern tribal leader Sayed Tirik. Deeply suspicious of external intervention, that wing has thrown its weight behind the military’s domestic dialogue.
With the alliance between Addis Ababa and Khartoum pulled apart, the standoff illustrates how peace initiatives meant to resolve Sudan’s crisis can instead deepen the divisions among the very factions fighting to shape its future.