Sovereign Council member calls for international investigation into war crimes in Sudan
October 3, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – Al-Hadi Idris, a member of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and head of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF), called on Tuesday for an international investigation into war crimes in Sudan, holding both warring parties accountable for their crimes against civilians.
In a speech on the third anniversary of the Juba Peace Agreement, Idris, who also heads the Sudan Liberation Movement – Transitional Council (SLM-TC), called for “the formation of an international investigation committee to investigate all the crimes committed since the outbreak of war on April 15.”
He stressed that the war had had severe consequences, including widespread and gross human rights violations, which he condemned in the strongest terms. He held both parties to the conflict fully responsible for these violations.
Idris added that the SRF believes that the only way out of the crisis is a negotiated solution through the Jeddah platform, which would lead to a quick ceasefire and the restoration of the political process facilitated by IGAD, neighbouring countries, and the African Union.
He also affirmed the SRF’s readiness to continue its efforts to mediate between the two parties to the conflict and bring their points of view closer due to its leadership’s knowledge and communication with both parties.
The conflict between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in Khartoum and Darfur has led to the displacement of more than five million people and a humanitarian and health crisis in the country. Hundreds of civilians have been killed and thousands injured since mid-April. The Rapid Support Forces have been accused of committing widespread human rights violations, including killings, looting, displacing residents from their homes, and occupying service facilities. The army has also been accused of causing the deaths of large numbers of civilians through airstrikes and artillery fire on populated neighbourhoods.
Idris, who has declared neutrality in the war and refrained from supporting either side, has been active in initiatives that sought to prevent fighting between the two sides, but to no avail. He has also participated in foreign tours by political forces and movements that included neighbouring countries, aiming to mobilize regional support to stop the military conflict in Sudan.
It’s worth noting that two leaders from the armed groups who had signed the Juba peace agreement, namely Idris and Tahir Hajer of the GSLF, have ceased performing their responsibilities as members of the Sovereign Council since the outbreak of the conflict in Sudan.
He accused elements of the regime of former President Omar al-Bashir of bearing responsibility for disrupting the framework agreement that the army and the Rapid Support Forces concluded with pro-democracy political forces in December 2022. He said the Islamists had explicitly threatened to block the way to reaching a final agreement by igniting the April 15 war.
He also referred to unnamed parties that he said had deliberately obstructed the implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement by placing obstacles and creating an unfavourable environment for its implementation, most notably the October 25, 2021, coup and the April 15 war, which he said had put Sudan on the brink of total collapse.
The SRF, which includes the Sudan Liberation Movement, the SLM-TC, the Popular Movement, and the Sudan Liberation Forces Gathering, signed a peace agreement with the transitional government in 2020. The agreement stipulated power-sharing and wealth distribution but has faced great difficulties. Its most prominent provisions still need to be implemented, including security arrangements, integrating former rebel fighters into the army, and other security services.