Sudan’s FFC propose direct talks to end war
November 19, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – The Forces for Freedom and Change coalition (FFC) has initiated contacts with the warring factions in Sudan to arrange a direct meeting in the coming days to discuss a roadmap for ending the conflict.
The coalition is actively engaging on multiple fronts to exert pressure for an end to the eight-month-long war. It has held intensive meetings to unify the political and civil society forces, culminating in an agreement in Addis Ababa to form the Coordination of Civil Democratic Forces, “Taqaddum.”
Taha Osman, a member of the FFC Executive Office, announced at a press conference following meetings in Cairo on Saturday that the coalition will present “a roadmap to the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). He emphasized that the pro-democracy coalition has maintained continuous contact with the two parties since April 16.
“The two parties have formally agreed to hold a direct meeting with us in the coming days to present the roadmap and discuss it with political forces and movements that advocate for democratic transformation within and outside the Taqaddum Alliance,” Osman confirmed.
FFC Executive Office member and Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP) leader Omer Al-Digir acknowledged that the revolutionary forces have made mistakes and faced challenges. In a speech at the end of the meeting, he asserted that the revolutionary forces do not deny these mistakes and are willing to address them.
Al-Digair urged the revolutionary forces to regroup in a “united front” to confront the “forces of oppression and tyranny.”
In a statement issued after the end of the meetings, the coalition warned of the potential for the war to prolong, citing recent indicators and developments.
It pointed to signs of fueling and escalating the conflict in Darfur through observable and monitored steps aimed at transforming the war into a full-blown civil confrontation between the region’s population groups.
On November 7 in Jeddah, the Sudanese army and the RSF committed themselves to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid but failed to strike a ceasefire deal.
The FFC, the army and the RSF had been engaged in a political process aiming to restore civilian rule and merge the paramilitary forces in the national army. In December 2022, the three parties signed a political framework agreement to achieve these goals. However, the two members of the military component failed to agree on the modalities of the RSF’s integration.
UN estimates indicate that approximately 10,000 Sudanese have been killed since the war erupted in mid-April, and over five million have been displaced.
(ST)