Sudan’s TMC, FFC to meet al-Hilu in Juba

July 26, 2019 (KHARTOUM) – A joint delegation from the ruling military council and the opposition Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) will travel Friday to Juba to meet Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, the leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N al-Hilu).

The delegation will discuss with al-Hilu ways to achieve peace in Sudan as his group fights against the government forces in the Nuba Mountains area of South Kordofan State.

The two parties agreed in a political declaration signed earlier this month to make peace their top priority during the transitional period.

The SPLM-N al-Hilu is not part of the opposition coalition FFC but declared its support to the protests against the al-Bashir regime.

The South Sudanese President Salva Kiir more than once expressed his readiness to facilitate peace talks between his former comrades of the SPLM-N factions and the Sudanese government.

Previously, Kiir sought to reunite the two factions led by Malik Agar and al-Hilu.

In a related development, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) and the SPLM-N al-Hilu held a meeting in Addis Ababa on 25 July, according to a joint statement released on Friday.

“The two sides agreed on fundamental issues of the revolution and supported the demands of the Sudanese people for radical change,” said the statement.

Also, the two delegations led by Mohamed Nagy al-Assam for the SPA and Amar Amun for the SPLM-N agreed on the need to review the “shortcomings” of the political agreement signed by the opposition and the ruling junta.

The TMC and FFC will resume talks on the constitutional declaration which will serve as the Sudan interim constitution for three years.

(ST)