Military and civilian leaders in Sudan on Monday signed a first deal aimed at ending the deep political crisis that has rocked this poor Northeast African country since the coup just over a year ago.
The deal comes after several attempts to break the deadlock since army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhane took power and ousted civilian leaders.
General Burhane’s coup on October 25, 2021 derailed a difficult transition to settled civilian rule after the 2019 ouster of former President Omar al-Bashir, who remained in power for nearly three decades.
Since then, anti-coup demonstrations have taken place almost weekly in this country, which has been hit by an economic crisis and a surge in inter-ethnic violence.
The framework agreement was signed by General Burhane, paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo and several civilian groups including the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), which were overthrown by the coup.
The document was negotiated in the presence of United Nations officials, Western diplomats, as well as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to the FFC.
The signing took place in the presence of UN Special Envoy Volker Perthes and African Union Special Envoy Mohamed Belaish.
“Transitional Civil Authority»
General Burhane promised a few months ago that the army would withdraw from power to allow political groups to form a civilian government, while anti-coup demonstrations have killed at least 120 people for the past year.
The agreement was announced after a Friday meeting between the Forces for Freedom and Change and other political groups with senior military officials, which included officials from the African Union, the United Nations, IGAD and Western diplomats. It is the first step in a two-phase political process.
As a first step, the framework agreement “lays the groundwork for the establishment of a civilian transitional authority,” the FFC said, noting that other civilian groups have also signed it.
The second phase includes a definitive agreement that will deal with issues such as transitional justice and army reforms, a phase that the FFC press release said should be completed “within weeks.”
This part is far trickier, however, as observers wonder if the military would be willing to give up broader economic interests and powers it sees as its preferred domain.
The first phase of the deal “is a very low-level commitment by Burhane to enable him to survive politically,” said Khartoum-based think tank analyst Kholood Khair.
But signatories are likely to “face a real political crisis when they start talking seriously about security sector reforms, transitional justice (and) fiscal accountability,” she added.
Pro-democracy activists who have opposed “any negotiation, any partnership” with the military since the coup have called for mass protests against the deal.
Key ex-rebel leaders who signed a peace with Sudan in 2020 and supported the army after the coup have also opposed the deal.
The spokesman for the former rebel Justice and Equality movement, Mohamed Zakaraia, slammed the deal in a statement to AFP, saying it would have “catastrophic consequences and further complicate political life”.