Sudan’s main rebel alliance has agreed on a peace deal with the government that is likely to put an end to 17 years of conflict, reported CGTN Africa.
The Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), an alliance of rebel groups from the western region of Darfur and the southern states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, signed a peace agreement with the government on Saturday.
The formal deal signing ceremony is scheduled to take place on Monday in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, which has hosted and helped mediate the long-running talks since late 2019.
According to official news agency SUNA, the senior government officials and rebel leaders “signed their initials on protocols on security arrangements” and other issues late on Saturday.
However, two rebel forces – a faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement, led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur, and a wing of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), headed by Abdelaziz al-Hilu have refused to take part in the peace deal.
The agreement covers major issues around security, land ownership, transitional justice, power sharing, and the return of people who fled their homes due to war. It also calls for the dismantling of rebel forces and their integration into the national army.
On Sunday, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and other ministers flew to Juba to meet South Sudan President Salva Kiir.
Hamdok said it has taken much longer time to reach a deal after an initial agreement in September 2019.
“At the Juba declaration in September, everyone expected peace to be signed within two or three months, but …we realised that the questions were of one great complexity,” Hamdok said. “However, we were able to accomplish this great work, and this is the start of peace-building.”
Previous peace accords in Sudan, including one signed in Nigeria in 2006 and another in Qatar in 2010, have fallen through over the years.
