Sudan’s military and main pro-democracy group signed an agreement on Monday that is aimed at ending a deep crisis that has gripped the northeast African country since a coup a year ago, reported The Reuters. The agreement calls for a two-year, civilian-led transition towards elections.
Back in 2019, Sudan’s army overthrew long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir. After the coup, the country’s military and civilian leaders agreed to form a joint transitional government.
The coalition came to end last year when the Sudanese army leaders overthrew then Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. He was reinstated in office again this year but he was forced to resign following mass protests opposed to his power-sharing deal with the military, resulting in a political crisis in Sudan.
The coup led to mass protests in the country against the military. International organizations and countries even suspended billions of dollars in financial assistance, further deepening the economic crisis.
Sudan’s two ruling military generals, Abdel-Fattah Burhan and Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, and the leaders from the country’s largest pro-democracy group, Forces of Freedom and Change, signed the deal on Monday in Khartoum.
The agreement is the first of at least two planned accords. The deal would limit the army’s formal role to a security and defence council which will be headed by a prime minister. However, sensitive issues including transitional justice and security sector reform are issues that needs to be decided upon in further talks. The agreement also calls for unifying of Sudan’s armed forces and impose controls on military-owned companies. The timeline for a final agreement or when it will be implemented has not been set.
“The military belongs in the barracks,” miltary leader Gen Abdel Fattah al-Buran said after signing of the deal.
In response to the signing, Sudan’s pro-democracy Resistance Committee leaders called for demonstrations against the agreement. The pro-democracy protesters held marches opposing the deal.
