Sudanese authorities have once again postponed the signing of an agreement to name a civilian government, as negotiation talks failed to conclude discussions on restructuring the military, reported ABC News.
The agreement was previously planned to be signed on April 1. But the signing was postponed to April 6, Thursday, only for the authorities to postpone the signing again. No new date has been announced yet. The signing of the agreement was scheduled to be followed by the formation of a new government on April 11.
According to a statement released by the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), the signing ceremony has been pushed back again “due to a resumption of talks between soldiers… on April 1 and 6”.
The bloc said progress was made on Sudanese military restructuring, but, there were still disagreements over the timeline for integrating the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into the military.
The disagreement is reportedly between military ruler General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who led the 2021 coup, and RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. The bloc said the military and the paramilitary force were still negotiating on reform for the security and military sector to be included in the final agreement.
Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021 when the military ousted Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency. The transitional period, which began in August 2019, was scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.
On December 5, the Sudanese military and political forces inked a framework agreement meant to resolve the country’s months-long crisis. The deal calls for a two-year transition period and the appointment of a civilian prime minister. It also calls for the reform of the military and defense sector, unifying the military and integrating the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary force, into the army.
