After a period of silence regarding the country’s ongoing war that erupted last April, Sudanese civil forces have recently sought to play a constructive role in the crisis and are looking for ways to put an end to the fighting and shape the future of the country. The first of these efforts is the search for the unification of the civil front, particularly in light of the fact that the current conflict was fueled by the polarization and division of the civil forces prior to the outbreak of the conflict.
The civil forces seek to establish new channels of communication with all parties, as well as regional and international powers, in light of the significant role that mediators can play in the country’s future political settlement. The ultimate goal is to ensure they remain an active participant at the post-conflict negotiating table after the exclusion of the civil party in favor of the warring military parties, although the civil component supposed to set their expectations and guidelines for a political settlement following the conflict.
Regional Motion
The Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) and the delegation of the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), which signed the Political Framework Agreement (PFA), met on 14 August in Addis Ababa to discuss war-related issues and their effects, as well as to find ways to unify the civil front in order to push for a return to the negotiating table. The meetings in Addis Ababa were held under the banner of “Ending the War”, and according to FFC spokesman, Jaafar Hassan, the humanitarian issue and securing humanitarian corridors are at the forefront of the discussions, in addition to bringing the civil front together to talk about issues in post-war Sudan.
During the Addis Ababa meeting, Al-Hadi Idris, the head of the SRF, stressed the necessity of unifying the civil front and noted that while civil forces had previously met in Egypt, Kenya, and Uganda to discuss a variety of topics, the Ethiopian gathering had a particular focus on humanitarian issues. The PFA signatories’ meeting in Ethiopia is part of a broader effort by civil forces to reach an agreement, deal with humanitarian concerns, end the war, and finally address historical grievances and begin rebuilding the country.
Prior to the meeting, a delegation from the FFC-Democratic Bloc traveled to Addis Ababa on 18 August, where they met with IGAD members, African Union officials, and some foreign ambassadors to discuss the realignment of civil forces and the need to find a solution to the crisis. As part of the efforts to bring the factions of the FFC closer together and find common ground, a delegation from the FFC-Democratic Bloc was present in Egypt at the same time as a delegation from the FFC-Central Council.
This meeting follows the FFC’s regional tour, which started on 3 July and included South Sudan, Chad, Saudi Arabia, and Cairo. The tour started in Uganda, where they met with the country’s president, who reaffirmed Uganda’s willingness to mediate the crisis in search of a resolution. The delegation was then split up into teams, some of which traveled to Saudi Arabia, others to Kenya, South Sudan, and Chad, until they arrived at the Cairo station on 24-25 July. Following this trip, the FFC delegation left for Brussels on 27 July at the invitation of the European Union Commission to discuss means of putting an end to the conflict, establishing peace and democratization in the country, and stepping up efforts to address the humanitarian crisis.
There was a similar internal motion to unite the civil forces across all of their spectrums, as evidenced by the announcement of a Declaration of Principles for the SRV and FFC with the support of 75 civil society organizations and civil parties with the aim of establishing an executive transitional authority. However, at a pan-eastern Sudan conference, Mubarak Al-Fadil, the leader of the National Umma Party, urged the political forces to band together, come up with a plan for getting back on the political track, and establish a government of national unity that would carry out an economic plan to boost production, reconstruction, and services.
This motion was preceded by the announcement of the East’s Initiative to bring about peace and unify postwar visions on matters like reconstruction and damage compensation. Numerous political parties, civil administrations, and community leaders participated in this initiative. Under the banner “The unity of the Sudanese ranks—the independence of the national decision”, Nazir Muhammad Al-Amin Tirik, Head of the Hadendowa Beja clan and Chairman of the Beja Nazirs Council, announced a forum to unify ranks in Arkawit, eastern Sudan, in the first week of September. The forum will bring together political and societal forces, religious organizations, and armed struggle movements.
Goals for the Future
The civil forces’ entire effort is directed at getting involved in and contributing to the ongoing conflict in the country. Their main goals are to stop the fighting, promote the distribution of humanitarian aid, discuss the conditions and ideals of peace, and then work to ensure the signing of a comprehensive peace agreement after the PFA was unable to unify the ranks.
At the Jeddah talks, efforts to include civilians in the peace process emerged after failure to compel the warring parties to uphold the terms of the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan. In order to prevent the military forces from controlling all decision-making and isolating the forces that dominate the field in post-war trends, US voices emphasized the need to broaden the Declaration and include the civil forces in a post-war comprehensive political agreement.
As a result, the civil forces started to mobilize their forces and conduct their foreign diplomatic tours in an effort to rally the powerful regional powers that have the ability to sponsor negotiations, lift the veil of secrecy that has covered the scene since the start of the conflict, and reveal their position on what is happening in the country by outlining their vision and providing an explanation of the events in the regional tours.
The civil forces are also making an effort to coordinate their efforts and end the division. In order to achieve this, it has been suggested that the PFA be reexamined as a reference in order to broaden its scope and include forces that were previously left out, whose exclusion widened the gulfs and paved the way for the ongoing military conflict.
At its meeting in Cairo at the end of July, the FFC-Central Council pledged to be open to all civil forces, put more effort into organizing meetings, and establish channels of communication with various civil forces that did not take part in the PFA, particularly the FFC-Democratic Bloc, which opens the door for civil forces to exert pressure and make their voices heard in the coming period.
The FFC’s targeting of regional powers is motivated by their belief in the mediators’ capacity to influence the specifics of the future negotiating position as well as their concern that the civil forces may be overshadowed by the loud voices of the warring parties, given the ongoing efforts of the regional neighbors to develop a thorough negotiation process that includes all parties involved.
