The Army opens the door to any initiative aimed at ending the war with the paramilitary group
July 16 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, has announced the creation of a committee to initiate contacts with political groups and armed formations, within the framework of the conflict that broke out on April 15 with the Army over differences around the integration of training within the Armed Forces to consolidate the transition process opened in 2019.
Dagalo, known as ‘Hemedti’, has indicated in a message on his account on the social network Twitter that the decision “is in line with the fundamental principle of dialogue as an essential requirement to achieve a comprehensive political solution, given the events derived from the war in the country”.
Thus, he has stated that the committee, called the Committee for Liaison with Political and Community Forces and Armed Struggle Movements, will be headed by Yusif Izat and made up of Lana Mahdi, Bala Mohamed and Fatima Ali with the aim of “maintaining extensive consultations on the crisis in Sudan, war and the most effective position to achieve a solution that addresses the underlying problems of the crisis”.
“These consultations must involve the participation of all political, social and youth forces”, stressed ‘Hemedti’, who has emphasized that “the committee can ask for help from whomever it deems appropriate”, without the transitional authorities of Sudan have ruled for now on the RSF leader’s announcement.
For his part, the ‘number two’ of the Sudanese Army, Shams el Din Kabashi, has stressed that the Armed Forces are open to all initiatives aimed at ending the war, amid speculation about the possible restart of contacts between both parties in Saudi Arabia, suspended in June.
Kabashi has stated in statements to the Qatari television channel Al Jazeera that he “supports an expanded and exhaustive political dialogue that leads to a civilian government that leads the country during the transition phase and prepares free and fair elections to establish a democratic system.” .
In response, the leader of the civilian coalition Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), Khaled Omar Yusef, has said that Kabashi’s words “are an important step towards stopping the war” and an opportunity to achieve a solution. peaceful and negotiated to the conflict, according to the Sudanese news portal Sudan Tribune.
“We hope that the Jeddah talks will resume soon and that international and regional efforts will be coordinated on a unified negotiating platform that will lead to sustainable peace and civil transformation that stands on solid pillars and drawing on the lessons of the past to achieve a new reality in which the Sudanese people enjoy peace, freedom, justice and a decent life”, he added.
The hostilities broke out in the context of an increase in tensions around the integration of the RSF into the Armed Forces, a key part of an agreement signed in December to form a new civilian government and reactivate the transition open after the overthrow in 2019 of Omar Hasan al Bashir, damaged by the coup in October 2021, in which the prime minister of unity, Abdalá Hamdok, was overthrown.
The war has so far left more than 1,100 dead, according to the Sudanese Ministry of Health, but the real figures could be much higher considering the inter-communal violence unleashed in the Kordofan and Darfur regions.
In addition, more than three million people have been displaced, including nearly 740,000 who have fled to neighboring countries, according to data released Wednesday by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), amid reports of daily atrocities and large-scale sexual abuse against the women and girls of the country.
