After armed confrontations between the two parties in a number of areas, the Sudanese army and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, announced an agreement to deliver humanitarian aid to those affected by the war, in areas controlled by the movement and the army in the state of South Kordofan and the Blue Nile region, according to the Sudan News Agency. , Saturday.
The move was announced after a meeting between the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Shams al-Din Kabashi, with the head of the SPLM in the city of Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
The SPLM controls a number of areas in South Kordofan, and had previously refused to join a peace agreement signed by the civilian government that was formed after the fall of the regime of former President Omar al-Bashir, with a number of armed movements.
After the outbreak of war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces on April 15, 2023, the SPLM entered into confrontations with the army and seized some areas under its control.
Welcome and praise
The Forces of Freedom and Change, a political alliance seeking democracy and supporting an end to the war, praised the agreement between the army and the SPLM, describing it as “a light in the tunnel of war.”
The coalition said in a statement, “The time has come for the army and the Rapid Support Forces to take a courageous and decisive decision to end the suffering and stop the war that elements of the former regime are insisting on in order to return to power.”
The statement called on “both parties to the war to fulfill their obligations concluded at the Jeddah Forum in Saudi Arabia in a way that guarantees the delivery of humanitarian aid and saves the lives of millions of Sudanese men and women, especially children, women and the elderly.”
On May 11, the army and the Rapid Support Forces signed an agreement in the city of Jeddah, sponsored by Saudi Arabia and the United States, which stipulates “protecting civilians, protecting all private and public facilities, and refraining from using them for military purposes.”
About 25 million, or half of Sudan’s population, need aid, while about eight million have fled their homes due to the war, at a time when famine threatens about 5 million people, according to United Nations agencies.
The acting governor of South Kordofan State, Mohamed Ibrahim Abdel Karim, welcomed the agreement, describing the step as “bold” and saying that it “represents an important breakthrough in the humanitarian file and the future of the political process.”
Abdul Karim said in a statement, “The step represents the beginning of serious work that helps both parties to avoid the dangerous situation in areas controlled by the government and the SPLM.”
Between the army’s anger and the pressure of the UAE.. Why did Sudan escalate its rhetoric against Britain?
After official complaints and memos, debates between Sudan and the UAE returned to the corridors of the UN Security Council again, while Sudan accused Britain of having “changed the agenda of a closed session dedicated to discussing its complaints against the UAE, to discussing the general Sudanese situation and the situation in the city of El Fasher,” according to a statement by the Sudanese Foreign Ministry.
Maamoun Abu Zeid, professor of political science at Sudanese universities, believes that “the agreement is the first practical move to avoid the catastrophe that the population is suffering in the state of South Kordofan and the Blue Nile region.”
Abu Zeid told Al-Hurra website, “The war in Sudan has resulted in a catastrophic reality in most of the country’s states, including those located outside the battlefield, which makes it necessary for military and political leaders to work to find urgent emergency solutions.”
He pointed out that “the step could establish a new approach that facilitates the task of international and regional organizations that are active in providing aid to Sudanese affected by the war.”
He added, “The parties involved in the war in Sudan are accused by the international community of obstructing the access of humanitarian aid to those affected, and this agreement would test the credibility and seriousness of the army and the SPLM.”
A classification issued by the United Nations indicates that approximately 3.6 million children under the age of five, and 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women in Sudan, suffer from acute malnutrition.
The classification, issued last March, indicates that grain production in Sudan was 46 percent lower than the previous year due to fighting in basic crop production areas.
The classification indicated that food prices in the markets increased by 73 percent compared to what they were in the same period last year.
In turn, Sudanese political researcher, Murtada Noreen, believes that “the levels of hunger and humanitarian catastrophe that the Sudanese are suffering from have proven that the military and political leaders do not have the slightest interest in the Sudanese citizen, and that they are looking out for their own interests.”
Noreen told Al-Hurra website, “The agreement that took place between the army and the SPLM is tactical and will not stand on the ground and will collapse quickly, due to the lack of trust between the two parties, and because it was not founded on solid and solid ground.”
He pointed out that “the government of South Sudan, which sponsored the agreement, is trying to market itself as an important player in settling the Sudanese crisis, and therefore it has put pressure on the leaders of the SPLM residing on its territory to agree with the army regarding humanitarian aid.”
He pointed out that “the SPLM had previously signed a declaration of principles with the head of the Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, under the auspices of South Sudan, and the agreement did not result in anything, because it was a temporary tactical agreement.”
In March 2021, Al-Burhan and the leader of the SPLM, Abdel Aziz Al-Hilu, signed a declaration of principles that stipulated “the separation of religion from the state,” but the movement, which calls for a secular system in Sudan, withdrew its hand from the agreement after the army overthrew Hamdok’s government and took control of power on October 25. 2021.
What then?
The welcome agreement received by the army and the SPLM regarding the delivery of aid to those affected by the war in South Kordofan and Blue Nile was considered by political parties as an “appropriate entry point” to generalize the experience to the rest of the states of Sudan.
Abu Zeid points out that “the agreement could establish similar experiences in Khartoum, Gezira State, and the Darfur region, especially since the humanitarian crisis is escalating frighteningly, to the point that some residents in some areas have resorted to eating cats and grass, due to the lack of food,” as he put it.
He added, “Reports coming from camps for the displaced and shelters for those fleeing the war reveal an alarming and frightening reality, as the majority of the displaced live on one or less meals a day.”
In a statement, the Civilian Democratic Forces Coordination “Taqadum” called on the army and the Rapid Support Forces to return to the negotiating table in Jeddah, “to put an end to the suffering of the Sudanese who were affected by the war.”
The coordination committee, led by former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok, called on both sides of the war to “stop hostilities and reach a negotiated political solution that ends the war, re-establishes and builds the Sudanese state, and achieves a just and comprehensive peace.”
The coordination called on both sides of the war, the army and the Rapid Support Forces, “to remove all obstacles that hinder the arrival of humanitarian aid to those affected by the war.”
Humanitarian workers in Sudan face risks related to personal safety and safe access to those affected by the war, according to UN agencies.
On Thursday, the International Committee of the Red Cross announced that two of its drivers were killed and three of its employees were wounded by gunfire from gunmen in South Darfur state in western Sudan.
The committee stated in a statement that its team “was on its way back… to assess the humanitarian situation in communities affected by armed violence in the region.”
Siege of El Fasher…Memories of previous massacres and the specter of division terrify the Sudanese
Fighters loyal to the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces have been besieging the city of El Fasher, the capital of the Darfur region in the west of the country, since April 14, creating enormous fears of a repeat of the massacres witnessed in the region at the hands of the “Janjaweed” forces, which then turned to the Rapid Support, led by Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo.
For his part, Noreen ruled out that “the agreement between the army and the Popular Movement would contribute to the return of the Rapid Support Forces and the army to the negotiating table again, because “trust has almost disappeared between the two parties,” according to him.
He pointed out that “the fighting between the army and the SPLM is not fueled by political differences, or the struggle for power, because the movement controls several sites that the Sudanese army has not entered since the 1980s, and these are areas subject to semi-autonomy.”
He added: “But the conflict between the army and the Rapid Support is fueled by the political agenda and competition for power, so it is difficult to reach any agreement, even on humanitarian issues, unless the political agenda retreats, and the politicians and military give up their narrow interests, and give priority to the agenda and interests of the Sudanese people.”
With the outbreak of the conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces on April 15, 2023, an initiative from Saudi Arabia, with the support of the United States, quickly activated to end the war. Later, representatives of the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority for Development in East Africa (IGAD) joined the initiative.
In July 2023, Egypt hosted a conference of Sudan’s neighboring countries, with the participation of a number of countries and organizations, “to discuss ways to stop the fighting between the two parties.”
But the efforts made by regional and international players do not seem, so far, to be able to put an end to the fighting between the two parties, as these efforts often collide with an arsenal of rejection and resistance, by parties that “have a clear influence on the conflict equation and combat dominance,” in the opinion of specialists.
The war, which has entered its second year, has claimed the lives of at least 13,000 people, according to estimates by the Armed Conflict Locations and Events Data Project (ACLED).
A report by Doctors Without Borders, issued last April, indicated that 3 out of every 10 children under the age of five, in the Zamzam camp for displaced people in North Darfur, suffer from acute malnutrition.
