Sudan: Addis Ababa Declaration - Tagaddum seeks to build ‘broadest democratic civil front possible’

FURTHER below is a link to the full text of the Addis Ababa Declaration, featured in this report by Radio Dabanga, followed by three related reports.

From Radio Dabanga, ADDIS ABABA / KHARTOUM
Dated Wednesday, 10 January 2024; 20:48 - here is a copy in full:

Sudan’s Tagaddum seeks to build ‘broadest democratic civil front possible’

'No to war. The people are no shield' (File photo Supplied)

The Civil Democratic Forces alliance has invited hold-out rebel movements and political parties in Sudan for an urgent consultation meeting about the building of a broad democratic civil front against the ongoing war between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support forces (RSF). The resistance committees have not received an invitation.

On Saturday, the Civil Democratic Forces alliance, better known as Tagaddum (meaning progress in Arabic), consisting of the Sudanese Congress Party, the National Umma Party, the SPLM-Democratic Revolutionary Movement, and other members of the Forces for Freedom and Change-Central Council (FFC-CC*), sent invitations to Sudanese hold-out parties and groups calling on them to join “urgent and direct meetings to build the broadest democratic civil front possible and to discuss ways to end the current war”.

In a statement received by Radio Dabanga yesterday, Tagaddum pledged that its members “will spare no effort to end the war in the country” and underscored the importance of communicating with all “revolutionary and patriotic forces seeking to stop the war and bring about a democratic civil transformation”.

The chairperson of Tagaddum, former Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, stated on his X account (formerly Twitter) on Saturday that “in continuation of our efforts to save the nation from the scourge of the devastating war”, he sent messages to the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North led by Abdelaziz El Hilu (SPLM-N El Hilu), the Sudan Liberation Movement under the leadership of Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW), the Communist Party of Sudan, and the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party, requesting an urgent meeting for consultations about “building the broadest front to stop the war, and to lay the building blocks for the Sudan of the future, a Sudan in whose skies the flags of freedom, peace, justice, and equality fly”.

Received

The SLM-AW confirmed they received the invitation. The movement’s spokesperson, Abdelrahman El Nayer, told Radio Dabanga that it will be discussed at the next meeting of the SLM High Leadership Council.

The SLM-AW itself “is seeking, with all actors in Sudan, to stop the violence in the country, as it is a national issue that requires all Sudanese to do their utmost to stop this war”.

El Nayer referred to the Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue proposed by the movement in former years to solve the root causes of the recurring Sudanese crises. “We were going to announce the inter-Sudanese dialogue in 2019, but it was delayed for multiple reasons. Yet we do believe that the Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue is the best solution,” he explained.

“Currently, the priority now is to end the war. After the violence has been stopped, we will be able to address the roots of the crises that led Sudan to wars since 1955 until today, and when the time comes, we will put forward this initiative.”

The SPLM-N El Hilu as well received Hamdok’s invitation, Mohamed Yousef, one of the movements leaders and former Minister of Labour, told Radio Dabanga, without providing further details.

The Arab Socialist Baath Party announced it has agreed to the meeting, while the Communist Party has not yet announced its position.

Addis Ababa Declaration

On January 2, the Civil Democratic Forces alliance, represented by Hamdok, signed an agreement with RSF Commander Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo in Addis Ababa, in which the paramilitary group agrees “to immediately and unconditionally stop hostilities” in direct negotiations with the SAF provided that the Tagaddum leaders agree with the army commanders “to adhere to the same procedures”.

Hamdok had also invited Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, commander-in-chief of the SAF for a similar meeting but has not received a response so far.

The signing of the agreement elicited diverse responses from Sudan’s various political stakeholders.

El Burhan warned Tagaddum “to stay away from the RSF leader if they are patriots” and “not to turn against the SAF as the militia did” in a speech on Friday.

The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) expressed a mix of approval and criticism, welcoming the agreement’s focus on humanitarian issues but pointed out flaws related to the political process and the potential legitimisation of military involvement in civilian affairs.

Ahmed Babiker, leading member of the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party, strongly criticised the agreement, viewing it as a setback for civilian forces and a potential catalyst for the militarisation of political life. He warned against giving legitimacy to armed groups seeking a political role.

The Communist Party of Sudan, which in 2019 refused to talk with the junta and withdrew from the FFC in end 2020, also denounced the Addis Ababa Declaration, warning of “repeating any form of partnership with the military”.

In a statement on Saturday, the party’s political bureau said that Tagaddum “has no right to deviate from its duties to stop the war” and directed sharp criticism concerning “the partnering with the military and RSF and circumventing the principles of impunity”.

The bureau stressed the importance of “opening safe corridors for relief items to reach those affected and securing the return of the displaced people to their homes” – an issue also cited in the Addis Ababa Declaration.

The party said it categorically rejects “calls by affiliates of the Al Bashir regime on civilians to take up arms,” and warned that this development will turn the current RSF-SAF conflict into a civil war “that will tear apart the country’s unity, threaten regional and international security, and open the way for international intervention”.

According to the Communist Party the only step forward constitutes of “building the broadest mass coalition to stop the war and restore the revolution, until it achieves its goals of democratic civil rule and accomplishes the tasks of the transitional period”.

Resistance committees

The resistance committees** that signed the Revolutionary Charter for People’s Authority in September 2022, have not been invited yet by Tagaddum to join the building of “the broadest democratic civil front possible”.

In a statement, received by Radio Dabanga yesterday, the grassroots committees announced their “firm and supportive position for all options to end the war and address its roots completely” but criticised the Addis Ababa Declaration for omitting “pivotal issues”.

The Tagaddum-RSF agreement “did not refer to all parties to the Juba Peace Agreement”, signed in October 2020 by the Sudanese government and the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) rebel alliance. “This can be considered a deliberate marginalisation by both parties of the rebel movements, in particular because of their position against the RSF.”

The grassroots activists described the Tagaddum-RSF approach to war and peace as fragmented, “in a way that only leads to a re-experience of earlier fragmented bilateral agreements signed in Naivasha, Abuja, Asmara, Cairo, and Juba, which turned out to be completely unsuccessful”.

The statement in particular faulted the political declaration for not addressing “the humanitarian crisis of the Masalit community and their mass displacement [from in West Darfur], caused by ethnic cleansing and genocide, and the occupation of their land by the RSF and their allies”.

Therefore, a comprehensive transitional justice process is needed, and should be part of any agreement. “Following the principle of non-impunity, all leaders directly involved in human rights violations should step down, to ensure the progress of justice procedures” – though the grassroots committees do not deny “the impossibility of the RSF acknowledging all its records of violations in the wars in Darfur and the Nuba Mountains, and the violent dispersal of the Khartoum sit-in” in June 2019.

The committees also indicated that the declaration “does not address the real risks associated with the reality of demographic change” and warned that it would lead to the accumulation of grievances and to the deepening of the crisis of the historical Sudanese conflict linked to conflicts over land.

* The FFC has been prone to divisions since its formation in early January 2019. The National Umma Party (NUP), the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and the Socialist Arabic Ba’ath Party, which already witnessed internal splits during the reign of Al Bashir, fragmented further due to opposing views and standpoints on talks with the military. The Communist Party of Sudan withdrew from the FFC in the end of 2020. The mainstream Ba’ath Party left the coalition two year later. The FFC-CC now  consists of several (split-off) political parties and new groups such as the SPLM–Democratic Revolutionary Movement (DRM).

** The resistance committees that emerged during the 2018 December Revolution played an incredibly important part in Sudan’s pro-democracy movement ever since. The -mainly young- members emerged as watchdogs making sure that political parties and groups would not compromise on the ideals of the December revolution in exchange for government power, prominent Sudanese political scientist Atta El Battahani wrote in 2021. In November 2020, a year after a democratic transitional government was formed by Hamdok, the FFC began discussing the formation of a new legislative council. The resistance committees questioned FFC’s distribution of the 300 parliamentary seats and withdrew from the discussions. A legislative council was not formed. In January last year, the resistance committees of Khartoum began establishing local legislative councils in the city’s districts, which was to lead to the formation of a national parliament.

View original: https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/sudans-tagaddum-seeks-build-broadest-democratic-civil-front-possible

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Related Reports

Full Text: Addis Ababa Declaration

Addis Ababa Declaration between
The Coordination Body of the Democratic Civil Forces (Taqaddum) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)

Dated Tuesday, 02 January 2024

To view full text or download original click here: 

https://sudantribune.com/article280972/

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Asharq Al-Awsa - Wednesday, January 03, 2024 

Hemedti, Hamdok Sign Addis Ababa Declaration in Hope of Ending Sudan War 

Photo: RSF leader Hemedti (L) and former PM Hamdok sign the Addis Ababa Declaration on Tuesday, 02 January 2024 (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Full story: https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/4765891-hemedti-hamdok-sign-addis-ababa-declaration-hope-ending-sudan-war%C2%A0

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Sudan Tribune - Wednesday, January 03, 2024

IGAD leader reaffirms to civilian forces commitment to peace in Sudan

Photo: President Guelleh received Hamdok on Wednesday, January 03, 2023

Full story: https://sudantribune.com/article280954/

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Sudan Tribune - Wednesday, January 03, 2024 

Sudan’s deputy chairman brushes off Addis Ababa Declaration

Photo: Sudan's Deputy Chairman of the Sovereign Council, Malik Agar

Full story: https://sudantribune.com/article280947/

ENDS

Sudan: SAF & SPLM-N clashes in Kadugli, S. Kordofan

Press Release from OCHA - OCHASudan@un.org

Flash Update No. 01 

Dated Tuesday 22 August 2023 - here is a full copy:

SUDAN: SAF & SPLM-N clashes in Kadugli, South Kordofan, 

Flash Update No. 01 (22 August 2023)

Clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in Kadugli Town, South Kordofan State

HIGHLIGHTS

• Renewed clashes between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have been reported in Kadugli Town in recent days.

• The government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) in South Kordofan reports that an estimated 6,700 people fled their homes to another part of the town following clashes on 14 August.

• During the fighting, two humanitarian compounds were hit by stray bullets.

• There is a dire shortage of food and nutrition supplies in Kadugli Town.

• Conflict between the SPLM-N and the SAF has been ongoing since mid-June 2023.


The relocation of critical counterparts has led to the disruption of life-saving interventions.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

On 14 August, clashes between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) Al Hilu faction and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) were reported near the Hajr Al-Maak neighbourhood in Kadugli Town, the state capital of South Kordofan State, forcing at least 6,700 people to flee to Al Radaif neighbourhood in the west of the town, according to the government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) in South Kordofan. These numbers have yet to be verified. In addition, two humanitarian compounds, as well as many public buildings, were hit by stray bullets during the clashes. Humanitarian staff have been advised to restrict their movements in Kadugli Town.
 


The humanitarian situation is dire for vulnerable populations in Kadugli. Due to the insecurity, aid workers traveling from out of the area are not able to reach the town. Humanitarian food stocks in Kadugli Town have been depleted, and attempts to bring in more supplies have failed due to insecurity along the road from Dilling to Kadugli and due to the blocking of the road into the town by the SPLM-N. The last food distributions for three months were in May, and those supplies will only last families until the end of this month. Other humanitarian stocks in Kadugli, especially health and nutrition supplies, are also running low.
 


On 16 August 2023, there were renewed clashes between the SAF and SPLM-N in Kadugli Town, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM). Due to the fighting and shelling, residents in affected neighbourhoods have reportedly fled to the centre and west of Kadugli Town. The number of people affected is not yet known.
 


Fighting between the SPLM-N Al Hilu faction and SAF has been ongoing and escalating in the state since 17 June 2023. To date, nine out of 17 localities have been affected by the clashes, resulting in the displacement of more than 69,400 people.
 
 


Background 


Kadugli Town is the state capital of South Kordofan State and is located in Kadugli locality. An estimated 160,000 displaced people live in the locality, of whom about 100,000 needed humanitarian assistance even before the conflict, according to the 2023 Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO).

Download the Flash Update here

https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/sudan/flash-update/2ssdvuTvoamtqksQt7q4O/

View original here

https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/sudan/flash-update/2ssdvuTvoamtqksQt7q4O/

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Further Reading

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North

Leaders Abdelaziz al-Hilu; Malik Agar.

Founded 2011

Split from Sudan People's Liberation Movement

Ideology New Sudan

National affiliation Sudan Revolutionary Front

Politics of Sudan

Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North or SPLM–N, is a political party and militant organisation in the Republic of Sudan, based in the states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan. 

As of 2017, its two factions, SPLM-N (Agar) and SPLM-N (al-Hilu) were engaged in fighting each other and against the government of Sudan.

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Abdelaziz al-Hilu

Abdelaziz Adam Al-Hilu born 7 July 1954) is a Sudanese politician and the current chairperson of the Sudan People's Liberation Army – SPLA–North.

Biography

Al-Hilu was born in Al-Faydh Umm Abdullah, South Kordofan. He is considered one of the most successful SPLA/M commanders in the history of the SPLA and worked with South Sudan's Leader John Garang in an aim to create a Sudan that is democratic, fair and free to all Sudanese population.

He was born, raised and educated in the Nuba Mountains. He studied Economics in the University of Khartoum, and graduated in 1979. He lost the election for governor of South Kordofan to Ahmed Haroun in a poll rejected by the SPLA as rigged. He had been fighting the Sudan People's Armed Forces in the South Kordofan conflict.

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Malik Agar

Deputy Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council

Incumbent

Assumed office 19 May 2023

Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan

Preceded by Hemedti

Member of the Transitional Sovereignty Council

Governor of Blue Nile State

April 2010 – 2 September 2011

Born Nganyofa Agar Eyre Nganyofa

Ingessana Hills, Blue Nile State, Republic of Sudan

Political party SPLM-N

Occupation Politician, soldier

Military service

Allegiance Sudan People's Liberation Movement

Years of service 1983 - present

Battles/wars Second Sudanese Civil War

Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile

Malik Agar is a Sudanese politician and insurgent leader active in the insurgency in Blue Nile state. Since 2023, he has been the deputy chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, Sudan's ruling military junta.

 

Malik Agar was born Nganyofa Agar Eyre Nganyofa to an Ingessana chief in Blue Nile State. He did not know he was a Muslim until he was eight. His headteacher gave him the name "Malik" and told him he was a Muslim. From that day on, he was called "Malik Agar Eyre."

Second Sudanese Civil War

Agar joined the Sudanese armed opposition shortly after the beginning of the Second Sudanese Civil War in 1983.

In the 1990s, he was the commander of a section of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) military forces along the Ethiopia-Sudan border south of the Blue Nile to Geissan. SPLM units under his command captured the towns of Kurmuk and Qaissan in 1997.

Agar was close to John Garang, and shared his goal of overthrowing the Sudanese government, as opposed to fighting for the secession of South Sudan. After Garang's death, Agar, along with others who shared a desire for a revolution in Sudan, were marginalised by the new SPLM leadership. Agar expressed his disapproval of the secession of South Sudan to a US official in 2009, stating that it would cause the eventual splintering of the rest of Sudan.

Post-Civil War

He was elected governor of Blue Nile State in the Republic of the Sudan in April 2010. Agar was one of the few high-profile members of the Sudanese opposition to run in the election, and was the only non-NCP candidate to win a governorship. Agar defeated the NCP candidate, Farah Ibrahim Mohamed Al-Aggar, by 108,119 to 99,417 votes.

In February 2011 Malik Agar also became chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (northern sector), the part of the SPLM that operates in northern Sudan. The SPLM-NS became a separate political party when Southern Sudan seceded from the Republic of Sudan in July 2011.

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[Ends]

Islamists wield hidden hand in Sudan conflict. Burhan calls for Sudan’s young civilians to fight against RSF

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: This article shows a photo of Hemeti dated 2019. Not seen his face since he was demoted to a rebel. Two unverified voice messages from him are online. Can't find news of his whereabouts. Is he still alive? No-one's asking. Rumours online say he's in a Kenyan hospital, not true says Kenyan President Ruto in a recent video news report. 

Four writers of this article use the words "conflict" and "war"to describe Sudan's current crisis. Many writers casually use the words "war" and "genocide" whether true or not. Words have power. Young people now rely on social media for news, mainstream media is not seen as trustworthy. 

The article is followed by a cartoon from a report at Radio Dabanga titled 'El Burhan calls for Sudan's 'young and capable' civilians to fight against RSF'. 

The caption for the cartoon says 'Civilians who were killed for their protests against the actions of the military and Rapid Support Forces are now being asked to defend Sudan for Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan. 

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Article at Reuters.com
By Khalid Abdelaziz

Writing by Michael Georgy and Aidan Lewis, Editing by William Maclean
Published June 28, 2023, 5:05 AM GMT+1 - here is a full copy:

Exclusive: Islamists wield hidden hand in Sudan conflict, military sources say

Summary

• Ex-intelligence agents fighting alongside army-sources
• Army has leant on Bashir-era veterans since 2021 coup
• Conflict pits army general against ex-militia leader

[1/5]Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, deputy head of the military council and head of paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), greets his supporters as he arrives at a meeting in Aprag village, 60 kilometers away from Khartoum, Sudan, June 22, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo

DUBAI, June 28 (Reuters) - Thousands of men who worked as intelligence operatives under former president Omar al-Bashir and have ties to his Islamist movement are fighting alongside the army in Sudan's war, three military sources and one intelligence source said, complicating efforts to end the bloodshed.

The army and a paramilitary force have been battling each other in Khartoum, Darfur and elsewhere for 10 weeks in Africa's third largest country by area, displacing 2.5 million people, causing a humanitarian crisis and threatening to destabilise the region. Reinforcements for either side could deepen the conflict.

The army has long denied accusations by its rivals in the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that it depends on discredited loyalists of Bashir, an Islamist long shunned by the West, who was toppled during a popular uprising in 2019.

In response to a question from Reuters for this article, an army official said: "The Sudanese army has no relation with any political party or ideologue. It is a professional institution."

Yet the three military sources and an intelligence source said thousands of Islamists were battling alongside the army.

"Around 6,000 members of the intelligence agency joined the army several weeks before the conflict," said a military official familiar with the army's operations, speaking on condition on anonymity.

"They are fighting to save the country."

Former officials of the country's now-disbanded National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), a powerful institution composed mainly of Islamists, confirmed these numbers.

An Islamist resurgence in Sudan could complicate how regional powers deal with the army, hamper any move towards civilian rule and ultimately set the country, which once hosted al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, on a path for more internal conflict and international isolation.

Reuters spoke to 10 sources for this article, including military and intelligence sources and several Islamists.

In a development indicative of Islamist involvement, an Islamist fighter named Mohammed al-Fadl was killed this month in clashes between RSF forces and the army, said family members and Islamists. He had been fighting alongside the army, they said.

Ali Karti, secretary general of Sudan's main Islamic organisation, sent a statement of condolences for al-Fadl.

'OUR IDENTITY AND OUR RELIGION'

"We are fighting and supporting the army to protect our country from external intervention and keep our identity and our religion," said one Islamist fighting alongside the army.

Bashir's former ruling National Congress Party said in a statement it had no ties to the fighting and only backed the army politically.

The army accused the RSF of promoting Islamists and former regime loyalists in their top ranks, a charge the RSF denied. Army chief Abdel Fattah Burhan, who analysts see as a non-ideological army man, has publicly dismissed claims that Islamists are helping his forces. "Where are they?" he cried out to cheering troops in a video posted in May.

The military, which under Bashir had many Islamist officers, has been a dominant force in Sudan for decades, staging coups, fighting internal wars and amassing economic holdings.

But following the overthrow of Bashir, Burhan developed good ties with states that have worked against Islamists in the region, notably the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The Gulf states provided Khartoum with significant aid.

Nowadays, former NISS officers also help the military by collecting intelligence on its enemies in the latest conflict. The NISS was replaced by the General Intelligence Service (GIS) after Bashir was toppled, and stripped of its armed "operations" unit, according to a constitutional agreement.

Most of the men from that unit have sided with the army, but some former operations unit members and Islamists who served under Bashir entered the RSF, one army source and one intelligence source said.

"We are working in a very hard situation on the ground to back up the army, especially with information about RSF troops and their deployment," said a GIS official.

Reuters Graphics

BASHIR-ERA VETERANS

The army outnumbers the RSF nationally, but analysts say it has little capacity for street fighting because it outsourced previous wars in remote regions to militias. Those militias include the "Janjaweed" that helped crush an insurgency in Darfur and later developed into the RSF.

Nimble RSF units have occupied large areas of Khartoum and this week took control of the main base of the Central Reserve Police, a force that the army had deployed in ground combat in the capital. They seized large amounts of weaponry.

But the army, which has depended mainly on air strikes and heavy artillery, could benefit from GIS intelligence gathering skills honed over decades as it tries to root out the RSF.

On June 7, fire engulfed the intelligence headquarters in a disputed area in central Khartoum. Both sides accused the other of attacking the building.

After Burhan and RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, carried out a coup in 2021 which derailed a transition to democracy, Hemedti said the move was a mistake and warned it would encourage Islamists to seek power.

Regional heavyweights Saudi Arabia and the UAE had seen Sudan's transition towards democracy as a way to counter Islamist influence in the region, which they consider a threat.

Publicly, the army has asserted its loyalty to the uprising that ousted Bashir in 2019.

But after the military staged a coup in 2021 that provoked a resurgence of mass street protests, it leaned on Bashir-era veterans to keep the country running. A taskforce that had been working to dismantle the former ruling system was disbanded.

Before the outbreak of violence, Bashir supporters had been lobbying against a plan for a transition to elections under a civilian government. Disputes over the chain of command and the structure of the military under the plan triggered the fighting.

About a week after fighting broke out in April, a video on social media showed about a dozen former intelligence officials in army uniforms announcing themselves as reserve forces.

The footage could not be independently verified by Reuters.

Several senior Bashir loyalists walked free from prison in Bahri, across the Nile from central Khartoum, during a wider prison break amid fighting in late April. The circumstances of their release remain unclear. Bashir is in a military hospital.

[2/5]Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir addresses supporters during his visit to the war-torn Darfur region, in Bilal, Darfur, Sudan September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo

[3/5]A Sudanese national flag is attached to a machine gun of Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) soldiers as they wait for the arrival of Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, deputy head of the military council and head of RSF, before a meeting in Aprag village 60, kilometers away from Khartoum, Sudan, June 22, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo 

[4/5]A burned vehicle is seen in Khartoum, Sudan April 26, 2023. REUTERS/El-Tayeb Siddig/File Photo

[5/5]Sudan's General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan walks with troops, in an unknown location, in this picture released on May 30, 2023. Sudanese Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

View original: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/islamists-wield-hidden-hand-sudan-conflict-military-sources-say-2023-06-28/

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Post script from Sudan Watch Editor:

Cartoon by Omar Dafallah, published in Radio Dabanga's report below.

Caption: Civilians who were killed for their protests against the actions of the military and Rapid Support Forces are now being asked to defend Sudan for Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan 

- Cartoon by Omar Dafallah (RD)

Read more in report at Radio Dabanga, Thur 29 Jun 2023: El Burhan calls for Sudan’s ‘young and capable’ civilians to fight against RSF https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/el-burhan-calls-for-sudans-young-and-capable-civilians-to-fight-against-rsf )

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- - -

UPDATED Fri 30 Jun 2023 00:25 GMT+1 - added the following:

Report at Sudan Tribune

Published Tues 27 Jun 2023 - here is an excerpt:

Burhan calls on Sudanese youth to join the army

Sudan’s political parties have called for an end to the war and negotiations to integrate the RSF ahead of an inclusive political conference. For their part, the armed groups in Darfur that have signed a peace deal have declared their neutrality.

The SPLM-N, led by Malik Agar, is now fighting alongside the army after its full integration. In contrast, the SPLM-N led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu in the Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile has recently launched attacks against the Sudanese army, speaking about its failure to protect civilians.

Al-Burhan announced a one-day truce on the first day of Eid and reaffirmed the commitment of the armed forces to transfer power to a civilian government chosen by the Sudanese people. He further denounced the ongoing violations against civilians in Darfur as “ethnic cleansing and genocide.”

Read more: https://sudantribune.com/article274719/

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