Chad's Deby met Sudan's Finance Minister JEM leader Ibrahim. JEM leaders secretly met RSF commander

Note, the leader of Darfur rebel group JEM, Gibril Ibrahim, is Sudan's Minister of Finance. He was appointed to the post by Sudanese Prime Minister Hamdok in a cabinet reshuffle 8 February 2021. Read more.

Report from Sudan Tribune - sudantribune.com
Published Monday 17 July 2023 - here is a full copy:

JEM faces internal rift as leaders engage with RSF commander

July 17, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) is confronted with an internal crisis as three senior members are found to have secretly held a meeting with the Second Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Abdel Rahim Daglo.

JEM leader Gibril Ibrahim refuted claims in a statement last week, denying any meeting with Daglo in the Chadian capital during a recent trip to N’djamena. He affirmed that his sole meeting was with Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby on July 8.

While JEM asserts its neutrality in the war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary forces, reports have resurfaced suggesting that Daglo had met with JEM leadership members in Chad. The purpose of the meeting was reportedly to discuss the RSF’s political future within the ongoing efforts to end the war, hold an inclusive dialogue, and explore possibilities for cooperation between the two armed groups.

In response to these reports, JEM indirectly acknowledged the meeting by issuing a second statement, on Sunday stating that the leadership members who met the RSF second-in-command in N’djamena acted in their personal capacity without any mandate from the group.

On Monday, a prominent JEM leader disclosed to the Sudan Tribune that the movement’s leader intends to take punitive measures against the senior officials who secretly met with Daglo in Chad.

“Gibril Ibrahim plans to impose severe penalties on the leaders who clandestinely met Daglo in N’Djamena,” said the senior official, who is not authorized to speak to the media.

The official revealed that Ibrahim personally spoke with JEM’s political secretary, Suleiman Sandal, and its chief negotiator and peace implementation secretary, Ahmed Tugud, to inquire about the reasons behind their meeting with the RSF second-in-command.

The source emphasized that the unauthorized meeting has angered the JEM leadership, particularly as it contradicts the movement’s stance of neutrality in the conflict between the army and the paramilitary forces.

“These leaders have chosen a path that contradicts the movement’s vision. Ongoing meetings are being held with them to clarify their positions, and strict sanctions are expected to be imposed against them in the coming days,” the source stated.

Last week, the leaders of the Darfur groups that signed the Juba peace agreement held discussions with the Chadian president to address the urgent need for protecting civilians in Darfur and stemming the flow of refugees to Chad.

In light of the reported killing of hundreds of civilians in West and Central Darfur states by the RSF and allied militiamen, the signatory groups also convened in N’djamena and agreed to strengthen the joint force.

Following the outbreak of war, the Darfur armed groups formed a joint force to safeguard civilians, but its role has remained limited to the North Darfur capital. The force is mainly escorting humanitarian and commercial convoys to or  in the western Sudan region.

(ST)

View original:  https://sudantribune.com/article275238/

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Related report

Darfur24 -Tuesday 18 July 2023

JEM chairman vows to punish senior movement officials

[...] On the 5th of July, several leading members of the struggle movements, including chairman of Sudan liberation Movements Minnawi, Altahir Hajar and Alhadi Idriss held talks with senior Chadian government officials on the situation in Sudan in general and Darfur in particular and the possibility of delivering humanitarian aid to Darfur region.

https://www.darfur24.com/en/2023/07/18/jem-chairman-vows-to-punish-senior-movement-officials/

[Ends]

Chadian president meets Darfur Governor Minnawi, N. Darfur Governor, Sudan's Finance Minister Ibrahim

Report from Darfur 24

Published Saturday 08 July 2023, 4:31 pm - excerpt:

Chadian president meets leaders of Sudan’s Armed struggle movements

Ndjamena, July 8 (Darfur 24) - Governor of Darfur region, Mini Arko Minnawi and governor of North Darfur state Nimir Mohamed Abdelrahman arrived Friday in the Chadian capital Ndjamena, at a request of Chadian president Mohamed Idriss Deby.

Another delegation of Sudanese politicians, including Dr. Alhadi Idriss, Altahir Hajar and Gibril Ibrahim had earlier arrived in Ndjamena..

North Darfur governor, Nimir Abdulrahman told Darfur 24 that their visit to Ndjamena had nothing to do with the political and civil agitation of some Sudanese political forces.

Nimir explained that the visit comes within a framework of invitation extended to the leaders of the armed struggle movements by the Chadian president, Mohamed Idriss Deby. [...]

View original: https://www.darfur24.com/en/2023/07/08/chadian-president-meets-leaders-of-sudans-armed-struggle-movements/

[Ends]

Sudan's PM Hamdok, detained after coup, is home

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor:  Although I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the following report, I am posting it here because it provides some details about Sudan's Prime Minister Hamdok and his wife. Sadly, I have not found any reliable news about Mr Hamdok's cabinet colleagues, their current whereabouts and how they are being treated. I am reluctant to post this report here today but am confident that Mr Hamdok and his wife have been released safely. Reportedly, they were abducted and detained at the home of Sudan's coup leader Gen. Burhan. More on this at a later date.   

Photo, Sudan's head of the military Gen Abdel-Fattah Burhan speaks during a press conference at the General Command of the Armed Forces in Khartoum, Sudan, Tuesday, Oct 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali)

Sudan’s prime minister, detained after coup, returns home

Report at Fox17 dot com 

Written by SAMY MAGDY, Associated Press (AP) 

Published Wednesday 27 October 2021 

Sudan's deposed prime minister and his wife were allowed to return home Tuesday, a day after they were detained when the military seized power in a coup, according to a statement issued by his office.

The release of Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and his wife followed international condemnation of the coup and calls for the military to release all the government officials who were detained when Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan seized power on Monday.

The statement by Hamdok's office said other government officials remained in detention, their locations unknown. The deposed prime minister and his wife were under "heavy security" at home in the upscale Kafouri neighborhood of the capital Khartoum, said a military official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media. The official did not say whether they were free to leave or make calls.

Earlier in the day, Burhan said Hamdok had been held for his own safety and would be released. But he warned that other members of the dissolved government could face trial as protests against the putsch continued in the streets.

View full report plus 14 photos here:  https://fox17.com/news/nation-world/sudans-prime-minister-detained-after-coup-returns-home

TMC, FFC initial amended constitutional declaration in Khartoum Sudan on Sunday 04 August 2019

Article from Gulf News

Written by Agence France-Presse (AFP)

Dated Sunday, 04 August 2019 15:28

Sudan generals, protest camp sign accord on road to civilian rule

A formal signing in front of foreign dignitaries is due to take place on August 17

General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (R), Sudan's deputy head of the Transitional Military Council, and Protest leader Ahmed Rabie shake hands after signing the constitutional declaration at a ceremony attended by African Union and Ethiopian mediators in the capital Khartoum on August 4, 2019 AFP

Khartoum: Sudan’s army rulers and protest leaders Sunday signed a hard-won constitutional declaration that paves the way for a promised transition to civilian rule following more than seven months of often deadly street rallies.

The agreement, signed at a ceremony in Khartoum, builds on a landmark July 17 power-sharing deal and provides for a joint civilian-military ruling body to oversee the formation of a transitional civilian government and parliament to govern for a three-year transition period.

Protest movement leader Ahmed Rabie and the deputy head of the ruling military council, General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, signed the declaration at the ceremony attended by African Union and Ethiopian mediators.

“We turned a tough page of Sudan’s history by signing this agreement,” Daglo, who flashed a victory sign after making a short speech, told reporters.

Both sides flashed victory signs.

Image Credit: AFP

The signing was met by a wave of applause in the hall as representatives from both sides shook hands.

Overnight, thousands of jubilant Sudanese already took to the streets of the capital to celebrate when the deal was announced before dawn.

A formal signing in front of foreign dignitaries is due to take place on August 17 - the date on which ousted president Omar al-Bashir is due to go on trial on corruption charges - another protest leader, Monzer Abu al-Maali, told AFP.

The next day, the generals and protest leaders are expected to announce the composition of the new transitional civilian-majority ruling council, he said.

“Members of the ruling sovereign council will be announced on August 18, the prime minister will be named on August 20 and cabinet members on August 28,” Abu al-Maali told AFP.

Sunday’s accord was the result of difficult negotiations between the leaders of mass protests which erupted last December against Bashir’s three-decade rule and the generals who eventually ousted him in April.

Demonstrators hail ‘victory’

The talks had been repeatedly interrupted by deadly violence against demonstrators who have kept up rallies to press for civilian rule.

They were suspended for weeks after men in military uniform broke up a long-running protest camp outside army headquarters in Khartoum on June 3, killing at least 127 people according to doctors close to the protest movement.

They were briefly suspended again earlier this week when paramilitaries shot dead six demonstrators in the city of Al-Obeid, four of them schoolchildren.

On Saturday, the Arab League welcomed the agreement saying the signing of the constitutional declaration “would launch a new and important phase in line with the Sudanese people’s aspirations”.

General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (R), Sudan's deputy head of the Transitional Military Council, and Protest leader Ahmed Rabie sign the constitutional declaration at a ceremony attended by African Union and Ethiopian mediators in the capital Khartoum on August 4, 2019. Sudan's army rulers and protest leaders today inked a hard-won constitutional declaration, paving the way for a promised transition to civilian rule. The agreement, signed during a ceremony witnessed by AFP, builds on a landmark power-sharing deal signed on July 17 and provides for a joint civilian-military ruling body to oversee the formation of a transitional civilian government and parliament to govern for a three-year transition period. / AFP / ASHRAF SHAZLY Image Credit: AFP

Sudan’s army ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan lauded the “long-awaited deal” in an interview on Saudi broadcaster Al-Hadath.

Demonstrators among the crowds that took to the streets in the early hours hailed victory in their struggle for a new Sudan.

“For us, the revolution succeeded now and our country set foot on the road towards civilian rule,” said 25-year-old Ahmed Ibrahim as he joined the cavalcade of vehicles that criss-crossed the streets of Khartoum, horns blazing.

Fellow protester Somaiya Sadeq said she hoped there would now be justice for those who had given their lives.

“We have been waiting for a civilian state to seek fair retribution from the murderers of our sons,” she told AFP.

Doctors linked to the protest umbrella group, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, say a total of more than 250 people have been killed in protest-related violence since December.

Protest leaders have blamed much of the violence on the feared paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces, who sprang out of the Janjaweed militia notorious for alleged war crimes during the conflict in Darfur.

The military announced on Friday that nine of them had been dismissed and arrested on suspicion of involvement in this week’s fatal shootings in Al-Obeid.

Protest leaders said they had won the military’s agreement that the RSF irregulars would be integrated in the army chain of command.

SOURCE: https://gulfnews.com/world/mena/sudan-generals-protest-camp-sign-accord-on-road-to-civilian-rule-1.65626339

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(L to R) Ethiopian mediator Mahmoud Drir attends the signing of the constitutional declaration between protest leader Ahmad Rabie and General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, Sudan's deputy head of the Transitional Military Council, at a ceremony attended by African Union and Ethiopian mediators in the capital Khartoum on August 4, 2019 AFP

General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, Sudan's deputy head of the Transitional Military Council, celebrates after signing the constitutional declaration with a protest leader, at a ceremony attended by African Union and Ethiopian mediators in the capital Khartoum on August 4, 2019.

CREDIT: The above two photos and captions from http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/342171.aspx

Sudan constitutional declaration amended: TMC, FFC add Addis Ababa text

Article from and by Sudan Tribune

Dated Saturday 03 August 2019

TMC, FFC add text on peace in Sudan to constitutional declaration

August 3, 2019 (KHARTOUM) - The Addis Ababa document on peace agreed between the rebel umbrella Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) and its political allies in the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) was officially added to the agreed Constitutional Declaration.

On Friday [02 Aug] the FFC and the TMC finished discussions on the fundamental law facilitating orderly change to a democratic regime during the 39 months transitional period.

Also, they agreed to include the Addis Ababa agreement after redrafting some paragraphs to make it valid for all the armed groups and not only for the SRF factions in a meeting to be held on Saturday [03 Aug].

"The Addis Ababa document was added as an additional chapter to the constitutional document," several sources involved in the finalization meeting, told Sudan Tribune on Saturday evening [03 Aug].

The military council had already welcomed the Addis Ababa text on ways to achieve peace during the interim period and to enable the armed groups to take part in the transitional process that will forge the future of the country.

Now as the text is added, the two parties will initialize the constitutional declaration on Sunday [04 Aug], and the African mediation will determine the date for the signing ceremony.

The inclusion of Addis Ababa text sparked a debate in the corridors of negotiations between the TMC and the opposition FFC Friendship Hall on Friday.

The meeting decided to discuss the document on Saturday, but El-Tom Hajo, head of SRF delegation to Khartoum insisted that the issue be debated on Friday, but his request had been ignored.

Following what, the head of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) Malik Akar, announced on Saturday morning that their participation in the celebrations of the agreement between the military junta and the FFC over the transitional period depends on the inclusion of the Addis Ababa document.

For his part, Gibril Ibrahim the leader of the Justice and Equality Movement and SRF deputy chairman recalled in a tweet on Saturday that the document was signed by all the FFC groups and addresses the root causes of the Sudanese crisis.

The document is the "shortest way" to achieve peace and stability in Sudan, he stressed.

According to the political agreement reached last month, the peace process should top the agenda of the transitional government during the first six months.

The SPLM-N led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu said ready to discuss peace with the civilian-led government. However, the SLM led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur did not indicate its position until now. (ST)

SOURCE: http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article67885

Sudan: Darfur rebel groups say agreement signed between TMC and FFC does not represent all the FFC

Article from Middle East Monitor

July 18, 2019 at 4:52 am

Armed movements in Sudan: political declaration will not achieve peace

Photo: Sudanese people gather to celebrate the ongoing negotiations between Transitional Military Council and the Forces for Freedom and Change opposition alliance, in Khartoum, Sudan on 5 July 2019 [Mahmoud Hjaj / Anadolu Agency]

Armed movements in Sudan announced, Wednesday [17 July], their reservations about the political declaration signed between the Military Council and the Forces of Freedom and Change. The stated that the declaration does not meet the aspirations for achieving a comprehensive peace in the country.

“We do appreciate the motives of those who signed the agreement. However, these parties do not represent all the Forces of Freedom and Change. The agreement ignores important issues being discussed in Addis Ababa upon which progress has been made,” said Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North leader, Malek Akar.

“There has been an in-depth dialogue between active leaders in the Forces of Freedom and Change and the Sudan Revolutionary Front,” Akar said in a statement seen by Anadolu Agency.

He continued: “The agreement has negatively affected this dialogue and what it includes about peace does not go beyond public relations.”

“We are for the Forces of Freedom and Change, and this agreement will lead to different positions… We are studying with our comrades in the Revolutionary Front a position that we will announce today,” Akar added.

Gibril Ibrahim, head of the Justice and Equality Movement, said on Twitter: “the signing of a political agreement between the Transitional Military Council and parties from the Forces of Freedom and Change disregards the consultations taking place in Addis Ababa.”

“The Sudan Revolutionary Front is not a party to this agreement,” Ibrahim added.

There have been consultations in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa between the Sudan Revolutionary Front and the Forces of Freedom and Change to reach understandings on achieving peace in conflict areas.

Since 2003, the Darfur region has endured conflict between the Sudanese government and rebel movements, killing more than 300,000 people and displacing about 2.5 million people out of a total of 7 million people, according to the United Nations.

Since June 2011, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – north – has been waging an armed insurgency in the provinces of South Kordofan (south) and the Blue Nile (south-east), affecting one million and two hundred people, according to UN statistics.

On Wednesday morning, the Sudanese parties signed with initials the document of the Transitional Phase Agreement between the Military Council and the Forces of Freedom and Change in Khartoum after a three-day postponement and negotiations since Tuesday evening.

The agreement provides for the formation of a sovereign council of 11 members, with five military officers who would be selected by the Military Council, five civilians would be chosen by the Forces of Change, in addition to a civilian figure who will be determined by consensus between the two sides.

A military member shall preside over the Council of Sovereignty for 21 months from the date of signature of the Agreement, followed by the Presidency of a civilian member for the remaining 18 months of the transitional period (39 months).

The Military Council has been in power since the army leadership ousted Omar Al-Bashir on April 11 from the presidency (1989- 2019), under pressure from widespread protests that have started since late 2018, denouncing the deteriorating economic conditions.

SOURCE: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190718-armed-movements-in-sudan-political-declaration-will-not-achieve-peace/

Sudan opposition in disagreement with the way power-sharing deal has been done and the content

Article from africanews.com

By AFP Thursday, 18 July 2019 

Sudan opposition skeptical about power-sharing deal

“We are not against the agreement in its sense, but we are in disagreement with the way it has been done and the content.”

Sudan’s opposition has raised skepticism about the recently signed power sharing deal.

After weeks of protests following the overthrow of long serving leader, Omar al-Bashir, military rulers finally inked the long-awaited deal.

But now, the opposition is raising some questions.

“Still in spite or irrespective of what had happened this morning, we are still open-minded to sit with leaders of FFC (Forces of Freedom and Change) to bring the agreement, whatever agreement they signed this morning back to the drawing table, to develop and improve it and make it acceptable to all Sudanese”, said Gibril Ibrahim, chairperson of Justice and Equality Movement.

Gibril Ibrahim, who is also leader of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front, detailed some demands.

“We are not against the agreement in its sense, the purpose, but we are in disagreement with the way it has been done and the content. We were here to develop the content, to make sure that the issues that we consider instrumental, such as issues of peace, marginalization, issues of the vulnerable people in Sudan. FFC (Forces of Freedom and Change) has not yet done so.

The agreement reached on Wednesday between the military and the protesters also provides for the establishment of a “sovereign council”.

It’s a body responsible for managing the transition for a little over three years, first led by the military and then by civilians.

SOURCE AFP 

https://www.africanews.com/2019/07/18/sudan-opposition-skeptical-about-power-sharing-deal/