KHARTOUM

- After weeks of disagreements and escalation, the President of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, met with his deputy, Commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo "Hamidti", which led to a decline in tension in Khartoum and opened the door to reviving the political process after a long stalemate, due to the divergence in the positions of the military component regarding the situation. politician.

Security sources told Al-Jazeera Net that the meeting with Al-Burhan and Hamidti came after moves by the leaders of the security and military services to contain the differences, for fear that they would get out of control and the country would slide into violence, as the military leaders held meetings with the two men after efforts by politicians and tribal leaders faltered.

The sources confirmed that the meeting of the first man in the state with his deputy was not long, as he focused on practical steps to reduce tension and overcome points of contention with regard to integrating the Rapid Support Forces and expanding the political process to include a broad political spectrum in order to ensure political support for the civil government that will be formed later after the forces reached. A final political agreement that enables it to confront the complex challenges in the country.

And the same sources stated that the army leadership demanded the Rapid Support Forces to stop recruitment and expansion and return about 30,000 of the forces that came from the Darfur region to the capital, Khartoum, during the past weeks, in addition to that the armed forces reached a vision regarding security and military reform in accordance with the security arrangements of the Juba Peace Agreement for Sudan. The site is in 2020, proposing the merging of the Rapid Support Forces within 30 months before the end of the transitional period, and the holding of elections in the country coinciding with the merging and demobilization of the Armed Movement Forces.


joint security committee

After meeting Al-Burhan and Hamidti, the Sovereignty Council said - in a statement - that they discussed the political and security situation, and the meeting concluded with the formation of a joint security committee of regular forces, relevant state agencies and armed struggle movements in order to follow up on the security situation in the country, as the statement indicated that the meeting reviewed The progress of the political process and the need to proceed with the agreed arrangements.

The armed forces had issued a statement hours before the meeting with Al-Burhan and Hamidti, confirming the commitment of the army and its leadership to the framework agreement that unites the military system and forms a civilian government.

As a result, the signatories to the framework agreement welcomed the army's statement, describing it as positive, and saying that it pushes towards achieving democratic transformation and motivates the various parties to overcome their differences regarding the transitional period.


Caretaker government

The political process in the country has witnessed stagnation during the past weeks due to the intersection of positions between Al-Burhan and Hamidti, who has become close to the alliance of the "Freedom and Change" forces - wing of the Central Council, which signed a framework agreement with the military component on the one hand, and between the forces that signed the agreement and the forces of "freedom". and Change - the Democratic Bloc" on the other hand, because although the two parties reached an understanding to issue a political declaration;

The dispute between them was about who has the right to sign.

The forces of the "Central Council" demand that the head of the Sudan Liberation Movement, Minni Arko Minawi, the leader of the Justice and Equality Movement, Jibril Ibrahim, and the acting head of the Democratic Unionist Party, Jaafar al-Mirghani, sign the political declaration, while the three insist that all factions of the Democratic Bloc sign the declaration.

For his part, Khaled Omar, a spokesman for the political process, said that the "Democratic Bloc" asked for a deadline before signing the political declaration, and that the deadline has expired, explaining that they will not wait indefinitely, as the country's conditions cannot tolerate further slowdown, he said.

In the context, an official in the presidential palace told Al-Jazeera Net that Al-Burhan hinted during his meeting with some representatives of the African UN tripartite mechanism - which sponsors the dialogue between the Sudanese parties - that a government cannot be formed unless the political forces agree.

He attributed this to the fact that any government from limited parties will lead to an escalation of political polarization and the birth of a fragile government that cannot deal with the country's crises, and in the event of the inability of the political forces, the available option is to form a caretaker government to run the country and stop the security and economic deterioration until the political forces agree.

Osman Mirghani: The political crisis is deeply affecting the Sudanese family, which is no longer able to face the costs of life (Al-Jazeera)

Reject the forces of freedom

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the "Freedom and Change - Central Council" forces, Shihab Ibrahim, believes that the formation of a caretaker government is out of the question and was not raised in their meetings or in the corridors of the coalition, adding to Al-Jazeera Net that if a caretaker government is formed, the situation in the country will be worse. than it is now.

He attributed this to the fact that the caretaker government would be a fragile authority, indicating that the announcement of the civilian government depends on the emptiness of the workshops that will discuss issues of transitional justice, security and military reform, reaching a final agreement and adopting a constitutional document to run the country during the remainder of the transitional period.

Regarding the meeting with Al-Burhan and Hamidti, Ibrahim expected that he would contribute positively to moving the political process forward, reviving it, reaching a political solution soon, and stopping rumors about the approaching military conflict and the country entering a new war phase, considering that the issue of security and military reform is a fundamental pillar of the political process and cannot be addressed. In light of a disagreement between the military component, he expressed his praise for the statement of the armed forces and their commitment to the political process, indicating that it reflects a great deal of responsibility that the Sudanese army enjoys.

On the other hand, the political analyst and editor-in-chief of "Al-Tayyar" newspaper, Othman Mirghani, said that the political crisis is hitting the Sudanese family deeply, as it has become unable to face the costs of life with the absence or weakness of government services.

Mirghani called for the immediate formation of a caretaker government whose mission is temporary for no more than 3 months, to restore Sudan's normal relations with the international community, and to restore the partnerships that began during the era of the first and second transitional governments headed by Abdullah Hamdok, so that no more time is wasted in an unknown political battle. term.

Mirghani called on the forces of "Freedom and Change - the wing of the Central Council" and the forces of the "Democratic Bloc" to form a caretaker government of acceptable national figures who enjoy the confidence of the Sudanese street to manage the political process from where it ended, with the approval of the largest political and societal spectrum and with the support of the international and regional community.

Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Mirghani explained that it is possible to agree on a prime minister who enjoys the consensus of the majority of the people, according to a specific, clear and short-term assignment and mandate, provided that he is left to choose ministers according to the same criteria.