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Both sides are due to sign the agreement in its entirety on Saturday in Juba, the capital of neighboring South Sudan.
The government of Sudan and the rebels will sign a historic peace agreement in a bid to end decades of war in which hundreds of thousands have died, a historic achievement if it stands up.
Ending Sudan’s internal conflicts has been a top priority for the transitional government in power since the ouster last year of former ruler Omar al-Bashir amid a popular uprising.
Both sides are due to sign the agreement in its entirety on Saturday in Juba, the capital of neighboring South Sudan, after initialing the agreement late last month.
The location of the ceremony has great significance: South Sudan’s own leaders fought Khartoum as rebels for decades, before establishing the world’s newest nation-state.
“This is a historic day. We hope that the signing will end the struggle for good and pave the way for development, “Suleiman al-Dabailo, president of the Sudan Peace Commission, told AFP news agency.
The Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), an alliance of rebel groups from the Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan regions, also expressed hope for lasting peace.
“This day marks the success of our revolution and our fight against the old regime,” SRF spokesman Oussama Said told AFP.
“The agreement addresses the roots of the crisis and paves the way for democracy,” he said, highlighting that it is in line with the objectives of the popular revolution, “freedom, peace and justice.”
Decades of war
Sudan has been torn by multiple conflicts between the Arab-dominated government that was led by al-Bashir for 30 years and rebels from non-Arab ethnic groups in its remote regions.
Tensions have been intensified by economic difficulties, especially after South Sudan’s secession in 2011, which deprived the north of three-quarters of its oil reserves.
Several civil wars have raged since independence in 1956, including the 1983-2005 war that led to the secession of the south.
The devastating war in Darfur in 2003 left at least 300,000 dead and 2.5 million displaced in its early years, according to the United Nations.
Under the peace agreement, SRF fighters will slowly merge into joint units with government security forces.
However, there are rebel groups that have refused to sign the agreement.
One of them, the Darfur-based faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) led by Abdelwahid Nour, launched an attack on Monday, the army said.
Another, the South Kordofan-based wing of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, signed a separate ceasefire agreement.
It allows the rebels to keep their weapons for “self-protection” until Sudan’s constitution is changed to ensure separation of state and religion.
South Kordofan and, to a lesser extent, the Blue Nile State have significant Christian populations that have struggled for decades to end the imposition of Islamic law by Khartoum.
Pitfalls ahead
Dabailo said the government hopes that resistance groups will join in “because the document addresses the problems realistically and, if implemented to the letter, will lead to peace.”
The agreement covers a number of sensitive issues, from land ownership, reparations and compensation to the sharing of wealth and power and the return of refugees and internally displaced persons.
But the road ahead is fraught with dangers, warned Osman Mirghani, editor-in-chief of the Sudanese daily Al Tayyar, who asked: “What about non-signatories?”
Sudan researcher Jean-Baptiste Gallopin, a visiting member of the European Council on Foreign Relations, warned that “the deal is going to be very expensive” for the poverty-stricken country.
It could involve paying thousands of combatants in exchange for their demobilization and giving compensation to victims of conflict.
“Without outside help, the government will not be able to finance it because the economy is collapsing,” he said.
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