Sudan: historic peace agreement signed between government and rebels

Sudanese Sovereign Council Chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (l.) And South Sudanese President Salva Kiir hold hands as they arrive for the signing of the peace agreement, in Juba, October 3, 2020. REUTERS / Jok Solomun

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The Sudanese government and rebel leaders signed, this Saturday, October 3, in Juba in South Sudan, a peace agreement which must end 17 years of a deadly war. 

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From our correspondent in the region,

This historic agreement is the formal follow-up to

.

The two parties had already agreed on the main points of this historic agreement.

Each 

, then negotiations continued until the formal signing which took place at midday on Saturday.

The August text provided for a three-year transition to implement power sharing.

The Sudan Revolutionary Front (SFR), a coalition of rebel groups active in various regions of the country, was to obtain positions at the national level: Sovereign Council, government, legislative council ... A major conference on administrative divisions and their competences was expected within sixty days.

Then, each movement had to obtain concessions of power, in its region of origin.

In Darfur, for example, rebels were to secure local posts as well as form a joint force of 12,000 with the official army.

The same goes for South Kordofan and the Blue Nile, where the SPLM-North (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Sudan) of Malik Agar had negotiated autonomy for the area, obtaining posts in the governorate and in administrative bodies.

Two rebel groups did not sign

However, this agreement does not necessarily mean that Sudan will be completely pacified.

Indeed, two rebel groups did not sign it: The SPLM, led by Abdelaziz el-Helou, which is present in the Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile and the SLM (Sudan Liberation Army) of Abdel Wahid Nur , which operates in Darfur.

They have a little more radical positions and they often contest the mediation of power.

There is still a separate dialogue.

On September 3, Khartoum and the al-Helou faction, for example, signed an agreement providing for a cessation of hostilities.

The two parties even met today in Juba, where the agreement has just been signed.

They said that the peace process should be completed and the dialogue resumed.

The absence of these signatures could weaken the signed agreement because they are two powerful groups which are the only ones to control certain parts of the Sudanese territory.

El-Helou, for example, wants a secular state that does not make laws on religion, but also a right to self-determination for the South.

Abdel Wahid Nur, he does not want to negotiate until the security and stability of Darfur are restored.

Moreover, the group continues to regularly confront the security forces.

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