Their signature stopped an Ethiopian conflict that lasted two years.. and paved the way for Sudanese civil rule without the participation of the army
The armistice of the “Tigray” region and the “framework agreement” .. Hopes for achieving peace in Ethiopia and Sudan
Ethiopian government representative Ridwan Hussein (second from left) and Tigray Front representative Getachew Reda sign the peace agreement in Pretoria.
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2022 is the year of conflicts erupting... and an attempt to redraw "maps"
It may be a matter of superficiality and ignoring the facts if we consider that 2022 was a normal year, because the events that took place in this year were truly exceptional and affected their consequences and effects, and perhaps their specificity, on the whole world, because some of them were an attempt to redraw maps.Given that the world’s events are many and we cannot go over all of them, we will try to address the most important ones, such as the explosive demonstrations in Iran a few months ago, which shook the Iranian regime from within, and sparked mixed reactions across the world, and the Ukraine war and its economic and geopolitical effects on The countries of the world, especially the European continent, the departure of Queen Elizabeth, who formed a large part of Britain's modern history, and enjoyed great popularity around the world, the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan and the challenge of China, and the visit of President Joe Biden to the Middle East and the reactions it provoked, And the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Saudi Arabia and his holding of more than one summit in what can be considered a repositioning of Beijing in the Middle East, and a reorientation by some Arab countries towards Beijing.
Jaafar Muhammad Ahmed À Dubai /
The year 2022 witnessed a breakthrough and hopes for achieving peace and stability in both Ethiopia and Sudan, as the two Ethiopian warring parties in the bloody conflict that has been going on for two years in the Tigray region agreed to a truce, following marathon talks on the second of November in Pretoria, the capital of South Africa, It aims to "stop the fighting" and end a war that NGOs have described as "one of the bloodiest in the world".
Similar to a regional and international welcome to the Ethiopian agreement, neighboring Sudan hastened to express its satisfaction with the cessation of hostilities between the two parties to the conflict. A month later, on December 5, the Sudanese capital witnessed the signing of the "framework agreement" between the military faction in the country's ruling Sovereignty Council, and the forces of the Declaration of Freedom. and Change - the Central Council” and groups allied with it;
To end the political crisis in Sudan and return it to civilian rule.
Ethiopia and the Tigray Front
After a two-year struggle, the Ethiopian federal government and the rebel authorities in the Tigray region (north) signed on November 2 in Pretoria an agreement to “cease the fighting” as the two warring Ethiopian parties agreed to a truce, after marathon talks in Pretoria.
The cessation of hostilities agreement represented a major diplomatic breakthrough after two years of a war that claimed thousands of lives, displaced millions, and pushed hundreds of thousands towards starvation.
The war broke out in November 2020 between the forces of the Tigray region on the one hand, and the forces of the Ethiopian Federal Army and its allies, including forces from other regions and Eritrea, on the other hand.
By October 2022, that war had claimed between 385,000 and 600,000 lives.
After the collapse of the ceasefire (March-August) 2022, violence in the war escalated to a level not seen in months, displacing nearly 574,000 people and killing nearly 100,000 more in a few weeks.
The scale of the violence has alarmed international observers, including the United Nations and the African Union, who have urged the warring parties to return to peace negotiations.
Attempts were made to renegotiate a peace agreement during September and early October 2022.
On October 5th, both the Ethiopian government and the Tigray forces accepted an invitation from the African Union for peace talks in South Africa, which were initially scheduled to take place between October 7th and 8th, but the talks were postponed due to a combination of factors.
Ultimately, a new date for the peace negotiations was set for October 25 in Pretoria, where the talks were jointly mediated by African Union envoy Olusegun Obasanjo, former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, US envoy to the Horn of Africa Mike Hammer, and former South African Vice President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. .
TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda and Ethiopian National Security Adviser Ridwan Hussein acted as the lead negotiators.
On November 2, 2022, the Ethiopian Federal Government and the TPLF issued a joint statement, stating that they "agreed to permanently silence the guns and end two years of conflict in northern Ethiopia."
Absence of Eritrea
It was noted that Eritrea was absent from the peace talks, before and after the signing of the agreement, and the Eritrean authorities did not make any statements regarding the agreement.
The AU mediator, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, said at the signing ceremony that the agreement would include “systematic, orderly, smooth and coordinated disarmament” and would allow humanitarian supplies to be re-delivered in Tigray.
The agreement provided for the delivery of humanitarian aid to Tigray, which is isolated from the world, and whose population of six million has been deprived of food and medicine for more than a year, and on November 16, the first relief convoy since August arrived.
For his part, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed welcomed the agreement, noting that it was a "tremendous work in pushing Ethiopia forward on the path of reforms."
He further stated that "Ethiopia's commitment to peace remains unwavering, and our commitment to cooperate for the implementation of the agreement is equally strong."
Terms of the agreement between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray forces
The full agreement contains a preamble and 15 articles, beginning with the objectives of the agreement in (Article 1), followed by the general principles underlying the ceasefire in (Article 2).
Article 13 instructs both parties to "implement this agreement in good faith" and to avoid attempting to undermine it.
The Front agreed to:
■ Respect government authority.
■ Respect the “constitutional mandate of the federal government” to send troops and security forces to Tigray.
■ Not recruiting, training, or deploying military forces, or making "conflict preparations."
■ Respecting Ethiopian sovereignty and not undermining it, either on its own or through "relations with foreign powers".
■ Not to force a change in government by unconstitutional means.
The Ethiopian government has agreed to:
■ Cessation of all military operations against the "Tigray People's Liberation Front fighters".
■ Restore basic and essential services to Tigray as soon as possible.
■ Stop classifying the Tigray Liberation Front as a terrorist group.
■ Provide unimpeded humanitarian access to Tigray.
Sovereignty and International Borders:
The agreement provided for the deployment of the Ethiopian National Defense Force along the international borders of Ethiopia, and that the signatories to the agreement must protect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of the country from foreign incursion, and ensure that there will be no provocation or incursion from either side of the border.
Federal authorities also assume "full and effective control" of all aviation, airports and highways in Tigray.
In addition, the two parties pledged to resolve "issues of disputed areas" in a manner consistent with Ethiopia's constitution.
The military side and the forces of "freedom and change" agree to end the Sudanese crisis and establish a civil authority
A month after the armistice agreement between the government of Ethiopia and the Tigray Liberation Front, which aims to enhance stability in the Horn of Africa region, and Sudan in particular, by virtue of the common borders, as it remained the largest refuge to which tens of thousands of Ethiopians fled during the neighboring Tigray region war, the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, witnessed On December 5, the "framework agreement" was signed between the military faction of the country's ruling Sovereignty Council, the Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change - the Central Council, and groups allied with it;
To end the deepening political crisis in which Sudan has been living for more than a year, and to return it to civilian rule, amidst a large international and regional presence of parties that contributed to reaching this agreement.
The signing ceremony was held in the presidential palace in Khartoum, in the presence of the military and civilian leaders of the Sovereignty Council, the head of the Sovereignty Council, the army commander, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, his deputy, Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo Hamidti, and the rest of the military component of the Sovereignty Council, along with party leaders in the "Freedom and Change" coalition.
Other political parties also participated in the signing, but they took a position in support of the civil democratic transition process in the country.
The international "trilateral mechanism" that includes the United Nations, the African Union and the "IGAD" organization also participated in the signing ceremony, as well as the "Quartet Mechanism" that includes Saudi Arabia, the United States, the UAE and Britain, in addition to representatives of the European Union countries and diplomatic missions accredited to Khartoum.
framework agreement
The framework agreement consists of general principles, which include the consolidation of the principle of justice and accountability, transitional justice mechanisms, an end to impunity, as well as an emphasis on a single professional army, committed to the unified military doctrine, and the establishment of a fully civilian authority without the participation of regular forces, consisting of a civilian sovereign level. Limited, with honorary functions, representing the head of the state, a symbol of sovereignty, and a commander-in-chief of the statutory organs;
And an executive level headed by a civilian prime minister chosen by the signatories to the agreement, in addition to a legislative council and another for security and defense headed by the prime minister, and it includes leaders of the regular agencies and six of the armed struggle movements that signed the Juba Peace Agreement.
The transitional power structures in the "framework agreement"
■ The transitional authority structures - as stipulated in the framework agreement - consist of a sovereign level, a cabinet, and a fully civilian legislative council.
■ Representation of women in the Legislative Council by 40%.
■ The sovereign level will be civil and limited in number with honorary missions.
■ The Security and Defense Council is formed under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister and the membership of the relevant ministries and leaders of the statutory agencies.
■ Independent and specialized commissions and judicial and parliamentary councils are formed.
Regulatory bodies and their tasks:
■ At the forefront of the regular agencies are the Armed Forces, the Rapid Support Forces, the Police Forces, and the General Intelligence Service.
■ The armed forces, according to the framework agreement, are a regular, national, non-partisan institution with a belief that adheres to the constitutional and civil order.
■ The armed forces carry out their duties in accordance with the provisions of the law.
■ It should also carry out the tasks stipulated in the framework agreement in accordance with the transitional government's plan.
■ The Rapid Support Forces shall be integrated into the Armed Forces according to timetables, as well as the armed movements forces as stipulated in the Juba Agreement.
■ Prohibiting the formation of military or paramilitary militias.
■ Prohibiting the armed forces from engaging in investment and commercial activities, except for those related to military manufacturing.
Details of the framework agreement
■ The transitional period is set for two years from the moment a prime minister is appointed, and a transitional prime minister is selected by the revolutionary forces that signed the framework agreement.
According to the framework agreement, the head of state will be the commander-in-chief of the army, and it also expands the powers of the prime minister during the transitional period.
■ Launching a comprehensive process for making the constitution, and organizing a comprehensive electoral process at the end of a transitional period of 24 months, provided that its requirements and preparations are defined in the transitional constitution.
■ The issue of security and military reform that leads to a single professional and national army that protects the country's borders and democratic civil rule and distances the army from politics.
■ The necessity of reforming all statutory bodies and defining their functions.
■ The issue of removing the empowerment of the isolated regime, dismantling it in all state institutions, recovering funds and assets obtained illegally, and reviewing the decisions to cancel the decisions of the Empowerment Removal Committee.
■ Legal reform and reform of the justice system to achieve its independence and professionalism.
■ Stopping the economic decline and addressing the living crisis.
■ Implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement with its assessment and evaluation.
■ Complete peace with non-signatory armed movements.
■ Adopting a balanced foreign policy that achieves the supreme national interests of the state.
• The framework agreement consists of general principles that include the consolidation of the principle of justice and accountability, transitional justice mechanisms, an end to impunity, as well as an emphasis on a single professional army, committed to the unified military doctrine, and the establishment of a fully civilian authority without the participation of regular forces.
Participants in signing the “Framework Agreement” that will start a new transitional period in Sudan. Getty
Sudan's floods have claimed dozens of lives and displaced 136,000 people
Perhaps one of the worst environmental disasters that Sudan has witnessed in recent years was the flood disaster that displaced tens of thousands and claimed the lives of hundreds, which hit parts of Sudan in the second half of 2022, causing dozens of deaths and the displacement of more than 136,000 people, according to the government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission. humanitarian organizations operating in the field and local authorities.
And the death toll from the floods in the country since the start of the rainy season last May has reached 134 people.
Heavy rains throughout August and early September, the peak of Sudan's rainy season, caused roads, homes and vital infrastructure to collapse across the country, cutting off supply lines to rural areas in need of humanitarian aid.
According to the latest United Nations report on the floods, 286,400 people were affected by the floods, which also destroyed 16,900 homes.
Rain and flood waters flooded the town of Abboud in Al-Manaqil area in Al-Jazirah state. Archive - A.B
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