SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Radio Dabanga - FFC says not all groups are entitled to sign Sudan Framework Agreement, sparking criticism

23/12/2022: Radio Dabanga - FFC says not all groups are entitled to sign Sudan Framework Agreement, sparking criticism

Radio Dabanga report that The Forces for Freedom and Change-Central Council (FFC-CC) maintained that only certain parties are entitled to sign the Framework Agreement and that it refuses to “flood the political process” with parties that are not interested in democracy.

Shehab Ibrahim, spokesperson for the FFC-CC, told Radio Dabanga in an interview that the alliance refuses to “flood the political process” with parties that are not really interested in democracy. 

He said that the groups entitled to sign the agreement are the country’s resistance committees, the Communist Party of Sudan (CPoS), the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North under the leadership of Abdelaziz El Hilu (SPLM-N El Hilu), and the mainstream Sudan Liberation Movement headed by Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW), along with the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) headed by Jibril Ibrahim, now minister of finance, and the SLM split-off faction led by Minni Minawi.

SUDAN POLITICAL ALERT: International Monetary Fund - IMF Staff Completes 2019 Article IV Mission to Sudan

23/12/2019: International Monetary Fund - IMF Staff Completes 2019 Article IV Mission to Sudan

In calls for “bold and comprehensive” reforms to stabilise Sudan’s economy and reverse declining growth, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) office in Sudan suggested that the government expand social safety nets, and for structural reforms to focus on anti-corruption measures that would improve the business environment and governance.

Attributing Sudan’s declining fiscal position to “ballooning” fuel subsidies, the IMF argue that Sudanese economic growth requires a liberalised exchange rate and the phasing out of fuel subsidies, with “substantial” social transfers needed to mitigate the impact of adjustment on vulnerable groups.

The IMF called for the aforementioned reforms to be “carefully” sequenced, preceded and accompanied by an “extensive” information and communication campaign that reaches a broad cross-section of society – and “explains the rationale for reform, the cost of the status quo, potential adverse effects and mitigating measures.”

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Radio Dabanga - El Burhan: ‘Rapid Support Forces are an integral part of the Sudanese army’

23/12/2019: Radio Dabanga - El Burhan: ‘Rapid Support Forces are an integral part of the Sudanese army’

Radio Dabanga reports that chairman of the Sovereign Council and commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, said that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) government militia constitute an integral part of the Sudanese army.

In a speech at Gerri military base, El Burhan said that the SAF leadership needs the RSF militiamen to guard Sudan's borders and to ensure national security and stability. He called on the army to those  “trying to sow discord between the forces by criticising the RSF.”

El Burhan called for work towards a culture of peace among the RSF militiamen, who he called “messengers of peace and love…who can protect the revolution and fight terrorism and illegal immigration…in this ‘new Sudan’ in which all Sudanese have equal rights.”

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Guardian – Mercenaries flock to Libya raising fears of prolonged war

23/12/2019: Guardian – Mercenaries flock to Libya raising fears of prolonged war, by Jason Burke and Zeinab Mohammed Salih

The Guardian report that a new wave of Sudanese mercenaries is fighting in Libya, with all commanders interviewed saying they hoped to return to Sudan to fight against the transitional government.

Leaders of two different groups of Sudanese fighters active in Libya said there are at least 3,000 Sudanese mercenaries in Libya, “significantly more than previous estimates.” One commander said that fighting as mercenaries in Libya was the only way to obtain resources necessary to fight the Sudanese state in the future.

Another commander said “we are [in Libya] just to have a secure base and to get weapons and other military logistics to go back to Sudan.”

The Guardian did not specify which groups the mercenaries came from, but said they include those who fought against al-Bashir’s regime.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Sudan Tribune - Sudan’s FFC; SPLM-N share same vision secular state: official

23/12/2019: Sudan Tribune - Sudan’s FFC; SPLM-N share same vision secular state: official

Sudan Tribune reports that Siddig Youssef, a prominent Communist in the Forces of Freedom and Change, said that the demands of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (Abdelaziz al-Hilu faction) for a secular state are in line with the Constitutional Document.

Youssef also agreed that the root causes of conflict should be addressed in the peace talks.

The SPLM-N (al-Hilu faction) is in disagreement with the transitional government over the latter’s rejection of the issue of secularism on the peace negotiation agenda. The al-Hilu faction believes that a secular state would end the marginalization of non-Muslims in Sudan.