Sudan Postpones Signature of Agreement to Establish Civil Government

According to a joint statement released by the military and pro-democracy factions in Sudan early on Saturday, the signature of a deal to install a civilian administration would be postponed.

The signing, which had been planned for later on Saturday, has been postponed as crucial security reform talks between the Sudanese army and its potent paramilitary Rapid Support Forces appear to have come to a standstill.

Khalid Omar, a spokesperson for the pro-democracy block, claimed that military generals and pro-democracy leaders met on Saturday in the capital city of Khartoum and decided to sign the agreement on April 6.

Representatives from the United Nations, the African Union, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in Eastern Africa—organizations that have mediated discussions between the military and pro-democracy groups—were present at the conference.

When a military takeover in October 2021, led by Sudan’s senior general Abdel-Fattah Burhan, overthrew a power-sharing government endorsed by the West and halted the nation’s ill-fated journey to democracy, Sudan has been engulfed in anarchy ever since.

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Yet in December of last year, a tentative agreement was reached by the military, the RSF, and other pro-democracy organisations promising to restart the transition.

In order to negotiate a more inclusive final deal, internationally mediated workshops in Khartoum have recently worked to reach consensus on the nation’s most contentious political problems.

Reform of the security sector and the RSF’s enlistment in the military have been the main topics of conversation, and they will be again this week. But, Wednesday’s meetings came to a close without a definite conclusion.

The army and the RSF have reportedly had difficulty agreeing on a schedule for the integration process, according to Shihab Ibrahim, a spokesman for one of the biggest pro-democracy parties that signed the December pact.

According to him, the RSF has requested a 10-year timeframe, whilst the army wants a two-year window.

A request for comment was not immediately answered by the RSF or Sudanese army spokespersons.