A ‘formal peace deal’ to be established for Sudan and chief rebel groups

Photo Credits: REUTERS

Taking a fresh perspective and with the objective of resolution of the regional conflicts spanning over decades which have affected millions of lives, Sudan’s power sharing government and major rebel groups are planning to have a formal peace agreement on Saturday.

Three of the major rebel groups in Sudan had given their consent for a preliminary deal in August, which comprised of two factions representing Western region of Darfur and one from the Southern region. This move was the outcome of the numerous peace talks hosted by neighbouring South Sudan over the months.

One of the most powerful rebel groups, Sudan’s People Liberation Movement-North which is controlled by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, had not shown any involvement in any peace negotiations earlier. The group finally agreed for the peace talks last month which will be hosted by South Sudan.

Tut Gatluak, who is the South Sudanese chief mediator told Reuters prior to the peace talks on Saturday that the primary objective is to have a joint agreement between all the armed groups. He stated on Friday, “The parties will sign their final agreement … and from there, we shall continue engaging with the other holdout groups of general Al-Hilu and Al-Noor.”

The analysts have been positive about the agreement but have their own inhibitions with respect to the inclusiveness and comprehensiveness due to the the prominence of armed groups and military.