Sudanese military leader sets terms for peace and political process

February 15, 2024 (KOSTI, White Nile State) – Sudan’s Deputy Military Leader, Lieutenant General Shams al-Din Kabashi, delivered a stark message on Thursday, declaring that no political process will be made unless a ceasefire is signed on the army’s terms.

In a firm address to the 18th Infantry Division in Kosti, Kabashi laid out the military’s conditions for ending the war. “We won’t lay down arms until a peace agreement on our terms is reached,” he said.

Detailing the army’s requirement for peace, he underscored the evacuations of the residential areas and public and private facilities by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), adding they should gather at cantonment sites.

He further said there should be swift military arrangements to merge the RSF fighters in the army. He stressed that there will not be a merger process that will take ten or five years, as the paramilitary forces demanded before the war.

“We seek short-term military agreements on the terms of the Sudanese Armed Forces. If these terms are not accepted, the war will continue,” he declared.

Despite mediation efforts led by Saudi Arabia and the United States in Jeddah and further attempts with the involvement of Egypt and the UAE in Manama, no ceasefire agreement has been reached between the warring parties in Sudan.

Kabbashi said that once an agreement is reached with the Rapid Support Forces in accordance with the army’s requirements, then a comprehensive political process can be moved on.

Here again, he defined the rules for an inclusive political process.

First, he urged political forces currently operating outside Sudan to return and engage in finding a solution. Without naming them, he criticized the political forces that provide a “political incubator” for the RSF.

Also reiterated that all the Sudanese must be involved in shaping the future government and political system regardless of their affiliation.

“This country belongs to everyone. All people are equal, and therefore, everyone must participate without exception in the process of reaching an agreement on the system of government or a political solution.”

The Sudanese political forces call to exclude the former ruling National Congress Party of General al-Bashir, saying this party was anti-democratic and would obstruct the restoration of democracy in Sudan.

Kabashi’s statements mirror those of Malik Agar, the Vice-President of the Sovereign Council, who recently visited South Sudan to explain the government’s decision to suspend membership in the IGAD.

After his return to Port Sudan, Agar emphasized that resuming talks requires the fulfilment of specific commitments, such as the evacuation of civilians’ homes, as agreed upon in dMay 2023.”

(ST)