Agar and Arman announce split in Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North

The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North under the leadership of Malik Agar (SPLM-N Agar) on Thursday announced a new split in its ranks.

In a joint statement, Malik Agar and his deputy Yasir Arman announced that during a meeting organised by rebel leader El Hadi Idris in Khartoum Wednesday they “amicably” agreed to split. They made it clear that the two sides of the dispute had concluded that the issues in dispute were too fundamental to continue their cooperation.

The statement clarified that the two parties to the conflict agreed not to waste their energy in unproductive disputes after a companionship for many years.

Both sides ensured that the negative consequences of the former split in 2017, decided upon by Abdelaziz El Hilu, who now heads the SPLM-N in the Nuba Mountains and parts of Blue Nile state, should not be repeated, and that the separation would take place in an amicable manner.

Earlier last week, signs of a serious dispute between Agar and Arman over their political stances triggered rumours about a possible split, Al Taghyeer newspaper reported on Thursday.

Various media outlets reported contacts between prominent SPLM-N Agar leader Khamees Jallab and Malik Agar, in attempts to solve the dispute with Arman.

A week ago, SPLM-N Agar joined the National Accord split-off faction of the Forces for Freedom and Change, that is dominated by rebel groups who support the October 2021 coup d’etat. Agar himself also remained member of the Sovereignty Council, while Arman and his followers joined the mainstream Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC-National Council) that calls for the overthrow of the military junta.

Yasir Arman, formerly political adviser to Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, was detained for more than a month by the authorities after the military took power again in October last year. Arman and three other leading members said in a statement on August 8 that the SPLM-N Agar had joined the FFC-CC, This led to a statement of Agar last week, saying that the SPLM-N Agar did not have anything to do with the anti-coup group.

Sudan Tribune reported that Malik Agar issued a statement on Thursday evening, calling on his supporters to focus their efforts to strengthen the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North and the Sudan Revolutionary Front umbrella group.

Most followers of the SPLM-N Agar live in Blue Nile state.