FFC-CC urges Sudan warring parties to respond to negotiation calls

The Forces for Freedom and Change Central Council (FFC-CC) released a statement yesterday calling on Sudan’s warring parties to stop their attacks on civilians and to cease aerial and artillery bombardment of residential areas. Thestatement urged them to adhere to the decisions of the recent Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) conference and to respond to the calls for a meeting.

The FFC-CC coalition of opposition parties renewed their call for an end to all human rights violations against civilians committed by the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

“We demand an immediate end to the bombardment of residential areas, the end of encroaching on the people’s freedom and property, and detaining them on the grounds of their political, cultural, or tribal orientation.”

The coalition renewed its accusation against those it described as the “remnants” of the ousted President Omar Al Bashir regime and the Islamic Movement, whom they hold responsible for the current war.

“They kidnapped the Sudanese army and took Sudan hostage, to return to power at any cost. They want to eliminate any traces of the glorious December Revolution and its forces, as represented by parties, unions, civil society, and resistance committees.”

The FFC-CC called on both sides of the war to adhere to the decisions of the recent IGAD conference, They demanded a response to the invitation of the Civil Democratic Forces alliance (Tagaddum) sent by its chair, former Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, to the commanders of the two armies to meet urgently, “in order to agree on the basis for ending the war, and the eventual establishment of a sustainable democratic civil transition”.

In November, Tagaddum developed a roadmap, containing a proposal for a comprehensive ceasefire with effective monitoring mechanisms, ways of support for the Jeddah platform’s ongoing efforts in achieving a cessation of hostilities, agreeing on principles that end the violence for good and pave the way for civilian democratic governance, and an advisory meeting, with international support, on developing a comprehensive political process leading to democratic governance, including a new constitution.

As reported today by Radio Dabanga, Sudan’s Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has sent an urgent appeal to the UN Security Council to impose a no-fly zone within the cities affected by the war, to limit the indiscriminate killing practiced by what it called ‘the Islamist remnants of the Al Bashir regime”.

This week, Hemedti met Ugandan President Museveni. Their discussions focused on strategies to resolve the Sudanese conflict, according to the Hemedti’s official statement posted on his X account whilst in the Ugandan capital of Kampala.

On Tuesday, the RSF commander Lt Gen Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo publicly accepted Hamdok’s request to meet him, signalling a proactive step towards dialogue and conflict resolution.

Hemedti’s face-to-face meeting with Sudan’s army chief in Djibouti, as agreed by IGAD, aimed at resolving the ongoing conflict, has been postponed to an unspecified date in January due to technical issues, as stated by Sudan’s foreign ministry on Wednesday.