Sudan peace agreement to be signed on October 2

The peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the members of the Sudan Revolutionary Front rebel alliance parties will be signed in the South Sudanese capital of Juba on October 2. Displaced in Central Darfur protested against the peace accord yesterday.

The comprehensive peace agreement was signed in initials in Juba on August 31. Two days later, a joint committee of the two negotiating parties began preparing a matrix and time schedules for the implementation of the accord.

The head of the South Sudanese mediation team, Tut Galuak, said at a press conference in Juba on Sunday that the official signing of the peace agreement is scheduled to take place on October 2. He added that he expects the committees to complete the implementation matrix today.

In Khartoum, member of the Sovereign Council Mohamed El Taayshi and Minister of Defence Maj Gen Yasin Ibrahim briefed a high-level meeting of officers of the Sudan Armed Forces, the Rapid Support Forces militia, the General Intelligence Service, and the police on the peace agreement signed in Juba on august 31.

El Taayshi said that the current peace deal differs from previous agreements because it addresses the roots of problems in Sudan, and includes most of the rebel groups in the country.

He expressed hope that the SPLM-N faction headed by Abdelaziz El Hilu and the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdelwahid El Nur will soon join the peace process as well.

Last week, Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and SLPM-N leader Abdelaziz El Hilu agreed on a roadmap for negotiations.

Central Darfur

In Central Darfur, hundreds of people in the Hamidiya and Tur Kalami camps for the displaced near the state capital Zalingei demonstrated against the Juba peace agreement on Sunday.

The demonstrators feel that the displaced are not represented in the agreement. They support Abdelwahid El Nur, who adheres to his position that he will only enter peace talks after security and stability have been restored in Darfur.

Participants in the protest march carried banners saying that the Juba agreement is similar to the earlier Abuja (1993) and Doha (2011) accords. They demanded that the rights of the victims of violence in the camps be respected.

Ahmed Juma, Coordinator of the Hamidiya camp, told Radio Dabanga that all agreements on Darfur that have been signed so far all come down to “trading the rights of the displaced”.

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