Sudan Reaches Long-awaited Deal with Rebels

Sudan’s transitional government has reached an agreement with the Sudan Revolutionary Front, a consortium of rebel groups from the restive Darfur region and other areas of the North African country that have been fighting government forces for over a decade and a half. The agreement, set to be signed later on Monday in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, signals a major accomplishment for Sudan’s government of generals and civilians, who say they are seeking a switch to democracy after 30 years of autocratic rule by strongman Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted in April 2019. The agreement with the rebels, whose previous refusal to make peace had been seen as a major stumbling block in the transition, calls for their integration into the country’s military in return for land reforms, the sharing of power and the ability of refugees to return home, in addition to other changes. Two additional rebel factions are refusing to include themselves in the deal.