Sudan Postpones Signing of Final Political Agreement Amid Disagreements

Sudanese political parties have agreed to delay the signing of the final political agreement, which seeks to create a transitional civil authority in the country, to April 6. The decision was made during a meeting held on Saturday that involved Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council and commander of the Sudanese army; Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, deputy chairman of the Sovereign Council and commander of the Rapid Support Forces, leaders of the civilian forces, and representatives from the African Union, the United Nations, and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development.

The Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces have disagreements over the security and military reform clause and the integration of irregular forces into the army, leading to the postponement of the deal’s signing. Khalid Omer Yousif, a spokesman for the political process, said that during the meeting, the remaining issues were identified as technical issues related to reform, integration, and modernization in the security and military sectors.

According to Yousif, the military and civilian parties have unanimously decided to double their efforts to overcome the remaining obstacle in the next few days before signing the agreement. Sudan has been in a political crisis since October 2021, when al-Burhan declared a state of emergency and dissolved the sovereign council and the government.