October 25, 2023 (JUBA) – Malik Agar, Deputy Chairman of the Sovereign Council and Head of the SPLM-N faction called on the armed groups signatories of the Juba Peace Agreement (JPA) to support the Sudanese army in the current war to avoid the collapse of Sudan.

The JPA signatories participated in a two-day meeting held in Juba on Tuesday to assess the armed conflict between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and to find ways to ensure stopping the war and implementing the peace agreement.

In his speech at the opening session, Agar referred to the suffering resulting from the war that the Sudanese are exposed to today, including displacement inside and outside Sudan, and the instability they are experiencing, in addition to poverty. He stressed that getting out of this situation requires the unity of all “on crucial issues that do not accept grey positions.”

“You have to rally around one position, which is to support the national army, because with its collapse, Sudan will collapse, and you will not have a foothold in Sudan. Its occupation will continue, your homes, neighbourhoods and cities will continue to be violated, While with your unity is certain,” he said.

The movements that signed the peace pact say they are committed to neutrality. However, six months after the armed conflict they seem divided over the war. Agar lined up behind the army, some adhered to their participation in the government, while others distanced themselves from the military-led Sovereign Council.

The Deputy Chairman of the Sovereignty Council added that the RSF defeated their slogans, such as combatting political Islam and restoring democratic rule, through the crimes committed by its members, including killing civilians, occupying their homes, and raping women.

Agar also criticized the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) saying they had sought help from the international community to produce the framework agreement, which he described as “poor quality”. He added that “within it are a set of contradictions, fears, ambitions, and goals of these groups and countries, and each one aims to achieve his own goals without the goals of the Sudanese people.”

Also, “the contradictions of this agreement deepened the internal contradictions that already existed between the civilian blocs, but the worst was the contradictions between the Rapid Support Militia and the Armed Forces,” which led to the outbreak of war on April 15.

In his remarks, Agar said that the JPA signatories do not seem to be neutral in the ongoing conflict and that some support the Sudanese army without declaring it, while others stand with the Rapid Support Forces.

Tut Gatluak, head of the South Sudanese mediation team who led the talks for the 2020 peace agreement, stressed that the purpose of the meeting is to explore ways to end the war and not to encourage further divisions.

Gatluak, who is also South Sudan’s presidential advisor on national security affairs, explained that the consultative meeting was convened with the objective of seeking a way to resolve the ongoing war.

“His Excellency President Salva Kiir wants peace and stability in Sudan. This is why he and the transitional national unity government initiated this peace meeting. And we don’t want to see any group split. All we want all of you to do is to support the restoration of stability in Sudan,” he stressed.

Several other officials and leaders of the political and armed groups spoke at a gathering including Hadi Idris member of the Sovereign Council and head of the Sudan Liberation Movement – Transitional Council (SLM-TC).

Idris urged the parties to the peace process to unite and focus on stopping the war, stressing that its continuation would lead to the aggravation of the humanitarian, economic, social and security situation. He called to stop the war and reach a negotiated solution.

He further praised the meetings of the political and civil force currently held in Addis Ababa to forge a broad anti-war civil front and urged South Sudan to contribute to expanding the base of the civil front by convincing other active parties to join the front. - Sudan Tribune

(ST)