Sudan’s transitional government is set to sign a peace deal with rebel movements to formally accommodate the fighters in the mainstream administration.
The ceremony due on Monday in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, means that the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) will take positions in the transitional government led by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, as well as have its fighters gradually integrated in the military. South Sudan has been mediating the talks.
The SRF, which comprises armed groups that control the Darfur region, initialed on the agreement on Saturday, an indication that they had closed further negation on ending issues. The move came after long reviews conducted by the Sudanese government and the armed movements on the text of the agreement, especially concerning the security guarantees and fate of its top leaders.
The agreement granted the armed movements the right to merge their fighters with the Sudanese army, in addition to forming a joint force between them and the Sudanese army to protect civilians in Darfur. The deal also contained security arrangements and timetables for the integration, deployment and training of forces.
SRF is an alliance of Sudanese factions that was formed in opposition to the government of then-president Omar al-Bashir in November 2011.
Heads of state
Meanwhile, the latest trilateral discussion on the controversial dam on the Nile in Ethiopia ended without a common draft, forcing Khartoum to suggest that the matter be sent back to heads of states.
Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt had, last week, been negotiating for a common draft agreement on the management of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
But Sudanese officials said on Saturday there had been no merger of positions.
