Sudanese parties delay signing of final political deal to April 6

Khartoum, Sudan | Xinhua | Sudanese parties involved in the political process on Saturday agreed to postpone the signing of the final agreement to April 6.

The decision was made during a meeting held at the Republican Palace here on Saturday that brought together Chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council and Commander of the Sudanese army Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, Deputy Chairman of the Sovereign Council and Commander of the Rapid Support Forces Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, leaders of the civilian forces, and representatives from the African Union, the United Nations and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development.

The final political agreement, which aims to create a transitional civil authority in Sudan, was scheduled to be signed on Saturday, but differences between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces over the security and military reform clause and integration of the irregular forces in the army postponed the signing of the deal.

“The meeting reviewed the progress made in the discussions of reaching a final political agreement and identified the remaining issues, which are the technical issues related to the stages of reform, integration and modernization in the security and military sectors,” Khalid Omer Yousif, spokesman of the political process, said in a statement after the meeting.

“During the meeting, the military and civilian parties unanimously decided to double efforts to overcome the remaining obstacle within few days prior to the signing of the final political agreement on April 6,” he said.

Sudan has been suffering a political crisis since Al-Burhan declared a state of emergency on Oct. 25, 2021 and dissolved the sovereign council and the government.