Sudanese rebels sign peace deal

JUBA, South Sudan — Sudan’s transitional authorities and a rebel alliance signed a peace deal Monday after months of tortuous negotiations aimed at ending the country’s decades-long civil wars, but other powerful armed groups have thus far declined to join them.

The deal was reached between the Sudanese government and the Sudan Revolutionary Front, a coalition of several armed groups. Leaders signed the agreement in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, where talks have been held since late last year.

Negotiating an end to the rebellions in Sudan’s far-flung provinces has been a crucial goal for the transitional government, which assumed power after a popular uprising led the military to overthrow President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. Authorities hope to revive the country’s battered economy through slashing military spending, which takes up much of the national budget.

Sudan is currently ruled by a military-civilian government, with elections possible in late 2022. A cease-fire between government forces and the rebels has been in place since al-Bashir’s ouster.

The televised ceremony was attended by South Sudan President Salva Kiir, whose own country gained independence from Sudan in 2011 following decades of civil war. The head of Sudan’s sovereign council, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok also attended the signing. The deputy chief of the Sudanese Sovereign Council, Gen. Mohammed Hamadan Dagalo, signed the agreement along with rebel leaders.

Malik Agar, head of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, which is part of the rebel alliance, called for national commitment to the deal’s success as well as international support, particularly through financial contributions.

“What we have achieved, through arduous and long negotiations, will be fruitless if there are no guarantees for implementation,” he said.

The deal would grant self-rule to the southern provinces of Blue Nile, South Kordofan and West Kordofan, according to a draft obtained by The Associated Press. Rebel forces would be integrated into Sudan’s armed forces.

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