As part of the ongoing negotiations for the establishment of a transitional civilian authority in the African country, Sudan's ruling military government and civilian political opposition kicked off talks Sunday on reforming the country's national army and the integration of armed movements and groups into the national army.
Trying to hammer out an agreement for a civilian transition leading to elections, the civilian Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) alliance, which helped overthrow long-time Sudanese military ruler Omar al-Bashir in April 2019 and shared power with the military until October 2021, hopes that the security and military reform talks will lead to the integration of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) under the rule of the long-anticipated civilian-led government.
Led by deputy head of Sudan's Sovereign Council General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemetti, and his brother Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF is said to consist of more than 100,000 fighters. Although the two leaders insist that the RSF is part of the Sudanese Armed Forces, the question of taking its leadership under the army's control has been one of the biggest issues that has to be solved before the signing of the final deal on April 6.
"The process of security and military reform is a long and complicated process and one that cannot be bypassed," said army chief and Chairman of Sudan's Sovereign Council General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, adding the country needs to build professional armed forces that are far from politics and capable "of protecting and securing the country from any external threats without involving it in any other arena."
For his part, Dagalo noted that security and military reform is not a political activity and should not be subject to any political agenda, as it is a national demand linked to the higher goals of the country, adding, "We accepted it with full satisfaction and awareness, benefiting from human experiences in our African, Arab, and world surroundings."
"The process of security and military reform is not easy, but it is important, and our goal is a single army," Dagalo said at the kick-off of the talks on Sunday, adding that the RSF would comply with "the choice of democratic transformation".
The deputy leader of the ruling council stressed that the army reform is a "complex and delicate technical process, most of which must be handled behind closed doors."
Dagalo has also called for drawing on the models of a number of countries in the army integration process, like South Africa, the Philippines, Zimbabwe and Namibia, taking into account the differences between the armies of those nations, and the case of the Rapid Support Forces, which were established according to the law that regulated their work and defined their tasks.
In addition, Khaled Omar Youssef, the official spokesman for the civilian coalition, which signed the framework agreement, said that they are looking forward to forming a professional national army that will distance itself from politics, adding that Sudan is facing a historic opportunity to stop the bloodshed.
The former cabinet minister is also pressing for the army to be immunized from being exploited by politicians seeking to attain power, and renewed the call for political groups that reject the framework agreement to join the final deal.
On December 5, 2022, the Sudanese military rulers and the civilian opposition signed a framework agreement aimed at transferring power to a transitional civilian government in the wake of a political crisis caused by the October 2021 military coup, when the armed forces of the civilian-military coalition seized full control of the African country.
On Saturday, the framework deal signatories announced the completion of a preliminary draft of the final deal between the military rulers and the political forces, which is scheduled to be signed on April 6, marking the fourth anniversary of the sit-ins in front of the Military HQ in Khartoum that led to the ouster of Al-Bashir on April 11.
Once the final deal is inked, a new civilian cabinet is set to be announced on April 11.