Sudan Reportedly Postpones Civilian Rule Agreement Over Military Reform Issues

After the army toppled a civilian administration in October 2021 that had deposed longtime leader Omar al Bashir in 2019, Sudan has been experiencing political unrest. The military decided on a roadmap for transferring authority to civilians in December of last year.

The agreement between the military, paramilitary, and civilians that was supposed to restart the democratic transition in Sudan after the 2021 coup has been postponed once more following last week's setback, local media has reported.

According to the civilian bloc Forces for Freedom and Change (FLC), as quoted in the reports, the signing of the framework agreement calling for a return to civilian-military power sharing, a requirement for the resumption of international aid to the nation will not take place as scheduled on Thursday.

"The signing has been postponed due to the resumption of talks between the military (...) on April 1 and 6," the statement said, as per the reports. "Negotiations have made progress on several points, but one final issue has yet to be finalized," supposedly discussing the ways to incorporate the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into the regular military.

The opposition has reportedly called for protests on Thursday, while the government has proclaimed April 6 a public holiday in preparation of rallies.

According to the media, the rivalry between General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the army and leader of the October 25, 2021, coup, and General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, also known as "Hemedti," who commands the ex-militiamen of the Darfur war now grouped into the RSF, is what is keeping Sudan in a state of impasse instead of the issues between civilians and the military.

Earlier this week, another Sudanese media outlet reported that the parties to the Framework Agreement decided to delay the signing of the Final Agreement from the originally scheduled date of April 1 to April 6 in order to give the military branch of the government more time to sort out disagreements over military integration and reform.

The current political process would come to an end with the signing of the Final Agreement between the ruling military junta and the more than 40 political parties and groups that signed the Framework Agreement on December 5, opening the door for democratic governance under the direction of the civilian population.