Sudan’s FFC in Cairo to Discuss a ‘Political Vision’ to End War

Smoke rises in Omdurman, near Halfaya Bridge, during clashes between the Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army as seen from Khartoum North, Sudan April 15, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah
Smoke rises in Omdurman, near Halfaya Bridge, during clashes between the Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army as seen from Khartoum North, Sudan April 15, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah
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Sudan’s FFC in Cairo to Discuss a ‘Political Vision’ to End War

Smoke rises in Omdurman, near Halfaya Bridge, during clashes between the Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army as seen from Khartoum North, Sudan April 15, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah
Smoke rises in Omdurman, near Halfaya Bridge, during clashes between the Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army as seen from Khartoum North, Sudan April 15, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah

Sudan’s Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) on Monday commenced a series of meetings that will extend until Tuesday in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

The primary objective of these meetings is to formulate a political vision for halting the current conflict in Sudan between the military forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Meanwhile, the country’s Deputy Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council Malik Agar continued his consultative meetings with various Sudanese political and non-partisan figures in Cairo to develop a shared vision.

According to participants of FFC meetings, the number of attending party and political leaders has reached 45 individuals. Many of them arrived in Cairo over the past two days specifically to take part in these discussions.

Among the prominent attendees are Yasser Arman, a leader within the FFC and its official spokesperson, Sudanese Congress Party President Omar Al-Dagir, Khalid Omar Yousif, the party’s deputy, and Babiker Faisal, the Executive Office of the Unionist Alliance.

During the opening session, Al-Dagir stated: “Prolonging the war’s duration may lead to the risk of it escalating into a civil war, which would open the door to foreign interventions.”

He further added that the FFC have been committed since day one to “halting the war,” in contrast to the stance of the remnants of the ousted regime who beat the drums of this war in their quest to return to power from which the Sudanese people removed them during the December 2018 revolution.

Al-Dagir emphasized that the FFC extended their hands to all democratic forces and components to work towards ending the war and mobilizing international and humanitarian efforts to bring about reforms in the country.

According to well-informed Sudanese sources who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat, an arranged meeting between Agar and Arman is expected to take place in the coming hours.

Arman arrived in Cairo recently, coming from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, and was unable to attend the first meeting with the FFC leadership.

Following the FFC meetings, a press conference is anticipated to be held on Wednesday to announce the outcomes of the discussions.



Israel Sees More to Do on Lebanon Ceasefire

FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon,  January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo
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Israel Sees More to Do on Lebanon Ceasefire

FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon,  January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo

Israel said on Thursday the terms of a ceasefire with Hezbollah were not being implemented fast enough and there was more work to do, while the Iran-backed group urged pressure to ensure Israeli troops leave south Lebanon by Monday as set out in the deal.

The deal stipulates that Israeli troops withdraw from south Lebanon, Hezbollah remove fighters and weapons from the area and Lebanese troops deploy there - all within a 60-day timeframe which will conclude on Monday at 4 a.m (0200 GMT).

The deal, brokered by the United States and France, ended more than a year of hostilities triggered by the Gaza war. The fighting peaked with a major Israeli offensive that displaced more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon and left Hezbollah severely weakened.

"There have been positive movements where the Lebanese army and UNIFIL have taken the place of Hezbollah forces, as stipulated in the agreement," Israeli government spokesmen David Mencer told reporters, referring to UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.

"We've also made clear that these movements have not been fast enough, and there is much more work to do," he said, affirming that Israel wanted the agreement to continue.

Mencer did not directly respond to questions about whether Israel had requested an extension of the deal or say whether Israeli forces would remain in Lebanon after Monday's deadline.

Hezbollah said in a statement that there had been leaks talking about Israel postponing its withdrawal beyond the 60-day period, and that any breach of the agreement would be unacceptable.
The statement said that possibility required everyone, especially Lebanese political powers, to pile pressure on the states which sponsored the deal to ensure "the implementation of the full (Israeli) withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the last inch of Lebanese territory and the return of the people to their villages quickly.”

Any delay beyond the 60 days would mark a blatant violation of the deal with which the Lebanese state would have to deal "through all means and methods guaranteed by international charters" to recover Lebanese land "from the occupation's clutches," Hezbollah said.