Sudan: SPLM Dismisses Peace Negotiations before Government Formation

Deputy Head of Sudan's Transitional Council General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo meets leader of Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, Malik Agar in Juba, South Sudan July 27, 2019. Picture taken July 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jok Solomun
Deputy Head of Sudan's Transitional Council General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo meets leader of Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, Malik Agar in Juba, South Sudan July 27, 2019. Picture taken July 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jok Solomun
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Sudan: SPLM Dismisses Peace Negotiations before Government Formation

Deputy Head of Sudan's Transitional Council General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo meets leader of Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, Malik Agar in Juba, South Sudan July 27, 2019. Picture taken July 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jok Solomun
Deputy Head of Sudan's Transitional Council General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo meets leader of Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, Malik Agar in Juba, South Sudan July 27, 2019. Picture taken July 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jok Solomun

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) dismissed peace negotiations with the country’s ruling generals before forming a transitional government.

This took place during discussions in South Sudan’s capital Juba with delegations from the Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the Alliance for Freedom and Change (FFC).

TMC’s Deputy Head General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo and his delegation returned Sunday from Juba without reaching a peace agreement with the main group of Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North.

Rebel groups led by SPLM had demanded that a document signed between the ruling generals and the FFC, which is the main protest movement that led to the ouster of Omar al-Bashir, call on the new government to make peace negotiations a top priority.

Once a peace deal is finalized, the rebel groups say they want their representatives to be part of the transitional government.

The Juba discussions witnessed for the first time since Bashir’s ouster joint negotiations between the TMC, the FFC and armed groups.

Commander Jagoud Mikwar stated that SPLM insists on peace talks with the transitional civil governments after its formation. Mikwar, however, renewed the forces' commitment to a three-month ceasefire.

The commander stressed keenness to negotiate with a civil government composed of the FFC and the TMC.

TMC spokesman Shams El Din Kabbashi said in press statements on Sunday that his delegation held talks with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit, who affirmed his interest in peace and stability in Sudan.

Kabbashi revealed a meeting gathered the Sudanese delegation with the SPLM/North.

Further, an FFC leader told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the African mediator informed them that the meetings of the joint technical committee entrusted to draft the constitutional document began Monday and the two parties would engage in negotiations regarding the document Tuesday.

Immunity – mentioned in the draft – is a matter of dispute between the parties. While the first draft stipulates absolute immunity for the president and members of the transitional Sovereign Council, the FCF stresses partial immunity that can be abolished by the approval of one-third of the council members.

Another controversial matter is the level of representation with the FCF insisting on representing 67 percent of the council.



Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Attacks Kill 26 Near Two Aid Centers

Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Friday, July 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Friday, July 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
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Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Attacks Kill 26 Near Two Aid Centers

Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Friday, July 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Friday, July 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Gaza's civil defense agency on Saturday said Israeli attacks killed 26 people and wounded more than 100 near two aid centers in the south of the Palestinian territory.

Agency spokesman Mahmud Basal told AFP that 22 were killed near a site southwest of Khan Yunis and four near another center northwest of Rafah, blaming "Israeli gunfire" for both.

One eyewitness said he headed to the Al-Tina area of Khan Yunis before dawn with five of his relatives to try to get food when "Israeli soldiers" started shooting.

"My relatives and I were unable to get anything," Abdul Aziz Abed, 37, told AFP.

"Every day I go there and all we get is bullets and exhaustion instead of food."

The Israeli military said it was "looking into" the claims when contacted by AFP.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the agency and other parties.

The war in Gaza, sparked by militant group Hamas's deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, has created dire humanitarian conditions for the local population.

The more than two million people who live in the densely populated coastal territory are facing severe shortages of food and other essentials, and doctors have reported a spike in acute malnutrition.

Deaths of people waiting for handouts in huge crowds near aid distribution centers have become a regular occurrence, with the Palestinian authorities blaming Israeli fire.

The civil defense agency reported that nine people were shot and killed near the same aid point in the Al-Shakoush area northwest of Rafah on Friday.

The US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which took over the running of aid distribution in late May, said 20 people died in Khan Yunis on Wednesday.

But it blamed "agitators in the crowd... armed and affiliated with Hamas" for creating "a chaotic and dangerous surge" and firing at aid-seekers.

The previous day, the UN said it had recorded 875 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food, including 674 "in the vicinity of GHF sites", since it began operating.