Hamdok Holds Intensive Consultations to Reunite the Ruling FFC

The Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok (Arabic website)
The Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok (Arabic website)
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Hamdok Holds Intensive Consultations to Reunite the Ruling FFC

The Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok (Arabic website)
The Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok (Arabic website)

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok is resiliently trying to reconcile the Forces of Freedom and Change alliance (FFC) with its deserters a few days after security turmoil swept the Northeast African country due to fragmentation within revolutionaries.

On Sunday, Hamdok held a session with the FFC’s central council, which the country’s transitional government relies on as a political reference for civilian matters. This meeting took place after the prime minister talking with defectors from the alliance.

It is noteworthy that the FFC was formed in early January 2019, during the popular uprising that toppled the government of ousted President Omar al-Bashir on April 11, 2019.

Consequently, parties in the political organization signed the Declaration of Freedom and Change (DFC) as a precursor for how the country would be run in a post-Bashir era.

The FFC is considered the largest political alliance in Sudan’s history since its independence.

It includes alliances that opposed the Islamist regime, such as the left-leaning National Consensus Forces, the Sudan Call, which provides for partisan forces and armed movements, the Unionist Gathering, and the Sudanese Professionals Association other social and political forces.

The FFC led marathon negotiations with the Transitional Military Council, which took power after the fall of Bashir’s regime, which led to the signing of the DFC that provided for a power-sharing arrangement between civilians and military personnel.

According to the DFC, the military would assume charge of protecting sovereignty, but under the formation of two councils with equal powers. One of the councils will be held by military officials, while the other will be run by ministers who are chosen by the FFC.

Nevertheless, the ministries of defense and interior would not be chosen by the FFC.

Since the declaration’s signing, the FFC underwent turbulences that saw some parties exiting from the alliance over difficulties and differences in viewpoints after signing the DFC.



Two Million Syrians Returned Home Since Assad's Fall, Says UN

Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
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Two Million Syrians Returned Home Since Assad's Fall, Says UN

Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters

Over two million Syrians who had fled their homes during their country's war have returned since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi said Thursday, ahead of a visit to Syria.

The Syrian civil war, which erupted in 2011 with Assad's brutal repression of anti-government protests, displaced half of the population internally or abroad.

But Assad's December 8 ouster at the hands of Islamist forces sparked hopes of return.

"Over two million Syrian refugees and displaced have returned home since December," Grandi wrote on X during a visit to neighboring Lebanon, which hosts about 1.5 million Syrian refugees, according to official estimates, AFP reported.

It is "a sign of hope amid rising regional tensions," he said.

"This proves that we need political solutions -- not another wave of instability and displacement."

After 14 years of war, many returnees face the reality of finding their homes and property badly damaged or destroyed.

But with the recent lifting of Western sanctions on Syria, new authorities hope for international support to launch reconstruction, which the UN estimates could cost more than $400 billion.

Earlier this month, UNHCR estimated that up to 1.5 million Syrians from abroad and two million internally displaced persons may return by the end of 2025.