Sudanese Opposition Leader: No Rapprochement with Army's Allies

Protests in Khartoum demanding the return of civilian rule (AP)
Protests in Khartoum demanding the return of civilian rule (AP)
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Sudanese Opposition Leader: No Rapprochement with Army's Allies

Protests in Khartoum demanding the return of civilian rule (AP)
Protests in Khartoum demanding the return of civilian rule (AP)

A leader in the opposition Forces of Freedom and Change coalition in Sudan ruled out any rapprochement with the factions that supported the army's assumption of power last October and overthrew the civilian-led government.

Member of the Central Council of the Forces Sherif Muhammad Othman said that this group disavowed the outcomes of the workshop organized by the Lawyers Association on the conceptual framework of the constitutional declaration.

The Leader of the Umma Party, Maryam al-Mahdi, revealed in recent press statements that the civil forces could soon form a transitional government to end the political stalemate in the country.

Al-Mahdi stated that the forces that will participate in the transitional government include the Forces of Freedom and Change, the Central Council, and the National Accord, which includes armed movements, Popular Resistance Committees, and civil society.

Othman told Asharq Al-Awsat that a consensus could have been reached between the opposition and the forces allied to the army in the National Accord to establish a political agreement.

However, some factions disavowed the outcomes of the workshop in which they participated.

He said that Freedom and Change seek to unite the revolutionary forces within a large bloc that includes resistance committees and civil parties to isolate the military government while maintaining contacts with other forces to agree on the formation of the civilian-led government.

Othman believes the military holding power in the country will not form an executive government after they could not find popular and political support.

"They cannot take this step because these groups supported the coup, including the national consensus forces. They will not form a good political and popular base for governance," said the official, adding that the military component does not want a genuine democratic transition.

The opposition leader stated that the military does not show any willingness to the process of civil democratic transformation.

The Freedom and Change coalition formed a committee to draft the new constitutional declaration, which will be completed soon.

The new constitutional declaration is based on removing the army from political work and the transitional authority, while the National Accord aims to make amendments to the constitutional document to maintain the military as a ruling partner.

Freedom and Change include the National Accord, the Justice and Equality Movement, the Sudan Liberation Army movement, the governor of the Darfur region, and other factions that signed the Juba Peace Agreement.

The factions supported the military measures that overthrew the civilian rule under which the army seized power on October 25.

On July 04, the head of the Transitional Sovereign Council, Lt-Gen Abdul Fattah al-Burhan, announced the withdrawal of the armed forces from the political process led by the UN tripartite mechanism to allow the civil forces to form an independent government.



Trump Reiterates Hamas ‘All Hell’ Threats

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a wide-ranging news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Tuesday (AP)
President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a wide-ranging news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Tuesday (AP)
TT

Trump Reiterates Hamas ‘All Hell’ Threats

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a wide-ranging news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Tuesday (AP)
President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a wide-ranging news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Tuesday (AP)

The US president-elect has renewed his earlier threat that there will be “hell to pay” if the captives held by Hamas in Gaza are not released by the time he returns to the White House on January 20.
“If they're (hostages) not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East,” Donald Trump told reporters. “And it will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone. All hell will break out. I don’t have to say any more, but that’s what it is.”
During a wide-ranging news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump did not elaborate about what actions he might take if the hostages were not released by the time he enters office.
“They should have never taken them,” Trump told reporters. “There should have never been the attack of Oct 7. People forget that. But there was, and many people were killed.”
The president-elect then invited Steve Witkoff, whom he intends to appoint as his Middle East envoy, to speak to reporters.
“Well, I think we're making a lot of progress, and I don't want to say too much because I think they're doing a really good job back in Doha,” said Witkoff, who had just arrived from Doha, Qatar, where delegations from Israel and Hamas have been negotiating.
“I’m really hopeful that by the inaugural we’ll have some good things to announce on behalf of the president,” the envoy said.
He noted that Trump’s “stature” and “the red lines he’s put out there that’s driving this negotiation.”
Witkoff added that he was “leaving tomorrow” to go back to Doha. “So hopefully it'll all work out and we'll save some lives,” he said.
The envoy said Trump has given him much authority to speak for him decisively and firmly. “I think they (Hamas leaders) heard him loud and clear. [This] better get done by the inaugural,” he said.
At the negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will not end the war until Hamas is dismantled and all hostages are free. In return, Hamas says it would free its remaining hostages only if Israel agrees to end the war and withdraw all its troops from the Gaza Strip, making it harder to ink a deal before the inauguration on January 20.
A senior leader of Hamas, Osama Hamdan, said, “The experience of negotiating with Israel has proven that the only solution to achieve the rights of our people is to engage with the enemy and force it to retreat.”
At a press conference in Algeria on Tuesday, Hamdan said Israel was to blame for undermining all efforts to reach a deal.
“Our clear position in the negotiations is a ceasefire, the withdrawal of the occupation, the exchange of prisoners, and the reconstruction of Gaza without Israeli conditions,” he said.
Commenting on Trump's threat that there would be “hell to pay” unless all hostages were freed before the inauguration, Hamdan said: “I think the US president must make more disciplined and diplomatic statements.”
Hamdan’s comments came while Israel said it will not end the war until Hamas is eliminated and all the hostages are released.
Israeli Minister of Science and Technology, Gila Gamliel, said on Tuesday that Israel will not withdraw from the Gaza Strip before receiving all the hostages.
For months, Egypt and Qatar have been mediating indirect talks between Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire deal.
The outgoing US administration has called for a final push for a Gaza ceasefire before President Joe Biden leaves office.
Therefore, Trump’s inauguration on January 20 is now viewed in the region as an unofficial deadline for a truce deal.