Sudanese Factions Break Deadlock with Talks over Draft Constitution

Sudanese anti-coup demonstrators march in a street in Khartoum Bahri north of the Sudanese capital on October 30, 2022. (AFP)
Sudanese anti-coup demonstrators march in a street in Khartoum Bahri north of the Sudanese capital on October 30, 2022. (AFP)
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Sudanese Factions Break Deadlock with Talks over Draft Constitution

Sudanese anti-coup demonstrators march in a street in Khartoum Bahri north of the Sudanese capital on October 30, 2022. (AFP)
Sudanese anti-coup demonstrators march in a street in Khartoum Bahri north of the Sudanese capital on October 30, 2022. (AFP)

Sudan's military leaders have submitted notes on a draft constitution as a basis for talks under international mediation, three political sources told Reuters, signaling an easing of a year-long political deadlock.

The draft constitution, drawn up by the Sudanese Bar Assocation in August, provides for a transitional civilian-led authority with oversight over the armed forces, who would exit politics after the signing of a deal.

However, it faces opposition from Islamists who held power under former president Omar al-Bashir and protested the talks on Saturday, and a protest movement that has been staging large demonstrations for more than a year.

The military seized control in a coup in October 2021, halting a transition towards democratic elections following Bashir's overthrow in a 2019 uprising.

A new deal would have the potential to restart reforms and draw in much needed foreign financing.

Talks that began informally last month involving the military and the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition that shared power with the army before the coup are now expanding under the facilitation of the United Nations mission in Sudan, said the sources.

The talks are supported by the "Quad" of the United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The Sudanese Revolutionary Front, which represents most of the country's rebel groups, said it was on board with the process in a statement on Wednesday.

In its response to the constitutional draft, the military asked that it be allowed to name its own commander general, according to a person who saw the notes, which also contain the military's view on restructuring and relinquishing some of its business activities.

A spokesperson for the military did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the notes.

Two sources from the FFC said that an understanding had been reached with the coalition that top military officers would not be subject to prosecution but that wider consultations would continue on the topics of immunity and transitional justice. The FFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Protesters have called for generals to be brought to justice for the killing of demonstrators and other violations since 2019, rejecting the idea of immunity.

The sources said the new deal would also include the participation of the Popular Congress Party (PCP) and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), two groups which protesters have shunned for their participation in Bashir's government but which have since sought to distance themselves from Bashir loyalists.

"Given our stance against the coup ... we are a key part of the arrangements for a political solution and are in contact with the political parties and UNITAMS," said PCP political secretary Kamal Omer. Osama Hassona, a DUP official, said his party was in favor of the draft constitution and UN-led political process as well.

On Tuesday, pro-democracy groups accused Bashir loyalists of storming the premises of the Sudanese Bar Association and attacking lawyers inside. Leadership of Bashir's now-dissolved National Congress Party did not respond to requests for comment.



Sudanese Coalition Led by Paramilitary RSF Announces Parallel Government

FILE - An army soldier walks in front of the Republican Palace in Khartoum, Sudan, after it was taken over by Sudan's army, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo, file)
FILE - An army soldier walks in front of the Republican Palace in Khartoum, Sudan, after it was taken over by Sudan's army, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo, file)
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Sudanese Coalition Led by Paramilitary RSF Announces Parallel Government

FILE - An army soldier walks in front of the Republican Palace in Khartoum, Sudan, after it was taken over by Sudan's army, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo, file)
FILE - An army soldier walks in front of the Republican Palace in Khartoum, Sudan, after it was taken over by Sudan's army, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo, file)

A Sudanese coalition led by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced on Saturday a parallel government, a move fiercely opposed by the army that could drive the country further towards partition as a two-year-old civil war rages.

The government led by RSF General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, was announced west of the country.

The RSF and its allies signed in March a transitional constitution outlining a federal, secular state divided into eight regions, Reuters said.

The RSF controls much of the west of the country such as the vast Darfur region and some other areas but is being pushed back from central Sudan by the army, which has recently regained control over the capital Khartoum.

The military led by career army officer General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had condemned the idea of the RSF creating a parallel government and promised to keep fighting until it controls all of Sudan, which has been plagued by conflicts, coups, poverty and hunger.

In February, the RSF and other allied rebel leaders agreed in Kenya to form a government for a "New Sudan," aiming to challenge the army-led administration's legitimacy and secure advanced arms imports.

Dagalo, a former militia leader and one of Sudan's wealthiest people, known as Hemedti, was hit with sanctions by the US, which accused him of genocide earlier this year.

He had previously shared power with Burhan after veteran autocrat Omar al-Bashir's ouster in 2019. However, a 2021 coup by the two forces ousted civilian politicians, sparking a war over troop integration during a planned transition to democracy.

Burhan was sanctioned in January by the US which accused him of choosing war over negotiations to bring an end to the conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people.

The ongoing conflict has devastated Sudan, creating an "unprecedented" humanitarian crisis in the country, with half the population facing spreading hunger and famine, according to the United Nations.