Recommendations for Broad Legal Powers to Dismantle Ousted Bashir Regime in Sudan

Protesters call for civil rule during a rally in Khartoum, February 8. (AFP)
Protesters call for civil rule during a rally in Khartoum, February 8. (AFP)
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Recommendations for Broad Legal Powers to Dismantle Ousted Bashir Regime in Sudan

Protesters call for civil rule during a rally in Khartoum, February 8. (AFP)
Protesters call for civil rule during a rally in Khartoum, February 8. (AFP)

A conference in Sudan on Monday recommended special legal amendments to uproot Muslim Brotherhood elements from the army, security forces, police, and the Rapid Support Forces.

The conference was focused on removing traces of the regime of ouster President Omar al-Bashir.

Purging the country’s apparatuses from the influence of the former regime must be done according to clear and specific mechanisms discussed in covered in security and military reforms.

Moreover, members of the dissolved National Congress Party, which was headed by Bashir, will receive referrals for their removal from all state institutions.

After Islamists rose to power through a military coup in 1989, they pursued a policy of empowering loyalists in all state institutions, especially the military, civil service, judiciary, and public prosecution.

To accomplish this, the Islamists dismissed thousands of employees and replaced them with members of the political Islam movement and loyalists.

The conference further stressed the need for imposing penalties on all those convicted of financial and administrative corruption during Bashir’s totalitarian rule, which lasted three decades.

Moreover, the conference stressed the need to rid the justice system and law enforcement mechanisms from the influence of Bashir’s followers.

It recommended the confiscation of assets and companies associated with the ousted regime. This included security companies.

The conference advised that amendments be made to the law to dismantle Bashir’s regime, provided that the changes guarantee basic rights, stages of litigation and appeal, and observance of the principles of justice and the absence of impunity.

It also called for the establishment of a special prosecution to provide transitional justice guarantees and the formation of a special court with one degree of review, whose decisions are binding and final.

Organized by the United Nations, the African Union, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the conference held a four-day workshop between January 9-12.

Signatories to the framework agreement, stakeholders, and experts in national and international law in the field of dismantling political systems participated in the event.



Ankara: Assad Does Not Want Peace in Syria

Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
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Ankara: Assad Does Not Want Peace in Syria

Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has stated that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is unwilling to pursue peace in Syria and warned that Israel’s efforts to spread war across the Middle East are undermining the environment fostered by the Astana Process.

Fidan emphasized the importance of Russian and Iranian efforts within the framework of the Astana Process to maintain calm on the ground, pointing to ongoing consultations with the US regarding the Syrian crisis.

Speaking during a parliamentary session discussing the 2025 budget of the Foreign Ministry, Fidan reiterated Türkiye’s expectation that the dialogue proposed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be approached strategically by the Syrian government, with priority given to the interests of the Syrian people.

Regarding Erdogan’s invitation to Assad for a meeting to discuss the normalization of ties between Ankara and Damascus, Fidan remarked that the matter depends on political will, stressing that the Turkish president has demonstrated his readiness at the highest level.

Last week, Erdogan reiterated the possibility of a meeting with Assad, but Russia, which mediates the normalization talks between Ankara and Damascus, ruled out such a meeting or high-level engagements in the near future.

Russian Presidential Envoy to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev attributed the impasse to Türkiye’s refusal to meet Damascus’ demand for a withdrawal from northern Syria, accusing Ankara of acting as an “occupying state”.

Although Türkiye has not officially responded to Lavrentiev’s comments, which reflect a shift in Russia’s stance, Fidan stated in a televised interview last week that Russia remains “somewhat neutral” regarding the normalization process. He also urged the Syrian government to create conditions for the return of 10 million Syrian refugees.

Türkiye maintains that its military presence in northern Syria prevents the country’s division, blocks the establishment of a “terror corridor” along its southern border, and deters new waves of refugees from entering its territory.

Fidan outlined his country’s key objectives in Syria, which include eradicating terrorist groups (such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and the Syrian Democratic Forces), preserving Syria’s territorial unity, advancing the political process, and ensuring the safe and voluntary return of Syrian refugees.

Meanwhile, Turkish artillery targeted villages and positions controlled by the Manbij Military Council, affiliated with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), whose main component is the People’s Protection Units (YPG).

On Friday, fierce clashes erupted between the Syrian National Army factions and the SDF in western Tel Abyad, northern Raqqa. Simultaneously, Turkish artillery strikes reportedly killed two SDF members and injured others, with reports of captives and missing personnel.

In retaliation, the SDF shelled Turkish bases in the Ain Issa countryside. Turkish forces responded by deploying military reinforcements amid heightened alert at their bases in Raqqa’s countryside, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).