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.



SDF Offers Tribes in Syria’s Deir Ezzor Role in Talks, Right to Name Governor

SDF commander Mazloum Abdi meets with Deir Ezzor delegates. (SDF)
SDF commander Mazloum Abdi meets with Deir Ezzor delegates. (SDF)
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SDF Offers Tribes in Syria’s Deir Ezzor Role in Talks, Right to Name Governor

SDF commander Mazloum Abdi meets with Deir Ezzor delegates. (SDF)
SDF commander Mazloum Abdi meets with Deir Ezzor delegates. (SDF)

Arab tribal leaders, who took part in recent meetings with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Autonomous Administration in northeast Syria, said they were offered a greater role in governing Deir Ezzor province and a seat at the table in any future talks with the Damascus government, according to tribal sources.

The meetings, held at the US-led coalition’s base in al-Shaddadi, south of Hasakah, were led by SDF commander Mazloum Abdi and senior officials from the Kurdish-led administration.

Discussions centered on the latest international efforts to revive dialogue with Damascus, including Abdi’s talks with the French foreign minister and US Syria envoy in Paris, as well as earlier meetings in Amman.

At the heart of the discussions was a March 1 agreement between Abdi and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa that envisages integrating the SDF and local governing bodies into Syrian state institutions by the end of the year.

Tribal sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that leaders were presented with a proposal consisting of three main elements: first, a formal role for Arab tribes in upcoming negotiations with Damascus; second, a 50% quota for tribal figures from eastern, northern, and western Deir Ezzor - areas under SDF influence - in a newly structured provincial council, with nominees selected in coordination between tribal elders and the SDF.

The third clause would give Arab tribes the authority to name the governor of Deir Ezzor, replacing the current system of presidential appointment.

In a statement following the meeting, the SDF said Abdi had assured Deir Ezzor residents that local civilian and military bodies would have a say in any future settlement with the Syrian government, emphasizing that the SDF remained the “guarantor of stability and security” and would continue its mission without hesitation.

Abdi also reportedly clarified that the handover of Deir Ezzor’s institutions, civilian and military alike, to the government would be limited to those that operated in SDF-controlled areas prior to the fall of the former regime at the end of last year. Similar arrangements would later extend to the cities of Raqqa and Hasakah.

According to the sources, Abdi stressed that the SDF had no intention of surrendering territory or dismantling the Autonomous Administration. Instead, any rapprochement with Damascus would be based on mutual understandings and a comprehensive integration process acceptable to both sides.

Committees from both the SDF and the administration are expected to meet with government officials in the coming days to push forward with the plan.

During the transitional phase, local councils and security agencies under the Autonomous Administration in Deir Ezzor will continue operating normally, with a view to developing a new, participatory administrative system at the provincial level.

Observers say Abdi’s remarks point to a possible breakthrough in efforts to incorporate the SDF as a unified bloc within the Syrian Ministry of Defense, alongside the integration of administrative institutions into the broader state framework. These understandings remain in their early stages, however, and a final deal is yet to be reached.

A planned follow-up meeting in Paris on July 25 between Syrian government officials and an Autonomous Administration delegation was postponed at the request of Damascus, which informed the SDF through the US-led coalition that a new date would be set soon.

Meanwhile, for the third consecutive day, unknown gunmen have targeted SDF positions in Deir Ezzor countryside, despite the presence of coalition forces.

On Monday, two assailants on a motorcycle fired at an SDF military vehicle near the town of al-Sour in northern Deir Ezzor, causing material damage but no casualties, according to an SDF military source and local residents.

A similar attack on Sunday struck an SDF outpost in the nearby village of Ruwaished, leading to a brief exchange of fire but no injuries. On Saturday, the SDF reported one of its fighters was killed and another wounded when gunmen believed to be ISIS sympathizers attacked a vehicle in the village of al-Zar, east of Deir Ezzor.