Sudan Intensifies Talks to Add More Signatories to Final Agreement

Protesters rally in Khartoum to demand civilian rule on March 14. (AFP)
Protesters rally in Khartoum to demand civilian rule on March 14. (AFP)
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Sudan Intensifies Talks to Add More Signatories to Final Agreement

Protesters rally in Khartoum to demand civilian rule on March 14. (AFP)
Protesters rally in Khartoum to demand civilian rule on March 14. (AFP)

The Sudanese military and civilian parties that signed the framework political agreement are scheduled to finish developing a full-fledged draft of the final political agreement on Wednesday after including the outcomes of the security and military reform workshop into the deal.

Army commanders, members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), retired officers, experts in the security and military fields, and representatives of the civil forces took part in the Khartoum workshop for the third consecutive day.

The army and the Rapid Support Forces each presented during a paper on security and military reform.

All the workshop sessions are closed to the media because of the sensitivity of the security and military issues being discussed.

The political parties stated on their official Facebook page that the participants presented theoretical and practical proposals to reform the police and public intelligence services in line with the prospective democratic system.

The participants, including over 300 civilians and military personnel, are set to discuss the integration of the RSF, headed by the deputy head of the Sovereign Council, Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, into the unified army as agreed upon by all parties.

The workshop, sponsored by the Tripartite Mechanism and the Freedom and Change coalition, will conclude on Wednesday evening and then submit its recommendations to the final agreement drafting committee.

Meanwhile, the signatories of the political framework agreement continued their discussions with the opposing parties affiliated with the Democratic Bloc coalition to persuade them to join the political process and sign the final deal to establish a civil democratic transition.

Some armed movements, such as the Justice and Equality movement led by Gibril Ibrahim, the Sudan Liberation Army led by Minni Arko Minnawi, and a branch of the Democratic Unionist Party, led by Gaafar al-Mirghani, refuse to engage in the political process without the participation of the rest of the members of their bloc.

The final agreement is based on the Framework Agreement, the Political Declaration, and the recommendations of the five conferences. The recommendations are dismantling the regime of ousted president Omar al-Bashir, the “correction” of the Juba Peace Agreement, reaching a solution to the crisis in the eastern region, and achieving transitional justice, as well as the security and military reform workshop.

The agreement drafting committee delivered on Monday the initial draft of the final political agreement to the military and civilian parties in the presence of the Tripartite Mechanism.

The Tripartite Mechanism facilitates dialogue between Sudanese parties and consists of the African Union (AU), Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and the UN.

Officials agreed on the final dates for the political process, starting with the signing of the final agreement on Apr. 1, the signing of the constitution on Apr. 6, and the formation of the institutions of the transitional authority on Apr. 11.



Qatar Gives Israel, Hamas Final Draft of Gaza Truce Deal after Midnight Talks ‘Breakthrough’, Official Says

 This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on January 13, 2025 amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on January 13, 2025 amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Qatar Gives Israel, Hamas Final Draft of Gaza Truce Deal after Midnight Talks ‘Breakthrough’, Official Says

 This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on January 13, 2025 amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on January 13, 2025 amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

Mediator Qatar gave Israel and Hamas a final draft of a deal to end the war in Gaza on Monday, after a midnight "breakthrough" in talks attended by US President-elect Donald Trump's envoy, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters.

The official said the text for a ceasefire and the release of hostages was hammered out at talks in Doha which included the chiefs of Israel's Mossad and Shin Bet spy agencies and Qatar's prime minister as well Steve Witkoff, who will become US envoy when Trump takes office next week. Officials from the outgoing US administration are also thought to have participated.

"The next 24 hours will be pivotal to reaching the deal," the official said.

Israel’s Kan radio, citing an Israeli official, reported on Monday that Israeli and Hamas delegations in Qatar had received a draft and that the Israeli delegation had briefed Israel’s leaders. Israel, Hamas and the foreign ministry of Qatar did not respond to requests for confirmation or comment.

Officials on both sides, while stopping short of confirming that a final draft had been reached, described progress at the talks.

A senior Israeli official said a deal could be sealed within a few days if Hamas replies to a proposal. A Palestinian official close to the talks said information from Doha was "very promising", adding: "Gaps were being narrowed and there is a big push toward an agreement if all goes well to the end."

The United States, Qatar and Egypt have worked for more than a year on talks to end the war in Gaza, so far fruitlessly.

‘HELL TO PAY’

Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration is now widely seen in the region as a de facto deadline. The president-elect has said there would be "hell to pay" unless hostages held by Hamas are freed before he takes office, while outgoing President Joe Biden has also pushed hard for a deal before he leaves.

The official said talks went until the early hours of Monday, with Witkoff pushing the Israeli delegation in Doha and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani pushing Hamas officials to finalize an agreement.

The head of Egypt's general intelligence agency Hassan Mahmoud Rashad was also in the Qatari capital as part of the talks, the official said.

Trump envoy Witkoff has travelled to Qatar and Israel several times since late November. He was in Doha on Friday and travelled to Israel to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday before returning to Doha.

Biden also spoke on Sunday by phone with Netanyahu, stressing "the immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza and return of the hostages with a surge in humanitarian aid enabled by a stoppage in the fighting under the deal," the White House said.

Israel launched its assault in Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed across its borders in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, with much of the enclave laid to waste and gripped by a humanitarian crisis, and most of its population displaced.

Both sides have agreed for months broadly on the principle of halting the fighting in return for the release of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian detainees held by Israel. However, Hamas has insisted that the deal must lead to a permanent end to the war and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, while Israel has said it will not end the war until Hamas is dismantled.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a hardline nationalist who has opposed previous attempts to reach a deal, denounced the latest proposals as a "surrender" and a "catastrophe for the national security of the state of Israel".