Former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok described the agreement between the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Lieutenant General Shams al-Din al-Kabbashi, and Deputy Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Lieutenant General Abdul Rahim Dagalo in Manama last month as a positive step in the right direction.
He said the agreement complements the Jeddah Platform talks, which are greatly relied upon to stop the devastating war in Sudan.
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat and a limited number of journalists, on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Hamdok demanded that these efforts go hand in hand with a political process in Africa, under the supervision of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the African Union.
He said he stressed to AU leaders that a military solution would not solve the Sudanese war unless there is support for a political process to address the crisis through negotiations.
Hamdok also discussed the “catastrophic humanitarian situation” in his country, saying that 25 million people were facing hunger because of war.
“We have called on the international community for the necessity of allowing access of humanitarian aid through the Sudanese borders with Chad, Ethiopia and South Sudan, to alleviate the suffering of the people,” he underlined.
The former prime minister talked about political and security chaos in the region, saying: “In addition to war in Gaza, there are tensions in the Red Sea... A direct intervention in this conflict would further increase this polarization.”
On the internal situation in Sudan, Hamdok told the journalists that he maintained communication with the Army leadership to hold a meeting between the two sides of the conflict.
“We have not yet reached a final decision about the date of the meeting, but we hope that it will take place in an imminent and urgent manner. We have also stressed the need to limit the hostile rhetoric ... to create the appropriate environment for the talks,” he said.
The Sudanese official reiterated that the goal of the talks was to end the war and the suffering of the Sudanese people.
“We hope that formalities would not be an obstacle,” he stated.
Asked about the implementation of the clauses stipulated in the Addis Ababa declaration, Hamdok said that he emphasized the need to execute the practical aspects of the agreement, in particular the pledge to release 451 war prisoners.
He noted that the RSF leadership has expressed willingness to release the detainees but has claimed that it was encountering a problem with the departure of the Red Cross teams from the country.
The former Sudanese prime minister asserted that most political parties in the country have voiced their keenness on the unity of the democratic forces, but that work within alliances required patience and perseverance in order to be sustainable.
