Jafar Ghanadbashi – expert on African issues

Sudan’s peace negotiations are not between a foreign country and Sudan but between two groups of Sudanese soldiers who were together and under Omar al-Bashir’s command during his presidency.

The conflicting parties in Sudan, one of which is the military commander of the army under the title of head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council (Abd al-Fattah al-Barhan), and the other is the commander of the Rapid Support or Rapid Response forces (Mohammed Hamedan Deglu), are fighting not over the capture of a specific region or province in this country. Rather, they are fighting each other over taking over the central government’s power and being in charge of all Sudanese affairs.

The war has caused the displacement of 7.5 million people of Sudan in the past year and a half and the migration of one and a half million people outside of this country. According to the available statistics, this war has so far killed more than 13 thousand and injured tens of thousands of people.

Sudan’s civil war is a war that has not happened in any third-world country in the past half-century. In a situation where the parties do not have the public support of the international parties like during the Cold War, it has caused the most damage to this country’s economic infrastructure and created the biggest social crisis.

The expansion of the 16-month war and its continuation has caused the concern of many neighboring countries of Sudan and even extra-regional powers. Many regional, international, and neighboring governments of Sudan have tried to provide grounds for negotiations between the parties and the non-spreading of internal unrest in Sudan to other parts of the region.

The main concern of the great powers and Sudan’s neighbors is that during this war, extremist groups will take advantage of the unrest among the Sudanese people and carry out destabilizing actions in the entire areas of Sudan, especially the coasts of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, which will pose risks to the waterways.

In this situation, the representatives of the Sudanese army, who are currently in control of the capital, openly talk about the UAE’s intervention and role in the expansion of this war, and they believe that the UAE is trying to attack some oil resources and precious metal deposits in Sudan. To take over the central government of Sudan with the support of the Rapid Support Force headed by Mohammad Hamdan Deglu.

The representative of the President of Sudan’s Governing Council in the United Nations spoke about the need to prevent the UAE’s actions in Sudan and considered any negotiations for a ceasefire and internal peace in Sudan dependent on the end of the UAE’s intervention in Sudan.

However, the important point is the lack of role-playing by Sudan’s political parties and religious and political institutions to prevent this civil war. Parties and groups that have had very long and sometimes positive records in the political arena of Sudan have provided the grounds for establishing democracy and peace in this country for several consecutive periods.

Therefore, this lack of activity of Sudanese parties and groups has caused the fate of Sudan’s affairs to be in the hands of two war-seeking and power-thirsty groups who relentlessly and, regardless of the losses that have set Sudan back for many years, continue with civil wars.

Currently, half of Sudan’s hospitals and clinics have become strongholds for the conflicts of the parties. Such a process, considering the destruction of Sudan’s economic infrastructure, the inactivity of political groups and parties in this country, as well as some suspicious and covert actions of some regional and extra-regional powers, has put Sudan on a path where the hope of restoring normal conditions has been minimized and the hope for re-establishment of a strong civilian government in Sudan has also been significantly reduced.

The important point is that the unrest in Sudan started precisely when the military was transferring power to the civilians. Still, some of their leaders tried to establish the grounds for the continuation of the military rule through relations with the Zionist regime.

According to some analysts, the hands of the Zionist regime can be seen behind the scenes of this destructive war, which is trying to prevent Sudan from becoming one of the links of the resistance front.