The signing of a power-sharing agreement between Sudan's military rulers and protest leaders, three months after the fall of the nation's president Omar Al Bashir, is long overdue. In the words of Sudan's de facto military leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, this is a "historic moment" for the beleaguered nation – and its popular quest for democracy. It provides a chance to conclude a political crisis that has kept protesters on the streets for months. In June, paramilitaries broke up a sit-in in Khartoum, killing 100 protesters and assaulting many more. With their lives on the line, the people of Sudan might justifiably have chosen safety over change. It is their immense courage that has brought us to this point.
There is much to applaud in this agreement, which will establish a new transitional civilian-military ruling body, comprising six civilians – five of them protest leaders – and five military rulers. Below it, a transitional civilian administration will also be created. While a general will lead the ruling body for the first 21 months, the reins will then be handed to a civilian, who will govern until nationwide elections happen, in three years.
Having been brokered by mediators from the African Union and Ethiopia, the deal fulfils the old adage: "African solutions to African problems." Crucially, according to opposition activists, the agreement includes a provision for an independent and impartial investigation into June's sit-in attack, which might go some way towards mollifying protesters demanding justice. As Harriet Baldwin, UK minister for Africa, said: "Today's agreement is a step towards the change so bravely demanded by the Sudanese people."
Still, reaction in Khartoum has been muted, with protesters still sceptical about the how the transition will unfold. On Tuesday, reports emerged that security forces killed three civilians in the small city of Omdurman, when they opened fire on protesters. With trust in short supply, the transition to a fully functioning civilian government remains uncertain. The African Union and wider international community should keep a close eye on Khartoum, to ensure the ruling body does not unravel.
Assuming it remains united, the council will have its work cut out to rebuild the fractured nation. Modern Sudan does not need just stability, but economic growth. With its oil revenues hit hard by the secession of South Sudan in 2011, the Sudanese economy crumbled in the hands of Al Bashir, whose 30-year rule was both corrupt and repressive. It is worth remembering that December’s protests began over a hike in bread and fuel prices. Much like the transition to democracy, reawakening the Sudanese economy will require a period of national unity and peace.
It now falls to Sudan’s transitional ruling body to chart a new course for this strategically important, if troubled, nation.
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MATCH SCHEDULE
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tuesday, April 24 (10.45pm)
Liverpool v Roma
Wednesday, April 25
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid (10.45pm)
Europa League semi-final, first leg
Thursday, April 26
Arsenal v Atletico Madrid (11.05pm)
Marseille v Salzburg (11.05pm)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
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The major Hashd factions linked to Iran:
Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.
Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.
Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.
Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.
Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.
Saraya Al Khorasani: The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.
(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)
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