A broad coalition of Sudanese anti-war political groups gathered in Addis Ababa on Saturday to weigh peace proposals and formulate a unified response to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s call for domestic dialogue.
The two-day consultative meeting brings together signatories to the Sudanese Declaration of Principles, the Islamist Popular Congress Party, a faction of the Umma Party led by Mubarak al-Fadil, and various civil society organisations.
Burhan said on August 14 that he had agreed to security, legal, and political guarantees proposed by an independent national panel to host an all-inclusive intra-Sudanese dialogue inside the country.
Debate Over Timing
The participating factions, who describe themselves as non-aligned in the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, are debating whether engaging in domestic talks would advance peace or jeopardise broader ceasefire efforts.
The meeting also reviews the military trajectory of the conflict, foreign mediation initiatives, and a roadmap to end hostilities that have displaced millions since April 2023.
Several civilian blocs, including the Somoud alliance headed by former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Abdel Wahid al-Nur’s Sudan Liberation Movement, have voiced scepticism about holding negotiations inside Sudan while fighting rages across the country.
International mediation and an immediate nationwide ceasefire must precede any comprehensive political process to restore democratic civilian rule.
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