NAIROBI: Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and a coalition of political and armed groups have signed a founding charter to establish a parallel government in the war-ravaged country, sources said Sunday.
“It’s done,” a source close to the organizers of the signing ceremony, which took place overnight in Nairobi, told AFP.
The signatories said the charter paves the way for a “government of peace and unity” in rebel-controlled areas of Sudan.
The move comes nearly two years into a devastating war with the regular army that has uprooted more than 12 million people and caused what the United Nations calls the world’s worst hunger and displacement crises.
The signing, delayed multiple times, took place behind closed doors in the Kenyan capital.
Among those who signed was a faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Abdelaziz Al-Hilu, which controls parts of the southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states.
Abdel Rahim Dagalo, deputy and brother of RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo — who was notably absent — also signed.
The charter, seen by AFP, calls for “a secular, democratic, decentralized state based on freedom, equality, and justice, without bias toward any cultural, ethnic, religious, or regional identity.”
It also outlines plans for a “new, unified, professional, national army” with a new military doctrine that “reflects the diversity and plurality characterising the Sudanese state.”
The proposed government, according to the charter, aims to end the war, ensure unhindered humanitarian aid and integrate armed groups into a single, national force.
The war between the RSF and the army, triggered by disputes over integrating the paramilitary force into the regular military, has killed tens of thousands with both warring parties accused of war crimes.
The conflict has torn the country in two, with the army in control of the north and east, while the RSF holds nearly all of the western region of Darfur and swathes of the south.
Sudan’s RSF, allies sign charter for rival government: sources
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Sudan’s RSF, allies sign charter for rival government: sources
- Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and a coalition of political and armed groups have signed a founding charter to establish a parallel government in the war-ravaged country
Libya says UK to analyze black box from crash that killed general
- General Mohammed Al-Haddad and 4 aides died after visit to Ankara, with Turkish officials saying electrical failure caused the Falcon 50 jet to crash shortly after takeoff
TRIPOLI: Libya said on Thursday that Britain had agreed to analyze the black box from a plane crash in Turkiye on December 23 that killed a Libyan military delegation, including the head of its army.
General Mohammed Al-Haddad and four aides died after a visit to Ankara, with Turkish officials saying an electrical failure caused their Falcon 50 jet to crash shortly after takeoff.
Three crew members, two of them French, were also killed.
The aircraft’s black box flight recorder was found on farmland near the crash site.
“We coordinated directly with Britain for the analysis” of the black box, Mohamed Al-Chahoubi, transport minister in the Government of National Unity (GNU), said at a press conference in Tripoli.
General Haddad was very popular in Libya despite deep divisions between west and east.
The North African country has been split since a NATO-backed revolt toppled and killed longtime leader Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.
Haddad was chief of staff for the internationally recognized GNU, which controls the west. The east is run by military ruler Khalifa Haftar.
Chahoubi told AFP a request for the analysis was “made to Germany, which demanded France’s assistance” to examine the aircraft’s flight recorders.
“However, the Chicago Convention stipulates that the country analizing the black box must be neutral,” he said.
“Since France is a manufacturer of the aircraft and the crew was French, it is not qualified to participate. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, was accepted by Libya and Turkiye.”
After meeting the British ambassador to Tripoli on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Taher Al-Baour said a joint request had been submitted by Libya and Turkiye to Britain “to obtain technical and legal support for the analysis of the black box.”
Chahoubi told Thursday’s press briefing that Britain “announced its agreement, in coordination with the Libyan Ministry of Transport and the Turkish authorities.”
He said it was not yet possible to say how long it would take to retrieve the flight data, as this depended on the state of the black box.
“The findings will be made public once they are known,” Chahoubi said, warning against “false information” and urging the public not to pay attention to rumors.
