SUDAN NEWS ALERT: AP – Sudan, rebel alliance reach deal in ongoing peace efforts
AP’s report on the Juba peace deal provides details and quotes analysts. The deal grants self-rule for the southern provinces of Blue Nile, South Kordofan and West Kordofan and rebel forces will be integrated into Sudan’s armed forces.
However, Jonas Horner, Sudan analyst at the International Crisis Group, said the deal is “far from comprehensive” and “significant hurdles remain in the way of its implementation,.” adding that “international financial and diplomatic support, or even pressure if needed, will be imperative to make sure the parties implement the agreement.”
Suliman Baldo, senior advisor at The Sentry, said the agreement did not offer a “clear separation of state and religion” as demanded by Abdelaziz al-Hilu’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North and many Sudanese who “denounce the weaponization of religion in Sudanese politics,” adding that“peace will remain far from comprehensive until the reasons that motivated the boycott of non-signatories are satisfactorily addressed.”