SPLM-N faction rejects Juba peace agreement with Sudanese gov’t

JUBA – The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N) led by General Abdel Aziz Adam al-Hilu has rejected Monday’s peace agreement that was signed by Sudan’s transitional government with a number of rebel groups.

On Monday, the Sudanese government and rebel groups of the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) and some groups in the south of the country signed a peace deal that would end the deadly conflicts in the restive Darfur region, the Nuba mountains and Southern Blue Nile.

That agreement includes protocols for security, land ownership, transitional justice, power-sharing, and the return of refugees. It also provides for a road-map to dismantle all the rebel forces prior to their immediate integration into the Sudanese armed forces.

Reacting to the signing of the agreement, Koko Mohamed Jagdoul, the spokesperson of the al-Hilu-led SPLM-North said  his group “do not want the involvement of the commander of the Sudanese Rapid Support Force, Gen. Muhammad Hamdan Daglo in the talks.”

The rejection of General Hamdan who is better known as Hemeti led last week to the withdrawal of the al-Hilu from peace talk accusing him of being a suspect in the killing of civilians in both Darfur, Nuba Mountains and Southern Blue Nile.

“We did not sign because we objected to the presence of Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, the head of the government delegation,” Jagdoul stated adding that “we had submitted a written statement to the mediation team and that change did not happen.”

Jagdoul  further reiterated his group’s participation in the peace process “if the South Sudanese mediation team respond positively” to their objection over the participation of Hemeti in the peace talks.