Sudanese rebel leader urges reopening of Juba deal for renegotiation to address root causes of conflict

PARIS – Sudan’s holdout opposition leader, General Abdel Wahid Nur, who is currently living in exile in Paris has called for reopening of the Juba peace agreement for renegotiation so that the root causes of the Sudanese civil conflict are addressed.

Nur who heads the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) made the remarks during an exclusive interview with the Asharq Al-Awsat from his residence in the French capital Paris on Sunday.

In the interview, Nur who is opposed to the current military rule in Sudan denied accusations that he seeks power than to solve the Sudanese conflict and instead accused the military of hijacking the 2019 revolution which overthrew longest-serving Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmed al Bashir after 30 years in power.

“I do not want a position or to become an ambassador or minister. We only want sustainable peace that addresses the core of the problem. The military and civilian leaderships kidnapped the revolution and imposed a status quo, which we oppose, on us,” Nur said.

“We want to hold dialogue with all segments of Sudanese society to identify the roots of the decades-long crisis. We must address the reasons that prompted people to take up arms. We must ask ourselves why our country, which has vast agricultural lands and water resources, is now suffering from famine,” he added.

Nur further said peace processes in Sudan always end up with division of power among elites who he said turn blind eye to the fundamental problems facing the Muslim-majority North African country.

“Negotiations between the government and opposition always end with the division of power. This is at the heart of Sudan’s crisis and not a solution to it,” said the holdout opposition leader.

“It is important for the Sudanese people to determine the problems in our economy and come up with solutions. We must also come up with a way to manage the diversity of religions and cultures so that we can build a united country where all people are equal. We must recognize that we have failed in this regard,” he added.