Former Sudanese prime minister Abdalla Hamdok said Islamists and the National Congress Party, the former ruling party of ousted Sudanese president Omar Al Bashir, are major obstacles to peace efforts in war-torn Sudan.
Sudan's army chief and de facto leader, Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan is widely believed to have aligned the army with Islamist factions once loyal to Al Bashir.
“We had Jeddah, Manama, ALPS and currently the Quad. The main force that is hindering this and refusing to accept the broader consensus of the Sudanese is the Islamists, the NCP,” said Mr Hamdok, referring to previous mediation tracks including the Aligned for Advancing Lifesaving and Peace in Sudan group talks.
The former leader said he would support a civilian-led transition after the country’s ongoing civil war but does not intend to lead the post-war government himself, emphasising that his priority is ending the suffering of Sudan’s people.
The conflict in the Afro-Arab nation erupted in April 2023 when fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the formerly allied paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
It started when tension between Gen Al Burhan, and RSF commander, Gen Mohamed Dagalo, over the future of the armed forces and the paramilitary group in a democratic Sudan, erupted into fighting.
The violence followed a long-running power struggle between the two generals who dominated Sudan since the 2021 coup that toppled the civilian government led by Mr Hamdok, ending the fragile transition to civilian rule.
"What gives me sleepless nights today is the suffering of our people. My main objective is to stop this war and create an environment for a peaceful, democratic civilian transition," Mr Hamdok told The National in an interview on the sidelines of the 39th African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Asked whether he would lead a post-war transition, he said: "I think we've done our fair share in the past. We will always be happy to support whoever would lead us in the next phase of the country."
Mr Hamdok, who now heads the civilian Somoud coalition, said that once the war ends, “Sudan has over 50 million people. They are fully qualified to decide who would lead them”.
The theme of this year’s African Union summit was water sanitation, but the civil war in Sudan dominated high-level security talks.
"For a while we thought we were quickly joining the neglected conflicts. But this summit has started seriously addressing the case of Sudan, the peace and security of Sudan," said Mr Hamdok. "We are very satisfied with the outcome of this summit."
‘Wishful thinking’
Regional and international mediators continue to struggle to secure a lasting ceasefire in a conflict that has displaced millions and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The Quad – comprising the US, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt – has been working to end hostilities.
This month, US senior adviser for Arab and African Affairs, Massad Boulos, announced a “Comprehensive Peace Plan” for Sudan. The plan is built around five pillars: an immediate humanitarian truce, sustained humanitarian access and civilian protection, a permanent ceasefire, a political transition to a civilian-led government and postwar reconstruction.
Gen Al Burhan has publicly said that the only viable solution is a military one – to resolve the conflict on the battlefield and then move to a political process. Last month, he said there would be no peace in Sudan until the elimination of the RSF.
The general has not co-operated with Quad ceasefire efforts. He had previously accused the group of being “biased” in favour of the RSF. The army accuses the UAE of arming the RSF – a claim the Emirates strongly denies.
Mr Hamdok said Gen Al Burhan’s push for a military solution in Sudan is a "wishful thinking".
"When this war started Burhan and co. thought it is a four-hour event. They said maybe one week. They said we'll crush it in one month, in six months. We're getting to three years now, and there is no end in sight. Burhan is controlling just half of the country," he said.
"I don't think there is a military solution to this. We need to come to our senses and stop the suffering of our people today before tomorrow," he added. "None of the two legions will be able to achieve outright victory on the other."
Nearly three years into the war, the RSF controls the entire Darfur region, where it has its own government, and parts of Kordofan. The army controls the capital Khartoum along with the northern, central and eastern regions. Its government is in Port Sudan on the Red Sea.
Sudan's army announced this month it had broken the long-time siege of the South Kordofan city of Kadugli, in a significant battlefield victory and a shift in its fortunes against the RSF. It came a week after the army pushed away the RSF siege around Dilling, another South Kordofan city.
The siege of Kadugli caused famine conditions, a global hunger monitor said last year. Kadugli and Dilling have also been subjected to devastating drone attacks. According to the UN, more than 80 per cent of Kadugli's population, or about 147,000 people, had already fled the city.
Worsening humanitarian crisis
The war in Sudan killed tens of thousands, displaced more than 12 million, and nearly half the population – about 25 million people – are facing hunger.
Both warring sides have been accused by the UN of war crimes and committing atrocities against civilians.
The International Criminal Court found last month that war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed in the city of El Fasher, western Sudan, after a prolonged siege by the RSF. More than 6,000 people were killed in just three days after the group seized the city last year, according to victims and witnesses cited in a recent UN report.
Washington had previously called on the army-backed government in Sudan to acknowledge its use of chemical weapons throughout the conflict and to cooperate with international actors and watchdogs. In May, the US announced it would be imposing sanctions after determining the army-backed government used chemical weapons in 2024.
“It's getting worse by the day,” Mr Hamdok said of the humanitarian situation in his country. “The suffering is staggering.”
He said his coalition had proposed practical measures to improve aid delivery, citing the very small humanitarian access during the war in Gaza as an example.
“We told the UN you need to establish a regional humanitarian co-ordinator to be based somewhere in the region to facilitate the smooth traffic of support and assistance in the country,” he said.
‘Excellent’ Europe tour
Mr Hamdok described a European tour he conducted late last month to seek EU and UK support for the US-led peace process as "excellent". The tour included members of the Somoud coalition. They visited France, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany and the UK.
"The Europeans represented in the EU, but also countries outside the EU like the UK and Norway, together with the African Union, IGAD [the Intergovernmental Authority on Development], Arab League, United Nations are working in harmony and co-ordinating closely with the Quad.”
