Hope hangs on Jeddahs platform to stop war
Report: Mashaer Idriss
Eight months after the war between the armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and the parties conclusion that a military solution would not be easy or soon, the hopes of the Sudanese concerned the Jeddah Negotiating Platform as the primary saviour of the stability of the country, the cessation of the war, the restoration of the democratic path and the return of life to normal. Despite these hopes, there are challenges facing the platform, including supporters of the defunct regime and the Islamic movements quest to continue the war.
Jeddahs negotiating platform, brokered by Saudi Arabia and America, began in early May but the military suspended negotiation and withdrew its delegation less than a month later in objection to rapid support from residential neighbourhoods and civilian objects as approved by the negotiations.
The Sudanese military agreed to call on Saudi Arabia and the United States of America on October 25 to resume negotiations with Jeddahs Rapid Support Forces to end the war.
Mohammed Saleh, from Khartoum State, said that the suffering of citizens for 8 months has led to the suspension of hopes and any glimmer of hope to stop the war, especially through negotiations at the Jeddah platform. Most citizens, including the parties to the war, were fully convinced that there was no possibility of ending the war through military operations and days had proved unthinkable.
The prospect of stopping the war through negotiation had become peoples hope, and the armys position was weakest through military operations on the ground and progress on the ground had been evident in rapid support.
He said: "It is clear that supporters of Al-Hussems military came to the conviction that the army had become unable to achieve a military victory.
That explained the tone of calling for the continuation of the war and the disappearance of many voices that had turned to blame for the military leaderships failure to manage military operations rather than inciting the continuation of the war.
“All of this, war-affected citizens have come to rely on Jeddahs platform and international and regional attempts to stop it through negotiation.” He added.
Hafiz Ahmed, from Nyala, Southern Darfur, considered that the Sudanese had placed their hopes on the Jeddah platform for an agreement between the army and the RSF, especially since it was the only platform that had taken practical steps. The other initiatives did not go beyond the stage of their announcement.
Ahmed said: But the Sudanese, after nearly eight months of war, realized that they were the victims of this absurd war, where their relatives were killed and abandoned from their homes, most of which were destroyed and their property looted. Many of them were supporters of the continuation of the war and viewed their machinery from the perspective of the victor and the consequences of victory and defeat. They pursued and lived through murder, destruction, displacement, arrest and enforced disappearance, whether in war-affected areas or even displaced persons in the States or fleeing to neighbouring States.
He added: "The hopes they await - the public, have come to the conviction that the slogans of each side (army and its supporters) and (support and follow) do not reflect the reality of their hidden objectives, and thus they have come to the conviction that stopping the war has become the supreme goal in the light of the revelations of the conspiracy that may lead to the fragmentation of the Sudan.
He noted the general concern of the Sudanese, and that everyone wanted peace to bring him home, bring together the diaspora of families who had dispersed to exercise their normal lives and preserve the countrys unity.
As for the low sound of "war drummers" in the Sochal Media, it is the result of the failure of their scheme to return to power over the skulls of the people, exploiting the rifle of the armed forces controlled by their followers, as well as to expose themselves to every visionary and visionary that they have set this war on fire after appearing in public on the battlefield.
The citizen of Western Darfur, Ahmed Abdullah, considered that the continuation and prolongation of the war had led to frustration among the citizens, thereby placing their hopes on any platform leading to the cessation of the war.
Citizens who supported the two sides of the war and those who were innocent of them had become weary and bored of the economic pressures and health disasters they were constantly facing.
He added that the situation in the Sudan was not likely to escalate further because all the people who supported the parties to the war had discovered that it was not resolved by weapons.
In addition, journalist Husam Haider said that Jeddahs platform was viewed by many Sudanese with great hope, especially with the frequent news and news of a significant way forward in building trust between the two sides of the war.
He acknowledged the Platforms many challenges, particularly the existing third party and the beneficiary of war, the defunct regime and the dissolved National Congress, the Islamic Movement. He stressed the need to strengthen confidence-building steps between the parties to the war.
Although the Jeddah Platform continued, armed clashes and movement on the ground by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continued, as did the armed forces continued use of aviation.
He referred to the efforts of the civilian democratic forces to "advance" and address the United Nations and the Security Council to demand and maintain the UNTAMS mission, considering that the current conditions in the country and the post-war period required regional and international support for peace and support for the political transition process.
In any event, people viewed the Platform with optimism but faced challenges related to strengthening trust between the parties and the issue of Islamists who controlled the war and moved to continue it for their own interests.
The war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces erupted in mid-April and extended to several regions of Darfur and Kordofan.