Troika Urges Sudan Government, Rebel Coalition to Form Transitional Council

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st August, 2020) Sudan's government and a coalition of rebel groups need to create a joint legislative body and a peace commission following a power-sharing agreement accepted over the weekend, a joint press release by the Troika group consisting of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway said on Monday.

"We urge the government and its partners to establish the Peace Commission and the Transitional Legislative Council and begin to bring accountable administration and justice to all of Sudan," the release said.

The Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), a coalition of rebel groups, signed a peace agreement at a ceremony in the South Sudanese capital of Juba on Monday morning following a weekend of negotiations.

The SRF coalition links rebel groups from the western region of Darfur and the southern states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile that have battled government forces for decades.

The deal offers rebels political representation, integration into security forces and rights long denied by the government President Omar al-Bashir, which was overthrown in April 2019.

Since then, civilian and military rulers shared power while pledging to guide the longtime pariah state to democratic rule.

However, the Troika cautioned that the agreement faces challenges due to recent increases in violence in the western province of Darfur and in South Kordofan and Blue Nile in the south.

Media reports noted that two rebel groups, one in Darfur and one in the nation's south, declined to sign the accord.