Leaders of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-Revolutionary Democratic Current held talks with a senior British parliamentarian in London on Tuesday, calling for an urgent humanitarian ceasefire and greater international support for Sudanese democratic forces.
The delegation, which included senior SPLM-RDC figures Yasir Arman and Ali Abdelatif, met Lord Michael Bates, an officer of the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for Sudan and South Sudan and a former minister of state for international development.
According to a statement from SPLM-RDC spokesperson Nazar Yousif Eltahir, the delegation briefed Bates on Sudan’s worsening humanitarian crisis, the threat of famine and the economic collapse caused by the continuing war.
The group also warned that the conflict was having increasingly serious regional consequences, affecting the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea and the Sahel while contributing to displacement and migration towards the Mediterranean.
The SPLM-RDC representatives raised concerns over what they described as the re-emergence of Islamist networks within state institutions and centres of political influence.
They argued that the legitimacy and institutions of the Sudanese state should remain separate from the rival forces fighting the war and stressed the need for a future unified, professional national army.
The talks also focused on possible paths toward a political settlement. The delegation called for stronger international backing for an independent fact-finding mechanism to investigate alleged violations committed during the conflict.
It also urged international partners to support Sudanese anti-war and democratic groups and help establish what it described as a credible and inclusive national dialogue aimed at reaching a lasting peace settlement.
The delegation raised consular issues as well, asking the British government to facilitate visa procedures for eligible Sudanese students seeking to continue their higher education in the United Kingdom.
Bates pledged to use the All-Party Parliamentary Group to push for greater political attention to Sudan in Britain, according to the SPLM-RDC statement.
He also expressed support for an immediate humanitarian cessation of hostilities and said he was prepared to continue engaging with Sudanese democratic groups seeking an end to the conflict and a political settlement.
