Sudan’s civilian coalition Sumood urged a political process shaped by civilian forces during talks with UN envoy Pekka Haavisto in Cairo on Saturday, warning that dialogue conducted under conditions imposed by one warring side could not deliver an inclusive national settlement.
The Democratic Civil Alliance of Revolutionary Forces, known as Sumood, said the meeting focused on efforts to end the war and establish a credible political path forward.
According to a coalition statement, Haavisto briefed its leaders on the outcome of the Quintet’s visit to Khartoum before discussions turned to the prospects for a broadly accepted political process.
The Quintet comprises the United Nations, African Union, European Union, regional bloc IGAD and Arab League.
Sumood welcomed the group’s efforts to end the conflict and pledged to remain constructively engaged, while reiterating concerns about aspects of its work and the way it conducts consultations with Sudanese political forces.
The coalition said international mediators should facilitate the process without imposing its structure or determining Sudan’s political future. The format should instead emerge through consultation and agreement with Sudanese civilian forces, with clear, mutually agreed criteria for participation.
Such an approach, it said, would safeguard Sudanese ownership of the process.
Sumood reaffirmed its support for a genuine, inclusive national dialogue but warned that talks held amid continuing war and political division, in an environment dictated by one side of the conflict, could not represent a comprehensive national process.
The coalition, led by former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok, boycotted preliminary consultations launched by the Port Sudan authorities for an internal Sudanese dialogue aimed at reaching a political settlement.
It called for a coordinated approach built around three simultaneous tracks: humanitarian action, a ceasefire and a political process. Linking these efforts, it argued, would help address the roots of the crisis and create the conditions for lasting peace and a civilian democratic transition.
According to Sumood’s account, Haavisto reiterated that Sudan’s crisis has no military solution and called for a halt to hostilities to protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian access.
The envoy also said the Quintet would continue consultations with Sumood and other Sudanese stakeholders to seek agreement on the design of the political process.
