KHARTOUM 

Sudan's Sovereign Council has held several rounds of talks with armed movements that have been fighting successive governments for years.

The transitional government's move came in response to the demand for peace by the popular movement that the country witnessed for several months and ended with the resignation of President Omar al-Bashir, who ruled the country from 1989 to 2019.

A new round of talks between the government and the armed movements began on Dec. 10 in South Sudan's capital, Juba.

According to observers, the large number of armed movements and their fragmentation is mainly due to the policy adopted towards them by the previous regime by luring some of their leaders and negotiating with others.

Adding to these factors is the absence of a political vision of these movements and lack of political charisma among their leaders, and perhaps this was one of the regime's justifications for not sitting down with them.

The following are the most important of these movements. 

Southern movements

Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N)

This movement is an extension of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement which was fighting in southern Sudan. The movement consists mainly of fighters who sided with the south in the war against the north before the war was ended with a peace agreement concluded in 2005 and paved the way for the secession of South Sudan in 2011 in a popular referendum.

Despite the secession of the south, the members of the movement resumed their rebellion against the Sudanese government, disavowing concessions provided under the peace agreement for their areas in southern Sudan.

The movement launched an armed conflict against the government in 2011 in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.

In 2017, however, a rift developed that led to its division into two factions, one headed by Malik Agar and the other by Abdelaziz al-Hilu.

The division came after an escalation of conflicts within the movement on June 7, 2017, when the movement's deputy chief, Abdelaziz al-Hilu plotted to overthrow the group's chief Malik Agar.

Movements fighting in Darfur in the west

Sudan Liberation Movement/faction of Abdulwahid Nur

The movement is one of the three largest movements that have been fighting against the government in the Darfur region since 2003 along with the Sudan Liberation Army of Minni Minnawi which split from the Sudan Liberation movement as well as the Justice and Equality Movement led by Gibril Ibrahim.

Nur's movement refused to negotiate with the transitional government the same position it embraced with al-Bashir's regime.

Abdul-Wahid Nur has been the leader of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement faction since 2002.

The movement has faced several defections.

The most prominent defection was when Minni Minnawi removed Abdel-Wahid Nur from the presidency in 2005 and declared himself the leader of the movement, calling it the Sudan Liberation Army/Minawi faction.

Nur was insisting not to hold any peace negotiations with the Khartoum government.

He also continued to adhere to his stance "to remove the regime in Khartoum and find a national solution to the Sudanese problem" and always stayed away from peace negotiations in Darfur with regional and international sponsorship.

Nur's Movement forces are stationed in the Marrah mountains, a rugged mountain range that extends around 280 kilometers (174 miles) from the north of the region to its south between the states of North Darfur and Central Darfur.

Sudanese Liberation Army/Minnawi faction

It is one of the main movements in the Darfur region that fought fierce battles against al-Bashir's regime.

After his defection from Nur's movement, Minnawi continued to fight the al-Bashir government until he signed the Abuja Peace Agreement of 2006 with the regime. After that, he quickly returned to war and fighting, accusing al-Bashir government of slowing down the implementation of the agreement.

Justice and Equality Movement

The movement was founded by Khalil Ibrahim, who had many ministerial positions in al-Bashir's government before he rebelled in 2001 and refused to sign the Abuja Peace Agreement of 2006.

Khalil was killed in February 2011 in a fight with al-Bashir regime in the state of Northern Kordofan. His brother Gibril Ibrahim has been leading the movement since Khalil’s death.

In May 2008, the movement carried out Operation Long Arm, launching an attack on Omdurman city west of Khartoum.

In 2011, the movement was involved in peace negotiations related to Darfur region under the auspices of Qatar and signed two agreements with the Sudanese government, but it soon suspended its participation in the negotiations.

Meanwhile, in April 2013, a splinter faction of the movement led by Mohamed Bishr signed a peace agreement with the Sudanese government in Qatar's capital, Doha.

Ineffective movements fighting in Sudan's west

Sudan Liberation Movement-Transitional Council

It was established in 2015 by El-Hadi Idris after its separation from the Sudan Liberation Movement. Idris is one of the first people to join Abdel-Wahid Nur's movement.

Idris currently heads the Revolutionary Front, which includes many armed groups.

The Liberation Forces led by Tahir Hajar

Established in 2017, it is one of the armed movements that defected from Abdel-Wahid Nur movement and currently affiliated to the Revolutionary Front.

Tahir Hajar had gone with Chadian President Idriss Deby to Khartoum in October 2015 to participate in the launch of the National Dialogue Conference in Khartoum by al-Bashir, before he returned, with Deby, to N'Djamena after the opening session.

The Liberation and Justice Movement

It is an alliance founded in 2010 and includes 10 rebel groups headed by al-Tijani al-Siyasi.

After signing a peace agreement in Doha in 2011, the movement's leaders returned to Sudan. The Liberation and Justice Movement is among the most influential movements that signed the peace agreement with al-Bashir's regime and remained so until the fall of the regime in April 2019.

Beja Congress

It was founded three years after Sudan's independence in 1956 as the first regional party to represent the eastern part of Sudan. The general conference of the Beja Congress was held on Oct. 14, 1958 in with the participation of all components of Sudan's eastern components.

Since then, the Beja Congress has been demanding the elimination of marginalization, enhancing the promotion of development and improving public services. However, it was involved in armed action against the government in 1993.

On Oct. 14, 2006, Sudan's government signed the East Peace agreement with Beja Congress in Eritrea’s capital Asmara under the auspices of the Eritrean government. The agreement ended 13 years of armed conflict on the country's eastern borders.

However, the terms of the agreement were not carried out which led the people of eastern Sudan to protest again against al-Bashir's government.

Differences and conflicts broke out within the Beja Congress, and the party, which is currently unarmed, was divided into many entities, notably the Beja Corrective Congress led by Zainab Kabashi and The Beja Opposition Congress led by Osama Saeed.

Other entities also emerged from the Beja Congress such as the United Popular Front for Liberation and Justice led by El Amin Dawood, Beja Congress, Leading Office headed by Abu Mohamed Abu Amneh, and Beja Leadership Congress headed by Abdullah Musa and Beja Congress Armed Struggle headed by Fakki Ali Ohag.

*Bassel Barakat contributed to this from Ankara