Reason why SLM/A ‘ Chairman Abdelwahid’s Refusal andWhy One Movement Won’t Join Sudan’s War after the overthrow of Bashir
By: Nureldin Mahmud Abdelmola (Comrade Abumia)
As Sudan descends deeper into civil war, the political landscape has fractured. Former rebels once united in the struggle for justice have now taken different paths. Some, like the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Minni Minnawi’s Sudan Liberation Army (SLA-MM), aligned with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). Others, including parts of the signatories to the Juba Peace Agreement, have joined the militias or formed local alliances. But SLM/A led great Abdelwahid al-Nur and his Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW) remain an outlier—refusing to take sides in a war they view as illegitimate on all fronts.
Our Chairman Abdelwahid has repeatedly described the ongoing conflict and clarify publicly fighting between the SAF and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as “a struggle between two military juntas that have nothing to do with the people’s demands.” In T.V and many interviews, he stated, “We are neutral. We stand with the Sudanese people against both criminal institutions.” This position comes as now surprise to those familiar with his long-standing critique of both regimes and peace processes that exclude real public participation.
The Juba Peace Agreement of 2020, which many praised as a major breakthrough, was one such deal that Chairman Abdelwahid refused to join. He argued it recycled elites, ignored war crimes, and left the root causes of conflict untouched. Our movement stayed out, saying the process was driven by “elite settlements, not justice or accountability.”
In fact, Chairman Abdelwahid has consistently linked peace to justice. He was among the earliest to call for the handover of former President Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes committed in Darfur—a demand that remains unresolved to this day and said let the government disarm the militias but the elites resist until they tried to reach the power and now government is calling SLM/A to help to fight the same Jan jawed And it totally wrong. When many rebel leaders re-entered government posts following the revolution, SLM-AW remained in the field, calling instead for a “national constitutional conference” that includes marginalized communities and civil society.
This war to SLM/A or comrade Abdelwahid is very clear and very much understandable we know that the SAF is the same institution that burned villages in Darfur under al-Bashir.
The RSF, meanwhile, evolved from the Janjaweed militias, infamous for genocide in Darfur—a reality tragically repeating itself in El Geneina and other towns today. As recently as 2024, our movement movement condemned both parties for turning civilian centers into battlegrounds, accusing them of war crimes and collective punishment.
SLM/A refusal to join this war is not passivity—it is protest. In a statement released in early 2024, SLM-AW declared: “We will not be part of a conflict that continues to kill the poor while empowering the killers.”
Critics call his stance isolated or inflexible. But in a political climate where so many have traded principles for positions, Abdelwahid’s consistency offers a rare clarity. He is not waiting for a seat at the table—he is waiting for the table to be rebuilt entirely, by and for the people.
In a Sudan where memory is often short and betrayal commonplace, this steadfast refusal may be one of the last moral compasses pointing toward a truly just peace and it will be peace among communities or Sudanese Sudanese dialogue between all Sudanese except Former president party And Islamic movement NCP.
Dear reader if you Would you like to read more article like this follow me
Comrade nureldin mahmud ( Comrade Abumia)
Mail nureldinmahmud100@gmail.com
