Memorandum from Sudanese Political Forces and National Figures to the African Union Regarding Developments in Ending the War and Achieving Peace in Sudan

January 12, 2026
H.E. Mr. Mahmoud Ali Youssif
Chairperson of the African Union Commission
Esteemed Representatives of the Member States of the African Union Peace and Security Council
The undersigned—politicians, academics, researchers, and independent civil society activists—hereby submit this official memorandum to the African Union regarding the efforts to end the war and the realization of peace in Sudan. This letter serves as a formal response to the letter submitted by the “Somoud” alliance on January 6, 2026, under the mantle of “Democratic Civilian Leadership”. We express our categorical rejection of the content presented by the aforementioned alliance to the Chairperson of the AU Commission and the Peace and Security Council. Furthermore, we condemn the political blackmail practiced by this alliance and its persistent impersonation of the Sudanese people and their civil forces.
At the outset, we wish to highlight that the previous memorandum deliberately ignored the direct and destabilizing role of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a primary actor in the Sudanese conflict since April 2023. The UAE’s documented and continuous support for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia constitutes an explicit threat to Sudan’s safety and territorial integrity, in blatant violation of the African Union’s Constitutive Act. We expected the African Union to adopt a decisive stance against this Emirati role, which prolongs the suffering in Sudan and impacts the wider continent and region. Regrettably, while international figures—such as U.S. Congresswoman Sara Jacobs and Senator Chris Van Hollen—and organizations like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Washington Center for Human Rights have criticized this intervention, AU institutions remain silent about the UAE aggression on Sudan.
In Sudan, the signatories of the “Somoud” memorandum are directly or indirectly engaged in advancing the UAE’s agenda in the country. They promote biased initiatives and utilize media deception to serve Emirati interests in the Sudanese arena. These individuals persistently attempt to divert attention from or downplay the RSF’s atrocities, undermining their claims of civilian neutrality and exposing their role in a disinformation campaign for which the Sudanese people pay with increased suffering.
This reality is inseparable from the external influence network supporting the RSF, which seeks to entrench control over civilian areas, using citizens as hostages to blackmail the Sudanese state and impose the country’s fragmentation as a fait accompli. This aligns perfectly with the nature of Emirati policies in the region. Consequently, the “Somoud” alliance’s stance not only undermines local and international peace initiatives—as seen in their rejection of the Sudanese Peace Initiative, but also directly facilitates the UAE’s neo-colonial influence on the continent.
We affirm that any credible peace process must begin by dismantling the control of the Emirati-backed armed militia and condemning its use of foreign mercenaries to occupy Sudanese cities. We demand the African Union condemn these activities explicitly. The Peace process must ensure the state restores full control over its territory to protect civilians and prevent external hegemony over the political or security tracks. The “revolutionary” or “civilian” pretexts used by the previous signatories are unacceptable given their ties to the external parties funding and directing the conflict. This necessitates that the African Union exercise absolute neutrality and distance itself from external influences, including those evidenced during the Chairperson’s recent meeting with the Emirati Foreign Minister.
A viable roadmap for peace must prioritize civilian protection, which requires the total withdrawal of the RSF from all residential centers. The presence of these elements is the primary threat to citizens, as evidenced by massacres in El Fasher, Khartoum, Al Jazirah, and El Geneina. Areas under RSF control, such as Nyala, Zalingei, Babanusa, and El Nahud, have become lawless zones defined by a predatory war economy, ethnic cleansing, and sexual violence. Therefore, the restoration of security through the deployment of Sudanese police and the rule of law must precede any political power-sharing or quota systems.
In conclusion, we call upon the African Union to:

1. Ensure all peace initiatives are predicated on civilian protection and legal accountability.
2. Guarantee that African mediation does not become a vehicle for external influence or a compromise of Sudanese sovereignty.
3. Coordinate fully with national initiatives and political forces to safeguard Sudan’s territorial unity.
4. Condemn destructive external interventions and the use of mercenaries contracted by Emirati companies to fight in Sudan, which evoke the horrors of the colonial era.
   Sustainable peace requires total national sovereignty and the severance of local ties to external support. We remind the African Union that its founding charter is built on non-interference in the internal affairs of member states. Overlooking the financing of cross-border militias threatens the entire continent’s principles of national liberation and invites new forms of proxy colonialism. We urge the AU to stand with Sudan in defense of sovereignty and refuse to yield to the political blackmail of the “Somoud” alliance and its external backers.
   Please accept our highest regards.

Signatories:
Firstly: Political, Party, and Community Leaders

1. Mohamed Abdullah Al-Douma – President, National Umma Party
2. Moatz Osman Al-Fahal – Political Secretary, Original Democratic Unionist Party
3. Dr. Al-Tijani Al-Sisi – President, National Movement Forces Alliance
4. Mohamed Wada’at Allah – President, Coordination for a Return to the Founding Platform
5. Dr. Yahya Hajj Nur – President, Sudanese People’s Party, and Secretary-General of the Nationalist Current
6. Ambassador Ismail Kattar Abdul Karim – Assistant to the President of the National Umma Party for Legal and Constitutional Affairs
7. Nur al-Din Barakat Sharif – Political Supervisor, Original Democratic Unionist Party
8. Mohamed Al-Wathiq Abu Zeid – Political Secretary, Future Movement for Reform and Development Party
9. Abdullah Fadlallah Ahmed – President, Misseriya Tribes Coordination Inside and Outside Sudan
10. Balla Jouda Mohamed – Secretary-General, Misseriya Tribes Coordination
11. Akasha Suleiman Saloum – President, The Third Front (Tamazuj)
12. Dr. Mohamed Ismail Zero – Secretary-General, The Third Front (Tamazuj)
13. Mohamed Ibrahim Hamed – President, National Front for Eastern Sudan Components
14. Ambassador Mahjoub Mohamed Othman – Democratic Unionist Party
15. Ahmed Al-Sinjak – Member of the Leadership Body, Original Democratic Unionist Party, and Party President in the United States
16. Mawahib Al-Sayed Mohamed Ahmed – Leader, Original Democratic Unionist Party
17. Salah Ahmed Idris Ibrahim – National Coordinator for Disarmament
18. Amer Kurmi Slouf – Civil Forces Alliance of the Nuba Mountains
19. Nazir Ali Ahmed Al-Nur – Community Leader
20. Abdel Rahim Musa Al-Awad – Union of Sudan’s General Tribes
21. Salim Attar Ismail – Gathering of Sons of Eastern Sudan
22. Eng. Mohamed Abdul Karim Taqal – Bloc of Active Civil Forces
23. Bakri Ahmed – Alliance of Revolutionary Resistance Committees
24. Amir Harika Salim – Unity Youth Alliance
25. Hussam Al-Atta – Youth for Sudan
    Secondly: Civil Society and Human Rights Organizations
26. Umayya Yousif Hassan Abu Fadayah – Director, Sudanese Center for Human Rights and Media Freedom
27. Jaafar Khidr – Civil Activist
28. Nada Fadlallah Hassan – Secretary, Rural Women Development Organization
29. Al-Mubarak Al-Rayyah Al-Sharif Mahmoud – Director, Khartoum Center for Social Peace and Media
30. Nasrin Al-Khair Babiker – Secretary-General, Taj Organization for Freedom, Peace and Development
31. Ismahan Jabbara – Sudanese Organization for Motherhood and Childhood
32. Salima Mansour Karma – Darfur Women’s Development Organization
33. Halima Abd al-Daim Mohamed – Secretary-General, Development Organization
34. Abbas Idris Jaafar – Civil Society Organizations
35. Mustafa Adam – Civil Society Activist
36. Atef Sayed Ahmed – Solidarity with Sudan Campaign
37. Suad Abdulaziz – Executive Director, “Decolonize Sudan” Initiative
38. Dr. Suheir Ahmed Salah – National Women’s Group
39. Arif Ahmed Ismail – Civil Society
40. Khuloud Farajallah – Feminist Activist
41. Zeinab Idris Al-Tayeb – President, Kordofan Women’s Alliance
42. Abeer Ahmed Siddiq – Women’s Alliance for Peace and Unity
43. Mahira Abdel Rahman Al-Makk – Feminist Advocate
44. Nadia Mohamed Ali – Feminist and Political Activist
45. Ikhlas Ahmed – Feminist Activist
46. Manahal Ibrahim Al-Sayed – Political and Human Rights Activist
47. Taha Al-Qurashi Abdul Azim – Human Rights Defender
48. Mohamed Abdel Rahman Ahmed Salim – Former Judge and Human Rights Defender
    Thirdly: Academics and Professionals
49. Prof. Mustafa Idris – Former Director, University of Khartoum
50. Dr. Magdi Al-Jazouli – Academic
51. Dr. Hassan Hajj Ali – Academic and University Professor
52. Dr. Amjad Farid Al-Tayeb – Executive Director, Fikra Center for Studies and Development
53. Dr. Salim Mohamed Al-Badri – Professor of Political Science
54. Dr. Yahya Suleiman Al-Ja’ali – Professor of Sociology
55. Dr. Ahmed Abdel Rahim Salman – Researcher and University Professor
56. Dr. Mohamed Ahmed Adam Ali – Media Researcher
57. Mohamed Ahmed Al-Sawi – Independent Political Thinker
58. Abu Obeida Mohamed – University Lecturer
59. Hussein Ibrahim Hamed – University Professor (Veterinary Medicine)
60. Iman Bashir – Associate Professor
61. Dr. Sana Suleiman Al-Faris – Sudanese Doctor (Berlin)
62. Dr. Khalil Abdel Rahim Al-Darir – Consultant Anesthetist and Intensive Care
63. Mohamed Naqd Mirghani – Doctor
64. Mustafa Omar Hajj Al-Hussein – Academic
65. Najat Mahjoub Abdel Qader Mohamed – University of Khartoum
66. Aida Nasser – Lawyer
    Fourthly: Media Professionals, Journalists, Writers, and Artists
67. Adel Al-Baz – Editor-in-Chief, Al-Ahdath Newspaper
68. Waleed Bakri Kharshin – Editor-in-Chief, Al-Ittihadi Newspaper
69. Amjad Abu Al-‘Ula – Film Producer and Director
70. Magdi Abdulaziz – Editor-in-Chief, Al-Riwaya Al-Oula Newspaper
71. Fadlallah Abdullah Rabeh Abu – Sudanese Freelance Journalist
72. Sumayya Sayed Jadu Al-Hajj – Sudanese Journalist
73. Imtithal Ahmed Al-Sheikh – Sudanese Journalist
74. Makki Al-Maghrabi – Media Professional
75. Rasha Al-Rashid Mahdi – Broadcaster and Deputy Director, Khartoum Center for Social Peace and Media
76. Maher Mohamed Mokhtar – Media Professional and Sports Journalist
77. Faris Ahmed Hassan Al-Jaid – Media Professional and Social Media Influencer
78. Mokhtar Ali Al-Nur – Writer and Author
79. Hashim Ahmed Hassab Al-Rasoul – Poet and Author
80. Sabir Al-Sadiq Jamil – Musician
81. Khaled Abdel Rahman Al-Hilu – Visual Artist
82. Mayada Ahmed Qamar al-Din – Film Director and Filmmaker
    Fifthly: Political Activists
83. Khalid Abdullah Mohamed – Political Activist
84. Anas Mohamed Fadl – Political Activist
85. Adam Mohamed Hassan – Activist and Political Analyst
86. Mohannad Al-Ballal – Analyst on Sudanese Affairs
87. Hala Kamrat – Expert in Conflict Resolution, Mediation, and Peacebuilding
88. Sally Zaki – Writer and Political Analyst, Member of Civil Society (Democratic Bloc)
    Sixthly: Diaspora Communities and External Alliances
89. Nizar Ata Al-Mannan Mohamed – President, Sudanese Community in Istanbul, Turkey
90. Ahmed Abdulaziz Ahmed Burma – Sudanese Community in New Zealand
91. Abdelazim Kodi – Sudanese Activist (Canada)
92. Mohamed Al-Imam Mohamed Yousif – Sudanese Citizen, Canada
93. Abdel Rahim Ahmed Mokhtar – Sudanese Citizen Refugee in Britain
94. Ahmed Arabi – Alliance of Sudanese Revolutionary Forces (Norway)
95. Abdulaziz Mohamed Salih – Sudanese Citizen (Switzerland)
96. Abdelrahman Majed Al-Awad – Sudanese Citizen (Australia)
97. Fattah Ahmed Said – Sudanese Citizen (Juba)
98. Mudathir Suleiman Qureiballah – Sudanese Community in Senegal
99. Saadiya Kuzam – Sudanese Women’s Group in Texas
100. Ahmed Abdulaziz Ahmed Burma – Sudanese Community in New Zealand
     Seventhly: Citizens, Businesspersons, Others
101. Hussam al-Din Abdullah Abdulaziz – Sudanese Citizen
102. Mo’tasim Beidab – Sudanese Citizen
103. Amal Mahjoub Mohamed Ahmed – Citizen
104. Al-Bara’ Ahmed Abdel Rahman Hamida – Sudanese Citizen
105. Ilyas Mohamed Al-Hassan – Sudanese Citizen
106. Mohyeldin Mokhtar Al-Mahri – Sudanese Citizen (Western Sudan)
107. Alia Hassan Mohamed Al-Hassan – Sudanese Citizen
108. Sabir Othman Khalid – Businessperson
109. Kamal Ahmed Ali – Businessperson
110. Omar Hakar Kanji – Commodities Trader
111. Sana Musa – Electronics Engineer
112. Younis Adam Abdullah Mohamed – Sudanese Citizen
113. Ilyas Mohamed Al-Hassan – Sudanese Citizen
114. Mohamed Al-Imam Mohamed Yousif – Sudanese Citizen
115. Alia Hassan Mohamed Al-Hassan – Sudanese Citizen