CAIRO — The Sudanese government and several armed groups signed the Juba peace agreement Oct. 3. The agreement had been postponed several times, but the signing ceremony was finally held at Freedom Square in Juba, the capital of neighboring South Sudan, in a joyful atmosphere and in the presence of regional and international figures including the presidents of Somalia, Chad and Djibouti, along with the prime ministers of Egypt and Ethiopia, the US envoy to North Sudan and South Sudan, and representatives from several other countries.

The Juba Agreement includes eight principles related to issues of land ownership, the system in Sudan being divided into districts instead of states, transitional justice and compensation, the development of the nomadic and pastoral sector, the sharing of wealth, and the development of the Darfur district and other marginalized ones in order to join other districts that have experienced development and power-sharing, in addition to the return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes. At the security level, the agreement underlined the need to integrate the fighters of the armed movements and factions that signed the agreement into Sudan’s national army.

The agreement was signed by Sudan’s transitional authority and a number of armed factions, namely the Sudanese Revolutionary Front, which includes five armed factions and four political movements. 

However, the armed groups known as the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdul Wahid Nur, which is fighting in Darfur, as well as the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, which is active in the Sudanese states of South Kordofan and the Blue Nile, did not sign.