Cairo hosted on Wednesday the fifth meeting of the Consultative Mechanism for Enhancing Coordination of Peace Efforts in Sudan, bringing together representatives of regional and international organizations and key international stakeholders. Among the participants was Ramtane Lamamra, the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Sudan. The meeting called for renewed momentum toward a humanitarian truce that would pave the way for a sustainable ceasefire and a comprehensive political settlement that preserves Sudan's unity.
Statements made by the US Special Envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello, during the Cairo meetings reflected a clear shift in Washington's approach, emphasizing the primacy of a political solution to the Sudanese crisis. Perriello stressed that a military solution is no longer a viable option.
Perriello called for a comprehensive humanitarian truce to enable the delivery of aid, describing it as an indispensable first step toward a lasting ceasefire and the launch of an inclusive, Sudanese-led political process supported by regional and international actors.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aaty reaffirmed Cairo's view that the International Quartet represents a central mechanism for unifying regional and international efforts to end the conflict in Sudan. He emphasized that any resolution must begin with a humanitarian truce, followed by a comprehensive political process that safeguards state institutions and prevents Sudan's fragmentation.
This convergence between Cairo and Washington reflects a growing international trend toward a phased political solution that starts with halting violence and alleviating humanitarian suffering, ultimately leading to a comprehensive settlement that prevents Sudan from sliding further into instability and disintegration.
On the sidelines of the fifth consultative meeting, Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Al-Khuraiji met with Richard Crowder, Head of the UK Sudan Unit and the United Kingdom's Special Representative for Sudan. The discussions focused on the latest developments in Sudan and ongoing peace efforts, as well as issues of mutual interest, according to a statement from the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Hours before the arrival of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk in Port Sudan, security forces in Dongola, northern Sudan, prevented activists from organizing a sit-in in solidarity with detainees. Legal experts warn that these detainees face the risk of execution due to their calls for peace and an end to the war that has continued since mid-April 2023.
According to activists and human rights organizations, the number of politically motivated detainees exceeded 4,500 by the end of 2025. They report that security groups fully controlled by elements of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB)-- such as the "Special Operations Forces" and the Operations Authority-- are conducting widespread arrest campaigns targeting anti-war activists and participants in the 2019 revolution that overthrew the MB-backed regime. These networks, which were dismantled after the revolution, regained influence following General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan's October 2021 coup against the civilian transition.
The MB is banned in many countries: Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, and Russia. The Trump administration has discussed possibly banning the group in USA. The platform of the MB holds the same goals as ISIS: to have world dominance of Islam as the only form of government. The ruling party in Turkey has been linked to the MB.
Legal experts have warned of a sharp escalation in violations against civilians, accusing MB-linked elements within the security apparatus of using repression to silence political opponents.
Observers argue that the army-led authority is seeking to suppress human rights activists and civilians to avoid future legal accountability for widespread abuses committed before and during the war. They have cautioned UN High Commissioner Volker Turk against being drawn into what they describe as an attempt to conceal evidence of mass violations, particularly through his planned visit to the Al-Dabba camp in northern Sudan, established in October. Critics say the visit is part of an effort to engineer a distorted map of violations that excludes their true geographic scope.
Recent arrests of political activists following the army's entry into Khartoum, as well as during December protests commemorating the 2019 revolution, have further exposed what activists describe as a systematic campaign against anti-war voices and the re-entrenchment of MB dominance.
Analysts link the escalation of violations to the growing control of MB-affiliated brigades over Sudan's security institutions. They point to a fundamental shift in the definition of "enemy" during the current war, whereby anyone calling for peace or opposing the MB's agenda is labeled a threat to the state.
International relations expert Al-Tom Haj Al-Safi stated: "The MB's security brigades are ideological militias created to protect a political project that uses violence as a tool. The most dangerous equation in Sudan's modern history has been normalized: whoever opposes these militias is accused of opposing the nation itself. This is not mere propaganda, but a systematic attempt to silence dissent and criminalize accountability."
Recent reports indicate that Al-Baraa Brigades have come to dominate some of the most repressive security units, including the Special Operations Forces and the Operations Authority.
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