Abdelaziz al-Hilu wants to see a secular Sudan

The leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA-North), Abdelaziz al-Hilu, has told the BBC that his group will opt for independence if the government in Khartoum does not change.

There is a risk Sudan could split because the current military junta in charge of the country are “not ready for peaceful settlement” and want to stay in power, the leader of a military movement in the country has said.

The SPLA-North is in control of a large swathe of land in the Nuba mountains in the country’s south, as well as part of Blue Nile in the southeast.

Mr. Al-Hilu says his group “prefers unity” but warned that if Khartoum wants to maintain the old Sudan of “segregations” and “oppression” then “we will opt for independence”.

The Nuba have been marginalized for decades. They have been killed, tortured, evicted from their land, and forcibly converted to Islam.

In October 2021, Sudan’s military took over the government alleging that the army acted to prevent a civil war because political groups had been inciting civilians against the security forces.

The coup leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has previously said he remains committed to the transition to civilian rule.