JEM Says Fighters Are Ready To Join Sudanese Army

Khartoum, August 18, 2026 - Justice and Equality Movement leader Gibril Ibrahim said his forces are ready to integrate into Sudan's national army before the civil war ends, reviving a core security commitment from the Juba Peace Agreement.

Ibrahim, who also serves as finance minister, told newly graduated JEM troops in Khartoum that Sudan must fully implement the security protocol for all signatory groups. The accord provided for phased integration of former combatants into the military and state security organs, but implementation stalled because of funding shortages and political divisions before the current war disrupted the process.

He said Sudan must have a single unified military with exclusive control over the use of force, warning against future reliance on irregular militias. JEM forces currently fight alongside the Sudanese Armed Forces within the Joint Force coalition, and Ibrahim pledged continued operations until RSF-held territory is recovered.

Ibrahim also addressed Arab communities in Darfur and Kordofan, saying JEM has no ethnic hostility and is fighting armed groups accused of violence against civilians.

The statement is politically significant because force integration remains central to any postwar settlement, state reconstruction, and the restoration of predictable security conditions for public finance, infrastructure, and private investment.