The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Sudan, urging conflicting parties to commit to dialogue and negotiations.
The call came during an extraordinary summit held last Thursday in the Ugandan city of Entebbe to discuss the situation in Sudan and the crisis between Somalia and Ethiopia following the latter’s agreement with the separatist region of Somaliland, which provides Ethiopia with a maritime outlet.
Presided over by Djibouti, which currently chairs the IGAD session, the summit saw the attendance of the Presidents of Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Uganda.
The summit demanded that the Sudanese military and the Rapid Support Forces convene a direct meeting within two weeks to pave the way for a political agreement. It expressed readiness to exert efforts to facilitate a comprehensive peace process to end the conflict in Sudan. Moreover, it called on Ethiopia and Somalia to de-escalate tensions and engage in constructive dialogue.
On his part, the leader of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Hemeti, remarked after participating in the IGAD extraordinary summit that the gathering was an opportunity to provide a detailed explanation to the heads of the organization’s member states about the causes of the crisis in Sudan, and to grasp their vision for the negotiation process aiming to achieve a comprehensive peace addressing the crisis’s roots and laying the groundwork for a better future for Sudan.
Sudan Freezes Dealings with IGAD
Earlier on Tuesday, Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the “freezing of dealings” with IGAD due to what it described as the organization’s overreach by involving the situation in Sudan in the summit’s agenda without consulting Khartoum, and inviting Hemeti to the summit.
Days before this announcement, Khartoum declared its refusal to participate in the summit. In a statement issued by the Transitional Sovereignty Council, headed by Army Commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, it was stated that the Sudanese government had received an invitation from IGAD to attend the summit in the Ugandan capital Kampala to discuss the problem in Somalia and the situation in Sudan. However, they did not see the necessity to hold a summit to discuss the matter of Sudan before implementing the outcomes of the previous summit.
It should be noted that IGAD is a semi-regional African governmental organization established in 1996, headquartered in Djibouti, and includes East African countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Sudan, and South Sudan.
Since mid-April 2023, the Sudanese military led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo – who was a Vice President of the Sovereignty Council, have been engaged in a conflict resulting in over 12,000 deaths and more than 7 million displaced and refugees, according to the United Nations.
