The Intergovernmental Authority on Development in Eastern Africa (IGAD) will send presidents of Kenya, South Sudan and Djibouti to broker a ceasefire in Sudan.
The leaders of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in Eastern Africa (IGAD) will send presidents of Kenya, South Sudan and Djibouti to broker a ceasefire in Sudan.
Kenyan President William Ruto’s office said on Sunday that Ruto joined Presidents Salva Kiir (South Sudan), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Ismail Omar Guelleh (Djibouti) and Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (Somalia) for a virtual meeting to discuss the crisis.
President William Ruto asked IGAD leaders to take a firm position to restore peace in Khartoum.
The leaders called on Sudan’s military leader General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo to stop the war and return to negotiations.
At the conclusion of their meeting , IGAD’ s leaders decided to send Presidents Kiir, Ruto and Guelleh at the earliest possible time to reconcile the conflicting groups.
They said stability in Sudan is key to the social and economic stability of the region. The conflict, they added, undermines the peace progress achieved over the last four months.
The leaders also asked the two groups to provide a safe corridor for humanitarian assistance in Khartoum and other affected towns.
Armed clashes erupted Saturday morning in the capital Khartoum and its surrounding cities between the army and RSF fighters.
While the RSF accused the army of attacking its forces south of Khartoum with light and heavy weapons, the military said the paramilitary force was “spreading lies” and declared it a “rebel” group.
Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds injured in the fighting, according to local medics.