Sudan on Monday announced it will return to the East African regional bloc IGAD, two years after suspending its membership over the invitation of a rival paramilitary chief to a summit.
“The government of the Republic of Sudan will resume its full activity in the membership” of the Djibouti-based Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Sudan suspended its membership in January 2024 after IGAD invited Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), to a summit in Uganda addressing the country’s ongoing conflict.
The RSF and Sudan’s army have been at war since April 2023 in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands, displaced some 11 million people, and triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
The foreign ministry cited IGAD’s statement reaffirming “full recognition of Sudan’s sovereignty and the unity of its lands and people” and pledging “non-interference in member states’ internal affairs.”
The decision follows a meeting in January between IGAD’s executive secretary, Workneh Gebeyehu, and Sudanese Prime Minister Kamil Idris. After the meeting, IGAD issued a statement condemning “all forms of violations committed by the Rapid Support Forces” and reaffirming support for Sudan’s unity, sovereignty, and national institutions.
The nearly three-year conflict has split Sudan between army-controlled areas in the north, east, and centre, and RSF-controlled territories in the west and parts of the south. The RSF has also set up a parallel administration in Nyala, South Darfur state capital, which has not received international recognition.
IGAD welcomed Sudan’s decision to return, calling it “a reaffirmation of regional solidarity and collective commitment to peace, stability, and cooperation across the region.”