By CHIMPREPORTS
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) leaders have decried the Sudan war as “unjust” and underscored that Sudan belongs to its people, urging an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire” to end the war.
IGAD on Thursday convened its 42nd Extraordinary Assembly of Heads of State and Government, hosted by President Museveni of Uganda at State House, Entebbe.
In a joint communique issued on Thursday night, the members also reiterated their call for dialogue and negotiation, extending IGAD’s readiness to facilitate an inclusive peace process, collaborating closely with all Sudanese stakeholders, the African Union (AU) and international actors.
Looking ahead, the heads of state proposed a face-to-face meeting between Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) within 14 days to initiate reconciliation.
Al-Burhan did not attend the meeting at Entebbe.
The Sudanese government on January 13, announced that al-Burhan would not attend the Entebbe summit due to the failure of IGAD to secure a meeting between him and Dagalo.
Khartoum said both rival generals should first hold talks before the IGAD summit.
Sudan’s foreign affairs ministry expressed shock that a rebel leader would be invited to a meeting of regional leaders.
“Sudan considers these actions to be a violation of its sovereignty and a serious breach of IGAD’s charters and the established norms governing the operations of international and regional organizations,” said Sudan in its statement.,
Dagalo attended the summit, saying it was a “significant opportunity for us to brief the heads of state on the causes of the crisis in Sudan and articulate our vision of ending the war.”
The rebel leader, who has previously been accused of committing atrocities in Darfur, called for “comprehensive and sustainable peace negotiations that address the roots of the crisis and create a better future for our people and make this war the last in our country.”
In a move towards concrete action, IGAD leaders further directed the IGAD Secretariat, in coordination with the AU, to revise the roadmap for the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of Sudan, ensuring a clear timeline.
The collective call resonated beyond IGAD, as the leaders urged the African Union and the international community to mobilise support for the peace process in the Republic of Sudan.
Addressing the media, President Museveni noted that the leaders throughout their discussions resolved that the conflicting parties must stop what he called the unprincipled war.
“We described the Sudan war as unjust. We freedom fighters pay attention to these wars. When we were fighting for freedom, we were fighting for justice and we could not get it by any other means,” the President said.
“I was sharing with Your Excellencies, if you take for instance the history of African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa, it was founded in 1912 but I don’t think they adopted the armed struggle strategy until 1961; so, for 50 years they were using peaceful methods including petitions and demonstrations. It was only when the oppressor completely closed the possibilities of peaceful ways of doing things that the ANC declared war, but you have got wars, every small thing is war. This is ideological shallowness in our view,” he added.
According to the United Nations, more than 12,000 people have been killed in war-torn Sudan since fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces on 15 April 2023.
More than 7.3 million people have been displaced inside and outside Sudan and the number of people displaced in Sudan has increased by about 500,000 in one month, mainly due to the conflict-induced displacement from parts of Aj Jazirah and other states.
Discussion about this post