IGAD summit calls for El Burhan–Hemedti meeting to establish new ceasefire in Sudan

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The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) summit, held on Monday in Djibouti, proposed a meeting between Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Lt Gen Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo, in one of the IGAD countries, for a new ceasefire and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Al-Arabiya reported from its sources that El Burhan, rejected the proposal. The Sudanese Foreign Ministry also said in a statement that it objected to a number of clauses in the final statement of the IGAD summit held in Djibouti. It demanded the deletion of any reference to the issue of IGAD mediation from the African House. However Malek Agar, deputy chairman of the Sovereignty Council, welcomed the initiative, noting that the proposed meeting between El Burhan and Hemedti would focus on a ceasefire.

Journalist and political analyst Jamil El Fadil stressed that the role of IGAD is suitable to be supportive of Saudi-US mediation, but it cannot play a separate role. He told Radio Dabanga that the support of the army leadership for the mechanism of IGAD heads may come “in an attempt to escape from the Saudi-US track”, indicating that “the USA has tightened the siege and offers carrots and sticks by imposing sanctions”.

‘There is no victor in war’

– IGAD executive secretary, Workneh Gebeyehu

“Do not rely much on the initiatives of regional entities and they can contribute to a supporting role and not a separate role,” El Fadil added.

The IGAD summit resolved to start a national dialogue between civil forces in Sudan within two weeks to discuss outstanding issues.

IGAD executive secretary Workneh Gebeyehu says the resumption of fighting in Khartoum and parts of Darfur was very frustrating. Speaking at the launch of the summit, he called on all parties “to cease all hostilities and give dialogue a chance”.

Gebeyehu called on the warring parties in Sudan not to allow the situation to deteriorate further. The organisation expressed grave concern about the violence in Sudan. He stressed that “there is no victor in war”.

‘The process of self-destruction in Sudan must stop’

– African Commission Chair, Moussa Faki

He welcomed efforts to cease hostilities through the temporary ceasefire reached on May 20 and the 24-hour truce that came into effect from 06:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 10.

He thanked the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the USA for their continued efforts to broker peace in Sudan. I acknowledge the efforts of the African Union, the United Nations and all the friends of Sudan to end the conflict.

He warned of serious repercussions of the conflict in Sudan for the region and the world at large. He also warned of the “double displacement” of refugees and asylum-seekers from Sudan due to the outbreak of war as well as the growing challenge of food insecurity in Sudan. He stressed the need to act quickly to avoid such scenarios.

African Commission

Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, says that the threat of civil war threatens Sudan if the war does not end. Speaking at the summit in Djibouti on Monday, he said the crisis Sudan is going through threatens the entire region, stressing that the process of self-destruction in Sudan must stop.

He warned that it is necessary to reduce the external influences fuelling the conflict in

Malik Agar, Vice Chairman of the Sovereignty Council, called on IGAD to adhere to the principles of sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, peaceful settlement of disputes and equality among member states.

Speaking at the Djibouti summit, he said the meetings would discuss the security situation, peace and humanitarian crises caused by the conflict.

UNITAMS

In an independent statement, on the situation in Sudan, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes stressed the “UNITAMS will continue its efforts to monitor the situation and avail its resources to engage with all parties to reach a peaceful resolution to the conflict, in coordination with regional and international partners”.

UNITAMS is part of the AU-IGAD-UN Trilateral Mechanism. The relationship with the UNITAMS head and the Sudanese government has been tenuous recently, after the Sudanese Foreign Ministry informed UN Secretary-General António Guterres lasst week, that Perthes has been declared persona non grata in Sudan. The UN says this is contrary to the obligations of States under the Charter of the United Nations.