Conflict in Sudan: Presidents of Kenya, South Sudan and Djibouti to attempt mediation to reduce tensions

As the international community grows increasingly concerned armed clashes among the army Sudan and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have already claimed dozens of lives since the conflict erupted on Saturday, Kenya, South Sudan and Djibouti announced that they would try to mediate to reduce the tension in the African country.

Presidents are expected William Ruto (Kenya), Salva Kiir (South Sudan) and Ismail Omar Guele (Djibouti) travel in the next few hours to Sudan.

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has agreed send “as soon as possible” to the three presidents in a reconciliation initiative, the Kenyan presidency said in a statement.

They also urged the interim President of Sudan, General Abdul Fatah Al Burhanand the head of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, to “stop the war and resume negotiations”. “Stability in Sudan is essential to the social and economic stability of the region. The conflict is undermining progress towards peace made over the past four months,” they warned.

Similarly, IGAD leaders called on the two opposing groups to agree on the creation of humanitarian corridors in Khartoum and other towns affected by the fighting.

They went further to demand “the immediate cessation of hostilities” in a telematic meeting in which Ruto, Kiir, Guele, the Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveniand the President of Somalia, Hasan Sheikh Muhammad.

At the meeting, Ruto called on IGAD leaders to “take a firm stance to restore peace in Khartoum”, the Kenyan presidency reported.

IGAD is a regional body founded in 1986 which brings together Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Uganda, Kenya, Sudan and South Sudan.

For their part, the Sudanese Armed Forces affirmed this Sunday that the general situation in the country is “very stable” and that, for the second consecutive day of fighting, there were only “limited clashes” between the army and the FAR.

The armed forces said in a statement that the clashes took place mainly in the perimeter of the Khartoum army headquarters and other military installations, without giving further details.

The clashes continued this Sunday in the capital and in other regions of the country, where the FAR claimed control of several military installations and airports, which the army denied.

The armed forces accused the paramilitaries of using guerrilla methods and to enter densely populated areas, which is why the military warned that it could not use all of its military capabilities, such as carrying out aerial bombardments, according to the memo.

“Our forces are handling the situation with stability, balance and great professionalism”, added the army, which indicated that its soldiers “are in the best conditions, carrying out their duty and with high morale”, while promising that “she will resolve the situation”. very soon.

The fighting, which began on Saturday, has so far left more than 78 people dead and some 600 injured to varying degrees, according to the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, which warned that the figure could be much higher because it was not possible to count the victims in several difficult-to-reach areas.

This Sunday, given the escalation of violence in densely populated cities, the army and the FAR accepted a UN proposal to establish humanitarian corridors and end fighting in residential areas between four and seven o’clock in the afternoon, which allowed the evacuation of more than a thousand inhabitants of Khartoum, they told the agency EFE Sources of the Sudanese Red Crescent.

However, hostilities have not ceased in areas far from urban centerslike near army headquarters, or near Khartoum International Airport, where there was an explosion at a fuel depot.

The situation in other areas, such as the conflict region of Darfur, is uncertain since the two belligerents claimed to have taken control of the same strategic points.

(With information from Europa Press and EFE)

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