Sudan’s Hamdok to mediate Tigray conflict
August 4, 2021 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan is preparing to launch a mediation between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), with the support of the international community.
The Sudan Tribune learned that Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok is in contact with the Ethiopian government and the TPLF leaders to bring the two parties to the negotiating table to discuss a peaceful solution and allow humanitarian aid to civilians.
Hamdok, also, informed of his initiative the heads of the East African bloc IGAD, Eritrea and a number of friendly Western countries, including France and the United States of America.
Sudan is increasingly concerned about the nine-month-long escalating conflict in Ethiopia as the war zones in the Tigray and Amhara regions border the country and refugees continue pouring into Sudan.
Officials in Khartoum further say that this conflict might ignite other hotspots in the multiethnic country pointing to the western Benishangul-Gumuz region which is also bordering Sudan as was the case in December 2020.
USAID head Samantha Power, on Tuesday, said they support the Sudanese initiative to resolve the Tigray conflict.
“We want to support Sudan’s transformation from a source of instability to a partner in resolving the challenges of a volatile region, most urgently by working together to address the conflict in Ethiopia, to which there is no military solution,” Power said in a lecture at the University of Khartoum.
On 31 July, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Hamdok and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed where he expressed his concern about the continued fighting in the country and called to allow unfettered humanitarian assistance to the needy.
“The President also stressed that the development of the situation required the negotiation of a break in hostilities and the opening of political dialogue between the belligerents, with respect for the integrity and unity of Ethiopia,” reads a statement released by the French presidency.
For his part, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed Wednesday with Hamdok the expansion of fighting in the Amhara and Afar regions of Ethiopia, and the need for a negotiated solution.
“Secretary Blinken and PM Hamdok agreed to encourage all parties to enter negotiations toward a ceasefire, to engage in an inclusive political dialogue to preserve the unity and integrity of the Ethiopian state, and to allow full humanitarian access to those in need,” said the State Department.
(ST)