Sudan’s al-Burhan renews rejection of Kenya’s chairmanship of IGAD mediation
July 5, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Head of the Sovereign Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese army, reiterated his rejection of Kenya’s chairmanship of an IGAD committee tasked with resolving the Sudanese crisis.
According to a statement released by the Sovereign Council on Wednesday, al-Burhan received a phone call from Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mahmud.
“Al-Burhan reiterated the Sudanese government’s rejection of Kenya’s chairmanship of the Quartet tasked with addressing the crisis in Sudan, in accordance with the recent IGAD summit hosted by Djibouti,” the statement read.
Sudanese military officials claim that Kenya was not neutral in the Sudanese conflict, alleging that President William Ruto has a business relationship with the Rapid Support Forces leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo “Hemetti.”
Sudan’s opposition to Kenya’s leadership of the quartet has suspended IGAD’s plans to launch a regional mediation to end the war and facilitate a political process in Sudan.
The quartet includes South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti, the IGAD chair.
On June 19, the foreign ministers of the quartet agreed to launch an all-inclusive political process to achieve peace, a peaceful transition to democracy, and civilian rule, to be hosted by the Republic of Kenya in mid-July or the first week of August 2023.
Following a meeting of the IGAD leaders in Djibouti on June 12, Sudan immediately reacted to the final communiqué announcing Kenya’s selection as the head of the mediation panel.
The head of the Sudanese delegation, Deputy Head of the Sovereign Council Malik Agar, stated that the matter had not been discussed during the meeting.
Since April 15, fighting has persisted between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, primarily concentrated in the capital Khartoum and the Darfur region.
The conflict has resulted in the loss of hundreds of civilian lives and numerous injuries. Additionally, nearly 2.5 million Sudanese people have been displaced due to the ongoing clashes.
(ST)