2023-07-13 00:19:00
Accusations once morest “IGAD” of seeking to delegitimize Al-Burhan
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development in Africa (IGAD), concerned with peace in the Horn of Africa, and with a remarkable international and regional presence, has set “points on letters” for a broad regional and international process aimed at stopping the war, restoring peace in Sudan, and returning to the civil democratic transition that was aborted by the October coup ( October) 2021, and he was killed by the war between the two generals, the army commander, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the commander of the “quick support” forces, Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo.
While the decisions of the meeting found broad civilian support, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry, which speaks on behalf of the army, considered it a violation of sovereignty, and threatened to reconsider its membership in IGAD.
On June 14, IGAD launched an initiative to stop the war in Sudan, which included the formation of a quartet committee headed by Kenya, the membership of the current current session of IGAD (Djibouti), Ethiopia and South Sudan, and a direct meeting between the army commander, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan. And the commander of the “rapid support” forces, Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo, and that the commission begin within three weeks to conduct a national dialogue between the Sudanese civil forces to solve the crisis in the country.
However, the Sudanese army objected to Kenyan President William Ruto chairing the committee, and stipulated for its acceptance that it be headed by the President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit. At the time, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry called for the deletion of any indication that the issue would be removed from the IGAD mediation and from the African House, while the Rapid Support Forces called for the unification of the platforms, expressing their commitment to the Jeddah negotiating platform sponsored by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America.
However, IGAD did not respond to Sudan’s request, and continued its work with the African Quartet meeting in Addis Ababa on Monday, chaired by Kenya, and in the presence of US Assistant Secretary of State Molly Fye, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Nations, the Emirates, Egypt and Britain, and the meeting was followed by meetings Among the participants with representatives of Sudanese civil society, despite the refusal of the Sudanese army delegation to participate in the meetings even though they were all present in Addis Ababa.
The Sudanese Foreign Ministry said it was surprised that Ruto remained president of the Quartet and rejected her request, which it addressed to the head of IGAD, President Omar Guelleh, accusing him of not being neutral and harboring those whom it calls “rebel leaders”. The Sudanese delegation remained in Addis Ababa until the Quartet meeting ended without participating in it.
«Support» supports
For its part, the Rapid Support Forces announced their support for the meeting’s conclusions, and prepared it as a prelude to stopping the war, addressing the roots of the Sudanese crisis, the return of democratic civil rule, and the military establishment’s exit from political action.
The “Rapid Support” statement described the boycott of the armed forces delegation as mere “flawed pretexts,” and said: It is an irresponsible act that reveals that the decision within the military institution has been hijacked, and that there are multiple decision-making centers seeking to prolong the war and obstruct good offices. The statement continued, “The boycott of the delegation of the armed forces comes within the extremist approach of the defunct regime, because of which Sudan was subjected to the greatest regional and international isolation in its history, and to sanctions that left negative effects on all aspects of life in the country.”
One of the “rapid support” elements at the destroyed Air Defense Forces Command site in Khartoum last month (Archyde.com)
In their closing statement, the Quartet meetings stressed the lack of a “military solution” to the conflict in Sudan, and urged the stakeholders to push for a direct meeting between the leaders of the warring parties, an immediate cessation of violence, and the signing of an unconditional and unspecified ceasefire agreement, through an agreement to cease hostilities. , supported by an effective enforcement and monitoring mechanism, as well as concrete steps to facilitate humanitarian access.
The countries of the African Group requested the convening of a summit meeting of the East African Standby Force. To consider the possibility of deploying this force to protect civilians and access humanitarian aid, which is an indication of the possibility of direct intervention if the two fighting parties fail to reach an agreement. It also called on what it called “actors” to engage in a comprehensive peace dialogue for all owned and led by the Sudanese in order to achieve sustainable peace.
The unilateral statements that followed the Quartet meeting, by Kenyan President William Ruto and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, both of whom are major actors in the African Union, increased the possibilities of direct African military “intervention” to separate the warring forces in Sudan. The Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, demanded immediate action in Sudan, including the imposition of a no-fly zone and the disarmament of heavy artillery, while William Ruto said in a press conference: The situation in Sudan urgently requires a “new leadership” capable of extricating Sudan from the humanitarian disaster. .
A destroyed building in Omdurman, as clashes continue between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (Archyde.com)
In the first reaction to what came out of the African Quartet meetings, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry refused to deploy any foreign forces in Sudan, and said: It would consider them aggressor forces, and denounced the statements of the Kenyan President, according to which he counted Sudan in need of a “new leadership.” The Foreign Ministry also expressed its astonishment. According to the press statement, from the statements of the Ethiopian Prime Minister, in which he stated that there is a vacuum in the leadership of the state, and denounced calls for imposing an air embargo and disarming heavy artillery, in contravention of what it called “his direct understandings with the President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.” She added: “The government of Sudan considers the above statements an infringement on the sovereignty of the Sudanese state, which is unacceptable.”
“Foreign” vows
The Sudanese Foreign Ministry vowed to reconsider its membership in IGAD, and said, according to the statement: “The Government of Sudan informs IGAD that disrespect for member states will make the Government of Sudan reconsider the feasibility of its membership in the organization.”
There were popular reactions to the outcome of the Addis Ababa meeting. The Popular Congress Party, one of the parties to the political process that was aborted by the war, and one of the signatories to the framework agreement, expressed its reservations regarding foreign initiatives, considering that international and regional efforts to settle conflicts in Sudan before had not been successful, and called on national political forces to lead an initiative that would benefit From international facilitation to reach an urgent settlement to stop the war, he called for what he called a “round table” to solve the crisis, and warned once morest turning initiatives and mediations into a “political demonstration” that consumes time at the expense of the people.
catastrophic scenarios
The spokesman for the Freedom and Change Alliance, Khaled Omar Youssef, said in a press statement: The continuation of the war for a long time will enter the country into catastrophic scenarios, the closest of which is turning it into a civil war that divides and fragments the country. He continued, accusing the former regime: “The National Congress is the only political party that has interest in continuing the war for the purpose of his return to power.” He warned once morest his attempt to “liquidate the forces of the civil revolution.”
For their part, the loyalists of the Sudanese army rushed to launch a media campaign once morest IGAD and once morest the leaders of its countries, and demanded the severing of diplomatic relations with Ethiopia and Kenya, and the expulsion of their ambassadors to the country. And the pro-National Congress writer, Youssef Abdel Manan, warned, in a circulated tweet, that “(IGAD) tried to delegitimize Al-Burhan, and considered him as a representative of the army only.” He added, “It is a step that has its followingmath of a plan to separate Kordofan and Darfur from the rest of Sudan, and to make Al-Obeid the capital of the government of partners and (rapid support), on the Libyan way, and to form an exile government headed by Abdullah Hamdok and search for international legitimacy for it.”
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