2023-07-10 22:49:47
The Sudanese army on Monday boycotted the peace talks in Addis Ababa, denouncing the “partiality” of the Kenyan head of state William Ruto, who chairs the “Quartet” of Igad organizing the negotiations.
Published on: 07/11/2023 – 00:49
There will therefore not have been the beginning of dialogue that Ethiopia hoped for. The Sudanese army on Monday (July 10th) boycotted peace talks in Addis Ababa proposed by East African countries to end the war that has ravaged Sudan for three months, where fighting continues.
Clashes between the paramilitaries of General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo’s Rapid Support Forces (FSR) and General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane’s regular troops have resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths since April 15, a much underestimated toll both the bodies that litter the streets are inaccessible.
The war has also made three million displaced persons and refugees and, while no diplomatic initiative has so far given birth to more than a few hours of truce, Sudan is now, according to the UN, “on the brink of ‘a potentially destabilizing all-out civil war for the whole region’.
First concerned, and yet sidelined for a long time by the American and Saudi mediators, the countries of East Africa are trying to regain control. But the “Quartet” of Igad, made up of Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia and South Sudan, is chaired by the Kenyan head of state William Ruto, whose Sudanese government denounces “partiality”.
“Our delegation arrived in Addis Ababa on Monday morning (…) but was informed that the presidency of the group of four had not been replaced” as the government had demanded, indicates the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement.
Call for an “unconditional ceasefire”
In its final communiqué, the Quartet deplores “the regrettable absence of the delegation of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) although invited and having confirmed its participation”. General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, head of the FSR, had for his part sent his political adviser to Addis Ababa. The FSR denounced in a statement “irresponsible behavior”.
The Quartet nevertheless assures “mobilizing and concentrating the efforts of all stakeholders to bring the leaders of the two belligerent parties to meet face to face”.
The Quartet once more called on the Sudanese belligerents “to sign an unconditional ceasefire”.
Igad is calling for a summit of the East African Standby Force (EASF) “to study a possible deployment” of the latter in Sudan “to protect civilians and guarantee humanitarian access”. The EASF is one of the five regional components of the African Standby Force (ASF), a peacekeeping force of the African Union (AU), whose operational reality faces many challenges.
Mubarak Ardol, a former Sudanese rebel now aligned with the army, denounced “a plan to occupy Sudan within a meeting aimed at promoting military interference” and praised the army for boycotting the meeting.
Fights still going on
Molly Phee, the US Under Secretary of State for Africa, is also in Addis Ababa on Monday and Tuesday to meet with regional and Sudanese officials. In a statement on Sunday, she said she called on the Sudanese belligerents to “immediately cease the fighting”. She also said “to echo the calls of the countries of the region to prevent any foreign interference and military support which would aggravate or prolong the conflict”.
According to experts on the matter, the two camps have strong support beyond the borders of Sudan: the Egyptian neighbor to the north supports the army while the United Arab Emirates and Wagner’s Russian mercenaries are on the side of the FSR.
On the ground, residents told AFP of fighting and air raids in different neighborhoods of Khartoum. “Rockets fell on the houses of civilians,” said one of them. Fighting was also underway in El-Obeid, 350 km south of Khartoum, witnesses said. And an army source said regular troops had “repelled an attack” by a rebel group in Blue Nile state, which borders Ethiopia.
On Saturday, dozens of civilians were killed in the northwestern suburbs of Khartoum in a raid blamed on the air force. The bombardment, which took place in the residential area of Dar al-Salam in Omdurman, killed 22 civilians and injured a large number of civilians, according to the ministry.
With AFP
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