2024-01-21 20:27:27
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The war broke out between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces on April 15
Article information
- Author, Muhammad Muhammad Othman
- Role, BBC correspondent for Sudanese affairs – Cairo
-
4 hours ago
Muhammad Abdel Salam, who works as a public employee, expressed his extreme indignation as he read news on his mobile phone regarding the Sudanese government freezing its membership in IGAD. He told me while sitting in a café in the Giza area of Cairo that he felt frustrated following reading the news. He explained while sipping a cup of tea, “I was counting a lot on the war being stopped by IGAD so that I might return with my family to Sudan.”
He said with great sadness, “I came with my family to Cairo six months ago to escape the war, and now I cannot live here following all my savings have run out. I wanted to return once more to the city of Bahri where I live, but in light of this bad news I will not be able to return, and frankly no.” “I know what to do. Everything in my life has become confusing and painful.”
The situation of Muhammad Abdel Salam is similar to the situation of the vast majority of Sudanese who became frustrated following the failure of all attempts and efforts aimed at stopping the war that has been ongoing in their country for nine months between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The fighting, which broke out last April, led to the deaths of more than 13,000 people, according to United Nations statistics. The war also forced regarding eight million people to leave their areas, some of whom took refuge in neighboring countries, in addition to the major destruction that occurred to the infrastructure, including bridges, electricity and water facilities, and hospitals.
The last serious attempt to stop the war was the initiative launched by IGAD, which proposed holding a direct meeting between the two generals, the army commander, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, in mid-January, on the sidelines of a summit. An emergency session devoted to discussing the Sudanese crisis and other issues.
However, the meeting was not held as it happened in previous times, and this time because Al-Burhan refused to attend the summit in protest once morest extending an invitation to Hemedti himself to participate in it, as he is a rebel and not a head of state. The proof went further, when it was announced that Sudan was officially frozen in the regional bloc two days following the summit was held.
Al-Burhan said in a letter sent by the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the State of Djibouti – the current president of the organization, “IGAD ignored Sudan’s decision, which refused to discuss any issues related to the current situation in Sudan… The government of Sudan is not obligated and is not concerned with everything issued by IGAD regarding Sudanese affairs.”
As for Hemedti, he participated in the summit and met with a number of presidents, leaders and envoys, including the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, and expressed his desire to achieve peace. He tweeted on the X website, “I stressed during the meeting our sincere desire to achieve security and stability in our country to alleviate the human suffering of our people.”
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A spokesman for the Civil Forces Coordination – headed by former Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok – expressed his regret over Sudan’s decision to freeze its membership in IGAD. Maher Abu Al-Joukh told the BBC that the decision will create a problem in the Jeddah platform, given that IGAD is participating in it. He added: “This decision means the army has renounced its obligations regarding a ceasefire and achieving peace. We fear that it will cause an escalation of military operations once more.”
Previous attempts
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An archive photo of Sudanese Army Commander Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan with the Commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo
IGAD’s attempt to bring Al-Burhan and Hemedti together was just one of a series of previous attempts at a ceasefire in Sudan. Saudi Arabia and the United States mediated negotiations hosted by the coastal city of Jeddah.
Indeed, many truces and ceasefire agreements were reached in more than one negotiating round, but they did not last and the two parties soon returned to fighting amidst an exchange of accusations between them of violating their pledges.
Former Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok also proposed an initiative to stop the war through the Civil Forces Coordination, an organization composed of political forces, professional unions, and anti-war civil society organizations.
The initiative also includes holding a direct meeting between Al-Burhan and Hemedti in an effort to stop the war.
In this regard, the coordination signed an agreement with the Commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, last December, stipulating a ceasefire and facilitating the provision of aid to those affected by the war.
The coordination is expected to hold a similar meeting with the Army Commander, Lieutenant General Al-Burhan, following it confirmed that he agreed to the proposal.
Abu Al-Goukh says that despite the army’s new position to freeze Sudan’s membership in IGAD, they are still adhering to their position on the possibility of holding a meeting with Al-Burhan whenever the army desires.
He went on to say, “There are informal consultations between the two parties to determine the place and time of the meeting, and several regional capitals, such as Cairo, Jeddah, and Addis Ababa, have proposed that it be held, but the city of Port Sudan is absolutely out of the question, despite the insistence of some army commanders on that.”
Expected escalation
The field military situation in the combat zones in Sudan is currently characterized by a kind of cautious calm, with the intensity of direct military confrontations between the army and the Rapid Support Forces declining.
However, the number of civilian casualties is still witnessing a continuous increase in light of the army’s use of warplanes to bomb areas where the Rapid Support Forces are stationed, and Hemedti’s forces use heavy artillery in areas controlled by the army, which are populated areas.
There are great fears among the population regarding the escalation of military operations between the two parties, and thus increasing suffering, following Sudan froze its membership in the regional organization, and there are no signs of resolving the crisis through negotiation at the present time.
A senior military source in the Sudanese army told the BBC that they will continue fighting until victory is achieved and what he described as the rebel militia is defeated. He explained, following requesting that his identity not be revealed, that “the army’s position from the beginning was clear, which was to achieve military victory and defeat the rebellion. However, it is in favor of negotiations that lead to achieving a peace that restores the Sudanese’s dignity, not a peace that brings the militia leaders back to the forefront once more.”
As for one of the advisors on behalf of the Rapid Support Forces, he expressed his keenness to achieve peace, but on the other hand, he did not confirm or deny the desire to expand military operations. Muhammad Al-Mukhayr told the BBC, “We are keen to achieve peace and alleviate the suffering of the people, but in return we will not remain idly by while we see Al-Burhan forces attacking us. We will remain in our areas that we control, and the movements of the forces are determined by developments on the ground.”
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