MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th April, 2023) The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in eastern Africa will send presidents of Kenya, South Sudan and Djibouti to Sudan to reconcile the fighting sides, the office of Kenyan President William Ruto said on Sunday.
Earlier in the day, presidents of several IGAD member states, including Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda, Djibouti and Somalia, held a virtual meeting to discuss the unfolding situation in Sudan, the office said. The leaders urged commander-in-chief of the Sudanese military Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan and commander of the Rapid Support Forces Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, to "stop the war and return to the negotiation."
"IGAD resolved to send (South Sudanese) President (Salva) Kiir, (Kenyan) President Ruto and (Djiboutian) President (Ismail Omar) Guelleh at the earliest possible time to reconcile the conflicting groups," the Kenyan president's office said on Twitter.
The bloc said that "stability in Sudan is key to the social and economic stability of the region."
In 1986, an agreement was concluded by Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda to launch a regional authority to fight drought and desertification. Ten years later, the body was superseded by IGAD. It was joined by Eritrea in 1993 and South Sudan in 2011.
Clashes between the Sudanese regular army and the RSF broke out on Saturday, with the epicenter in Sudan's capital of Khartoum. Government forces accused the RSF of mutiny and launched airstrikes against their bases. The RSF claimed control of the presidential palace in Khartoum and the airports in Khartoum and Merowe. The national army denied the presidential palace's takeover.
Armed clashes continued into Sunday. The United Nation's World food Programme (WFP) has announced the suspension of operations in Sudan after the death of three of its employees in violence and critical damage inflicted on one of its planes.
Later on Sunday, the Sudanese Armed Forces gave its consent to the UN's proposal to open humanitarian corridors for three hours starting 4 p.m. local time (14:00 GMT). The RSF released a statement agreeing to open humanitarian corridors for four hours, which is by one hour more than pledged by Sudan's army.
