By Brian Okoth
The Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) has urged the rival parties in the Sudanese war to "meet within two weeks" in efforts to resolve their differences.
IGAD heads of state met at State House Entebbe in Uganda on Thursday, and deliberated on regional issues, including the war in Sudan and the Ethiopia-Somalia row after Somaliland controversially granted Ethiopia access to the Red Sea.
IGAD said it was "concerned by the continued fighting in Sudan and the dire security and humanitarian situation occasioned by the war."
The heads of state urged the parties to the war – the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – to "commit to dialogue and negotiation."
'Good offices'
The regional bloc said leaders of the rival parties in Sudan had previously committed to dialogue within 14 days, from December 9, 2023.
IGAD has therefore "called upon the parties to meet within two weeks," a statement released after the 42nd extraordinary summit of heads of state said.
The regional bloc said it was ready to offer its "good offices" to facilitate an all-inclusive peace process to end the conflict in Sudan.
IGAD added that the peace efforts would be closely monitored by all "Sudanese stakeholders", the African Union (AU), and regional and international actors.
Political dialogue
The IGAD leaders emphasised that Sudan "does not belong to the parties to the conflict only but the Sudanese people and reiterated their call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire as well as cessation of hostilities."
IGAD holds that a political dialogue is the best way to resolve the Sudan crisis.
The heads of state directed the IGAD Secretariat to, within a month, convene a "Sudanese-owned and Sudanese-led process towards a democratic Government in the Sudan."
The IGAD heads of state summit, which was hosted by President Yoweri Museveni, was attended by Djibouti's President Ismail Omar Guelleh, who is also the chairperson of IGAD heads of state, Kenya's William Ruto, Somalia's Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and South Sudan's Salva Kiir.
RSF commander no-show
Others who attended the summit include IGAD's Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu, African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat, and Ramtane Lamamra, the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General for Sudan.
Despite earlier confirming that he would attend the meeting after being invited, RSF commander Mohamed Dagalo failed to show up.
Sudanese army commander and transitional President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who also failed to attend the meeting, had protested Dagalo's invitation to the heads of state meeting, accusing IGAD of violating Sudan's sovereignty.
Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda are the IGAD member states.
Deadly war
More than 13,000 people have been killed and over seven million others displaced since war broke out in Sudan in mid-April 2023, documented estimates show.
Several ceasefire agreements have been breached by the rival parties in Sudan, and reconciliation efforts, including an IGAD-planned meeting between Burhan and Dagalo in December 2023, have been futile.
➤Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel for more stories.
