By Brian Okoth
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has said that it is working "round the clock" to facilitate a meeting between rival Sudanese generals Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Dagalo.
This comes after the two generals, whose troops have been at war since April 15, said they were ready to meet each other for talks.
On December 10, IGAD said in a statement that both al-Burhan and Dagalo had agreed to "an unconditional ceasefire and resolution of the conflict through political dialogue."
IGAD added that al-Burhan and Dagalo had also committed to "a one-to-one meeting." IGAD member states are Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
Planned meeting
Al-Burhan, who chairs Sudan's ruling Sovereign Council, attended the IGAD meeting on December 9 in Djibouti, which holds the rotating IGAD presidency.
Dagalo, whose whereabouts are unknown, spoke by phone with IGAD leaders.
Reports, whose sources were not immediately clear, indicated earlier in the week that the two generals had agreed to meet in Djibouti on December 28.
TRT Afrika reached IGAD spokesperson Nuur Mohamud Sheekh for comment.
Date and venue 'yet to be agreed on'
"Our diplomats are working round the clock to make this meeting take place as per the resolutions of the two previous (IGAD) heads of state and government summits," Sheekh said, adding that the said-December 28 meeting had not been confirmed.
Sheekh said he will communicate "once the dates and the venue have been agreed upon."
Fighting erupted in Sudan in mid-April when the country, which had been under military rule since April 2019, was preparing for a return to civilian democracy.
The country's transitional President al-Burhan and his deputy Dagalo reportedly fell out over control and the criteria to be used to reintegrate the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into the regular army.
Thousands killed
Al-Burhan heads the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), while Dagalo heads RSF.
At least 12,100 people have been killed and more than seven million others displaced since the war broke out, official records show.
Buildings have been destroyed and critical infrastructure decimated during the now eight-month war.
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