Sudanese paramilitary leader Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo has confirmed attendance to an upcoming heads of state summit of East Africa's regional bloc.
The summit has been convened to push for a solution to Sudan's nine-month conflict after efforts on proposed peace talks between Dagalo and his rival, Sudan military chief Abdel-Fattah Burhan, faltered.
It is unclear if Gen Burhan has also been invited although earlier in January he rejected the latest peace efforts.
"I (have) confirmed my acceptance of the invitation to attend and participate in the session," Dagalo said on Saturday in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Meeting leaders
Dagalo, leader of the Rapid Support Forces, has since December been meeting regional leaders in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Djibouti, his first visits abroad since the start of the conflict.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an organisation of eight East African countries, has been trying to bring Daglo to the table with Gen Burhan.
The two men have never met since the start of the war that has plunged Sudan into a humanitarian crisis. The United Nations says the fighting has killed more than 12,000 and left more than seven million people displaced.
Daglo has shown an openness to ending the fighting during his visits abroad and earlier this month agreed to a ceasefire proposed by civilian groups.
Tensions between former allies Dagalo and Burhan erupted in all-out war in mid-April 2023. Fighting has intensified and both sides have been accused of committing war crimes or crimes against humanity
➤Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel for more stories.
