The Civil Democratic Forces alliance (Tagaddum) led by Sudan’s former Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, took center stage at the African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In a series of meetings, they engaged with key African leaders to advocate for resolving Sudan’s ongoing conflict and garner regional and international support.
Tagaddum’s discussions with Kenyan President William Ruto and Chadian Foreign Minister Mahamat Saleh Annadif focused on shedding light on Sudan’s humanitarian crisis and seeking Africa’s intervention in finding a resolution. Hamdok expressed gratitude to Chad for hosting Sudanese war refugees and emphasized the urgent need for support to address the crisis.
In a separate meeting with President Ruto, Hamdok appreciated Kenya’s efforts within the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the African Union, while President Ruto reiterated Kenya’s commitment to enhancing regional and international peace efforts.
Tagaddum also met with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit, commending his role in hosting Sudanese refugees and emphasizing the importance of peace. The discussions centered on expediting peace efforts, with President Kiir reaffirming South Sudan’s commitment to fostering harmony in Sudan.
Earlier, Tagaddum engaged in discussions with the US Assistant Secretary of State on African Affairs, Molly Phee, to address the situation in Sudan and work towards ending the war to facilitate a sustainable democratic civil transition. Additionally, Phee met with representatives from now-banned resistance committees and members of Sudanese women civil society organizations (CSOs) to further understand the complexities of the situation.
While the Sudan conflict was absent from the official AU summit agenda, representatives of Sudanese and African civil society organizations held a separate meeting, urging the AU to activate Article 4 of its Constitutive Act and deploy a military force to halt the gross violations of human rights and humanitarian law in Sudan, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of ethnic cleansing.
