Nairobi — As Sudan entered its third consecutive day of fighting, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) announced that Kenyan President William Ruto, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and Djibouti’s President Omar Guelleh will travel to Khartoum to try to broker an immediate ceasefire. “President Salva Kiir has already been in touch with both General Burhan and General Hemedti to convey the message of the summit yesterday, so now preparations are under way to undertake this mission,” IGAD executive‑secretary spokesperson Nuur Mohamud Sheekh told VOA.
Sheekh said IGAD had called for an immediate, unconditional cessation of hostilities during an emergency virtual session of heads of state and government on Sunday. “The parties must stop fighting in civilian‑inhabited areas and open humanitarian corridors. Consequently, IGAD has constituted a three‑head‑of‑state committee—highly experienced and knowledgeable about the Sudan situation—to visit Khartoum, reach out to all Sudanese stakeholders and ensure a halt to the fighting and a return to dialogue.”
The spokesperson warned that the conflict threatens the peace progress achieved over the past four months. He added that East African nations are closely linked, so violence in one country has security, economic, social and humanitarian repercussions for its neighbors.
The fighting erupted on Saturday in Khartoum between the Sudan Armed Forces, led by General Abdel Fattah al‑Burhan, head of Sudan’s transitional Sovereign Council, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), deputy head of the council. According to the International Rescue Committee, which has since halted operations in most of the country, the clashes have killed nearly 100 people and injured about 600.
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