SAF seems open to mediation initiatives. Saudi-US initiative is advanced, resumption of talks imminent

Report at Radio Dabanga - www.dabangasudan.org/en

Published Tuesday 18 July 2023 - here is a full copy:

Army remarks spark rumours that resumption of Jeddah talks is ‘imminent’

Army general and member of the Sovereignty Council Shamseldin Kabbashi (file photo: SUNA)

KHARTOUM – July 17, 2023

The leadership of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) seems open to mediation initiatives. SAF Commander-in-Chief Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan praised the Saudi Arabia-USA-led mediation efforts in Jeddah and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Lt Gen Shamseldin Kabbashi said that the army is open to ‘any serious initiative’ to stop the war.

El Burhan thanked the governments of Saudi Arabia and the USA for facilitating the negotiation process in the Saudi city of Jeddah and highlighted the importance of the initiative.

Kabbashi told Al Jazeera TV channel on Saturday that the army is “open to any serious initiative to stop the war that guarantees the preservation of national sovereignty”.

He supports a comprehensive political dialogue and noted that the Saudi-American initiative is “advanced”.

The dialogue should lead to the formation of a civilian government to lead the transitional period and prepare for elections.

“The conspiracy against the country is great” and the armed forces are carrying out their constitutional duty, Kabbashi said.

On Saturday, Sudanese government sources reported that government representatives had arrived in Saudi Arabia to resume talks with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

These developments followed a Saudi-US statement, in which the two countries pledged their shared commitment to ending the conflict in Sudan.

In a summit in Egyptian capital Cairo last week, seven of Sudan’s neighbouring countries also agreed on ‘mechanism’ to end the war.

In a visit to Nairobi, Kenya, Egyptian President Abdelfattah El Sisi stated that the summit complements other regional efforts aimed at ending the conflict and moving to peaceful dialogue.

Wide welcome

Within Sudan, Kabbashi statements were welcomed. Maj Gen (Retd) Fadlallah Burma, interim head of the National Umma Party (NUP), praised Kabbashi’s statements as “positive” on Sunday.

He called on the commanders of the warring SAF and RSF to immediately turn to the negotiating table in Jeddah to reach a comprehensive ceasefire and end the war.

NUP Secretary-General El Wasig El Bereir said in a post on Twitter yesterday that Kabbashi’s statements are “a courageous position that contributes to restoring stability in the country”. 

‘A courageous position that contributes to restoring stability in the country’

El Wasig El Bereir (NUP)

The head of the Sudanese Congress Party (SCP), Omar El Degeir, also welcomed Kabbashi’s statements and called for an immediate cessation of the war.

Khaled Omar Yousef, another leading member of the SCP and official spokesperson of the political process that saw the signing of the Framework Agreement, said in a post on Twitter that he welcomed Kabbashi’s statements and considered them an important step towards stopping the war.

He expressed his hope that negotiations will resume through the Jeddah platform soon and that Sudanese, international, and regional efforts will be coordinated in a unified negotiating platform.

Mohamed El Faki, former member of the Sovereignty Council and member of the Federal Assembly, said that the statements of General Kabbashi are a step in the right direction.

Criticism

Mubarak El Fadiu, head of a NUP breakaway faction, commented that if El Burhan agrees to return to a truce after the losses it caused to the people, he will have failed the people.

He accused the Biden administration of “seeking to salvage what remains of the RSF” in a post on Twitter. 

He stressed that “there should be no negotiations with the RSF, except for their surrender”.

Three-month truce

Journalist and political analyst Abdallah Rizig said that Gen Kabbashi and the RSF have an opportunity to promote a peaceful choice in practice through a ceasefire agreement.

The RSF should, as a first stage, withdraw to its positions before April 15 and the ceasefire should be properly monitored.

Both El Burhan and Hemedti, or their representatives, need to fully follow the roadmap that was agreed upon in the Jeddah platform. Rizig also stressed the need for an explicit declaration from the RSF not to seek to take power through war, as an affirmation of good faith.

Liaison Committee

On Saturday, the RSF formed a liaison committee with political and societal groups and rebel movements in the country.

The committee, set up by RSF Commander Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo, is chaired by his adviser Yousef Ezzat and aims to hold “wide-ranging consultations to address the roots of the accumulated national crisis”.

View original: https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/army-remarks-spark-rumours-that-resumption-of-jeddah-talks-is-imminent

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IGAD sticks to mediation roadmap amid Sudan rejection of Kenya President Ruto's lead role

Report at The EastAfrican - theeastafrican.co.ke

By Aggrey Mutambo

By Mawahib Abdallatif

Dated Thursday 15 June 2023 - full copy:

Igad sticks to mediation roadmap amid Sudan rejection of Ruto's lead role

Kenya President William Ruto when he met Sudan army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan special envoy Malik Agar Nganyoufa (left) on May 29, 2023, and, right, the paramilitary RSF Mohamed Hamdani Daglo ‘HemedtI's political advisor Youssef Ezzat on June 3, 2023. PHOTOS | PPU | RSF TWITTER

Summary

• Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it expressed disagreement to a number of paragraphs mentioned in the draft final statement of the summit.
• Burhan considers himself the definitive head of Sudan and has labelled Hemedti as a rebel.
• UN mission in Sudan said it was deeply shocked by the killing of Governor of West Darfur in El Geneina.

Sudan has rejected the appointment of Kenyan President William Ruto as head of a quartet to facilitate peace under the regional bloc, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad)

The junta leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan accused Nairobi of having “harboured” sympathies for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), whose leader Mohammed Hamdan Daglo Hemedti was once his deputy, but is now an arch-enemy.

The latest statement on Thursday [15 June] came as Sudan had also rejected the Igad mediation schedule, which would have seen Ruto arrange for a face-to-face meeting, for the first time, between the two warring generals.

Igad had insisted it would stick to the mediation quartet led by Kenya in the search for peace in Sudan, even after Khartoum rejected the proposals, in spite of Sudanese protests.

According to officials familiar with the decision, resolutions publicised in an official Igad communique remain in force until formally revised by the heads of state and government of the eight-member bloc.

On Monday, Igad had named Kenya, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Djibouti as members of a quartet to help Sudanese warring generals seek peace.

Sudan said, after the meeting, that Igad announced the mediation plan without consent from Burhan.

Governor assassinated

The rejection portends early problems with the ‘roadmap’ to help achieve long-term ceasefire and came as the governor of West Darfur was assassinated.

On Monday [12 June], just two days after the Igad summit in Djibouti, Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed it had rejected any mention of mediation and also opposed being replaced as chair of Igad. The summit had appointed Djibouti to replace Sudan for the next one year, under the new rules that follow an alphabetical order of members.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Foreign Affairs ministry said it “expressed its disagreement and objection to a number of paragraphs that were mentioned in the draft final statement of the summit due to the fact that they were not discussed and agreed upon, and the delegation called on the Igad Secretariat to delete them.”

“These paragraphs relate to changing the chairmanship of the Igad committee, as the delegation demanded that South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit retain the chairmanship of the committee and demanded the deletion of any reference to the subject of mediation.”

Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Korir Sing’oei said there had been no official protest from Sudan but did suggest only the Summit can revise the decisions.

“Both the inclusion of the Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to the Troika mandated to seek peace in Sudan Crisis and the appointment of President William Ruto to lead the quartet was arrived at by the Igad Summit and can only be vacated by the Summit,” Dr Singoei said.

No official communication on this yet. But both the inclusion of PM @AbiyAhmedAli to the Troika mandated to seek peace in #SudanCrisis & appointment of @WilliamsRuto to lead the Quartet was arrived at by the IGAD Summit & can only be vacated by the Summithttps://t.co/ePhMqqbUzh

— Korir Sing'Oei (@SingoeiAKorir) June 15, 2023

Incidentally, a Sudanese representative Malik Agar, who is also the Deputy Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of the Republic of the Sudan, chaired the summit. Agar replaced Mohamed Hamdani Daglo ‘Hemedti’, the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that has since April 15 been fighting Burhan’s Sudan Armed Forces.

Sudan says it notified Igad regarding the need for Kiir “to continue chairing the Quartet Committee that was approved by the summit in accordance with the objective considerations mentioned by Uganda President Yoweri Museveni in the Igad Emergency Summit that was held online on April 16, 2023.” At the time, Juba led Uganda and Kenya in the earlier troika that sought to travel to Khartoum but failed.

During the summit attended by leaders from the eight member states and officials from associated organisations, Sudan is said to have rejected proposals for dialogue with Hemedti.

“Igad underlined the importance of consultation and coordination with the Government of the Sudan regarding all-inclusive efforts aiming at solving the ongoing conflict,” a communique said.

Somalia or Djibouti?

But behind the scenes as a raging Khartoum felt the weight of the proposals by Igad, Ruto said a quartet of Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Somalia would work with the AU to help achieve peace in Sudan. The official communique released, unusually more than 24 hours after the meeting, named Djibouti, rather than Somalia in the quartet.

“This group was supposed to arrange, within ten days, a face-to-face meeting between Burhan and Hemedti in one of the regional capitals, and, within 2 weeks, secure a commitment for humanitarian corridor. An inclusive political process towards a political settlement was to start within three weeks,” it said.

“We have taken the decision…so that we can speak to them directly on behalf of Igad, with the view of stopping the war that is raging,” said President Ruto at a press briefing in Djibouti, where the summit had gathered on Monday.

“Kenya commits to meet the two Sudan generals face to face to find a lasting solution to the crisis.”

A diplomat familiar with the discussions told The EastAfrican, Sudan had indeed opposed the clauses, and especially the inclusion of Ethiopia with which they have a decades-old unresolved border dispute. But was convinced South Sudan will still play a leading role on the committee, including hosting the meeting. 

Traditionally, communiques have often been released only on the endorsement of the respective ambassadors of member states.

But the official said Sudan’s beef with Kenya in the lead is the fact that they already gave an ear to an envoy of the RSF earlier this month. On June 3, Ruto met with RSF political advisor Youssef Ezzat. But the RSF claimed the meeting was “part of a tour encompassing friendly nations, aimed to elucidate the evolving situation in Sudan.”

Burhan considers himself the definitive head of Sudan and has labelled Hemedti as a rebel.

“With a comprehensive understanding, Ezzat provided Ruto with an insightful explanation of the war's causes and the prevailing circumstances, backed by accurate information regarding its motives and the responsible parties,” RSF tweeted of the Nairobi meeting.

Since April 15, their clash has led to more than 1,200 deaths, 800,000 displacements and serious property destruction. The sides have signed seven ceasefire deals, all broken within hours of declaration.

On Wednesday, Khamis Abdullah Abakar, the Governor of West Darfur was murdered as the war continued to expand to key strongholds.

The late governor of West Darfur State Khamis Abdullah Abakar. PHOTO | SUDAN NEWS AGENCY VIA AFP

Burhan accused RSF of killing the governor hours after he had accused Hemedti's forces and its militia allies of committing genocide in his region.

But RSF, denying the claims, condemned his killing and accused the army of being responsible for arming one of the parties to the conflict.

Activists in Sudan had published videos and pictures of his earlier arrest, and later of him being killed.

The news of the killing comes days after the intensification of armed clashes in the city of El Geneina (the centre of West Darfur State), after the city "turned into something like a ghost town due to the continuous fighting," according to the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate statement.

The United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (Unitams) said it was “deeply shocked by the killing of governor of West Darfur in El Geneina.”

Unitams in a statement “strongly condemns this heinous act. Compelling eyewitness accounts attribute this act to Arab militias and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), even though the RSF communicated a denial of their involvement to the mission”.

The UN Mission in Sudan called for the perpetrators to be swiftly brought to justice and the cycle of violence in the region to not expand further. 

“The loss of Khamis Abdullah Abakar, a key interlocutor in the region and a signatory of the Juba Peace Agreement, is deeply regrettable for Unitams” the statement said.

Read:

Igad to hold direct talks with Sudan generals

Sudan: Burhan rejects direct talks with Hemedti

Kiir: Sudan rivals ‘ready’ for talks

Ruto: Sudan war atrocious, regional threat

UN warns of mass exodus from Sudan

UN Mission launches political transition talks in Sudan

View original: https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/rest-of-africa/igad-sticks-to-mediation-roadmap-amid-sudan-rejection-of-ruto-4271410

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