RSF Commander Says Ready to End War in Sudan, Begin Negotiations19 Jan 2024 18:17
MSN 10h ago
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/rsf-commander-says-ready-to-end-war-in-sudan-begin-negotiations/ar-BB1gX3Jr
The Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, has confirmed to UN and European envoys that he is ready to stop the war and negotiate to end Sudan’s crisis.
Earlier, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry suspended its involvement with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) after the Authority invited Dagalo to attend the scheduled summit in Uganda to discuss developments in Sudan and Somalia.
The Sudanese government and army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan did not attend the IGAD summit.
Dagalo arrived in the Ugandan capital and met with international officials on the summit's sidelines, but he did not give a speech at the opening session.
Several delegations from various countries and international organizations participated in the opening session, including Saudi Arabia, the US, Egypt, Türkiye, UAE, Arab League (AL), and the African Union (AU), as well as the President of Djibouti, the current chair of IGAD, and Uganda as the host country.
The participants agreed on the importance of avoiding military escalation, ceasing hostilities, and committing to protecting civilians.
During his visit, Hemedti met in two separate meetings with the UN Special Envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, and the EU Envoy to the Horn of Africa, Annette Weber.
Hemedti said that he discussed with Lamamra the current developments in Sudan in light of the ongoing war incited by the "terror-driven former regime and its allies" from within the Sudanese Armed Forces, who seek to "escalate this conflict by all available means."
"I emphasized to Mr. Lamamra our firm commitment to achieving peace and stability for the people of Sudan — to pave the way for a new Sudanese state based on equitable foundations and genuine civilian-led democratic rule that alleviates injustices for all Sudanese,” he added on his X account.
In turn, Lamamra also posted about the meeting on his X account, saying: "In the context of my initial contacts in my capacity as Personal Envoy of Antonio Guterres, I discussed with Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo on 17/01/2024 in Kampala the prospects for achieving peace in Sudan as well as the role of the UN in strengthening the efforts made to that end."
Later, Dagalo met with the EU special representative for the Horn of Africa and briefed the official on the reasons behind the war in Sudan, which was initiated by the "extremist former regime and its collaborators from within the Sudanese Armed Forces."
"They continue to prolong this conflict to maintain their illegitimate, de facto government, which was formed by their attempted coup," he wrote on the X platform.
Dagalo asserted that he was fully prepared to cease hostilities and engage in negotiations to alleviate the people's suffering.
"Our aim is to foster security, peace, and stability in Sudan."
Sign In
Follow the stocks
