Sudan’s six neighboring countries’ leaders convened in Cairo on Thursday for the most high-profile peace talks since unrest erupted throughout the north-eastern African country in mid-April.
Sudan’s six neighboring countries’ leaders convened in Cairo on Thursday for the most high-profile peace talks since unrest erupted throughout the north-eastern African country in mid-April.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi held the meeting, which was attended by the leaders of Ethiopia, South Sudan, Chad, Eritrea, the Central African Republic, and Libya.
“We are deeply concerned about Sudan’s deteriorating humanitarian situation and condemn the repeated attacks on civilians, healthcare facilities, and public service outlets.” “We call on the leaders of the international community to step up efforts to provide necessary humanitarian assistance and address the urgent severe shortage of food and medical supplies in Sudan as a measure to mitigate the serious consequences of the crisis on innocent civilians,” Egypt’s President, Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, said.
The meeting on Thursday comes weeks after discussions in Jeddah between the US and Saudi Arabia fell down after both sides repeatedly failed to stop fighting and breached cease-fire agreements.
“An agreement has been reached at the level of foreign ministers from neighboring countries to establish a ministerial mechanism to address the Sudanese crisis.” Its first meeting will be held in Chad to take the following steps: developing an executive work plan that includes practical and implementable solutions, stopping the fighting, and reaching a comprehensive solution to the Sudanese crisis through direct communication with the various Sudanese parties, in coordination with existing IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development, Ed.) and African Union mechanisms. “The RSF (Rapid Support Forces) and the Sudanese military have agreed to at least ten cease-fires, many of which were negotiated during the Jeddah talks,” Egypt’s President concluded.
Since April, when tensions between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces erupted into open conflict, Sudan has been shaken by bloodshed.
