Sudan has expressed its objection to the upcoming Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) summit scheduled for January 18 in Kampala, Uganda. The summit aims to address the ongoing situation in Sudan, but the Sudanese Transitional Sovereign Council argues that a new summit is unnecessary until the outcomes of the previous summit are implemented.
In a statement, the Transitional Sovereign Council emphasized that the internal affairs of Sudan should be addressed within the country and that responding to regional initiatives does not imply a relinquishment of the sovereign right to resolve Sudan’s issues through its own people. The council’s objection underscores its belief in handling Sudan’s challenges independently.
The statement also criticized IGAD’s failure to implement the outcomes of the recent summit in Djibouti, particularly regarding a scheduled meeting between the leaders of the two conflicting parties in Sudan: General Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and Commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
In a summit held on December 9, 2023, IGAD, chaired by Djibouti, approved a meeting between the SAF and RSF leaders within two weeks. However, the meeting was subsequently postponed for “technical reasons,” leading to frustration and disappointment from both regional and international stakeholders.
Since April 15, 2023, Sudan has experienced deadly clashes between the SAF and the RSF, resulting in over 12,000 casualties, as reported by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in early December of the same year. The conflict has escalated, prompting calls for a cessation of hostilities to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the affected population.
