June 16 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The head of the Sudanese Army, Abdelfatá al Burhan, has expressed his rejection of the possibility of Kenya leading a delegation from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to try to mediate in the war that broke out on April 15 between the Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Al Burhan, president of the Sovereign Transition Council, has stressed that “Kenya is not neutral and welcomes the leader of the RSF rebels”, although he has shown his “support” for the IGAD initiative to try to resolve the conflict, that has left hundreds dead and around two million displaced.
Likewise, the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stressed that “Kenya is not qualified” to head the mediation delegation and has asked that the president of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, “continue to head the Committee of Four” approved by IGAD, as reported by the Sudanese state news agency, SUNA.
IGAD has appointed the President of Kenya, William Ruto, as the leader of the delegation – also made up of Ethiopia, South Sudan and Djibouti – after a summit held on June 12 in Djibouti. Ruto has demanded on several occasions that the parties put an end to the fighting and has met with delegations from the Army and the RSF.
The current hostilities between the Army and the paramilitaries broke out in the context of an increase in tensions around the integration of the RSF into the Armed Forces, a key part of an agreement signed in December to form a new civilian government and reactivate the transition open after the overthrow in 2019 of Omar Hasan al Bashir, damaged by the coup in October 2021, in which the prime minister of unity, Abdalá Hamdok, was overthrown.
