Editor TLN
July 8 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The leader of the Sudanese Army, Abdelfatá al Burhan, has rejected the invitation extended by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the main cooperation organization for the countries of East Africa, to meet in the Ethiopian capital with the highest official of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo alias ‘Hemedti’, and put an end to the devastating war between the two sides that began on April 15.
The four-way summit in Addis Ababa between Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti and South Sudan to be held next Monday represented an unprecedented opportunity to bring the two leaders closer together. Al Burhan, however, has declined in protest against Kenya’s presence at the meeting.
The Sudanese military leader has accused Kenyan President William Ruto of lacking impartiality in the conflict and covering up his economic interests in the country by taking advantage of his contacts with the RSF in his peace efforts.
The refusal, transferred by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, thus insists that “it is natural that Al Burhan rejects the invitation because “Sudan is not interested in any proposal from the Kenyan presidency of the IGAD committee that is mediating in this crisis”, collects the ‘Sudan Tribune’.
International efforts such as the one led by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to convince Al Burhan to accept Ruto’s mediation have been in vain.
For their part, the RSF have confirmed that they have received the invitation but have been reluctant to attend because they do not know the schedule of meetings. “That is why we have asked for more details about the meeting,” a paramilitary spokesman told the same outlet.
