After several ceasefires have failed, Kenya will try to organize a “face-to-face” between rival generals in Sudan to end the conflict in the country, according to the presidency. Fighting has been raging since mid-April between the army commanded by General Abdel Fattah Al-Bourhane, the de facto ruler of Sudan, and the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), General Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, his deputy who became his rival.
“Kenya is committed to meeting the two Sudanese generals face-to-face to find a lasting solution to the crisis,” Kenyan Head of State William Ruto said in a statement released by the presidency. “In the next three weeks, we will begin the process of an inclusive national dialogue,” he said, adding that a humanitarian corridor would be established in a fortnight to facilitate the delivery of aid. A record 25 million people – more than half the population – need assistance and protection, according to the United Nations.
At a summit held in Djibouti on Monday (June 12), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) announced that Kenya would chair a quartet comprising Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan to try to resolve the conflict. According to a draft summit communiqué issued by the Kenyan presidency, the leaders of the quartet will attempt to arrange a “face-to-face meeting” between the two generals “in one of the regional capitals”.
The fighting is mainly taking place in Khartoum and in the vast region of Darfur (west), where NGOs report a deterioration in the humanitarian situation. Several truces have been broken, with US and Saudi mediators warning on Saturday that they could halt mediation efforts if a 24-hour ceasefire is not respected. The United States imposed sanctions on the two rival generals after a failed truce attempt in late May.
