Officials from the IGAD Quartet Group of countries (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan) convened in Addis Ababa on Monday (July 10) to discuss the implementation of a roadmap for peace in Sudan.
The meeting, presided over by the President of Kenya, included regional guests such as the AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, as well as international attendees from the UN humanitarian agency, the EU, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the USA, and the UK.
Accusing Kenya of bias, Sudan’s government declined to participate.
According to Sudan’s Foreign Ministry, they had requested the replacement of “Kenyan President William Ruto (to) be replaced… primarily due to his partiality.”
A representative from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attended the “quartet” meeting.
William Ruto acknowledged, “We recognise that the political leaders present in this meeting do not necessarily represent all the groups,” but he believed that an inclusive and open process would involve all political actors, civilian groups, and civil society groups in this significant endeavor.
The conflict, which has lasted almost three months, has primarily concentrated on Darfur, the capital Khartoum, the Blue Nile state near Ethiopia, and South Kordofan state.
Despite previous initiatives and ceasefires that were not consistently honored, no political solution has emerged.
Abiy Ahmed, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, an IGAD member country, called for an immediate end to hostilities, stating, “The parties involved in the violent conflict must cease fire and promptly establish an unconditional and indefinite ceasefire.”
The deadly conflict in Sudan has resulted in the displacement of 2.2 million internal refugees.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development in Eastern Africa (IGAD) expressed its commitment to concentrate the efforts of all stakeholders on facilitating a face-to-face meeting between the leaders of the warring parties, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdane Daglo.
The group also resolved to request the East Africa Standby Force (EASF) to convene and explore the possibility of deploying the force to protect civilians and ensure humanitarian access. Typically assigned to election observer missions, the EASF would have an expanded role in this context.