Al-Burhan the evidence fabricates flimsy reasons to refuse participation in the Uganda summit
Hemeti readily agrees to attend the summit, reaffirming his steadfast support for a comprehensive peaceful solution that once and for all ends the war
The commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemeti,” announced his acceptance to participate in the Uganda summit in response to an invitation from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). Meanwhile, the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, led by Abdul Fattah al-Burhan, rejected attendance, concocting a feeble excuse, claiming that there is no need for the summit. This is the latest episode in its series of thwarting all initiatives aimed at stopping the war.
Hemeti stated in a post on his platform today, Saturday: “I received an invitation from the Secretariat of the governmental development organization IGAD to attend and participate in the forty-second extraordinary session of the IGAD Council of Presidents and Governments on January 18th in Entebbe, Uganda.”
He continued, “In line with our steadfast position supporting a comprehensive peaceful solution that once and for all ends the wars in Sudan in general and the April 15th war in particular, I affirmed my acceptance of the invitation to attend and participate in the session.”
He added, “In the Rapid Support Forces, we renew our commitment to putting an end to the suffering of Sudanese people caused by this war and other wars that have been going on for years in different parts of Sudan, so that all Sudanese can truly enjoy permanent peace, security, stability, development, justice, freedom, democracy, and contribute to preserving security and peace in the region and the world.”
In turn, the Transitional Sovereignty Council announced on Saturday that it received an invitation from IGAD to attend the Uganda summit on Sudan and the Somalia issue, considering that “there is nothing that necessitates holding a summit to discuss the Sudanese issue before implementing the outcomes of the previous summit in Djibouti.”
The Council stated in a statement that “the government of Sudan has received an invitation from IGAD to attend a summit in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, on January 18th, to discuss the Somalia issue and what is happening in Sudan.”
It added, “The government of Sudan announces its position: we have positively dealt with all initiatives, especially the efforts of IGAD, to reach peace in Sudan.”
However, “IGAD did not commit to implementing the outcomes of the recent summit in Djibouti, which included a meeting between the head of the Sovereignty Council and the rebel leader. IGAD did not provide a convincing justification for canceling the meeting, which IGAD had called for on December 28, 2023, claiming that the rebel leader could not attend for technical reasons while he was touring several IGAD countries on the same date.”
The statement continued, “The government of Sudan believes that there is nothing that necessitates holding a summit to discuss the Sudanese issue before implementing the outcomes of the previous summit.”
It emphasized that “what is happening in Sudan is an internal matter, and the government’s response to regional initiatives does not mean abandoning its sovereign right to solve the Sudanese problem by Sudanese themselves.”
The recent external tour by Hemeti to Djibouti, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, and Rwanda conveyed messages expressing the unconditional readiness of the Rapid Support Forces leader to cease the war. He reiterated his commitment to the outcomes of the IGAD summit, also agreeing without hesitation to an “immediate and unconditional cessation of hostilities, protection measures for civilians, facilitating the return of citizens to their homes, providing humanitarian aid, and cooperating with the Fact-Finding Committee.”
Al-Burhan responded to the Rapid Support Forces‘ positive response to the initiative aimed at settling the crisis by reneging on his previous agreements, hinting at the continuation of war despite all its defeats, setbacks, and loss of control over vital areas.
On December 27th last year, Khartoum announced that Djibouti informed it of the postponement of the meeting between Sudanese Sovereignty Council President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Rapid Support Forces Commander Hemeti to this month, after the two parties failed to meet in the Djiboutian capital on the 28th of the same month.
On December 11th, IGAD issued the final statement of the Djibouti summit, indicating Al-Burhan and Hemeti‘s approval of a bilateral meeting between them, approximately 7 months after the outbreak of fighting between the two sides in Sudan.
Since mid-April 2023, the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces have been engaged in a war that has left more than 12,000 dead and over 7 million displaced and refugees, according to the United Nations.
