East African leaders head to Sudan to mediate conflict

Three East African presidents are planning to travel to Sudan as mediators in a bid to resolve the outbreak of violence between rival military camps.

Kenya’s President William Ruto, South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and Djibouti’s President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh will arrive in the Sudanese capital Khartoum “at the earliest possible time,” the Kenyan government said overnight.

On Sunday, the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) had called an extraordinary summit of the heads of state and government in East Africa. The group demanded an immediate end to fighting in Sudan and called on both parties to create a safe corridor for humanitarian aid.

Since a coup in 2019, Sudan has been run by a military government under de facto president Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

The conflict between al-Burhan and his deputy Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, who leads the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has escalated into bloody fighting over recent days.

(NAN)