Harare — After nearly three months of fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), an eastern African grouping asked a regional conference to consider sending soldiers into Sudan to protect civilians.
Eight governments from the Horn of Africa that make up the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) gathered in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to launch a peace process for the Sudanese war.
In their first meeting of the IGAD quartet group of countries for the resolution of the situation in the Republic of Sudan, members said they were "concerned by the escalation of the conflict, repeated violations of the various ceasefire agreements and the spread of violence outside of Khartoum to the other parts of Sudan particularly in Darfur as well as Kordofan where it is assuming ethnic and religious dimensions thereby threatening to deepen the polarization in the country; and regrets that this escalation driven by external interference that is prolonging and exacerbating the conflict."
The proposal, however, suffered a setback when a team from the Sudanese army chose not to show up for the first day of discussions because they did not want Kenya's William Ruto to lead the committee facilitating the negotiations. Ruto "lacks impartiality in the ongoing crisis," Sudan's foreign affairs ministry said to the state news agency.
IGAD however requested that "the East Africa Standby Force (EASF) summit convene in order to consider the possible deployment of the EASF for the protection of civilians and guarantee humanitarian access".
Diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting have so far been unproductive due to conflicting approaches that have made it unclear how the sides may be convinced to compromise.
Among those attending the IGAD summit is Molly Phee, the assistant secretary of state for African Affairs for the United States. Phee's two-day tour will include meetings with top officials from regional governments and the African Union Commission, according to the US State Department.
The Sudanese army and rival military group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have been battling since mid-April. According to UN news, hundreds of people have been killed and nearly three million have been displaced, including to neighbouring countries.
