Addis Ababa — Heads of State and Government of the IGAD Quartet Group of Countries strongly urged the parties in Sudan to immediately stop the violence and sign an unconditional and indefinite ceasefire through a cessation of hostilities agreement.
In a communiqué sent to the Ethiopian News Agency, the IGAD Quartet Group of Countries expressed concern 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.
The IGAD Quartet Group of Countries discussed in depth in Addis Ababa today on the implementation of the IGAD Roadmap for peace in the Republic of Sudan.
The Quartet Group of Countries is concerned by the escalation of the conflict particularly in Darfur as well as Kordofan where it is assuming ethnic and religious dimensions thereby threatening to deepen the polarization in the country, communiqué said.
And it regretted that this escalation driven by external interference that is prolonging and exacerbating the conflict.
The communiqué also expressed deep concern regarding the impact of the ongoing war in Sudan which has so far killed thousands of people, and displaced almost 3 million people including 2.2 million IDPs and nearly 615,000 refugees that have crossed the border into neighboring countries.
In this regard, the IGAD Quartet Group of Countries appreciated the neighboring states of Sudan that have opened their borders to provide protection to our Sudanese brothers and sisters.
It also appreciates the African Union for closely working in coordination with the IGAD Quartet in harmonizing effort towards the implementation of a common roadmap for the peaceful resolution of the crisis in the Republic of Sudan.
It underscores that there is no military solution to the conflict in the Republic of Sudan and in this regard and decides to mobilize and concentrate the efforts of all stakeholders towards delivering a face-to-face meeting between the leaders of the warring parties.
Underlining the centrality of the Sudanese people and noting their aspiration for a peaceful, democratic and prosperous Sudan, it commits to support measures that address the root causes of the crisis in the Republic of Sudan.
The communiqué urges all Sudanese actors to engage in an all-inclusive Sudanese-owned and Sudanese-led dialogue towards a sustainable peace; in this regard, IGAD in coordination with the AU will immediately commence on a of civilian engagement process that will deliver on these objectives.
It strongly urges the parties to immediately stop the violence and sign an unconditional and indefinite ceasefire through a cessation of hostilities agreement that shall be supported by an effective enforcement and monitoring mechanism.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Concerned by the degenerating humanitarian situation in the Republic of Sudan, the IGAD Quartet Group decides to take concrete steps to facilitate immediate humanitarian assistance to all Sudanese affected by the conflict with a focus on vulnerable population in particular, women, children and Persons living with disability.
The Heads of State and Government of the IGAD Quartet Group of Countries meeting was chaired by William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and in attendance were: Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Djibouti representing the President of the Republic of Djibouti and Chairperson of IGAD; and Benjamin Bol Mel, Special Envoy of the Republic of South Sudan, representing the President of the Republic of South Sudan and Deputy Chairperson of IGAD.
The meeting was also attended by the IGAD Executive Secretary, Workneh Gebeyehu as well as other countries and international organizations' representatives from the African Union Commissioner UN-OCHA, European Union, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
