Nairobi — The African Union Commission has expressed concern over the deteriorating security situation in Sudan calling for cessation of hostilities.
The renewed appeal comes as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, continue to battle the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) under the command of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhani.
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Moussa Faki singled out reports of the renewed attacks on the Abu Shok camp for internally displaced persons in El Fasher, as well as the spread of the fighting to Wad Medani in Gezira state.
"The Chairperson notes with dismay, the reopening of traumatic wounds for many Darfurians, who for over the past twenty years, have lived in Abu Shok as a place of refuge, but fighting resumed there in recent days," AU Commission said Monday.
The commission said attacks on Wad Medani had opened up a new front in the Sudanese war that has entered its ninth month.
Wad Medani recently welcomed millions of Sudanese civilians who fleeing the fighting in Khartoum.
AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki said renewed fighting was forcing many civilians to flee for a second time since the outbreak of the conflict in April 2023.
He called on the rival groups to end hostilities and engage in peaceful negotiations for the sake of the stability of Sudan.
"The Chairperson of the Commission renews the call on the belligerents, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, to immediately cease hostilities and participate meaningfully in negotiations towards building and sustaining peace in Sudan,"he said.
Joint efforts
The AUC Chairperson reaffirmed the readiness of the AU to continue to work with key national stakeholders, regional and global actors including IGAD, League of Arab States and the United Nations, towards the swift resolution of the conflict in Sudan.
On December 11, the two warring Generals at the centre of the conflict in Sudan endorsed face-to-face dialogue mediated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
The deal was part of outcomes of IGAD's 41st Extraordinary Assembly convened by President Ismail Omar Guelleh in Djibouti on Saturday, the bloc reported in a communique.
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The communique noted that RSFCommander General Dagalo 'Hemetti' had agreed to engage his archrival, General al-Burhan, President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of Sudan, following an intervention by the Assembly of Heads of State.
IGAD commended Hemetti's acceptance to "proposals of the Assembly for an unconditional ceasefire, resolution of the conflict through political dialogue and the holding of a one-to-one meeting with the Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) with the facilitation of IGAD."
