Nairobi, Kenya — The African Union, European Union, and United States called Thursday for an immediate cease-fire and constructive dialogue between warring factions in Sudan.
The groups also called for an end to tension between Somalia and Ethiopia over an agreement signed between Ethiopia and Somalia's breakaway region Somaliland.
Representatives of the groups, who spoke in Kampala, Uganda, after the meeting of an East African regional bloc, said that the two crises are threatening regional stability in the Horn of Africa.
Sudan's armed forces and the rival Rapid Support Forces have been fighting for control of Sudan since April. Long-standing tensions erupted into street battles in the capital and other areas including the western Darfur region.
The AU, EU and U.S. and U.N. noted that the fighting has displaced 7 million people and kept 19 million children out of school.
Michael Hammer, U.S. special envoy for the Horn of Africa, called on Sudan's factions to adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law and to fulfill recent commitments to stop fighting.
"It's time for them to take action consistent with their stated claims that they want to stop the fighting and meet the needs of the people," Hammer said.
He spoke after the regional bloc Intergovernmental Authority on Development, or IGAD, held an emergency meeting of heads of states in Kampala to discuss the Sudan war and rising tension between Somalia and Ethiopia.
