Sudan’s govt rejoins East African bloc after long absence
Sudanese Foreign Minister Mohi El-Din Salem (via Sudan Nabaa)
The Sudanese government announced that it will rejoin the East African bloc IGAD (the Intergovernmental Authority on Development) after a two-year freeze on its membership, following the paramilitary chief’s invitation to a summit, reported The New Arab and agencies on February 9th.
The IGAD is a regional organisation composed of East African states, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Djibouti, and formally, Eritrea. The organisation focuses on cooperation in politics, security, trade, and development.
In January 2024, the Sudanese government had suspended its IGAD membership, protesting the actions of the bloc that it felt violated Sudan’s sovereignty. Specifically, the decision by IGAD to invite Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader, Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, to a summit in Uganda, where Sudan’s conflict was on the agenda.
The Sudanese authorities saw this as unacceptable interference in their internal affairs, thereby boycotting the meeting.
Sudan’s army and the RSF have been in a brutal civil war since April 2023, causing tens of thousands of deaths and displacing millions, creating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
The decision to rejoin the East African bloc comes after a meeting in January between the bloc’s executive secretary, Workneh Gebeyehu, and Sudan’s Prime Minister Kamil Idris. Sudan’s foreign ministry quoted a statement by the IGAD, which reiterated “its full recognition of Sudan’s sovereignty and the unity of its lands and people” and pledged “non-interference in member states’ internal affairs”.
The East African bloc also issued a statement saying it “condemns all forms of violations committed by the Rapid Support Forces and reaffirms its full support for the unity and sovereignty of the Republic of the Sudan, as well as its existing national institutions”.
The RSF and its allies have formed a parallel government in Nyala, the South Darfur state Capital, which was condemned by the Sudanese government and the UN, with no international recognition.
Sudan continues to be severely divided due to the ongoing conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group. In the country’s 18 states, the RSF dominates five states in western Darfur, except for certain northern areas of North Darfur, which remain under army control.
Meanwhile, the army maintains control over most of the other 13 states in the south, north, east, and central regions, including the capital, Khartoum.
The New Arab and agencies, Maghrebi.org
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