ALBAWABA - Leaders of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) gathered Saturday in Djibouti to discuss the Sudan conflict that has been tearing through the country since April 15.
Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh, chairman of the Eastern Africa bloc, said in a statement after the summit: "The violence threatens the country's existence and regional stability. Today's summit is a beacon of hope. Sudan needs peace".
IGAD Secretary General Workneh Gebeyehu took to X, previously Twitter, to summarize the outcome of the summit.
"The Assembly effectively secured a commitment from the Sudanese belligerents to promptly convene & agree upon a cessation of hostilities—a crucial step in addressing the aspirations of the Sudanese people!" said Gebeyehu.
The summit attendees included Sudanese Sovereignty Council President Abdul Fattah al-Burhan, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Somali President Hasan Sheikh Mahmud, Kenyan President William Ruto, Gebeyehu and African Union Commission President Musa Faki as well as representatives of the US, UN, and EU.
The power struggle broke out on April 15 between Sudanese army general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and former Deputy head of the Transitional Military Council and Rapid Support Forces leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), at least 12,260 victims have been killed and more than 33,000 injured in the conflict, at least 12,260 victims have been killed and more than 33,000 injured.
According to a conservative estimate by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, by the end of October, over 10,000 people had been killed. Since the beginning of November, reports of brutal massacres being committed have emerged, mostly across the Darfur region.
UNHCR warned that escalating violence across the Darfur region in Sudan has sparked fears that atrocities committed two decades ago in Darfur could be repeated, voicing grave concern over the development.
The horrific events in Ardamata, an area on the northeast outskirts of West Darfur's state capital el-Geneina took place from 2 to 6 November between RSF fighters and Sudanese Army soldiers near a military base, claiming the lives of more than 1,300 people from the Massalit tribe, in the Western Darfur town of el-Geneina allegedly by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
