KHARTOUM: Sudan’s government, aligned with the army, has officially suspended ties with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), accusing the east African bloc of violating the country’s sovereignty.
The move comes after IGAD extended an invitation to paramilitary leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, a rival to the regular army, to attend a summit in Uganda. The decision to suspend relations underscores the ongoing power struggle between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The conflict, which erupted nine months ago, has witnessed the regular army losing territory, while Daglo has been actively engaging in diplomatic visits to African capitals. IGAD’s invitation to Daglo to attend the summit further fueled tensions, prompting Sudan’s foreign ministry, loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, to take the step of suspending ties with the bloc.
Sudan Accuses IGAD of Violating its Sovereignty
The foreign ministry accused IGAD of violating Sudan’s sovereignty and setting a “dangerous precedent.” The east African bloc, along with the United States, had previously attempted to mediate between the warring factions but without success.
Daglo’s growing diplomatic status has sparked anger from Burhan, who accused the African leaders receiving him of complicity in atrocities against Sudanese civilians. The war between the regular army and RSF has resulted in allegations of war crimes, including indiscriminate shelling of residential areas, torture, arbitrary detention of civilians, and ethnically-motivated mass killings.
The RSF has faced specific accusations of widespread looting and the use of rape as a weapon of war. The conflict has claimed the lives of over 13,000 people, according to estimates by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project, and displaced around 7.5 million civilians either abroad or within the country, as per UN figures.
