The Sudanese government announced on Tuesday the suspension of its cooperation with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in addressing the current crisis in the country. The decision was communicated to IGAD by Sudanese Acting Foreign Minister Ali Al-Sadiq, according to a statement from Sudan’s Foreign Ministry.
Khartoum justified the move by accusing IGAD of “violations” for including the situation in Sudan on the agenda of the upcoming summit in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, scheduled for Thursday, without prior consultation with Sudan.
The Sudanese Foreign Ministry criticized IGAD’s invitation to the commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, to attend the summit. Describing it as a “dangerous precedent,” Sudan objected to the decision, considering it unprecedented in the history of IGAD and regional and international organizations.
This announcement follows Sudan’s official objection to the upcoming IGAD summit in Kampala, focusing on the situation in Sudan. The country has been grappling with deadly clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF since April 15, 2023, resulting in more than 12,000 casualties and displacing over 7.4 million people, both within and outside Sudan, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
IGAD has been intensifying pressure on the warring parties in Sudan to sign a truce agreement, aiming to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the population affected by the conflict. The suspension of cooperation underscores the escalating tensions and disagreements surrounding the IGAD summit and its handling of the Sudanese crisis.
