Kenya, Sudan agrees to fast-track peace process

GOOBJOOG NEWS | NAIROBI: Kenya and Sudan have agreed to work on a framework that will lead to an all-inclusive dialogue to end the ongoing conflict in the Northeastern African nation.

The agreement was arrived during a meeting held in Kenyan capital Nairobi between President William Ruto and Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, president of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of Sudan.

According to a joint statement issued after the meeting, the two leaders reviewed the state of ongoing peace initiatives, including the Jeddah and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) peace processes.

“The two leaders underscored the urgent need to find a solution for the conflict in Sudan in the shortest time possible,” the statement read in part.

The two leaders also recognized the slow progress in Jeddah, a port city of Saudi Arabia, where the Sudanese warring parties have been meeting to end the conflict which has raged for seven months, and underscored the urgency to accelerate the process toward cessation of hostilities and humanitarian assistance.

Failed ceasefire

The talks, which ended last week in Jeddah, failed to agree on a ceasefire, according to IGAD, which facilitated the talks alongside Saudi Arabia.

The two leaders also agreed to work toward the convening of an urgent IGAD summit to find ways to accelerate the Jeddah process toward the cessation of hostilities in Sudan.

“The summit will also agree on a framework for an all-inclusive Sudanese dialogue,” the two leaders said.

Deadly clashes have been going on between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), rival factions of the military government of Sudan since April 15.

The conflict has killed up to 9,000 people as of October, displacing more than 6 million others within and outside Sudan and leaving 25 million in need of aid, according to the United Nations.

• Additional reporting by agencies