Sudan suspends ties with IGAD over invitation to paramilitary chief

By Adel Abdel Rahim

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) - Sudan on Tuesday suspended its ties with an East African regional bloc that has sought to broker talks between the country’s warring rivals.

The Foreign Ministry said the government suspended its involvement in mediation efforts with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

The ministry said the decision was taken after IGAD added Sudan to the agenda of a meeting scheduled for Jan. 18 in Kampala, Uganda, and invited the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, to attend the meeting.

This invitation “is a violation of Sudan’s sovereignty and a violation of the IGAD charters and rules governing the work of international and regional organizations,” it added.

Sudan has been mired by fighting between the army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the country’s ruling Sovereign Council, and the RSF since April 2023.

Several cease-fire agreements brokered by Saudi and US mediators have failed to end the violence.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Ankara