In a bid to ‘stop the bloodshed’ in war-torn Sudan, Egypt announced a summit on Thursday, inviting the neighboring nations to participate, as confirmed by the presidency. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is in attendance at the Cairo summit, even amid tensions over a major Nile river project.
In anticipation of a major regional meeting, the spokesperson for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi disclosed that President Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed held talks regarding potential strategies to settle the ongoing crisis in Sudan.
The conflict has been raging in Sudan since April 15, with Army Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, a trusted ally of Egypt, pitted against his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Based on data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, the violence has resulted in an estimated death toll of around 3,000 people.
The Egyptian presidency’s statement confirmed the participation of representatives from ‘Sudan’s neighboring countries’ at the Cairo meeting. Nonetheless, no official communication has been made regarding the particular leaders who will be joining President Sisi and Prime Minister Abiy.
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The stated purpose of the talks, as announced by Cairo, is to ‘stop the bloodshed of the Sudanese people’ and mitigate the negative spillover effects on neighboring countries.
Sisi’s spokesperson revealed that during their meeting on Wednesday, President Sisi and Prime Minister Abiy engaged in talks concerning ‘enhancing the bilateral relations between Egypt and Ethiopia’ and the ongoing Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam issue.
A longstanding discord between Egypt and Ethiopia revolves around Ethiopia’s expansive dam project, which Cairo regards as a dire existential menace. Recently, Addis Ababa declared a delay in the filling of the dam, contributing to heightened tensions between the two nations.
In light of continuous diplomatic initiatives to bring about an end to the violence in Sudan, a meeting was held in Cairo on Thursday. Despite the efforts of the United States and Saudi Arabia in brokering several ceasefires, these agreements have been persistently violated.
Based on the information from the International Organization for Migration, the violence in Sudan has forced over 2.4 million people to be internally displaced, with nearly 724,000 individuals seeking refuge by crossing the borders of the country.
In a bid to facilitate a resolution to the conflict, IGAD, the East African regional bloc, organized fresh talks on Monday, appealing to the warring parties to ‘promptly sign an unconditional ceasefire.’
Sudan has raised objections against Nairobi, alleging its backing of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), thereby reducing the optimism for a swift resolution to the conflict that has persisted for almost three months.
Analysis by experts indicates that Burhan and Daglo have pursued a war of attrition, aiming to leverage their positions and extract more concessions during negotiations.