CAIRO, Egypt
The Arab League (AL) held an emergency meeting in Cairo this weekend, the third of its kind in three weeks, to discuss the ongoing military clashes in Sudan.
Sudan has been suffering
deadly armed clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the
paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the capital city of Khartoum and
other areas since April 15, with the two sides accusing each other of
initiating the conflict.
Shortly after the outbreak of
the conflicts, the AL held two emergency meetings on April 16 and 30,
respectively, to discuss the situation in Sudan.
This weekend, top diplomats in
the Arab world gathered in the Egyptian capital once again, trying to see how
they can cooperate to help the Sudanese talks succeed, so as to ensure Sudan is
not dragged into a long armed conflict.
"The top priority for the
Arab League now is to find a real solution and to stop the bloodshed, to protect
the livelihoods of people in Sudan, especially since this country is relying on
humanitarian aid. The consequences have been exacerbated. This is not about
calling the RSF a militia or not. The top priority now for the Arab League is
to find a way out of the current situation," said Amira Sayed, a
researcher on African affairs at the Egyptian Gazette.
The Arab League meeting came
after Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry wrapped up a busy week to discuss
the crisis in Egypt's southern neighbor.
Shoukry spoke to the
commanders of the rival Sudanese sides, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan of the
SAF and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo of the RSF. Shoukry also discussed the
recent developments with seven Arab and African foreign ministers including
those of Kenya and Djibouti.
So far, the deadly clashes
have left 550 people dead and 4,926 others wounded, according to the Sudanese
Health Ministry.
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