Sudan, Kenya agree to convene IGAD summit to accelerate ceasefire talks in Jeddah

NAIROBI, Kenya

Sudanese Sovereign Council Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Kenyan President William Ruto have agreed to hold a meeting of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) leaders to speed up the Jeddah process for a ceasefire.

President William Ruto (R) speaks with Sudanese leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan at State House, Nairobi on November 14, 2023.

The unannounced visit by al-Burhan to Nairobi on Monday marks a shift in the Sudanese government’s stance, which had previously rejected any Kenyan involvement in the conflict resolution efforts.

In a joint statement released after the meeting in Nairobi, al-Burhan and Ruto acknowledged the slow progress of the ceasefire negotiations in Jeddah and emphasized the need for urgent action. They further agreed to “work towards convening an urgent IGAD Summit to find ways to accelerate the Jeddah process towards cessation of hostilities in Sudan.”

The IGAD summit will also aim to establish a framework for an all-inclusive Sudanese dialogue to address the country’s political crisis, added the statement.

Notably, Darfur Governor Minni Minnawi accompanied al-Burhan on his visit to Nairobi, marking the first time he has participated in such a trip alongside the Sovereign Council head.

The IGAD has been recently involved in the Jeddah process, but the recent round of talks failed to produce a ceasefire agreement due to disagreements between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over the redeployment of forces. The army insists on the withdrawal of the paramilitary forces from the cities to protect civilians, while the RSF refuses to relinquish control of urban areas.

Al-Burhan’s visit to Nairobi paves the way for IGAD to play a greater role in resolving the Sudan crisis.

At a gathering in Nairobi on September 6, the IGAD quartet group, comprising Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Sudan, renewed their call for a “structured approach” to peace negotiations in Sudan and “all-inclusive consultations” with civilian actors. They emphasized the need for IGAD and the African Union to collaborate with Sudan’s neighbouring countries and urged international actors to support a unified, inclusive IGAD-AU-led platform.

Yasir Arman, a prominent member of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), released a statement on X welcoming the al-Burhan-Ruto meeting. He called their first meeting “a step in the right direction” away from the military approach advocated by the Islamists of the former regime.

The visit requires General al-Burhan to take a new comprehensive approach to correct the grave mistakes of staging the 25th of October coup and the war. Both are crimes the National Congress (Party) stands behind,” Arman added in a statement.

He stressed the importance of using the visit to consolidate the perspectives of neighbouring countries, particularly IGAD, toward peace in Sudan. This alignment should be harmonized with the Saudi-American initiative, the Jeddah negotiations, and the Egypt-led neighbouring countries initiative.”

The Sudanese Islamists of the former regime are accused of inciting the October 25, 2021 coup that toppled the transitional civilian government and triggered the ongoing conflict between the army and the RSF.