Burhan Hopes IGAD Summit on Sudan Will Be a Success

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of the Sovereign Council of Sudan, holds talks with IGAD’s Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu in Djibouti on Sunday. (Sovereign Council)
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of the Sovereign Council of Sudan, holds talks with IGAD’s Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu in Djibouti on Sunday. (Sovereign Council)
TT

Burhan Hopes IGAD Summit on Sudan Will Be a Success

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of the Sovereign Council of Sudan, holds talks with IGAD’s Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu in Djibouti on Sunday. (Sovereign Council)
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of the Sovereign Council of Sudan, holds talks with IGAD’s Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu in Djibouti on Sunday. (Sovereign Council)

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of the Sovereign Council of Sudan, held talks in Djibouti on Sunday with President Ismail Omar Guelleh, who is currently chair of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and IGAD’s Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu.

They agreed on the need for sustainable ceasefire in Sudan.

On his way back to Sudan, Burhan met with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki at Asmara International Airport where they tackled the latest developments in Sudan.

A statement from the Sovereign Council's media office said Burhan spoke with Djibouti’s President about the repercussions of what he called the violations and crimes committed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces against the citizens and their destruction of the state infrastructure.

He expressed hopes to find a solution to the current crisis in Sudan.

“We hope the upcoming IGAD summit on Sudan will be a success and find a solution to the crisis so that security and stability can be restored,” the statement quoted him as saying.

Sudan announced on Sunday that the IGAD will meet soon, but a date has not been set yet.

Two weeks ago, Burhan met with Kenyan President William Ruto in Nairobi to discuss the security situation in Sudan. The leaders agreed to work to convene an urgent IGAD summit to find ways to accelerate a solution to the crisis.

In Djibouti, Omar Guelleh expressed his country's readiness to provide any assistance and suggestions of solutions to end the conflict.

He also voiced full support to the proposed initiatives and the roles played by Saudi Arabia, the US and IGAD to resolve the crisis.

For his part, Gebeyehu wrote on his X account that the meeting with Burhan focused on the role played by IGAD in facilitating discussions on the conflict.

The Sovereign Council said Burhan and Gebeyehu discussed the progress of the indirect negotiations held in the Saudi city of Jeddah.



Sudan Army, RSF Trade Blames for Fires at Khartoum Refinery

FILE PHOTO: Plumes of smoke rise during clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Plumes of smoke rise during clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
TT

Sudan Army, RSF Trade Blames for Fires at Khartoum Refinery

FILE PHOTO: Plumes of smoke rise during clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Plumes of smoke rise during clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

The Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Thursday accused each other of attacking the Khartoum refinery in Al-Jaili.

The army and the forces led by commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo have traded blame since the civil conflict erupted almost two years ago.

"The terrorist militia of Al-Dagalo deliberately set fire to the Khartoum refinery in Al-Jaili this morning in a desperate attempt to destroy the infrastructures of this country, after despairing of achieving its illusions of seizing its resources and land," the Sudanese army said in a post on X.

Meanwhile, the RSF said the army launched airstrikes on the refinery.

"The ongoing aerial bombardment of the refinery, the latest of which was this morning, which led to its destruction, represents a full-fledged war crime," Reuters quoted the RSF as saying in a statement.

Earlier this month, the army and allied forces recaptured the state capital Wad Madani from the RSF, a strategic city that could mark a turning point in the ethnic violence that has caused the world's largest internal displacement crisis.

The army and the RSF together led a coup in 2021, removing Sudan's civilian leadership, but fell out less than two years later over plans to integrate their forces.