Egypt hosted a meeting of leaders from Sudan’s six neighbouring countries in Cairo on Thursday to discuss the ongoing conflict in the northeastern African country.
The peace talks, hosted by Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, were attended by the leaders of Ethiopia, South Sudan, Chad, Eritrea, the Central African Republic and Libya.
The conflict in Sudan erupted in mid-April when tensions between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) came to a head.
The conflict has killed more than 3000 people and wounded over 6000, according to the Sudanese health ministry. The actual death toll, however, is likely much higher, doctors and activists say.
The International Organisation for Migration say more than 2.4 million people have been forced to flee their homes due to the violence, with around 738,000 crossing into neighbouring countries.
Thursday’s meeting comes weeks after talks brokered by Saudia Arabia and the United States in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah broke down after the two warring sides failed to stop fighting and violated cease-fire agreements.
In his opening address, el-Sissi said that his vision for the crisis’ end includes a lasting cease-fire agreement, the establishment of safe humanitarian corridors and a dialogue framework that would include all of Sudan’s wide-reaching political forces.
The Egyptian leader called on both parties to commit to cease-fire negotiations organized by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, or IGAD, an eight-member East African bloc, headed by Kenyan President William Ruto.
So far, Sudan’s military, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, have agreed to at least 10 cease-fires, all of which have foundered.
