Egypt hosts a regional meeting aimed at resolving the Sudan crisis

Egypt is hosting a meeting on Thursday for neighboring countries of Sudan, which is witnessing a power struggle between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, in an attempt "to resolve the crisis and stop the bloodshed of the Sudanese people," according to the presidency.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is visiting Cairo despite tensions surrounding the Renaissance Dam project on the Nile River.

The spokesperson for the Egyptian presidency stated on Wednesday evening, prior to an expanded meeting with the neighboring countries of Sudan, that President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Ahmed "discussed ways to resolve the crisis in Sudan."

Since April 15th, Sudan has been embroiled in a spiral of clashes between the army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. All attempts at reconciliation have failed, exacerbating the suffering of the country's population, which was already among the poorest in the world before the war.

The United Nations has reported that over three million people have been forced to leave their homes, either through internal displacement or fleeing abroad. The number of those who have left the country is estimated to be nearly 724,000, while the number of internally displaced people exceeds 2.4 million.

In addition to the increasing numbers of displaced persons, the conflict has resulted in more than 2,800 deaths, although many humanitarian sources suggest that the actual toll is much higher.

The Egyptian presidency clarified that representatives from Sudan's neighboring countries would participate in the Cairo meeting without specifying who would join el-Sisi and Ahmed.

According to Cairo, "Egypt will host a summit of Sudan's neighboring countries on July 13, 2023, to discuss ways to end the current conflict and its negative repercussions on neighboring countries and establish effective mechanisms with the participation of neighboring countries to peacefully resolve the crisis in Sudan, in coordination with other regional and international tracks for resolving the crisis."

On another note, el-Sisi and Ahmed discussed enhancing bilateral relations and the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on Wednesday, according to the presidential spokesperson.

There has been a long-standing dispute between the two countries regarding the Ethiopian dam, which Cairo considers an existential threat.

 

AFP