Sudan conflict: Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo meet face to face for a peace talks in Cairo
Egypt on Thursday hosted a meeting of leaders of Sudan’s six neighboring countries in Cairo to discuss the ongoing conflict in the northeastern African country.
The peace talks, chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, brought together the leaders of Ethiopia, South Sudan, Chad, Eritrea, the Central African Republic and Libya.
Conflict in Sudan flared up in mid-April when tensions between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF) peaked.
According to the Sudanese Ministry of Health, the conflict has left more than 3,000 people dead and more than 6,000 injured. However, the true death toll could be much higher, doctors and activists say.
The International Organization for Migration says more than 2.4 million people have been forced from their homes due to the violence, of which about 738,000 have crossed into neighboring countries.
Thursday’s meeting comes weeks after Saudi-U.S.-brokered talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah broke down after the warring sides relentlessly fought and violated ceasefire agreements.
In his opening remarks, el-Sisi said his vision for ending the crisis included a lasting ceasefire, the establishment of safe humanitarian corridors, and a framework for dialogue that would include all the far-reaching policies of Sudan.
The Egyptian leader called on the two sides to join the ceasefire talks organized by the Intergovernmental Agency for Development, or IGAD, an eight-member East African bloc led by Kenyan President William Ruto.
So far, the Sudanese army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo have agreed to at least 10 ceasefires, all of which have failed.
