AU Chair Renews Calls For Ceasefire In Sudan

The African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has called on parties in the renewed unrest in Sudan to return to the negotiation table for resolution.

In a statement, he urged the belligerent, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to participate meaningfully in negotiations towards building and sustaining peace in Sudan.

In this regard, the Chairperson reaffirms the readiness of the AU to continue to work with key national stakeholders, and regional and global actors including the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the League of Arab States and the United Nations towards the swift resolution of the conflict in Sudan.

It comes after a fight broke out between the RSF and the SAF on Saturday at Abu Shok camp in northern parts of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, claiming two lives while eight others were injured by stray bullets.

The development has created a concern for the AUC.

“The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, expresses growing concern at the deteriorating security situation in Sudan, in particular the response to the renewed attacks on the Abu Shok camp for internally displaced persons in El Fasher, as well as the spread of the fighting to Wad Medani in Gezira state.”

“Similarly, attacks on Wad Medani have opened up a new front in the Sudanese war that is now in its 9th month. Wad Medani has in recent months welcomed millions of Sudanese civilians who have fled the fighting in Khartoum and many of them are being forced to flee for a second time since the outbreak of the conflict in April 2023.”