Khartoum turmoil: Three men who hold key to Sudan's peace

KHARTOUM, Sudan - On Sunday evening, the Sudan Armed Forces [SAF] warned civilians to stay indoors as it conducted surveillance to locate bases of the Rapid Support Forces [RSF] formerly known as Janjaweed, the paramilitary wing which was created in 2013 by deposed leader Omar al-Bashir and which is now fighting for control of the country.

In a series of tweets, the RSF claimed to have seized several strategic areas in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, notably the presidential palace and the Khartoum International Airport, noting that it has also managed to shoot down fighter jets and military tanks across the country with Merowe also falling to them over the weekend.

Credible sources say at least 57 people have been killed in the ongoing stalemate with at least 700 mainly combatants and civilians critically injured. The Sudanese Air Force is plotting intensive airstrikes in the capital with analysts predicting massive civilian casualties should both parties fail to agree on a ceasefire.

Contentious integration of RSF into the military and their specific roles is the bone of contention, further delaying an agreement between political parties that is ready for signing to pave way for democratic rule. The country has been under a military council since 2019 when al-Bashir was ousted following civilian protests.

The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development [IGAD] has asked East African leaders to mediate the conflict, with William Ruto [Kenya], Salva Kiir [South Sudan], and Omar Guelleh [Djibouti] assigned duties of overseeing the process of further escalation of the conflict to unprecedented levels.

Ruto, who is just six months old in office, was also entrusted to check on peace processes in Somalia and Ethiopia which have also been in turmoil. Recently, he visited Somalia where he pledged support in the fight against Al-Shabaab while in Ethiopia, he delegated duties to his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta.

At home, Ruto is facing pressure from opposition leader Raila Odinga, who claims electoral malpractice in the August 2022 elections. For Kiir, just like Ruto, has been facing unrest within the government with his former ally Riek Machar accusing him of insincerity and even threatening to leave the government.

But Kiir, an independence hero of South Sudan, understands Sudan given he led an armed struggle against Khartoum leading to South Sudan's independence in 2011. For Guelleh, besides overstaying in power, he's leading a relatively stable country that hosts US Africa Command and has been a pillar of peace in the Horn of Africa nation.

On Sunday, William Ruto confirmed that IGAD leaders held an emergency meeting to discuss the conflict in Sudan, noting that they have since called for an immediate ceasefire. Besides the three, the conference was graced by Uganda President Yoweri Museveni and Somalia's Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

“President William Ruto asked IGAD leaders to take a firm position on the crisis to restore peace in the country,” the presidency said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. The leaders also asked the two parties to the conflict in Sudan to provide a safe corridor for humanitarian assistance in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, and other affected towns.

The tension between the two military forces has escalated since Wednesday in the Merowe region in northern Sudan, after the RSF moved military vehicles to a location near the military air base there, a move that the army considered illegal.

The African Union [AU] also persuades IGAD to take over and restore peace in the country, noting that it will not tolerate external interference which it insists will escalate the conflict further. The continental body also called for an immediate ceasefire between the two rival forces.

"Calls [AU] for an immediate ceasefire by the two parties without conditions, in the supreme interest of Sudan and its people in order to avoid further bloodshed and harm to innocent civilians; to protect civilians, especially women and children; and to provide humanitarian support to civilians caught up in the conflict," read the statement.

"The AU strongly rejects any external interference that could complicate the situation in Sudan and urges the countries of the region and other stakeholders to support ongoing efforts to return the country to the transition process towards a constitutional order."

Whether the three will manage to restore peace in Sudan is a story for another day but for now, innocent civilians are staring at yet another bloodshed in Sudan, a few years after calm was restored in Darfur, in a conflict that left thousands of people dead. The military has struggled to gain civilian confidence since taking over in 2019.

GAROWE ONLINE