RSF leader "busy" in East and Southern Africa, Khartoum takes harsh action

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo is continuing regional diplomatic efforts to try to reach a ceasefire in the war in the East African country.

Sudan: Thủ lĩnh RSF 'đôn đáo' ở Đông và Nam Phi, Khartoum hành động gắt. (Nguồn: Sudan Tribune)

Sudan's RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (left) meets with Kenyan President William Ruto on January 3 in the capital Nairobi. (Source: Sudan Tribune)

AP reported that on January 4, Mr. Dagalo arrived in the South African capital Pretoria and met with host country President Cyril Ramaphosa.

In a statement after the meeting, Mr Dagalo said he briefed President Ramaphosa on the ongoing civil war that began in April last year.

“I have given a full explanation of the reasons for the outbreak of conflict in the country, the parties behind it that support its continuation, the extent of destruction and deliberate sabotage that has affected basic infrastructure as well as the killing and destruction, displacement of thousands of people…”, he said.

Previously, on January 3, RSF leaders stopped in Kenya and met with the country's President William Ruto in the capital Nairobi.

Posting photos on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) of the meeting with the RSF leader, President Ruto said Kenya appreciated the commitment of RSF and Mr. Daglo "to ending the conflict in Sudan through dialogue".

“The ongoing Intergovernmental Authority on East African Development (IGAD) negotiations will bring about a political solution that will create lasting peace in the country,” Mr Ruto added.

In response to the above move, Sudan Tribune reported that on January 4, Khartoum recalled its Ambassador to Kenya to protest the official welcoming ceremony organized by Nairobi.

“Nairobi has forgotten the terrible violations and destruction inflicted by the rebels on the country’s infrastructure and the property of its people,” Sudan’s acting Foreign Minister Ali Al-Sadiq said.

In April 2023, deadly clashes broke out in Sudan between the army and RSF. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 12,000 people were killed in the fighting in early December 2023.

The two warring generals have not met face to face since the conflict broke out.

The eight-nation East African IGAD, headquartered in Djibouti, is leading diplomatic efforts to broker a meeting between RSF leader Daglo and his rival, Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

In late 2023, Djibouti President and IGAD Chairman Ismail Omar Guelleh also met with Mr. Dagalo, before the RSF leader began a tour of Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda.

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