By Frank Kamuntu
The Sudanese government suspended ties Tuesday with the east African regional bloc trying to mediate between the country’s army and a rival powerful paramilitary force, accusing the body of violating Sudan’s sovereignty by inviting the paramilitary leader to an upcoming summit.
The army, headed by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and The Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, have been fighting for control of Sudan since April. Long standing tensions erupted into street battles concentrated in the capital but also in other areas including the western Darfur region.
In a statement, Sudanese foreign ministry — which is aligned with the army — said the move is a response to IGAD for inviting Dagalo without previous consultation, which it said was a “violation of Sudan’s sovereignty.” The 42nd IGAD summit is set to take place in Kampala, Uganda, on Thursday.
IGAD did not immediately respond to the foreign ministry announcement. Dagalo confirmed last week on social media that he received an invitation from IGAD.
The eight-member bloc is part of mediation efforts to end the conflict, along with Saudi Arabia and the United States which facilitated rounds of unsuccessful, indirect talks between the warring parties as recently as early November. The two military leaders are yet to meet in person since the war broke out.
Tuesday’s announcement comes one week after Dagalo finished a tour of Africa, where he met with government officials in Uganda, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa and Rwanda.
Over the past two months, the RSF has appeared to take the upper hand in the conflict, with its fighters making advances eastwards and northwards across Sudan’s central belt.
The United Nations says at least 12,000 have been killed in the conflict. Rights groups have accused both sides of war crimes.
The countries that make up IGAD include Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
In another development, Tanzania has withdrawn approval for Kenyan national carrier Kenya Airways (KQNA.NR), opens new tab to operate flights between the Kenyan capital Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s commercial capital, its civil aviation authority said on Monday.
Tanzania said the decision was taken in retaliation for Kenya’s denial of rights to Tanzania national carrier Air Tanzania to operate cargo flights between the two countries.
However, in separate statements posted on X platform late on Monday, the Kenyan and Tanzanian foreign ministers said both countries would work together to solve the issue within three days.
“We have jointly agreed that our respective Civil Aviation Authorities will work together to have the matter resolved amicably within the next three days. There should therefore be no cause for alarm,” Kenya’s foreign minister Musalia Mudavadi said.
Kenya Airways said it was aware of the ban and was engaging aviation authorities in both countries to find a solution to avoid flight disruptions between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.
Kenya Airways is one of Africa’s largest airlines. Tanzania, where attractions include mountains and vast wildlife reserves that teem with game, draws more than a million tourists a year, making it one of its biggest markets.
The clash between Tanzania and Kenya adds to a growing number of trade and commercial disputes between members of the East African Community (EAC), a regional bloc that operates a customs union.
Remember all these come at a time when Rwanda is in battles with conflict torn DRC and Burundi. All these leave many East Africans wondering whether indeed ‘integration isn’t a mere dream’, that will take long to be achieved.
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