AUC Chairperson renews his call to end the conflict in Sudan

Addis Ababa, December 18, 2023 (FBC) – The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, expressed growing concern at the deteriorating security situation in Sudan, in particular the reports of 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.

In an official press release issued this on Monday, the AUC Chairperson said he notes with dismay, the reopening of traumatic wounds for many Darfurians, who for over the past twenty years, have lived in Abu Shok as a place of refuge, but fighting resumed there in recent days.

Similarly, he emphasized that 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 fight- ing in Khartoum, and many of them are being forced to flee for a second time since the outbreak of the conflict in April 2023.”

“The Chairperson of the Commission renews the call on the belligerents, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, to immediately cease hostilities and participate meaningfully in negotiations to- wards building and sustaining peace in Sudan,” the press release indicated.

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

It is to be remembered that Workneh Gebeyehu, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), urged both the conflicting parties, Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), to heed the call of the 41st Extraordinary IGAD Assembly for cessation of hostilities and resolution of the conflict through dialogue.

Violence endangers lives and hinders search for a lasting peace, Workneh underlined in a message published on his social media page on Sunday.