Sudan suspends membership in IGAD

Sudan’s military government announced on Saturday it has suspended the country’s membership to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development over alleged violation of its sovereignty.

Sudan’s foreign ministry said al-Burhan sent a letter on Saturday to IGAD chair, President Ismail Omar Guelleho of Djibouti, “to inform him of the Sudanese government’s decision to suspend its membership in this organization”.

This comes after the junta announced on Tuesday that it was freezing relations with IGAD for inviting paramilitary chief General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo to a summit in Uganda that discussed the Sudan conflict.

At its summit on Thursday, IGAD reiterated its call for “an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Sudan and a face-to-face meeting between the rival military factions.

Al-Burhan’s ruling faction has since boycotted that summit, accusing IGAD of violating Sudan’s sovereignty and condoning alleged atrocities committed by the RSF in Darfur region.

The Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group have been fighting for nine months in a vicious war that has killed thousands of people and displaced more than 7 million people.

On Saturday, General Dagalo was pictured with President Salva Kiir of South Sudan in Kampala, where the latter called for an immediate cessation of hostilities between the warring parties in the Sudan.

According to his office, Kiir reiterated his government’s commitment to supporting an IGAD-led peace process, while urging the RSF leader to accept dialogue in order to find an amicable solution to the crisis in the Sudan.