Workneh Gebeyehu IGAD Executive Secretary Monday revealed the purpose of his visit to Khartoum was to discuss with the Sudanese stakeholders the mediation they plan to launch to end the current crisis.
He discussed with Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Head of the Transitional Sovereign Council (TSC) the role that the East African bloc would play in the resolution of the Sudanese crisis.
Also, he met with his deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo “Hemetti”, the National Uma Party (NUP) and some political groups supporting the coup d’état of October 25, 2021.
I “Met the Chair of the TSC SUDAN Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to review developments in (the) Flag of Sudan and the role IGAD will play towards negotiated solutions to the current political crisis through constructive engagement,” he wrote in a tweet posted after the meeting with the head of the Sovereign Council.
Also, after his meeting with Hemetti, Gebeyehu told reporters he discussed with the Sudanese senior official “What is the best way to resolve the challenges the people of Sudan are facing”.
He further said they will brief the African Union about the outcome of their consultations in Khartoum and after that, they would launch an IGAD-led process.
“IGAD will play a constructive and impartial role to resolve the challenges the people of Sudan are facing,” he stressed.
The presence of Ismail Wais IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudanese Ismail Wais in Gebeyehu’s delegation suggests that he would be the chief mediator of this process.
The UNITAMS initiative to facilitate a dialogue between the Sudanese parties was welcomed by the international community particularly the Troika and the EU. But the African Union and the IGAD kept silent over the UN plan.
In a recent statement released on January 25, 2022; the African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC) clearly distanced itself from the UNITMAS’s initiative.
The PSC “Notes all international efforts aimed at finding a sustainable solution to the current crisis in Sudan, including the initiative of the (UNITAMS), and stresses the need for the African Union to coordinate the international community efforts in Sudan in order to harmonize efforts aimed at resolving the crisis in Sudan”.
The Council also urged to accompany Sudan during its transition, including through the efforts of the Chairperson of the AU Commission and IGAD.
The IGAD Executive Secretary on Monday met with the UNITAMS head and the Troika envoys in Khartoum.
“We affirmed (our) support (to) the efforts of the Sudanese people to find a comprehensive lasting solution to the current prevailing political situation,” he posted in a separate tweet after the meeting.
Sudan Tribune learnt that some groups of the Forces for Freedom and Changes declined Gebeyehu’s request for individual meetings with the coalition forces preferring a meeting with the FFC groups.
The IGAD’s initiative is perceived by some political groups as an attempt to torpedo the UNITAMS-led process.
Source: Sudan Tribune