APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East Africa bloc, has set to arrange a face-to-face meeting between leaders of the warring forces in Sudan.
“Within ten days, the Quartet, IGAD’s four member states, would arrange a face-to-face meeting between General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, the Chairperson of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of Sudan, and General Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo in one of the regional capitals,” the bloc said in communiqué issued on Wednesday.
IGAD also said it has adopted a four-point action plan to resolve the ongoing crisis in Sudan.
The action plans were announced following the conclusion of the 14th Ordinary Session of the IGAD Assembly of Heads of State and Government which was chaired by Malik Agar, the Deputy Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of Sudan and representative of the Chair of the IGAD Heads of State and Government.
The bloc has also adopted a roadmap for the resolution of the conflict in Sudan and commended the ‘African Union-led and Ethiopian-owned successful peace process.’
The communiqué further stressed the need to secure a commitment from the leadership of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to establish a humanitarian corridor within two weeks.
Within three weeks, an inclusive political process towards a political settlement of the conflict in the Republic of Sudan will be initiated, it added.
Expressing alarm regarding the continued fighting and the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in Sudan, the bloc commended the unrelenting efforts of IGAD High-Level Delegation led by Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of South Sudan, towards the de-escalation of armed engagements and resolution of the conflict in the country.
The communiqué also lauded the African Union, the AU High-Level Panel, and the African Union Commission, the AU Monitoring, Verification, and Compliance Mission, the IGAD Executive Secretary for supporting the implementation of the peace process.
MG/abj/APA