Ruto Defies Sudanese Generals, Repeats Controversial Statement
Despite being denied as a mediator in the ongoing conflict in Sudan, President William Ruto remained defiant on Wednesday, maintaining that the ongoing conflict in the troubled country is a military affair that does not reflect the democratic ideals of the nation.
After a meeting of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) quartet in Nairobi on the margins of the African Climate Summit, IGAD reiterated these comments, which have infuriated the warring factions and been categorically rejected by Sudan’s military leadership.
“IGAD strongly condemns the ongoing war and calls upon the warring parties to immediately halt all hostilities and reiterates that there is no military solution to the conflict in Sudan” the bloc chaired by President Ruto affirmed.
In June, when Ruto referred to the Sudan conflict as a military matter and called for the deployment of peacekeeping forces to the country, Sudan’s army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, responded with strong opposition.
A month later, Yasser al-Atta, the deputy commander-in-chief of the Sudan Armed Forces, publicly challenged Ruto to a battle.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) decided to pursue a resolution by arranging a face-to-face meeting between the opposing parties despite Kenya’s lack of official response.
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To establish enduring peace, the regional bloc proposed consolidating all Sudanese peace efforts within a comprehensive framework addressing the conflict, humanitarian access, and long-term political dialogue.
Sudan has consistently rejected Ruto’s proposal to deploy a regional coalition of peacekeeping troops to safeguard humanitarian corridors and protect civilians.
Ruto presided over the IGAD meeting on Wednesday, two days after Sudan formally initiated the process of replacing Ruto as the bloc’s leader with South Sudan President Salva Kiir.
At the time, Sudan’s army chief Fattah traveled to Juba, South Sudan for a high-level meeting, during which he proposed that South Sudan President Salva Kiir replace Ruto as principal mediator.
“We in Sudan feel that South Sudan is the best country to meditate the conflict in Sudan because we have been one country for so long, and we know each other,” Sudan’s Acting Foreign Affairs Minister, Ali al-Sadiq, who was accompanying Fattah stated.
The sentiments were embraced by South Sudan with the government stating that Salva Kiir had a solution at hand to end the conflict.
The issue of Ruto’s rejection by Sudan was not disclosed in the communiqué from yesterday’s meeting.
President Omar Guelleh of Djibouti, South Sudan’s Salva Kiir, and Ethiopia’s Defense Minister Abraham Belay attended the meeting.
Ruto Defies Sudanese Generals, Repeats Controversial Statement
