President Ruto and Sudan's al-Burhan want urgent IGAD summit convened to speed Jeddah process

President William Ruto on Monday hosted Sudanese leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan at State House, Nairobi for bilateral talks on the security situation in the country.

A war erupted on April 15 between Sudan's regular army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after weeks of rising tension between the two sides over a plan to integrate forces as part of a transition from military rule to civilian democracy.

President Ruto and General al-Burhan, who leads the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), reviewed the state of ongoing peace initiatives, including the Jeddah and the IGAD processes.

Sudan's warring parties have been meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for the peace process initiated by the Middle Eastern country and the United States with the aim of ending a conflict that has left nearly 10,000 people dead.

According to a joint statement released by Kenya’s presidency, the two leaders emphasized an urgent need to find a solution to the conflict within the shortest time possible.

Ruto and al-Burhan pledged to work towards the convening of an urgent Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) summit to find ways of accelerating the Jeddah peace process.

“Recognizing the slow progress in Jeddah, the leaders underscored the urgency to accelerate the process towards cessation of hostilities and humanitarian assistance,” the statement added.

The summit is set to agree on a framework for “an all-inclusive Sudanese dialogue,” the leaders said, with President Ruto committing to brief the regional bloc chair on Monday’s meeting.

Frosty relations between Sudan and Kenya have been said to hurt regional efforts to mediate the end of Sudan’s war.

Ruto, who leads an IGAD sub-committee tasked with mediating an end to the war, has been accused of favouring the paramilitary forces after he suggested deploying East African peacekeeping troops to Sudan. He denies the allegations.

Sudanese leaders have refused to cooperate with the sub-committee called the ‘Quartet Group’ until he is replaced.

IGAD and the African Union support the Jeddah process, although it has collapsed after several ceasefire agreements were violated within hours of being signed.

According to United Nations figures, more than 3 million people have been displaced due to the conflict both internally and across the border into neighbouring countries.