Kenya Pushes For Direct Talks With Sudan Rivals

Kenya’s President William Ruto has expressed his country’s commitment to a “face-to-face” meeting with the warring generals in Sudan in order to resolve the crisis there.

He said Kenya – as the chair of the regional “quartet” of countries on Sudan that also includes Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan – “commits to meet the two parties face-to-face to find a lasting solution”.

Fighting has been raging in Sudan since 15 April between the army, led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by former deputy military chief Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti.

Mr Ruto said the quartet leaders would in the next three weeks meet to “begin the process of an inclusive national dialogue” in Sudan.

In two weeks, a humanitarian corridor would also be established to allow the distribution of aid, according to a statement by the president’s office after a summit of the regional bloc Igad in Djibouti.

Saudi Arabia and the US have been leading mediation efforts between the parties since the conflict began. Multiple ceasefire agreements since then have been broken.

The conflict has led to the deaths of hundreds of people, many others wounded and forced millions to flee.

BBC/Jide Johnson.