Sudan’s Tagaddum spearheads diplomatic drive at AU summit

19/02/2024 14:20 ADDIS ABABA

Sudan’s former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, convened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, engaging in talks with Kenyan President William Ruto at the African Union Summit, February 18 (File photo: @SudanPMHamdok)

The Civil Democratic Forces alliance (Tagaddum) led by Sudan’s former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, engaged in talks with Kenyan President William Ruto and Chadian Foreign Minister Mahamat Annadif at the African Union (AU) summit yesterday.

The discussions aimed to highlight Sudan’s ongoing conflict and advocate for Africa’s involvement in resolving it. Expressing gratitude to Chad for hosting Sudanese war refugees, Hamdok stressed the urgent need for regional and international support to address the humanitarian crisis.

In a separate meeting with President Ruto, Hamdok conveyed appreciation for Kenya’s efforts within the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the African Union. President Ruto reaffirmed Kenya’s commitment to intensifying regional and international peace efforts.

Tagaddum (meaning progress in Arabic) also met with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit, praising his efforts in hosting Sudanese refugees, and advocating for peace. Discussions focussed on strategies to expedite peace efforts, with President Kiir reaffirming South Sudan’s commitment to fostering amity in Sudan.

Last week, Tagaddum met with the US Assistant Secretary of State on African Affairs Molly Phee, in Addis Ababa, to discuss “general developments on the situation in Sudan”, as well as efforts to end the war and achieve a sustainable democratic civil transition.

Phee also sat with representatives from the now-banned resistance committees, and members of Sudanese women civil society organisations (CSOs).

AU military intervention

As Dabanga reported on Friday, the Sudan war is missing on the agenda of the current AU summit. Representatives of Sudanese and African civil society organisations however held a meeting on the sidelines of the summit on Friday.

They urged the AU “activate Article 4 of its Constitutive Act and dispatch a military force to end the gross violations of human rights and humanitarian law, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of ethnic cleansing occurring in Sudan”.