Sudan: Foreign forces deployed in the country will be seen as aggressors

The Sudanese government will not allow foreign forces to be deployed in the country, it said in a statement yesterday, adding that they would be seen as aggressors.

This came following the meeting of the Quartet Committee regarding the Sudanese crisis, according to the Sudanese News Agency (SUNA).

The statement said that the Sudanese delegation arrived in Addis Ababa before the start of the Quartet meeting and communicated with the organisers, noting that this confirms the existence of a sincere desire to reach a solution.

The statement confirmed that what was stated in the Quartet’s statement regarding the absence of the Sudanese delegation was inaccurate, noting that the failure to attend the meeting was due to Sudan’s objection to William Ruto chairing the Quartet, “as credibility required that the Quartet’s statement state that the non-participation of a Sudanese government delegation was due to its objection to Kenyan President William Ruto’s assumption of the chairmanship of the committee.”

“The (IGAD) Quartet’s final statement [at the IGAD summit in Addis Ababa] included a call for a summit meeting of the East African Emergency Forces (EAEF) to consider the possibility of deploying forces to protect civilians and ensure the flow of humanitarian aid. In this regard, the Government of Sudan affirms that humanitarian aid provided by international bodies flows and reaches those in need, and the Government of Sudan remains keen to alleviate the suffering of its people and to overcome all constraints in this respect,” said the statement.

“The Government of Sudan affirms hereby its refusal to deploy any foreign troops to Sudan and will consider them aggressors,” it added.

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On Monday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed hosted a meeting of heads of state and government of the IGAD Quartet in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to discuss ways to resolve the Sudanese crisis.

On 12 June, at the summit of the IGAD group in Djibouti, a quartet committee was formed headed by Kenya, with South Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia as members, to search for a resolution to the Sudanese crisis.

Since 15 April, violent clashes have continued between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in various areas of Sudan, most of which are concentrated in the capital, Khartoum, leaving hundreds of civilians dead and injured and millions displaced.