President William Ruto Friday offered to host a process of mediation between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RDF).
The SAF is broadly loyal to Gen Abdel Fatta al-Burhan and the paramilitaries of the RSF are subscribed to former warlord Gen Mohamed Hamdan.
The two are struggling for power rooted before the 2019 uprising that ousted the dictatorial ruler Omar al-Bashir, who built up formidable security forces that he deliberately set against one another.
When an effort to transition to a democratic civilian-led government faltered after Bashir’s fall, an eventual showdown appeared inevitable, with diplomats in Khartoum warning in early 2022 that they feared such an outbreak of violence.
In recent weeks, tensions have risen further.
Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, and its sister cities, Omdurman and Bahri, have been rocked by fierce battles between two groups since Saturday.
International powers, struggling to evacuate their citizens after the airport and several districts housing embassies were caught up in the violence, have pushed repeatedly for a truce, to little effect.
Ruto Friday said there was a cessation of hostilities in the country.
“We regard the cessation of hostilities as a welcome signal of goodwill, commitment to arrest the descent into conflict, insecurity, instability, and humanitarian crisis, and pursue peaceful resolution of the outstanding items in the framework agreement, with a view to ending the conflict in Sudan,” Ruto said.
He said it also expresses a willingness to do this within the peacemaking frameworks under IGAD, the AU, and the UN.
He urged the fighting groups to consider peaceful negotiations so as to restore peace, and security stability in Sudan.
He said Kenya is willing to host a mediation process between the parties to the agreement.
“We make this offer in the spirit of brotherhood, peace, and solidarity as an acceptable neutral venue and also as an engaged stakeholder well-seized with the challenges facing our region.”
Ruto added that Kenya has a strong track record in effectively facilitating peacemaking and settlement of political conflicts.
According to the Sudanese Doctors Union, the war has resulted in as many as 70 percent of the hospitals in Khartoum and neighboring states have been rendered “out of service” due to the fighting.
More people have been leaving the capital.
Most have been able to pass through checkpoints, but some have been stopped, according to residents and social media posts.
Almost 330 people have died in the fighting, and almost 3,200 more have been wounded in Khartoum, the western region of Darfur, and other states, Ahmed Al-Mandhari of the World Health Organization said.
At least nine children have been killed and more than 50 wounded since the conflict broke out on Saturday, UNICEF said.
