UNCONDITIONAL CEASEFIRE

Ruto tells warring Sudan to stop fighting

Says Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Force must also agree to establish a humanitarian zone

In Summary

• President Ruto, who also chairs the IGAD Quartet, described the Sudan situation as dire with data indicating more than 2.9 million people have been displaced.

• Death toll stands at more than 2,000 as the crisis exerts more pressure on neighbouring countries.

President William Ruto
President William Ruto
Image: PCS

Parties to the Sudan conflict have been implored to declare an unconditional ceasefire.

President William Ruto said Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Force must also agree to establish a humanitarian zone.

He said the move will stop the loss of lives, ease access to public services and facilitate a settlement of the conflict.

This, he said, will lead to the resumption of the final phase of the political process.

“This will lay the foundation for a peaceful, stable and prosperous Sudan,” Ruto said.

He made the remarks on Monday in Addis Ababa during the IGAD Quartet Heads of State and Government meeting that focussed on the Sudan conflict.

Present were Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed, IGAD Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu, UN Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief coordinator Martin Griffiths, Djibouti Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mahamoud Ali Youssouf and the representatives of United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, European Union, among others.

President Ruto, who also chairs the IGAD Quartet, described the Sudan situation as dire with data indicating more than 2.9 million people have been displaced.

Death toll stands at more than 2,000 as the crisis exerts more pressure on neighbouring countries.

“The intensity and scale of the humanitarian crisis is a harrowing calamity,” he told the meeting.

In Darfur, Ruto added, targeted inter-ethnic attacks were steadily spiralling towards the commission of genocide.

“This alarming state of affairs calls for a bold and an all-inclusive peace dialogue.”

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