Three years after deadly conflict erupted across Sudan, the African Union’s top mediator has doubled down on the bloc’s push to end the violence, following high-level talks with Sudan’s interim leadership in Khartoum.
Mohamed Belaiche, the AU Special Envoy for Sudan, made the commitment Wednesday during a face-to-face meeting with Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council, in the country’s capital. Belaiche emphasized that the AU’s immediate priority is rolling back escalating hostilities and laying the groundwork for a sustainable ceasefire, which would create space to resolve the country’s deep-rooted crisis through an inclusive, all-party political dialogue.
Wednesday’s discussion, Belaiche noted, was part of a continuous series of consultations between the African Union and Sudanese stakeholders focused on tracking evolving political and security conditions across the nation. The two sides also covered two key procedural steps for the AU’s ongoing engagement: the reopening of the bloc’s liaison office in Khartoum, and logistics for an upcoming high-level AU delegation visit to the country scheduled for the near term.
Sudan has been trapped in full-scale conflict since mid-April 2023, when tensions between the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by Al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces erupted into open combat. The three-year conflict has already claimed tens of thousands of lives and triggered one of the world’s worst displacement crises, with millions of Sudanese forced to flee their homes both within the country and across international borders.