Egypt urges Sudan neighbors to attend summit to 'stop the bloodshed'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
13 Jul 2023 12:13

The Egyptian statement adds that the aim of the talks is to "stop the bloodshed of the Sudanese people" and the "negative repercussions on neighbouring countries".

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi is seen in Belgrade, Serbia, on July 20, 2022 (AP)

The Egyptian presidency released a statement on Thursday, inviting Sudan's neighbors to a summit to "stop the bloodshed" in Sudan, as Ethiopia's premier Abiy Ahmed arrives in Cairo despite tensions over a Nile river project.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's spokesperson confirmed that the president and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed "discussed ways to settle the crisis in Sudan", before a larger regional meeting.

The statement read that the meeting in Cairo will be attended by representatives of "Sudan's neighbouring countries", but other attendees have not yet been revealed.

It added that the aim of the talks is to "stop the bloodshed of the Sudanese people" and the "negative repercussions on neighboring countries".

In a separate yet related context, El-Sisi and Abiy discussed "strengthening bilateral relations between Egypt and Ethiopia and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam," according to El-Sisi's spokesperson, as both nations have been at odds over Ethiopia's mega-dam project regarded by Egypt as an existential threat.

Just yesterday, an airstrike targeted a market in Omdurman, Sudan, which is adjacent to the Nile River and the country's capital, Khartoum. The Sudanese Health Ministry clarified that "34 people were killed among the traders in the market in Omdurman as a result of the indiscriminate shelling," noting that there were children among the victims.

The Cairo meeting on Thursday comes after multiple efforts to broker a ceasefire to the violence in Sudan, especially after US- and Saudi-brokered ceasefires were systematically and continuously violated.

Sudan's army refused to attend a regional bloc meeting aimed at putting an end to nearly three months of brutal fighting in the North African country. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African bloc, invited both the Sudanese army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to its meeting in Ethiopia's capital on Monday. The army accused Kenya, which chaired the talks, of favoring the RSF.

It is worth noting that the leaders of former rebel groups from Darfur, who signed a partial peace deal in 2020, are also anticipated to engage in talks in Chad.