Multiple initiatives have been taken to end the fighting in Sudan, which will be in its fourth month this week. The conflict has had disastrous consequences for the people and the country, but there are signs that neighbouring African nations, key regional Arab countries and the international community all recognise that the current, dire situation cannot continue, and are determined not to abandon Sudan.
On 13 July Egypt will a summit of Sudan’s neighbouring countries to discuss ways to end the conflict and its repercussions for Sudanese infrastructure, governing institutions and territorial integrity. The summit will also be tackling the effects of the war on neighbouring countries that have had to provide immediate help to the Sudanese fleeing their country, accepting more than 600,000 refugees so far.
More than 2.2 million Sudanese civilians have been internally displaced without access to their basic needs as many of the key government services, as well as banks and industries stopped operating. Worst of all is that, of the over 3,000 killed and many thousands injured, most are innocent civilians caught into the fighting, unable to leave their houses or reach one of the few functioning hospitals remaining. Many areas suffer power and water shortages as well as looting, lawlessness, and lack of food.
Equally dangerous is the fact that the fighting has been spreading to other parts of Sudan, and not limited to the capital. The Western region of Darfur, as well as the southern regions of Kurdufan and the Blue Nile have seen clashes between the Sudanese army and rebel groups, increasing human suffering and the outflow of refugees.
Meanwhile, reports on possible ceasefires have become meaningless for the Sudanese people, who have over a dozen truces collapse, some within hours of being declared.
Those dire conditions are the key reason behind the resurgence of efforts to stop the fighting in Sudan. The Cairo summit will seek to build on efforts made by many countries since the outbreak of war on 15 April between the Commander of Sudan’s Army Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and leader of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti. Key among those efforts were those of Saudi Arabia and the United States in Jeddah, as well as the African Union and the East African gathering of IGAD, which concluded its own meeting on Monday.
The aim of the summit, hosted by President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, “will be to reach effective mechanisms, with the participation of neighbouring countries, to settle the crisis in Sudan peacefully, in coordination with other regional and international tracks to resolve the crisis,” according to a statement of the presidency.
It added that the meeting is being held “in light of the effort by President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi to formulate a common vision for the countries directly neighbouring Sudan, to take steps to solve the crisis and stop the bloodshed of the Sudanese people.” Leaders of Sudan’s neighbours will also tackle how “to limit the continuing grave effects of the crisis on neighbouring countries and the security and stability of the entire region,” the statement added.
Egypt has historically enjoyed close relations with Sudan, and is already the largest recipient of Sudanese refugees who have been welcomed and treated as residents. Even before the fighting started, Egypt hosted over four million Sudanese people, many from South Sudan, who have been living here before the country became independent in 2011. Equally important, the two countries share a common lifeline: the Nile River; and Egyptians and Sudanese refer to themselves as Abnaa Al-Neel, or children of the Nile.
The arrival of more than 220,000 people from Sudan over the past three months highlights the deep ties that bind the two countries. The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) said in a recent statement, “since the beginning of the crisis, Egypt has received the largest number of arrivals from the war in Sudan… The numbers are increasing rapidly with the arrival of up to 5,000 people per day to the borders of Qastal and Arqin crossings. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees expects that the total arrivals to Egypt will reach 350,000 people within the next six months.”
What might also give Egypt a privilege, and perhaps a chance for success in this renewed effort to end the war in Sudan is that it maintains positive relations with all the various parties and factions there. Since the war broke out, Cairo has stressed that any solution to the crisis must be reached by the Sudanese people themselves, without negative intervention by outside parties.
In this context, Egypt has maintained open contacts with both warring sides, and supports efforts by key Arab countries, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as close strategic partners in the United States and Europe to end the fighting. Our hope is that the Cairo summit will be a successful first step towards helping end the ongoing suffering of the Sudanese people.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 13 July, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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