Port Sudan: Sudan’s Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday the recall of its ambassador to Kenya, Kamal Gebara, in protest against the official reception of Rapid Support Forces commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo “Hemedti” on Wednesday.
This came according to a statement by Foreign Minister Ali Al-Sadiq, quoted by the Sudanese News Agency, after receiving “Hemedti” in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, which he visited, Wednesday, as part of a foreign tour that also included Uganda, Ethiopia and Djibouti.
“Sudan summoned its ambassador in Nairobi for consultations, in protest against the official reception organized by the Kenyan government to the leader of the rebel militia (referring to Hemedti) when he visited it yesterday,” al-Sadiq said.
Nairobi “forgets the horrific violations committed by its dissolved forces (a reference to rapid support), and the destruction they have inflicted on infrastructure, the country’s resources and citizens’ property”, he said.
“Consultation with the ambassador will cover all possibilities for the outcome of Sudan’s relations with Kenya, which since the outbreak of the treacherous war in the country has been following the rebellion and hosting its leaders and supporters, as well as colluding with hostile regional powers against Sudan,” he said.
Neither Kenya nor the RSF commented on the Sudanese Foreign Ministry’s announcement until 16:30 (GMT).
On Wednesday, Kenyan President William Ruto said on the X platform: “I had talks with the commander of the Rapid Support Forces at the presidential headquarters in Nairobi, and Kenya appreciates the commitment of the RSF and its commander to end the conflict in Sudan through dialogue.”
In recent days, Hemedti met with the leaders of Uganda Yoweri Museveni, Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed and Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh as part of an undisclosed foreign tour.
During the first week of January, Hemedti is expected to meet in Djibouti with the head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in a meeting that may pave the way for an agreement on the integration of the army and the “rapid support” and the possibility of resolving the crisis if the two sides make concessions without preconditions, according to observers.
Since mid-April 2023, the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been fighting a war that has left more than 12,000 dead and more than 6 million displaced and refugees, according to the United Nations.
The conflict in Sudan widened with the announcement of the “rapid support” on December 18, its control of the city of Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira state, after battles with the army that lasted about 4 days, in the state adjacent to Khartoum from the south, which is densely populated, and was a destination for those displaced from the fighting in Khartoum.
As the battles moved to the island, the fighting expanded, as the latter joined 9 states that have been witnessing continuous clashes since mid-April 2023, namely the capital Khartoum and the states of the Darfur and Kordofan regions, out of 18 states.
(Anatolia)
