Sudan suspends membership in IGAD regional bloc

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,

Announcement by army-aligned foreign ministry comes after it accused bloc of ‘violating’ country’s sovereignty by inviting RSF chief to a summit.

The government of war-ravaged Sudan says it has suspended its membership in the East African regional bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

The announcement on Saturday was made by the foreign ministry, which is loyal to army chief and Sudan’s de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

The Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group have been fighting for nine months in a vicious war that has killed thousands of people and displaced more than seven million.

The government had already announced this week that it was freezing its relations with IGAD ahead of a meeting of the bloc in Uganda on Thursday after it had invited RSF head Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo to the gathering. It accused the bloc of “violating Sudan’s sovereignty” and setting a “dangerous precedent”.

IGAD, in parallel with the United States and Saudi Arabia, had repeatedly attempted to mediate between the two warring parties, but to no avail.

This is a developing story. More to come…