DJIBOUTI – IGAD Chairman and Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh has convened an Extraordinary IGAD Summit on Sudan and the Ethiopia-Somalia diplomatic row.
In a letter by Djibouti Foreign Ministry to member states and the IGAD Secretariat on January 11, Djibouti said the meeting will be held on January 18, 2024 in Uganda.
“Following consultations by the chair, His Excellency Yoweri Museveni, President of the Republic pf Uganda, has kindly accepted to host the venue of this Extraordinary Summit, which will take place on the 18th January 2014 in Uganda,” the letter read in part.
Vincent Waiswa Bagiire, Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uganda, confirmed the meeting, saying it will be held in Entebbe.
“Heads of state of member countries will meet in Entebbe to discuss regional peace and security among other issues, ” Waiswa said.
The meeting follows the eruption of the Horn of Africa, following the New Year signing of an MoU between Ethiopia and Somaliland, a breakaway state Somalia considers its territory.
The move severed diplomatic relations between Ethiopia and Somalia, with Mogadishu recalling its envoy to Addis Ababa over what it termed an aggression on its territorial integrity.
Somalia immediately sought international support against Ethiopia, garnering it from the US, Turkey, China, Egypt, Sudan and the League of Arab States, among others.
It also accused IGAD Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu of being biased towards Ethiopia in its statement on the matter.
Sudan, on the other hand, recalled its Ambassador to Kenya over the reception of Commander of the Rapid Support Forces Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo in Nairobi.
Terming Dagalo as a leader of the rebel militia, Foreign Minister-designate Ambassador Ali Al-Sadiq said Nairobi offered Dagalo an elaborate reception, “forgetting the terrible violations committed by his disbanded forces and the destruction they caused on infrastructure, the country’s capabilities, and citizens’ property”.
The minister added in a statement to SUNA, the state media agency, that the consultation with the ambassador will cover all possibilities for the outcome of Sudan’s relations with Kenya.
He said that since the outbreak of the war in the country in April, Nairobi has been continuing the rebellion by hosting RSF leaders and supporters, in addition to conspiring with hostile regional powers against Sudan.
Dagalo met with President William Ruto at State House Nairobi where they held talks over the conflict that broke out in April last year.
He received an almost head of state reception at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport complete with flower girls and troupe of dancers, while he had flag protocols set up at State House Nairobi for the photo op.
Sudan junta President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has criticised African leaders who have hosted Rapid Support Forces Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo in the past week.
Burhan, who is also the Sudan Armed Forces chief, castigated presidents Ruto (Kenya) Cyril Ramaphosa (South Africa) and Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for receiving Dagalo as a statesman in their capitals during his visits, as well Sudanese politicians such as former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok who met him in Ethiopia.
