Al-Burhan rejects Ruto as head of IGAD mediation, says Kiir is the right person

JUBA, JUNE 14, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – The Sudanese government has opposed the replacement of President Salva Kiir Mayardit as head of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) mediation team on the Sudanese conflict.

In a communique on Tuesday marking end of the IGAD summit in Djibouti, the regional bloc which also mediated South Sudan’s revitalized peace agreement said that Kenyan President William Ruto will take over from Kiir who was assigned immediately following the outbreak of the Sudanese conflict.

But in a statement on Tuesday, the Sudanese foreign ministry expressed disagreement with the decision of the regional bloc and demanded that President Salva Kiir Mayardit is maintained as head of the mediation team.

“[Sudan] expressed its disagreement and objection to a number of paragraphs that were mentioned in the draft final statement of the summit due to the fact that they were not discussed and agreed upon, and the delegation called on the IGAD Secretariat to delete them,” the foreign ministry statement said.

“These paragraphs relate to changing the presidency of the IGAD Committee, as the delegation demanded that the chairman be retained as Salva Kiir Mayardit to chair the committee and demanded the deletion of any reference to the subject of mediation,” it added.

IGAD is currently leading efforts to bring the Sudanese parties to a negotiating table. A four-member mediation team comprising Ethiopia, South Sudan, Kenya, and Djibouti is organizing talks between the Sudanese rivals.