Museveni, US Envoy Perriello Discuss Regional Security and Sudan Conflict

Summary:

• Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni met with US special envoy Thomas Perriello to discuss regional issues, including the Sudan conflict. This follows the African Union’s call for an extraordinary summit to address the escalating war between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces. Museveni, leading an AU committee, aims to facilitate direct negotiations for a ceasefire.

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KAMPALA, (Examiner) – Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni met with the United States special envoy for Sudan, Thomas Perriello, at State House in Entebbe on Saturday to discuss pressing regional matters.

“Among other regional matters of mutual interest, we discussed the implementation of the African Union Peace and Security Council communiqué on Sudan,” Museveni shared on the social media platform X.

This high-level meeting comes just two weeks after the African Union’s Peace and Security Council (PSC) called for an extraordinary summit to address the escalating conflict in Sudan between the Sudanese Army (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The decision for the summit was made during the 1218th meeting of the PSC, chaired by Museveni on June 21, with key figures such as Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the AU Commission, and other regional leaders in attendance.

The PSC emphasized that a ceasefire in Sudan could only be achieved through direct negotiations between the primary actors in the conflict. To this end, an Ad-hoc Presidential Committee, led by President Museveni and comprising one Head of State and Government from each African region, has been established to facilitate these crucial face-to-face engagements.

The Council has called upon the Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council and the RSF Commander to meet under the auspices of the AU and IGAD without further delay. Previous attempts by IGAD and the Saudi-US-led Jeddah process to organize such a meeting failed due to accusations of bias from Sudanese military leaders.

Additionally, the PSC has commended the efforts of the AU High-Level Panel on Sudan and IGAD in organizing the upcoming inclusive Sudan political dialogue process in Addis Ababa from July 10 to 15, 2024. It also recognized Egypt’s ongoing efforts to facilitate dialogue among Sudanese actors in Cairo, scheduled for early July 2024.

The regional body has urged all Sudanese actors to actively support the political dialogue aimed at achieving a durable, people-driven solution to the conflict and restoring constitutional democratic order in Sudan.

Concerning the humanitarian situation, the Council has demanded an immediate and unconditional ceasefire to end the suffering of the Sudanese people. It also called upon the belligerents to grant humanitarian access and protection to workers, ensuring the provision of emergency assistance to those in need.