Egypt Throws Weight behind Ongoing UN Efforts in Sudan

H-Tayea

On Saturday, Egypt underlined backing for ongoing UN efforts to restore stability in Sudan by launching inter-Sudanese dialogue aiming at staving off looming chaos in this Arab country.

"Egypt is closely monitoring the latest developments in Sudan. Sudan's security and stability are an integral part of the security and stability of Egypt and the region," the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Egypt urged all Sudanese parties to work together in order to handpick a new caretaker prime minister and set up a new government at an early date, voicing willingness to provide this government with all possible means.

Earlier today, the United Nations said that it would invite Sudanese military leaders, political parties and other groups to take part in a “political process” aimed at ending a crisis unleashed by a coup in October.

U.N. mediation in the weeks after the coup succeeded in reinstating Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, but his resignation last week deepened uncertainty around Sudan’s political future and a transition towards elections scheduled for 2023. read more

Neighborhood-based resistance committees, political parties and other pro-democracy groups have carried out an ongoing campaign of protests under a “no negotiation” slogan, and crackdowns by security forces have left at least 60 dead.

Unless a new course towards a transition and credible elections can be charted, more instability within and beyond Sudanese borders is likely, analysts and diplomats have said.

“All measures taken to date have not succeeded in restoring the course of this transformation,” U.N. Special Representative Volker Perthes said in a statement announcing the launch of the U.N.-facilitated process.

“The … repeated violence against largely peaceful protesters has only served to deepen the mistrust among all political parties in Sudan,” he added.

Sudan’s military, armed movements, political parties, civil society and resistance committees will be invited to participate, the U.N. statement said.