Museveni warns Sudan army against personalising country
Thursday May 11 2023
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. He has condemned the fighting in Sudan, calling it a misuse of force that undermines all progress made through dialogue over the past few months. PHOTO | GUILLEM SARTORIO | AFP
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has renewed calls for a ceasefire in Sudan and warned the army against personalising the country.
Museveni on Wednesday met the Special Envoy of the Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council in Sudan, Dafallah Al-Haj Ali, at state house in Entebbe, where the two are said to have discussed the conflict in the Northern African country where two rival generals are fighting for control.
“A ceasefire is critical to allow peace, for people to elect their leaders as owners of the country. The country does not belong to the Sudan Army, it belongs to the people,” Museveni tweeted.
Sudan was plunged into the latest round of fighting on April 14 between the country's national army led by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commanded by his former deputy and fellow coup leader, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo 'Hemedti'.
Read: Heavy fighting persists in Sudan despite truce
The former allies disagreed on plans to integrate Hemedti's RSF fighters into the mainstream Sudanese army, which would reportedly weaken him militarily and politically.
Ceasefires violated
The warring sides have repeatedly violated ceasefire agreements, with neither side yielding to truce calls made by the UN, AU and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) among others.
International media reported explosions in Khartoum on Wednesday morning, with hundreds of deaths and thousands being displaced.
Museveni also cautioned the Sudanese leadership against sectarianism.
“I reiterated my earlier advice that they should do away with politics of identity and concentrate on politics of interest,” Museveni said.
On April 17, he condemned the fighting as a misuse of force that undermines all progress made through dialogue over the last many months.
Read: Sudan near breaking point, UN warns
“We cannot keep papering over mistakes of unprincipled politics year after year,” state house quoted him in a statement issued following an emergency virtual Igad member states’ meeting.
Kampala has been keeping tabs on the delicate security situation in Sudan, with heightened concerns of the conflict spilling over into the region.
Uganda last month successfully evacuated slightly over 200 of its citizens who had been trapped in Khartoum, but some remain in the country.