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- Sudanese rebel leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo has told President Cyril Ramaphosa he is ready to stop the war in his country.
- Dagalo has been to Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Uganda to meet civilian leaders.
- Since the start of the war in April last year, almost six million people have been displaced, with 20% fleeing the country.
The leader of the Sudanese rebel group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan "Hemedti" Dagalo, met President Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria on Thursday as he continues with his tour of meeting civilian leaders on the continent.
In a statement after the meeting, Dagalo, who was the deputy chairperson of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of Sudan as part of a military ruling coalition, said he gave Ramaphosa the context of the ongoing civil war that began in April last year.
"I provided a comprehensive explanation to his excellency [Ramaphosa] about the reasons for the outbreak of war in the country, the parties behind it that support its continuation, the extent of the destruction and deliberate sabotage that affected basic infrastructure, and the killing and displacement of thousands of civilian victims due to aircraft bombing," he added.
Dagalo is at war with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan who is the de facto head of state.
Numerous peace initiatives, including the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) regional body-led initiative, have fallen flat in the past.
But in mid-December last year, IGAD claimed to have made headway in pushing for a peace deal with Dagalo and Al Burhan agreeing to a face-to-face meeting.
Djibouti president and IGAD chairperson Ismail Omar Guelleh met with Dagalo before New Year's Day before embarking on an Africa tour that has so far taken him to IGAD countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Uganda.
In South Africa, he told Ramaphosa about "our full readiness to stop the war."
In recent years, South Africa has played a central role in mediating conflicts on the continent, the highlight being ending the civil war in Ethiopia's Tigray region in November 2022.
Dagalo sees South Africa in good standing in that regard.
He said:
When the guns started blazing in Khartoum in April last year, the fight between the RSF and SAF was largely viewed as a mafia contest over spoils.
However, it soon degenerated into Africa's most violent and destructive conflict.
According to the International Organisation for Migration, since April last year, 5 855 848 individuals or 1 167 702 households have been recently internally displaced.
An estimated 1 523 350 mixed cross-border movements have been made into neighbouring countries by those fleeing the war, finding themselves refugees.The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
