South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has received the head of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, in the capital Pretoria to discuss ways to achieve peace in the North African country, the South African presidency said in a press release.
"The President welcomed the briefing from General Dagalo and commended the central role of the African Union and IGAD under the chairship of Djibouti in mediating between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and participation of the people of Sudan, and civil society in finding a lasting solution to the security and political challenges," the office said.
President Ramaphosa also supported the upcoming face-to-face dialogue between Dagalo and the Chairman of the Sudanese Sovereign Council and SAF Commander, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and reiterated the need for an immediate ceasefire and consultations aimed at bringing a definitive end to hostilities in the country.
Last week, Dagalo embarked on an African tour, his first confirmed appearance outside Sudan since the conflict between the paramilitary forces and the Sudanese army began in mid-April. The RSF leader visited Uganda, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya and finally South Africa. According to him, the purpose of the trip was to discuss the situation in Sudan with countries of the region and to express RSF's openness to peace talks with the SAF.
Dagalo and al-Burhan were supposed to meet face-to-face and sign a cessation of hostilities agreement in Djibouti on Thursday, December 28, 2023. However, the meeting was postponed to an unspecified date in January.
Violent clashes between the SAF and the RSF erupted in April last year. Since then, the parties have implemented a series of temporary nationwide ceasefires, but none have contributed to a resolution of the conflict. In late October, delegations from both sides resumed negotiations in the Saudi city of Jeddah, but hostilities continued throughout the country. Finally, the Jeddah talks were suspended again after fighting intensified in central Sudan in early December.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said months of fighting in the North African country could lead to disease outbreaks and a catastrophic collapse of the health system. The number of internally displaced people in Sudan has surpassed 7 million, according to the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM).