ADDS MORE DETAILS
By Adel Abdelrheem and Mohammad Sio
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) - Sudan accused Kenya on Thursday of supporting and encouraging a conspiracy to establish a parallel government for the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.
Sudan then recalled its ambassador from Kenya “for consultations.”
The Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning Kenya’s hosting of a meeting that included political forces and RSF leaders, which Sudan viewed as an attempt to form “a parallel government.”
“We have seen the press statement issued by the Kenyan Foreign Ministry attempting to justify President William Ruto’s disgraceful act of embracing and encouraging a conspiracy to establish a government for the genocidal militia (the RSF) and its affiliates in violation of Sudan’s sovereignty and national security. This poses a grave threat to regional peace and security and undermines good neighborly relations,” it said.
“What is happening in Nairobi is a series of meetings between the terrorist RSF militia and its affiliates aimed at forming a parallel government to the legitimate existing government.”
The Foreign Ministry urged the Kenyan presidency to reverse the “dangerous course of action that threatens regional peace and security while encouraging terrorism, genocide and gross human rights violations.”
It said that “Sudan has already begun taking measures to protect its national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Sudan’s Foreign Ministry recalled its ambassador to Kenya, Kamal Jabara, “for consultations in response to Nairobi’s hosting of meetings involving the Rapid Support Forces militia and its allies, in a hostile move against Sudan.”
The Kenyan Foreign Ministry defended the meeting, saying it was part of efforts in coordination with the UN and the African Union to find a solution to end the war in Sudan.
Opposition groups and armed factions fighting the Sudanese army met in Nairobi on Tuesday to form a parallel government under the banner of “The Founding Alliance of Sudan” with the RSF’s participation.
The Sudanese army and the RSF have been fighting a war since mid-April 2023 that has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced 14 million, according to the UN and local authorities. Research from US universities, however, estimates the death toll at around 130,000.
Calls by the international community and the UN for an end to the war are mounting, with warnings of an impending humanitarian catastrophe as millions face famine and death due to food shortages. The conflict has spread to 13 of Sudan’s 18 states.