UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS
By Adel Abdelrheem and Mohammad Sio
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) – Sudan recalled its ambassador from Kenya on Thursday in protest against Nairobi’s hosting of a meeting to discuss the formation of a parallel government.
A Foreign Ministry statement said Kamal Jabara was summoned “for consultations in response to Kenya’s hosting of meetings involving the Rapid Support Forces ((RSF) militia and its allies, in a hostile move against Sudan.”
The ministry urged Nairobi to abandon what it called a “dangerous course” that threatens regional peace and security and promotes terrorism and genocide.
Sudan earlier accused Kenya’s presidency of “embracing and encouraging a conspiracy” to establish an RSF-led government.
Opposition groups and armed factions fighting the Sudanese army met in Nairobi on Tuesday to form a parallel government under the banner of the “The Founding Alliance of Sudan,” with RSF participation.
The Sudanese government denounced the meeting in Kenya as a violation of the principle of good neighborliness.
On Wednesday, the Kenyan Foreign Ministry defended the meeting, saying it was part of its efforts, in coordination with the UN and the African Union, to find a solution to end the war in Sudan.
The Sudanese army and 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.