Sudan suspends membership in 8-country eastern African trade bloc

By Mohamed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – Sudan's government on Saturday announced that it is suspending its membership in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

A statement issued by the Foreign Ministry in the capital Khartoum, which is loyal to the army led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, said the decision is a reaction to the eight-country eastern African trade bloc's failure to respect Sudan’s decision to stop involvement in the country’s internal affairs.

Sudan has been mired by fighting between the army led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the country’s ruling Sovereign Council, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April.

The Foreign Ministry statement comes a day after the IGAD discussed the conflict in Sudan in the Ugandan capital Kampala where it invited the leader of paramilitary Rapid Support Forces Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

“Sudan boycotted the summit, and the final communique of the meeting included language that Sudan deemed disrespectful to its sovereignty and offensive to the families of victims of atrocities committed by rebel militias,” the Sudanese government said in a statement.

Several cease-fire agreements brokered by Saudi and US mediators have failed to end the violence.