German foreign minister urges 'pressure' on Sudan warring sides
Baerbock's multi-day trip will take her to South Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti, where she will also discuss ways to protect shipping in the Red Sea from attacks by Yemen's Huthi rebels.
Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock began Wednesday a visit to East Africa, where she will push for sanctions and accountability to force warring parties in Sudan to negotiate for peace.
Baerbock's multi-day trip will take her to South Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti, where she will also discuss ways to protect shipping in the Red Sea from attacks by Yemen's Huthi rebels.
More To Read
- Sudan to cut ties with UAE, defence council says
- UK and EU pledge over $700 million in aid as Sudan marks two years of civil war
- Sudan’s war isn’t nearly over – Armed civilian groups are rising
- Sudan army surrounds Khartoum airport and nearby areas, military sources say
- Sudan to form new government after regaining Khartoum, say military sources
- Sudan foreign minister hints at shift in Kenya’s stance on Khartoum as army gains
Since April 2023, the war in Sudan pitting forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commonly known as Hemeti, who commands the Rapid Support Forces, has killed more than 13,000 people and displaced 7.5 million.
The images from Darfur brought back grim memories of the genocide 20 years ago, Baerbock said.
"Together with my partners in Djibouti, Kenya and South Sudan, I will explore possibilities to bring generals Burhan and Hemeti finally to the negotiating table, so that they don't drag the people in Sudan deeper into the abyss and destabilise the region any further," she said in a statement Wednesday before her trip.
"For me it is clear that we must raise the pressure on both sides -- through sanctions, by holding them accountable for their violations against the civil population and by influencing their supporters abroad."
Previous mediation attempts have yielded only brief truces, and even those were systematically violated.
Beyond political talks, Baerbock will hold meetings with members of Sudan's civil society.
"Sudan will only find long-term peace with a civil democratic government," she said, emphasising that the conflict should not become a "forgotten crisis".
Sudan's army-aligned government this month spurned an invitation to an East African summit organised by the IGAD East African bloc and subsequently suspended its membership in the group for engaging with Daglo, the commander of rival paramilitary forces.
Both sides have been accused of war crimes, including the indiscriminate shelling of residential areas, torture and arbitrary detention of civilians.
Story by AFP
Top Stories Today
- DCI orders Philip Aroko to surrender himself over MP Were’s murder
- Senators push for suspension of Sh23.5bn parks project
- Treasury CS Mbadi: No legal cap on number of presidential advisors
- Kenya records sharp rise in drug busts, firearm recoveries decline - KNBS
- Private sector activities rise to a 27-month high in April
- Counties cry foul over Sh405bn budget, demand Sh536bn to avert crisis
- High interest rates, poor weather hold back Kenya’s economic progress
- Revealed: Insider deals and offshore links driving up Kenya’s energy costs
- UHC medics reject Duale’s directive on payroll transfer to counties
- Those behind dad’s killing must be unmasked, MP Were’s son vows
- People trusted by MP Were helped plan his murder - Murkomen
- Court halts auction of Tuju’s properties over Sh4.5bn loan dispute
- Four filmmakers linked to BBC documentary released on Sh10,000 bail
- City lawyer linked to Sh1.5bn bank heist released on Sh30m bond
- EACC detectives arrest three senior NYS officials, proxies in Sh2bn graft probe
- 2024 records highest cases of extrajudicial killings in last six years - report
- US offers Sh1.29bn bounty for terror suspect linked to Manda Bay attack
- Half of Kenyans unsure about credibility of 2027 polls - TIFA
- Kenyans back Amadi for IEBC Chair but lack faith selection panel - poll
- Delays in job placements abroad due to logistics, not fraud - CS Mutua
