The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development says that it is well placed to negotiate for the 31-month-old Sudan war despite criticism that it had abandoned its primary role to the US, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The war in Sudan that broke out in April 2023 is now running out of hand, with both the protagonists—the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF)—continuing to commit war crimes as the world looks on.

In an exclusive interview, IGAD Special Envoy to Sudan, Lawrence Korbandy, said that Igad is deeply in the mix of negotiations, even as the US and Saudi Arabia continue to hog the limelight.

“Igad is firmly part of the May 2023 Jeddah agreement that called for an immediate ceasefire, opening up humanitarian corridors and protection of civilians. The negotiations need not be led by Igad for it to be seen as effective,” said Mr Korbandy.

Yet, since June 2023, when the ruling Council led by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan rejected Kenya’s president William Ruto leading the Igad “Quartet” mediation that included leaders from South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Djibouti, the regional body has since remained silent.

Gen al-Burhan maintained President Ruto could not be trusted as a neutral arbiter due to his business links with the RSF commander, Gen Mohamed Hamdan  Dagalo, commonly known as ‘Hemedti’.

Mr Korbandy argues that since the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have better regional and international influence, Igad’s role is to play behind-the-scenes diplomacy to persuade the protagonists to implement the agreements.

“The major challenge has been that there was a lack of a monitoring body to enforce the implementation of the Jeddah agreement, which called for SAF to go back to the barracks and the RSF to stay in the cantonment areas. The agreement was silent on whether it is the AU, the UN or Igad to enforce the implementation.” Said Mr Korbandy. He conceded that financial implications have been the main challenge

However, he pointed out that both SAF and RSF have been in a fighting mood, with each believing that a military option is the way out. Mid this week, Sudan Chargé d’Affaires to Nairobi, Dr Mohammed Osman Akasha, said that the Military Council will no longer negotiate with the RSF and instead seeks military victory through a military option.

As Igad sits pretty waiting for the international community to force the parties to the negotiating table, the RSF entered El-Fasher, northern Darfur on October 26, embarking on house-to-house executions, public hangings, and mass burials.

Women and girls are being raped in front of their families, while children are killed while clinging to their mothers. Even hospitalised patients were executed in their beds, alongside medical staff who tried to save them.

Though the various humanitarian agencies, including the UN, have fingered out both parties for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, on November 12 said that the Trump Administration is ready to designate the RSF as a terrorist organisation for committing “horrific atrocities,” including sexual violence.

“We have been sponsoring this quartet initiative along with Egypt, UAE and Saudi Arabia, but the fundamental problem is that the RSF agrees to things and never follows through with it, and now what we have is a calamity in our hands,” said Mr Rubio.

He demanded that the international community pay attention to the fact that the militia is practising the same approach and besieging the cities of Dilling, Kadugli and Babanusa, suggesting that the way out is for countries supplying RSF with weapons to cut off the link.

He, however, declined to outrightly name the UAE as a major supplier of RSF, saying that “we know who they are and that is why they are part of the quartet”.

However, Mr Korbandy believes that ultimately the SAF and RSF will come to an agreement, and that is why Igad’s efforts behind the scenes should not be dismissed.

“We in Igad believe that the military option is not the way to go, and ultimately, the two parties will come to a peaceful resolution. We saw similar hardline positions in the war between the North and the South, but ultimately the two parties agreed to a negotiated settlement,” said Mr Korbandy.