Sudanese Parties Accept South Sudan’s Mediation Initiatives to End Conflict

By Xinhua 

October 26, 2023

Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council and various political parties have endorsed South Sudan’s mediation efforts to resolve the ongoing conflict in Sudan.

The parties involved in the conflict made this endorsement in a communique issued Wednesday evening in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, at the conclusion of a two-day consultative meeting.

Dhieu Mathok Diing Wol, South Sudan’s minister of investment and deputy head of the mediation committee responsible for brokering the 2020 Juba peace agreement between the Sudanese government and various opposition parties, said that the meeting supported President Salva Kiir’s engagement and mediation efforts to bring peace between the warring factions.

“As a nation, we have a role to play in this conflict. South Sudan cannot stand idly by while our neighboring country faces turmoil,” Mathok told journalists.

The meeting was attended by members of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council, led by Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, as well as 14 political parties. The purpose of the gathering was to review the 2020 Juba peace agreement and seek solutions to end the conflict that has been ongoing since April 15.

Mathok expressed hope for the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to reach an agreement on a cessation of hostilities, the establishment of a humanitarian corridor, and a political resolution to the conflict.

Additionally, Mathok said that Juba intends to host a peace forum that will bring together all Sudanese political forces, civil society, and political activists to discuss ways to bring an end to the conflict in Sudan.

Tut Gatluak, the head of the South Sudan mediation team on Sudan, said that they had invited parties to the Juba peace agreement to engage in discussions and find a mutually agreeable solution to the Sudan conflict.