Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has criticised President William Ruto’s administration for allegedly hosting the Rapid Support Forces (RFS), a rebel group currently battling the Sudanese army for control of the country.
RFS on Tuesday, February 18, held an event in Nairobi, as a headstart towards the formation of an alliance consisting of political players and armed groups to strengthen RFS’s dominance in Sudan.
Reports indicate that a treaty is expected to be signed in the next three days to allow RFS to form a separate government and control select regions in Sudan.
However, the meeting held in Nairobi did not augur well with Sudan government with the country’s foreign minister claiming the event contradicted Kenya’s commitment to ending violence in Sudan.
Military officers belonging to the Rapid Support Forces during a past meeting.
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Rapid Support Forces
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs regrets the Kenyan government’s disregard for its obligations under international law by hosting the event of signing a so-called “political agreement” between the terrorist Janjaweed militia responsible for ongoing acts of genocide in Sudan,” read part of the statement by Sudan Foreign Affairs minister.
The minister further accused Kenya of orchestrating division among countries within the continent by blatantly interfering with the internal affairs of some African states.
According to the foreign minister, the main aim of yesterday’s meeting was to establish a parallel government in some parts of the Sudan territory and overturn the current regime.
Further, Kenya’s decision to allow RFS in its territory was a clear breach of the United Nations Charter, the Constitutive Act of the African Union, and the established principles of the contemporary international order.
“Given that the stated objective of this agreement is to establish a parallel government on part of Sudanese territory, this move promotes the dismembering of African states, violates their sovereignty, and interferes in their internal affairs,” the minister claimed.
“Hosting leaders of the terrorist RSF militia and allowing them to conduct political and propaganda activities while they continue to perpetrate genocide, massacre civilians on an ethnic basis, attack IDP camps, and commit acts of rape constitutes an endorsement of and complicity in these heinous crimes.”
Meanwhile, the RFS meeting in Kenya’s capital was reportedly postponed yesterday but is expected to be held for the next two days after which the signing of the Charter for Government of Peace and Unity deal will be signed.
The attendees of the meeting included the sanctioned RFS deputy commander Abdulrahim Hamdan, who is the brother of the RFS commander General Mohamed Hamdan.
The move which has now triggered a fresh diplomatic row has sparked debate among various political stakeholders who now accused Ruto’s administration of mishandling the matter in Sudan.
President William Ruto attending the United Nations Security Council meeting in New York, the United States.
PCS