“Mind-boggling! Yoweri Museveni’s daring claim: Sudan must be in the hands of the public, not the military”

In a display of high perplexity, Ugandan President Museveni fiercely demanded a ceasefire in Sudan and issued a stern warning to the country’s army to respect the sovereignty of its people. The President’s impassioned plea for peace came after his meeting with Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council envoy, Dafallah Al-Haj Ali, where the two leaders reportedly discussed the ongoing conflict between two rival generals fighting for control in the North African country.

Asserting that the land of Sudan belongs to the people, Museveni emphasized the need for a ceasefire to facilitate the selection of leaders by the people of the land. The call for peace came in response to the latest round of fighting which began on April 14 between the national army led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by his former deputy and co-coup leader, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo ‘Hemedti.’

The conflict between the two generals stemmed from their disagreement over the integration of Hemedti’s RSF fighters into the Sudanese army. Reports suggest that such integration would weaken him both militarily and politically. Despite numerous cease-fire agreements brokered by the UN, the AU and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), both sides have continued to violate them.

International media has reported explosions in Khartoum, causing hundreds of fatalities and rendering thousands homeless. Museveni issued a stern warning against sectarianism, advising the Sudanese leadership to focus on interest politics rather than identity politics. Uganda is closely monitoring the security situation in Sudan, with particular concerns about the conflict spreading to the region. The country last month successfully evacuated over 200 of its citizens trapped in Khartoum, but many remain there in danger.