African Leaders thwart the Egyptian plot to lift the suspension of Al Burhan’s Authority

The African Union Peace and Security Council meeting on Thursday rejected a proposal submitted by the Arab Republic of Egypt to lift the suspension of Al-Burhan’s Authority. African leaders opposed the Egyptian proposal, stating that certain procedures and conditions must be met before Sudan’s membership suspension can be lifted, conditions which Sudan has yet to fulfill.

Sources indicated that the Egyptian Foreign Minister opened the Peace and Security Council session by demanding the lifting of Sudan’s suspension. However, African leaders countered his proposal and rejected it. Moreover, prior to the aforementioned session, the Egyptian Foreign Minister arranged an informal meeting between the Sudanese Foreign Minister and several African Ministers in an effort to urge them to lift the suspension. Nevertheless, a number of said African leaders and ministers boycotted this meeting.

Furthermore, the final statement of the Peace and Security Council session was issued in a manner that can be described as compromising -saving face for the Egyptian government, whose proposal was rejected in the Council’s session. In addition, the latter emphasized the necessity of maintaining the suspension of Al-Burhan’s Authority, stressing, in turn, the importance of monitoring the situation in Sudan.

On Wednesday, diplomatic sources informed (Saheeh Sudan) that Egypt and Algeria are continuing to pressure for the lifting of Sudan’s suspension from the African Union, sharing, in addition, that the two countries are attempting to push for a resolution to lift the suspension at the Peace and Security Council meeting scheduled for Thursday.

According to the sources, African opposition has successfully thwarted the Egyptian and Algerian efforts to lift the suspension and recognize the Port Sudan government. African leaders reaffirmed their firm stance on maintaining the suspension of Sudan’s membership and not recognizing any government.

As early as last Monday, a high-level delegation from the Civil Democratic Alliance of Revolutionary Forces (Sumoud), headed by Dr. Abdalla Hamdok, visited the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to hold several meetings with senior African officials at the African Union.

Additionally, Sources indicated that during its meetings over the past two days with African leaders in Addis Ababa, the high-level (Sumoud) delegation emphasized that the Alliance’s priority is to end the war, provide humanitarian aid, and address the situation of refugees as well as internally displaced persons. According to the sources, they stressed that discussions about a government in Sudan should only take place after the political process that follows the cessation of hostilities.