German foreign minister demands solution on Sudan power struggle

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has called for increased efforts to find a negotiated solution to the power struggle in Sudan, ahead of a visit to the region.

Together with partners in East Africa, she wants to explore ways of "finally getting the two generals who are enemies in Sudan to the negotiating table so that they do not drag the people of Sudan further into the abyss and destabilize the region further," Baerbock said on Wednesday before departing on a three-day visit to Djibouti, Kenya and South Sudan.

The de facto head of Sudan, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his former deputy and leader of the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, have been fighting for power since April 2023.

Baerbock demanded: "We must increase the pressure on both sides - through sanctions, by holding them accountable for their crimes against the civilian population and by influencing their supporters from abroad."

The states of the region, the regional organization IGAD and the African Union have a central role to play in international mediation efforts, she said. "Over 12,000 deaths and around 7.5 million displaced persons are the brutal result of this conflict," she added.

Baerbock is scheduled to meet Djibouti Foreign Minister Mahamud Ali Jussuf in the afternoon. Baerbock then wanted to speak with Workneh Gebeyehu, executive director of the IGAD community of East African states.

In addition to Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda are members of the IGAD. Sudan has currently suspended its membership. The group is endeavouring to hold direct talks for a ceasefire in Sudan.