Brighton Chiseva
War ravaged Sudan has called for the Africa Union and the Pan African Parliament (PAP) to intervene and stop the war which has claimed a number of civilian lives including women and children.
Ambassador of the Republic of Sudan to South Africa Osama Mahjoub Hassan Dirar called upon the AU and PAP to help quell down the conflict which has threatened the stability of the region.
The ambassador was addressing PAP’s Sixth Parliament at the parliament’s headquarters in Midrand, South Africa.
“We are appealing to AU and this Parliament to help us to restore civilian parliament of Sudan that was removed. Sudan is part of you and has been contributing to AU since its enactment.
“I have submitted our position paper which we have detailed our situation. I want you to read it and understand our situation then adopt it,” he said.
He went on to say the situation seems to be internal but needed external help saying they were appealing to the international community to intervene before it’s too late.
“The tragic situation in our country has revealed true lessons to us, to have the government we aspire to, we need support from you and the international community to stop the gun and rebuild our country, if we fail to stop it now the impact will spill into the entire region hence your immediate support is needed,” he added.
Dirar went on to thank PAP for the platform to express their concerns saying Sudanese PAP members were not present because of the crisis back home so they counted on PAP as their voice.
“We accept support from anyone and we want to thank PAP for this opportunity to express our situation and the recognition of Sudan in this parliament though our parliamentarians could not make it here because of the situation back home. The people of Sudan count on you. You are their representatives, so we call upon you to voice your position and that will be heard by the Sudanese people,” said Dirar.
Parliamentarians went on to call for action by AU saying they should be at the fore front of the ongoing negotiations between the two generals who are fighting for control saying they cannot allow America and Arabia to lead the talks while they watch.
One parliamentarian from Uganda said AU should have mechanisms to deal with early warning signs of conflict in Africa than to react after a situation has already exploded.
“AU should have mechanisms and institutions to detect and deal with warning signs than wait for a situation to happen then react. PAP should prevail over AU and have institutions to deal with situations than coming here to lament and do nothing,” he said.
Another parliamentarian from Somalia said AU and PAP should chip in urgently and restore civilian rule in Sudan before it was too late.
A parliamentarian from Cameroon also condemned African Head of States for being quiet on a situation like this saying they are the ones who should proffer solutions not to wait for foreigners.
Female parliamentarians voiced their concerns saying women should be on the negotiating table not only men, saying they are the ones who start war so they cannot end it.
“AU should be at the forefront of the negotiations not America and Saudi Arabia, when it does women should be called to the negotiating table because they are the only ones who understand the pain and suffering fellow women and children endure in war times. Men start wars and women will have to end it,” said Jaynet Kabila.
Pemmy Majodina from South Africa echoed the same sentiments and accused AU of not responding in time.
“AU does not respond in time, it should act soon. We cannot blame the US or Saudi Arabia for intervening because AU is not there. Women should go and lead negotiations, men have failed because they are the ones who start the wars,” said Majodina.
Parliamentarians from South Sudan also called for immediate interventions by AU saying the war will soon spill in South Sudan since the two countries were once one country.
A rivalry between Sudan’s top two generals Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is leading the country’s armed forces and his rival, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander, Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo erupted leading the country into war.
Fighting broke out on April 15 after weeks of tension between the army and the powerful paramilitary group RSF.
Both groups were allies, together, they seized power in a 2021 coup but tensions increased over the proposed integration of the RSF into the military over who was going to be in control and who would be the military’s commander-in-chief during an integration period.
The fighting in Sudanis said to have has uprooted more than 1.1 million people from their homes, with around 250,000 fleeing to neighboring countries, including Chad and South Sudan, that are already battling with their own humanitarian and security crises
