President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who is the current Chairperson of the African Union Peace and Security Council for June 2024, has revealed that the war in Sudan was caused by ideological mistakes by the country’s leaders.
President Museveni made the remarks on Friday, June 22, 2024, as he chaired a virtual meeting of the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council Heads of State and Government at State Lodge Nakasero.
During the meeting, the leaders discussed the ongoing conflict in Sudan and explored ways to enhance coordinated efforts among regional and international partners to achieve peace and stability for the Sudanese people.
“It is now 70 years since our neighbouring country, which is part of this region, has been in war more or less continuously, and this has been because of some mistakes that we have often talked about with the Sudanese leaders. The first mistake was the politics of identity of Africans vs. Arabs, or vice versa, identity of religions: Muslims vs. Christians. This is the reason that caused war for a long time, and we normally talked to Sudanese leaders like Gen. Bashir, and this is the problem also in other parts of Africa. Even in Uganda, we had the same problem: people who were pushing the politics of identity instead of the politics of the people,” President Museveni said.
He stated that the other mistakes made by the leaders were using force and arms instead of dialogue.
“When you use force, you use unprepared people who are not disciplined and have the wrong ideology yet are armed with internal and external forces. That is how you get this catastrophe—the one you are seeing. Even if it is a war, it doesn’t need to affect the whole population unless there’s something wrong with the managers of that conflict,” the president noted.
“Therefore, I’m very happy with the Security Council and other members who have attended. They are all begging the Sudanese factions to please stop the war now, have a ceasefire, go for dialogue, and hand the country to its owners; the Sudanese people vote for the person they want,” he added.
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, informed the meeting that, as leaders, they must do all it takes to ensure that a ceasefire is realised in Sudan.
“The African Union, with the implementation of the decisions of your council, has been engaging all those in the spectrum of the conflict to facilitate the peace process,” Mahamat said.
“The protection of human rights and international humanitarian law will only be possible if national reconciliation is realised. It is for this reason that I call for the strengthening of international solidarity to ensure democratic transition in Sudan leading to free and fair elections in order to avoid all sorts of crises that could create further chaos in the country and the region,” he added.
Mahamat also commended President Museveni for his efforts in facilitating the peace process in Sudan.
According to Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Chairperson of the African Union High-Level Panel on Sudan, the conflict in Sudan is worse than that in Ukraine and Gaza. He emphasised that the situation has reached a degree of urgency that requires bold action by the Peace and Security Council.
The leaders demanded that warring parties, namely the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), immediately stop the fighting and prioritise the interests of Sudan and its people.
They also emphasised that there’s no viable and sustainable military solution to the conflict and that only a genuine dialogue can lead to a sustainable solution to the current situation.
The meeting was also addressed by a representative of the United Nations (UN) Secretary General, H.E. Antonio Guterres.
