In a bid to end the ongoing civil conflict that has lasted for nearly a year in the Republic of Sudan, the United States (US) has appointed a special diplomatic envoy to lead its efforts in addition to other regional interventions.
Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, announced on Monday, February 26, 2024, that Tom Perriello will take on the role of advancing the US’s efforts to end the fighting between the Rapid Support Force (RSF) and the Sudanese army that started in April 2023.
“Special Envoy Perriello’s extensive experience with peace, security, and transitional justice issues on the African continent and other parts of the world has established him as a leader in this critical work,” Blinken said in a statement, adding that as he takes on this important role, he’ll draw on his over two decades of experience working across the executive branch, the legislative branch, multilateral institutions, and NGOs.
This will be Perriello’s second turn as a special envoy in Africa, having served as special envoy to the Great Lakes Region of Africa and representative to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burundi, and Rwanda.
The appointment of a special envoy to Sudan by the US adds to the efforts that regional leaders are employing to end the civil war that has led to the deaths of thousands and displaced nearly 8 million people.
Regional leaders from East Africa have been pushing for an end to hostilities between the fighting factions as the conflict escalates. On February 21, 2024, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni reiterated his call for a ceasefire among the two armed groups as he received a special message from the chairperson of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of Sudan, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
President Museveni urged the fighting forces in Sudan to cease fire, hold peaceful elections, and grant power to the people of Sudan to elect their own leaders.
He also emphasized the need for all stakeholders in the war to come together, engage in dialogue on the problem, and argued that once the problem is identified, it becomes easier to isolate it and bring about peace in the country.
Even though African leaders are advocating for ‘African solutions for African problems’, Sudanese are optimistic that the joint efforts between regional leaders and the US will yield a peaceful solution.
