Egypt and Saudi Arabia have warned against treating the Sudanese Armed Forces and rival militias as equals, backing the primacy of the country’s military institutions in an explicit signal to regional and international peace mediators.
The joint position emerged from talks in Cairo on Tuesday between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to a statement from the Egyptian presidency.
War erupted in Sudan in April 2023 between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), driving millions from their homes and triggering famine conditions across parts of the country.
Egyptian presidential spokesperson Mohamed El-Shennawy said both leaders rejected placing the armed forces on equal footing with any militias or parallel entities, affirming that national state institutions must retain exclusive legitimacy.
The joint statement warned that any fragmentation of Sudan or threat to its territorial integrity represents a direct risk to the collective security of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and neighbouring states.
The declaration reflects Cairo’s close backing of Sudan’s regular military and marks an important shift in Riyadh’s diplomatic messaging, as it has co-sponsored intermittent peace talks in Jeddah in which both belligerents were engaged as warring parties.
Sudan’s army-led sovereign council has repeatedly refused initiatives that put it on par with the RSF, accusing the paramilitary force of widespread atrocities, including ethnic killings in Darfur, systematic looting, and sexual violence.
The RSF has consistently denied carrying out systematic abuses, blaming rogue actors and accusing the military of indiscriminate air strikes on civilian infrastructure.
During their meeting, Sisi and Prince Mohammed also addressed broader regional security concerns, including threats to shipping lanes in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Strait of Hormuz.
Sudan asks IGAD to back domestic dialogue
Meanwhile, Sudan has called on East African regional bloc IGAD to support an internal political dialogue free from outside interference, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday, as the army reported battlefield advances against rival paramilitary forces.
Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Muawiya Osman Khalid made the appeal during an Intergovernmental Authority on Development ministerial meeting in Djibouti, according to a ministry statement.
Khalid said the Sudanese-led initiative aimed to address the country’s crises without foreign dictates, highlighting efforts by an independent preparatory committee to engage political and civil society factions.
The military-led government has backed the committee’s work, pledging not to arrest participants and dismissing legal charges previously filed against several political figures.
The move comes as a five-party diplomatic group, comprising IGAD, the African Union, the United Nations, the European Union, and the Arab League, conducts consultations to bridge divisions among Sudanese stakeholders and revive a transition process.
Envoys from the mechanism visited Khartoum last week to align foreign mediation efforts with local initiatives, stressing that any political track must move in tandem with concrete steps to end the war.
Khalid told the Djibouti meeting that security had improved significantly following recent territorial advances by the Sudanese Armed Forces.
He accused the RSF of widespread destruction and targeting civilians, citing international characterisations of the abuses as genocide.
The RSF has consistently denied targeting civilians, accusing the army of carrying out indiscriminate air strikes against residential areas.
Khalid said the government remained committed to keeping border corridors open for humanitarian relief shipments, but accused the RSF of exploiting aid passages for non-humanitarian operations.
On the sidelines of the summit, Khalid delivered a written message from army chief and Sovereign Council head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh regarding bilateral relations and developments in the conflict.