Sudan PM says national dialogue to begin 'soon' for reconciliation

Sudanese Prime Minister Kamil Idris told a visiting African Union delegation Sunday that a comprehensive national dialogue will begin "soon" to pave the way for national recovery, reconciliation and free elections. The prime minister emphasized that the process must be "owned by all the people of Sudan," rejecting any foreign interference in the country's affairs, according to the official SUNA news agency.Speaking during the meeting with the AU Peace and Security Council led by Mohamed Khaled of Algeria, Idris stated that the dialogue would lead to "free and fair elections in which the Sudanese people will choose the country's new leadership." He added that there are "red lines that cannot be crossed," including refusing to place the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces militia on equal footing. The Sudanese army is advancing in the Kordofan region and will proceed toward Darfur "until the entire country is liberated," he said.Idris presented a government peace initiative submitted to the UN Security Council in December, which demands the RSF withdraw from occupied areas and undergo integration and demobilization procedures to end the war. The initiative has received responses from regional and international organizations, he noted, expressing hope that the African Union would support efforts to designate the RSF a "terrorist organization." "The Sudanese alone determine how their country's affairs are managed," Idris said, adding that AU engagement should be based on "mutual respect" among member states.Mohamed Khaled affirmed the African Union's solidarity with Sudan and its people, stressing the council's adherence to principles of respecting state sovereignty and rejecting interference in internal affairs. On Friday, Sudan's Sovereignty Council Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan approved logistical support and legal, political and security guarantees for an inclusive Sudanese dialogue led by an independent national mechanism.Sudan has been engulfed in war since April 2023 between the army and the RSF over plans to integrate the paramilitary into the regular military. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced around 13 million, according to UN estimates.