Part of the attendance of the 41st Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Intergovernmental Authority on East African Development (IGAD) on Sudan (Websites)

Nairobi – The 41st Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Intergovernmental Authority on East African Development (IGAD) on Sudan concluded on Sunday (December 10th) in Djibouti with the announcement of the decision to dissolve the Kenyan-led Quartet.

IGAD formed the committee last June to search for solutions to end the ongoing conflict in Sudan, and assigned Kenya to chair it with the participation of South Sudan, Djibouti and Ethiopia.

The final communiqué of the summit announced that Kenyan President William Ruto, in his capacity as Chairman of the Quartet, presented a report on the role played by the Committee to end the conflict in Sudan, which means its resolution and the return of efforts to resolve the conflict in Sudan to IGAD.

Burhan (centre) Kenyan presidency rejects mediation efforts with RSF (social media)

Refusal and threat of withdrawal

The head of Sudan's Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has repeatedly rejected Ruto's mediation efforts, despite the latter's insistence, accusing him of supporting RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (Hemedti) and of having personal ties, and requesting that South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit lead the process.

Sudan's foreign ministry had earlier threatened to withdraw from IGAD if Kenya's presidency was not changed.

The summit's final communiqué endorsed General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan's proposal for an unconditional ceasefire. The statement affirmed the RSF commander's acceptance of IGAD proposals for an unconditional ceasefire, resolution of the conflict through political dialogue, and a bilateral meeting with Burhan.

In this regard, the head of the East Africa section in the newspaper "Africa Intelligence" Antoine Galindo – in a statement to Al Jazeera Net – that one of the most important reasons for the failure of the Commission lies in the differences and competition between the quartet constituent, as each country of the Committee retains divergent interests with the parties to the conflict in Sudan.

He added that IGAD was convinced that the failure of the committee's work might lose its role as a key player in resolving the Sudanese conflict in favor of other parties, so it sought to resolve it before losing this role.

For its part, the United States welcomed the decisions of the IGAD summit, including the dissolution of the Quartet, and affirmed its full support for the final communiqué. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said: "We welcome IGAD leadership toward resolving the conflict in Sudan."

Miller added that his country would continue to cooperate with IGAD, the African Union and other organizations to achieve political stability in Sudan.

"The Highlight Player"

The United States participated in the IGAD summit meeting through its Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Mike Hammer, along with representatives of the African Union, the United Nations, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Britain.

Hammer had previously announced that he would travel to Djibouti, Qatar and Ethiopia from December 7 to 17 to participate - in addition to the IGAD summit in Djibouti - in the Doha Forum in Qatar. He will also meet in Ethiopia with African Union officials to coordinate efforts on Sudan, and will discuss with Ethiopian officials the continued implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement in the north of the country.

In response to a question for Al Jazeera Net about the US role in the Sudanese conflict, Antoine Galindo pointed out that the insistence of America, led by Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, "Mary Catherine V" to continue reviving the Jeddah talks indicates Washington's determination to be the most prominent player in mediation in this conflict.

The United States, along with Saudi Arabia, is overseeing talks between the two sides fighting in Sudan in what is known as the Jeddah platform.

Sudden moves of proof

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan preceded the summit with a surprise visit to Kenya on November 13th. Kenyan President William Ruto received Burhan at the presidential palace in Nairobi. Following that meeting, the extraordinary summit was convened in Djibouti.

Burhan also visited Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa, then met with Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh, and the summit was agreed upon.

But the Kenyan newspaper "East African" reported that the head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council succeeded, during his visit to Nairobi, in convincing Ruto to abandon Kenya from leading the mediation efforts to resolve the crisis in Sudan, and to convince the rest of the members of the IGAD committee to make way for the Jeddah platform to be the only path to find a solution to the Sudanese crisis.

Antoine Galindo, head of Africa Intelligence's East Africa section, said Ruto's reception of Burhan in Nairobi was normal, given that the Kenyan president is the head of the Quartet.

Given the suspicions of bias and reservations expressed by Burhan, the visit can also be seen as a desire by Ruto to rebalance his image and Kenya's status as one of the most important powers in the region.

Source : Al Jazeera