Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, leader of Sudan’s feared rebel army the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) met President Ramaphosa in Pretoria on Thursday to discuss efforts to end the country’s brutal civil war.
Fighting erupted in April between Dagalo’s RSF and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council
Ramaphosa welcomed the briefing Dagalo gave him and commended the central role of the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) under Djibouti’s chair in mediating between the RSF and Burhan’s Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), the presidency said.
He also welcomed the participation of the people of Sudan and civil society society “in finding a lasting solution to the security and political challenges,” it added in a statement.
“President Ramaphosa expressed South Africa’s support for the imminent face to face dialogue between General Dagalo and General Burhan and reiterated the need for an immediate ceasefire, and the dialogue towards permanent cessation of hostilities.”
Dagalo travelled to Pretoria to meet Ramaphosa as part of a tour of African capitals to brief them on his perspective of the civil war which has killed thousands and displaced many more.
On Wednesday Dagalo met Kenyan President William Ruto in Nairobi and posted a statement on Facebook to say he had discussed with him the causes of the war, how to stop the gunfire and begin negotiations to reach a comprehensive solution that would achieve just and lasting peace in the country.
On Sunday, Dagalo travelled to Djibouti to brief President Ismail Omar Guelleh, and on Friday he met Ethiopia’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister Demeke Mekonnen.
Dagalo said he had reassured Guelleh of his full commitment to the outcomes of the Igad summit held in Djibouti on 9th December when he and Burhan had agreed to an unconditional ceasefire, the resolution of the conflict through political dialogue and a face to face meeting with each other.
That meeting was supposed to take place on 28 December but did not happen for unspecified “technical reasons.” It is now expected to happen any moment, as Ramaphosa’s statement indicated.
It is not quite clear why Dagolo has involved South Africa, except that it appears he appreciates Pretoria’s role in other peacemaking efforts such as its hosting of the negotiations which led to the 2022 ceasefire in the civil war between Ethiopia’s federal government and the Tigrayans.