President William Ruto's statement on security situation in Sudan

President William Ruto has issued a statement on the situation in Sudan. [File, Standard]

President William Ruto has called for the immediate cessation of hostilities in Sudan where nearly 270 people have been killed and more than 2600 others injured in the resulting chaos.

Below is Ruto's full statement:

"The deteriorating situation in Sudan is of great concern to our region and the continent. In the last five days, fighting has led to the loss of hundreds of lives, massive destruction of property, and the displacement of civilians.

Kenya is deeply alarmed that a misunderstanding over a single outstanding item in the Political Framework Agreement, namely the time frame for integrating the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), has degenerated into violent conflict. As a result, the parties to the Framework Agreement have been engaged in a military confrontation.

The indiscriminate deployment of lethal weapons and air power by both RSF and SAF has targeted military and non-military targets, causing devastating damage to property as well as strategic public infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and airports.

We are also deeply concerned that members of the diplomatic community have been targeted and civilians, in general, have been caught in the crossfire. A pattern of systematic violation of established norms and principles of international humanitarian laws is clearly emerging and this situation is evolving into a threat to regional and international peace and security.

Kenya implores the leadership of the two parties to ensure full compliance with the resolution of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Heads of State Summit held last Sunday. This includes an immediate cessation of hostilities, allowing unrestricted access to humanitarian aid and extending full cooperation to the IGAD Heads of States mission when it visits Khartoum.

The outcome of these engagements and evidence of cooperation from the two parties will be crucial to the resumption and conclusion of negotiations on the Political Framework Agreement.

In urging this course of action, Kenya notes that disregard for the resolutions, coupled with the evident lack of commitment to ending the conflict, strongly indicates that attacks on diplomatic installations and personnel, as well as the targeting of hospitals, hotels, other vital public and social spaces, are deliberate, systematic and tantamount to atrocities against humanity.

There is a real danger that the escalation of hostilities in Sudan could implicate external, regional, and international actors and degenerate into a security and humanitarian crisis on a disastrous scale.

It is therefore critical for an international coalition of all the actors that have been involved in supporting the restoration of civilian rule in Sudan to act with urgency. The United Nations, Africa Union, IGAD and QUAD for Sudan must lead a process that extends beyond the mere cessation of hostilities toward the restoration of sustainable peace, security, and stability.

It is time to silence the guns in our region and continent so that we can focus on the urgent work of enabling our people to pursue opportunities and actualise their aspirations, in peace and tranquillity. Time is of the essence."