Despite concerns over a large Nile river project, Egypt has summoned the neighbors of the war-torn Sudan to a summit on Thursday to “stop the bloodshed,” according to the presidency. Ethiopia’s PM Abiy Ahmed is also in Cairo.
Prior to a broader regional gathering, the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi “discussed ways to settle the crisis in Sudan,” according to Sisi’s spokesman late on Wednesday.
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the Sudanese army head and a close ally of Egypt’s, has been engaged in combat with Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander, since April 15.
According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, the violence has claimed the lives of about 3,000 individuals.
The Egyptian president confirmed in a statement that representatives from “Sudan’s neighboring countries” will attend the conference in Cairo, but it has not yet specified which other leaders will join Sisi and Abiy.
According to Cairo, the negotiations are intended to “stop the bloodshed of the Sudanese people” and its “negative effects on neighboring countries.”
According to Sisi’s spokesman, Sisi and Abiy spoke on Wednesday about “strengthening bilateral ties between Egypt and Ethiopia and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.”
The two countries have long been at odds over Ethiopia’s mega-dam, which Cairo sees as an existential threat and Addis Ababa recently announced it would delay filling.
