Africa-Press. The African Union appears to be moving toward ending the freeze on Sudan’s membership, after inviting its foreign minister, Mohi al-Din Salem, to a meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council, which opened on Thursday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
Inviting a country whose membership is suspended to this key meeting is unprecedented in the Council’s history, signaling a shift in the African Union’s stance toward Khartoum.
Earlier, Sudanese Foreign Minister Mohi al-Din Salem Ahmed renewed his call on the African Union to end the suspension of Sudan’s membership in the continental organization, during a session of the AU Peace and Security Council in Addis Ababa.
He said the conflict in Sudan “has reached its end,” stressing that the war “is not an objective,” and that the Sudanese government will continue working to achieve lasting peace. At the same time, he accused what he described as “external parties” of fueling the conflict, and accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of illegally exploiting gold resources in areas under their control.
In press remarks, Salem Ahmed emphasized Sudan’s role in protecting the African continent from multiple threats, including foreign armed interventions, arguing that lifting Sudan’s suspension would benefit Africa. He also noted that Sudan is a founding member of the African Union.
The African Union froze Sudan’s membership following measures taken by the head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, on 25 October 2021, when he dissolved the Sovereignty Council and the Council of Ministers and declared a state of emergency in the country—steps the AU regarded as a coup.
According to Toukal, the invitation reflects the African Union’s support for the Sudanese government. He said the meeting was “Sudanese through and through,” and that it may issue a decision to end the freeze on Sudan’s membership.
Participating ministers affirmed their countries’ support for the Khartoum government in confronting militias, which Toukal said the participants described as a danger to the security of the continent as a whole.
In his speech, Salem reiterated that the war in his country has reached its end, that the government is continuing its intensive efforts to achieve peace, and that the intervention of certain external parties helped inflame the conflict. He also stated that the RSF are exploiting gold resources in the areas they control through unlawful means.
