Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has waded into the ongoing conflict in Sudan, offering to mediate between the war-torn nation and the UAE. It is an unexpected move amid simmering tensions over alleged UAE military support for Sudan’s RSF.
On Friday, Erdogan called the chair of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, calling for discussions on the situation and extending relevant proposals. A statement from the Turkish presidency communication office later underlined Erdogan’s attachments to peace in the most conflict-ridden region: “The basic principles Turkey is attached to include establishing peace and stability in Sudan, safeguarding its territorial integrity and sovereignty, and avoiding external interventions.”.
This operation comes at a very defining moment in the history of Sudan. The country has engaged in a brutal civil war that started in April 2023 between the Sudanese army, led by Al-Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti. Fighting has dealt the Sudanese people an anasty blow, killing over 20,000 people and leaving 14 million displaced, according to UN and local authorities.
The intricate web of charges surrounding the issue is where Erdogan’s mediation offer has its origins. The Sudanese government has accused the United Arab Emirates on many occasions of supplying the RSF with weapons, thereby escalating the conflict. The UAE has strongly refuted these accusations, calling them “spurious and unfounded.”
Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith, Sudan’s ambassador to the UN, has openly charged Abu Dhabi with intensifying the conflict, which has only served to stoke the flames. Sudanese military forces have published images and videos of weaponry purportedly taken from the RSF in an effort to support their allegations, claiming that the weapons came from the United Arab Emirates.
Current conflict has gone out with a bang, now impacting 13 of Sudan’s 18 states. In its devastation it has spawned a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions. Hundreds of millions of Sudanese live precariously at famine level with their very survival contingent on too little food and disrupted supply lines.
In the context of suffering of humankind, Erdogan’s proposal for mediation holds even more importance. Turkey, claiming to be an unbiased mediator, is now in a position to solve the conflict between Sudan and UAE. Erdogan has repeatedly emphasized the necessity of peaceful resolution of the regional conflicts and stressed the importance of stability and unity of Sudan.
The Turkish President’s intervention is an example of the increasing chorus of global voices urging an end to the horrible war. While the world holds its breath, many are hoping that this diplomatic gesture will lead to more substantial discussion and a resolution to this war.
However, the road ahead is fraught with challenges. In addition, the animus at the very deepest level between the fighting groups, and the complex political-geopolitical backdrop of the region constitute significant barriers to any peace process. Moreover, incriminating the role of external actors, i.e., UAE, adds a new level of complexity to an already fuzzy issue.
While Erdogan offers this olive branch, there is among the international community a cautiously optimistic attitude. There remains, however, a very slight chance of change that offers hope, however infinitesimally small, to the millions of Sudanese embroiled in the fighting between those two warring factions.
Over the coming days and weeks, it is such efforts that will determine whether this Turkish-backed project takes flight. For the moment, all eyes are on Ankara, Sudan, and the UAE, while the rest of the world’s fingers are crossed for a peaceful ending to a conflict that has already taken far too many, and shattered far too many, lives.
In the interim, humanitarian agencies sustain their relentless work to deliver relief to the people marginalized by war, albeit while dealing with, in a highly risky and unpredictable environment of a country shattered by conflict. The results are dramatic, millions of faces contemplating the void. As [Erdogan] enters this tense diplomatic stage, the rest of the world is watching, and hoping, for a miracle that can bring peace to the tormented Sudanese population.
