Visitation by Ethiopia’s Abiy to Sudan’s army head on the Red Sea coast

The first foreign leader to visit General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in his war capital, Port Sudan, since the army’s and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) insurgency began was Ethiopian Premier Abiy Ahmed on Tuesday.

Framed as part of an effort to bring calm to Sudan after nearly 15 months of conflict, Abiy, who was once perceived as being closer to the RSF than the army, hosted its head Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo in Addis Ababa in December.

In addition to uprooting almost 10 million people, the conflict between the rival Sudanese military factions has put the country in danger of becoming unstable and brought about famine-like conditions in some areas.

Even while the RSF has seized most of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, as well as its west and center, the army still has authority over the country’s eastern and northern regions, including Port Sudan, which has served as its base.

The efforts to get the army back to the negotiating table have so far failed, and talks mediated by the US and Saudi Arabia in Jeddah with the goal of mediating a truce stopped last year.

After the Ethiopian leader’s arrival, Burhan and Abiy were seen in photos released by both parties smiling and holding hands. The visit, according to Abiy’s office, was a component of their search for “sustainable solutions for Sudan’s stability” on X.

Being on the ground gave Abiy a greater opportunity of making progress, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

“The very existence of the Sudan is at stake and when the world turned away, the PM has turned facing the Sudan,” according to a source.

The visit came about as a result of an RSF attack on Sennar, a state in southeast Sudan, which moved the conflict closer to Ethiopia’s border. The RSF appears to be making its way into Gedaref state, home to tens of thousands of Ethiopian refugees and over 600,000 internally displaced Sudanese.

Farmers from Sudan who live in the state said last month that Ethiopian Fano militants had infiltrated the disputed Fashaga area between the two nations. Abiy declared in a speech on Monday that his government would not support any party, and that he would not use the conflict as a means of resolving the dispute.

Additionally, despite previous conflicts with the army, Abiy is visiting Port Sudan.

The army chastised the civilian Taqaddum alliance, which RSF head Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, selected to meet in Addis Ababa. Last year, one of Burhan’s subordinates claimed that the RSF was receiving support from Ethiopian fighters.

Abiy is an ally of the United Arab Emirates, which the army claims is giving the RSF material support. The UAE disputes these claims, but U.N. experts find them to be believable.

Crisis Group’s Horn of Africa project director, Alan Boswell, stated, “The big question many have is if Abiy could position himself as a mediator between Burhan and the UAE, or carry messages between them.”