Sudan has withdrawn from mediation efforts with IGAD, a coalition of East African states that has sought to broker negotiations between the army and the paramilitary force it has been fighting for months.

IGAD has volunteered to mediate between the Sudanese army and Rapid Forces (RSF) leaders, including arranging a meeting, which both men accepted.

PHOTO | COURTESY Army Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan

The foreign ministry said in a statement that relations with IGAD were halted when the regional organization added Sudan to the agenda of a meeting scheduled for Jan. 18 in Kampala, Uganda, and asked RSF head Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, to attend.

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Hemedti emerged after months of hiding to visit numerous African nations and meet with Sudanese pro-democracy politicians.

PHOTO | COURTESY Sudan clashes

Sudan's war broke out in mid-April over a plan to shift away from military control. It has triggered a massive humanitarian catastrophe, damaged the capital, Khartoum, and provoked waves of ethnically motivated killings in Darfur.