Clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continued on Tuesday, with new aerial bombardment hitting the areas of Abu Adam and Jubarah in southern Khartoum. Meanwhile, the Sudanese army has sent in reinforcements to comb areas south of the city of Omdurman. The Sudanese army's continuous qualitative operations and daily combing of areas south of Omdurman forced the pillars and gatherings of the RSF to retreat from some of their positions. "Reconnaissance aircraft also continued to fly in Omdurman, which is relatively quiet with some skirmishes in neighborhoods where the military and rapid support elements are close to each other." The Quartet Committee of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which is concerned with resolving the crisis in Sudan, called for holding a regional summit to discuss the deployment of forces to protect civilians and guarantee the delivery of aid, after about three months of fighting between the Sudanese army and the RSF. The IGAD said in a statement that it had agreed to the request for a summit of another regional body, the 10-member East African Standby Force (EASF), to "consider the possibility of deploying the standby force to protect civilians and ensure humanitarian access." In its statement, the Committee stressed the need to "mobilize and focus the efforts of all parties concerned, in order to hold a direct meeting between the leaders of the two parties to the conflict." The Quartet urged "an immediate cessation of violence, the signing of an unconditional and unlimited ceasefire through a cessation of hostilities agreement supported by an effective enforcement and monitoring mechanism." The IGAD Group renewed its commitment to take concrete steps to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Sudanese population affected by the conflict, in light of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the country. The Quartet of Kenya, Djibouti, South Sudan, and Ethiopia met Monday in Addis Ababa to seek a solution to the Sudanese crisis. The summit was chaired by Kenyan President William Ruto, and attended by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, while Presidents Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti and Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan were absent. However, the initiative faced a setback, as a delegation from the Sudanese army did not attend the first day of the meetings, after refusing to be chaired by the Kenyan president of the facilitation committee of the talks, as biased to the other side, RSF. In its closing statement, the Quartet regretted the absence of the Sudanese army delegation, stressing that a military solution to the conflict in Sudan was "unworkable" Diplomatic efforts to date have failed to stop fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces. Talks hosted by the United States and Saudi Arabia in Jeddah stalled last month. The conflict in Khartoum has displaced more than 2.9 million people, of whom nearly 700,000 have fled to neighboring countries, including more than 255,000 who have crossed into Egypt, according to the latest figures quoted by the International Organization for Migration.
