Smoke in Khartoum amid ongoing fighting between the forces of two rival generals in Sudan on May 6, 2023 (AFP)

The Sudanese government released a statement yesterday assuring that they will not permit foreign forces to be deployed in Sudan, as they will regard them as aggressors.

This update followed the Quartet Committee meeting surrounding the Sudanese crisis, according to the Sudanese News Agency (SUNA).

The statement added that the Sudanese delegation arrived in the Ethiopian city of Addis Ababa ahead of the Quartet meeting and remained in touch with the organizers, which they believe confirms the existence of a desire to reach a solution.

The statement claimed that the Quartet's statement about the absence of the Sudanese delegation was inaccurate, stressing that their absence was due to Sudan's objection to Kenyan President William Ruto chairing the Quartet "as credibility required that the Quartet's statement state that the non-participation of a Sudanese government delegation was due to its objection to Kenyan President William Ruto's assumption of the chairmanship of the committee."

Sudan's army refused to attend a regional bloc meeting aimed at putting an end to nearly three months of brutal fighting in the North African country. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African bloc, invited both the Sudanese army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to its meeting in Ethiopia's capital on Monday.

RSF commander Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo did not attend the Addis Ababa talks in person, but the RSF sent a representative to the quartet meeting, which was attended by Kenya, South Sudan, Djibouti, and Ethiopia.

"The (IGAD) Quartet's final statement [at the IGAD summit in Addis Ababa] included a call for a summit meeting of the East African Emergency Forces (EAEF) to consider the possibility of deploying forces to protect civilians and ensure the flow of humanitarian aid. In this regard, the Government of Sudan affirms that humanitarian aid provided by international bodies flows and reaches those in need, and the Government of Sudan remains keen to alleviate the suffering of its people and to overcome all constraints in this respect," continued the statement.

"The Government of Sudan affirms hereby its refusal to deploy any foreign troops to Sudan and will consider them aggressors," it noted.

Efforts were made by the East African regional bloc IGAD on Monday to end the conflict, calling on the involved parties to "sign an unconditional ceasefire."