Four African Leaders Call for Political Solutions as Regional Conflicts Escalate

Leaders from Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan have called for political and peaceful solutions to regional conflicts after meeting in New Alamein City, Egypt.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan issued the joint declaration on Sunday as fighting escalated in Sudan and Ethiopia.

Support for Sudanese political process

The declaration backed Sudan’s military-led government and called for a political process led by Sudanese parties.

Sudan has been at war since April 2023, when fighting began between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Sudan and Ethiopia have also exchanged accusations of interference in Sudan’s conflict.

Egyptian and Sudanese officials warned against what they described as “unilateral measures” that harm downstream states. The two countries have long disputed Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile.

Red Sea access

The four leaders said control of the Red Sea should remain with the coastal states. The position appeared to respond to Ethiopia’s pursuit of sovereign access to the sea and a naval presence, although the declaration’s wording was reported in that context rather than as a direct reference to a specific Ethiopian measure.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said Ethiopia could seek commercial access through Somali ports if Somalia agreed to such an arrangement. Somalia, he said, did not object to that possibility.

El-Sisi said cross-border challenges required “a dialogue, not confrontation”.

Fighting intensifies in Ethiopia

The declaration came as fighting intensified in Ethiopia between federal forces and a seven-group armed alliance. Ethiopia accused Egypt, Eritrea and Sudan of supporting the alliance, while officials from all three countries denied involvement.

Government and allied forces retook Mekelle after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front said it had “temporarily moved out of” the regional capital and would “operate from somewhere else”.

The TPLF previously fought a two-year war with Ethiopia’s federal government. That conflict ended with a fragile peace deal in 2022.

According to Ethiopian state media reports, former Tigray interim leader Abraham Belay said the federal government was preparing a new temporary administration for the region and hoped to hold regional elections within months.

Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel separately accused Addis Ababa of trying to create a pretext for attacking Eritrea. The claim was made in a post on X and has not been independently verified.