ISTANBUL

Egypt rejects the establishment of any parallel government to the legitimate government in Sudan, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry announced Sunday.

On Saturday, Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) along with Sudanese political and armed movements signed "a political charter" in Nairobi, Kenya to form a parallel government to the Sudanese authorities.

The Sudanese government protested Kenya's hosting of what it called a "conspiracy to establish a government" for the RSF.

In a statement, Sudan’s Foreign Ministry said Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Yousif Sharif and his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty co-chaired a meeting of the political consultation mechanism between the two countries in Cairo.

According to the statement, Sharif described the "developments of the situation" in his country while Abdelatty affirmed that Egypt "rejects the establishment of any other framework or parallel government to the legitimate government in Sudan and rejects any external interference in Sudan."

Egypt also reaffirmed its readiness to contribute to the reconstruction of Sudan, the statement added.

They also discussed enhancing bilateral relations as well as regional developments, including water issues, the Red Sea’s security and the Horn of Africa.

The Sudanese army and the RSF have been fighting a war since mid-April 2023 that has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced 14 million, according to the UN and local authorities. Research from US universities, however, estimates the death toll at around 130,000.

Calls by the international community and the UN for an end to the war are mounting, with warnings of an impending humanitarian catastrophe as millions face famine and death due to food shortages. The conflict has spread to 13 of Sudan’s 18 states.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar