Malik Agar, the deputy chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereignty Council (TSC). (photo: courtesy).

The Vice President of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council Malik Agar walked out of a continental peace and security forum held in South Africa on Saturday to protest the presence of paramilitary Rapid Support Forces at the annual event.

In a statement, the TSC said its delegation immediately left the Africa Peace and Security Dialogue hosted by the Thabo Mbeki Foundation in Magaliesburg town after the arrival of RSF delegation.

The junta led by Gen. Abdal Fattah Al-Burhan described the invitation of the paramilitary group as a “grave insult” to the Sudanese people suffering from the devastating war.

According to a statement, Vice President Agar informed the conference organizers that the welcoming of RSF is an attempt to force the Sudanese to “coexist with the crimes of the criminal militia.”

“The invitation of a fascist militia delegation to participate in a conference on peace and security in Africa constitutes a grave insult to what Sudanese are facing in the hands of the mercenary criminals,” it stated.

Animosity between the two Sudanese warring parties continues to deepen and both have not seen eye to eye since the outbreak of the 17-month long civil war which has killed an estimated 150,000 people, displaced 10 million others and triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

In August, the Sudanese army rejected proposed talks in Geneva seeking to end the conflict in the country, in protest over the designation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as observers as well as being referred to as representatives of the Sudanese army, rather than the Government of Sudan.

This comes as the Sudanese government accuses UAE of providing weapons to its rival RSF and prolonging the war – allegations that the latter labels as “baseless” while accusing the junta of refusing to negotiate peace with its enemy.

In January 2024, the Sudanese army and aligned government suspended ties with regional bloc IGAD, accusing it of “violating” the country’s sovereignty by inviting a rival paramilitary chief to its summit.

Sudan’s foreign ministry accused IGAD of legitimizing RSF through the invitation – days after its leader Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Daglo concluded a tour to Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, Rwanda and South Africa where he met government leaders.