President Salva Kiir (from right) and President William Samoei Ruto meet in Juba to discuss trade relations. (Photo: Office of the President.)

The IGAD extraordinary summit has dissolved the quartet group of countries that was appointed to lead mediation efforts in the ongoing conflict in Sudan.

The mediation team comprising Kenya, South Sudan, Djibouti, and Ethiopia was formed in the middle of this year to engage the warring parties on the need for ceasefire and further negotiations.

South Sudan’s foreign Minister Dr. James Pitia Morgan said President William Ruto of Kenya, who led the group, has submitted his report concerning the peace efforts in Sudan.

Speaking to the media, Dr Morgan said IGAD has dissolved the quartet and handed the peace mediation role back to IGAD and the African Union.

“The report submitted by President Ruto of Kenya in his capacity as the chair of IGAD Quartet has outlined the role of the quartet from the time this docket was given to this day, and also that brings to an end the role of quartet,” he said.

“The responsibility has now been handed over to IGAD and the African Union. Quartet has ended its role so there is no more quartet to this point. So, it is now the responsibility IGAD and AU to take this process forward.”

In June 2023, the Sudanese army under General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan rejected IGAD’s decision to make Kenyan president William Ruto the head of the Quartet Group.

The ruling faction accuses Nairobi of sympathizing with the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.