STORY: African leaders table sanctions to apply maximum diplomatic pressure against rival Sudanese forces
DATELINE: July 17, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:33
LOCATION: Nairobi
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of press conference
2. various of AU officials
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): BANKOLE ADEOYE, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security
4. various of press conference
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): BANKOLE ADEOYE, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security

STORYLINE:

The African Union Summit held in Nairobi has approved sanctions against rival Sudanese leaders and a peace roadmap which is conditional upon the signing of a comprehensive ceasefire agreement, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security said on Sunday.

Bankole Adeoye, the Commissioner, said a peace roadmap was outlined during an earlier Heads of State Summit chaired by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who is the current Chairman of the Union's Peace and Security Council for the month of July.

The peace roadmap outlined in Nairobi to push Sudan out of its quagmire includes a hybrid proposal containing the elements proposed by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the AU PSC proposes a series of diplomatic measures against the warring parties.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): BANKOLE ADEOYE, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security
"Ceasefire as the number one priority that is comprehensive, that is unconditional and that is permanent. That ceasefire is the only way to pave the way to all the other processes, particularly humanitarian relief and ensuring that regional neighbors of Sudan do not have the effect of spillover."

The AU Commissioner said in reference to the conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Adeoye said the two rival military and paramilitary units agreed to a series of humanitarian principles, but the agreements reached in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, have not contributed to reduced violence.

The AU said it was working with all the neighboring countries in the region to enforce sanctions against the leaders and to bring maximum diplomatic pressure against the rival battle units.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): BANKOLE ADEOYE, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security
"Have a united diplomatic pressure on the parties consistently because what they are doing in the fighting does not reflect the peace-loving people. We yearn for democracy in Sudan. So, what we are appealing to the Sudanese is to step up the pressure on the two parties to stop the fight."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Nairobi.
(XHTV)