Egyptian FM to attend ministerial meeting of Sudan's neighboring countries in Chad

Sameh Shoukry

CAIRO, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry will travel to Chad on Sunday for a meeting of Sudan's neighboring countries to seek peaceful solutions to the Sudanese crisis, the Foreign Ministry said Saturday.

The meeting in N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, is the first one of the ministerial mechanism formed at the summit of Sudan's neighboring countries held on July 13 in Egypt's capital Cairo, according to a ministry statement.

The meeting will discuss the security, political and humanitarian aspects of the Sudanese crisis, its effects on the Sudanese people, and its regional and international repercussions, the statement said.

The ministers aim to develop practical proposals that enable the heads of state and governments of Sudan's neighboring countries to reach effective solutions that would end the current crisis and preserve the unity of Sudan, its territorial integrity and the capabilities of its people, it added.

Sudan has been witnessing armed clashes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces across the country since April 15, which left more than 3,000 people killed and at least 6,000 others injured, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry.

More than 3 million people have been forced into displacement, inside and outside the country, since the conflict broke out in Sudan, according to UN estimates.