IGAD leaders expose mediation hurdles as Sudan war rages on
By Kenneth Mwenda, April 28, 2026Regional leaders and diplomats meeting in Nairobi have called for stronger African-led mediation, warning that the war in Sudan has exposed serious weaknesses in current peace efforts.
The message came on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, during the IGAD Mediation Reflection Conference, held under the theme Reimagining Mediation in a Fragmented World: The Challenge to African Multilateral Leadership.
IGAD Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu said mediation now faces growing pressure from global political rivalry, weak coordination and declining trust between states.
He told delegates that the world order, which once supported peace talks, is changing fast.
“We are not simply living through a period of crisis. We are living through a transformation,” he said.
According to Workneh, mediation is no longer protected from geopolitics and is increasingly shaped by competing interests. He added that many peace efforts now focus on short-term deals instead of long-term solutions.
He warned that the Horn of Africa is dealing with connected conflicts rather than isolated crises.
“What we are witnessing is not a series of isolated crises, but the emergence of a system,” he said.
Workneh said wars in the region have become more fragmented, prolonged and fuelled by war economies. He noted that this makes negotiations harder because there is often no single centre of power to engage.
On Sudan, he gave a direct assessment of failed peace efforts.
Three years into the war, he said, mediation has neither stopped the fighting nor delivered a credible political process.
“This is failure. And it must be acknowledged,” he said.
He warned that if mediation cannot help Sudan, confidence in peace processes across the region will suffer.
Workneh called for a more unified and politically grounded approach, with stronger coordination between regional and international actors.
Sudan peace efforts deepen
AU Representative Ambassador Mohamed Belaiche said the Nairobi meeting offered hope at a time when Sudanese civilians continue to face worsening violence and humanitarian hardship.
He said the gathering showed that African institutions still have a role in solving the continent’s conflicts.
“The African voice remains present and the African will is capable of finding solutions to African problems,” he said.
Belaiche stressed that Sudan’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity must remain at the centre of any political process.
He said any serious peace effort must reject attempts to divide the country or impose facts on the ground through force.
He also outlined four guiding principles from the African Union Commission: Sudanese ownership of talks, inclusion of women and youth, better coordination with IGAD and accountability for war crimes.
Belaiche urged the international community to prepare for spoilers who may resist peace efforts through obstruction or continued violence.
Despite the scale of the crisis, he said Sudan can still recover.
“It is not too late to rebuild trust among Sudanese people,” he said.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, who attended the conference in Nairobi, was recognised for Kenya’s continued support for peace efforts in the Horn of Africa.
Speakers praised William Ruto and Kenya for hosting the meeting and backing regional diplomacy.
Delegates agreed that mediation must adapt to modern conflicts, especially where violence involves multiple armed groups and outside interests.
The conference is expected to produce recommendations on how IGAD and African institutions can improve peace efforts, beginning with Sudan.