President William Ruto has called for a civilian-led intervention in a bid to end the conflict in the neighbouring country of Sudan, saying that the country cannot have peace on a military-led operation.

Speaking while hosting heads of diplomatic missions and international organisations at State House, Nairobi, on Monday, February 9, 2026, President Ruto said that Sudan needs a civilian-led intervention as opposed to the current military-led operation to gain a lasting peace solution.

“In Sudan, Kenya remains deeply concerned about the ongoing conflict and its grave humanitarian consequences. There can be no military solution, in my honest opinion, to that conflict. A civilian-led operation that brings all stakeholders on board is the only solution, in my honest opinion,” Ruto said.

Ruto has said that Kenya will play its role in the peace process for Sudan, including providing an avenue for the talks here in Kenya. He has also called on the international community to intervene in the process of bringing a lasting solution to the conflict.

Effects of Sudan conflict

Since April 2023, there has been a civil war in Sudan between two factions of the country’s military government. The conflict involves the internationally recognised government controlled by the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah and consisting of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Republican Guard, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF), led by General Hemedti, who leads the broader Janjaweed coalition.

The fighting began on April 15, 2023, after a power struggle within the government that had taken power following the 2021 coup. As of February 5, 2025, the conflict has caused 12 million people to be forcefully displaced, 9 million internally, and 3.5 million have fled the country as refugees, making it one of the largest displacement crises in recent history. This is according to a report by the United Nations.

“Since the start of the conflict in Sudan in mid-April 2023, large numbers of civilians have been forced to flee, including people who were already internally displaced and refugees from other countries who had sought safety in Sudan.

“Hundreds of thousands of people have fled into neighbouring countries or returned home in adverse circumstances – notably to the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan and Uganda. Others self-relocated within Sudan,” UN noted.