Sudan's foreign ministry has dismissed a regional African summit's bid to deploy peacekeeping forces to protect civilians as the country enters its fourth month of armed conflict.
The ministry, which is attached to the Sudanese army led by military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, had turned down calls from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to deploy a peacekeeping mission.
The decision on Wednesday dealt a blow to efforts to resolve the armed conflict between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which started in mid-April.
IGAD is an East African regional body that called on all Sudanese parties on Monday to start new peace negotiations during a summit in Ethiopia's capital of Addis Ababa. IGAD made a bid to deploy the joint East Africa Standby Force (EASF) to protect civilians and provide humanitarian aid.
The Sudanese army boycotted the IGAD mediation efforts on Monday and rejected the call by IGAD on Wednesday for Sudan to accept peacekeepers.