African Union Delegation Completes Khartoum Assessment; Recommends Resumption of AU Mission

An African Union assessment delegation led by AU Special Envoy Ambassador Mohamed Belaiche concluded its on-the-ground assessment of conditions in Khartoum on April 9, following several days of site visits and meetings with Sudan's Foreign Minister Mohieddin Salem and government officials. Belaiche stated the delegation's mandate was 'to determine the situation in preparation for the reopening of the African Union office in Khartoum as soon as possible,' and the assessment is expected to recommend the AU resume operations in the capital. The visit marks the first time the AU has dispatched a senior delegation to evaluate a return to Khartoum since it evacuated when the war broke out in April 2023. Sudan's government, which returned to Khartoum from Port Sudan in January 2026, briefed the delegation that basic services have been progressively restored and that several UN agencies had already reestablished physical presences in the capital. The AU's return to Khartoum — if approved — would represent a significant symbolic normalization step and strengthen the SAF government's legitimacy claim as the functional administration of Sudan. The AU continues to formally maintain Burhan's government as Sudan's sole legitimate authority, a position that complicates AU mediation efforts given RSF's separate 'Government of Peace and Unity.'