Key Points
- Britian and EU countries have called for an end to Sudan’s devastating war.
- The talks in London gathered ministers from 15 countries, and high-level representatives from international bodies.
- African Union political affairs commissioner Bankole Adeoye said only an unconditional end to the fighting can resolve the crisis.
Britain and European Union countries led international talks in London for “an immediate and permanent ceasefire” to end the devastating war in Sudan, as nations pledged more than A$1.4 billion in fresh humanitarian aid.
The international community also “stressed the necessity of preventing any partition of Sudan,” a statement at the end of a London conference said, as the conflict entered its third year.
The war erupted on 15 April 2023 in a bitter power struggle between rival generals leading Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Neither of the strongmen, whose forces have been both accused of atrocities, were present for the London talks which gathered ministers from some 15 countries, and high-level representatives from international bodies such as the United Nations.
More than 13 million people have been uprooted and tens of thousands killed in what the United Nations describes as the world’s worst hunger and displacement crises.
“We simply cannot look away,” the UK’s foreign minister David Lammy said as he opened the talks.
“We have got to persuade the warring parties to protect civilians, to let aid in and across the country, and to put peace first,” he said.
Various peace efforts have so far failed to lead to a ceasefire.
But Lammy said it was “morally wrong” to give up on Sudan “when we see so many civilians beheaded, infants as young as one subjected to sexual violence, more people facing famine than anywhere else in the world”.
The continued fighting has fuelled fears that the tensions will spill over Sudan’s borders and stir further instability in the impoverished Horn of Africa region.
The final statement “underscored that the non-interference by outside actors remains paramount”.
It also “rejected any plans, including any announcement of parallel governments, that risk the unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Sudan”.
“There can be no military solution in Sudan, only an immediate, unconditional secession of hostilities,” warned the African Union’s commissioner for political affairs, Bankole Adeoye earlier in the day, urging inclusive peace talks.
Protesters opposed to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia and the alleged role of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Sudan gathered outside the Foreign Office in Westminster as the UK government hosted a conference on the conflict in Sudan. Source: Getty / Vuk Valcic
Rape and famine
A UN-backed assessment has concluded that famine is now blighting parts of the country.
Britain’s foreign ministry said more than 30 million people were in desperate need, and 12 million women and girls were in danger of gender-based violence.
Lammy unveiled $250 million in new aid for Sudan, with the EU pledging more than $928 million to address the crisis, and Germany putting up some $223 million.
France also announced an extra $89 million in humanitarian aid this year.
For the latest from SBS News, and .
