Tensions across the Middle East remain high, with Israeli military operations continuing in Lebanon despite direct talks between the two governments held in Washington on Tuesday.
At the Third International Conference for Sudan, co‑hosted by Germany, the African Union, the European Union, France and the United Kingdom, participating countries pledged more than $1 billion in assistance, according to organisers. The meeting aimed to sustain international engagement and funding as Sudan faces the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crisis.
Senior United Nations (UN) officials delivered stark warnings about the scale of suffering. UN Humanitarian Chief Tom Fletcher described Sudan as “an atrocities laboratory,” citing the sieges of cities such as El Fasher in Darfur, the denial of food, widespread sexual violence and the targeting of schools and hospitals.
“Drones have killed 700 people just this year, and 130 humanitarians have been killed over three years,” Fletcher said, adding that he often has to speak to grieving families of aid workers who lost their lives.
The conflict, which erupted three years ago between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, has devastated the country. Around 34 million people, roughly two‑thirds of Sudan’s population, now require humanitarian assistance. Nearly 14 million people are displaced, 19 million face hunger, and about 10 million children are out of school.
Fletcher warned that the crisis is being compounded by wider regional instability. He said the war in the Middle East has pushed up food, fuel and freight costs, with shipping rates rising by about 25 per cent. Sudan, he noted, relies on the Gulf region for about half of its fertiliser supplies, just as the main planting season approaches.
The UN and its partners are seeking $2.2 billion this year to assist 14 million people inside Sudan, part of a broader response targeting 20 million. Fletcher stressed the need to keep key humanitarian access routes open, including the Adré border crossing from eastern Chad, and to expand access into Darfur, the Kordofans and Blue Nile state.
In a video message, UN Secretary‑General António Guterres thanked the international community for its renewed solidarity but warned that funding alone cannot end the war.
“This nightmare must end,” he said. “An immediate cessation of hostilities is essential, along with an end to external interference and weapons flows, and a credible path toward an inclusive, civilian‑led political process.”
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk underlined the need for accountability, saying ending impunity is central to stopping the violence. He urged full compliance with the Darfur arms embargo, an end to weapons transfers and referral of the situation in Sudan to the International Criminal Court.
Despite the pledges, officials warned that without urgent political action, the humanitarian catastrophe will continue to deepen.
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
