Saudi to host humanitarian conference for Sudan

Saudi Arabia yesterday announced that it is organising an international conference to support the humanitarian response in Sudan, Anadolu news agency reported.

In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said the high-level conference will be held on 19 June “to pledge support for humanitarian response in Sudan and the region.”

The conference will be jointly led by Qatar, Egypt, Germany and the United Nations, in addition to the European Union and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the statement said.

“Saudi Arabia stands by the Sudanese people, by providing humanitarian aid worth $100 million, and organising a campaign aimed at alleviating the suffering of the Sudanese, by direct orders from King Salman Bin Abdulaziz,” it added.

The statement noted that the kingdom, along with the United States, is continuing its efforts to bring the two sides of the conflict in Sudan together by sponsoring talks in the city of Jeddah, with the aim of ending the crisis and launching “political dialogue”.

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Earlier yesterday, the head of the United Nations Mission in Sudan, Volker Perthes warned that “the security and humanitarian situation in the country continues to deteriorate rapidly, with the continuation of fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).”

Sudan has been ravaged by military clashes between the army and the RSF paramilitary group since mid-April.

More than 1,000 people have been killed and thousands injured in the violence, according to local medics.

The UN estimates that over one million residents have been displaced and more than 840,000 have sought shelter in rural areas and other states while another 250,000 have crossed into neighbouring countries.