Britain boosts aid for victims of Sudan conflict at conference

Britain said on Tuesday it would provide £120m (R2.9bn) more in aid to people in Sudan, which it said faces the worst humanitarian crisis on record, as it hosted a conference marking the two-year anniversary of the conflict.

The war in Sudan erupted in April 2023, sparked by a power struggle between the army and Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF), shattering hopes for a transition to civilian rule.

The conflict has since displaced millions and devastated regions including Darfur, where the RSF is fighting to maintain its stronghold amid army advances in Khartoum.

Rather than mediating directly in the conflict, Britain said Tuesday's conference in London would be a chance to improve the coherence of the international response to the crisis, though Sudan criticised that its government was not invited to the talks.

British foreign secretary David Lammy said the war had been going on for far too long “and yet much of the world continues to look away”.

“We need to act to stop the crisis from becoming an all-out catastrophe, ensuring aid gets to those who need it the most,” he said, adding the combatants had shown “an appalling disregard” for Sudanese civilians.

Britain is co-hosting the London conference with the AU, the EU, France and Germany. Egypt, Kenya and the UAE are among the other attendees.

Sudan's foreign minister has written to Lammy to complain, saying Sudan should have been invited, while criticising the presence of the UAE and Kenya.

Sudan has accused the UAE of arming the RSF, a charge the UAE denied but UN experts and US lawmakers have found credible. Sudan has also recalled its envoy to Kenya after it hosted talks between the RSF and its allies to form a parallel government.

Bankole Adeoye, AU commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, said: “Achieving peace in Sudan depends on valuing every voice and everyone playing a role in building a prosperous Sudan.”

Britain said 30-million people desperately needed aid and 12-million people were displaced, with famine spreading through Sudan. Lammy announced a separate £113m (R2.8bn) aid package in November, and in January he visited Sudan's border with Chad.

However, Britain's support for victims of the conflict comes as the government has slashed its foreign aid budget to pay for increased defence spending.

Though Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed to continue aid to civilians in Sudan, one of three priorities along with Gaza and Ukraine, his development minister resigned, saying Britain's aid priorities would be impossible to maintain and the cuts would harm the country's reputation abroad.

On Tuesday, lawyers acting for Sudanese victims submitted a 141-page dossier outlining alleged war crimes committed by the RSF to the UK police's special war crimes unit, with a request to pass the file to the International Criminal Court, which has jurisdiction over atrocity crimes in Darfur.

By sending the file via the UK police rather than directly to the ICC, the lawyers said they hoped to provide an impetus for the two jurisdictions to work together more closely on accountability for Darfur.

Reuters