World Leaders Gather In UK To Push Peace For Sudan

A major international conference aimed at ending Sudan’s two-year civil war opened in the British capital London Tuesday as world leaders pledged millions in humanitarian aid while condemning an attack on a refugee camp in Darfur over the weekend that killed hundreds, saying it undermines peace talks, the BBC reported. 

The conference – co-hosted by the United Kingdom, European Union and African Union – opened on the second anniversary of the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which began on April 15, 2023, following a falling out between the leaders of the army and the RSF over the political future of the country. 

Since then, tens of thousands of Sudanese have been killed and more than 12 million people displaced amid widespread reports of war crimes, including beheadings and mass rape. The war has left more than 30 million people in need of humanitarian aid. 

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the conference is aimed at finding “a pathway to peace” in Sudan while describing the situation there as “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.”  

He announced $158 million in new aid for food and medical assistance. Other attendees’ pledges brought the total to more than $1 billion. 

African Union envoy, Bankole Adeoye, told the conference attendees that “there can be no military solution in Sudan, only an immediate, unconditional cessation of hostilities.”  

Tuesday’s conference comes a few days after the RSF launched a major assault on Darfur’s Zamzam camp near the north Darfur capital, El Fasher, home to an estimated 700,000 internally displaced people.  

Satellite imagery reviewed by Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab confirmed the camp was largely destroyed by arson, while Médecins Sans Frontières reported at least 20,000 people fled to the town of Tawila in northern Darfur in just two days. Tens of thousands more were forced to flee. 

Witnesses described atrocities committed by RSF fighters, including executions, looting, and arson. Nine medical workers from Relief International were reportedly killed, and the Sudanese American Physicians Association said a children’s clinic manager was also among the dead, according to the Guardian. 

On Tuesday, the RSF announced a rival government in Sudan.  

Meanwhile, neither the SAF nor the RSF were invited to the conference. Instead, they will be represented by regional actors, including Kenya and the United Arab Emirates, both of which have been accused of backing the RSF. The UAE is accused of being complicit in genocide in a complaint filed at the International Court of Justice by the government of Sudan. 

Kenya has denied supporting the paramilitary group, while the UAE has denied supplying weapons or being linked to any other misconduct in the country.  

However, an information blackout imposed by the government on the attack on the Zamzam camp has prompted calls by Sudanese civilians and human rights activists to restore communications in Darfur.  

The blackout has left survivors unable to reach family members or assistance and has made human rights monitoring nearly impossible. Much of the limited information about Zamzam has come from RSF videos or costly and unreliable satellite connections.