Britain and the European Union pledged hundreds of millions of dollars Tuesday to ease suffering in Sudan, on the second anniversary of a civil war that has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 14 million and pushed large parts of the country into famine.
The African Union, which co-hosted the daylong conference in London with Britain, France, Germany and the EU, called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. But UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy acknowledged that achieving peace would take time, renewed international effort and "patient diplomacy."
The main aim of the conference was not to negotiate peace, but to relieve what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The conference hosts said participants had committed more than 813 million pounds (more than $1 billion) for Sudan and its neighbors this year. That includes 522 million euros ($590 million) from the EU and its member states and 120 million pounds ($158 million) from the UK.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told the conference that "no amount of humanitarian assistance will be sufficient if this war continues."
Attendees included officials from Western nations, international institutions and neighboring countries, but no one from Sudan. Neither the Sudanese military nor the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) it is fighting was invited.
Lammy told delegates that "many have given up on Sudan," concluding that continued conflict is inevitable. He said a lack of political will is the biggest obstacle to peace.
"We have got to persuade the warring parties to protect civilians, to let aid in and across the country and to put peace first," Lammy said.
Sudan plunged into war on April 15, 2023, after simmering tensions between the Sudanese military and the RSF. Fighting broke out in the capital, Khartoum, and spread across the country, killing at least 20,000 people, though the number is likely far higher.
Last month the military regained control over Khartoum, a major symbolic victory in the war. But the RSF still controls most of the western region of Darfur and some other areas.
More than 300 civilians were killed in a burst of fighting in Darfur on Friday and Saturday, according to the UN.
More than 3 million people have fled to neighboring countries including Chad and Egypt. Both sides in the war have been accused of committing war crimes.
The World Food Program says nearly 25 million people — half of Sudan’s population — face extreme hunger.
Aid agency Oxfam said the humanitarian catastrophe risks becoming a regional crisis, with fighting spilling into neighboring countries. It said that in South Sudan, itself wracked by recent war, the arrival of refugees has put more pressure on already scarce resources, "which is deepening local tensions and threatening the fragile peace."
Lammy said the conference would try to "agree a pathway to end the suffering," but the UK and other Western countries have limited power to stop the fighting.
In a closing statement, the host countries and organizations said that "neighboring states are directly affected by the conflict in Sudan and those present supported efforts to find a solution."
Sudan's government criticized conference organizers for excluding it from the meeting.
The US was represented at the conference, though the Trump administration has cut almost all overseas aid programs. Britain also has cut its aid budget from 0.5% of gross domestic product to 0.3% to fund an increase in military spending. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said Sudan, along with Ukraine and Gaza, will remain a priority for British aid.
