The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) said it continues to implement a response plan to deliver aid across Sudan’s war-affected states.
Fahad Al-Osaimi, Director of Emergency Relief at KSrelief, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the center is coordinating with UN organizations that have access to the city of El-Fasher.
He said the center is providing humanitarian assistance to those displaced from El-Fasher in the areas where they have sought refuge, while also supporting Sudan’s Ministry of Health with medicines and equipment to ease the impact of the crisis on Sudanese civilians.
Al-Osaimi said KSrelief was awaiting further information on the situation in El-Fasher, noting that the center functions as a donor agency, while implementation on the ground is carried out by its partners.
He added that KSrelief conducts monitoring visits to affected areas when security conditions allow, while partner organizations oversee operations in areas the center cannot reach.
New figures showed that Saudi Arabia’s total humanitarian and relief support for Sudan since the outbreak of the conflict has exceeded $134 million as of early November.
Al-Osaimi noted that Saudi Arabia was among the first to assist those in need when the crisis began, saying the center had dispatched 55 ships and 13 aircraft carrying thousands of tons of medical, food, and shelter aid, in addition to medical campaigns aimed at alleviating the suffering of Sudanese citizens.
He said KSrelief’s assistance targets key sectors affected by the conflict, including food security, health, water and sanitation, agriculture, and education.
KSrelief has also distributed food aid in several areas across North Kordofan State, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Al-Osaimi highlighted Saudi Arabia’s successful evacuation efforts during the early stages of the nearly two-and-a-half-year conflict, when 8,455 people were evacuated, including 404 Saudi citizens and 8,051 people of various nationalities.
He said Saudi Arabia also helped several friendly countries evacuate their nationals, numbering more than 11,184 people.
Public Response
The Saudi public’s donations to the national campaign to aid the Sudanese people, organized through the Sahem platform, have surpassed $19.4 million, according to recent official estimates.
The campaign, launched in May 2023 under the directives of King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, has drawn contributions from more than 537,000 donors to date.
Saudi Condemnation of Atrocities in El-Fasher
Last week, Saudi Arabia expressed deep concern and condemnation over the grave human rights violations committed during recent attacks by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the Sudanese city of El-Fasher.
In a statement, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged the RSF to fulfill its duty to protect civilians, ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid, and comply with international humanitarian law as stipulated in the Jeddah Declaration on the Commitment to Protect Civilians in Sudan, signed on May 11, 2023.
Call for Dialogue
In the same statement, Riyadh called for a return to dialogue to achieve an immediate ceasefire, reaffirming its commitment to Sudan’s unity, security, and stability, the preservation of its legitimate institutions, and its rejection of foreign interference that prolongs the conflict and exacerbates the suffering of the Sudanese people.
On Sunday, prosecutors at the International Criminal Court said they were gathering evidence of alleged mass killings and rapes in Sudan, some of which may amount to war crimes, after the RSF seized control of El-Fasher, the army’s last stronghold in the Darfur region of western Sudan.
Thousands of Sudanese civilians remain at risk in El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, which the RSF captured on October 26, and in Bara, a strategic town in North Kordofan State, where large-scale displacement toward the city of El-Obeid has been reported.
Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) warned on Saturday that thousands of civilians remain trapped in El-Fasher and face imminent danger following the RSF takeover.
Satellite images have revealed evidence of ongoing massacres in the capital of North Darfur.
Survivors who fled to the nearby town of Tawila reported mass killings, shootings of children in front of their families, and assaults and looting targeting civilians trying to escape.
The United Nations said more than 65,000 people have fled El-Fasher since Sunday, though tens of thousands remain trapped. Researchers at Yale University said recent satellite images show continuing signs of mass killings inside and around the city.
