More than 840 million euros in aid to Sudan were announced at the opening of the international humanitarian conference which is being held on Monday April 15 in Paris, with the aim of coordinating mediation initiatives to put an end to the war which is ravaging the country. since a year. Paris has promised humanitarian aid of 110 million euros; Berlin, 244 million; the European Union (EU) will contribute 350 million and Washington, 138 million. Donations will be “well over a billion euros”a diplomat told Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
Co-chaired by France, Germany and the EU, this conference must put this “forgotten crisis”insisted the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Séjourné, his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, as well as the European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic.
“For a year, the Sudanese have been victims of a terrible war (…) which produces only chaos and sufferinglamented Mr. Séjourné. The Sudanese are also victims of forgetfulness and indifference. This is the purpose of our meetings today: to break the silence surrounding this conflict and to mobilize the international community. » “Only international pressure” could push the belligerents to negotiate, said Mr. Borrell.
Mme Baerbock, who met with Sudanese women, highlighted their “unspeakable suffering”the lack ” of all “ of the Sudanese and their feeling of being abandoned. Furthermore, the German minister deplored the fact that the multiple mediation initiatives had had no effect. “We want to work for better coordination”she said, urging the international community to “act together to bring the belligerents to the negotiating table and achieve a ceasefire”.
The war in Sudan broke out on April 15, 2023 between forces loyal to the head of the army, Abdel Fattah Al-Bourhane, and those of Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, his former deputy and commander of the Rapid Support Forces (FSR, paramilitary). The conflict has left thousands dead and caused a humanitarian catastrophe.