French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne has announced that France will host a humanitarian conference in April aimed at providing aid to war-ravaged Sudan.
Speaking before the lower house of parliament, Sejourne stated, “We will host a humanitarian conference in Paris on April 15 for Sudan and neighbouring countries to help resolve this dramatic humanitarian crisis.” However, he did not provide further specifics regarding the conference.
Emphasising the importance of addressing the situation, Sejourne stressed, “It should not become a forgotten crisis.”
The conflict, which erupted in April last year between Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, has resulted in thousands of casualties and triggered a humanitarian catastrophe.
According to United Nations figures, approximately 25 million people in Sudan, representing over half of the population, require humanitarian assistance. Among them, nearly 18 million are facing acute food insecurity.
The violence has forced 1.6 million individuals to flee to neighbouring countries such as Chad and Egypt, while internally displacing 6.1 million within Sudan, as reported by the United Nations.
Highlighting the urgency of the situation, the World Health Organisation issued a warning on Tuesday, cautioning that the lean season during the summer months could exacerbate hunger to catastrophic levels.