Donors hope to raise well over $1 billion for Sudan

PARIS - Donors will hopefully pledge "well over a billion euros," ($1.07 billion) for war-torn Sudan at an aid conference in Paris on Monday on the first anniversary of a devastating conflict, a diplomatic source said.

Efforts to help millions of people driven to the verge of famine by the war have been held up by continued fighting, restrictions imposed by the warring sides, and demands on donors from other global disasters.

"It is obvious that the series of crises - I am thinking of Gaza and Ukraine - have pushed the Sudanese crisis into the background", French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said at the Paris conference.

The EU will pledge 350 million euros, while France will add 110 million euros, three sources said. The United States will invest a total of $147 million, they added. Germany pledged 244 million euros earlier on Monday.

"I hope [the funds raised] will be well over a billion euros," the French diplomatic source said, without specifying where the rest of the money will come from.

"We can manage together to avoid a terrible famine catastrophe, but only if we get active together now", German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, adding that, in the worst-case scenario, one million people could die of hunger this year.

On Friday, Sudan's army-aligned foreign ministry protested against the fact that it had not been invited in the conference. "We must remind the organisers that the international guardianship system has been abolished for decades," it said in a statement.

The army has said it would not allow aid into the wide swathes of the country controlled by its foes from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Aid agencies have accused the RSF of looting aid, something it denies.

'PITIFUL' RESPONSE

The war in Sudan the broke out on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese army and the RSF has devastated infrastructure, prompted warnings of famine and displaced millions of people inside and outside Sudan.

The factions, who were uneasy partners in the toppling of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in 2019 and the overthrow of a government in 2021, competed to protect their interests during a planned political transition back to civilian rule.

Thousands of civilians have been killed, though death toll estimates are highly uncertain. Each side has been accused of war crimes, and the RSF and its allies have been blamed for ethnic cleansing in West Darfur. Both factions have largely denied the accusations against them.

The World Health Organization said on Friday that the crisis could worsen in the coming months as the distribution of humanitarian aid and medical supplies remains restricted.

The United Nations has made a call for $2.7 billion for aid inside the country, where 25 million people need assistance, and another $1.4 billion for assistance in neighbouring countries that have housed hundreds of thousands of refugees.

Last week, US Special Envoy Tom Perriello called the international response so far "pitiful". "We're at 5% of the needed amount," he said.