The US will take a “big interest” in the war in Sudan, because “failed countries become a haven of extremist activity”, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said.
Lammy confirmed he had had “a brief conversation” with incoming US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the conflict in the region.
Sudan plunged into conflict in mid-April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between its military and paramilitary leaders broke out in the capital, Khartoum, and spread to other regions, including the vast western Darfur region.
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has said there are grounds to believe both government forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF) may be committing war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide in Darfur.
Liberal Democrat MP Olly Glover asked if Lammy would ensure Sudan was on the list of priorities for US President Donald Trump given his “America first agenda”.
Lammy said: “I listened to the secretary of state, Rubio’s first press conference, and he talked about wanting prosperity for the United States, wanting, of course, security for the United States, and wanting safety for the United States.
“And the truth is, the tremendous problems that we’re seeing in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel and Sudan, are deeply worrying, not just for us here in Europe, but also for the United States, because failed countries become a haven of extremist activity that washes back up on our shores, that is the truth of it.
“And when big countries, or indeed more powerful countries, invade small countries, particularly countries with minimal resources, we should be very concerned indeed and raise it as a big issue.
“So for all of those reasons, I expect the United States will take a big interest in what’s happening in this regard.”
Lammy earlier stated that the conflict in Sudan has created “the world’s largest humanitarian crisis”, with 30 million people now in “urgent need”.
He said: “Just to make it clear to the house that’s more than Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Gaza and Mali combined. That is how bad the situation currently is.
“And that is why I did raise this issue with Secretary of State, Rubio when I spoke to him yesterday, although because of all the issues in front of this, it was a brief conversation, but we both said we would return to the issue, and we discussed the fact that I am keen to convene a group of nations, including regional partners, on this very same issue.”
He said he had seen the level of crisis for himself during a visit to the Chad-Sudan border, adding: “I felt a duty to confront the true horror of what is unfolding, to bear witness and to raise up the voices of those suffering, mainly women, so horrendously.”
Lammy said the UK has an interest in addressing the conflicts, saying: “Irregular migration from Sudan to Britain alone increased by 16% last year. Unscrupulous smuggling gangs are looking to profit from the misery in places such as Sudan and the DRC and the longer these wars last, the greater their ripple effects.
“Neighbours like Chad are working hard to manage the crisis alongside others nearby, but further escalation only increases instability and the risk of conflict elsewhere.”
Independent MP Zarah Sultana (Coventry South) called on the Foreign Secretary to end arms sales to the UAE who she said were providing arms to the RSF.
She told MPs: “These arms and supplies have been reportedly disguised as humanitarian aid, raising serious concerns about the UAE’s role in exacerbating conflict and suffering in Sudan.
“The UAE is one of the UK’s largest arms buyers, with billions of pounds worth of defense exports licensed in recent years.
“So given the gravity of these allegations and the UK’s obligations under international law, will the Government commit to ending all arms sales to the UAE unless it can be unequivocally verified that they are no longer supplying the RSF?”
Lammy said the government holds regular discussions with all regional partners “including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and African partners”.