The Foreign Minister of Sudan has praised Türkiye’s “generous stance” toward Sudanese people who have been under threat of famine due to 20 months of brutal civil war.
“Under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Türkiye has displayed a generous and positive stance towards the Sudanese people and government during the war,” Ali Yusuf said, pointing out a “reliable and historic” relationship between his country and Türkiye.
Sudan is reeling from 20 months of fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by rival generals, which have led to a dire humanitarian crisis.
The war has killed tens of thousands of people since April 2023 and uprooted 12 million, creating what the United Nations has called the world’s largest displacement crisis.
In its latest report on Tuesday, a U.N.-backed assessment said 638,000 people are now facing catastrophic levels of hunger, with a further 8.1 million on the brink of famine.
Several cease-fire agreements brokered by Saudi Arabia and United States mediators have failed to end the violence.
Türkiye has been sending humanitarian assistance to Sudan, with the latest aid ship carrying 3,000 tons of relief. More than 8,000 tons of aid have been delivered to Port Sudan since the conflict broke out.
Last week, Türkiye’s U.N. envoy called for urgent international action to address the escalating conflict and humanitarian crisis.
“To help the Sudanese people, we must focus on the causes of the disease, not the symptoms alone,” Ahmet Yılmaz said, urging support for the Jeddah Declaration as a key framework for resolving the crisis.
UAE tensions
Erdoğan’s offer to mediate the tensions between Sudan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will also have positive outcomes for Sudan, Yusuf told Anadolu Agency (AA).
In a recent phone call with the head of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Erdoğan said Türkiye was ready to mediate the tensions with the UAE.
“We are hoping the recent initiatives, including Erdoğan’s suggestion, who offered to mediate after his successful brokering between Ethiopia and Somalia, will succeed,” Yusuf said.
The Sudanese government accuses the UAE of providing weapons to its rival paramilitary force and prolonging the war. The UAE called the allegations “utterly false” and “baseless” and accused the government of refusing to negotiate peace with its enemy.
Their latest clash came during a U.N. Security Council meeting. Its 15 members voted unanimously to extend an arms embargo in Sudan’s vast western Darfur region – a key battleground of the rival forces – until Sept. 12, 2025.
Sudanese Ambassador Al-Harith Mohamed accused the UAE of providing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, known as the RAF, with heavy weapons, missiles and ammunition – and of “profiting from this war through the illegal exploitation of gold.”
The Sudanese envoy called for a new examination of arms export policies to the UAE and called for targeted sanctions against the RSF and countries that support the paramilitary force.
The UAE’s ambassador, Mohamed Abushahab, called Sudan’s claims “a cynical attempt to deflect attention from the failings of the Sudanese Armed Forces” and accused its military of showing “zero political courage,” using starvation as a weapon of war and refusing to heed calls to end the war and come to the negotiating table.
The heavy toll of war
The Sudanese minister continued by arguing that the RSF refused to adhere to the resolutions of the Jeddah Declaration, which, signed in May 2023, aimed to end the conflicts between the Sudanese army and the RSF, with an emphasis on civilian protection and Sudanese interests.
“This ‘War of Honor’ is targeting Sudan’s identity, existence and people who are paying the heavy price for it,” Yusuf said, citing “unprecedented” violations committed during the war.
Arguing that the Sudanese government is “open to all efforts for lasting peace,” Yusuf said two “fundamental terms” must be fulfilled first: the dissolution of all armed groups to create a single unified Sudanese army and RSF leader and his allies not taking on any political role in a post-peace agreement environment.