Türkiye is preparing to step in to mediate a resolution for the brutal 20-month conflict between the Sudanese army and their paramilitary rivals.
Sudan’s army chief has welcomed Türkiye’s offer to resolve what has been called the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis,” according to Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Youssef.
In early December, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a phone call with Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, that Ankara could help establish “peace and stability” in the war-torn African state.
At a meeting in Port Sudan on Saturday, al-Burhan asked Türkiye’s deputy foreign minister, Burhanettin Duran, to “deliver the Sudanese leadership’s welcoming of the initiative” to Erdoğan, Youssef said in a briefing after the meeting.
“Sudan needs brothers and friends like Türkiye,” Youssef said, adding that, “The initiative can lead to … realizing peace in Sudan.”
Erdoğan said in his December call with al-Burhan that Türkiye “could step in to resolve disputes” between Sudan and the United Arab Emirates and prevent Sudan from “becoming an area of external interventions,” according to a statement from the Turkish presidency.
Sudan’s army-backed government has repeatedly accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – claims echoed by outside analysts, which the UAE has consistently denied.
Pundits have said cutting off arms supply to the RSF would be a vital step to ending the war.
Last month, the Sudanese government accused the RSF of launching UAE-assembled drones from neighboring Chad.
U.S. lawmakers long critical of the Gulf power’s role quoted the White House as saying late last month that the UAE had told the U.S. it would not arm paramilitaries in Sudan’s war.
Following his meeting with Burhan on Saturday, Türkiye’s Duran said that the peace process “entails concerted efforts” and that his country was ready to play a “role in mobilizing other regional actors to help overcome the difficulties in ending this conflict.”
In a statement last week, the UAE welcomed “diplomatic efforts” by Türkiye to “resolve the ongoing crisis in Sudan.”
“The UAE is fully prepared to cooperate and coordinate with the Turkish efforts and all diplomatic initiatives to end the conflict in Sudan and find a comprehensive solution to the crisis,” its foreign ministry said.
But it still denied arming the RSF.
The war in Sudan, which has pitted Burhan against his former deputy and RSF chief Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted 12 million more.
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 U.S. mediators have failed to end the violence.
At the al-Burhan-Duran meeting, Türkiye also reiterated its readiness to provide all necessary support to end Sudan’s ongoing humanitarian crisis and destructive conflict.
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.
Türkiye’s Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) said on Sunday that it delivered 161 containers full of humanitarian aid supplies, which would help some 2.3 million people in need.