British PM Sir Keir Starmer has called for “global pressure” to “stop the slaughter” in Sudan.
His comments are timely as, this evening (25 November) at the EU parliament plenary in Strasbourg, MEPs and Commissioner Hadja Lahbib will debate the Sudan war and what a parliament spokesman called the “catastrophic humanitarian situation”.
Speaking in the UK House of Commons today (25 November), Starmer described the crisis in the country as “utterly horrifying”.
The Labour leader said his country was working with its partners to “break restrictions on humanitarian aid” to Sudan and demanded that all those involved in the bloodshed be held “responsible.”
He said the UK was seeking “global pressure to stop the slaughter” and to achieve a “sustainable” ceasefire.
Ultimately, he told MPs in the Commons at PMQs tht the aim was to “deliver a transition” to civilian rule.
His comments come after the United States presented the warring Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) with a strong text for a peace plan.
President Donald Trump has said he would work to help end the war in Sudan after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked him to get involved.
Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic adviser to the United Arab Emirates’ president, is further reported by Reuters as saying on Tuesday the UAE welcomed U.S. efforts to end war in Sudan and condemned “atrocities” committed by both Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Neither side has accepted the deal yet, senior U.S. envoy Massad Boulos said on Tuesday. On Sunday, Reuters report, however, that army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan described the U.S.’s latest proposal as the worst he’d seen, saying it “sidelined the army and granted the RSF legitimacy.”
Boulos, speaking at a press conference in Abu Dhabi, said the army had come back with “preconditions” but the U.S. wanted the plan accepted in its original form, according to Reuters.
Over 150,000 people have been killed, and millions of civilians have been forced to flee their towns and villages, almost 50,000 in recent days alone. Survivors report systematic war crimes: summary executions of civilians, widespread rape, looting, kidnappings, and attacks on humanitarian workers.
Commenting on the tragedy, Madiha Raza, Associate Director of Public Affairs and Communications, International Rescue Committee, exclusively told this site, “Even before the war erupted in April 2023, Sudan was already experiencing a severe humanitarian crisis that left 15.8 million people in need of aid.”
Speaking on Tuesday, Raza added, “Now, more than two years of war has drastically worsened these conditions, displacing over 12 million people and leaving 30.4 million people – more than half of Sudan’s population – in need of humanitarian support.
“Sudan is now facing the largest humanitarian crisis ever recorded, and it is entirely man-made. Famine continues to spread across the country, while violence is severely hindering humanitarians’ ability to deliver food where it’s needed most. This is being exacerbated by soaring food prices and a collapse of food supply, which are leaving families starving.
“Needs are particularly acute in the state of Darfur. Thousands of families are fleeing El Fasher, the state’s largest city, to join nearly 400,000 displaced persons who have been seeking safety and humanitarian services in neighboring Tawila. However, despite reports of large numbers of families attempting to flee toward Tawila, IRC teams on the ground have seen 5,000 to 10,000 people arrive, with El Fasher’s remaining civilian population estimated to be around 200,000 people.”
Raza added, “The IRC’s staff in Tawila have shared harrowing reports of small children arriving alone, without knowing the whereabouts or the fate of the rest of their family. Extremely disturbing reports and satellite imagery confirm that people are not able to flee El Fasher to safe places like Tawila, which means they are trapped, detained or worse.
“The IRC is calling on the international community, including the European Union, to strongly condemn all attacks against civilians, civilian infrastructure and aid workers, and meet their obligations under international humanitarian law.
“They must secure immediate humanitarian access across Sudan so aid can reach those who need it, and it’s vital they scale up flexible funding to immediately expand life-saving operations and support local and community-based responders.”
