PARIS (AP) 鈥� World donors pledged more than $2.1 billion in humanitarian aid for that has pushed its population to , French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday.
Macron spoke at the end of an international conference in Paris aimed at drumming up support for Sudan鈥檚 51 million people. The aid will go to food, water, medicines and other urgent needs, he said, without providing a specific timeline.
Top diplomatic envoys, U.N. officials and aid agencies urged Sudan鈥檚 warring parties to stop attacks on civilians and allow access for humanitarian aid, and called for immediate international mediation efforts toward peace. Members of Sudan鈥檚 civil society took part in the Paris meeting, but neither the Sudanese army nor its rival paramilitary were represented.
Sudan descended into between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere across the country.
鈥淢uch of the world has been focused on the crisis that was generated in the Middle East. As concerning as those developments are, other dramatic life-and-death emergencies are being pushed into the shadows,鈥� United Nations Secretary-General Ant贸nio Guterres told reporters after the Security Council met on Sudan on Monday.
鈥淭he world is forgetting about the people of Sudan,鈥� he said.
The United Nations鈥� humanitarian campaign needs some $2.7 billion this year to get food, health care and other supplies to 24 million people in Sudan 鈥� nearly half its population. So far, , about 5%, according to the U.N鈥檚 humanitarian office, known as OCHA.
After Monday's conference, Macron said, 鈥樷�橶e are today at 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) for Sudan.'' Of that, some 900 million euros comes from EU countries, he said.
Monday's conference among 58 countries also called on regional powers to stop funding Sudan鈥檚 war. Without naming them, Macron said, 鈥欌�橳he amount we raised today remains probably less than all the money raised by several powers'' to wage a proxy conflict in Sudan.
More than 14,000 people have been killed and at least 33,000 have been wounded in the yearlong war. Nearly 9 million people have been forced to or to neighboring countries, according to the U.N. Hunger, sexual violence against women and girls and continued displacement are rampant and much of the country's infrastructure 鈥� homes, hospitals and schools 鈥� has been reduced to rubble.
鈥淲e cannot let this nightmare slide from view,鈥� Guterres said in a video message to the Paris conference.
鈥淚t鈥檚 time to support the Sudanese people. It鈥檚 time to silence the guns," he added.
French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said the aim of the conference was to mobilize humanitarian funding to help Sudanese people, who have been victims of both a 鈥渢errible war鈥� and 鈥渋nternational indifference.鈥�
The European Union's crisis management commissioner, Janez Lenarcic, said the 27-member bloc wants to ensure that Sudan is not forgotten as wars in Gaza and Ukraine dominate the international news.
鈥淧eople of Sudan, caught up in this emergency, are almost completely invisible,鈥� Lenarcic said. Sudan has turned into one of the worst humanitarian disasters ever on the African continent, he said, and added: 鈥淚t is our duty not to look away.鈥�
President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Mirjana Spoljaric warned that humanitarian action is increasingly politicized in Sudan and humanitarian workers are risking their lives to get vital aid to people.
鈥淪ecuring a military advantage cannot be pursued regardless of the human cost,鈥� Spoljaric said.
The United States and Saudi Arabia initially out of the conflict. But since October the fighting has been overshadowed by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which is threatening to expand into a broader regional conflict.
Relief workers, meanwhile, warn that Sudan is hurtling towards potential mass . Food production and distribution networks have broken down and aid agencies are unable to reach the worst-stricken regions.
The conflict has also been marked by widespread reports of atrocities including killings, displacement and rape, particularly in the area of the capital and the western region of Darfur.
At least 37% of the population at , according to OCHA. Save the Children warned that about 230,000 children, pregnant women and newborn mothers could die of malnutrition in the coming months.
鈥淔amine is a reality in Sudan,鈥� said Abdallah al-Dardari, a regional director of the U.N. Development Program.
The military, headed by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, have carved up Khartoum and trade indiscriminate fire at each other. In 2021, Burhan and Dagalo were . They toppled an internationally recognized civilian government that was supposed to steer Sudan鈥檚 democratic transition.
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Magdy reported from Cairo and Surk from Nice. Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.
Barbara Surk And Samy Magdy, The Associated Press
