US pleads for world to care more about Sudan year into war

The United States pleaded on Thursday for the world to care more about Sudan nearly a year into its brutal war and voiced hope for a resumption soon of peace talks.

"As communities barrel toward famine, as cholera and measles spread, as violence continues to claim countless lives, the world has largely remained silent," said the US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

"That must change – and it has to change now. The international community must give more, it must do more and it has to care more," she told reporters in Washington.

A long-running rift between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted into all-out war on 15 April 2023, leaving thousands dead, displacing millions and severely derailing a fragile transition to civilian rule.

But the conflict has been largely overshadowed by Israel's brutal war on Gaza, which has so far killed 33,545 people in the Palestinian enclave.

The International Court of Justice said in January that Israel was plausibly breaching the UN Genocide Convention in Gaza.

Thomas-Greenfield regretted that just five percent of a UN humanitarian appeal on Sudan had been met, forcing cutbacks in assistance for refugees.

She said the United States will be "significantly increasing" funding in coming days. France on Monday is set to lead an international humanitarian conference for Sudan.

Tom Perriello, the US special envoy for Sudan, voiced hope to use the "momentum" from the Paris conference to start new talks between the two sides.

Perriello said that Saudi Arabia had committed to a new round of talks and that the United States hoped to announce the date soon.

Previous talks in the Saudi port city of Jeddah have failed to reach any substantive agreements.

"While many, many signs point to the war getting even worse, in some ways, it's gotten so bad and it's starting to have such regional implications that it's also increased, I think, some of the diplomatic appetite to try to find an end to this war," Perriello said.

"We're going to try to use every lever we have."

Regional players have played a key role in the war, with Sudan in December expelling diplomats from the UAE over accusations the wealthy Gulf country has funneled military support to the RSF.

The paramilitaries have also allegedly received support from Russia's Wagner mercenaries, while Egypt, Turkey, and reportedly Iran have backed the army.

Perriello said that the United States has been warning nations not to encourage an escalation to the conflict.

"Right now is the time that every arm shipment, every bit fueling this conflict, is something that pushes us closer to not only famine, but to a failed state," he said.