Berlin pledges $1.5bn to Sudan
Donors meeting in Berlin pledged about $1.5 billion in aid for Sudan as the conflict entered its fourth year, even as Sudan’s government denounced the conference as unacceptable foreign interference. ( ) Reporting described widespread mass displacement, hunger and allegations of atrocities across the country, with some parts of Khartoum showing only fragile signs of life amid the humanitarian emergency. ( )
Donor governments meeting in Berlin pledged about $1.5 billion for Sudan on April 15, as the war entered its fourth year. (aljazeera.com) Germany said the conference produced more than 1.3 billion euros in commitments for humanitarian aid. The meeting was co-hosted by Germany, the European Union, France, the United Kingdom and the African Union. (aol.com) Sudan’s government rejected the gathering before it opened and called it “unacceptable” interference because Khartoum said it was not consulted. Officials also warned against any engagement that would, in their view, weaken Sudanese state sovereignty. (france24.com) The money is aimed at a country where 33.7 million people are expected to need humanitarian assistance in 2026, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. That is the highest number recorded for any country this year. (unocha.org) Sudan’s war began on April 15, 2023, with fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Khartoum. Three years later, the conflict has split control of the country and driven millions from their homes. (apnews.com) The United Nations says more than 13 million people have fled, including millions displaced inside Sudan and millions more who crossed borders into neighboring countries. Aid officials have described the emergency as the world’s largest displacement crisis. (twincities.com) Hunger has spread with the fighting. The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis said 19.1 million people were projected to face crisis-level or worse food insecurity between February and May 2026, with some areas in North Darfur and the Western Nuba Mountains under the gravest pressure. (ipcinfo.org) Reporting from Khartoum described neighborhoods where markets and tea stalls have reopened, but only in pockets of a capital still marked by shelling, looting and long blackouts. Outside the capital, NPR reported continuing allegations of atrocities and mass displacement, especially in Darfur. (npr.org) The New York Times reported that the war’s hunger crisis has been compounded by regional turmoil that disrupted fertilizer and shipping flows. United Nations officials said this week that Sudan should not be treated as a “forgotten crisis” as fighting and access restrictions continue to block relief. (nytimes.com; theweek.in) Berlin’s pledges add money to a response that aid agencies say is still far short of need. Sudan’s civilians now face a fourth year of war with more funding promised, but no sign yet of a political settlement. (reliefweb.int; aljazeera.com)
