UAE welcomes UN humanitarian mission to Sudan’s El Fasher and calls for urgent aid access

Minister for State for International Co-operation reiterates the UAE’s call for a humanitarian truce in all parts of the country

A girl whose family fled El Fasher joins a line for food at a camp for displaced people in Al Dabba, northern Sudan. AFP

The UAE is ready to provide the city of El Fasher in Sudan with immediate and unhindered humanitarian support, Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Co-operation, said on Saturday.

In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ms Al Hashimy welcomed a UN assessment mission to El Fasher, which took place on Friday, and described it as an important step towards restoring humanitarian access to civilians who have endured months of siege and deprivation.

“We commend the United States for its diplomatic leadership, and recognise the efforts of the United Nations, OCHA [the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs], and humanitarian partners working under extreme and dangerous conditions,” she said.

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The UAE calls on the “warring parties to immediately allow full, unhindered humanitarian access nationwide, through all viable routes, and to implement an immediate nationwide humanitarian truce without preconditions,” she said.

In recent months, the city of El Fasher in North Darfur state has ensured an increased level of violence following a takeover by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The UN has repeatedly said the situation for civilians was growing worse by the day.

“The UAE is ready to support an immediate scale-up,” Ms Al Hashimy said.

“Our humanitarian logistics and operational hub capabilities are on standby to accelerate the movement of life-saving assistance as soon as access is granted,” she said.

She called for access and safe passages for humanitarian convoys to deliver aid to civilians.

“Aid must reach El Fasher and extend to all communities in need across Sudan quickly, safely, and without obstruction, in line with international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians,” she said.

Tens of thousands have been killed in Sudan's civil war between the RSF, commanded by Gen Mohamed Dagalo, and the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, which began in April 2023. At least 12 million Sudanese have been displaced by the war, which has also created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with an estimated 25 million people – half the country's population – facing hunger.