On Thursday 4 May, the European ministers or secretaries of state in charge of development, meeting in the EU Foreign Affairs Council in its ‘Development’ format, reiterated their commitment to intensify their humanitarian aid to Sudan and their development cooperation with this country, which has been facing war between armed factions since 15 April.
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, gave an update on “the situation, which remains a source of concern”. He stressed “the absolute need for a lasting ceasefire to provide safety for civilians and to allow the deployment of humanitarian aid”, speaking to the press on his arrival, in the absence of a final press conference.
While European nationals have been evacuated, tens of thousands of Sudanese are fleeing Khartoum, particularly to Egypt, he said. Following his telephone conversation with the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Mr Borrell promised that “the EU will help Egypt to deal with the influx of Sudanese leaving Khartoum”.
On Thursday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, calling it a “tragedy”, said it expected an outflow of 860 000 refugees and returnees from Sudan and that it and its partners needed $445 million to support the displaced until October.
These updates were made in a preliminary summary of the inter-agency Regional Refugee Response Plan for Sudan, which was presented to donors in Geneva. The plan will mainly cover immediate assistance to Chad, South Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)