On the evening of Tuesday 21 January, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, called on the European Parliament to renew its support for the Sudanese people, whose country has been ravaged by clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
“This tragedy is a moral test for us. Will we look away or will we take action against famine, against displacement, against violation of human dignity and against global silence?”, he asked MEPs, calling for unimpeded access for humanitarian aid.
Mr Brunner described a country “in free fall”, faced with acute food insecurity and massive population displacement. “Sudan accounts for 10% of all people in need of humanitarian aid worldwide. Yet Sudan represents less than 1% of the world’s population”, he stressed.
These statements come against a backdrop marked by the abrupt suspension of US foreign aid since the inauguration of Donald Trump on Monday (see EUROPE 13562/21).
On Monday 13 January, at least 120 civilians were killed in bombardments to the west of the capital, Khartoum. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)