Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: THE United Arab Emirates on February 3 pledged to donate $500 million to a U.N. fund for humanitarian aid for Sudan, amid a U.S. push to renew efforts towards a truce in the conflict that has devastated the country.
Sudan has accused the UAE of arming the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) which have been fighting the Sudanese army in the civil war that broke out in April 2023 – a charge the UAE denies but U.N. experts and U.S. lawmakers have found credible. Speaking at a donor event in Washington, UAE state minister Lana Nusseibeh said her country wanted to see a truce in the conflict, without referring to her country’s alleged support for the RSF.
Nusseibeh has previously said the UAE condemns violations by both warring parties and wants to see an independent, civilian-led government in Sudan.
The U.S. special envoy for Africa, Massad Boulos, said he expected a total of $1.5 billion of new funding to be pledged at the Washington event, including an additional $200 million for Sudan from the United States. Other states represented at the event did not make clear promises of new aid.
The conflict in Sudan has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions and spread famine across the vast country. Fighting has raged in several areas in the past few months, with the latest frontline in the
