Qatar, Egypt send humanitarian aid to conflict-torn Sudan

By Ekrem Biceroglu

DOHA (AA) - Qatar and Egypt sent humanitarian aid to Sudan amid ongoing clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary force, according to media reports Saturday.

A plane loaded with food was sent to those affected by the conflict in cooperation with the Qatar Development Fund, according to the Qatari News Agency citing the Qatar Charity Agency.

The aid consisted of basic food supplies and 35 tons of food aid was distributed to those in need.

Also, an Egyptian supply ship loaded with hundreds of tons of aid materials arrived in Sudan, the Egyptian army said in a statement.

The aid was provided by the Egyptian Ministry of Defense and Social Solidarity, Egyptian Red Crescent and the Egyptian Zakat and Charity House, it said.

Many Arab countries, including Egypt and Qatar, had previously sent aid to conflict-ridden Sudan.

Sudan has been ravaged by fighting between the army and the RSF since April. Nearly 1,000 civilians have been killed and thousands injured in the violence, according to local medics.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that more than 2.2 million people have been displaced by the current conflict.

The UN warned Wednesday that escalating attacks in Darfur could amount to “crimes against humanity.”

A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the army and the RSF about the integration of the paramilitary group into the armed forces -- a key condition of Sudan's transition agreement with political groups.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since the fall of 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government and declared a state of emergency, in a move decried by political forces as a "coup."

The transitional period, which started in August 2019 after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, had been scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar