Türkiye reaffirms its strong support for Sudan’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - Türkiye’s ambassador to the US reaffirmed Ankara’s strong support for Sudan’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity Tuesday, backing regional and international efforts to end the conflict.

“Türkiye reaffirms its strong support for Sudan’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity, which we consider critically important for the stability of Sudan and the wider region,” Sedat Onal said during remarks at an event involving the Sudan Humanitarian Fund at the US Peace Institute in Washington, DC.

“We believe that the most effective way for ending the conflict is dialogue and diplomacy. We support regional and international efforts aiming to end the conflict,” Onal said.

The event was hosted by Massad Boulos, the US State Department’s senior advisor for Arab and African Affairs, and attended by the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA) Tom Fletcher as well as senior US officials and diplomats from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, the UK, France and other countries.

Onal said Türkiye’s sole aim in the current exceptional circumstances is to alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people and support Sudanese authorities in addressing urgent humanitarian needs.

He noted that Türkiye was among the first countries to provide humanitarian assistance to Sudan since the outbreak of the conflict.

Sudan has been locked in a bloody conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, killing tens of thousands and displacing millions of others.
On Oct. 26 last year, the RSF seized control of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, and committed massacres of civilians, according to local and international organizations, amid warnings that the assault could entrench the country’s geographical partition.

Onal said that 30,000 tents were sent to Sudan on three vessels last December in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) following the “tragic” developments in El-Fasher.

“The Turkish Red Crescent and several Turkish NGOs continue to provide various forms of humanitarian assistance ranging from food to shelter and hygiene supplies to people in need in different regions of Sudan,” he said, noting that Türkiye will continue to make in-kind contributions in the “coming weeks.”

The Washington donor meeting came as the US seeks to mobilize up to $1.5 billion in new pledges for Sudan amid renewed efforts to secure a humanitarian truce ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins later this month.