Saudi Arabia announces international conference on Sudan aid

Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday that it would jointly lead a conference on the humanitarian response to the war in Sudan next week.

The pledging conference will be held on June 19, the official Saudi Press Agency said, citing the foreign ministry and adding that it would be jointly led with Qatar, Egypt, Germany and the European Union, as well as United Nations agencies.

Saudi Arabia and the United States have been mediating in the eight-week conflict between Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, known as Hemedti, who leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The Kingdom also played a leading role in evacuating thousands of foreigners from Sudan early in the war, which the UN says has left a record 25 million people — more than half the population — in need of aid and protection.