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| Displaced women in El Obeid (Reuters) |
"We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union urge the Rapid Support Forces and allied armed groups to immediately cease any action likely to lead to further atrocities or endanger civilians in El-Obeid, including drone strikes and impediments to humanitarian access," the statement reads.
The ministers also called on all parties, including the Sudanese army, to cease hostilities, allow aid access and engage in good-faith talks.
"Following the atrocities committed during the Rapid Support Forces’ siege and attack on El Fasher, we remain gravely concerned about alleged severe violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law across Kordofan and Darfur regions, as well as Blue Nile in Sudan," the statement continues.
The countries urge the Rapid Support Forces, as well as the Sudanese Armed Forces and allied armed groups, "to abide by their obligations under the rules of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, as applicable," it adds, as "civilians must be protected."
The G7 therefore calls on parties to the conflict to guarantee safe voluntary passage, and to facilitate rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access into and around El-Obeid and throughout the country.
Ministers also backed United Nations' efforts to de-escalate the crisis, called on the UN Security Council to expand the Darfur arms embargo to all of Sudan, urged external actors to halt military and financial support to the warring sides, and vowed to promote accountability for violations while supporting Sudan's unity and democratic aspirations.
"We support the efforts of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Mr. Pekka Haavisto, to advance de-escalation in El-Obeid and support ongoing broader efforts by the Quad and the Quintet to achieve a humanitarian truce, followed by a permanent ceasefire and an independent, inclusive, transparent and civilian-led political dialogue," the statement reads.
Spiralling crisis
Sudan has been at war since April 2023, with serious reports of human rights violations and crimes against humanity.
This war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, now in its fourth year, has displaced millions and devastated much of the country. Aid agencies have repeatedly warned of worsening food insecurity and limited humanitarian access.
The conflict has been described as the current worst humaniratian crisis in the world by the UN.
According to a senior World Food Programme (WFP) official, the country now risks sliding backwards into deeper hunger as conflict, aid funding cuts and rising agricultural costs driven by disruption linked to the Iran war threaten to reverse gains made after famine took hold in parts of the country, said on Tuesday.
Around 5 million people facing emergency or catastrophic levels of hunger, even after an intensive aid response helped reduce the number of people in famine-like conditions, Carl Skau, the WFP's acting executive director, told Reuters.
"It's a massive crisis, both in terms of numbers, but also the gravity," he said, adding that more than 100,000 people were still facing famine-like conditions, placing them in the highest level of the UN-backed IPC hunger classification.
"With these kinds of numbers in IPC (Phase) 5 starvation it is extremely, extremely serious," he said.
Across Sudan, nearly 19.5 million people face high levels of acute food insecurity, according to the IPC.
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On the evolution of the war, you can also listen to our recent podcast episode:
Sudan: Three years of war and new reports of meddling by Ethiopia
