UK will double aid to Sudan to ease 'unimaginable suffering'

The UK will double the amount of aid to Sudan and neighbouring countries, providing more than £110m to those affected by the war.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the package doubles the UK's aid commitment and will assist more than 600,000 in Sudan.

In total, £43.5m in funding will be provided to support UN and NGO partners in providing food, cash, shelter, medical assistance, water and sanitation in the country.

For the more than 700,000 who have fled the war to neighbouring Chad, South Sudan, Uganda, Libya and other countries, the FCDO has allocated £69.5m - for a total of £113m.

The war in Sudan started last April when a transition from military to civilian rule collapsed, after disagreement about how the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) would be integrated into the military.

Read more:
Massacre on the streets of Sudan

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the war has caused "unimaginable suffering", adding: "The people of Sudan need more aid, which is why the UK is helping to provide much-needed food, shelter and education for the most vulnerable.

"But we cannot deliver aid without access. Starvation must not be used as a weapon of war and we can only stop this famine if every border crossing and route is open, accessible and safe."

Mr Lammy then said he would use the UK's presidency of the UN Security Council "to press for a resolution that ensures the protection of civilians and an unrestricted passage of aid". He added: "The UK will never forget Sudan."

Violence between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) has since led to the deaths of at least 20,000, according to the UN.

However, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine's Sudan Research Group said earlier this week it believes more than 61,000 have died in Khartoum state alone - where the fighting began.

After 18 months of war, the FCDO said more than 500,000 in the Darfur region are in famine conditions, more than 11 million people have been displaced, and 25 million are in desperate need of aid.

Read more on the war:
Videos lift veil on Sudan after '100 massacred'
Life will never be the same for those who couldn't flee Khartoum North
What has been happening in Sudan?

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Minister of State for Development Anneliese Dodds also said in an FCDO statement: "The humanitarian crisis in Sudan is worsening.

"Famine and disease are spreading, and by next year, many more will be in desperate need of aid. We have to prevent further suffering by acting now."

Both the RSF and SAF have been accused of war crimes in Sudan by the UN. Human Rights Watch also accused the RSF of ethnic cleansing in Darfur, which it denies.