On May 9, Administrator Samantha Power spoke with Deputy Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) Commander Lieutenant General Shams El-Dein El Kabbashi. The Administrator raised the looming famine in Sudan and the urgent need for the SAF to allow unhindered, sustained, and safe humanitarian access across Sudan, including cross-border access from Chad to Darfur.
Following up on her call in March with the Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Administrator Power reinforced to Lieutenant General El Kabbashi that the SAF's obstruction of humanitarian access is having devastating consequences for the Sudanese people, five million of whom are at risk of starvation. The Administrator highlighted that since early April, 860,000 of the most vulnerable people have not received assistance. The Administrator noted Sudan's long history of bureaucratic obstructionism of humanitarians and urged LTG Kabbashi and the SAF to take immediate and specific steps to lift impediments to humanitarian aid operations. The Administrator called for immediate action by the SAF to open up the border crossing in Adre, Chad and lift current restrictions at other border crossings to ensure the effective, sustained delivery of lifesaving assistance to people in urgent need across Sudan.
Administrator Power also expressed serious concern about the recent escalations of hostilities in and around El Fasher, including attacks on civilians by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), that threaten to exacerbate already dire conditions for vulnerable people in Darfur. She emphasized that the United States urges the leadership of the SAF and RSF to deescalate the situation in and around El Fasher and commit themselves to negotiations toward a cessation of hostilities and an end to this conflict and the immense suffering of the Sudanese people.
