LONDON 

The UK pledged an additional £5 million ($6.6 million) in humanitarian aid for Sudan, with UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper warning that global efforts are “currently failing to deal with the humanitarian crisis and the devastating conflict” tearing through the country.

Speaking at the Manama Dialogue Conference in Bahrain, Cooper said: “In Sudan right now, there is just despair… For too long, this terrible conflict has been neglected, while suffering has simply increased.”

She denounced the “truly horrifying and utterly intolerable scenes” in El-Fasher, where about 260,000 people -- half of them children -- are trapped in famine-like conditions, surrounded by violence, and deprived of aid.

The UK Foreign Office said the new funding will deliver emergency food, medical care, and protection for survivors of sexual violence, with £2 million directed toward support for victims of rape and sexual abuse.

“The reports from Darfur in recent days are truly horrifying,” Cooper said. “Atrocities, mass executions, starvation, and the devastating use of rape as a weapon of war, with women and children bearing the brunt of the largest humanitarian crisis in the 21st century.”

The conflict between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which began on April 15, 2023, has killed about 20,000 people and displaced more than 15 million. Repeated regional and international mediation attempts have failed to halt the fighting, according to UN and local figures.  

‘Gaza situation immensely fragile’

Cooper also warned that the situation in Gaza remains “immensely fragile,” urging all parties to uphold their commitments and work toward a lasting peace instead of a temporary ceasefire.

“Humanitarian aid cannot be conditional. We cannot leave children still facing famine. We cannot leave families desperately needing medical, health care support.

“And all parties must deliver on their commitments, and we need to lean in to make sure we have the momentum and the progress we need for a lasting peace, not simply the ceasefire.

“Gaza must not get stuck in a no-man’s land between peace and war, and progress is urgent. The UK is committed to playing that part,” she said.

Cooper also backed efforts to reform Palestinian governance, saying: “We need progress on the governance proposals for a Gaza free from Hamas and enabled by a reformed Palestinian Authority.”

She said new security arrangements would be necessary “through the stabilization force and Palestinian police as well” and pledged that the UK would share its expertise in civil-military coordination, weapons decommissioning, and reconstruction.

“These efforts will likely require international backing through the UN,” she added. “We should expect all of this to need to be underpinned not just by one but by a series of UN resolutions.

“The challenges of the next stage are going to be harder than the first, and it would be easy at this point for individuals, for nations, to start to pull back or to walk away, because the challenges get too hard.

“But we have come this far -- we cannot put that progress at risk, and now it is more important than ever for our international cooperation and for everyone to lean in. In Gaza, there is a prospect of fragile hope,” she said.

Israel has killed more than 68,000 people in Gaza in over two years of attacks since October 2023.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was reached on Oct. 10 under a 20-point peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump, though Israel has violated the truce multiple times.