At least 1.8 million people are expected to flee Sudan country by the end of the year.
Qatar has expressed its readiness to contribute to rebuilding Sudan and renewed its support for all efforts aimed at halting the country’s deadliest war, the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) said in a statement on Monday.
The key Sudanese political party’s statement came after its delegation concluded a six-day visit to the Gulf state, in which they met with top Qatari officials, including Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
In a final statement, the FFC expressed its gratitude to Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for organising the trip while applauding the Gulf state’s humanitarian efforts on the ground.
According to the statement, Sheikh Mohammed expressed Qatar’s commitment to achieving peace in Sudan “as soon as possible” while strengthening relief efforts, adding that Doha would “be ready to contribute to the reconstruction of Sudan after the cessation of the war.”
The FFC’s visit came as part of a regional tour—including Kuwait and South Sudan—aimed at addressing Sudan’s “catastrophic humanitarian situation” and discussing the restoration of “the civil democratic path”.
“It is expected that the coming period will witness the completion of the foreign tours of a number of neighbouring and brotherly countries, as soon as their arrangements are completed, in order to end the war,” the FFC said in a statement last week ahead of their trip to Doha.
Sudan’s deadliest conflict erupted in April between the Sudanese army, led by Al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, widely known as Hemedti.
The ongoing fighting between the rivals has so far resulted in an estimated death toll of 4,000, though the actual figure is feared to be much higher. The war has also displaced 4.8 million people inside and outside of Sudan, per the United Nations’ most recent figures.
The fatal conflict has largely disrupted a 2019 power-sharing agreement between Sudanese parties, signed months after the overthrow of former Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir to form a Sovereign Council.
The agreement set late 2023 as the deadline for a vote to elect a civilian administration.
“The Forces of Freedom and Change will continue to make efforts to silence the sound of guns, restore peace, and establish a sustainable path for democratic civil transformation in our country,” the FFC statement added.
The FFC travelled to Egypt in July for peace talks that gathered Sudan’s neighbouring countries-Ethiopia, South Sudan, Chad, Eritrea, the Central African Republic and Libya – where the participating parties agreed on a new Egyptian-led initiative.
Last month, Sudan’s Al-Burhan travelled to Egypt to meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on his first foreign trip since the war broke out. Discussions at the time were centred on developments on the ground in Sudan.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, the RSF’s commander proposed a merger between both sides to end the war.
“We are fighting for Sudan, but the remnants (in reference to the Sudanese army) are fighting for the authority,” Hemedti said in an audio message posted on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Sudan has witnessed at least 10 ceasefires since the conflict broke out, all of which have failed to materialise. Saudi Arabia and the United States have also attempted to mediate between the conflicting parties.
Nearly five months on, the violence has spread from the capital city of Khartoum to the Darfur region, Kordofan, and Jazira state.
The absence of a truce in Sudan has raised concerns over a worsening humanitarian crisis, with 1.8 million people expected to flee the country by the end of the year.
