UN Aid Chief Calls Talks With Sudan Army Leader "Constructive" — Urgent Push for Safe Aid Access as Famine Spreads

UN chief describes Port Sudan talks with army leader as "constructive"

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said on Tuesday he held what he described as "constructive" talks with Sudan's army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, aimed at securing uninterrupted delivery of lifesaving aid across the conflict-affected country.

Since April 2023, fighting between Sudan's regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed tens of thousands and displaced nearly 12 million people, creating one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.

Speaking in a video released by Sudan's Transitional Sovereignty Council, Fletcher said:

"I very much welcome the constructive conversations I had with President Burhan... aimed at ensuring that we can continue to operate everywhere across Sudan to deliver in a neutral, independent and impartial way for all those who are in such dire need of international support."

The meeting took place in Port Sudan, the de facto capital since the outbreak of widespread hostilities. Fletcher arrived for a week-long mission to "back peace efforts, uphold the UN Charter, and push for our teams to get the access and funding they need to save lives across the battle lines."

Meetings with regional partners and aid agencies

Fletcher also met Egyptian diplomats to discuss ways to scale up humanitarian deliveries. Burhan separately met World Food Programme (WFP) deputy executive director Carl Skau, who described their exchange as an "honest and constructive discussion." These talks come after Sudan's army-aligned authorities expelled two senior WFP officials last month, declaring them "persona non grata," even as the agency warns some 24 million Sudanese face acute food insecurity.

Violence continues despite truce claims

The meetings followed the RSF's capture of El-Fasher in western Darfur two weeks earlier, the last significant army stronghold in the region. Since the city's fall, reports have emerged of mass killings, sexual violence, abductions and widespread looting. Burhan has previously vowed his forces would "take revenge" and fight "until this land is purified," remarks that alarmed rights groups and aid agencies.

Last Thursday the RSF said it had accepted a truce proposal from the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, but violence has persisted. On the day the RSF indicated support for the truce, they shelled a hospital in the besieged town of Dilling in South Kordofan, killing five people. Explosions were reported in Khartoum the following day.

The UN migration agency reported nearly 39,000 people fled fighting in several towns across the oil-rich Kordofan region after El-Fasher's fall. On Monday the RSF moved forces into the strategic town of Babanusa in West Kordofan, saying it would "fight until the last moment." Residents in North Kordofan told AFP they fear an imminent assault on El-Obeid, a major crossroads linking Darfur with Khartoum. Sudan's army-aligned government has not publicly responded to the multinational truce proposal.

Humanitarian situation: famine, displacement and collapsing services

Since El-Fasher's capture, nearly 90,000 people have fled and tens of thousands remain trapped in what the UN migration agency called "famine-like conditions" as hospitals, markets and water systems collapse. Last week the Rome-based Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) declared famine in El-Fasher. Famine has also been confirmed in Kadugli, South Kordofan, and the IPC says another 20 areas across Darfur and Kordofan are at high risk. The IPC had previously declared famine last year in three displacement camps near El-Fasher.

Amy Pope, director general of the International Organization for Migration, warned that without secure, sustained access, humanitarian operations "risk grinding to a halt at the very moment communities need support the most." UN Women representative Anna Mutavati said women fleeing El-Fasher "have endured starvation... displacement, rape and bombardment," and that pregnant women have been forced to give birth "in the streets as the last remaining maternity hospitals were looted and destroyed."

Analysts say Sudan is increasingly divided, with the RSF dominant across Darfur and parts of the south, while the army retains control of much of the north, east and central regions. Humanitarian officials stressed that political dialogue and concrete guarantees for neutral, unrestricted aid access are essential to prevent further deterioration and avert widespread famine.

Note: All figures and statements are based on UN and aid agency reports released around the time of Fletcher's mission.