After over 19 months of political unrest, U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello made his first visit to Sudan. During the trip on Monday, he met with General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan of the Sudan Sovereignty Council to discuss how to facilitate humanitarian access and ways to end the war.
In a recent move to quell the ongoing political upheaval in Sudan, the U.S. special envoy to Sudan, Tom Perriello travelled to the African country for the first time on Monday to meet with the head of the Sovereign council, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan.
The meeting sought to discuss an increment in the flow of aid to millions of people in need and an end to a devastating war. Tom Perriello, since assuming office in February, travelled to Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast, the de facto capital for the army-led government.
This trip marked the first visit to the country by a senior U.S. official since the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted on April 15, 2023 and the U.S. embassy was evacuated.
A State Department official stated before the trip that Washington is committed to provide food and medicine to people in need in troubled Sudan.
The U.N. says more than 25 million people, half of Sudan’s population need aid as famine has taken hold in one region and more than 11 million people have fled their homes.
Perriello met with Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan as well as humanitarian, government, and tribal leaders, stated a statement by the country’s sovereign council. « The U.S. envoy presented several suggestions which the head of the sovereign council agreed to, » the statement said.
U.S.-mediated talks in Geneva earlier this year failed to achieve progress toward a ceasefire as the army refused to attend, but did secure promises from the warring parties to improve aid access. However, the war erupted over 19 months ago amid a power struggle between the army and the RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.
Sudan’s sovereign council said last week it would extend a temporary opening of the Adre border crossing with Chad, which aid agencies say is a vital corridor for food and other supplies to areas of the Darfur and Kordofan regions at risk of famine.
