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U.S., allies working to send more humanitarian aid to Sudan

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The Trump administration is working with the United Nations to get more aid to Sudan, which is often called the world's worst humanitarian crisis. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports on a donors conference here in Washington, D.C.

MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE: The U.N.'s top humanitarian official, Tom Fletcher, says the crisis in Sudan has lasted more than a thousand days.

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TOM FLETCHER: Too many days of famine, of brutal atrocities, of lives uprooted and destroyed and of women and girls enduring terrifying sexual violence.

KELEMEN: The Trump administration is giving $200 million to a new U.N. fund for Sudan. The United Arab Emirates announced $500 million, but its representative, Lana Nusseibeh, did not address allegations that her country has backed the Rapid Support Forces, one of the warring parties that's accused of atrocities in Sudan.

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LANA NUSSEIBEH: We must redouble our efforts to end this conflict because all the aid in the world cannot replace that peace.

KELEMEN: Diplomats from Saudi Arabia and Egypt also called for a truce but did not talk about their support for the other side of the conflict, the Sudanese Armed Forces. Trump's envoy, Massad Boulos, has been trying to get all these regional actors and the warring parties to agree on a peace deal, as President Trump instructed back in November.

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MASSAD BOULOS: Since that time, we've all amplified our efforts in line with President Trump's directives, and yet we haven't really achieved that much yet.

KELEMEN: His new goal is to get a humanitarian truce in time for Ramadan in a couple of weeks.

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BOULOS: We have to remain optimistic. Otherwise, we lose the will to continue fighting for this cause.

KELEMEN: The U.N.'s humanitarian chief praised Boulos for keeping focused on a war that often doesn't get the attention it deserves.

Michele Kelemen, NPR News, the State Department.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Michele Kelemen has been with NPR for two decades, starting as NPR's Moscow bureau chief and now covering the State Department and Washington's diplomatic corps. Her reports can be heard on all NPR News programs, including Morning Edition and All Things Considered.