What's New
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday announced $200 million in U.S. aid for Sudan, an African nation torn in conflict.
The funds announced by Blinken will support food, shelter and health care for the people of Sudan.
Why It Matters
Blinken made the announcement in what may be his final trip to the United Nations under President Joe Biden's administration.
Amid deepening divisions within the U.N. Security Council, Blinken chaired two meetings of the U.N.'s most powerful body on Thursday. The sessions marked the culmination of his engagements with the world body following a turbulent four years defined by war in Europe and escalating crises in the Middle East.
Neither meeting addressed Russia's war in Ukraine or the Middle East, topics on which the U.S. often clashes with permanent members China and Russia and frequently finds itself isolated over its support for Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.
Instead, Blinken steered the Security Council toward topics with potential for broader consensus, leading sessions on artificial intelligence and Sudan, where a devastating conflict has created a humanitarian crisis that aid agencies argue remains under-addressed.
What To Know
Sudan plunged into war last year as rival generals leading the military and paramilitary forces turned on each other. The conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and pushed much of the population to the brink of starvation.
The $230 million in aid announced Thursday brings total U.S. assistance to more than $2.3 billion since the conflict began.
In October, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned a senior leader of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for supplying weapons to the war-torn country. The sanctions were part of a broader U.S. effort to curb the violence in Sudan, which has continued to escalate to war-crime extremities despite multiple attempts at brokering a ceasefire.
Even before the conflict began, Sudan was vulnerable to mass instability as it found itself in the grip of a humanitarian crisis with exceedingly dangerous weather, political turmoil and escalating food prices fueling poverty, hunger and displacement.
What People Are Saying
Blinken said to the U.N. that the ongoing violence in Sudan has created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, adding that each day "brings new atrocities, attacks on hospitals, on markets, displaced persons, camps, summary executions, women and girls subjected to unspeakable sexual violence."
"We continue to see war crimes and crimes against humanity committed across vast parts of Sudan," he said.
What's Next
Blinken added on Thursday that the State Department will collaborate with Congress to allocate an additional $30 million aimed at amplifying civilian voices and aiding the transition back to democratic governance.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
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