Khartoum protests 'no invitation' to conference on Sudan hosted by UK

The Sudanese government has officially objected to the UK’s decision to host an international conference on Sudan on April 15 without inviting Sudanese authorities to attend.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Yusuf conveyed this stance in a letter to his British counterpart David Lammy last week, according to a Sudanese Foreign Ministry statement.

The ministry said Yusuf’s letter expressed “Sudan’s objection to Britain holding a conference on Sudan without extending an invitation to the Sudanese government.”

He criticised “the British government’s approach, which equates the sovereign Sudanese state -- a UN member since 1956 -- with a terrorist militia (the Rapid Support Forces RSF) committing genocide, crimes against humanity, and unprecedented atrocities against civilians.”

‘Leniency towards militia’

The army and RSF have been fighting a war since April 2023 that has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced 15 million others, according to the UN and local authorities.

Yusuf highlighted what the ministry called “evidence of Britain’s leniency toward the militia”, urging the UK to reassess its Sudan policy and engage constructively with the government “based on historical ties between the two nations”.

Britain is set to host a high-level international conference on the Sudan crisis in London on April 15.

In recent weeks, the territorial control of the RSF has been shrinking rapidly in favour of the army across several states, including Khartoum and Bahri, while controlling most of Omdurman except for parts of its west and south.