US President Donald Trump vowed Wednesday to end Sudan’s grinding civil war at the request of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, condemning “tremendous atrocities” in a conflict he has previously overlooked.
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Trump admitted that the devastating war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was “not on my charts” before Prince Mohammed bin Salman pushed him to get involved.
But Trump said he would now work to “stabilise” the conflict with regional powers, notably including the United Arab Emirates, which denies accusations of backing the RSF with weapons and mercenaries.
The United Nations has repeatedly called for greater global attention to the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced nearly 12 million since its outbreak in April 2023.
“His majesty would like me to do something very powerful having to do with Sudan,” Trump said at a business forum with the Saudi royal a day after Prince Mohammed received a lavish reception at the White House.
“It was not on my charts to be involved in, I thought it was just something that was crazy and out of control. But I just see how important that is to you, and to a lot of your friends in the room, Sudan. And we’re going to start working on Sudan.”