Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday urged the Muslim world to assume responsibility for ending the bloodshed in Sudan after paramilitaries seized the key city of El-Fasher.
“No one with a heart … can accept the recent massacres targeting civilians in El-Fasher. We cannot remain silent,” he said.
“The greatest responsibility for swiftly ending the bloodshed in Sudan undoubtedly falls on the Islamic world. As Muslims, we must resolve our own problems rather than seek help from others,” he told delegates at an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) economic gathering in İstanbul.
“It is crucial that we stand with the Sudanese people during these difficult times and continue our humanitarian aid and development support,” he said.
“We must protect Sudan’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.”
Turkey currently holds the rotating chair of the 57-member OIC’s foreign ministers council. Founded in 1969, the organization sees its role as protecting the interests of the Muslim world and increasing Muslim solidarity.
Since Sudan’s current conflict began in April 2023, Turkey has backed the Sudanese army in its fight against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The UN’s refugee agency says nearly 37,000 people have fled El-Fasher in just over a week since RSF paramilitaries pushed the army out of the city, its last stronghold in Darfur, following a grinding 18-month siege marked by starvation and bombardment.
Tens of thousands remain trapped inside, with reports emerging of summary executions, sexual violence, attacks on aid workers, looting and abductions, while communications remain largely cut off.
The Sudan conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced nearly 12 million, creating the world’s largest displacement and hunger crises, according to the UN.
© Agence France-Presse