Sudan’s ambassador in Brussels has made an urgent appeal to the EU to help relieve the tragic suffering of those caught up in his country’s brutal civil war.
The heartfelt plea by Ambassador Abdelbagi Kabeir, who is Sudan’s official representative in Brussels, comes amid fresh media reports of atrocities in the war-torn country.
The bitter civil war broke out over two years ago and has since killed as many as 150,000 and seen 12m leave their homes.
The ambassador told reporters and others at Press Club Brussels Europe: “My country has been ravaged by a brutal war and this has led to a huge loss of human life and destruction of the infrastructure. There is now a dire humanitarian and economic situation in Sudan.”
More and more people, he noted, are being forced to flee Sudan to neighbouring countries, and beyond, as aid agencies struggle with access to vulnerable communities, insecurity, and the lack of vital resources and funding.
Addressing a specially-convened press conference the ambassador touched on a wide spectrum of aspects of the war, ranging from the humanitarian situation, including the problems of getting aid to those most in need, and displaced persons to “restrictive measures” imposed on Sudan by the EU and the country’s relationship with Russia.
Ambassador Kabeir cited what he called “very troubling numbers” of those caught up in the bloody war, including 10.7 million internally displaced persons, about 3m of whom, he said, are from the capital Khartoum, with an estimated 1.5m “dispersed in neighbouring countries.”
All, he added, have also been prevented from taking part in democratic elections “for decades” and deprived of any “civic role.”
Though the war has been rumbling on since 2023 and, until very recently, mostly overlooked by the mainstream media which has been more preoccupied by wars in Ukraine and Middle East, his comments are particularly timely with a recent spike in killings.
On Tuesday, António Guterres, the UN Secretary General, said the war was “spiralling out of control”. He said: “People are dying of malnutrition, disease and violence.”
The ambassador told the packed news briefing that, in the conflict, “no one has been spared, including my own home in Sudan, and sexual violence has been used as a weapon of war.
“It is now time the guns were silenced.”
“We are now experiencing, and live in, an extraordinarily dangerous situation in Sudan.”
He said that after over two years of conflict “war fatigue” had set in but insisted that, despite very recent events there had been “no change of command” in the country.
As a result of its devastating civil war, Sudan teeters on the edge of disaster, he admitted.
Across the country, as a result of the two-and-a-half years of fighting that has crippled agriculture, almost 25 million people – half the population – are facing severe food shortages, including more than 600,000 who are experiencing famine, according to the UN which says the conflict has caused the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis.
The two rivals at the centre of the war had previously been allies – coming to power together in a coup – but fell out over an internationally backed plan to move towards civilian rule.
Turning to the disastrous humanitarian plight of the Sudanese, the ambassador said that NGOs such as Medecins Sans Frontieres had been in Sudan since the start of the war and were still present “but the current problem is how they manage to physically move around Sudan.”
He cited, as one example, aid food arriving at the Port of Sudan.
“The problem,” he noted, “is that this desperately-needed aid and food is often just stuck there at the port. All the necessary clearances have been completed but the current huge challenge is how to guarantee the safety of humanitarian aid workers taking the food to targeted civilians around the country.”
He added, “Looting (of aid food) is also taking place so, yes, these aid NGOs do have big, big problems.”
The diplomat was asked by journalists about support for internally displaced persons.
On this, he noted that some countries, such as Eritrea and Uganda, have cooperated by opening their borders to those fleeing the war, praising this as an “exemplary approach.”
“It is good that, since the eruption of the war, some have opened their borders without restrictions with Egypt another example, albeit with some limited restrictions. Chad has done the same. This shows there has been some cooperation to take those who have been displaced by the war.”
The ambassador was, however, highly critical of the EU’s restrictive measures which were recently extended by the 27-strong bloc.
On 25 September, EU member states agreed to extend for another year the EU restrictive measures against those “responsible for destabilising Sudan and obstructing its political transition.”
As a consequence, the sanctions regime against Sudan will remain in force until 10 October 2026, covering ten individuals and eight entities. Those listed are subject to an EU-wide travel ban, the freezing of assets, and a prohibition on making funds or economic resources available to them, either directly or indirectly.
But Ambassador Kabeir branded the restrictive measures as “unjust” and “uncalled for”, arguing they could hinder “a peaceful solution to the war.”
He said, “Sudan is, of course, a largely agricultural country and one of the companies affected by these measures specialises in agriculture and agricultural products.”
“These measures will, and do not, help create stability in Sudan and, additionally, nor will they do anything to improve relations between Sudan and the EU.
“The EU could and should have chosen a different path. The EU was not right in doing this (imposing restrictive measures) and we hope it will undo what it has done.”
He pointed out that the EU council presidency, currently held by Belgium, “opened a door to possible action and we plan to make contact at a bilateral level (with Belgium).”
He added, “We do not accept the measures in principle and they are not legal. They are baseless and do not help the existing (Sudanese) relationship with the EU which we hope could be better.”
Possible huge migratory flows to the EU as a result of the war was, he noted, another reason why “the EU should double its efforts to assist in ending this brutal war. It should resume cooperation (with Sudan) which, in turn, could also stem the influx of migrants into the Mediterranean.”
He went on, “Instead of imposing restrictive measures, which serve to destabilise things, the EU would be better to take part in a more constructive engagement with Sudan.”
“The irony of these measures is that they were first announced soon the Sudan’s government itself announced it was suspending its membership in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). We still have to wait to see if there was any link between the two events.”
He told reporters, “My message today to the EU is this: You can be very much instrumental in a partnership with us because we share so many platforms of cooperation. But, to maximise any gains from such a relationship, there ought to be more constructive engagement with Sudan.”
“We may never always see eye to eye but Sudan wants to be treated as it wants to be treated and not as EU wants to treat it. The EU should understand our needs and if it does that that can be a win/win for both sides.”
The diplomat was also briefly questioned about Sudanese government’s relationship with Russia and, in reply, said such relations dated from the 1960s and were “normal”, not least “as Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.”
He also voiced “profound gratitude” to the press club, located at the heart of the EU Quarters in Brussels, “for making this event possible.”
On the restrictive measures against Sudan, an EU Council source said that, in October 2023, member states adopted a dedicated framework of restrictive measures “in view of activities undermining the stability and political transition of Sudan.”
It then adopted successive sets of restrictive measures against individuals and entities belonging or affiliated to the SAF and the RSF in January, June and December 2024, and in July 2025.
On 11 April 2025 the EU’s High Representative issued a statement on behalf of the EU, reiterating the Union’s “strong appeal to the warring parties for an immediate and lasting ceasefire, and urging the belligerent parties to negotiate in good faith for a sustainable peace, where territorial integrity, unity and sovereignty are respected.”
The source said, “On that occasion the EU stressed that, in close coordination with the international community, it would use its diplomatic tools and instruments, including restrictive measures, to seek a peaceful resolution to the conflict and a lasting inter Sudanese inclusive political process reflecting the aspirations of the Sudanese people.”
The ambassador’s press conference for Brussels-based reporters came soon after country representatives of UNHCR, UNICEF, and WFP in Sudan were also in Brussels (23 September) to urge their EU counterparts to “do more” to help those affected by what many have described as one of world’s worst, but also neglected, humanitarian emergencies.
They called for diplomatic efforts to be intensified so that aid agencies can deliver vital supplies and services to the scale that the catastrophe demands, as well as to secure the financial support needed to fund the response.
A UNHCR sourced said, “The humanitarian needs are staggering: 25.6 million people in Sudan are exposed to acute hunger with malnutrition stalking the most vulnerable and over 10 million are forcibly displaced both inside and outside the country since the start of the conflict.”
A newly confirmed famine in the Zamzam Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in the Darfur region is the first to be documented globally since 2017, while 13 other areas of Sudan are at risk of famine.
Humanitarian Crisis Deepens as Sudan Conflict Drives Mass Exodus to South Sudan
