David Lammy says Sudan's warring parties must 'put peace first' at major summit

David Lammy has urged Sudan's warring factions to "put peace first" on the second anniversary of the country's brutal civil war.

The Foreign Secretary made the remarks as he opened a summit in London on the conflict in an attempt to shine a spotlight on one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. It is estimated more than 12.7 million people have been forcibly displaced in the war.

On Tuesday, Mr Lammy said the biggest obstacle to resolving the civil war was a "lack of political will". "Very simply, we have got to persuade the warring parties to protect civilians, to let aid in, and across the country, and to put peace first," he added. "And so we do need patient diplomacy."

Mr Lammy said: "Two years on from this war starting, with front lines shifting again, I fear that many onlookers feel a sense of deja vu. The country's fraught history also means that some conclude that further conflict is effectively inevitable. Many have given up on Sudan. That is wrong."

He added: "It's morally wrong when we see so many civilians beheaded, infants as young as one subjected to sexual violence, more people facing famine than anywhere else in the world. We simply cannot look away.

"With over four million refugees having fled the country and instability spreading far beyond Sudan's borders, it's also strategically wrong to forget Sudan. And that's why, as Foreign Secretary, I refuse to turn away, I felt a duty to confront this war's horrors head on."

Overnight the UK announced an extra £120million in food and medical aid to help 650,000 people impacted by the ongoing violence. Aid will go towards supplying people including vulnerable children with pulses, oils, salts and cereals, the Foreign Office said.

Mr Lammy added: "Very simply, we have got to persuade the warring parties to protect civilians, to let aid in, and across the country, and to put peace first. And so we do need patient diplomacy." Foreign ministers from around 20 countries attended the one-day summit on the conflict at Lancaster House in London on Tuesday.

Fighting began in Sudan back in April 2023 with armed clashes between the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary organisation and the Sudanese Armed Forces. Earlier this week Plan International UK said over 30 million people are in urgent need of life saving humanitarian aid.