US to boost Sudan humanitarian aid by $A300m

The United States will give an extra $US203 million ($A302 million) to help millions of civilians affected by the war in Sudan, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Thursday, calling on other nations to step up their aid.

The funds, announced in a statement to Reuters on Thursday, aim to help civilians in Sudan and those who have fled to neighbouring countries since war erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

There is now a realistic chance of famine in 14 areas across Sudan if the war escalates, a global monitor said last month. The UN World Food Programme has called the sharply worsening hunger crisis the worst in the world.

The additional US money takes the total American funding for Sudanese civilians in Sudan, Chad, Egypt and South Sudan to $US707 million ($A1.1 billion) since October, a US official said. The US is the largest single donor to the aid response.

"The people of Sudan are facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Much more needs to be done to help them," said Thomas-Greenfield, who visited Chad's border with Sudan in September to meet with refugees from the war.

"We hope this new round of aid serves as a call to action for others."

The war, triggered by a plan to integrate the army and paramilitary forces in a transition to free elections, has produced waves of ethnically driven violence blamed largely on the RSF. The RSF denies harming civilians and attributes the activity to rogue actors.

The UN says nearly 25 million people - half of Sudan's population - need aid, famine is looming and 10 million people have fled their homes. More than 2.2 million of those people have left for other countries.

The United States says the warring parties have committed war crimes and the RSF and allied militias have also committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. A Reuters report last month included analysis of satellite imagery that showed cemeteries expanding fast as starvation and disease spread.

"Yes, the Sudanese people need much more humanitarian funding, but the parties on the ground must also facilitate humanitarian access," said Thomas-Greenfield, adding the US was prepared to push for more UN Security Council action to "ensure aid is able to reach those most in need if necessary."

In March the 15-member council adopted a resolution calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the removal of aid obstructions and the protection of civilians. Then in June, a second resolution focused on demanding a halt to a siege of a city of 1.8 million people in Sudan's North Darfur region.