US President Donald Trump has pledged to address the conflict in Sudan, in response to an apparent request from Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
On Wednesday, President Trump twice announced his intention to intervene. The first time was at the Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, D.C., and the second time was on his online platform, Truth Social.
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“Arab leaders around the world, especially the respected Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia who just left the United States, have asked me to use the authority and influence of the President to immediately stop what is happening in Sudan,” Trump wrote.
“This is considered to be a great civilization and culture, which unfortunately has deteriorated, but which can be repaired through cooperation and coordination among countries.”
At an investment forum, President Trump told how the crown prince had personally asked for help.
“Yesterday, he mentioned Sudan and said, ‘Doctor, you talk about a lot of wars, but there’s a place on Earth called Sudan, and there are terrible things happening,'” Trump said.
The US president added that within 30 minutes of the crown prince’s request, his administration had “already started working” on the issue.
President Trump hosted Crown Prince Mohammed, better known by his initials MBS, in Washington, D.C., this week for the crown prince’s first official visit since 2018. The visit was marked by mutual admiration between the two leaders and promises to increase U.S. and Saudi investment.
Prince Mohammed concluded his two-day trip on Wednesday after a business forum.
President Trump, who has long campaigned for the Nobel Peace Prize, said he would work with Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries to resolve the conflict in Sudan.
“We will work with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and other Middle East partners to end these atrocities while stabilizing Sudan,” Trump said in the post.
Sudan’s civil war broke out in April 2023, when the government-led Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) clashed over control of the region, including the capital Khartoum.
The result was widespread bloodshed, displacement, and starvation. The United Nations has recorded at least 3,384 civilian deaths between January and June this year, putting the country on track to surpass the 4,238 civilian death toll for all of 2024.
A United Nations-backed analysis this month found famine in two war-torn cities, El Fasher and Kadugri. Approximately 45 percent of the population faces severe food insecurity as a result of the conflict.
The fighting has forced more than 4 million people to flee Sudan, increasing instability in the region. Inside Sudan, the United Nations has documented evidence of mass executions, ethnic violence, and sexual violence being used as weapons of war.
Tom Fletcher, the UN’s top official for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief, recently posted about his trip to El Fasher, calling the city, which fell to RSF forces last month, a “crime scene”.
Sudan has suffered three civil wars in the past 40 years alone, with the previous conflicts lasting from 1955 to 1972 and 1983 to 2005.
Meanwhile, President Trump is trying to brand himself as the “President of Peace” despite expanding bombing campaigns in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
“My proudest legacy will be as a peacemaker and unifier,” he said in his second inaugural address in January.
Trump and his allies claim he ended “eight wars in eight months,” but critics question whether the peace deals he struck will last.
In some cases, attacks continue, such as in the case of Israel’s war in Gaza, which UN experts consider genocide. In the case of Egypt and Ethiopia, tensions have long simmered between the two countries, but critics say there was no need to end the war.
Still, leaders of several countries involved, including Israel, Armenia and Azerbaijan, have pledged to nominate Trump for the coveted Nobel Prize.
In the case of Sudan, President Trump highlighted the dire humanitarian needs of civilians caught in the crossfire.
“Food, doctors and everything else is desperately needed,” he wrote on Wednesday.
