(MENAFN) The United Kingdom has announced an additional $6.6 million in humanitarian aid for Sudan, with Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper cautioning that international efforts are “currently failing to deal with the humanitarian crisis and the devastating conflict” engulfing the country.

Speaking at the Manama Dialogue Conference in Bahrain, Cooper said: “In Sudan right now, there is just despair… For too long, this terrible conflict has been neglected, while suffering has simply increased.”

She condemned what she called “truly horrifying and utterly intolerable scenes” in El-Fasher, where around 260,000 people — half of them children — remain trapped amid extreme hunger and constant violence.

According to the UK Foreign Office, the newly pledged funds will go toward emergency food, healthcare, and protection for survivors of sexual violence, with $2.64 million specifically allocated to support victims of rape and sexual abuse.

“The reports from Darfur in recent days are truly horrifying,” Cooper said. “Atrocities, mass executions, starvation, and the devastating use of rape as a weapon of war, with women and children bearing the brunt of the largest humanitarian crisis in the 21st century.”

The conflict between Sudan’s armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has raged since April 15, 2023, leaving about 20,000 people dead and displacing more than 15 million. Despite repeated attempts at regional and international mediation, the war shows no sign of abating, according to UN and local estimates.

Cooper also raised alarm over conditions in Gaza, describing the situation as “immensely fragile” and calling on all sides to honor their commitments to move beyond temporary ceasefires toward sustainable peace.

“Humanitarian aid cannot be conditional. We cannot leave children still facing famine. We cannot leave families desperately needing medical, health care support.

“And all parties must deliver on their commitments, and we need to lean in to make sure we have the momentum and the progress we need for a lasting peace, not simply the ceasefire.

“Gaza must not get stuck in a no-man’s land between peace and war, and progress is urgent. The UK is committed to playing that part,” she said.

She expressed support for reforming Palestinian governance, emphasizing: “We need progress on the governance proposals for a Gaza free from Hamas and enabled by a reformed Palestinian Authority.”

Cooper added that ensuring stability in Gaza would require “new security arrangements through the stabilization force and Palestinian police as well,” pledging that the UK would assist with expertise in civil-military coordination, disarmament, and reconstruction efforts.

“These efforts will likely require international backing through the UN,” she said. “We should expect all of this to need to be underpinned not just by one but by a series of UN resolutions.”

Acknowledging that the coming phase would be “harder than the first,” Cooper warned against international fatigue: “It would be easy at this point for individuals, for nations, to start to pull back or to walk away, because the challenges get too hard. But we have come this far — we cannot put that progress at risk, and now it is more important than ever for our international cooperation and for everyone to lean in. In Gaza, there is a prospect of fragile hope,” she said.

According to reports, Israel’s military operations have killed more than 68,000 people in Gaza since October 2023. Although a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was established on October 10 under a 20-point peace initiative proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, Israeli forces have reportedly violated the truce multiple times.

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