Displaced Sudanese who have returned from Ethiopia gather in a camp run by the United Nations Refugee Agency in Sudan's border town of Gallabat in the eastern state of Gadaref, Sept. 11. AFP-Yonhap

Sudanese Ambassador to Korea Amira Agarib / Korea Times photo by Kim Se-jeong

The Sudanese ambassador in Seoul expressed gratitude to the Korean government on Monday for the country's humanitarian assistance, as Sudan struggles with violent clashes between national armed forces and a militia group.

"I want to thank the Korean government for fulfilling their pledges in Paris (International Conference on Sudan) toward the Sudan humanitarian situation and paying $9 million through U.N. agencies," Ambassador Amira Agarib told local journalists in her Seoul office, Monday.

The Paris conference on the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, held in April, aimed to garner support for the country's worsening conditions as a result of political conflicts. Korea pledged $12 million in donations, and $9 million has been given through United Nations agencies.

Agarib's comment came on the same day when 13 civilians in the Al-Jazira state south of Khartoum, the country's capital, were reportedly shot to death by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

According to the Sudanese government, 15,000 civilians have been killed — Sudan's population is 25 million — and over 14 million people have fled their homes, including 3 million fleeing to neighboring countries. The number of displaced children has reached 4 million, emphasizing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

The clashes between Sudan's armed forces and RSF began on April 15, 2023. The paramilitary group is accused of killing many civilians, burning homes and looting, forcing people to flee.

The violence has also impacted foreign nationals in the country. Although no Koreans have been targeted, the Korean government ordered its citizens to leave the country and closed its embassy in Khartoum.

"The attack of the militia on citizens and villages in the country has negatively affected the agriculture sector. The attacks also threatened economic and health sectors and destroyed the infrastructure," the ambassador said.

The current crisis adds to Sudan's existing humanitarian crisis, which began with the Darfur crisis in the early 2000s.

Calling the crisis a "forgotten war" amid global focus on wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the envoy renewed calls on Korea, as a nonpermanent member of the U.N. Security Council, to condemn the militia and help reduce the flow of weapons through neighboring countries.

"It is an important role of Korea to condemn the attacks carried out by the rebel militia and to stop the flow of weapons to the militia via Chad, southern Libya and other countries," Agarib said.