President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday met with Sudan's Sovereign Council Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, as Türkiye seeks to help end the nearly 1,000-day conflict in the North African nation.
Sudan plunged into chaos in April 2023 when a power struggle between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) exploded into open fighting, with widespread mass killings and rapes, and ethnically motivated violence.
On Thursday, Erdoğan welcomed al-Burhan at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, before they held talks on bilateral relations and the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
Türkiye has repeatedly urged for sides to swiftly end the war and return to negotiations. Al-Burhan earlier said they welcomed any role Türkiye could play in ending the conflict.
The ongoing fighting has led to "one of the world's largest humanitarian crises," Erdoğan told al-Burhan and his delegation on Thursday, according to a statement by the Communications Directorate.
The president also stressed there were actions amounting to "crimes against humanity," especially in the El-Fasher region. He urged for "serious and decisive steps" to stop the violence.
Türkiye supports peace, stability and the preservation of Sudan's territorial integrity, Erdoğan said, adding that the goal is to secure a ceasefire and build lasting peace in the country.
Erdoğan underlined that Türkiye will continue to meet the needs of the Sudanese people facing a humanitarian crisis, the statement said.
The devastating war in Sudan has killed more than 40,000 people according to U.N. figures, but aid groups say the true number could be many times higher.
The conflict has created the world's largest humanitarian crisis, with over 14 million people displaced, disease outbreaks and famine spreading in parts of the country.
