Civil Society Letter Urging U.S. Leadership to Stop Sudan War

The Honorable President Donald J. Trump
President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

The Honorable Marco Rubio
Secretary of State
U.S. State Department
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20037

Mr. Massad Boulos
Senior Advisor for Arab and African Affairs
U.S. State Department
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20037

April 15, 2026

Dear President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and Senior Advisor Boulos,

As we mark the third anniversary of the war in Sudan today, we, the undersigned organizations, write to urge decisive U.S. leadership to bring an immediate end to this devastating conflict. 

Over the past year, it has become clear that the war continues to escalate, and civilians are continuing to pay the consequences. In October 2025, following years of international warnings, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured El Fasher following an 18-month siege, killing at least 6,000 people in only 3 days, and further displacing hundreds of thousands. The United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan assessed these mass killings and related atrocities as having the “hallmarks of genocide.”

Today, as we mark three years since this conflict began, we see no signs of a slow down. Rather, the situation is intensifying, expanding, and becoming more deadly for civilians across the country. In recent weeks alone, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) targeted the El Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur, killing at least 64 people and injuring an additional 89. Both the United Nations and the Sudan Doctors Network have warned that the RSF’s advances in Kordofan could lead to a “catastrophic scenario” like what unfolded in El Fasher, and there are clear indicators of escalation in Blue Nile as well. Alarming patterns of warfare, including drone strikes on residential areas, markets and hospitals, are accelerating civilian harm. Systematic and targeted sexual violence against women and girls continues to be reported. The warring parties have continued to target journalists and human rights defenders. 

As a result of the continued fighting, Sudan faces the world’s worst humanitarian, displacement, and hunger crises. More than 13.6 million people are displaced, 30 million are in need of assistance, and over 22 million are facing acute hunger as healthcare systems collapse. At the same time, humanitarian access remains dangerously restricted by the warring parties. The fallout from the ongoing war in Iran and across the Middle East risks further exacerbating and deepening Sudan’s humanitarian, and chiefly, hunger crises.

Bringing about an immediate end to this war is both a humanitarian imperative and a clear U.S. national security interest. In the midst of escalating violence across the Middle East region, continued conflict in Sudan further threatens regional security, including risks of rising extremism, attacks on critical Red Sea trade routes, and further destabilization across borders.

We welcome President Trump’s personal commitment to end the war in Sudan in November, as well as this administration’s repeated diplomatic efforts over the past year, including via the Quad, to call for a ceasefire in Sudan and to hold both the SAF and the RSF, and their external backers in the region, accountable for atrocities. This anniversary presents a clear opportunity to translate these positions into decisive action. The United States remains the only international actor with sufficient leverage over the external backers of the warring parties, including the UAE, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, who can leverage their support for the warring parties and their diplomatic positions to bring the warring parties to the table and end this war. In addition to supporting an immediate ceasefire, the United States should also continue to back efforts to ensure that a civilian-led political negotiation and political transition is ultimately possible. As this administration has stated alongside these US partners, ending the war is a critical step to bringing about a genuine civilian-led transition in Sudan and an end to continued cycles of violence.

Signed,

Act for Sudan
Advocacy Network for Africa (AdNA)
America Friends Service Committee
Atrocities Watch Africa
Bellwether International
Center for International Policy
Committee to Protect Journalists
Darfur and Beyond
Darfur Network for Human Rights 
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Human Rights First 
Human Security Project 
HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement
New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy
Optimism Charity Organisation for Aid and Development
Peace and Human Dignity Organization
Refugees International
Sheffield for Sudan
Sudan Limited 
Syria Justice and Accountability Center
Syrian Network for Human Rights
Syrians for Truth and Justice
The African Middle Eastern Leadership Project (AMEL)
The Episcopal Church
The Sentry 
The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP)
Western Pennsylvania United Women in Faith
Women4Sudan Campaign
Youth Citizens Observers Network