U.S. Special Envoy makes first visit to Sudan
American reports ‘productive’ meeting with military ruler
U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello made his first visit to the country since being appointed by President Joe Biden in February 2024.
Perriello used the visit to call for the opening of humanitarian corridors and scaling up humanitarian assistance, while also signaling continuity between the outgoing and incoming U.S. presidential administrations. He did not push for ceasefire talks as he had done in August during a failed mediation effort by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.
Nevertheless, Perriello’s visit signals a continuing American effort to cement a role for the United States as a player in humanitarian access talks and prospective negotiations to end the conflict.
Perriello’s trip marks the first time a senior U.S. government official has traveled to war-torn Sudan since a civil war erupted in the country’s capital in April 2023, prompting the evacuation of the U.S. embassy and other countries’ embassies. Subsequent diplomatic engagements were done from neighboring regional capitals, and from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where failed ceasefire talks were held in 2023.
Following Perriello’s appointment, Sudanese officials repeatedly urged him to visit Sudan. However, the U.S. government had become cautious about sending diplomats into war-torn countries after an ambassador was killed in Benghazi, Libya in 2012.
These security concerns as well as a reluctance to appear to be siding with the military government based in Port Sudan delayed the envoy’s first trip to Sudan until now. Although this is Perriello’s first visit to Sudan as envoy, he previously met with many Sudanese stakeholders in different regional capitals.
Landing in Port Sudan at 10:00 AM on Monday, Perriello embarked on a series of extensive meetings. These included engagements with local civil society organizations, tribal leaders, and senior government officials such as the deputy head of the army-controlled Transitional Sovereign Council, Malik Agar, and the military’s commander in chief and head of the junta, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan.
Following his talks with Al-Burhan and other officials, Perriello described the meetings as “productive” and reiterated the U.S. government’s support for an immediate cessation of hostilities and an end to the atrocities that have led to the tragic loss of over 20,000 lives and the displacement of more than 11 million civilians.
At a press event in Port Sudan, he said,
“It was my honor to be here in Port Sudan today to have an opportunity to meet with Sudanese people and leaders from the sovereign transitional council as well as tribal leaders in order to share the very clear message that the United States people continue to stand with the people of Sudan as we have for decades, as we have across both Republic and Democratic administrations. We are proud to be the largest donor of humanitarian aid for those inside Sudan and those who have fled and stand as refugees now. We are glad we made some important progress in recent weeks to expand the number of Sudanese people who have access to emergency food and medicine, and we will continue to work with the authorities to make sure that every person in Sudan in all 18 states has an opportunity to have the basic dignity of food water, and medicine.”
In a separate interview with Reuters afterward, he called for expanded humanitarian corridors and pauses in the fighting. “We are pleased that there has been some progress, but we need to see much more,” he said.
On the platform X, formerly Twitter, Perriello wrote,
“I held productive meetings in Port Sudan today with Sudan’s Sovereign Council President Burhan, as well as civil society leaders and the UN humanitarian team. The U.S. supports an immediate end to the war and to the atrocities committed against the Sudanese people. We welcome recent progress to expand humanitarian access. As the largest aid donor to Sudan, we will work around the clock to ensure that food, water and medicine can reach people in all 18 states plus refugees.”
Referencing the opening of humanitarian corridors by the junta, Perriello acknowledged the steps taken to improve aid delivery. However, he emphasized the urgent need to scale up food and medical supplies to an estimated 25 million Sudanese facing starvation and acute hunger. He also called for the expansion of emergency aid flights to reach isolated regions:
“I expressed appreciation for recent steps to improve the movement of emergency relief to the 25 million Sudanese people facing starvation and acute hunger. We must continue to increase the volume of food and medicine making it out of Port Sudan and Adre [Chad] and expand emergency aid flights to isolated areas. And the only way to end the suffering is to end this war and give the Sudanese people control of their own future. The atrocities against Sudanese women must end and civilians must be protected - a message I heard clearly from civil society representatives I met today in Port Sudan. We share their urgency to end this war, end the atrocities against civilians, and ensure one unified, democratic and peaceful Sudan,” he concluded.
Sudanese foreign ministry undersecretary Omar Issa described the meetings between Perriello and Sudanese officials as “candid and comprehensive,” addressing all aspects of the ongoing conflict. Issa said a roadmap for ending the conflict was also discussed by the two men.
He said that Perriello also met with Sultan Bahr el Din of Daar Masaalit, a tribe largely found in West Darfur state that has been targeted by the RSF and its allied militias in 2023 massacres that killed thousands.
“The Special Envoy concluded his series of meetings with a lengthy and detailed discussion with the Chairman of the Sovereignty Council, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan. This meeting was frank and comprehensive, covering all issues of concern to Sudan, its citizens, displaced persons, and refugees. Topics included the roadmap for ending the war, ensuring humanitarian aid reaches those who need it, and efforts to rebuild social cohesion. They also discussed the political process as a final solution post-war,” Issa said.
According to Issa, Perriello’s meeting with Al-Burhan was lengthy and comprehensive, covering all issues of concern to Sudan, its citizens, displaced persons, and refugees. Topics included the roadmap for ending the war, ensuring humanitarian aid reaches those who need it, and efforts to rebuild social cohesion. They also discussed the political process as a final solution post-war, Issa said. The envoy further revealed that the U.S. diplomat made proposals which Al-Burhan accepted, according to Issa, without disclosing the nature of the proposals.
“The Special Envoy presented proposals during the meeting, which were accepted by the Chairman of the Sovereignty Council. He also put forward suggestions regarding humanitarian work. The Chairman affirmed that the Sudanese government has opened all requested corridors, transportation lines, and airports and is open to any measures that ensure humanitarian aid reaches those in need. However, he emphasized that the government does not agree to the use of crossings such as Adre for transporting weapons instead of humanitarian aid,” the undersecretary said.
Since his appointment, Perriello’s relationship with the de facto government in Port Sudan has been strained. Just two weeks before his visit, the U.S. diplomat expressed concerns over allegations of deliberate blockage of emergency aid by the SAF-controlled Humanitarian Aid Commission.
Recent tensions
According to the U.S. Envoy, the Sudanese agency blocked at least 550 trucks carrying aid that entered the country via Port Sudan from leaving to other parts of the war-torn country, largely to areas controlled by the rebellious paramilitary RSF and other neutral groups such as the SPLM-North. He said on November 6:
“Humanitarian actors in Sudan are deeply concerned that SAF-aligned Humanitarian Aid Commission continues to block emergency relief deliveries to all parts of Sudan. Between August & October, the HAC prevented 520 of the 550 humanitarian relief trucks from leaving Port Sudan to deliver life-saving supplies to states across Sudan. As a result, 6.4 million people did not receive emergency food, medicine, and other supplies in central & southern Sudan. We urge the Transitional Sovereignty Council to direct the HAC to get aid moving out of Port Sudan & reaching people across Sudan,” he wrote on X.
A day later, the Commission attacked Perriello and vehemently dismissed his concerns as part of a concerted effort to undermine its “professional and ethical” humanitarian work. The Commission emphasized a commitment to providing essential aid to those suffering from the devastating effects of the ongoing war in Sudan, acting with utmost professionalism and ethical integrity.
This was not the first time the Sudanese government had criticized the U.S. envoy. In August, the regime and its proxies and supporters on social media spread conspiratorial messages about the U.S. during the Saudi-U.S. mediation attempt, as they tried to undermine the talks and justify their boycott of the peace process.