The Tories are calling on the government to intervene to prevent millions of people from dying of hunger in Sudan

Millions of people could starve in Sudan before Christmas, the Conservative Party has warned, as it urged the government to take “urgent” action in the conflict.

Shadow Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell said 13 million people could die in the ongoing civil war in the east African country, where the Sudanese army has been battling Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militants since April 2023.

More than 10 million people have been displaced by reports of mass killings, widespread sexual violence against women and girls, and the destruction of homes and livelihoods.

According to UNICEF, at least 124 people have been killed in Al Jazirah state in the past week.

Mr Mitchell (Con, Sutton Coldfield) said: “The war in Sudan represents the biggest humanitarian crisis, the biggest hunger crisis and the biggest displacement crisis in the world, but has been almost completely neglected because of the crises in the Middle East and Ukraine.

“In the 18 months since hostilities broke out, tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million have been horribly displaced. This winter, 13 million people will face death from hunger.”

He said the actions of the RSF, backed by Russia, were a “deliberate strategy to destroy a population based on their identity.”

Mr Mitchell added: “As Christmas approaches, we will witness from the comfort of our homes, in a world of plenty, the horrible specter of mass starvation. Urgent is an understatement. We must do more and take action now.”

Foreign Secretary Anneliese Dodds (Lab, Oxford East) said: “The new government is absolutely determined not to neglect this crisis. The word he just used was ‘horrible’. That is really the case.”

Ms Dodds said the conflict was carried out by two sides “for themselves, and certainly not for the people of Sudan who are being held to ransom”.

She added: “We are doing everything we can within the UN and also bilaterally to ensure that Britain provides leadership in this terrible situation.

“The Secretary of State I know has raised this repeatedly, and so have I, in a whole range of different conflicts, both bilateral and multilateral.”

Liberal Democrat spokesperson for international development Monica Harding urged the government to table a UN Security Council resolution on safe zones and no-fly zones.

Ms Dodds said: “She is absolutely right to underline the need for an end to hostilities.”

She added: “The two warring sides both seem to believe they can win this war. They continue their hostilities, but the impact on the civilian population is extreme. There must be an end to hostilities and the British government is doing everything it can to advocate for that.”