Saudis Setting Up Sudan Donor Conference

The pledging conference will be held on June 19, the official Saudi Press Agency said, citing the foreign ministry.

The statement added that it would be jointly led with Qatar, Egypt, Germany and the European Union, as well as United Nations agencies.

Saudi Arabia and the United States have been mediating in the eight-week conflict between Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemeti, who leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The kingdom also played a leading role in evacuating thousands of foreigners from Sudan early in the war, which the UN says has left a record 25 million people -- more than half the population - in need of aid and protection.

As of late May, the UN's needs for $2.6 million to address the crisis were only 13 percent funded.