Berlin Conference Addis Ababa Preparatory Talks Enter Day 2; Amnesty Urges Urgent Action as Sudan Approaches Three-Year Mark

The preparatory meeting for the Third Berlin Conference on Sudan continued in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on April 11 (Day 2 of 3), with approximately 40 invitees representing Sudanese political blocs, parties, civil society organizations, and independent figures working under the AU-UN-EU-Arab League-IGAD quintet mechanism. The meeting aims to form a joint Sudanese committee to manage structured dialogue and finalize the conference agenda ahead of the Berlin ministerial session on April 15 — which falls on the three-year anniversary of the war's outbreak. The Addis Ababa talks were overshadowed by the previous day's drone strike on a wedding ceremony in Kutum, North Darfur, that killed at least 30 people including 17 children, drawing a UN Secretary-General condemnation. Simultaneously, Amnesty International published a major appeal calling on high-income countries to 'use the Berlin meeting to save lives as the conflict hits the three-year mark,' citing over 500 civilians killed by drone strikes in the first 11 weeks of 2026, and a humanitarian plan for Sudan only 16% funded against a $2.9 billion requirement. UN News published updated figures showing 14 million people displaced — 9 million internal IDPs and 4.4 million refugees in neighboring countries — making Sudan the world's largest displacement crisis at the three-year mark. The boycotts by the National Forces Alliance and National Forces Coordination from both the preparatory and main Berlin sessions continued to shadow the process, with analysts warning the conference risks producing agreements without the buy-in of key Sudanese political constituencies.