by Danny KEMP

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he would start "working" to end the war in Sudan, after visiting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked him to help solve the devastating conflict.

Trump has until now barely commented on the conflict between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced nearly 12 million since its outbreak in April 2023.

"His majesty would like me to do something very powerful having to do with Sudan," Trump said at a Saudi-US business forum attended by Prince Mohammed.

"It was not on my charts to be involved in, I thought it was just something that was crazy and out of control," he added.

"But I just see how important that is to you, and to a lot of your friends in the room, Sudan. And we're going to start working on Sudan."

Despite the conflict being off Trump's radar, Washington has stepped up efforts in recent months to finalize a truce between the warring parties.

Saudi Arabia supports Sudan's army-aligned government. The army accuses the United Arab Emirates of backing the RSF with weapons and mercenaries, which the UAE denies.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the UAE's foreign minister on Friday to urge Abu Dhabi to back a Sudan ceasefire.

The RSF recently seized the key city of Al-Fasher after a relentless siege, leading the UN Human Rights Council on Friday to order a probe of alleged atrocities. 

Trump's own Africa envoy Massad Boulos meanwhile on Saturday told AFP that the war in Sudan was the "the world's biggest humanitarian crisis."

Trump repeatedly claims to have solved eight conflicts since returning to office in January but focused instead on the wars in Gaza and Ukraine in his pursuit of a Nobel Peace Prize.

His promise to start working on the Sudan conflict reflects his close relationship with the de facto Saudi leader, whom he hosted at the White House for a lavish visit on Tuesday.

"I didn't think that was one that was going to be so easy to do. But we're going to start work," Trump added at the business forum, where the prince also gave brief remarks.

Trump's closeness to the Saudi royal was also underscored by his comments in the Oval Office on Tuesday, during which he defended the prince over the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying the prince "knew nothing".