Experts warn that 755,000 people in war-torn Sudan are at risk of famine in the coming months

CAIRO: International experts painted a grim picture for war-torn Sudan in a report published on Thursday, saying 755,000 people were at risk of starvation in the coming months as a result of ongoing clashes between rival generals.

The latest findings come from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), an initiative launched in 2004 during the famine in Somalia and now involving more than a dozen UN agencies, aid organizations, governments and other bodies.

According to the report, after 14 months of conflict in Sudan, 8.5 million people are affected by extreme food shortages.

The northeast African country descended into chaos in April last year when simmering tensions between the country’s military under General Abdel-Fattah Burhan and a notorious paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces under the command of General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, erupted into open fighting in the capital Khartoum and elsewhere in the country.

According to the United Nations, more than 14,000 people have been killed and 33,000 others injured in the devastating conflict. However, human rights activists believe the death toll could be much higher.

The conflict triggered the world’s largest refugee crisis. More than 11 million people had to flee their homes. United Nations human rights experts said that both warring parties used food and hunger as weapons of war.

According to the hunger report, ten provinces, including Khartoum, Darfur and Kordofan, as well as Blue Nile and Jazira provinces, are most at risk of hunger. In June 2023, the number was zero, but last year it rose to 755,000.

“The conflict has not only led to mass displacement and disruptions to supply routes, market systems and agricultural production, it has also severely restricted access to vital humanitarian assistance, exacerbating an already dire situation,” the report said.

Another 8.5 million people are classified in the second worst hunger stage, Stage 4, meaning the risk of death from starvation is increasing rapidly, the IPC report said. These people face extreme food shortages, acute malnutrition and an extremely high risk of disease, it added.

In total, 25.6 million people, more than half of the country’s 47 million inhabitants, are facing “crisis or worse conditions” between June and September. The government warns of the risk of famine in 14 areas “if the conflict escalates further, including through increased mobilization of local militias.”

“The situation is particularly critical for populations trapped in areas affected by direct conflict and/or insecurity and lack of protection,” the report says, referring to Darfur, Kordofan, Khatoum and Jazira, where fighting has been raging for months.

The conflict has been marked by atrocities, including rape, gang rape and ethnically motivated attacks, which human rights groups say amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. In recent months, fighting has spread to new areas, including agricultural centers such as Jazira province, which the RSF captured last year.

Tjada D’Oyen McKenna, executive director of the non-governmental organization Mercy Corps, said the escalation of fighting had destroyed food production and led to severe malnutrition among children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, the chronically ill and the elderly.

“Sudan has become one of the world’s largest and most ignored man-made tragedies,” McKenna said. “This crisis requires urgent diplomatic efforts to ensure the rapid and safe delivery of humanitarian assistance and the protection of civilians.”