Sudan's war is 'deepening and widening' a famine crisis, hunger monitoring report says

CAIRO (AP) — Famine is spreading in Sudan due to a war between the military and a notorious paramilitary group that has devastated the country and created the world’s largest displacement crisis, a global hunger-monitoring group said Tuesday.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, said it detected famine in five areas, including in Sudan’s largest displacement camp, Zamzam, in North Darfur province, where famine was found for the first time in August.

“This marks an unprecedented deepening and widening of the food and nutrition crisis, driven by the devastating conflict, which has triggered unprecedented mass displacement, a collapsing economy, the breakdown of essential social services, and severe societal disruptions, and poor humanitarian access,” an IPC report said.

It added that in areas of high conflict, hostilities can severely disrupt farming activities, resulting in farmers abandoning their crops, looting, and stock destruction.

“Displaced households, especially those living in settlements and public buildings, are unlikely to benefit significantly from the harvest,” it said.

As well as in the Zamzam camp, which hosts more than 400,000 people, famine was also detected in two other camps for displaced people, Abu Shouk and al-Salam in North Darfur, and the Western Nuba Mountains, IPC’s report said.

Five other areas in North Darfur are projected “with reasonable evidence” to experience famine in the next six months, including el-Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur, it said. Seventeen areas in the Nuba Mountains and the northern and southern areas of Darfur are at risk of famine, it added.

The report said some areas in Khartoum and the east-central province of Gezira “may be experiencing” famine-like conditions. It said experts were unable to confirm whether famine threshold has been surpassed due to lack of data.

Ahead of the IPC's report, Sudan’s government said it had suspended its participation in the global system, according to a senior United Nations official with knowledge of the move.

In a letter dated Dec. 23, Agriculture Minister Abu Baker al-Beshri accused the IPC of “issuing unreliable reports that undermine Sudan’s sovereignty and dignity,” said the UN official, who spoke in condition of anonymity.

Sudan has been roiled by a 20-month war that has killed more than than 24,000 people and driven over 14 million people — about 30% of the population — from their homes, according to the United Nations. An estimated 3.2 million Sudanese have crossed into neighboring countries, including Chad, Egypt and South Sudan.

The war began in April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between its military and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, before spreading to other urban areas and the western Darfur region. The conflict has been marked by atrocities, including ethnically motivated killing and rape, according to to the UN and rights groups. The International Criminal Court is investigating alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

There is widespread hunger, with food in markets now scarce and prices have spiked. Aid groups also say they’re struggling to reach the most vulnerable as warring parties limit access, especially in North Darfur province.

Dervla Cleary, a senior emergency and rehabilitation officer at the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization, said 638,000 people are experiencing famine.

“The situation in Sudan is just awful. It is unacceptable in a world like today,” she said. “We need the violence to stop so people can access food, water, health, nutrition and agriculture.”

According to the IPC report, a total of 24.6 million Sudanese — half of the population — faces high levels of acute food insecurity.

Sudan is the third country where famine was declared in the past 15 years, along with South Sudan and Somalia, where a 2011 major famine was estimated to have killed a quarter of a million people - half of them children under 5 years old.

The IPC comprises more than a dozen U.N. agencies, aid groups, and governments that use its monitoring as a global reference for analysis of food and nutrition crises.

The organization has also warned that large parts of Gaza’s Palestinian population face the threat of famine.