Sudan is heading towards the world’s worst famine crisis and children are already dying, says the UN

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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The nearly year-long conflict between Sudan’s military and paramilitary forces has put the African nation on track for the world‘s worst food crisis, with malnutrition rates soaring and already claiming children’s lives. The United Nations humanitarian office warned on Wednesday.

Edem Wosornu, director of humanitarian operations, told the UN Security Council that a third of Sudan’s 18 million people currently face severe food insecurity, and that some areas of the western Darfur region could reach catastrophic levels of famine once “the lean season” arrives in May.

“A recent assessment revealed that a child dies every two hours in the Zamzam camp in El Fasher, North Darfur,” he said. “Our humanitarian partners estimate that in the coming weeks and months, around 222,000 children could die from malnutrition.”

Wosornu said the harrowing situation of violence, which has seen appalling accounts of ethnically motivated attacks, sexual violence, including gang rapes, and indiscriminate attacks in densely populated areas, was “the stuff of nightmares”.

With the world‘s attention currently focused on the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and, to a lesser extent, the war in Ukraine, he lamented that “a humanitarian tragedy is occurring in Sudan under a veil of international inattention and inaction.” ”.

Sudan descended into chaos in April last year when long-standing tensions between its military forces led by General Abdel Fattah Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces – a paramilitary group – commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo erupted into street clashes in the capital. , Khartoum.

The fighting quickly spread to other parts of the country, particularly urban areas, but in Darfur it took a different form, with brutal attacks by the Rapid Support Forces against ethnic African civilians. Thousands of people have died.

Two decades ago, Darfur became synonymous with genocide and war crimes, particularly by Arab Janjawid militias against populations who identify as Central African or East African. In late January, International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan said there is reason to believe that both sides in the current conflict are committing possible war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide in Darfur.