By: The Trek News Desk
The humanitarian situation in western Sudan’s Darfur region is rapidly deteriorating, with food insecurity reaching alarming levels in additional areas. United Nations-backed food security experts have warned that acute malnutrition has crossed famine thresholds in parts of North Darfur, particularly in the towns of Um Baru and Kernoi, as the country’s ongoing civil war continues to devastate civilian life.
In an alert issued on Thursday, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) reported that malnutrition rates among children in both locations have exceeded critical famine benchmarks. While the alert does not constitute a formal declaration of famine, it underscores the gravity of the crisis based on the most recent data.
According to the report, 53 percent of children under the age of five in Um Baru are suffering from acute malnutrition, nearly double the level that signals famine conditions. In Kernoi, almost one in three children has been identified as acutely malnourished.
The IPC cautioned that such extreme figures point to a heightened risk of excess deaths and raise serious concerns that nearby communities may also be facing similarly catastrophic conditions.
The warning, based on data available up to February, comes nearly three months after the IPC confirmed famine conditions in El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, and Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan. El-Fasher, once considered the Sudanese army’s last major stronghold in Darfur, fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in October following 18 months of siege, bombardment, and starvation.
Both Um Baru and Kernoi lie close to the Chad border and have absorbed large numbers of displaced people who fled El-Fasher after its capture. Reports of renewed fighting in and around these towns have further complicated humanitarian access.
Sudan has been engulfed in a brutal conflict since April 2023, pitting the national army against the RSF. The war has killed tens of thousands of people, forced nearly 11 million from their homes, and pushed several regions into extreme hunger and famine.
The IPC has also warned that at least 20 additional areas in Darfur and the neighbouring Kordofan region are at high risk of slipping into famine in the coming months.
Humanitarian experts stress that without urgent international assistance and renewed efforts toward a ceasefire, Sudan’s food crisis could worsen dramatically, leading to even greater loss of life.
Source: News Agencies
