Tue Dec 24 15:08:46 UTC 2024: **Famine Declared in Sudan as War Ravages Nation**

Khartoum, Sudan – Famine has been officially declared in five areas of Sudan, including the nation’s largest displacement camp, Zamzam, according to a report released Tuesday by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). The UN-backed group cites the ongoing 20-month war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces as the primary cause of the escalating crisis.

The IPC report confirms famine conditions in Zamzam camp (North Darfur), and internally displaced person (IDP) camps Abu Shouk and al-Salam (el-Fasher, North Darfur), as well as in residential and displaced communities in the Nuba Mountains. The committee projects famine will spread to five more areas by May, with an additional 17 areas at high risk. A staggering 24.6 million Sudanese – half the population – are facing acute food shortages.

The report attributes the crisis to the war’s devastating impact, including mass displacement, economic collapse, the breakdown of essential services, societal disruption, and severely limited humanitarian access. The Sudanese government, which suspended its participation in the IPC, has denounced the report as unreliable.

The conflict has claimed over 24,000 lives and displaced over 14 million people, with approximately 3.2 million fleeing to neighboring countries. The IPC highlights the war’s disruption of farming, looting, and livestock killings as exacerbating the food crisis. Displaced populations, particularly those in overcrowded settlements, are expected to suffer the most.

Dervla Cleary of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization described the situation as “just awful” and stressed the urgent need for an end to the violence to allow for the delivery of essential aid. Sudan joins South Sudan and Somalia as the only countries to have experienced famine in the last 15 years. The International Criminal Court is investigating alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the conflict.

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