A year after the outbreak of civil war in Sudan between the army forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the situation continues to deteriorate.
Initially sparked in the capital Khartoum, the violence has spread throughout the country, leaving thousands dead and causing extensive damage to infrastructure and facilities.
In an interview with BBC Arabic, a senior United Nations official warned that Sudan is on the path to becoming the world’s worst hunger crisis.
Michael Danford, the World Food Programme’s Emergency Coordinator for Sudan, stated, “We are facing a disaster, and what I fear most is that it’s getting worse.”
Currently, about 18 million people in Sudan are experiencing “severe hunger,” a number that is expected to rise significantly. Relief experts are sounding the alarm that 220,000 individuals are at risk of dying from starvation in the coming months.
The conflict ignited on April 15, 2023, when tensions escalated between the regular army and its former ally, the Rapid Support Forces, over a disagreement on an internationally-backed political plan to transition Sudan to civilian rule.
UN statistics report approximately 14,000 fatalities so far due to the conflict, though observers believe the actual numbers are much higher. More than eight million people have been forced to flee their homes, either within Sudan or to neighboring countries, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.
