Sudan war, famine risk rises
Sudan’s conflict has now entered its fourth year and has killed an estimated 59,000 people while parts of the country have slid into famine, according to reporting and human-rights groups. The fighting is also destabilising neighboring South Sudan, where the UN warns the country is at risk of ‘full‑scale famine’ as access restrictions and interference block aid, and a small aid pledge — Cyprus pledged at least €850,000 — was made at a recent conference. (nbcnews.com) (aljazeera.com) (cyprus-mail.com)
Sudan’s war has entered a fourth year as famine spreads and aid agencies warn hunger is deepening across Sudan and into South Sudan. (nbcnews.com) The fighting began on April 15, 2023, as a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces erupted in Khartoum and then spread across the country. NBC News reported the war has killed an estimated 59,000 people, citing the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. (nbcnews.com) United Nations agencies said this month that about 14 million people have been displaced by the war, making Sudan the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crisis. The International Organization for Migration said nearly 8.94 million people were still displaced inside Sudan as of April 2026. (ungeneva.org) (dtm.iom.int) Famine is the most severe level on the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification scale, meaning people are dying from outright lack of food, acute malnutrition and disease. The IPC’s Famine Review Committee said famine was detected in Zamzam camp in North Darfur in August 2024 and later expanded to Al Salam and Abu Shouk camps and the Western Nuba Mountains. (ipcinfo.org) United Nations officials said 21 million people in Sudan now face acute food insecurity, including 6.3 million in emergency conditions. They said fighting, looting, blocked roads and attacks on health services have cut off both food production and aid delivery. (ungeneva.org) The war is also straining South Sudan, where many people who fled Sudan have crossed the border into a country already facing conflict, floods and food shortages. Al Jazeera reported on April 17 that the United Nations warned South Sudan is at risk of “full-scale famine” as fighting intensifies and aid access is obstructed. (aljazeera.com) The United Nations had already suspended some food aid operations in South Sudan in February after attacks and looting hit a major convoy in Upper Nile state. The World Food Programme said in February that about 60 percent of Jonglei state’s population, or roughly 1.2 million people, was already acutely food insecure. (news.un.org 1) (news.un.org 2) Diplomats met in Berlin this week to discuss Sudan’s crisis as the anniversary of the war passed. Cyprus said on April 18 that it would provide at least €850,000 in humanitarian assistance through CyprusAid after pledging funds at the third international Sudan conference in Berlin. (cyprus-mail.com) Sudan’s government criticized the Berlin conference, with Reuters reporting on April 15 that officials called it “surprising and unacceptable” because Sudan was not invited. At the same time, United Nations relief chief Tom Fletcher said from Berlin that the world was “failing Sudan” as the war crossed the three-year mark. (msn.com) (ungeneva.org) Three years after the first battles in Khartoum, the front lines now run through Darfur, the Kordofans and other regions, but the hunger emergency follows the same pattern: people are trapped, markets collapse and aid is blocked. With the war still active and access still restricted, the warnings are no longer about a crisis that may come later. (dtm.iom.int) (nbcnews.com)
