Famine and Violence Raise Death Toll in Sudan

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by Oritro Karim (united nations)Friday, November 29, 2024Inter Press Service

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 29 (IPS) - The humanitarian crisis in Sudan continues to deepen as a result of the ongoing Sudanese Civil War. Intensified conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has led to widespread food insecurity, with many humanitarian organizations expressing concern that starvation is being used as a method of warfare. Additionally, heightened violence has caused considerable civilian casualties.

According to a statement by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), the civil war has displaced over 11 million people, becoming one of the world’s biggest displacement crises. Reports of widespread violations of international humanitarian law have impeded relief efforts greatly, worsening the pre-existing hunger crisis.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has declared Sudan to be in an emergency state of disaster due to famine. A total of 25.6 million people are facing acute hunger, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

Starvation is most concentrated in the Zamzam refugee camp, currently one of the largest and most populated displacement shelters in Sudan. “Families at Zamzam have been resorting to extreme measures to survive because food is so scarce. They are eating crushed peanut shells that are typically used to feed animals — and across the camp, parents are mourning the deaths of malnourished children,” said Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General.

Additionally, soup kitchens across Sudan have seen mass closures due to severe underfunding and a lack of humanitarian assistance. Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) spoke to reporters of the scale of suffering in Sudan due to famine, opining that starvation is used as a method of warfare by the warring parties. “It's an underfunded operation, even though it's the world's biggest emergency. The war will stop when these warlords feel they have more to lose by continuing fighting, than by doing the sensible thing,” he said.

A November study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s Sudan Research Group indicates that the overall death toll has increased significantly following the wake of armed conflict in Sudan. The report estimates that between April 2023 and June 2024, over 61,000 people died in the Khartoum state, marking a 50 percent increase from the pre-war death rate.

It is also estimated that 26,000 deaths were a direct result of violence, with starvation and disease becoming increasingly common causes of death in Khartoum. According to the report, the total death toll may far surpass these figures as approximately 90 percent of all deaths in Sudan go unreported.

In addition to damage caused by the two warring parties, smaller armed groups have participated in looting and attacks. “The parties are tearing down their own houses, they are massacring their own people,” Egeland said.

Humanitarian organizations have expressed concern over the escalation of violence observed over the past several months. Alice Wairimu Nderitu, the UN Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, predicts that Sudan could experience a “Rwanda-like genocide” based on the current circumstances. Nderitu also added that there have been reports of ethnic cleansing in El Fasher.

On November 26, the WFP announced that they would scale up aid responses in the most famine-stricken areas of Sudan following the Sudanese government issuing clearance to use the Adre border crossing.

“In total, the trucks will carry about 17,500 tons of food assistance, enough to feed 1.5 million people for one monthIn total, the trucks will carry about 17,500 tons of food assistance, enough to feed 1.5 million people for one month,” said WFP Sudan spokesperson Leni Kinzli.

However, due to pervasive violence and the overall urgent scale of needs, additional funding is in dire need to mitigate the deepening humanitarian crisis. According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), approximately 25 million people require humanitarian assistance, which equates to nearly half of the entire population. The UN's 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan seeks 2.7 billion dollars to provide life-saving assistance to over 14 million affected people. The UN urges continued donor support as only 56 percent of the required funds have been raised.