CAIRO — Human rights experts working for the United Nations on Wednesday accused Sudan’s warring parties of using hunger as a weapon of war, amid growing warnings of imminent famine in the african nation.
Sudan descended into chaos in April last year when simmering tensions between the country’s military and a notorious paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country.
Fourteen months of fighting has killed more than 14,000 people and wounded another 33,000, according to the United Nations, but human rights activists say the toll could be much higher.
There were widespread reports of rampant sexual violence and other atrocities that human rights groups say amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. The conflict created the world’s largest displacement crisis, with more than 11 million people forced to flee their homes.
“Both the SAF and RSF are using food as a weapon and starving civilians,” the experts said, using the initials of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. “The magnitude of hunger and displacement we see today in Sudan is unprecedented and has never been seen before,” they said.
Neither the army nor the RSF responded to phone calls seeking comment.
Experts have warned that famine has become imminent in the country due to the blockage of humanitarian aid and the disruption of the harvest season due to the war. They added that more than 25 million civilians in Sudan and those who fled the country are starving and need urgent humanitarian assistance.
a report of Clingendael Institute He said last month that around 2.5 million people in Sudan could starve to death by the end of September, with around 15% of the population in the Darfur and Kordofan regions being worst affected.
Independent experts said local efforts in response to Sudan’s hunger crisis have been hampered by unprecedented violence and attacks targeting civil society and local first responders. Dozens of local activists and volunteers have been arrested, threatened and prosecuted in recent weeks, they said.
“Deliberate attacks on aid workers and local volunteers have undermined aid operations, putting millions of people at greater risk of starvation,” they said. “Local first responders are risking their health and lives and working across battle lines.”
They urged both sides to “stop blocking, looting and exploiting humanitarian assistance.”
The experts are part of the Special Procedures, which is the largest body of independent experts in the United Nations Human Rights system.
In recent months, fighting has centered on el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur province, trapping hundreds of thousands of civilians. At least 143,000 people have been forced to flee El Fasher in the last three months, according to the UN
The UN Security Council demanded earlier this month that RSF immediately end their siege of the city, which is the last military bastion in the vast region of Darfur.
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