|
Around 18 million people are already acutely hungry, including
3.6 million children who are acutely malnourished, according to
a joint statement by U.N. chiefs including Volker Turk, the U.N.
High Commissioner for Human Rights
"Time is running out for millions of people in Sudan who are at
imminent risk of famine, displaced from their lands, living
under bombardments, and cut off from humanitarian assistance,"
the statement added.
Fighting broke out in the capital Khartoum in April 2023 and
quickly spread across the country, reigniting ethnic bloodshed
in the western Darfur region and forcing millions to flee in the
world's largest displacement crisis.
"Without an immediate and major step change, we will face a
nightmare scenario: A famine will take hold in large parts of
the country," read the statement also signed by U.N. aid chief
Martin Griffiths.
The war broke out as long-simmering tensions over integrating
the RSF with the army came to a head. The U.N. special adviser
on the prevention of genocide said last week there was a risk of
genocide in parts of Darfur.
A U.N.-backed report said in March that immediate action was
needed to "prevent widespread death and total collapse of
livelihoods and avert a catastrophic hunger crisis in Sudan".
(Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Andrew
Heavens)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
