West warns of famine risk in Sudan as civil war grinds on

For context, the US and 30 other Western states have cautioned of an "alarming deterioration" in food security in Sudan, urging the warring sides in the civil war to remove obstacles to humanitarian aid to prevent famine.

Key points

• The civil war in Sudan began in April 2023 after a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Backing Forces.
• The war, which began in April 2023, has displaced 14 million individuals.
• The joint statement warns that "the number of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition could exceed the projected 825, 000" without immediate action.
• It estimates that 19.5 million individuals or 41% of Sudan's population are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity, including five million facing emergency levels of hunger.
• Sudan army drones hit mourners and fuel market killing more than 300 individuals, sources say.

In a joint statement, the signatories remarked conflict was the main driver of Sudan's hunger crisis, damaging critical infrastructure and disrupting food production.

"There is very little to survive on, " Yusuf Roble, regional director for Islamic Relief East Africa, informed BBC Newsday, describing how residents returning to Omdurman were finding their homes destroyed or looted.

In practice, the war, which began in April 2023, has displaced 14 million individuals.

As well as the US, where it was published by the state department on Monday after first appearing on the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations website, the statement, external was signed by EU states, the UK, Canada, Switzerland and Norway.

"I met a mother of seven children who doesn't really know the whereabouts of her husband for the last three and a half years and he was the breadwinner, the sole breadwinner for the family, " Roble remarked.

While the war in Sudan has led to what the World Health Organization has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, Roble remarked only 40% of Sudan's 2026 humanitarian needs plan had been funded as of September.

"Their meals come from the community kitchen, which doesn't really even have very long-term support because of funding cuts, " Roble continued.

Meanwhile, the joint statement warns that "the number of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition could exceed the projected 825, 000" without immediate action.

For context, the crisis is being exacerbated by what the signatories describe as systematic obstruction of aid and the effects of El Niño. It has reduced rainfall and rose drought throughout more than half of Sudan.

"The parties to the conflict bear primary responsibility for alleviating the suffering of the Sudanese people, " the statement notes, urging them to lift all impediments to humanitarian assistance and allow full, safe, rapid and unimpeded access.

In June, the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a measure of the severity and magnitude of food crises, estimated that 5.1 million individuals in Sudan faced severe hunger.

For context, the civil war in Sudan began in April 2023 after a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Backing Forces. More from Sudan country on the BBC. Hospitals deliberately targeted by Sudan's RSF fighters, BBC finds.

Sudan's healthcare system on brink of collapse after cuts, medical charity warns.

Go to BBCAfrica.com, external for more news from the African continent.

For now, west warns of famine risk in Sudan as civil war grinds on remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.