The World Food Program’s regional spokesperson, Leni Kinzli, issued a stark warning to Sudan’s warring factions on Friday, cautioning that without allowing humanitarian aid into Darfur and other parts of Sudan, there is a grave risk of widespread starvation and fatalities.
Kinzli emphasized that in December, at least 1.7 million people in Darfur were already facing emergency levels of hunger, a number that is anticipated to have surged significantly since then.
Speaking from Nairobi during a virtual U.N. press briefing, Kinzli stressed the urgent need for humanitarian access to conflict zones across Sudan.
The crisis erupted in mid-April 2023 when long-standing tensions between Sudan’s military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces under Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, escalated into street clashes in Khartoum. The conflict has since spread to various parts of the country, particularly urban areas and the Darfur region.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have extended their control over most of Darfur and are currently besieging El Fasher, the lone Darfur capital outside their grip, where approximately 500,000 civilians have sought refuge.
