PORT SUDAN: The World Food Programme has called on the warring parties in Sudan鈥檚 conflict to grant full access to the agency as the country faces the imminent threat of famine.
Sudan has been gripped by war since April 2023 between the regular armed forces led by the country鈥檚 de facto leader Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by his former deputy Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions and resulted in one of the world鈥檚 worst humanitarian crises.
Both sides have been accused of committing war crimes, including targeting civilians and preventing aid from reaching those in need, as well as using methods that amount to starving millions.
鈥淲e want complete and unfettered access as well as the ability to get in through as many different entry points into Sudan as possible,鈥� WFP鈥檚 executive director Cindy McCain told AFP on Sunday.
She warned that with the whole of Sudan currently at famine alert level and famine already declared at Darfur鈥檚 Zamzam camp, 鈥渋t will spread so it鈥檚 really urgent and that we can get in and we can do it at scale.鈥�
About 11.3 million people have been uprooted by the war, among them nearly three million who have fled outside Sudan, according to the UN refugee agency.
About 26 million people face acute food insecurity, and a UN-backed assessment in August said the war had pushed the Zamzam displacement camp in North Darfur state into famine.
鈥淔or us it鈥檚 about getting food and trucks in there so it鈥檚 important that the gates stay open,鈥� McCain said, adding that this included not just Sudan鈥檚 border crossing with Chad but all crossings into the country.
鈥淲e need as many of them open as possible,鈥� she said.
On October 18, Western countries including Britain, the United States, France and Germany urged both sides in war-torn Sudan to let in 鈥渦rgently required鈥� aid to millions of people in dire need.
鈥淭he two sides鈥� systematic obstruction of local and international humanitarian efforts is at the root of this famine,鈥� the European and North American nations said in a joint statement.