(Geneva) The ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in war-ravaged Sudan “threatens to engulf the entire region,” the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned on Friday, as famine grips the region of North Darfur.
“With appalling human rights atrocities, the forced displacement of more than 10 million people since the start of the war and the lack of even the most basic services for a large part of the population, the world’s most urgent humanitarian catastrophe is getting worse every day, threatening to engulf the entire region,” said Mamadou Dian Balde, UNHCR’s regional coordinator.
On Thursday, a UN-backed body said the war had plunged the Zamzam camp, near the besieged town of El-Fasher, into famine.
“The warning signs have been there for months,” said Dian Balde: “displaced women, children and men are dying of hunger, malnutrition and disease.”
UNHCR is urging international donors to step up support for Sudan, where a civil war that began in April 2023 between the army and rival paramilitaries has already claimed tens of thousands of lives.
“Urgent action is vital to prevent further death and suffering,” commented Mr Dian Balde.
According to him, the number of refugees and internally displaced people is pushing the reception in the camps close to breaking point.