US officials have warned that Sudan is on the brink of a famine that could surpass any seen since Ethiopia’s famine 40 years ago, as aid remains blocked by warring factions while arms continue to flow to both sides. Despite global attention on Gaza, another site of human-induced famine, Sudan is enduring the worst humanitarian crisis worldwide, with minimal media coverage and insufficient global concern. A UN humanitarian appeal for Sudan has only received 16% of its required funds.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, urged global awareness of the catastrophe unfolding in Sudan. El Fasher, North Darfur’s capital and a former humanitarian hub, has been under siege for two months by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) since a power struggle between rival generals escalated into conflict in April 2023. The civil war has resulted in 14,000 deaths and displaced 10 million people.
The UN Security Council adopted a UK-drafted resolution demanding an end to the siege, but fighting intensified with the SAF claiming to have repelled a major RSF assault. Samantha Power, head of the US Agency for International Development, expressed concern over the fate of those sheltering in El Fasher if the RSF took control. The RSF, largely recruited from Janjaweed militias, has a history of committing atrocities in Darfur.
On Friday, Power announced $315 million in new US humanitarian aid for Sudan, emphasizing that little aid was reaching isolated populations. Both sides have been accused of weaponizing food access. Power condemned the RSF for looting humanitarian supplies and destroying resources, and criticized the SAF for obstructing aid routes.
Power stated that Gen. Burhan could open the Adré crossing with a simple decision, but the SAF has offered an inadequate alternative route that will become impassable during the rainy season. She stressed that obstruction, not food shortages, is causing the starvation crisis in Sudan, which could potentially be worse than the 2011 famine in Somalia.
Comparisons to Ethiopia’s famine in the early 1980s, which killed a million people, indicate the severity of Sudan’s crisis. Thomas-Greenfield warned that up to 2.5 million people in Darfur and Kordofan could die by the end of September if the situation worsens.
Despite the obstruction of humanitarian aid, both warring sides continue to receive weapons: the SAF from Russia and Iran, and the RSF from the UAE. The US has engaged with the UAE on this issue, but a recent meeting between President Joe Biden and UAE’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan did not address Sudan. The US faces criticism, particularly from the Global South, for calling to end arms supplies to Sudan while continuing to provide substantial military support to Israel during its Gaza offensive.
