FAMINE is spreading in war-torn Sudan’s western Darfur region and has now engulfed two more towns there, a global hunger monitoring group said today.

The report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) came after the group reported last year that people in Darfur’s major city of el-Fasher, over-run by the paramilitary forces after an 18-month siege, were enduring famine.

Since April 2023, war has gripped much of Sudan after a power struggle erupted between the country’s military and the paramilitary RSF.

The conflict has triggered what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The UN estimates that over 40,000 people have been killed in the war in Sudan, but aid agencies believe the true number could be much higher. More than 14 million people have been forced to flee their homes.

The IPC report said famine has now been detected in Umm Baru and Kernoi in Darfur. In November, the group said el-Fasher — a major city in the region — was enduring famine and also the city of Kadugli in South Kordofan.

In Umm Baru, nearly 53 per cent of children aged between six months and nearly five years suffered from acute malnutrition, while 32 per cent of children in Kernoi face the same ordeal.

“These alarming rates suggest an increased risk of excess mortality and raise concern that nearby areas may be experiencing similar catastrophic conditions,” the report said.

With this report, the total number of famine-stricken areas in Sudan rises to nine. In 2024, famine had struck five other areas in North Darfur and also Sudan’s Nuba Mountains region.

The IPC report also warned that more people might face extreme hunger in Kordofan, where the conflict has disrupted food production and supply lines in besieged towns and isolated areas.

“An immediate and sustained ceasefire is critical to avert further destitution, starvation, and death in the affected parts of Sudan,” said the Rome-based group.