15 killed in Darfur camp as battle for last army-held city intensifies

LONDON: Tens of thousands of people will die in Sudan if the country’s civil war continues for another year, with the UN facing a vast food-aid funding gap and unable to reach those most vulnerable to famine, a senior official warned on Thursday.

The conflict, which began two years ago, has caused what is, “by any metric,” the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, Shaun Hughes, the World Food Programme’s emergency coordinator for the Sudan crisis, told a UN briefing.

He said famine had spread to 10 areas in the Darfur and Kordofan regions, and threatens to engulf another 17. Unless the WFP can bridge a $650 million gap in funding for its operations over the next six months, which amounts to an 80 percent shortfall, and gain better access on the ground to those in need, he said the crisis will continue to spiral out of control.

“This war is having devastating consequences for the people of Sudan and the entire region,” Hughes said during a video call.

“Tens of thousands more people will die in Sudan during a third year of war unless WFP and other humanitarian agencies have the access and the resources to reach those in need.”

The civil war began on April 15, 2023, amid a power struggle between the Sudanese army and the leader of a powerful rival militia called the Rapid Support Forces. The fighting has killed thousands of people and forced 12 million to flee their homes.

The army finally regained control of all of Khartoum last month, having been driven out of the capital at the start of the conflict. But the RSF continues to control vast areas in western and southern Sudan, including much of Darfur region.

Fighting has raged around the city of El-Fasher in Darfur, just south of which is located the Zamzam displacement camp that hosts 400,000 people. Famine was first reported in the camp in August last year and people continue to die from starvation and malnutrition there, Hughes said.

“It’s obviously a horrific situation,” he added. “El-Fasher, Zamzam and other camps have been at the center of famine and the epicenter of conflict in the Darfurs for several months now, and under an effective siege on a daily basis.

“People are unable to access services, and humanitarian agencies have, essentially, had to withdraw from the camp.”

He said the last delivery of food aid was in October but the WFP had managed to digitally transfer cash aid to help residents of the camp buy food wherever they can.

But unless aid efforts can be reestablished on the ground in Sudan’s worst-effected areas, Hughes fears the famine could spread, with nearly half of the country’s 50 million people facing the prospect of extreme hunger.

“We need to be able to quickly move humanitarian assistance to where it is needed, including through front lines, across borders within contested areas, and without lengthy bureaucratic processes,” he said.

The WFP has managed to increase the number of people it is reaching to 3 million per month, he added, but hopes to increase the figure to 7 million in the coming months. The focus will be on those areas already suffering from famine or most at risk of falling into it, Hughes said.

Many aid operations in Sudan have been affected by the US government’s slashing of foreign aid budgets since President Donald Trump took office, but Hughes said funding for his agency’s work in the country had not been affected by this.

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross on Thursday released a report detailing the “catastrophic humanitarian situation” in Sudan.

It said attacks on hospitals and other civilian infrastructure have severely compromised access to essential services.

CAIRO/GAZA: Farah Abu Qainas hoped to become a teacher, but an Israeli airstrike last year injured her so severely she lost her left leg, throwing all her plans into doubt and adding the 21-year-old to a list of thousands of new amputees in devastated Gaza.

Still living in a temporary shelter, Abu Qainas attends physiotherapy sessions at a prosthetics center in the territory where she waits in a wheelchair for an artificial limb that could allow her some freedom again.

“That day, I lost more than just my leg. My dreams vanished,” she said. 

“I longed to attend university and teach children. But this injury has stolen that future.”

The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when militants carried out a cross-border attack on Israeli communities.

Israel’s military campaign has since killed more than 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza, local health authorities say, and left most of the tiny, crowded coastal territory in ruins and nearly all its people homeless.

Many thousands more have suffered injuries that will change their lives for decades to come. 

However, amid a conflict that has left the medical system barely able to function, estimates for how many Palestinians have lost limbs vary.

“Across Gaza, it is estimated that 4,500 new amputees require prosthetics, in addition to the 2,000 existing cases requiring maintenance and follow-up care,” the UN humanitarian agency OCHA reported last month.

Ahmed Mousa, who runs the physical rehabilitation program in Gaza for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said at least 3,000 people had been registered in their program, of whom 1,800 have amputations.

Many thousands more Palestinians have suffered spinal injuries or lost their sight or hearing, according to OCHA and the ICRC.

The large number of injuries has slowed and complicated efforts to provide treatment. 

ICRC officials said that getting artificial limbs into the Gaza Strip has been challenging.

“Accessing proper prosthetics or mobility aids is increasingly challenging in Gaza right now, and unfortunately, there is no clear timeline for many,” said Mousa.

Israel suspended all humanitarian aid to Gaza after the collapse of a two-month-old ceasefire last month.

Abu Qainas, who attends Mousa’s therapy program, said she does not know when she might get an artificial leg or treatment abroad. 

“They told me to wait, but I don’t know if it’s going to happen anytime soon,” she said.

Israel’s military has said its bombardment of Gaza is necessary to crush Hamas, which it accuses of hiding among the general Palestinian population. Hamas denies this. Israel says it tries to reduce harm to civilians.

Children have not escaped the carnage.

An April study by the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics said at least 7,000 children have been injured since October 2023, with hundreds losing limbs, sight, or hearing.

She said seven-year-old Shaza Hamdan had wanted to learn to ride a bike.

“My father asked (me) to join him for a walk, before shells began falling on us like rain. One hit my leg and cut it off, and another hit my father’s arm,” she said.