Famine Expands to Two Towns in Sudan's North Darfur

Famine has expanded to two additional towns in Sudan's war-ravaged western Darfur region, according to a report released Thursday by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a global hunger monitoring initiative. The areas now affected include Umm Baru and Kernoi in North Darfur, where acute malnutrition rates among young children have surpassed critical thresholds, exacerbating the country's deepening humanitarian crisis.

The announcement builds on prior assessments from the IPC, which in November confirmed famine conditions in el Fasher, North Darfur's main city, and Kadugli in South Kordofan. El Fasher fell to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in October 2025 following an 18-month siege, prompting a mass exodus of residents to neighboring towns like Umm Baru and Kernoi near the Chad border. This influx has overwhelmed local resources, intensified food shortages and driven malnutrition levels higher. In Umm Baru, nearly 53 percent of children aged six months to just under five years suffer from acute malnutrition, more than double the famine threshold. In Kernoi, the figure stands at 32 percent. The IPC report, based on data up to February, warns that these...