Experts say Famine Spreading in Sudan's Darfur
Last update: February 5, 2026
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Famine threatens millions in Sudan’s darfur amid ongoing conflict.
Famine is spreading in western Darfur, UN-backed experts warned, as fighting between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has left millions hungry, displaced, and cut off from aid.
Since April 2023, the conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced nearly 11 million people, and caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said famine thresholds for acute malnutrition have been surpassed in North Darfur’s contested areas of Um Baru and Kernoi, near the Chad border.
Children in these areas have limited access to treatment, with only 25 percent of affected children in Kernoi enrolled in programs.
The famine’s spread follows the RSF’s takeover of El-Fasher, North Darfur’s capital, last October. Its fall, after 18 months of bombardment and starvation, triggered mass displacement, straining local resources and driving malnutrition.
At least 127,000 people fled to nearby towns, according to UN data.
This alert is not a formal famine classification but signals severe food security and nutrition crises.
It comes three months after IPC confirmed famine in El-Fasher and Kadugli in South Kordofan, where RSF sieges devastated local communities. Nearby Dilling is believed to face similar conditions.
The IPC warned that 20 more areas in Darfur and Kordofan are at risk. Prolonged displacement, conflict, and collapsing health, water, and food systems are expected to worsen malnutrition.
Across Sudan, over 21 million people, nearly half the population, face acute food insecurity, with two-thirds urgently needing assistance.
