NAIROBI (AlertNet) - Experts warn that a quarter of a million Sudanese could be on the brink of famine by March. War between the government and rebels in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states means that few humanitarian agencies can gain access to those at risk.
Some 140,000 refugees have crossed into neighbouring South Sudan and Ethiopia, and the United Nations (U.N.) warns this figure could reach 500,000 in the coming months.
How serious is the threat of famine?
The Famine Early Warning System (FEWS NET) says the two states will reach level four, or emergency levels, by March. This is one stage short of level five, or famine.
Many people have been unable to plant and harvest since fighting broke out in South Kordofan in June and in Blue Nile in September. In South Kordofan, thousands have been forced to take shelter from bombing in the Nuba Mountains.
“(This is) a looming catastrophe that will make Syria, in terms of total casualties, look like a gang war in the park,” said Eric Reeves, a U.S.-based Sudan analyst. “There’s no food getting in. There’s no food being produced. All the food reserves were consumed by mid-summer. They are eating grass. They are eating inedible berries.”
