WFP expects 2.5 million Sudanese to suffer from hunger due to conflict

Explosions shake Khartoum on the 26th day of clashes. The army bombs "Rapid Support" targets

The UAE has provided more than 476 tonnes of medical and food aid to Sudan since the beginning of the crisis. WAM

Powerful explosions rocked Khartoum yesterday morning, on the 26th day of Sudan's power struggle between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) without an agreement between negotiators from the two sides in Jeddah. Meanwhile, the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) has warned of the possibility of a sharp increase in the number of people facing hunger as violence and fighting continue.

Fighting has escalated in the Sudanese capital Khartoum amid heavy clashes and air strikes, witnesses said, as delegations representing the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continue talks in Saudi Arabia aimed at stabilizing a ceasefire and allowing humanitarian aid to flow.

Residents spoke of clashes on the ground in neighborhoods

Several in Khartoum between the two sides of the conflict and heavy exchanges of fire north of Omdurman and east of Bahri, two cities separated from Khartoum by the Nile River.

One resident of Shambat neighborhood in Bahri said: "Severe beating from 6:30 a.m. Aviation and RPG. We are lying on the ground."

A resident of the city of Omdurman, northwest of Khartoum, told AFP: "We were awakened by explosions and heavy artillery fire." Other witnesses in different parts of the capital reported two large explosions across the city.

The RSF has barricaded itself inside Khartoum neighbourhoods since the fighting began, setting up checkpoints, occupying government buildings and deploying snipers on rooftops.

The army is trying to drive it out using air strikes and heavy artillery.

The RSF said yesterday that the historic presidential palace in central Khartoum, which is symbolically important and located in a strategic area that the RSF says it controls, was hit by an air strike, which the army denied.

Drone footage filmed yesterday and verified by Reuters shows the building, known as the old presidential palace, apparently intact, despite smoke rising from the southeastern end of the palace complex.

The continued clashes come as army and RSF delegations have been holding meetings for days under the auspices of the United States and Saudi Arabia in the city of Jeddah.

The negotiations are aimed at establishing a de facto truce and allowing aid workers and supplies after repeated ceasefire announcements failed to stop the fighting, leaving millions trapped in their homes and areas.

A Western diplomat familiar with the talks in Jeddah said the two sides had not yet reached concrete results but that mediators planned to continue their efforts until they could achieve a result.

The diplomat said there was a "difficult atmosphere" at the start of the talks, and mediators were trying to keep the two delegations focused on the ceasefire and humanitarian access rather than broader political issues.

The conflict has triggered a humanitarian crisis in Africa's third-largest country and displaced more than 700,150 people within the country, with <>,<> fleeing neighbouring countries. It also sparked unrest in the western Darfur region.

According to the latest death toll from the World Health Organization, the fighting has left more than 600 dead and 5000,<> wounded, although the real figure is believed to be much higher.

Witnesses said they saw bodies strewn across the streets. Hospital work was disrupted and the collapse of law and order led to widespread looting. Fuel and food supplies are running out.

The U.N. World Food Programme predicted in a statement yesterday that up to 2.5 million Sudanese will suffer from hunger in the coming months due to the current conflict.

"This will raise acute food insecurity in Sudan to record levels with more than 19 million people, two-fifths of the population, affected."

The crisis is also causing food insecurity, the WFP said, noting that food prices are rising across the country.

The largest increase in food insecurity is expected in the states of West Darfur, West Kordofan, Blue Nile, Red Sea and North Darfur.

Prices of basic foodstuffs are expected to rise by 25% in the next three to six months, the statement said.