Sudan's Darfur Faces Famine as Key Aid Route Cut Off

A critical supply route to Sudan's Darfur region, already threatened by famine according to a global monitor, has been blocked due to heavy rains. This poses severe challenges for the World Food Programme, which is working to find alternative routes amidst ongoing civil strife and displaced populations.

Heavy rains have severed a crucial supply route into Sudan's Darfur region, heightening the risk of famine, a World Food Programme official confirmed to Reuters on Thursday. Darfur, described by the U.N. agency as the world's largest hunger crisis, remains the most vulnerable amid Sudan's 15-month civil conflict that has displaced millions and ignited ethnic violence.

WFP Country Director Eddie Rowe reported that thousands of tons of aid are now stuck at the Tina crossing on the Chad border, necessitating renewed negotiations with the army-aligned government to open another weather-resistant route called Adre. The WFP aims to move a 70-truck convoy through a 1000 km route that will cross various militia battle lines.

Mona Rishmawi of the U.N. Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan shared harrowing accounts from Darfur refugees in Chad, describing their struggles with severe shortages of water and food, compelling them to eat grass. 'There's no doubt that people are starving,' she told Reuters.

(With inputs from agencies.)