Sudan war is world's 'worst humanitarian crisis': AU

By AFP

African Union officials on Tuesday branded Sudan's civil war the "worst humanitarian crisis in the world" and warned it was leaving hundreds of thousands of children malnourished.

The Sudanese army has been at war since April 2023 with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in a conflict that has displaced around 12 million people, according to the AU and the International Rescue Committee.

It "has hampered access to humanitarian relief, led to shortage of food and aggravated hunger," Mohamed Ibn Chambas, chairman of an AU panel on Sudan, said Tuesday on X.

"Children and women are continually abused, and the elderly and sick lack medical assistance," he added.

"This is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world."

A senior AU official for child welfare, Wilson Almeida Adao, said in a separate X post that hospital admissions for malnutrition rose by 44 percent in 2024, with over 431,000 children receiving treatment.

"We witness reports of grave violations, including attacks on schools and hospitals, forced recruitment of child soldiers, and the denial of humanitarian access," he said.

The Sudanese army controls the east and north of the country while the RSF holds most of the stricken Darfur region, where the United Nations on Monday accused it of blocking aid.

For the AU, "only inter-Sudanese political dialogue, not the military option, can end this war," said Chambas.