Large Sudan displaced people camp 'in famine'

This marks only the third time a famine determination has been made in 20 years

(Image credit: Tony Karumba / AFP via Getty Images)

What happened

The civil war in Sudan has caused famine in a camp housing half a million displaced people in the country's North Darfur region, according to a report by an independent group of food security experts.

Who said what

At least 500,000 people at Zamzam camp, near the besieged Darfur city of El Fasher, are experiencing "the worst form of hunger," said the United Nations-backed report.

This marks just the "third time a famine determination has been made" since the internationally recognized standard known as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system was set up 20 years ago, said Al Jazeera.

Sudan's civil war has created "the world's largest humanitarian crisis," forcing 10 million people from their homes, said the BBC.

What next?

Famine conditions are likely to persist until at least the October harvest season, experts warned. The fear now is that even then the hunger crisis will not ease much as the conflict has also "damaged farmlands," said The New York Times.

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Arion McNicoll is a freelance writer at The Week Digital and was previously the UK website’s editor. He has also held senior editorial roles at CNN, The Times and The Sunday Times. Along with his writing work, he co-hosts “Today in History with The Retrospectors”, Rethink Audio’s flagship daily podcast, and is a regular panellist (and occasional stand-in host) on “The Week Unwrapped”. He is also a judge for The Publisher Podcast Awards.