Rhino: The New York Times said on Saturday that as Sudan is heading towards famine, its army is preventing the United Nations from bringing massive amounts of food into the country through a vital border crossing, effectively cutting off aid to hundreds of thousands of people who are starving in the midst of civil war.
The newspaper published a report by its chief Africa correspondent Declan Walsh: ‘As famine spreads in Sudan, the army is blocking aid trucks at the border, as experts say the civil war-torn country could soon face one of the world’s worst famines in decades.’
Experts warn that Sudan, barely functioning after 15 months of fighting, could soon face one of the world’s worst famines in decades. But the Sudanese army’s refusal to allow UN aid convoys through the crossing is frustrating the massive relief efforts that aid organizations say are needed to prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths – up to 2.5 million by one estimate – by the end of this year.)
The danger is greatest in Darfur, a region the size of Spain that suffered a genocide two decades ago. Of Sudan’s 14 districts at immediate risk of famine, eight are in Darfur, across the border that the UN is trying to cross. Time is running out to help them).