LONDON: Warring factions in Sudan have been accused of “cowardice” by the US special envoy to the country as key peace talks begin today in Geneva.

The use of starvation as a weapon of war by the government’s Sudanese Armed Forces and the opposition Rapid Support Forces showed that the two sides “lacked courage and honor,” Tom Perriello told The Guardian.

After 15 months of fighting, hundreds of thousands of Sudanese have been displaced, and the country — once a breadbasket of the planet — is facing the world’s largest hunger crisis.

More than 25 million people in Sudan are classified as facing acute hunger, and a camp for the displaced in Darfur has officially declared a famine, The Guardian reported.

The US-brokered talks in Geneva aim to end the war. But despite the RSF agreeing to attend, the government’s SAF has said it will not take part.

Perriello was described by The Guardian as “venting his frustration” at persistent efforts by the two warring parties to block humanitarian aid, and disrupt domestic crop harvests.

“It is not only a clear violation of international humanitarian law by both sides, it’s just cowardice,” he said.

“It is shocking to see the lack of courage and honor, particularly where there are people who don’t seem to want to fight militarily, but would rather use starving women and children as their arsenal.”

The government and RSF risk losing all legitimacy in a postwar Sudan if they continue to deploy starvation as a weapon, Perriello added.

“Whatever claims of legitimacy either side wants to make are clearly undermined in the eyes of the Sudanese people and the world when they’re taking these actions.”

His comments come as fears mount over the potential for famine in Sudan’s Darfur.

Up to 800,000 people in Al-Fashir, the region’s capital that is under siege, are suffering from a “severe lack of food and water,” The Guardian reported.

Perriello demanded that Sudanese military permit UN aid to cross into Darfur from neighboring Chad.

The government’s absence from the Geneva talks will not prevent them from taking place, he added.

Getting any relief into Al-Fashir is “very close to impossible” under existing circumstances, said Claire Nicolet of Medecins Sans Frontieres, one of the few aid agencies still operating in the city.

The UN has also condemned the warring factions for “blocking, looting and exploiting humanitarian assistance.”

A statement from the international body said: “The extent of hunger and displacement we see in Sudan today is unprecedented and never witnessed before.

“The Sudanese armed forces and RSF must stop blocking, looting and exploiting humanitarian assistance.”

Some experts have accused the West of inaction and fence-sitting over the war.

Kholood Khair, a Sudanese political analyst, said that Sudan had become diplomatically “deprioritized.”

He added: “The RSF wants Western engagement, but for the SAF it’s the complete opposite.

“For them it’s a badge of honor to be hated by the West; that means you have to incentivize them differently.”