PORT SUDAN: Food aid in Sudan is set to run out by the end of March unless new funding is secured, the United Nations said Thursday, raising fears for millions caught up in the world’s largest hunger crisis.
The warning comes after almost three years of civil war in Sudan, where fighting between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has left tens of thousands dead and 11 million displaced.
“By the end of March, we will have depleted our food stocks in Sudan,” Ross Smith, the World Food Programme’s Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response, said in a statement.
“Without immediate additional funding, millions of people will be left without vital food assistance within weeks,” he added.
Smith said the WFP has already “been forced to reduce rations to the absolute minimum for survival.”
According to the UN, more than 21 million people — almost half of Sudan’s population — are now facing acute food insecurity.
A UN-backed assessment confirmed last year that famine had taken hold in El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, which was overrun by the paramilitary forces in October.
Famine has also been confirmed in Kadugli, in neighboring Kordofan, now a key battleground in the conflict.
In Dilling, around 130 kilometers (80 miles) to the north, the UN says civilians are likely experiencing famine conditions, though security issues and a lack of access have prevented a formal declaration.
The UN earlier declared famine in three displacement camps around El-Fasher as well as in parts of the Nuba Mountains in the country’s south.
Sudan food aid to run out in March without new funding, UN warns
https://arab.news/23q45
Sudan food aid to run out in March without new funding, UN warns
- “By the end of March, we will have depleted our food stocks in Sudan,” Smith said
- He said the WFP has already “been forced to reduce rations to the absolute minimum for survival“
Sirens heard at Incirlik air base, key NATO facility in south Turkiye: state news agency
- Key NATO facility where US troops are stationed near the southeastern city of Adana
ANKARA: Sirens were heard early on Friday at Turkiye’s Incirlik air base, a key NATO facility where US troops are stationed near the southeastern city of Adana, state news agency Anadolu reported.
There was no immediate official comment on the incident, which took place four days after NATO air defenses shot down a ballistic missile in Turkish airspace that was fired from Iran, the second in five days.
Residents of Adana, which lies 10 kilometers away from the base, were woken at around 3:25 a.m. (0025 GMT) by sirens, which sounded for around five minutes, according to the Ekonomim business news website.
It said a red alert sounded at the base.
Several people posted mobile phone footage on social media of a glowing image flying through the sky, suggesting it could be a missile heading for the air base, it said.
Across the city, sirens from fire engines and the security forces could be heard for a long time, it added.
NATO said it shot down a second ballistic missile fired from Iran on Monday, prompting a stern warning from Turkiye to Tehran not to take “provocative steps.”
The announcement came shortly after Washington said it was closing down its consulate in Adana, urging all American citizens to leave southeastern Turkiye.
Since the US-Israeli war against Iran started, Tehran has launched strikes across the Middle East. Turkiye had appeared to have been spared.
As well as Incirlik air base, US troops are also stationed at Kurecik, another Turkish base that is a NATO facility in the center of the country, where a Patriot missile defense system was deployed on Tuesday.
A first missile had been intercepted by NATO defenses in Turkish air space on March 4.
