UN warns of spreading famine risk as Security Council takes up Sudan war

The UN Security Council met Friday on Sudan as UN agencies warned that the war, now increasingly fought with drones, is pushing parts of the country toward famine.

According to UN News, about 20 million people in Sudan face acute hunger, including 200,000 at catastrophic levels, and the risk of famine is rising in parts of Darfur and Greater Kordofan. Ambassadors were expected to press for a ceasefire, safe humanitarian access and a halt to weapons flows.

Drones and displacement

The UN said drone strikes are killing civilians across a wide arc from El Obeid to Blue Nile state. It reported that a strike near the Ethiopian border on Oct. 10 killed 41 displaced people. More than 700,000 displaced people in Tawila, in North Darfur, lack adequate food, water and health care, the UN said.

The Council's arms embargo still applies only to Darfur; related sanctions have been extended to Dec. 11, UN News reported.

Signs of famine

A UN-backed food security analysis released earlier this week painted a grim picture, according to UN News:

• Acute malnutrition among children in two camps in Eastern Jebel Marra reached 38 percent and 30.8 percent, above the famine threshold.
• Drought covers more than half of Sudan, and late rains came too late to save most cereal crops.
• More than 300,000 people have been displaced in Greater Kordofan since October 2025.
• As of August, only about a quarter of children expected to need treatment for severe acute malnutrition with complications had received it.

The humanitarian appeal for Sudan was less than half funded as of Oct. 8, the UN said.