Sudan at breaking point with floods and widespread displacement, IOM says

Report shows famine conditions are present in Zamzam displacement camp in North Darfur

Displaced people at a camp in Sinja town, in Sudan's south-eastern Sennar state. EPA

The humanitarian situation in Sudan is at “a catastrophic breaking point”, the International Organisation for Migration said on Monday.

Sudan's civil war continues to rage, with famine and floods adding to the many challenges facing millions of people struggling to cope in the world’s largest displacement crisis.

A report last week showed that Zamzam camp, near El Fasher in North Darfur, where about 500,000 displaced people live, is facing famine conditions. Malnutrition and deaths are increasing amid extreme food scarcity.

Sudan was plunged into chaos in April last year when tension between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces turned into open conflict in the capital Khartoum, before spreading across the country.

The western region of Darfur has been the scene of some of the most devastating fighting.

The conflict has killed thousands of people and pushed many into starvation, with the UN and rights groups reporting atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings.

About 10.7 million people have been displaced. The situation has been exacerbated by widespread flooding that has displaced more than 20,000 people since June across 11 of Sudan’s 18 states, the IOM says.

Critical infrastructure has been washed away, complicating the delivery of humanitarian aid.

“Make no mistake, these conditions will persist and worsen if the conflict and restrictions on humanitarian access continue,” said Othman Belbeisi, the IOM's director for Middle East and North Africa.

“Without an immediate, massive and co-ordinated global response, we risk witnessing tens of thousands of preventable deaths in the coming months. We are at a breaking point, a catastrophic, cataclysmic breaking point.”

In an effort to start peace negotiations, the US, Saudi Arabia and Switzerland invited the two sides to new talks in Geneva.

But the Sudanese military has indicated that it will not attend.