People starving to death amid conflict in Sudan

CAIRO (AP):

The UN food agency said last Friday it has received reports of people dying from starvation in Sudan, where raging fighting between rival generals is hampering the distribution of aid and food supplies to those most hungry.

The 10 months of clashes between the Sudanese military, led by General Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, a powerful paramilitary group commanded by General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, has decimated vast swathes of the northeastern Africa country.

The conflict erupted last April in the capital, Khartoum, and quickly spread to other areas of the country, after months of simmering tensions between the two forces.

World Food Programme said that some 18 million people across Sudan currently face acute hunger, with the most desperate trapped behind the front lines of the conflict.

The hotspots include Khartoum, the western Darfur region, and the provinces of Kordofan and Gezira -- areas where roadblocks, taxation demands and security threats endanger supplies.

"Life-saving assistance is not reaching those who need it the most, and we are already receiving reports of people dying of starvation," said Eddie Rowe, WFP's director for Sudan.

The United Nations says at least 12,000 people have been killed in the conflict, although local doctors groups say the true toll is far higher. Over 10.7 million people have been displaced, according to the UN migration agency.