Drone strikes leave hundreds dead or injured
At least 306 people were killed and hundreds more injured during three weeks of escalating drone strikes across Sudan, UN human-rights chief Volker Türk said in a report carried by AllAfrica. Türk strongly condemned the escalation on Friday.
Drought raises hunger risk
Severe drought is damaging crops and livestock in Sudan’s southern agricultural areas, according to UN officials and aid experts cited in a Reuters report carried by SABC Africa Feed. US Geological Survey data showed that rainfall from July through September, the peak rainy season, was the country’s lowest in more than three decades. North Darfur recorded its lowest rainfall since 1984, while North Kordofan and Gedaref had their lowest levels since 1990 and 1991 respectively.
The IPC, a UN-backed hunger monitor, warned in an October 12 alert that El Niño-related drought was compounding already severe conditions in conflict-affected areas. It estimated in June that 5.1 million people faced severe hunger and is updating that figure. The World Food Programme forecasts that drought will leave an additional 350,000 people severely hungry by the end of 2026, with the increase reaching 1.2 million by August 2027, WFP Sudan programme head Samuel Clendon told Reuters.
The WFP said it was focusing food deliveries on the five million people with the greatest needs but could not reach everyone and had reduced rations for some recipients. As of October 17, it had $276 million for its Sudan operation and said it needed another $134 million to address drought-related hunger. Sudanese Agriculture Minister Esmat Qureshi acknowledged on October 8 that the harvest would be smaller, but said the reduction would not be significant compared with the previous year.